With the prosperity of novels in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the late Ming Dynasty, the theoretical criticism of novels in the Ming Dynasty has also entered a new stage of development. The criticism of various types of novels and the emergence of some more insightful critics have greatly enriched the theoretical criticism of novels in China and have high value.
(i) Theory of the historical novel
The emergence of the long popular novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" at the end of the Yuan and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty brought controversy to the theoretical circles of novels. Around the characteristics and meaning of historical fiction, multiple factions have formed. The "Preface to the Popular Interpretation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms" written by Jiang Daqi (born and died unknown, middle Ming Dynasty) signed by the Yong Fool is the earliest surviving critical monograph on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in China, and it is also the first popular novel monograph in China. The value of this preface is mainly that he commented on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms from the perspective of discussing the characteristics and significance of the historical novel, not just on the facts. He first pointed out the great significance of writing history books at the beginning of the article, then criticized the different tendencies of historical texts and historical texts, which are difficult to understand and a rough and vulgar, and then he used the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as a model to put forward his own views on historical novels. Jiang Daqi wrote:
"Ruo Dongyuan Luo Guanzhong, with the biography of Chen Shou of Pingyang, examined the history of the various countries, from the first year of the Han Ling Emperor Zhongping, and finally the first year of jin Taikang, pay attention to the gains and losses, and see the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". The text is not very deep, the words are not very vulgar, the facts are actually, and the history is almost history. Gai wants to read the reciters of everyone to know, if the poem so-called lane song of the righteousness also. ”
Here, Jiang Shi proposed that the content of historical novels should be based on history and have some gains and losses, and the form should be simple and easy to understand, elegant and common appreciation, and the purpose is to make everyone understand the meaning of it, and to be educated while understanding history, which requires that historical novels should be endowed with certain ideological significance. Obviously, Jiang Daqi has taken into account the position of the broad masses of the people and has a certain progressive significance.
After the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, long historical novels were "still in the world" and "imitators are becoming more and more numerous", so the relevant theories have become more and more developed. One of them, Lin Han's "Sui and Tang Zhi Preface", regarded "supplementing the history of the right history" as the purpose of historical fiction creation, which had a certain influence at that time. The so-called "supplement to the correct history" emphasizes that the people portrayed in historical novels are all related to weathering, so that "fools and fools can be seen at a glance", so it is necessary to adopt a simple and easy form of expression. Lin Han's theory is subjectively to improve the status of historical novels, so that people do not always regard novels as barnyards, but he mainly advocates the "indoctrination" function of historical novels, and he also stands on the position of "respecting history". In addition, the meaning of the word "complement" that Lin said is ambiguous, so that there are two understandings of making up for the simple with details and making up the truth with the virtual.
Compared with the situation that Lin Said's expression of the attitude of "honoring history" is not clear, resulting in two kinds of misunderstandings, the "Feather Messenger" theory proposed in the "Introduction to the Popular Interpretation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms" signed by The Beard Repairer is much clearer. In this introduction, he clearly proposed that historical novels should "be a messenger without violating the wing" and not allow writers to have any artistic processing. This view was not only a reflection of the orthodox concept of society at that time, but also had a greater impact on the criticism of historical novels in later generations, and gradually formed the "Feather Wing Letter History" school that strictly relied on historical records.
(ii) The theory of mythical fiction
Mythical novels have long existed, and "Journey to the West" is an outstanding representative of them. Journey to the West, one of the so-called Four Wonder Books, has a strong romantic color, which is very different from the popular historical novels of the time, so it has attracted the attention of a considerable number of readers and critics. However, in the face of its bizarre mythical stories, magical and illusory art forms, and strong religious colors, many critics are either short-sighted or have different intentions, and there are many shallow and boring commentators. In contrast, the discussion of the novels of gods and monsters by Wu Cheng'en (1510-1582 AD), author of Journey to the West, and the arguments of critics such as Xie Zhaochun, are more valuable.
Wu Cheng'en himself did not actually leave a single word about "Journey to the West", but before he wrote "Journey to the West", he had compiled a legendary collection of novels" "Yu Dingzhi", in which he expressed some of his views on the novels of gods and monsters, the most important of which was the elaboration of the purpose of the creation of the novels of the gods and monsters. Its prelude cloud:
"Although the name of my book is Zhi Wei, Gai is not dedicated to ghosts, and the time is mutated in the human world, and there are also subtle precepts. Xi Yu received tribute and wrote a charm to make the people disobey The Buddha. Reading the editor, Yi Yi is easy to worry about, how many people have xia's legacy? The history of the country is not yu dare to discuss, and the Noshi clan is how to let it go. Composed "Yu Dingzhi". ”
It can be seen that Wu Cheng'en did not create mysterious novels to pursue those magical and strange ideas, but to reflect reality, have some implications, and try to play a role in the study of national history. From this, we can infer that the creation of "Journey to the West" actually has a certain realistic purpose.
