Awakening World Romance (Volume 1, 2, and 3)

Author: (Ming) Xizhou Sheng compiled and annotated, Li Guoqing annotated
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Awakening World (also known as Evil) is a vernacular long novel born in the 17th and 18th centuries, with 100 chapters and nearly a million words. Hu Shi regarded it as a "rich and detailed cultural historical source," predicting that scholars studying the social customs of 17th-century China would definitely have to study this book; those studying the educational history of 17th-century China would definitely have to study this book; those studying the economic history of 17th-century China would definitely have to study this book; and those studying the political corruption, people's suffering, and religious life of 17th-century China would also definitely have to study this book. This edition is based on the Xinchou Ten-Character Edition preserved in Dalian Library (this is the earliest known version with the best text), supplemented by the Tongde Tang Edition and the Wuzi Twelve-Character Edition. It also explains the more difficult dialects in the book, which is a major feature, providing great convenience for researchers and readers. Awakening World (also known as Evil) has 100 chapters and was written in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. It is an important novel on marriage and family life, written after Gold Bottle and before Dream of the Red Chamber. The novel has a complete structure and a twisting, engaging plot. It features a large cast of characters with diverse identities, from powerful eunuchs and officials to local scholars and gentry, from commoners to monks, Taoists, and entertainers, all vividly portrayed. Additionally, the novel is written in Shandong dialect, with expressive and distinctive writing. Awakening World is a long novel of 100 chapters written by a man who called himself "Xizhou Sheng" from Shandong during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. It is a novel heavily colored with fatalism. Perhaps the author felt unable to solve or explain the various problems in marriage, so finally only attributed them to past grievances and karmic retribution. Hu Shi said, "This is a realistic novel of the 17th century," as it depicts the broad social life, including family life, "and is a rich and detailed cultural historical source." He predicted that scholars studying the social customs, educational history, and economic history of 17th-century China, as well as those studying the political corruption, people's suffering, and religious life of 17th-century China, would all definitely have to study this book. The great poet Xu Zhimo artistically elaborated on the author's "realistic masterstroke": "You see his brush is like a new film—not only lively but also full of color and sound." "He has extracted the marrow of all kinds of people from the lower and middle classes for our appreciation, yet he never shows the slightest sign of exhaustion or desperation; he is always calm and leisurely." "He has seen through human affairs thoroughly. His material is all ordinary, all rotten, but once he works his magic, it all becomes magical." "His paintings are almost as broad as the face of life."