A Research On The Compilation Of Supernatural Tales In The Mid-late Ming Dynasty

"The compilation of supernatural tales" in this paper refers to books produced in the mid-late Ming Dynasty containing exclusively ghost works and materials from previous generations.The compilation of supernatural tales began in the special context of mid-late Ming dynasty:numerous supernatural tales coming from previous and contemporary generations provided ample materials for the compilation;countless book collectors offered a treasure house for the ongoing process of compilation;established publishing industry technically supported this compilation business;in terms of the social ideological trend,the increasingly popular idea of ghost story telling created favorable social environment for the development of the compilation of supernatural tales;the revival of erudition then created the academic environment for the compilation.As for document type,the coompilation of supernatural tales in the mid-late Ming Dynasty can be divided into three categories:special collection of ghost novels and novel collection containing ghost works;ghost novels for reference and reference books containing ghost works;ghost fiction series and book series containing ghost works.In terms of the aesthetic purport,compilation style and so on,the above three each has its own distinct characteristics.As a kind of compilation works,the source of the compilation of supernatural tales focused mainly on philosophical works and historical works,and at the same time involved classic works and collected literary works.Meanwhile,the compilation of supernatural tales shows a unique compilation system.First,when it comes to subject and content selection,it tends to demonstrate the following characteristics:"horizon-broadening and help people to identify things";"bizarre and astonishing","wide-ranging raw materials".Second,according to the layout of this compilation,there are class books,subject classification,chronological,hidden class,etc.In addition,the compilation system of supernatural tales,besides the main body,also consists of prefaces,postscripts,problem solving,the editorial notes,annotation and so on,each of which plays its unique function.The material selection and compilation system of the compilation of supernatural tales have unique ideological implications:its content and subject tend to be so extensive as to explore a wide range of knowledge;its classification system and category set manifest the scope of museum knowledge at that time;compilations of supernatural tales also reveal the awareness of the society's business senses and investigation consciousness in the mid-late Ming Dynasty.The compilation of supernatural tales is of great value to the development of and research on the later age novels.The compilation of supernatural tales has preserved many of the works that can be used to writing many novels and operas of the later age.And its play a certain role in the dissemination of literature.Also in the compilation of supernatural tales are some scattered literature which have been "lost" as scholars thought and are very valuable indeed.In addition,the compilation of supernatural tales has a positive impact on the development of novel writing styles and the conception of novel creation.