The Folklore Context Of Modern Transformation Of Chinese Literature

The formation of Chinese modernity, marked by the gradual establishment of its enlightenment value system from "strengthening the country and protecting the genes" to "enlightening the folks" and to "becoming enlightened people " has gone through its physical and institutional to ideological changes during the late Qing Dynasty and the May fourth period. The literal works created during those periods have reflected the historical changes. And they are, therefore, identified as literature of enlightenment. The key concepts in the enlightenment value system such as "genes", "folks", "people" and "characters of the folks" implicate the research field of folklore. The gradual formation of the enlightenment value system from "strengthening the country and protecting the genes" to "enlightening the folks" and to "becoming enlightened people " actually indicates the progress of folklore as a scientific discipline starting from initial period to the application and establishment stages. Based from what she mentioned from above, the author has made an attempt, from the viewpoint of folklore by exploring the relations of traditional literature and living habits, to analyze the transformation of the modern Chinese literature from its starting to its development and changes of the literal styles and the contents. The author has clarified the integral relations between the folklore concepts evolved from the late Qing and the modem transformation of Chinese literature. The author has put her emphasis on how important roles the folklore and folklore concepts have played on the whys and hows of the literal transformation and existence.The dissertation is divided into six chapters. In the first chapter "The Context of the Modern Transformation of Chinese Literature: the Formation of Folklore", the author has devoted her attention to have explored the social and cultural environment of the late Qing Dynasty. The criticism and the call to reform the Chinese social customs due to the gradual ideological and social conventional transformation under the western influences, the evolvement of the new factors of literal movement and the cultural influences from the missionaries have formed the folk enlightenment movement , thus having paved the social and cultural background for Chinese literature to transformation from its classical form to modern style. With the introduction of Darwin's evolutionism, western ethnology, anthropology and sociology are also introduced to China, thus stimulating the beginning of Chinese folklore. These folk conscious factors have attribute to the transformation of Chinese...