History of Chinese Popular Literature - Open Humanities

Author: Zheng Zhenduo
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-05-01
Features: This work by Mr. Zheng Zhenduo spans from ancient folk songs in the pre-Qin period to the Eastern and Western tunes of the Qing Dynasty, covering a vast scope and serving as a landmark classic in the history of popular literature. Although it cannot be called a "groundbreaking" work, it is undeniably a solid and valuable history of Chinese popular literature, and no similar work has been able to replace it for a long time. This book is a pioneering and foundational monograph in the history of Chinese popular literature research, covering folk literature from the pre-Qin period to the late Qing Dynasty. It systematically organizes various forms of folk literature, including folk songs, ballads, biwen, zaju lyrics, guzi ci, zhuguang diao, sanqu, baojuan, tantu, and dizishu, with rich materials and extensive citations. This revised edition includes 45 precious illustrations to complement the text, enhancing the overall effect. It is one of the early academic achievements in the study of popular literature following the publication of Lu Xun's A Brief History of Chinese Fiction. Among the 14 chapters in the book, five are dedicated to narrative-singing literature. Most of the discussions in the book fall under the category of quyi literature. The book systematically studies the emergence, development, and evolution of various quyi forms, providing abundant historical materials. It comprehensively examines biwen, guzi ci, zhuguang diao, zhuantai, changzuan, baojuan, gudu, dizishu, lianhualuo, matou diao, chaji, bajigu, and daqing, among others. The author offers well-founded arguments on the transformation of quyi forms and the analysis of their repertoires, making this book a must-read for quyi researchers.