| dc.description.abstract | According to San Yan: Common Words to Warn the World (Jingshi tongyan), Constant Words to Awaken the World (Xingshi hengyan), and Clear Words to Inform the World (Yushi mingyan)—collected, edited, or written by Feng Menglong (Ming)
Twenty stories from the three collections will be selected for intense reading and close analysis on condition that they all took place in Lin-an (modern Hangzhou), the capital of Southern Song Dynasty. Special attention will be given to the characteristics of Lin-an after the disastrous reign period Jingkang in late Northern Song period in terms of three aspects: commercial development, Song loyalism (yimin ideology), and religious impact. Three fictional characters will be analyzed to probe the development of Lin-an: Chin Zhueng- Nouveau Riche (The Oil-vendor and the Courtesan), Prefecture King of Xian-an--Han Shizhong (Artisan Ts’’ui and his Ghost Wife), and Bai Suzhen (Madame White Snake Jailed Eternally in the Leifeng Pagoda).
There are three parts in my dissertation. In part one the rise and fall of scholar-officials’ and merchants’ social status from Tang to Song Dynasty will be discussed in the course. It is noticeable that numbers of commoners arose to become rich and important by means of fortune or other factors during the Southern Song Dynasty. For this reason, the researcher will also explore the embodiment of the influence of sudden rich in the selected stories. Moreover, there will be an in-depth evaluation of Chin Zhueng, the Oil-vendor, who has different internal growth from characters in other stories.
In part two the researcher will mainly focus on the topic “memory” which was expansively discussed at that period. The likely beautification and variations of “memory” for the loyalists’ and regional immigrants’ will also be analyzed in aspects of food, festivals, and eras.
In part three the researcher will present how the religious synthesis of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism placed great influence on the society, especially in Lin-an. The concepts of “rupa is sunya” and “corresponding relations of cause and effect in the moral realm” will be proved to have considerable influence on upper-class intellectuals and lower-class commoners. It is notable that numerous religious figures came out at that period no matter they were protagonists or antagonists in Buddhism or Taoism.
Finally the researcher will connect ideas about “rover” with both written context and personal journey to the modern Hangzhou, hence one can bears witness to the different faces of Lin-an from ancient times to the present. | en_US |