A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890―1920) [1st ed. 2021] 9813348887, 9789813348882

Table of contents :
Translator’s Notes
Introduction to the Writer and the Translator
Introduction to the Writer
Introduction to the Translator
Contents
1 Birth of New Fiction in China
1.1 Origin and Development of Fiction Revolution in China
1.2 The Force Behind New Fiction
1.3 Rise of the New Novelists
1.4 New Fiction as the Usher of the Twentieth-Century Modern Chinese Fiction
2 Inspiration and Simulation from Foreign Fictions
2.1 An Open Eye to the World
2.2 Free Translation in Trend
2.3 Achievements of Foreign Fictions Translated
2.4 Misunderstanding in the Acceptance of Foreign Fictions
3 Commercialization of Fictions and Rise of Book Printing
3.1 Pioneers of Fiction Markets
3.2 Professionalization of Novelists
3.3 Commercialization of New Fiction
3.4 Fictions in Written Form
References
4 Swaying Between Philistinism and Sublimity
4.1 Between Philistinism-and-Sublimity and Old-and-New
4.2 From Pop Readings to Serious Literature—Attempt of Social Redemption of China
4.3 Return to Philistinism—Leisurely Writing of the School of Saturday
4.4 Coexistence of Sublime Writing and Leisurely Writing
5 Compound Plot and Scenic Structure
5.1 Bead-Flower Structure
5.2 Compound Plot
5.3 Revival of Short Stories
5.4 Microcosmic Structures and Scenic Structures
6 Coexistence of Classical Chinese and Vernacular Chinese in Fiction Writing
6.1 Contention Between Classical Chinese Fictions and Vernacular Chinese Fictions
6.2 Fictions in Vernacular Chinese and Fictions in Dialects
6.3 Fictions in Classical Chinese and Fictions of Rhythmical Prose of Parallelism and Ornateness
6.4 Peculiar Stylistic Features of Translations
7 From Romances to Officialdom Novels
7.1 Decline of the Model of Righteous-Officials-in-Opposition-to-Evil-Officials
7.2 Rise of the Model of Officials-in-Opposition-to-Civilians
7.3 Love Stories with No Love
7.4 Cultural Significance of Love Triangles
8 Travelers in Narratives
8.1 Motif of Enlightenment and Unity of Plot
8.2 Fillers of Historical Documents and Limited Perspective
8.3 Involvement of Travelogues in Novels
8.4 Witness of the Hardships of the People
9 Documentation, Condemnation, and Sentimentality
9.1 From Realism to Documentation
9.2 From Satire to Condemnation
9.3 From Tragic Heroism to Mournful Love
Appendix A Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916)
Appendix B List of Chinese Writers and Translators
Appendix C List of Articles and Books
References

Citation preview

Pingyuan Chen

A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920)

A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920)

Pingyuan Chen

A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920)

Pingyuan Chen Peking University Beijing, China Translated by Minhong Lyu

ISBN 978-981-33-4888-2 ISBN 978-981-33-4889-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9 Jointly published with Peking University Press The print edition is not for sale in China Mainland. Customers from China Mainland please order the print book from Peking University Press. © Peking University Press 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publishers, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publishers nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publishers remain neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Translator’s Notes

The book makes a historical study of early modern Chinese fictions during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican China (the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century). It explores the factors that have impacted the emergence and development of the early modern Chinese fictions with consideration of the historical, political, and cultural background of the time. It not only studies synchronically the established norms of fiction writing and the new patterns of fiction writing in China that were influenced by the overseas fiction writing, especially by the Western fiction writing, but also draws diachronic pictures of the distinctive difference between classical Chinese fictions and the early modern Chinese fictions in the respects of thematic pattern, conception, and stylistic and aesthetic features. Instead of a chronological heap of historical references and documents, the book fluctuates on the line of the evolution of modern Chinese fiction writing with supportive evidences of the historical, political, and cultural background in which modern Chinese fictions were brewed and developed. There are 9 chapters in the book. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the topic—the birth of modern Chinese fictions in the early twentieth century, focusing on the rise of the Revolution of Fiction and the emergence of New Fiction in China that start the writing of modern Chinese fictions. Chapters 2– 4 discuss the impact on the early modern Chinese fictions from four aspects: the influence of the translation of overseas fictions, the market expansion of modern Chinese fictions, the professionalization of fiction writers, and the conflict between the elegant taste of intellectuals and their concern of the philistine life of the common people. Chapters 5– 9 analyze the motivation and the development of modern Chinese fictions from five aspects, namely, fiction structures, stylistic features, thematic patterns, narrative functions, and aesthetic value. Here are some tips for the translation of the book. First, as is known, it is the traditional custom of Chinese literati to have numerous pseudonyms and pen names, especially in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. Therefore, the same writer is often referred to with different names in the book. In awe of the sourcebook and Chinese traditional culture, different names in the book are retained in the translation, but their official names are given in v

vi

Translator’s Notes

brackets. For example, Yinbansheng (Zhong Junwen), Donghai Juewo (Xu Nianci), Juewo (Xu Nianci), Pifasheng (Luo Pu). Second, except for some of the eminent figures’ conventional Roman spelling (e.g. Hsia Chih-tsing for 夏志清), the Romanization of Chinese names in this book adopts Modern Chinese Pinyin System (e.g. Wu Jianren for 吴趼人, rather than WuKien-zeng) since the Roman phonetic form in the late Qing and the early Republican period was not mature and was used multifariously. Third, quite a number of foreign fictions, especially Western fictions, are involved in the book. The translator tried her best to restore the English title of the original fiction and other information if necessary. However, it should be noted that since literary translation had just emerged in the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, no special attention was paid to indicating the original author of the novel translated. Many novels translated would have the Chinese titles and only pointed out that the novel was a translation. Besides, the selection of the original works was uneven at the time and some original works are third-rate indeed, making it difficult to find the accurate information of the original title and its author. In addition, there was once a trend of the time in which the translation of fictions was more popular than the creation of novels. A large number of “pseudo translations” came out thereupon, and accordingly there is no way to detect the information of its “original” title and author. Therefore, titles of these novels are translated according to the story and the meaning of the Chinese title. Fourth, as a book of historical research, it includes a great deal of historical references and annotations of articles and books. For the convenience of the English readers, in the book translated, it adds another two appendixes. One is “List of Chinese Writers and Translators”, giving the names of Chinese writers and translators involved in the book; the other is “List of Articles and Books”, giving the titles of Chinese books, essays, articles, or of Chinese translations of the foreign fictions. All of the titles in the appendixes are given in both English and Chinese characters and Roman spelling in Chinese Pinyin form so as to make it convenient for a contrast reading for those who can read Chinese. The translator is indebted to the original author of the book, Mr. Chen Pingyuan, who was always patient with the translator with her questions in the translation of the book, to Mr. Lucian, X. Lu and Mr. Christian Dzadek, who helped to do the proofreading of the English version, and to Mrs. Zhao Xin who helped to get in touch with the publisher. Finally, due to the translator’s limit of ability, there could be imperfections or mistakes in the translation; opinions and corrections are always welcome.

Translator’s Notes

vii

Introduction to the Writer and the Translator Introduction to the Writer Pingyuan Chen is a professor of Peking University of China, a venerable Changjiang Scholar of Ministry of Education of China, and winner of a number of national awards for his outstanding achievements in the studies of modern Chinese literature, especially of modern Chinese fictions, of which Beginning Modern Chinese Fictions is one of the most renowned ones. He has been a visiting scholar at many celebrated universities, such as Harvard University, Columbia University, University of London, French Academy of Oriental languages and Culture, Tokyo University, and Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Introduction to the Translator Minhong Lyu is a professor at School of International Studies of Shaanxi Normal University of China. She majors in Comparative Literature and the Studies of Literary Translation, especially the Translation of Fictions. She has published three books translated from Chinese into English, and a monograph titled A Narratological Study on Howard Goldblatt’s Translation of Modern Chinese Fictions, in addition to scores of academic papers concerning translation studies, literary studies, and cross-cultural studies.

Contents

1 Birth of New Fiction in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 Origin and Development of Fiction Revolution in China . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 The Force Behind New Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Rise of the New Novelists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 New Fiction as the Usher of the Twentieth-Century Modern Chinese Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 2 6 12 15

2 Inspiration and Simulation from Foreign Fictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 An Open Eye to the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Free Translation in Trend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 Achievements of Foreign Fictions Translated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 Misunderstanding in the Acceptance of Foreign Fictions . . . . . . . . .

