Confucianism in fiction: A study of Hsia Ching-ch'u's 'Yeh-sou p'u-yen'.

摘要

This is a study of one classical Chinese novel: Hsia Ching-ch'u's (1705-1787) Yeh-sou p'u-yen.;The novel tells the story of how a heroic Confucian scholar named Wen Su-ch'en grapples with the many faces of evil, and ultimately saves Chinese civilization. But such a summary conveys only the faintest shadow of the work. For the chief characteristic of Yeh-sou p'u-yen is its expansive complexity. Sprawling over one hundred and fifty chapters, it introduces hundreds of characters, dozens of expeditions, and countless digressions on such diverse topics as philosophy, medicine, aboriginal customs, sexuality, and the supernatural.;The main thesis of the dissertation is that Yeh-sou p'u-yen's constant detours and digressions reflect not failures in authorial discipline, but conscious efforts to portray the complexities involved in actually living a Confucian life. The two basic structural elements of the novel--the plot and the digressions--mirror two different visions of the world. While the plot presents the orthodox vision of Confucian virtue pitted against heterodox disorder, the digressions articulate a universe far too rich and diverse to be reduced to such neat dichotomies. In the end, Yeh-sou p'u-yen offers a portrait of the unresolvable tension between the lucid simplicity of the ideal, and the refractory obscurities of the real--between Confucian philosophy and Confucian life.;There are six chapters. Chapter One discusses Hsia's life and other writings, and situates the author in the intellectual climate of his time. Chapter Two analyses the narrative function of digressions, and advances the main argument about their thematic significance. Chapter Three shows how the book's main character, Wen Su-ch'en, embodies the tensions between ideals and practical exigency. Chapters Four, Five, and Six focus, respectively, on three themes that run throughout Yeh-sou p'u-yen: the difficulties of translating Confucian ideals into practice; the role of sexuality in Confucian life; and the relationship between Confucian understanding and the supernatural.