Records of what he saw and heard of: the Principle and Methods in the Composition of Classical Chinese Xiaoshuo

Abstract

Abstract: Xiaoshuo (lit. petty discourse) in classical Chinese, the predominant genre of xiaoshuo in ancient China, is different from vernacular xiaoshuo and western novel. Its major principle and methods are accounts of what one saw or heard of rather than mere conception or fiction. This feature finds clear expression in elaborations on ancient works about bibliography, in the naming of xiaoshuo, in the preface or postscript of xiaoshuo, and in scholarly discussions of ancient China. In modern times, due to the influence of the Western conception of the novel, modern elements and strandards of writing such as fictionality, narrative and character are incorporated into the examination of ancient Chinese xiaoshuo, and therefore misunderstandings arise. It is important to return to the original concept of xiaoshuo and to respect the fact that xiaoshuo means accounts of what one saw and heard of so that the history of xiaoshuo in classical Chinese can be reconstructed.

Key words: classical Chinese xiaoshuo (petty discourse), record, account, fiction

CLC Number:

Luo Ning. Records of what he saw and heard of: the Principle and Methods in the Composition of Classical Chinese Xiaoshuo[J]. Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, 2018, 38(5): 118-131.

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