19 19 26 32 42

3 Commercialization of Fictions and Rise of Book Printing . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Pioneers of Fiction Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Professionalization of Novelists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Commercialization of New Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Fictions in Written Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

53 53 63 67 72 76

4 Swaying Between Philistinism and Sublimity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Between Philistinism-and-Sublimity and Old-and-New . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 From Pop Readings to Serious Literature—Attempt of Social Redemption of China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 Return to Philistinism—Leisurely Writing of the School of Saturday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Coexistence of Sublime Writing and Leisurely Writing . . . . . . . . . .

77 77 82

5 Compound Plot and Scenic Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Bead-Flower Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Compound Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Revival of Short Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 Microcosmic Structures and Scenic Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

99 100 104 111 116

88 93

ix

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Contents

6 Coexistence of Classical Chinese and Vernacular Chinese in Fiction Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 Contention Between Classical Chinese Fictions and Vernacular Chinese Fictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 Fictions in Vernacular Chinese and Fictions in Dialects . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Fictions in Classical Chinese and Fictions of Rhythmical Prose of Parallelism and Ornateness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 Peculiar Stylistic Features of Translations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

123 123 128 135 142

7 From Romances to Officialdom Novels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Decline of the Model of Righteous-Officials-in-Opposition-to-Evil-Officials . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Rise of the Model of Officials-in-Opposition-to-Civilians . . . . . . . . 7.3 Love Stories with No Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 Cultural Significance of Love Triangles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

147 148 152 157 163

8 Travelers in Narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1 Motif of Enlightenment and Unity of Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 Fillers of Historical Documents and Limited Perspective . . . . . . . . . 8.3 Involvement of Travelogues in Novels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4 Witness of the Hardships of the People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

169 169 172 176 180

9 Documentation, Condemnation, and Sentimentality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1 From Realism to Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2 From Satire to Condemnation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3 From Tragic Heroism to Mournful Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

185 185 190 194

Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916) . . . . . 201 Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Appendix C: List of Articles and Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Chapter 1

Birth of New Fiction in China

In the early twentieth century, Chinese fiction turned a new page with the literary movement of the so-called Fiction Revolution. Although the slogan of Fiction Revolution was officially coined by Liang Qichao in his Fiction and Social Administration in 1902, Fiction Revolution was engendered by numerous factors around the 1898 Reform—the introduction of Western fictions, the emphasis on the social function of fictions, and the call for “unique new fictions” of distinctive features. Therefore, the embryonic age of New Fiction1 in China should be set around 1898. That is, the 1989 reforms put on the literary stage New Fiction the same way they put reformists like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao onto the political stage. The magazine New Fiction commenced in 1902, which provided a great arena for writers and critics of new fictions. Since then, magazines of new fictions flourished. There was a close connection between Fiction Revolution and its fruitful production of new fictions. It is certainly understandable to explain new fictions using the theory of Fiction Revolution. However, they are two different things not just because of the gap between the ideal and the reality and the gap between theory and practice, but also because of the fact that the reformists proposed a “fiction revolution” for the purpose of their political movement. Although the contentions of the reformists were congruent with those of the new fictions and were welcomed among Chinese literati, they were not always embraced unreservedly by some well-accomplished new novelists of the time. This chapter discusses Fiction Revolution in the late Qing Dynasty (between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries), focusing on the reformists’ contentions and the literary trend henceforth. Our discussion of the achievements of New Fiction will focus on the overall literary development and the writers who were influenced but not restricted by the common practice of the time.

1 It

refers to the modern Chinese fictions commenced around 1898 Reform, in contrast to the traditional Chinese fictions. © Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9_1

1

2

1 Birth of New Fiction in China

1.1 Origin and Development of Fiction Revolution in China The word “revolution” was frequently used in the late Qing Dynasty. Apart from popular terms such as “political revolution”, “social revolution”, “ethnic revolution”, “ethical revolution”, and “family revolution”, there arose a chorus from terms such as “revolution of poetry”, “revolution of literature”, and “revolution of fiction”. Here, the term “revolution”, borrowed from Japanese, does not refer to “dynastic changes” as traditionally interpreted in China,2 but to the “substitution of the old with the new.” Like “freedom”, “equal rights”, and “survival of the fittest in natural selection”, “revolution” also became a watchword of men of the new learning in the late Qing Dynasty and was frequently parodied in the writings of new novelists. A typical example was found in The Civilized Society: A Novel, in which the personae are homophonically named Jia Ziyou (“fake freedom”), Jia Pingquan (“fake equal rights”), and Jia Geming (“fake revolution”). A similar case was seen in Li Pingdeng3 in the novel Chitchat in the Sun. The popularity of “revolution” indicated popular dissatisfaction with reality and a strong desire for social reform. Concrete proposals came from revolutionists like Zou Rong (writer of Revolutionists) who insisted on a national revolution, or from Huang Keqiang and Li Qubing in the novel The Prospect of New China in their discussions of the feasibility of political revolution in China. But many other new literati gabbed about “revolution” vacuously and sentimentally. It’s noteworthy that new novelists of conflicting political opinions were not irreconcilable with one another. Rather, they did share ideas on the function, features, and trends of fiction writing. This demonstrates that the new fiction had acquired its own independent development rather than merely served as a tool for partisan political struggles. The large following of Fiction Revolution also indicated the clamor for new reforms at the time. Change of time always affects the literature of a nation. Writers of the late Qing Dynasty learned to reevaluate literary styles in terms of evolution. They even consciously helped to realize the “evolution” in literary styles. Unlike traditional changes in the literature that usually occurred within Chinese literature itself, Chinese literature of this period experienced heterogeneous structural changes after the introduction of foreign literature that covered almost all literary genres such as poetry, prose, drama, and fiction. Since 1899, in less than three years, Liang Qichao made three earnest proposals— “revolution of poetry”, “revolution of prose,”4 and “revolution of fictions.”5 The three proposals were correlated with the overarching aim of learning from foreign literature 2 The Chinese characters for “revolution” were first seen in Change · Revolution, referring to King Wen’s (ruler of Zhou Dynasty) succession to King Tang (ruler of Shang Dynasty). 3 “Pingdeng” sounds the same as “equality” in Chinese, but Li Pingdeng, like Jia Ziyou and his pack, is also a hypocrite and opportunist in the novel. 4 These two proposals were presented in “Travels in Hawaii” (12/25/1899 & 12/28/1899) in The Complete Collections of Liang Qichao (Vol. 5) published by Zhonghua Book Company, 1936. 5 Fictions, as understood by Liang et al., also included drama. “Fiction revolution” was first seen in Fiction and Social Administration published in the first issue of New Fiction in Nov. 1902.

1.1 Origin and Development of Fiction …

3

to reform and restructure Chinese literature. “Revolution of poetry” required “new artistic conception and diction additional to the style of classical Chinese poetry”6 ; “revolution of prose writing” meant “to learn the ideas of writing from Western literature,”7 and “revolution of fictions” directly resulted from the translation of Western and Japanese political fictions. The “new conceptual imagism” in the new poetry, the “Westernized and Europeanized literary ideology” in the new literary style, and the “political novels” in the new fiction later declined in China. The socalled new artistic conception, the Western ideas of writing, and political fictions soon declined in China as well. However, many new literary elements based on the above were well infused into Chinese literature ever since. They brought about a series of changes in Chinese literature in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican China, of which changes in fiction had accomplished the most far-reaching influence on Chinese literature. Intellectuals of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period such as Liang Qichao were much influential in China, and the fiction revolution was proposed based on their understanding of the function of fictions and on their reevaluation of the traditional novels with captioned chapters. The comparison between Chinese and Western novels always ran as an undercurrent here. Fiction theorists of the late Qing Dynasty, either appreciative or depreciative of Western novels, consciously or unconsciously, benchmarked Chinese fiction against Western fiction. These theoreticians demonstrated a deeper understanding of fictions than those of the literati of the Ming or Qing Dynasties. Kang Youwei proposed to translate Western fictions because fictions “are highly valued in the West.”8 Yan Fu and Xia Zengyou were all for the translation of foreign fictions, including both Western fictions and Japanese fictions, for fictions contributed much to the enlightenment of those countries.9 Liang Qichao advocated translating and publishing foreign fictions also for the reason that “fictions are the core of the public life”10 in Western countries and that “every new novel that comes out in the West becomes the next subject of national talk.”11 We may not have to give serious attention to such an inaccurate understanding of the role of fiction in the West. If it were not for such an exaggerated assessment of Western fiction, how could the traditionally belittled fiction in China be suddenly embraced as a new weapon to save China? Literati like Liang Qichao might have deliberately created a “mythology of Western fiction” to facilitate their endeavor to save China. The most influential discussion about the myth of “fictions save the nation” was seen in Liang Qichao’s article “On Publishing Political Fictions” in the first issue of Political Criticism (December 1898), although the same subject was mentioned 6 See

“Travels in Hawaii”.

