Mao Zonggang Study On The Characterization Of The Novel Theory

Through analyzing the characters in the novel San Guo Yan Yi (The Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Mao Zonggang expresses his opinions on the problem of characterization in novels, among which many are of great theoretical value and have enriched theories of novel creation in China. This paper mainly discusses Mao Zonggang's novel characterization theory from the aspects of background, content, value and disadvantage using research methods of analyzing and induction.Firstly, this paper discusses the economic and cultural background of Mao's novel characterization theory. The rulers of Ming Dynasty encouraged the development of economy thus promoting the prosperity of economy as well as the development of culture; what's more, the academia's emphasis on novels promoted the rapid growth of novels——all these provided practical basis for the development of novel analysis. The novel analysts in this period have had in-depth research on the social function, characterization and narrative structure of novels, and in the aspect of characterization have discussed many problems such as image, personality, etc.——thus providing theoretical basis for Mao's research on novel characterization.Secondly, the content of Mao's novel characterization theory is discussed. Combining Mao's analysis on San Guo Yan Yi, this paper first analyzes Mao's advocation on the aesthetic characteristics of"Novelty"and"Pureness"of the characters. Then it digs into Mao's opinions that the characters'personalities should accord with the aesthetic principle of"painting nearby views with strong colors and distant views with light colors"and should be consistent during the development of the plot. At last, it analyzes Mao's unique opinions on characterization skills from the aspects of the time to portray images, the relations between character, position and language, etc.Thirdly, the value of Mao's theory is discussed. The theories of Jin Shengtan, Mao Zonggang and Zhi Yanzhai are related to each other. Mao's opinions of"not portraying a character but when he's absent"and"concealing is more presenting"are the inheritance and development of Jin Shengtan's theory of"knowing a man by seeing the people around him". And Mao's"looking through other books, you cannot find them all"is the revelation of Zhi Yanzhai's "indeed I have never seen them with my own eyes".Finally, the paper talks about the disadvantages of Mao's theory. Affected by the thinking methods of that period, Mao neglects the advantages of some characteristics, such as Lv Bu's falling in love. At the same time, he narrows people's activity down to destiny, which lowers the fullness of the characters.Today's world flourishes with all kinds of novels. How to portray perfect characters in a novel has become people's major concern. In this respect, Mao Zonggang's discussion will no doubt be of great help to us.