A Comparative Study Of The Ocean Image Between Ming And Qing Novels And Modern British Novels

In recent years,the study of maritime culture especially that of maritime image has received great attention from the academic world.It is true that there is great deal of excellent work on maritime images both in Chinese and English fictions,but compared with the long pieces of English novels,Chinese fictions carry its own features such as being sketchy,being fragmentary,being allegoric,being uncanny,etc.Although different in literary forms,both Chinese and English fictions contain very rich maritime images,the study of which focuses on the profound connotation of ocean in different nations and the significance and value of ocean to human existence.The development of Chinese fictions and the writings of sea in them does not synchronize with that of Great Britain.Chinese fictions and its writings of sea went into their peak stage in Ming and Qing Dynasties,while for English fictions and its writings of sea,the prosperous development should wait until the 18th and 19th centuries.The fictions with maritime themes not only include the novels such as Journey to the West,Expedition to the Western Ocean,The Biography of Goddess Mazu,Journey to the East,Qi Jiguang Exterminating Japanese Pirates,Tai Wan Wai Zhi,Lin Lan Xiang,Journey to the Sea,Dream of Xi Yi,Flowers in the Mirror,etc.,but also include the collections of short stories such as Jian Deng Xin Hua,Yu Shi Ming Yan,Qing Shi,Amazing Tales,The Second Series to Amazing Tales,Xing Shi Yan,Liancheng Bi,The Sequel to Gu Sheng,Strange Tales from Liaozhai,Zi Bu Yu,The Sequel to Zi Bu Yu,Xie Duo,Er Shi Lu,Tiao Deng Xin Lu,Ye Yu Qiu Deng Lu,Song Yin Man Lu,Song Bin Suo Hua,etc.The development of maritime narrative literature in Ming and Qing Dynasties is largely boosted by navigation adventures and sea trade practices particularly Zheng He's adventure to the Western Ocean.Therefore,although the above-mentioned fictions especially novels cover a lot about Gods and spirits in the cultural background of the combination of three religions,rich maritime images and ocean culture can still be found in them.In the 18th and 19th centuries of England,there also emerge such excellent marine fictions as Robinson Crusoe,The Adventures of Roderick Random,Gulliver's Travels,Dombey and Son,Mansfield Park,Sylvia's Lovers,The Coral Island,Treasure Island,Lord Jim,etc.,have come into the writer's focus.This paper mainly studies the maritime images in the fictions of Ming and Qing Dynasties and those in the English fictions in the 18th and 19th centuries.The maritime images in the fictions of both countries are firstly sorted out and then classified respectively.The maritime images in Chinese fictions of Ming and Qing Dynasties can be summarized as sea god imagination,sea island imagination,island inhabitant imagination,sea navigation,seafaring causes,sea wealth,awareness of oceanic rights and naval defense,and imagination of overseas countries,etc.Through the systematic study,it can be concluded that the sea imagination in literature particularly fictions is deeply influenced by Chinese Agricultural Civilization.As the maritime practice of people becomes more and more active and thus there is more and more literature creation on sea,the sea imagination in fictions have undergone some changes from Ming to Qing Dynasty.For example,the portraying of gods and goddesses has developed to that of monsters and savages,the description of the sea islands has turned from being fairy to being more profane,and the description of the wealth in the ocean has shifted from the wealth in the possession of gods and goddesses to that of the deep ocean itself,etc.But as all this association of sea is primarily the result of the combination of sea,gods and spirits,it still seems rather alien.Nevertheless,with the people in late Qing Dynasty getting their horizons broadened and looking out to the outside world,the depictions of storms at sea,sea island inhabitants,maritime economy and naval defense cause start to become more participative and realisticThe maritime images in English fictions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries can also be summarized as sea navigation,seafaring causes,sea trade,maritime economy,sea island survival,the image of navy,overseas country imagination and the image of pirates,etc.Influenced by the Ancient Greek Maritime Civilization,the British sea island environment,the development of British sea power and capitalism following the great geographical discovery era in the 15th century,the sea imagination is in many ways based on the quest of power,truth,knowledge,pioneering and exploration,etc.Compared with the 18th century,the maritime images in the fictions of the 19th century have displayed a change from conquering the sea to approaching the sea,and the concern of how the maritime development might affect the political and economical development of the country and people's life.This paper aims to conduct a comparative study of the maritime images such as sea god imagination,the benefits from the sea,the maritime practice,sea power subsistence ethics and sea allegories in Chinese and English fictions with an attempt to explore the differences and similarities of maritime images in different cultures and clarify the philosophical,cultural and historical causes behind so as to achieve a leap from a superficial comparison to a profound culture exploration.The comparative study shows that it is the two different traditional culture values,the Chinese "Heaven-Man Oneness" and the Western "Heaven-Man Distinction",that lead to the different appearance modes of the maritime