| This dissertation attempts to place the Qing dynasty novel Rulin waishi within the context of contemporary discussion of the social and intellectual status of the literati. Examining certain intellectual trends of the Qing, in particular those associated with the rise of evidential scholarship of the Qianlong and Jiaqing eras (1736-1819), it argues that the reaction against Neo-Confucian thought among a number of thinkers entailed significant changes in the perception of the literati. In particular, the strongly intellectualist orientation that supplanted ethical or speculative philosophical concerns led both to a reconsideration of literati tasks and interests, and also to a scrutiny of their privileged position in the social hierarchy. Such developments are reflected in discursive writings on topics related to literati fields of endeavor such as scholarship, literary creation, and painting.;Three other mid-Qing novels (Yesou puyan, Luye xianzong, and Jinghua yuan) are examined for their treatment of literati concerns such as service to the state, self-cultivation, and learning. It is argued that while generally upholding the Confucian belief that literati must seek self-fulfillment through social praxis, these novels offer a revision of conventional views of the appropriate means of achieving a worldly impact or "success". The tendency toward a decentering of the literati within the total social matrix, and the attenuation of their moral and political commitment, serve as pervasive themes in all these works.;The evolution of new perceptions of the literati finds vivid illustration not only in Rulin waishi, but also in several other works of full-length fiction of the mid-Qing period. In such novels, the literati are the objects both of satire, as well as of utopian fantasies which adumbrate a revamped intellectual and social order. Rulin waishi's highly satirical portrait probes literati weaknesses by focusing on its subjects' manipulation of the literary arts, and in particular the examination essay (bagu wen). Structurally, its satire is manifested as an alternation of attitudes toward the bagu essay. I have called this a form of parody, since it appears to mimic this literary form. |