7 Ibid. 8 See the Introduction to A Bibliography of Japanese Books by Kang Youwei, Datong Translation Book Company, 1897. 9 See “Publishing Announcement of the Office” in National News, 10/16/1897-11/18/1897. 10 See “On Publishing Political Fictions” by Liang Qichao in the first issue of Political Criticism, 1898. 11 Ibid.

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one year earlier in Origin of the Fiction Department in Our Publishing House by Yan Fu and Xia Zengyou. Nevertheless, Liang Qichao may have created on purpose the “myth” of fiction enlightenment in Western countries to promote the status of fictions in China. At the time when he wrote the article, he had just arrived in Japan and knew little of Japanese fictions. Even less was his knowledge about the “origin of Western European revolutions.” In actuality, Kang Youwei first discussed the “myth” in his Introduction to A Bibliography of Japanese Books in 1897: Among the people who can read, some may never read classics,12 but they read fictions. Thus, we can convey to them the spirit of the classics via fictions; we can teach them the canonical history via fiction; we can inculcate in them wise aphorisms through fiction; we can correct their etiquette through fiction.

Liang Qichao not only integrated all these opinions in On Publishing Political Fictions which greatly influenced the Fiction Revolution but also went further to, with reference to Western fictions, blame the traditional Chinese fictions for “the stories of vulgarity and violence that could only debauch the readers”. In his opinion, contrary to Western fictions that helped to arouse people’s national consciousness, traditional Chinese fictions were simply “the source of the decadent society”. Therefore, “social reformation depends on Fiction Revolution, and we need to innovate Chinese fictions to wake up people’s political awareness.”13 All these reveal the core ideas of Fiction Revolution, and its disciples later reiterated them with vehement rhetoric. The purpose of Fiction Revolution was enlightenment or to arouse people’s awareness in social reformation, entailed by the failure of the 1898 Reform. Actually, before the reform, Liang Qichao had begun to advocate the importance of fictions in articles such as Introduction to Newspapers of Children’s Education, Historical Romance (1897), and Social Reform: Focusing on Children’s Education (1896). But his focus then was on children’s education. After the failure of the 1898 Reform, he preached more about the function of fictions in arousing national awareness about social reformation. At a time of social turmoil that heralded a new future, reformists like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao naturally shifted their focus from literary learning to political activism. Kang Youwei took it as malpractice for intellectuals to be just engrossed in writing poems but remain indifferent in national and international affairs.14 Similarly, Liang Qichao held that excessive attention to poetry and prose writing would sap one’s ambition of serving the country and was no different from indulging in drugs and sex.15 Tan Sitong went further to say that poetry and prose writing were of no use for saving the nation and the people at a critical time of 12 The classics mentioned here usually refer to the six Confucian classics, namely, The Book of Songs, The Book of Shang, The Book of Rituals, The Book of Change, The Book of Music, and The Spring and Autumn Annals. 13 These ideas can be found in Liang Qichao’s “Fiction and Social Administration” in the first issue of New Fiction, 1902. 14 See “The Fourth Proposal to the Emperor” in Political Writings of Kang Youwei (p. 151). Zhonghua Book Company, 1981. 15 See “A Biography of Lin Xu” by Liang Qichao in Political Criticism, Vol. 8, 1899.

1.1 Origin and Development of Fiction …

5

social turbulence. He insisted on giving up the “old learning of poetry.”16 Before the 1898 Reform, some great poets and writers who, out of concern for the national crisis, had shifted from literary writing to political advocacy. Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and Tan Sitong were representative of them. After the reform failed, they did more propaganda work than direct political actions. Meanwhile, they realized the importance of enlightening the public’s national awareness and the importance of promoting national mores, education, and power. They proposed that “political awakening of Chinese people is the first crucial step to save the nation”.17 They began to advocate new fictions which they believed would claim a wider readership. Superficially, their focus changed from political advocacy to fictions, yet the true purpose of their ideas stayed the same—literary utilitarianism. In their point of view, the new fictions were worth writing and reading not just for the stories but also for the edifying theme of saving the nation and the people. Liang Qichao wrote, “Japanese political fictions shall not be viewed just as fictions, for they project the writers’ political views into the personae”18 ; Cai Fen found it regrettable that “few Chinese writers have integrated political thoughts into their fictions”19 ; Haitian Duxiaozi was in favor of political fictions and science fictions, and even blamed the backwardness of Chinese literati throughout the past millennia, literati who knew nothing but poem writing or painting.20 It is a traditional Chinese notion that fictions should do good to national mores and social progress. As such, traditional Chinese fictions were often criticized for their frivolous entertainment with no edifying impact. However, reformists like Liang Qichao promoted fictions again, for they learned that fictions in the West and Japan had helped to facilitate social reforms. Before the 1898 Reform, Liang Qichao made comments on foreign fictions from second-hand materials, but he later went to Japan and studied Japanese fictions. He commended “the talented Japanese novelists who naturally incorporate political thoughts into fictions to express the people’s patriotism”. He hailed Japanese political fictions as models for Chinese New Fiction.21 However, Liang’s understanding stayed confined within the doctrine that “writings are for conveying truth”. The only difference is that the so-called “truth” here changed from Confucian “loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness” to “patriotism”. Nevertheless, Liang’s Fiction Revolution and his followers did pave the way for different types of Chinese fiction. It was surely not wise to take fictions as a tool for a political struggle which later cast a shadow indeed on fiction writing, but it 16 See “Supplemental Poetry from The Study of Mangcangcang” in The Complete Works of Tan Sitong, Zhonghua Book Company, 1981. (Note: The study of Mangcangcang was done by Tan Sitong). 17 See “The Awakening of the People” by Liang Qichao in The Complete Collections of Liang Qichao, Vol. 3, Zhonghua Book Company, 1936. 18 See “On Freedom” by Liang Qichao in Political Criticism, Vol. 26, 1899. 19 See “The Power of Fictions” by Cai Fen in Political Criticism, Vol. 68, 1901. 20 See the Preface to Airship: A Novel, Shanghai: Mingquan Press, 1903. 21 See “On the Ten Features of The Complete Collection of Political Criticism” by Liang Qichao in The Complete Collection of Political Criticism, Xinmin Press.

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1 Birth of New Fiction in China

definitely promoted the position of fictions and created more writers of fictions. This was indicated in comments such as “Fictions in China today, though still far behind western fictions, are witnessing an unprecedented bright day.”22 From Liang Qichao’s “fiction is the best literary genre” to Huang Xiaopei’s “fiction is the leader of literature,”23 Fiction Revolution achieved great success within several years, though much of it was also incited by the increasing political enthusiasm at the time. After the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, such enthusiasm quickly declined. Fictions could no longer attract readers merely through political fervor or patriotism. Writers began to give up the idea of saving the nation and its people by fictions. China then saw a trend in entertaining fictions, for both the writer and the readers. To reformists like Liang Qichao who hoped to save the nation via fiction, the above trend was downright retrogression. However, the same may be deemed as progress if assessed as literature’s independence and freedom from politics, or through the necessity of it being regulated only by the readers’ market. Regarding fictions of the early Republican China, it is not accurate to conclude that “nine-tenths are full of vulgarity and violence,”24 not because of the writers who still wrote out of the patriotic motivation, but because they simply could not encompass the changed motif from refined sublimity to mundane triviality and the new commercialization of fictions.25 In sum, although Fiction Revolution declined after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, the new fictions that emerged thereby continued to develop, albeit with a new focus.