Among the many commentaries on Journey to the West, Xie Zhaochun (1567-1624 AD) is quite insightful. In "Wenhai Pisha", he pointed out the historical origin and inheritance relationship of "Journey to the West" to prove the value of this book, in addition to which he paid more attention to its ideological significance. He emphasized that the mysterious novels such as "Journey to the West", which seem to be extremely "illusory and undeserved", are actually "also reasonable", and there are also "fables" in "Man Yan's False Birth" (see "Five Miscellaneous Tricks"). He also emphasized the rationality and necessity of artistic fiction in the creation of novels, and he took the legends of historical novels such as "Xijing Miscellaneous Records", "Zhao Feiyan's Outer Biography", "Qiu Qiuke", and "Red Line" as examples, proving that the novel must not be written without necessarily having something true, if it is not so that there must be a little "grotesque", it is better to just look at the history. Xie Zhaochun obviously attaches great importance to fiction in the art of fiction, believing that the standard for measuring fiction is not whether it is true or false, but only whether it is "the end of the situation". As a result, Xie Zhaochun not only did not reject the "three-point fiction" of "Three Kingdoms", but on the contrary, he believed that it was "too real and nearly corrupt", and its heavy fiction can be seen.
Later Yuan Yuling (born unknown, died about the thirteenth year of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty, that is, 1674 AD) further developed Xie Zhaochun's views, discussing the relationship between "illusion" and "truth", correctly pointing out the relationship between the truth of art and the reality of life. Their exposition of the "virtual" and "illusory" problems of novel creation, as well as their understanding of the "allegorical" function of the mythical novel, provided a theoretical basis for the correct evaluation of "Journey to the West" later.
(3) The Theory of Fiction by Li Yan and Ye Day
Li Zhen (1527-1602 AD), also known as Hongfu (宏甫), was a resident of Wenling and a native of Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian. Quanzhou has been a port for China's overseas trade since ancient times, and Li Yan was born into a seafaring and business family. The social environment in the embryonic period of Zhenism and the influence within the family made Li Yan cultivate a rebellious spirit against feudal etiquette and feudal Taoism from an early age. At the age of 26, he served as a minor official for more than 20 years, and finally became the governor of Yao'an, Yunnan. Years of eunuch life allowed him to widely observe and experience the dark social reality, and rebellious ideas gradually matured. In addition, the Wang Shouren (Yang Ming) doctrine that was popular in society at that time to promote "original heart" and "conscience" also gave him a deep influence. Li Resigned at the age of 54 and devoted himself to writing books and writings, fiercely criticizing the ideology of the society and the ruling class at that time. His doctrine was once popular, "tens of millions of Confucian followers" (Shen Zhan's "Recent Events"). This caused great fear and hatred among the feudal rulers. In the 30th year of the Wanli Dynasty (1602 AD), Emperor Mingshen Zhu Yijun personally ordered that Li Zhen, who was 76 years old at the time, be imprisoned and punished for the crime of "daring to advocate chaos and deceive the people". Li Yanning died unyieldingly and killed himself in prison.
Consistent with Li Zhen's heretical ideas in philosophy and politics, he also put forward a series of innovative views and propositions in literary theory. The core of Li Zhen's literary thought is the "childlike heart" theory. The so-called "childlike heart", according to Li Zhen's own interpretation, is the "true heart", which is "the original heart of the first thought" ("The Child's Heart"). In today's parlance, it is a true sense of truth that is not tainted by feudal Taoism and reflects the views and emotions of some citizens. He believes that only those who have a "childlike heart" can be a real person and write "the best text under the heavens". Li Yan's statement, departing from people's social practice and class status to talk about "childlike heart" in the abstract, certainly has a strong idealistic color; he used "childlike heart" to oppose the feudal Taoism that dominated at that time, and in view of the social reality of "omnipresence" at that time, he asked writers to maintain a "childlike heart," respect individuality, get rid of shackles, and express their chest directly, reflecting the spirit of the times in which the citizen class demanded freedom and liberation, and had its progressive historical significance.
Starting from his basic literary ideas, Li Yan commented on a variety of opera and novel works during his lifetime, the most striking of which was his comment on the novel "Water Margin".
