Narrative Research Of Liu Xiang’s Three Novels

LIUXIANG, as a scholar who combines profundity with virtue in the Western Han dynasty, all the achievements that he has gained on document bibliography are fully affirmed by posterity. But for now, there are not complete study on his literary achievements. Posterity should respect and affirm his typical work, such as “XinXu” “ShuoYuan” and “LieNvZhuan”.LIUXIANG selected, edited and retouched historical materials, and he created these three books by his own principles of compilation. In Han dynasty, these books which is full of entertaining are classified into the Confucian school,Where as his creation techniques are relevant to fiction in three categories-- utility, purposiveness and invention. In this essay, Confucian political ideas and novel factor of these three books will be focused and affirmed. The signifiance of this subject “The Study on Fictions of Liu Xiang”, research status andresearch methods of these books will be expounded in introduction part.The essay is divided into five sections:The first section. Introduction of LIUXIANG himself and his works, elaboration of Liu Xiang’s background information of his family, experiences and his wide range of knowledge. And all of those are relevant to how he wrote the books. Also, there are essential explanations of Liu Xiang’s books.The second section. Analyze the concepts of ancient novels, especially on Qin and Han dynasty. Through analyzes of Liu Xiang’s editing principles and fictional senses, to find the social functions which are reflected by the utility,purposiveness and invention in his works. In order to prove the factor of novel style is existed in these three books, I will analyze the processing mode of fabricate, overstate and the connections to “ZI”, “SHI”(ancient codes and records) to confirm the narrations that Liu Xiang has done.The third section. Expound the unique educational meanings of Confucian Benevolent thought and Humanistic thought in “XinXu”, also, stating of these three books’ narrative style and methods.The forth section. Expound the narrative modes of “ShuoYuan”. Analyze the artistic exhibition in novels, and introduce the effects of “XinXu” “ShuoYuan” to “ShiShuoXinYu”.The fifth section. Affirm the significance of different narrative angle ofview in “LieNvZhuan”. Also, Liu Xiang’s writing style which combinednarration and discussion has the profound influences to posterity.In conclusion, all these three books that written by Liu Xiang have lively characteristics of “Zi” and “Shi”. His books possess Excessive literature’scharacteristic, and “Zi” takes the leadership of his writing style. Through The history of the development of novel, “XinXu” “ShuoYuan” and “LieNvZhuan” have important significance in the development of Chinese ancient novel, and these three books are priceless treasures in early period of foundation of Chinese ancient novel.