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A Study of Remarks on Prose in the Ming Dynasty and the Construction of Prose Theory from the Viewpoint of the Modern Times

Gong Zongjie   

  1. the Mr. Simon Suen and Mrs. Mary Suen Sino-Humanitas Institute, Hong Kong Baptist University
  • Online:2017-11-25 Published:2017-10-18
  • About author:Gong Zongjie, Ph.D., is a research associate at the Mr. Simon Suen and Mrs. Mary Suen Sino-Humanitas Institute, Hong Kong Baptist University. His research interest is the literature of the Ming Dynasty.

Abstract: Remarks on prose provide significant resources for the prose theory of ancient China. In recent years, with the publication of Chinese scholar Wang Shuizhao's Remarks on Prose through the Ages and the progress in the construction of ancient prose theory, the collation and study of remarks on prose of each dynasty has attracted greater attention. As for the works of the Ming dynasty, the study of which is still in a primary stage presently, the re-evaluation of their historical status and theoretical contributions, along with literature survey, is the premise for its further development. Based on this, and from a viewpoint of the modern times, this essay attempts to take historical context of the Ming dynasty into consideration, including the publishing industry, the educational and imperial examination system, thus providing feasible approaches to remarks on prose in the Ming dynasty as well as the construction of prose theory.

Key words: remarks on prose, prose theory, the modern times