1.2 The Force Behind New Fiction In 1902, Liang Qichao initiated the magazine New Fiction26 in Yokohama, Japan. After that, “new fiction” became the term that exclusively referred to the fictions produced during Fiction Revolution. In contrast, traditional Chinese fictions before that were generally regarded as “old fictions”. Critics wrote much about the difference between the two, for example, “‘old fictions’ are literary writings whereas ‘new fictions’ are literary writings plus science; ‘old fictions’ concern doctrines whereas ‘new fictions’ concern doctrines and philosophy”.27 The key point is not whether the viewpoints are justified, but that the critics learned to detach themselves from traditional fiction and view literature from more objective perspectives. Despite his

22 See

“Fictions in Modern Vernacular Chinese” by Yao Pengtu in Panoramic View, Vol. 65, 1905. “Development of Literature and the Future Role of Fiction” by Huang Xiaopei (alias Laodi) in Chinese and Foreign Stories, Vol. 6, 1907. 24 See “Address to the Novelists” by Liang Qichao in Chinese Novels, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1915. 25 See detailed accounts in Chapter III of the book Commercialization of Fictions and Rise of Book Printing. 26 The title of the magazine New Fictions came directly from two Japanese magazines of the same title launched respectively in 1889 and 1896. 27 “How to Read New Fictions” in Fiction Society of A New World, No. 7, 1907. 23 See

1.2 The Force Behind New Fiction

7

lambaste of traditional Chinese novels of captioned chapters, Liang Qichao translated Jules Verne’s Two Years’ Vacation in the traditional style.28 Wu Jianren wrote The New Story of the Stone with apparent references to foreign political fictions and science fictions. Its chapter captions emulated but had little to do with Cao Xueqin’s The Story of the Stone (an alternative English title of Hong Lou Meng). This is perhaps what distinguished the new writer. When they claimed to defect from the traditional fiction, their own work trailed a long tail of traditionalism. When they claimed to adhere to traditionalism, their work yet manifested a Western influence. Their sandwiched position gave their work a unique literary and esthetic perspective. Not every generation faced such a quandary in their literary choices. With no references from Western literature, earlier writers suffered no cognitive dissonance due to domestic-foreign differences, despite their reformist desires. Subsequent writers’ greater familiarity with foreign literature afforded them methods and strategies to borrow from foreign works. And they were not hampered by the differences between Chinese and foreign literature. Here is the awkward position of the new novelists. Looking backward, they were no match for master novelists such as Wu Jingzi and Cao Xueqin; looking forward, they were no match for Lu Xun and Mao Dun, masters of Western stories. Wedged between the old and the new and between the native and the foreign, the new fiction suffered crude immaturity in every aspect. Nevertheless, it is also the sparks from the clash between the domestic and the foreign that illuminated the development of new fictions, giving it a unique and incomparable historical value. It is the crudeness and immaturity of the fictions of this generation that gave them a clearer and simpler trajectory of development. In addition to the joint influence from politics and culture, the new fictions imbibed their nutrients mainly from foreign and traditional literature (not just literature in classical Chinese of captioned chapters). However, the interplay among the above forces was by no means straightforward. It is not simply an imitation of foreign fictions nor a self-awakened innovation under the social environment of Chinese literary tradition, nor the vaguely termed “synthetic result”. It is that the introduction of foreign fictions awakened Chinese fictions, pushing it forward from the periphery of Chinese literature to the center of it, during which process it absorbs nutrition from both traditional Chinese literature and foreign fictions. It should be admitted that the introduction of foreign fictions predated the self-awakening of traditional Chinese literature, but they always worked simultaneously though one of them may once take the upper hand. When we emphasize the decisive factor of the introduction of foreign fictions, we must keep in mind that it was the profound influence of traditional Chinese fictions of captioned chapters on the personality and spirit of Chinese people that encouraged reformists like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao to select fiction as a means to enlighten the public in China. Meanwhile, when we talk about the creative innovation of Chinese new fictions, we need to remember the fact that it was the introduction of foreign fictions that helped 28 “Translator’s Note” to the Chinese version of Two Years’ Vacation (Shi Wu Xiao Hao Jie in Chinese) by Liang Qichao in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 2, 1902.

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1 Birth of New Fiction in China

to greatly promote the position of fictions in Chinese literature. The two factors had always been interconnected but received separate analyses above for the sake of convenient discussion. Detailed accounts of the introduction of foreign fictions as a great influence on Chinese fictions, including the quantity, the channels, and misunderstandings during their acceptance, are given in the second chapter. This chapter focuses on the introduction of foreign fictions into China in terms of their contribution to the development of Chinese fiction. It is one thing to discuss which foreign writers and works were introduced to China. It is quite another to discuss which writers and works actually influenced Chinese new novelists. The two were not concurrent. Different readers may emphasize different interpretations of even the same novel (e.g. La Dame aux Camelias). From foreign literature, the new Chinese novelists initially borrowed its themes, then its plots, then its subjects, and finally its narrative styles. These, however, did not occur one step after another, but in an interlocked deepening from the superficial to the intrinsic. With a desire to enlighten the public, new novelists first saw foreign fictions politically from the perspectives of democracy, freedom, independence, civil rights, and strong patriotism. It’s natural for the Chinese novelists to see the political and didactic significance in political fictions, but extracting the same from romances and detective stories appeared rather contrived. In every type of their fictional creativity, political novels (like The Prospect of a New China) or nonpolitical, the new Chinese novelists embedded political discussions. It appeared as if they simply couldn’t write the new style fiction without connection with politics. The same occurred even with romantic works like He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story, a bestseller in early Republican China. However, the rapturous romance was not the only motivator of this oriental Dumas’ pen. The readers quickly got to see the author’s true intent and caliber in the hero’s chivalrous and valiant death in a battle in Wuchang. Apparently, politics was much sprinkled into the new Chinese fictions, including romances like the one just discussed. Although political discussions were not invisible in traditional Chinese fiction, they were nothing like what was seen in the new fictions—often direct and even long discourses on politics through the mouths of characters in the novel. Though some new novelists realized that too many political discussions diffused the story, they still embraced the progressive nationalism in their stories.29 It was closely related to the new novelists’ recognition of political fictions as representatives of foreign fictions. Progressive ideology even became the yardstick to assess the quality of the new fiction. The themes of “old fictions” never went beyond loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness. The themes of the new fictions, however, were more varied in an effort to attract the readers of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican China. At that time, characters in foreign fictions most well-known in China were Sherlock Holmes in Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes and Marguerite Gautier in Camille. After the Chinese translations of the two novels were published in one book

29 See Yu Peilan’s Preface to The Story of A Woman Prisoner

and Preface to The Story of Jin Yaose.

1.2 The Force Behind New Fiction

9

by Suyin Study in 1899, they were frequently mentioned together as the best representatives of foreign novels. In the Preface to Panoramic View of Foreign Fictions, Ji Chen thus said of Chinese translations of Western fictions, “As detective stories, they have surpassed Sherlock Holmes. As love stories, they are more touching than Armand Duval and Marguerite Gautier.”30 However, there were few original detective fictions by Chinese writers. What the Chinese writers often did was to have one or two characters who were detectives, or, detective stories were interwoven in their novels. For example, Liu’e called his protagonist “Sherlock Holmes” in The Travels of Lao Ts’an, and Cheng Shanzhi did the same in his An Accident. Marguerite Gautier was even more often mentioned by writers of the time such as Li Boyuan in The Civilized Society: A Novel, Zeng Pu in The Flower in the World of Retribution, Lin Shu in The Story of Liu Tingting, Su Manshu in The Story of A Broken Hairpin, Zhong Xinqing in New Camellia, and Zhou Shoujuan in Flowers in Seasons. All these writers regarded Marguerite Gautier as the symbol of sad love stories. Romantic characters and plots, rather than romance as a literary genre, remained a favorite for the new novelists at the time. Critics of the phenomenon lamented, “We have Armand Duval and Marguerite Gautier in Chinese fictions, but we don’t have Alexandre Dumas Jr. in China.”31 This perhaps was the tortuous path Chinese imitation of Western novels had to assume. They would first embrace the interesting detective stories and the melancholic romantic stories, before they learned the art form of novels. The latter might take a long time to come. That’s why we read many imitations of Camille during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican period. Their plots were becoming increasingly complex and yet the depiction of characters’ emotions became increasingly simplistic. In terms of Chinese acceptance of foreign fictions, from the curiosity about exotic customs to the enjoyment of stories and narrations, the late Qing writers learned rather fast. They learned how to tap subject matters of foreign social fictions. Lin Shu was much impressed by the stories of grassroots people in Dickens’s novels and was critical of the ignorance of the life of the lower-class people in traditional Chinese fictions. He affirmed the ideological significance and the artistic value of the depictions of commoners’ everyday life and pointed it out several times in the prefaces to the novels he translated, such as Xiao Nü Nai’er Zhuan (The Old Curiosity Shop) and Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Ji (David Copperfield). The late Qing writers had translated quite a number of foreign novels telling the miserable life of the poor people, but mainly from the consideration of political utilitarianism. A few of them were concerned with the artistic value as Lin Shu did. Novels that depict the everyday life of the common people appeared in the late Qing Dynasty and were noticed by critics of the time. In his preface to Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel, Zhang Chunfan32 thus described the Chinese translations at the time, “Every word teary and every tear bloody, making them heart-breaking but compelling reading.” The editorial comment for the short story The Return of Overseas Chinese Labors reads, 30 See

