| The mid and later period of the Ming dynasty(Jiajing-Chongzhen)is an important period in both literary and intellectual history.The popular novels,which evolved from aural ‘speech’ and was intended for desk reading,achieved unprecedented prosperity in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty.Religion also profoundly influenced people’s social life in the Ming dynasty,the prevalence of Taoist writing in popular novels is a literary interpretation of the state of interaction between economy,politics,culture and religion in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty.This thesis takes the image of Taoist priests as an entry point to the creation of popular novels in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty,and uses the form of a thematic study to explore the features of the image of Taoist priests in popular novels in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty,as well as its artistic effects and influence in the creation of novels.The thesis can be divided into five parts: the introductory section provides an overview of the current state of research relating traditional historical sources to Taoist priests in novels and the need to study this selected topic.This is followed by a definition of the object of study,defining Taoist priests as male clergy who participate in Taoism and carry out Taoist activities,and defining the scope of popular novels in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty studied in this thesis.In the first part,on the basis of reading and summarising,the Taoist priests of the popular novels in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty are classified,and the three main categories of immortal,demonic and mortal Tao are inspected as a whole.The second part focuses on the causes of the portrayal of Taoist priests in popular novels in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty,focusing on four aspects: the Quanzhen sect and Zhengyi sect,the secularisation of Taoism,the conflict and integration of the three religions,and the commodity properties of popular novels,and analyses their influence on the portrayal of Taoist priests.The third part discusses the narrative function of the image of Taoist priests in the popular novels in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty,including its function on the four aspects of the novel’s storyline structure,narrative space,aesthetic colour and conceptual expression.The fourth part explores the shortcomings of the portrayal of Taoist priests in popular novels in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty,mainly in terms of the paradigmization of characterization,the tendency to solidify costume writing,and the dilemma of narrative manipulation,and then explores the influence of the portrayal of Taoist priests in popular novels in the mid and later period of the Ming dynasty on later novels,taking Lv Ye Xian Zong and A Dream of Red Mansions in the Qing dynasty as examples. |
