The Study Of Money, Power And Lust In

As a masterpiece of vernacular short story of Ming Dynasty, Two Collections truly reflectsthe life style of secular social and people’s customs at that time. Many works in Two Collectionsnot only reflect People’s desire for money, power and sex but also show people’s endeavor,struggle and confusion. At the same time, some works in Two Collections reflects understandingand affirmation for these people’s desires, but more works in Two Collections criticize the uglysocial phenomenon that produced during the process which people pursue money, power, andsex.Based on previous study, this thesis discusses and explains the conception of desires formoney, power and sex. It comprises three chapters besides the introduction and conclusion.The introduction sorts the research situation of papers from the perspective of people’sdesire and interprets the reason and significance of the topic.The first part mainly sorts material according to people’s desire for money, power and sex inTwo Collections. The material of people’s desire for money is discussed from five aspects whichare “willingness to take risks and become rich”,“covetous for money and disowned all therelatives and friends”,“swindling, taking bribes and bending the law” and “be led astray uponseeing money and thug gee”. The material of people’s desire for sex is discussed from threeaspects which are “love and sexual desire staggered between young men and women”,“covetousfor sexual desire and being scammed” and “lewd and excessiveness indulge in sex”. The materialof people’s desire for power is discussed from two aspects which are “being an officer whetherhe is rich or poor”,“by means of marriage for obtain power”.The second chapter mainly discusses the attitude toward people’s desire in Two Collections.Some works in Two Collections reflect understanding and affirmation for these people’s desires,but more works in Two Collections criticize the ugly social phenomenon that produced duringthe process which people pursue desire, and restrain overarching ambitions of people. TwoCollections restrains overarching ambitions of people by means of “net of justice”,“virtue isrewarded and vice punished” and “difficult to breach destiny” and “power of Rogue”.The third chapter not only mainly deeply analyzes the reasons of highlighting people’sdesire and the attitude toward people’s desire in Two Collections but also discusses four aspectswhich are social climate, cultural fad, market demand and the reading anticipation of readers，thepersonal experiences and creative states of minds of author.In the conclusion, the thesis further explains the positive significance and shortcomings ofTwo Collections which tries to restrain overarching ambitions of people by means of law, virtueis rewarded and vice punished, difficult to breach destiny and power of Roguel.