Panoramic View of Foreign Fictions published by Wenming Book Company in 1916. “Comments on Fiction” by Dong Sheng in Short Story Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1911. 32 Also named Shushisheng. 31 See

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1 Birth of New Fiction in China

“The bygone American Negro slaves are seen in today’s overseas Chinese labors” and “similar stories are not so frequently seen these days.”33 The subject matter of Chinese fictions was expanded, but the artistic value and the potential stylistic innovation were still neglected. For the new novelists, the most difficult and vital thing was not plotting, nor thematic significance, nor subject matter, but modes of narration. The first three deal with “what to tell” whereas the last one “how to tell”. The issue of “what to tell” could easily be discerned and imitated, but “how to tell” was hard to assimilate. The Chinese writers often managed only to display a messy effort. In terms of the acceptance of foreign fictions, from the curiosity of exotic customs, to the fun of stories and the appreciation of the narration, the late Qing writers had progressed quickly with fruitful learning. Political discussions in fiction taught Chinese writers the importance of expressing their opinions. Consequently, the narrative plot lost its centrality, yielding more space to non-narrative and structural elements in a novel. Having learned the flashback technique from foreign detective fictions and romances, Chinese writers broke the linear narration of traditional Chinese fictions. They challenged the traditional omniscient narrator in Chinese novels and turned to adopt the limited narrative perspectives of the first and third persons. Simply, new novelists had just started the experiment of different modes of narration, which was effectively practiced later by the May-Fourth writers. Fictions began to move from the margin to the center of Chinese literature, which constituted another incentive in the progress of Chinese novels. The new novelists regarded fiction as “the best of all literary genres” and actively encouraged fiction writings. Meanwhile, they used their learnings from foreign fictions to review traditional Chinese fiction and to start new trends. Nevertheless, it was hard for them to give up the norms entrenched in Chinese masterpieces, such as Hong Lou Meng (A Dream in Red Mansions, or The Story of the Stone)34 and Shui Hu Zhuan (Outlaws of the Marsh). They became familiar with such Chinese classics since their childhood. Now, however, the new novelists began to view traditional Chinese fictions through the lens of Western fictions. Many critics at the time echoed Liang Qichao’s comment that “the masterpieces Shui Hu Zhuan and Hong Lou Meng are the most excellent models of saga stories and love stories respectively. Imitations of them, however, often degenerate into nothing more than stories of bawdry and thievery.”35 Some of them simply regarded Legendary Stories of Baozheng, A Judge of the Song Dynasty as detective fiction and Flowers in the Mirror as a science fiction.36 Some

33 See

Short Story Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 9, 1912.

34 There are two influential English versions of the masterpiece novel Hong Lou Meng: one being A

Dream in Red Mansions by Chinese translator Yang Xianyi and his British wife Gladys Yang; the other being The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes and his son-in-law John Minford, both British professors. 35 See “On Publishing Political Fictions” by Liang Qichao in Political Criticism, 1898. 36 See Dingyi’s quotation in “Comments on Fiction” in New Fiction, No. 13 & No. 15, 1905.

1.2 The Force Behind New Fiction

11

went even further in the comparison between Western and Chinese fictions in plotting37 or characterization.38 But in general, we see a changing attitude in the critics of the time from depreciation to the appreciation of traditional Chinese fictions. They attempted to demonstrate the specific value of traditional Chinese fictions, especially in the respect of writing techniques. On the one hand, new novelists played up the “new fictions”, on the other hand, they were not confident of the power of the “new fictions”. In Wu Jianren’s selfevaluation of his novel Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, he writes: I often think that new fictions are somewhat not so engrossing as the traditional ones. In this novel, the stories of joys and sorrows, of separations and reunions, of human warmth and social menaces, all are true to life, but it still cannot match the traditional masterpieces.

Though some late Qing novelists like Liu’e and Peng Yu often talked big about their new fictions, many others, such as Wu Jianren, were still in awe of the traditional fictions. Actually, in the new fictions, we see a clear influence of the “old fictions”. For example, we see The Scholars in the novels of exposure, A Dream in Red Mansions in the new romances, and The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai in the courtesan novels. Just like Cao Cao’s attempt to assassinate Dong Zhuo in Three Kingdoms, we read Jin Yaose’s twice attempt to kill Queen Mother in the third chapter of The Story of Jin Yaose and Jin Yaose’s dangerous experience on a river in chapter fourteen is similar to Song Jiang’s trouble on Xunyang River in Outlaws of the Marsh. As for the stories of 48 women knights and 72 women scholars, they are obviously borrowed from Flowers in the Mirror. Meanwhile, the new fiction A Compendium of Monsters makes an opposite example. It tries hard to step away from the old fictions. It keeps reminding the readers that it needs to be written in a different way, otherwise it would read like or even worse than the traditional novels such as The Plum in the Golden Vase, or The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai, or The Operatic Circle, or Two Men and Their Concubines. Whether trying to learn from or stay away from the tradition, the new fictions obviously cannot escape the far-reaching influence from the traditional fictions. It’s easy to see the inheritance relation between the new fictions and the traditional fictions, especially those with captioned chapters. However, it is not as easy to see the covert influence on the new fictions from the traditional Chinese poetry when fictions had been moving from a peripheral to a central position in literature. It’s not without exaggeration to say that “fiction is the best of literary genres,”39 in which readers can harvest aesthetics as seen in other forms of literature and for which writers can borrow inspirations from other forms of literature. The new novelists liked to boast their self-confidence in fiction, believing that novels were so extensive and profound that they could imbibe human cultural inheritance, including “religious legacies like Buddhist classics as well as secular subjects like folklore, gossips and even 37 Writers like Su Manshu, Xiaren, and Zhou Guisheng all had made similar criticism. See in “Comments on Fiction” in New Fiction, No. 11, No. 13 No. 20, 1904–1905. 38 See in “A Brief Comment on Fictions” by Man (Huang Ren) in Collection of Fictions, No. 1, 1907. 39 This was asserted by Liang Qichao.

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abominable customs.”40 New fictions may not have taken in so much from human culture, but the new novelists were indeed inspired by various forms of writing such as jokes, anecdotes, travelogs, letters, diaries, epics, books of questions and answers, and the like, which had greatly innovated the narrative modes of new fictions.41 A rough picture is given here and details of how the new fictions developed under the influence of both foreign fictions and traditional Chinese fictions and poetry, positively or negatively, will be discussed in the upcoming chapters.

1.3 Rise of the New Novelists The development of new fictions depended on a large number of writers. They did not form distinctive schools of arts albeit different in ideologies and aesthetics. Neither did they form societies with unique literary conventions. Some were even good friends and closely associated with one another in literary writing. However, they failed to form a notable literary community. The only noteworthy one was Southern Society that lasted 27 years with a membership of over 1,000, among whom many were prominent writers of the time such as Su Manshu, Bao Tianxiao, Zhou Shoujuan, Xu Zhenya, Zhou Guisheng, Huang Ren, Wang Zhonglin, and Cheng Shanzhi. However, Southern Society focused on poetry, having published 22 volumes of poetry but one volume of fiction.42 However, novelists in Southern Society were of different styles, making it hard to consider them as a united community. Novels and periodicals rather than writer groups perhaps would provide us a better basis to understand the formation of the literary community. It was not a situation where the new novelists shared common literary aspirations and aesthetic predilections and then set up literary societies to publish literary works. Rather, fiction periodicals appeared first to have attracted the new novelists to publish their stories in the periodicals, and then the writers gradually formed different literary groups. However, group memberships were not stable. It was surely an age of periodicals, for most fictions were first published in newspapers or magazines before coming out as single publications. Most noted novelists started their own or served as editors for fiction periodicals.43 As a result, many periodicals acquired a literary flavor. Despite their common espousal of “reforms in 40 See

“A Brief Comment on Fictions” by Man (Huang Ren) in Collection of Fictions, No. 1, 1907.