In the thirty-eighth year of the Ming Dynasty (1610 AD), Hangzhou Ronghetang published a "Li Zhuowu Criticism of the Zhongyi Water Margin", one hundred volumes, one hundred times; a little later, another Yuan Wuya's "Li Zhuowu Commentary on the Complete Biography of the Zhongyi Water Margin" was published, one hundred and twenty times, not divided into volumes. The two versions are true and false, and there have always been disputes. Now it is generally believed that the Hundred Returns Book must be Ye Day's false trust, and Yuan Wuya's Hundred and Twenty Times Book claims to have been obtained from Li Zhen's protégé Yang Dingjian, which seems to be credible, but there are also some problems in it. However, there are data to prove that Li Zhen did comment on "Water Margin". Here, let's examine the one hundred and twenty times as Li Yan's commentary. In addition, Li Zhen also wrote a "Preface to the Transmission of the Water Margin of Loyalty and Righteousness" (included in the "Li's Burning Of Books, Volume III"), which is generally recognized as the work of Li Yan himself, and is a relatively reliable material for studying Li Zhen's commentary on the "Water Margin".
One of the greatest characteristics of Li Zhen's comment on "Water Margin" is that he dared to break the traditional prejudice of the feudal ruling class in denouncing "Water Margin" as a book of "thieves", and made a high degree of affirmation and praise for the ideological and artistic value of this book. According to Zhou Hui's "Trivia of Jinling", Li Yan once said:
There are five major articles in the universe: Han has Sima Zichang's "History", Tang has Du Zimei's collection, Song has Su Zizhan's collection, Yuan has Shi Nai'an's "Water Margin", and Ming has Li Xianji's collection.
Here, he compares "Water Margin" with literary masterpieces such as "Shi Ji" and Du Shi, which have been highly respected by literati of all generations, showing extraordinary insight and boldness.
In the "Preface to the Transmission of the Zhongyi Water Margin", Li Yan pointed out:
"Water Margin", the work of anger also. Cover from the Song room is not competitive, the crown is upside down, the great sage is under, and the xiao is not on the top. Taming Yi Di is on the top, the Central Plains is down, and for a while the Emperor is still in the Hall of Yan Que, na coin is a subject, and is willing to bend his knees to the dog and sheep. Shi and Luo Ergong's body was in Yuan, and his heart was in Song; although he was born on The First Day, he was really angry about Song Affairs. If it is the northern hunt of the second emperor of anger, it is called the great destruction of the Liao to vent his anger; the angry south crossing of Gou An is called the destruction of Fang La to vent his anger. Dare to ask who cares? Then the strong man of the water margin gathered the day before yesterday, and he could not be loyal and righteous. It was Gu Shi and Luo Er who passed on "Water Margin" and returned it to the name of Zhongyi.
Here, Li Yan inherited Sima Qian's idea of "writing a book of anger", pointed out that "Water Margin" is "the work of anger", revealed that the social root of "Water Margin" is the corruption and incompetence of the feudal ruling clique, advocated that the writing of novels should dare to expose reality and dare to needle the shortcomings of the times, and embodied his spirit of struggle against reality. However, he summarized the theme of "Water Margin" as the word "loyalty and righteousness", and believed that the heroes of water margin were "powerful and wise people who are loyal and righteous". It is said that from the feudal emperor to the minister of culture and military affairs, it is indispensable to read "Water Margin", which is simply to say that "Water Margin" is a textbook that is conducive to feudal rule. On the one hand, this greatly improved the social status of "Water Margin" and promoted the spread of the novel under the social conditions at that time, but it also showed that Li Yan did not really jump out of the position of the feudal landlord class. The purpose of his praise of "Water Margin" was fundamentally to maintain the rule of the Ming Dynasty.
The specific evaluation of the hundred and twenty editions of "Water Margin" emphasizes loyalty and righteousness and praises Zhao'an as much as the "Preface" in terms of ideological content. Zhongyi and Zhao'an are regarded as the foundation of "Water Margin", and Song Jiang is also regarded as the embodiment of Zhongyi. Proceeding from loyalty and righteousness, the critics fiercely attacked traitors and corrupt officials as opposites. The "strongmen" who were forced into the Water Margin were sympathetic and praised. He enthusiastically praised the heroes of the Water Margin as "all powerful and virtuous and loyal and righteous people", while pointing out that the feudal ruling class and its officials at all levels were the real robbers. In the fifty-seventh commentary, the critic wrote: "A monk read here that Peach Blossom Mountain, Erlong Mountain, and White Tiger Mountain were all robbers, and sighed: 'At that time, there were many bandits! Yu Yue: "At that time, there were still more bandits in the imperial court. It is invaluable that these words come from a person from a ruling class. Although the subjective motivation of critics opposing corrupt officials and praising heroes was to promote loyalty and maintain feudal rule, objectively affirming that "Water Margin" exposed the darkness of society and praised the people's uprising, which was of progressive significance at that time.
