Ming Dynasty Literature

Time of Change…

   The Ming period was a time of great ferment and change in Chinese literature. Literature and literary style had become fossilized by the insistence by the scholars on a rigid style and adherence to the Chinese classics.

In classical Chinese literary forms (essays, philosophy, and poetry - all written in Classical Chinese) Chinese literature during the Ming is generally conservative.

Shih-chu songs

The vital and dynamic literary activity, however, occurred at the fringes of literary respectability, in popular literary forms such as: dramathe novelthe short storya racy and popular verse form called Shih-chu songs.

Rise of popular literatureThe rise of popular literature during the Ming period can be ascribed to several reasons:(1)economic expansion created a middle class of merchants and even laborers with more money to spare on diversionary activities (2)Standards of living increased all throughout China, but particularly in the south(3)Innovations in paper manufacture made paper cheaper, and the Ming period is characterized by the phenomenal growth of printers all throughout the empire.

During the entire Ming period, the reigns of the Chia-ching emperor (1522-1566) and the Wan-li emperor (1572-1619) were the most active periods in literary publishing.

The DramaThe drama had developed in China during the Yüan period. Yüan drama was primarily characterized by simplicity, naturalness, and rigid rules for composition and acting. The Hong-wu emperor was himself very fond of drama; several of his sons wrote dramas and composed music for them. Ming drama, unlike Yüan drama, however, soon became a much more flexible and elaborate medium.

The Stage

All drama was in verse, and the stage was bare of scenery. Actors, however, dressed in magnificent costumes and elaborate makeup.Chinese theater was musical; the actors didn't recite lines, but sung them accompanied by an orchestra. By the end of the Ming, the stage had become one of the most popular pastimes in the country.

The Novel

The most important literary form invented in the Ming period was the vernacular novel; it was written in vernacular rather than Classical Chinese. It grew out of storytelling and Buddhist preaching; these were the two most popular literary forms during the Southern Sung. The first novels in the Ming were only simple collections of manuscript stories that storytellers collected for their own use.

Confucian scholarsThese stories were collated by more educated literary artists and took the form of long novels.

Confucian scholars were divided about the novel:

some declared that it was vulgar, while others advocated the development of new literary forms to fit the times

many scholars felt that there was nothing more to accomplish in standard Chinese letters or philosophy. It was this group of highly literary and educated men who developed the long novel into an art form.

The long novel

Written in plain and common language, the long novel dealt with philosophical, religious and social issues, while remaining humorous and filled with adventure.

Three famous Ming Novels

The three most famous Ming novels are:

Journey to the West (Hsi-yu chi , also called, The Monkey King )Tale of the Water Margin (Shui-hu chuan )The Plum in the Golden Vase (Chin-p'ing mei ).

Journey to the West

Journey to the West is perhaps the most read and most famous classic Chinese novel

It was originally a series of oral and written stories and was composed in its final format by the scholar-official, Wu Ch'eng-en (1500?-1582) and published in 1592.

Historical basisIt is a supernatural story about gods and demons fighting for supremacy.

It is loosely based on a real historical character and his life, the Chinese Buddhist monk, Hsuan Tsang (602-664).

He journeyed to India and brought back the Sutra, or Buddhist holy book, and translated it into Chinese on his return to China.

Supernatural ElementsThe novel, however, introduces a

wealth of allegorical and supernatural elements, including:

Fables

Legends

Popular superstitions

Monster stories

The novel is suffused with Confucian and Taoist elements as well.

Part I:The novel has two parts:

Part I. Narrates the early history of the Monkey King spirit, a rebellious spirit born out of a rock. He defies Yu Huang Ta Ti, "The Great Emperor of Jade," that rules heaven, earth, sea, and the underworld.

After conquering several areas of creation and fighting with the Heavenly Army, the defiant monkey spirit grows stronger and more clever.

Desperate, the Great Emperor of Jade asks Buddha for help.