41 A detailed explanation is available in Renovation of Narrative Modes of Chinese Fictions by Chen

Pingyuan, author also of this book. 42 Southern Society was set up in 1909 and initiated the first volume of Southern Society Serials in the same year. Till 1923, they had 22 volumes published among which Fiction Collection of Southern Society was published by Wenming Book Company in 1917, which included 13 fictions (9 original writings and 4 translations). One of the 22 volumes was an opera. 43 Here are some examples: Liang Qichao’s running of New Fiction, Li Boyuan and Ouyang Juyuan’s running of Illustrated Novels, Chen Jinghan’s running of New New-fictions, Wu Jianren and Zhou Guisheng’s running of The All-Story Monthly, Zeng Pu and Xu Nianci’s running of Collection of Fictions, Huang Xiaopei’s running of Chinese and Foreign Stories, Bao Tianxiao’s running of

1.3 Rise of the New Novelists

13

social governance”, their creative proclivities were different. For the sake of both their writers and novels, periodicals had to strike a balance between following trends and asserting their own uniqueness. The “uniqueness” of periodicals, however, could not be used to distinguish the novelists, who were often discrete and disconnected contributors rather than determiners of the holistic personality of a periodical. In my current discussion, I will refrain from forcing “freelancers” into my upcoming classifications. These “freelancers” may include Lin Shu, Liu’e, Su Manshu, and Qian Xibao. I do this in spite of these writers’ apparent similarity to a particular group or the inclusion of their works in a particular periodical. The following is my classification of the writer groups in this historical period. Group One includes Liang Qichao, Luo Pu from the magazine New Fiction, Huang Xiaopei, Huang Boyao from Chinese and Foreign Stories, and Chen Tianhua and Zhang Zhaotong, two overseas Chinese students in Japan. These writers held divergent political views with some advocating reforms while others, revolutions. For instance, Huang Xiaopei wrote Swindlers to satirize the conservativism of Liang Qichao and Kang Youwei. However, these writers shared similar literary notions. For instance, they believed that literature should enlighten politics and thus they endeavored to create political fictions. In addition, they were all political activists influenced by Japanese political novels due to their stay in Japan. Writers like Liang Qichao exerted a far-reaching influence on later Chinese writers to whom the former introduced a broader literary horizon. Nevertheless, except for Huang Xiaopei, most of these writers produced untalented works that were merely ephemeral. Group Two includes Li Boyuan and Ouyang Juyuan from Illustrated Novels, Wu Jianren and Zhou Guisheng from The All-Story Monthly, and some contributors to the above magazines such as Lian Mengqing and Wang Zhonglin. They did not have the experience of overseas studies,44 neither were they politicians. They were traditional Chinese writers who had accepted progressive thoughts. Thanks to these writers, the new fictions found their roots in China. Politically, Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren were somewhat conservative, in favor of traditional ethics and critical of new liberals. Stylistically, they all objected to the simple imitation of foreign fictions. Instead, they recommended the selective introduction of foreign novels based on the tastes of traditional Chinese novels and of current Chinese readers. The “condemnatory novel” they started became the emblem of the novels of the time. Noteworthy also were their novellas. Group Three has writers like Zeng Pu, Xu Nianci, and Huang Ren from the magazine Collection of Fictions. None of them did overseas studies, but all learned a foreign language somehow. They all had balanced knowledge, versed with both Chinese classics and modern writings, both literary creation and translation. The magazine Collection of Fictions was established in 1907 and only lasted for 12 issues. In 1904, they set up Xiaoshuolin Press that had published many editions of Fiction Times, Yun Tieqiao’s running of Short Story Magazine, Xu Zhenya’s running of Fiction Series, Li Dingyi’s running of New Magazine of Fictions.. 44 Wu Jianren had been to Japan as a traveler and Zhou Guisheng knew English, but he never went abroad.

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1 Birth of New Fiction in China

novels, and their translated novels reached over 90 kinds. Their work made their press the most important publishing organization of the time. Science fictions translated by Xu Nianci and the novel The Flower in the World of Retribution by Zeng Pu were all representative of New Fiction of the time. Moreover, fiction reviews written by Huang Ren and Xu Nianci were a landmark of the time, a timely counterweight against the excessive political tendency in literary creativity. Group Four was a miscellany of writers mainly from magazines like Fiction Times, Short Story Magazine, The Saturday, Chinese Novels, Fiction Gallimaufry, and so on. The most prominent writers in this group included Chen Jinghan, Yun Tieqiao, Bao Tainxiao, and Zhou Shoujuan. They all wrote and translated fictions. Most notably, borrowing from the cross-sectional narratives of foreign novels, they created a large body of short novels that were unique in subjects, narration, and style. Writers like Xu Zhenya, Wu Shuangre, and Li Dingyi could be classified into Group Five. These three served as both editors of and contributors to The Newspaper of Civil Rights. Later, Xu and Wu initiated the magazine Fiction Series and Li started The New Magazine of Fictions. They were good at maudlin romances with techniques learned from foreign fictions since they all graduated from modern schools and were familiar with Western culture.45 They attempted to write novels in versified prose, which became a hot trend unprecedented and unparalleled in history. Among these five groups, the first three were active at the end of the late Qing Dynasty and the last two at the early Republican period. They were distinct from one another. The first three groups emphasized reforms of officialdom and bureaucracy as their main subject matter whereas the last two groups, despite their professed goal of moral edification, focused on leisurely life such as love stories. However, they all aimed to reform Chinese fictions by learning from foreign fictions. Such a classification of writers of the time is just for the convenience of discussion. Actually, they cannot be neatly divided as such since they were interrelated with one another with no distinctive schools or strong unique features. Such a division only helps to sketch the development of the fictions of the time. The goal of this work is not to classify writers of New Fiction but to study the evolution of fiction as a literary genre and the literary phenomena related to it. Instead of demonstrating literary development along with social movements under the combined influence of political and cultural factors, this book explores the ideological factors behind changes in the form of fiction. It focuses on the artistic development of the fictions while investigating the input of foreign fictions at the time, the commercialization of the new fictions, and the low- and highbrow of the new fictions. Meanwhile, it examines the structural morphology, subject matters, stylistic features, and modes of narration with consideration of social and cultural factors. In brief, it takes up both internal and external factors in studies on Chinese new fictions by reviewing the pageant of literary phenomena of the time.

45 Xu Zhenya and Wu Shuangre graduated from Yunan Normal School and Li Dingyi from Nanyang

Public School.

1.4 New Fiction as the Usher of the Twentieth-Century Modern Chinese Fiction

15

1.4 New Fiction as the Usher of the Twentieth-Century Modern Chinese Fiction Writers at the turn of the twentieth century left us few masterworks. Their contribution was that they served as a transition between the old and the new. As a result, these writers are included in studies of the connection and contrast between traditional and modern Chinese fiction, of the impact of foreign fiction on Chinese fiction, and of the dynamics of the evolution of Chinese fiction. The complex challenges of that transitional period could be discerned from these writers’ reform efforts, their contextualized explorations, and their errors and failures. In addition to their strong desire for literary innovation, writers of the early twentieth century also had a strong sense of the new century. The terms “20th century” and “new century” frequently appeared in literary writings. There were frequent passing mentions such as “20th century is one of literary prosperity” or “20th century for literary experimentation”. Huang Boyao published three articles that focused on Chinese fiction in the twentieth century. The articles approached the topic from three aspects. First, he discussed how the prosperity of Chinese fiction derived its inspirations from foreign fiction at the turn of the new century. Second, he discussed the blooming of Chinese fiction in which vernacular novels edified and satirized contemporary society. Third, he discussed how the wave of Chinese fiction traversed the Pacific to reach Japan due to global interconnections in the new century. These writers vaguely realized that the new century would be a turbulent but significant time of transition,46 although they could not ascertain the exact nature of the new century and Chinese fiction in this new century. Chinese fiction experienced unmistakable changes due to the introduction of foreign fiction. When describing the history of Chinese fictions, we must consider the introduction of foreign fictions into China which served as the main source of inspiration for the new Chinese fiction at the turn of the twentieth century. This book is not meant to give the full picture of modern Chinese fictions of the twentieth century, but to foreground the link between the old and the new by distinguishing the new fictions of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period from the traditional Chinese fictions, and to emphasize the historical significance of New Fiction in its connection with the May-Fourth fictions. New Fiction was but a prelude, making grandiose and definite predictions on the basis of New Fiction unwarranted. In historical studies, the “dawn” and “dusk” may prove hard to distinguish sometimes. The arrival of a new epoch is determined by whether the work done is recognized as “ground-breaking” by pioneers of the time, and whether the issues proposed have gained currency. We take New Fiction as the starting point of modern Chinese fictions since, as we see, the May-Fourth writers partially acknowledged the artistic experiment of New Fiction and that the pursuit and perplexity of the writers of New Fiction exerted great influence on subsequent writers.

