The Study Of The Love And Marriage Type Of Fox-maiden Stories In Novels Written In Classical Chinese In Qing Dynasty

The love and marriage type of fox-maiden stories is a kind of stories of ancient spirits in traditional Chinese literature. It came up in ancient myths. During a long period, the scholars in Qing Dynasty abundantly absorbed nutrition of folk literature and fused folklore essence, finalized it and made it brilliant. So, the love and marriage type of fox-maiden stories is the product of not only ancient literature but also of that time. This paper will discuss it in the following parts.Introduction: In this part, the thesis defines the love and marriage type of fox-maiden stories and recalls its fountainhead and development before Qing Dynasty in order to provide the historical background for the stories in the novels written in classical Chinese in Qing Dynasty.Chapter one: In this part, the thesis discusses three narrative kinds——whichhave different functions——of the love and marriage type of fox-maiden stories inthe novels written in classical Chinese in Qing Dynasty. They are evil fox-maiden stories, benevolent and righteous fox-maiden stories, and talented and learned fox-maiden stories, which not only inherited the former achievement but also presented new features and developmental tendency. Although all the three kinds have their own characters, there are something common in them that the fox-maidens play a leading role but men remain in the subordinate position. Though the beautifuland loose fox-maidens still have some personalities differing from people, they are true, good and beautiful. They have many men's characters. They can bring happiness to frustrated men and satisfy their all kinds of common desires. They can be described as a symbolic literary image which will be placed and treated as the compensation for reality.Chapter two: In this part, the thesis discusses the historical reasons of the love and marriage type of fox-maiden stories from folklore belief, cultural environment of female in reality and literati's psychology, and so on. The popular belief about huxian laid a secular cultural foundation for it. In order to surpass reality and save soul, the frustrated literati conscientiously used folk material, consciously re-created stories by personal psychological needs, and changed fantastic stories into an aesthetic ideal, which improved this kind of stories to a higher level of civilization. In addition, some outstanding women were also mirrored in stories by literati as their ideal objects, which furnished stories with real reference. As the stories from the folk and written by intellectual, there is no doubt that this kind of stories written in classical Chinese in Qing Dynasty posses a new cultural significance and aesthetic value.