The Buddha then offers to make the Monkey Spirit a disciple and, with a Pig spirit, Pigsy, and a former sea-monster, Sandy, the Buddha begins his journey west to find the sutra.

Part II:

Part II. Thus begins the second part which consists of eighty-one dangers encountered by Buddha and his three spirits; these adventures display the powers and hidden abilities of the three spirit disciples.

Tale of the Water MarginTale of the Water Margin is a loosely

connected series of tales about a group of bandits; the stories are loosely based on actual historical events in the Sung dynasty.

We have no idea who composed the stories into their final form, but literary scholars believe that the novel had been shaped and re-shaped by scholar-officials for over a century before it was published in the 1580's.

Tale of the Water Margin was the most influential and popular novel of the Ming period.

The Plum in the Golden Vase

The Plum in the Golden Vase is a satirical novel set in the Sung period that really concerns Ming society during the Wan-li period (1572-1619).

The novel centers around the domestic life of Hsi-men Ch'ing, a corrupt merchant with six wives and concubines who slowly destroys himself with conspicuous consumption, political imbroglios, and sexual escapades.

The core of the novel is a critique of the changes that the economic boom of the sixteenth century brought to Ming society; in particular, the novel argues that the economic growth of the late Ming was eroding traditional values.

The corruption and spiritual exhaustion of the household of Hsi-men Ch'ing reflects the larger corruption and materiality of late sixteenth century Ming culture.

Shih-chü songs

The rise of the vernacular Chinese novel was mirrored by the rise of vernacular, popular poetry. The most popular of these new genres of poetry were the Shih-chü songs. Regarded by the literary classes as vulgar, the Shih-chü songs were indecent, rhyming narratives.

Popular in both the South and the North, common people memorized, performed, and listened to them all the time

Shih-chü songs were the most dynamic and universal aspects of Chinese popular culture during the Ming.

In the late sixteenth century, Shih-chü songs were compiled and published.

Focus onJourney to the

West

Journey to the West

Journey to the West, the most brilliant Chinese mythological novel, came out in the mid Ming Dynasty. It was written by Wu Cheng'en (c. 1500-c. 1582).

The Story…Journey to the West tells the story of how Xuan Zang, a Buddhist monk of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), endures countless difficulties imposed by various monsters and demons, and finally gets to the West assisted by his three disciples:

Sun Wukong (Monkey King)

Pigsy

Friar Sha

The Monkey King is the most brilliant figure in the novel.

He loves freedom and has a fighting spirit.

He is arrogant and unyielding in face of gods and Buddha, but at the same time very obedient and loyal to his master, Xuan Zang.

Characters…Xuan Zang's character embodies both the piety of a Buddhist monk and the stubbornness of a feudal scholar.

The author criticizes Xuan Zang's timidity and incompetence by contrasting his character to Sun Wukong's bravery and resourcefulness.

Pigsy is an important foil in the novel. He is rude and avaricious, and lusts after women. His arrogance and self-pitying behavior brings much comic relief to the novel.

Mirrors real life…Journey to the West imagines a world of rigid hierarchy managed by gods, which apparently mirrors the social reality of the actual world.

The almighty Jade Emperor (the Supreme Deity of Taoism), the High Lord, the Buddhist monks and all kinds of cruel monsters and demons are all archetypes to be found in real life.

The SupernaturalJourney to the West has a strong romantic flavor. The author creates a supernatural world, but the gods and spirits, their magic weapons and even the environment in which they live are all based on realityWhile depicting various gods and demons, the author not only endows them with supernatural abilities but also with the attributive character of an animal.

For example…

Sun Wukong's agility and impatience comes from a monkey's character, while his optimism and rebellious personality appear to be human.

In different ways, rich and fantastic imagination and real life are well blended in Journey to the West.

Structure of the storyThe structure of Journey to the West

centers on characters, with the plot being carried out with their actions.

All the 81 difficulties Xuan Zang and his disciples encounter are vividly told around the complicated relationships among Buddhist monks, Buddhas and demons, with each story remaining relatively independent.