46 See

“The Fun of Collecting Fictions” in Chinese and Foreign Stories, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1907.

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1 Birth of New Fiction in China

The greatest contribution of the writers of New Fiction was their translation of foreign fictions and their innovative efforts with modern Chinese fictions. Lin Shu’s translation of foreign fictions had attracted many young students to foreign literature who later became prominent May-Fourth writers. Zhou Zuoren, a representative of them, acknowledged, “To be frank, we came to know foreign fictions by reading Lin Shu’s translations and became interested in foreign literature ever since.”47 Zhou Zuoren was echoed in Guo Moruo’s self-account and Xu Shoushang’s reminiscence of Lu Xun.48 Lin Shu (whose translations were often criticized for his adaptations) and the writers and translators of his age, with their enthusiasm, courage, and insight in translating foreign fictions and innovating traditional Chinese fiction writing, had profound influence on later writers who tremendously benefited from the former’s work. The May-Fourth writers are often described by historians as the batch that opened a new era for Chinese literature. Most of them were once active practitioners in the revolution of fictions hand in hand with the new novelists. Both Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren, in their early writings, had imitated the translations by Lin Shu, Liang Qichao, and Chen Lengxue.49 Their imitations were still a part of the new fictions though they were much advanced in their motifs than their predecessors. Some MayFourth writers like Liu Bannon and Ye Shengtao were once active contributors to the early republican magazines The Saturday, Chinese Novels, and Fiction Series. Their later works still carried the imprint of their earlier works. Chen Duxiu started Anhui Vernacular Magazine in 1904 and published his novel Black Heaven with captioned chapters; Hu Shi edited the Jingye Xunpao in 1908 and published in it his novel Zhenru Island with captioned chapters and some other short stories like Rickshaw Boys and Poor Students.50 All these works owed much to the earlier revolution of fictions. Zhou Zuoren once commented that Liang Qichao’s idea of “fictions help to reform the society” was not dissimilar with the May-Fourth writers’ assertion that “literature serves humanity.”51 In addition, writers in the early May Fourth Literary Revolution such as Hu Shi and Qian Xuantong thought highly of the new novelists such as Li Boyuan, Wu Jianren, Zen Pu, and Liu’e.52

47 See

“Lin Qinnan (Lin Shu) and Luo Zhenyu” by Zhou Zuoren, Free Voices, Vol. 3, 1924. “Tittle-Tattle on Celebrities” in My Deceased Friend Lu Xun; the section of “Boyhood” in My Youth by Guo Moruo. 49 See “Lin Qinnan and Luo Zhenyu” and “Lu Xun and the Late Qing Literature” by Zhou Zuoren; Chen Mengxiong’s citation from Zhou Zuoren in the former’s article “Three Letters Concerning the Reviews of Lu Xun’s Translation of The Origin of Fantine (Victor Hugo) and An Unscientific Story (Louise J. Strong)” in Studies on Lu Xun, No 12, 1986. 50 Zhenru Island was published in installments in Jingye Xunpao since November in 1906 till the demise of the publication. In 1908, Hu Shi went on publishing the fiction in installments as he resumed editorship of Jingye Xunpao. 51 See “About Lu Xun (II)” by Zhou Zuoren in Commemorations of Lu Xun, Shanghai Cultural Publishing House, 1937. 52 See letters between Hu Shi and Qian Xuantong discussing Chinese fictions in New Youth, Vol. 3 and Vol. 4. 48 See

1.4 New Fiction as the Usher of the Twentieth-Century Modern Chinese Fiction

17

Therefore, there was a close relationship between the two generations of writers— the new novelists and the May-Fourth writers. The latter went farther and learned more from foreign fictions to innovate traditional Chinese fictions and in enhancing the popularity of modern Chinese fictions. But, it should not be forgotten that the May-Fourth writers proceeded on the foundation laid by the new novelists. The so-called “serious novels”, or “explorative novels”, or “high-brow novels” of modern Chinese fictions after the 1930s mainly inherited the tradition of the May-Fourth writers like Lu Xun and Yu Dafu. They received little influence from New Fiction. Consequently, New Fiction was largely neglected by literary critics. But when we break through the dominance of “serious novels” in Chinese literature in the twentieth century, we’d notice and should not underestimate the significance and far-reaching influence of New Fiction on Chinese literature. In fact, issues that confronted the new novelists always beleaguered Chinese writers throughout the twentieth century, despite their differences in approaching the issues and their solutions. How to keep the distinctive features of fiction writing in the face of the dual confrontation of politics and commercialization? How to avoid the extremity of either sinicization or westernization so as to realize the artistic innovation of Chinese fictions by “transforming” instead of oversimplified “identifying” or “breaking” with the tradition? How to renew the rhetoric and narrative modes of Chinese fictions so as to convey the writers’ aesthetic perception in more accurate and efficient ways? All these are hard questions for Chinese writers of the twentieth century. These questions were actually posed by the new novelists. Common perplexity and aspirations tightly connected the new novelists with writers of the following generations. Literary historians thus must address them together. However, my discussions in this work will be confined to the new novelists’ artistic experiments.

Chapter 2

Inspiration and Simulation from Foreign Fictions

The introduction of foreign fictions into China and consequent changes within Chinese literature were the driving force behind Chinese fictions in the twentieth century. It’s safe to say that without the influence of foreign fictions beginning in the late Qing Dynasty, Chinese fictions would not have so vigorously developed. It’s not easy for a “giant of literature”, especially so in the initial stage, to get rid of its arrogant self-isolation to actively embrace the ever-developing foreign fictions and to integrate itself with the world literature. What’s more, learning from foreign fiction is not simple and mechanical copying. It involves clashes and compromises between distinct literary ideologies. Through productive negotiations, Chinese translators and writers came to understand foreign fictions with an eye to literary development, and finally created modern Chinese fiction. This chapter not only describes the acceptance of foreign fictions in China but also examines the ways in which they are accepted and ultimately influenced modern Chinese literary creation.

2.1 An Open Eye to the World During the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican China, Chinese writers’ attitude toward foreign fictions roughly underwent five stages: indifference, passive acceptance, active learning, conscious imitation, and creative writing. These stages represented a rather complete cycle of evolution. That is, the new novelists had successfully accepted, digested, and assimilated the foreign fictions introduced by their contemporaries. However, beyond the above, these writers manifested little creativity to claim their own. An important reason why the writers during the May Fourth Movement were able to open a new world of literature was that they, in line with their own aesthetic ideals, were selective in their adoptive learnings from foreign fiction. Chinese politicians started to open their eyes to the world as early as the First Opium War. This is substantiated by Geography of Asia, Europe, Africa and America © Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9_2