images.Chinese traditional ethical culture features internalization,laying more emphasis on ethic improvement and practical utility in pursuit of a supreme realm of Heaven-Man Oneness.Therefore,in such a culture,theoretic knowledge is valued more than craftsmanship,and thus the maritime images in Chinese fictions emphasize not on the exploration and conquest of nature,but on the unity of man and nature.In ancient China,most of the literati are very concerned about the country and its people and they are very actively involved in social life.But when their ambitions to benefit others meet with frustrations,they usually choose to stand aloof and turn to the ocean to seek relief.Therefore,in ancient Chinese literature works,ocean is the carrier of Chinese literati's concerns and aesthetic emotions,rather than their ambition to explore and conquer nature with the mastery of knowledge.The combination of literati and ocean implies more of the unity of Heaven and Man;Originated from the ancient Greek Maritime Civilization,the Western culture,on the other hand,attaches more importance to rationality characterized by Heaven-Man Distinction and conquering nature.In contrast to the internalized development of Chinese culture,the development of Western culture appears more of an externalized process highlighting culture blending and renewal.Integrating the core concepts of Greek,Roman and Christian cultures,it features respect to human nature and pursuit of knowledge,taking rationality as the basic characteristic of human nature.So there is not only the pursuit of fame and fortune,but also rather critical handling to reality.Guided by such a view,the maritime images in English fictions tend to give prominence to the opposition between man and the sea in that they depict how man is employing scientific knowledge to explore and conquer the ocean so as to achieve the ambitions of imperialistic aggression and expansion,and wealth amassment.To be more specific,Chinese sea gods and goddesses especially Dragon King of the four seas and Mazu are neither combative,aggressive nor crazy about hegemony although they maintain some consciousness of oceanic rights when performing their duty to see to the maritime safety,while Poseidon is a vainglorious,combative and vengeful sea god,ambitious enough to expand his territory and seek aggression;The sea trade depicted in Chinese fictions,which is still affected by the small-peasant economy,tends to be more opportunistic,accidental and alien.The protagonists in English fictions,however,appear to be more actively involved in maritime practice,and the maritime economy and sea trading activities are depicted to be more realistic,purposeful,predatory and colonialistic;The fairy description of sea islands and navigation at sea in Chinese fictions reflects the ideal of "Heaven-Man Oneness" in practice,while in English fictions,the real practice of navigation and the dangers at sea are portrayed in such a realistic way that the protagonists are all out to understand and control nature through fighting against it;In Chinese fictions,the overseas countries are viewed as the extension of the Chinese Empire.Therefore,restricted by idea of unification and assimilation,the fiction authors' imagination cannot fall outside the feudal moral principles.In English fictions,on the other hand,in order to learn more about the overseas countries,the protagonists are willing to experience persistent exploration and learning,constant thinking and self-reflection;In the warship that symbolizes the state oceanic sea power,it is still the cultural ethics that determine how individual and their body is treated.In the Chinese fiction,guided by the traditional Chinese philosophic view that the collective interests should always come before the individual ones,a tough decision has to me made to protect the whole fleet from the sea monster's attack at the cost of the lives of a number of sick soldiers.Of course,the threat is finally cleared thanks to the use of magic power.Although the individual is valued more in pre-modern Western ethics,the values at sea are still in conflict with those on land due to the toughness of life at sea,the cruelty of maritime warfare,and the constant pursuit of war benefits.As a result,in the English fiction,body is unfairly treated and the individual's life is held cheap.The systematic study of the maritime images in both Chinese and English fictions along with the comparative attempt is a breakthrough achieved in this paper compared with the previous cor-relational research which is incomplete,fragmental and even isolated.The present study can promote our understanding to the development of Chinese and English maritime civilization,and help us explore how maritime development becomes involved in artistic thinking and how maritime images are connected with philosophy,religion and folklore,so that we can recognize more precisely the common and individual features of the ocean spirit embodied in Chinese and English fictions.It can also help to reveal that China is not only a maritime power but also a country rich with maritime literature.The oceanic influence and spirit have always been a part of Chinese historical culture and the maritime images in ancient Chinese literary fiction are of unique poetic and cultural significance What's more,the present study is of momentous current significance in that it can help raise our people's awareness of ocean and ocean rights.And the combination of the aesthetic resources in Chinese and English literature works with maritime themes can help provide discourse and aesthetic resources in the reconstruction of our national and cultural identity.