Early Qing Er Chen Mentality And Literary Studies

The turncoat officials at the beginning of the Qing dynasty are a group of officials that had already become officials of the Ming dynasty, but after Qing dynasty substituted Ming dynasty, they became officials of the Qing dynasty, so they violated the Confusion morality that official should be loyal to his emperor. This group is very special. They had similar character weakness, and faced to the same predicament, so the special mentality and literary of that group formed, which greatly influenced the literary of the beginning of the Qing dynasty. But for the moral disputation, this group have been despised and ignored, so there are lots of problems to be found and solved. The essay describes the process of the forming of this group, their special depressive mentality, and their development and change under heavy mental pressure, tries to sketch the contours of the general outlook of their mentality, and thus attempts to explain their literary creation and tendency of literary ideology.The essay is divided to the following parts.Introduction delimits the investigation scope of the essay is the group of officials who successively became officials both in the Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty, discusses the process of which the definition "turncoat official" developed with the development of social morality, traces the history of turncoat official, specially some period which turncoat official frequently occurred, and the special state of the turncoat officials who worked for the regime build by different race bore more pressure.Chapter One discusses the forming of the group of the turncoat official at the beginning of the Qing dynasty, explains the process of its forming, its scope and the members' status, and the political and cultural factors which produce this group.The group of the turncoat official at the beginning of the Qing dynasty came from the destruction of the Ming dynasty and its succession South Ming government, and the official who worked for them became officials of the Qing dynasty gradually. This group has a great deal quantity, has great social influence, and its constitution is very complicated, has lots of distinction between native, official rank and background.The reason of they became turncoat official is complicated. The political and practical reasons are the appointment and solicit from the Qing dynasty, the political mistake of the South Ming government, and the native and family interests of turncoat officials. The cultural reasons are the abuse of the official selection system and political situation of Ming dynasty, the dissemination of hedonics philosophy of Ming dynasty, and the influence from some traditional conception of flexibility and filial piety.Chapter Two analyzes that after they became turncoat officials, their mentality and the mental suffering for their morality and ideal be destroyed by themselves.This group had similar character weakness and experience, faced to same predicament, so they had group mentality. They had double status of officials of the Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty, in the condition of whose lives been divided and had great contrast. They faced to double pressure of condemnation both from social and themselves. For cravenly afraid death, they abandoned morality, so they often feel criminal for their living. And for the loss of morality, their spirits often fell into desolation.For how to recognized and re-defined their status, this group also had lots of the same mentality. They tried to cover up or escape from that shameful status, and for they couldn't escape from it, they engendered group's sympathy.Chapter Three analyzes after their morality and ideal been destroyed, how the turncoat officials tried to find their life values again.Some turncoat officials realized the political ideal of Confusion and self-consciousness for be engaged in politics positively. Some turncoat officials wrought history to save the historical materials of Ming dynasty and introspect about the reason for the destruction of Ming dynasty. And some turncoat official associated with the adherents of Ming dynasty whose moralities were pure, tried to get their understanding and comfort.Chapter Four discusses the characteristic of the literary of the turncoat officials of the beginning of the Qing dynasty.For the achievements they had got in the Ming dynasty, and the superiority of political status in the Qing dynasty, turncoat officials had great influence to the literary circles of the beginning of Qing dynasty, especially those writers who had both great literary achievements and superior status. They popularized their literary conceptions from poetic association and supporting younger poets.The literary creations of turncoat officials of the beginning of the Qing dynasty have distinct group character. The content includes double-theme about yearning for onetime nation and distress for their disloyalty. The way of their expression is intentionally obscure, complicated and implicit. And their literary creations often express potential self-consciousness.About literary inheriting, the link function of turncoat officials is important. Their literary creations express the change from solemn, depressing and gloomy style about yearning for onetime nation, to pure, refined and elegant style about imperial court. Their literary thoughts express the introspection of the literary sects of Ming dynasty, and thoughts about the tendency of literary development in the future.