On The Study Of "Ch'i Shu Genre" By Andrew H.Plaks

Andrew Henry Plaks(1945-)was one of the outstanding sinologists,who studied the Ming Qing full-length xiao-shuo[1] in the contemporary American Sinology circle.Andrew H.Plaks' s sinology studies were inspired by the political support of American Sinology circle after the World War II,and the influence of China-centered approach.His research also enlightened by the methodology of his late teacher Frederick W.Mote(1922-2005).All of these formed his research method,which attached a great importance to Chinese academic tradition.Inspired by the Ming-Ch'ing critics,Andrew H.Plaks insisted that the Ming Qing full-length xiao-shuo was inherited from the tradition of historical writing and influenced by the spatialization of mythology,which made it a“Ch'i-shu Genre” with special aesthetic aspirations.The reason why Andrew H.Plaks emphasized that “Ch'i-shu Genre” originated from the tradition of historical writing was to connect Chinese with Western narrative literature.However,under this idea,he failed to realize the function of the “pien-wen”,“shuo-shu” and other oral literature on the Ming Qing full-length xiao-shuo,which was made his research too one-sided.Andrew H.Plaks' s research on “Ch'i-shu Genre” mainly started with structure and rhetoric.He thought that “Ch'i-shu Genre” not only had a unity in structure,but also adopted the unique principle of “complementary bipolarity” and “multiple periodicity” to arrange plot layout and character relations,and thus challenged C.T.Hsia and other scholars.In terms of content,Andrew H.Plaks pointed out that “Ch'i-shu Genre” used irony theory to reinterpret the context of story-telling,poetries and main characters in the works,thus dispelled the noble values of the heroes.At the allegory level,Andrew H.Plaks focused on the study of “the Ta-guan Yüan” and “the Ssu ta Ch'i-shu”.He pointed out that the former implied a “total vision”,so the “prosperity and decline”,“exit and enter” were inevitable,they constituted the panoramic view over the Ta-guan Yüan;while the latter subverted the Confucian ideal.Andrew H.Plaks' s research on “Ch'i-shu Genre”strengthened his cognition that these works belonged to a common aesthetic system,but his excessive emphasis on systematization leaded to his neglect of the internal differences and unique values of the texts inevitably.Generally speaking,although Andrew H.Plaks' s study on Chinese narratology has some shortcomings,his emphasis on traditional comments and his quotations of western theories are all beneficial enlightenment for domestic scholars.