Draft Treatise on Qing Dynasty Novels

Author: Lin Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-11-01
Features: Drafts on Qing Dynasty Fiction is an important achievement of Lin Wei in recent years on late Qing Dynasty fiction, comprising a total of twenty-four essays. The first two essays, A Brief Study on the Family Background, Life, and Works of the Author of Children of Heroism and Chivalry and A Brief Overview of the Version Sources and Development of Three Heroes and Five Righteous Men, as well as the last two essays, Who Was the Author of Yellow Ballad and A Critical Examination of the Early Version of Lin Shu's Wuxia Novel Remnants of Martial Arts, are all rigorous and scientifically grounded research articles. The remaining twenty essays, in addition to those specifically discussing the four major satirical novels—The Real Story of the Court, Strange Currents in the Past Twenty Years, Lao Can's Journey, and The Flower in the Sea of Suffering—focus on reviewing lesser-known or less frequently discussed novels from the period after Dream of the Red Chamber and Flowers in the Mirror to the time of the Xinhai Revolution, filling a significant gap in the history of Chinese fiction. Notably, the author not only evaluates the aesthetic features of these novels from a literary perspective but also reveals the ideological consciousness of the authors and the psychological changes of various social figures embodied in the works through historical and cultural lenses. This approach goes far beyond the conventional "author-work theory" of simply analyzing either the author or the work, offering a deeper and more nuanced understanding. Particularly in his research and analysis of Lao Can's Journey and The Flower in the Sea of Suffering, the author uncovers insights previously unexplored, making these truly the latest achievements in the field of study. The author not only highlights Liu E's anti-feudal ritualistic thoughts, which reject divine order in favor of human desires, but also argues that his advocacy for seeking industrial salvation through foreign capital was a progressive and forward-thinking idea, going beyond the "Chinese learning as the essence, Western learning for application" perspective of the Self-Strengthening Movement. As a result, he was branded a "traitor" and exiled to Xinjiang, where he died in sorrow. The author's theory on the "triple meanings" contained in The Flower in the Sea of Suffering can be considered a groundbreaking argument since the early 20th century that brilliantly reveals the artistic craftsmanship of Zeng Pu.