Although the specific evaluation of the 120th edition of "Water Margin" is not much ink in art analysis, there are also many considerable points. For example, for the author of "Water Margin", who is good at grasping the personalized characteristics of the characters and copying them, the critics give high evaluations in many criticisms. The ninth criticism said: "Water Margin" "Mo (G) wrote that Lu Zhi was deep in the depths of a fierce husband; Mo wrote that at the head of the Hong Sect, he was jealous of the identity of the villain, to the place where he was sent, one anger and one joy, suddenly shifting, aggressive and realistic, and overwhelming"; the third criticism said: "Water Margin" describes the "wonderfulness" of the characters, "All in the same and different places, such as Lu Zhishen, Li Kui, Wu Song, Ruan Xiaoqi, Shi Xiu, Hu Yanzhuo, Liu Tang and many others are acute, the canal description is carved, each has its own style, each has its own situation, each has its own family number, each has its own identity, No difference, half a mix, read to distinguish oneself, do not have to see its name, see the facts, know someone or someone also." In addition, some of the comments on the plot structure, detailed description, scene embellishment, atmosphere setting, etc., are also very sophisticated. These have played a certain role in correctly understanding the creative characteristics and artistic achievements of novels, and affirming and improving the literary value of novels.
Li Yan once said that novel writing is actually "taking the wine glass of others and pouring out their own blocks" ("Burning Books and Miscellaneous Notes"). That is to say, novel creation is to express the depression and unfairness in the author's heart by telling other people's stories. Li Yan's own novel review also has this characteristic. He often commented on his works and used the topic to play a role, commenting on the social and moral atmosphere of the time, in order to publicize his political, moral and outlook on life. This makes his novel criticism no longer the kind of shallow words that booksellers used to write when publishing novels, but with strong political argument and philosophical rationality, and has become a form of literary criticism with extensive social impact and practical struggle significance.
Due to class and historical limitations, there are also some serious problems in Li Yan's "Water Margin" commentary. For example, he made false affirmations and praises for the "Zhao'an" thought expressed in "Water Margin" and song Jiang, the embodiment of this idea. He summarized the theme ideas of "Water Margin" as "loyalty" and "loyalty and filial piety", which are prominent manifestations of this limitation. This is the dross that we must pay attention to removing when we critically inherit Li Zhen's literary and ideological legacy.
Li Yan's "Water Margin" commentary can not only integrate individual experience with reality, express indignation in the heart, play a certain critical role in the dark reality, strengthen the understanding and educational function of the novel, and can also "understand the author's meaning." "The Heart of the OpenEr" makes the artistic value of the novel reflected, and plays a considerable role in promoting the popularity of the novel and people's correct understanding of it. In addition, this form of evaluation, which includes eyebrow batch, sandwich batch, and final total evaluation plus circle point, is also widely used. Li Yan's "Water Margin" commentary has had a profound impact on the evaluation of novels and the development of novel theory in later generations.
At that time, many of the long novel commentaries circulating in the society under the name of Li Zhen, including the Hundred Huirong and the Tang Edition "Water Margin", were actually written by Ye Tian, and these comments were superior in ideology and art to the hundred and twenty commentaries. Unfortunately, Ye Tian fell into disgrace before his death, and was buried for a long time after his death, and his life situation is basically unknown.
The characteristic of Ye Tian's commentary on "Water Margin" is that its exposure of social darkness is more harsh and ruthless, while the propaganda of "loyalty" is weakened, and his main emphasis is on "righteousness" rather than "loyalty". Moreover, his evaluation of Song Jiang was completely opposite to That of Li Zhen, who considered him to be a "false Taoist and a true bandit." As far as his artistic insights are concerned, Ye Tian's comments are also much richer and more profound than Li Zhen's. He clearly saw the connection and difference between the truth of art and the reality of life, and affirmed the true value of art. As for the standard of "truth", he believes that as long as the description is "true feelings", the novel will appear real and believable, and "false" can also come true, and those painstakingly arranged coincidences, because they are divorced from reality, will only make the work fail. The characteristics and contributions of Ye Tian's novels also lie in his analysis of the character image and the discussion of grasping the typical personality of the character. Ye Tian once wrote a monograph on the moral, political, and moral superiority of Water Margin figures, "The Advantages and Disadvantages of Liangshan Po One Hundred Singles and Eight People." In addition, he also has a high opinion on the relationship between the commonality and personality of the characters, pointing out that the beauty of character shaping is that "there is discernment between the same and different places". He demanded that the language of the characters should conform to the characters and identities, be appropriate and not distorted, and not disregard the logic of character development for the sake of pursuing the bizarreness of the plot. These views of his greatly inspired the character theory of the novel of Jin Renrui in later generations. In addition, another feature of Ye Tian's novels is the emphasis on "fun". The "fun" he said mainly refers to the natural and interesting dramatic words and deeds that can arouse the reader's interest and pleasure, and the emphasis on "fun" is mainly aimed at literary retrofuturism, which is indeed a blow to dogma and rigid style.