Biography of Yuan Mei

Author: Wang Yingzhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: Yuan Mei was the leader of the Qianlong-Jiaqing poetic circle in the Qing Dynasty, the main figure of the Xinglin school, and a prose and fiction writer. He dedicated most of his life to literary creation. His philosophy was based on Confucianism, Mencianism, and Zhuangzi. Yuan Mei inherited the legacy of late Ming Enlightenment thought, revering Confucius while questioning him, belonging to the masses yet transcending them. Despite clinging to old customs, he was intellectually liberated, making him an outstanding literary figure and critic of intellectual scholarship during the transition from a feudal prosperous era to modern society. This book's transmission primarily explores Yuan Mei's performance during critical periods in his life and the trajectory of his ideological development throughout his life, interspersed with comments on various aspects of his thought. This book's critique focuses on elucidating the main themes of Yuan Mei's thought, his philosophy of life, literary views, the ideological value of his literary creation, and his profound influence. The book is richly documented and clearly argued; building on existing research, it strives for content expansion and innovative insights. It is the first academic monograph since the founding of the People's Republic of China to comprehensively and deeply study the life and thought of Yuan Mei.