Song Dynasty Joke Research

The collision and communication between elegant and popular cultures promotes the prosperity of jokes of the Song Dynasty.As a representative of folk literature,jokes were generally loved by writers in the Song Dynasty.They devoted themselves to the writing of jokes,which profoundly changed the style of jokes.However,academic research on jokes in the Song Dynasty is still relatively weak,it is worth further exploration.The introduction defines the concept of Song Dynasty Jokes.Firstly,"Joke" is "a story or conversation that can make people laugh"."Song Dynasty Jokes" both includes joke books written by literati in Song and some humorous stories in the book "Anthology of the Song People".Secondly,the research of status of ancient jokes and jokes before Song Dynasty are clarified simply.The first chapter introduces the general situation and material sources of 15 joke books of the Song Dynasty.Firstly,the edition and circulation of the books are explained.The authors of Song Dynasty Jokes are almost famous writers.There are four resources for joke books: folk jokes from the former dynasty;words of "Pai You" performers;fables of "Zhu ZI" and funny words in history books;humorous stories of famous people in the Song Dynasty.The last source accounts for the majority of joke books.The second chapter summarizes and classifies the contents of Song Dynasty Jokes.On the one hand,jokes mirror the social condition of the Song Dynasty,such as folk customs,political corruption,imperial examinations,and defects of human nature.These contents show the writers' deep concern about real problems.On the other hand,jokes also record life of famous literati.They are proficient in various word games like chanting verses and solving puzzles.Sense of humor and wit allows them to laugh in daily life.In addition,some jokes cannot be classified like "Words of Ai Zi" and some stories of jealous women.The third chapter explores and discusses the laughable causes of Song Dynasty Jokes.As for the language of text,the creators are language masters.Rhetorical skills and the sound shape and meaning of Chinese language and characters are wildly used to create unconventional language structure.When it comes to readers' psychology,Hobbes' "sudden glory theory",Kant's "expectation failure theory",Bain's "freedom theory",and Freud's "energy saving theory" can explain some jokes' laughable causes But there is no theory that can be perfectly applied to all Song Dynasty Jokes.The fourth chapter analyzes the new changes and influences of Song Dynasty Jokes.The new changes are specifically manifested in the following aspects: the subject matter has changed from life of normal people to an elegant depiction of literati life and leisure;the satire factor has been weakened and the entertainment factor has been strengthened;The easy-to-understand folk spoken language has become an elegant literati elegant expression.Song Dynasty Jokes are of unique value in the history of Chinese jokes.Writers endeavor to combine popular and elegant culture through joke creation.This precious attempt improves the status of joke and influences the joke writes in the Ming Dynasty.Many new story types,of significant value in folk literature research,firstly appeared in Song Dynasty Jokes,which becomes the material of later jokes.In the end,Song Dynasty Jokes can also be used to study the social condition and life of famous writes in this period.