This thesis researches the famous late Ming writer and compiler Feng Menglong who played a pivotal role in establishing vernacular fiction and in elevating the image of women in his literary works....Show moreThis thesis researches the famous late Ming writer and compiler Feng Menglong who played a pivotal role in establishing vernacular fiction and in elevating the image of women in his literary works. My thesis addresses the question of how Feng Menglong challenged the culturally constructed notions of gender in the Sanyan, his most celebrated anthology of vernacular short stories. I argue that Feng Menglong challenged the yin-yang hierarchical gender structure that permeated Chinese society where men were valorised and women were marginalised. His literary works are recognised for their extraordinary and profound psychological portrayal and moral comprehension of gender relations. His Sanyan stories are also noted for the sympathetic treatment towards women. I have analysed three Sanyan stories that illustrate his positive portrayal of women, for he portrayed his female characters as morally superior in regard to their male counterpart. He often portrayed women with agency and assertiveness in pursuing their personal happiness, which challenged the gender stereotypes in Chinese society and was unconventional for his literary time period.Show less
Li Yu’s seventeenth century “The Carnal Prayer Mat” or Rou Putuan () belongs the genre of the erotic novel. Much like contemporary erotic works like the sixteenth century “Jin Ping Mei” and...Show moreLi Yu’s seventeenth century “The Carnal Prayer Mat” or Rou Putuan () belongs the genre of the erotic novel. Much like contemporary erotic works like the sixteenth century “Jin Ping Mei” and seventeenth century “The Embroidered Couch”, the theme of the erotic novel revolves around a libertine who fully indulges himself in sexual pleasures and is, through the intricacies of karmic retribution (which in the Chinese narrative is known as baoying), eventually punished for it. I will try to determine the influence of baoying on narrative structure and behavior adjustment of characters within Rou Putuan. On a structural level I will, drawing on works of van Dijk and Margolin, examine how to recognize occurrences of the unexpected disruption of coherence within the event structure of the narrative, intuitively called ‘coincidence’. Through the analysis of three key events, I will attempt to determine whether or not this occurrence of ‘coincidence’ can be made rational by supplying a retribution structure coordinating the story. The final purpose of this thesis is to determine how Li Yu’s evokes the retributive device of baoying on the narrative of Rou Putuan. My argument refutes the idea that the author uses retribution to convene any moral message, but that it’s merely the result of Li Yu’s interesting relationship with convention. I will lay bare this relationship by supplying a small biography and emphasizing the interrelation between his own aesthetic ideas and his intended audience.Show less
This thesis tried to find an answer to the following research question: How does the material cultural approach contribute to our understanding of the Chinese literati garden as a site of economic...Show moreThis thesis tried to find an answer to the following research question: How does the material cultural approach contribute to our understanding of the Chinese literati garden as a site of economic and social significance in Ming China? This study has proved the material cultural approach contributed to our understanding of the Chinese literati garden in Ming China as a site of economic and social importance. It has became clear the literati garden was more than just a place of aesthetic appreciation. As a plot of land the literati garden had economic value for the owner in terms of the production of edible or valuable resources such as fruits, rice and timber. The literati garden was an investment and a site of stored value. The study of the building process, materials and maintenance showed not only the extensiveness of the investments made by owner, but also the extensiveness of the garden building business. The stored value was also a way to store the family’s capital to secure the family’s future. The literati garden also showed to be important in the establishment of social relations, the display of ‘good’ taste to legitimize social status and ultimately the performance of culture in the pursuit of the social-cultural ideal of the literati. Commercialization, expansion of trade and fashion in the second half of the sixteenth century changed the existing social structure which led to social competition and redefined the literati garden from a site of connoisseurship to a site of luxury and wealth display. As a result the existing elite class tried to redefine their status as the true elite class by searching for new ways of distinction. The literati garden became a place of reclusion and the elite started to appreciate life as a hermit who longed for simplicity and frugality in life by growing his own vegetables and fruit in his garden which was a revival of faded Confucian thoughts within a society characterized by wealth display, luxury and social competition.Show less
The late Ming writer Feng Menglong is one of the biggest leads for so-called huaben or short stories, which are often seen as a continuation of the zhiguai and chuanqi genres, concerning such ...Show moreThe late Ming writer Feng Menglong is one of the biggest leads for so-called huaben or short stories, which are often seen as a continuation of the zhiguai and chuanqi genres, concerning such 'strange' things as ghosts, spirits and other marvellous things. Looking at the philosophical and literary traditions, as well as Feng Menglong's time of living, a pattern can be derived in which ghosts feature in Feng Menglong's stories.Show less
