The Study Of Tang And Song Short Stories In Europe And America

Since the 20th century,Western scholars have made significant progress in the study of Chinese Tang and Song short stories,whether in terms of quantity,quality,or research ideas and methods,giving a great impact.However,so far,these research results have not attracted the full attention of Chinese scholars.This dissertation introduces the main results,basic viewpoints and research methods in the study of Tang and Song short stories by the European and American Sinology circles since the 20th century.At the same time,some research commonalities and trends exhibited by these studies are also summarized.It aims to bring some inspiration to the study of Tang and Song short stories by Chinese scholars.In addition to the introduction and conclusive considerations,the thesis consists of six chapters.Chapter One focuses on the overall thinking of European and American scholars on ancient Chinese narratives.Due to the differences in historical background,philosophical thinking,understanding of the world,beliefs and cultural background between China and the West,there are obvious differences between the two in narrative writing,conception and research.In the study of Chinese narratives,Western scholars focus more on finding exact English terms to define narratives and novels,understanding the concepts and classifications of Chinese literature,discussing how Chinese history and the concept of the universe affect literature,tracking the development and reform of Chinese narrative poetry,considering the important theoretical role of Chinese narrative art,investigating the origin of novels,using Western novel systems to construct Chinese novel theories,and many other aspects.But Chinese literary narration has its own tradition and for underlining the diversity of narrative theories and deepening the understanding of Chinese narrative traditions it is needed to integrate Chinese and Western narrative theories and dual perspectives and to reveal its documentary characteristics and refining theories.Chapter Two discusses the understanding and definition of xiaoshuo,zhiguai and chuanqi by European and American scholars.Due to differences in culture,history,and language,European and American Sinologists try to find corresponding vocabulary in the cultures they are familiar with to define and classify ancient Chinese literary terms,which also bring to divergence and controversy.The controversy surrounding Ding Yue Jian Jie shows that a wrong classification can cause undesirable consequences such as ignoring the richness and complexity of the story’s narrative.Translating these narratives simply as "story" or "tale" would allow the scholars to face up to the context of the text and analyze its internal features in detail.Chapter Three introduces histories and anthologies of Chinese literature written in Europe and America,and their research on Tang and Song short stories.The research on the history of Chinese literature by European and American scholars can be divided into four stages,namely,the inclusive model of European sinologists from the 1900s to the 1920s,the literary deductive model of American sinologists in the 1960s,the period of Chinese American scholars from the 1960s to the 1990s,and the new perspective model based on the new historicism from the 1990s to the present.The evolution of research on the history of Chinese literature by European and American scholars show the transformation from traditional literary concepts to modern literary concepts.Their research has changed from the emphasis on the monotony,unity and minimalism of Chinese literature to the diversity and variety of Chinese literary characteristics.At the same time,the status of Tang and Song short stories has become more and more important,and the research methods of Tang and Song short stories are constantly updated.Chapter Four mainly investigates the study of Tang Dynasty short stories in Europe and America.Sinologists devote themselves to the translation of Tang Dynasty tales,showing the characteristics of fun,practicality and classic.Scholars’ research on Tang Dynasty tales focus on the two classics like Yingying zhuan and Li Wa zhuan,as well as the collections of Tang Dynasty short stories like Youyang zazu,Xuanguai lu,Guangyi ji,their research theories have gone through the process of taking Western fiction research theories as the main standard to gradually affirming the uniqueness of Chinese traditional short stories.The research trend has shifted from relying on derivation,analogy and change theories to a new research perspective of story as storytelling and gossip.Among them,Sarah M.Allen’s concept of the culture of gossip and open text in the story is very enlightening.Chapter Five focuses on the study of Taiping guangji in Europe and America.European and American scholars studying Taiping guangji,mostly focus on the field of literature and culture,and regarded it as the main material for studying Tang and Song literature,culture and society.There are few specialized researches on Taiping guangji,and the existing research results mainly focus on the classification and editing purposes.Scholars such as Jacques Dars,Edward H.Scafer,Xiaohuan Zhao,Samantha Amber Meade,Thomas Barbier,Giovanni Ruscica and other scholars studied the classification system and story types of Taiping guangji from the perspective of classification.Scholars like Russel Kirkland and Johannes L.Kurz go through Taizong’s political intentions and investigate the editing purpose of Taiping guangji.The translations of Taiping guangji by European and American scholars are mostly published in the form of anthology,like Alexei Ditter,Jessey Chou and Sarah M.Allen’s new work Tales from Tang Dynasty China:Selections from the Taiping Guangji.Chapter Six is about Yijian zhi.The research of Yijian zhi in Europe and America is mainly represented by Julie Grundvig,Alister Inglis,Valerie Hansen,Edward Davis,Patricia Buckley Ebrey,Cheng Hsiao-wen,Wang Juying and Ellen Zhang Cong,and focuses on the social,political,economic,and religious issues of the Song Dynasty contained in Yijian zhi,and the pursuit of the social outlook reflected in its anecdotes.Alister Inglis’ Hong Mai’s(Yijian Zhi’ and Its Song Dynasty Context is a model work in the study of Yijian zhi in Europe and America.His research mainly focuses on the Yijian zhi and the issue of its "reliability" and the classificaton of its stories.The royalist sentiment and anti-Jurchen theme in Yijian zhi is selected as proof of the "reliability"of Yijian zhi,but the lack of deep interaction with the historical context is its shortcoming.The ending consists of some final considerations.The two core issues that European and American scholars are most concerned about and attach importance to the translation and research of novels are supported with explanations,and some own thoughts are put forward.