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edited by Lin Zexu and by Geography of the World compiled by Wei Yuan. However, it took another five decades for Chinese writers to open their minds to the world. Warships and artillery, or laws, or even politics from the West did not really change the literary views of Chinese writers. Nothing other than the introduction of foreign literature helped to shake the dominant position of traditional Chinese literature. Yet, a few translations of foreign fictions were found before the 1898 Reform except for the following seven translations published during 1840–18961 : ➀ Yi Shi Yuyan (Aesop’s Fables, a version combining English, Chinese, and Chinese phonetic alphabet): translated by Robert Tom and published in Guangdong Newspaper in 1840, and later reprinted by the Christian Literature Society; ➁ Tan Ying Xiao Lu (the first part of Gulliver’s Travels by Swift): published in Shenpao Newspaper durinh April 15–18th in 1872; ➂ Yi Shui Qishi Nian (Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving): published in Shenpao Newspaper on April 22, 1872; ➃ Xin Xi Xian Tan (the first half of Morning and Night by British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton, translated by Scholar Lishao and published in installments in the magazine Ying Huan Suo Ji (Around the World), No. 5–28, 1873–1875; ➄ An Le Jia (Street Home): printed by The New Pictorial Paper, 1882; ➅ Hai Guo Miao Yu (Aesop’s Fables): printed by Newspaper Office of Tianjin Times in 1888; ➆ Bai Nian Yi Jiao (Looking Backward): translated by Timothy Richard and published by the Christian Literature Society in 1894. Among these seven works, Xin Xi Xian Tan was reprinted in 1904, and Bai Nian Yi Jiao was published in the new translation version titled Hui Tou Kan in the magazine Illustrated Novels in 1903. Both had contributed more or less to the development of Chinese New Fiction while the rest of the seven did not arouse much interest at the time. A small number of fictions as such surely cannot inspire Chinese writers to learn from Western fictions, let alone challenge the Chinese literary tradition. Why were there so few published translations of foreign fiction before the 1898 Reform Movement? It is necessary to examine the public attitude toward foreign fictions, especially the attitude of the following three groups who were the only people to assume the task of introducing foreign fictions into China. These people were ➀ Chinese diplomats, businessmen, and overseas travelers; ➁ Chinese students studying abroad; and ➂ translators of domestic translation offices. The first Chinese diplomats were sent to the Western countries in the seventh year of Emperor Tongzhi’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1868). Their interpreter, Zhigang, jotted down their experiences abroad in his First Mission to the West. Since then, the imperial government of the Qing Dynasty required the diplomats and officials sent abroad to keep journals and hand them in after returning back to China so as to help the government know the Western countries. From the large number of overseas 1 Before 1840, there were two translated foreign works: Kuang Yi (from Aesop’s Fables, trans. by Nicholas Trigault) and Haiwai Qitan (Kanadehon Chushingura: a kabuki play, trans. by Chen Renzhong).

2.1 An Open Eye to the World

21

travel notes, we read recordings of people’s attitude toward the Western society, politics, culture, and customs, yet we find no translations or comments about Western fictions (or literature in general). In Diplomat’s Journals in the West by Zeng Jize, the entry of April 20, 1878, read, “English fiction reading begins at seven thirty in the morning.” But he neither noted down the title of the fiction nor made comments on the fiction. Likewise, Huang Zunxian mentioned in Academia in his Chronicles of Japan (1887) that “there are many novelists in Japan” with no further descriptions. For one thing, the government of the Qing Dynasty required the envoys to document the Western countries with detailed information about geographical conditions, fortifications, distances, customs, politics, navy forces, forts and artillery, manufacturers, steamships, vessels and vehicles, mines, and so on, for further references.2 Therefore, the officials’ journals would mainly contain “things related to the foreign affairs” rather than foreign fictions that were of no practical value. In addition, Chinese people at the time generally thought that China was not as good as the West in terms of practical learning, but was superior in the literature. They were rather conceited to think that Chinese literature ranked first in the world, which naturally resulted in their contempt and negligence of foreign fictions. The third reason is that, unlike Zeng Jize, most Chinese officials abroad would not read English novels. Many of the nobility also went abroad but learned nothing. Upon coming back, they would, on the fulfillment of their duty, ask their private advisers to write a report for them or just hastily patch together a report since the government later made it a rule that officials without learnings from their experiences abroad could not be promoted.3 It’s no wonder that none of the travel notes truly opened a window for Chinese people to know about foreign fictions. In 1872, the imperial government of the Qing Dynasty sent students abroad for the first time. Despite setbacks in the process, the number of students studying abroad mounted steadily. Particularly, the number of those sent to Japan increased from 13 in 1896 to around 10,000 in 1906. The subjects of their studies would surely impact the academic development in China. The government of the Qing Dynasty would require the students to take up “all kinds of practical subjects of natural science”, since “talent development would be achieved in this way and the prosperity of the country can thus be expected.”4 Self-financed students were free from government restrictions on their majors. However, a few chose literature. In his article Brief Words to Overseas Students in 1902, Liang Qichao called upon the overseas students to choose “the most popular subjects” of politics, law, economy, and military industries. The government hoped the students to learn technologies while the reformists and revolutionists drew the students’ attention to law and politics. Literature was not mentioned in any case. Some students preferred industry and commerce while others focused on law and politics with the purpose of developing China and its military power. However, none of them went for literature, a subject considered trivial for 2 See

Rules for Personnel Going Abroad by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qing Dynasty (1878). the third part of Review of the New Deal by Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi. 4 See Official Reply to the Suggestion of Sending Students Abroad to Learn Technology (1908) and Minutes of Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Discussion of Selecting Students to Japan (1889). 3 See

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national welfare and livelihood. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that the students could not choose to be translators or writers of literary works irrespective of their academic majors. For example, after the 1898 Reform, Wu Guangjian who majored in shipping administration in Great Britain and Zhang Zhaotong who studied politics in Japan all worked actively to translate and write fictions. However, the students’ attitude toward foreign fictions could be easily inferred from their choices of subjects to study. It is a pity to see that by the end of the nineteenth century, none of the students would purposefully introduce foreign fictions (literature) into China. Hence, the task fell upon “those who were poor at foreign languages” in domestic China. As described by Liang Qichao concerning the introduction of Western thoughts to China in the late Qing Dynasty, the introduction of foreign fictions was inevitably “cheap, broken, stereotypical, superficial and incorrect.”5 Before the Sino-Japan War, the major translation agencies in China were the School of Combined Learning (set up in 1862) majoring in legal books, Jiangnan Bureau of Manufacture (set up in 1867) focusing on books of mechanical industry, and the Christian Literature Society (set up in 1887) specializing in religious books. Their translations were few, with half about military sciences and the other half about mathematics, electricity, chemistry, hydraulics, and the like. No translations were done of Western literature. Looking Backward was probably the only exception. It was translated by Timothy Richard and published by Shanghai Christian Literature Society in 1894. In the views of the time, there were many useful books in the West, especially concerning politics and natural sciences. They knew there were also literary works in the West, but they’d rather not translate them because those books were “useless.”6 In fact, the translation of Western literature had been neglected until Liang Qichao recognized the importance of translating Western books. He wrote in his 1897 article On Translation, “Today, translation must be taken as the top priority to strengthen our country”. He listed nine categories of translations, without mentioning foreign fictions. The Chinese indifference to foreign fictions did not change until around the 1898 Reform. The change, however, was due to politics rather than the literature itself. In 1897, Kang Youwei published A Bibliography of Japanese Books. One section of the publication was “Fictions” and included 1058 Japanese fictions. The publication noted, “It is urgent to translate the fictions so as to help more Chinese people read them”. In the same year, Yan Fu and Xia Zenyou wrote Printing Announcement of the Office, expounding the function of fictions in detail. They planned to publish a collection of overseas literary works. In 1898, in On Publishing Political Fictions, Liang Qichao made it clear that fictions by famous foreign writers, especially those beneficial to contemporary China, could be selected and published in newspapers. Since then, translation of foreign fictions began to gain serious attention among intellectuals of the late Qing Dynasty. Many people supported Kang Youwei and 5 See

the 29th section in Academic Essentials of Qing Dynasty by Liang Qichao, published by The Commercial Press in 1921. 6 See “On Translating Practical Books from the West” in Writings of Late Qing Dynasty: A Reader, ed. by Gao Fengqian, published by Shenghuo Bookstore in 1937.

2.1 An Open Eye to the World

23

Liang Qichao. Fiction translation received a tremendous boost. They believed that “fictions had accelerated the civilization of Europe, America and Japan.”7 Unlikely as it was, it did help bring a boom of translating foreign fictions in China. They deemed that the transformation of Chinese politics can only be achieved with the aid of translated fictions since “most of the vernacular fictions in China were full of ill thoughts and unsound mind.”8 Zhang Kunde published his translation of the British detective story Sherlock Holmes’s Notes in the sixth issue of the magazine The Chinese Progress in September 1896; Japanese political fiction A Woman’s Adventure translated by Liang Qichao was published in the first issue of the newspaper Political Criticism in December 1898; Lin Shu’s Chinese rendition of Camille, a French novel, was seen in a magazine in Fuzhou in 1899; and Xue Shaohui’s translation of Around the World in Eighty Days, a French science fiction, was published by Classics Publishing House in 1900. Up to then, major types of foreign fictions—detective stories, political fictions, romances, and science fictions—were all introduced into China. Foreign fictions, especially Lin Shu’s Chinese version of Camille, gained great popularity among Chinese readers. Conversations about Camille even grew into a fashion among men of letters of the time. The unique charm of translated fictions like Camille soon changed the Chinese attitude toward foreign fictions. In 1902, the magazine New Fiction started its first issue, announcing that the magazine welcomed both originals and translations. Afterward, more such magazines emerged, such as Illustrated Fictions (started 1903) and New New-fictions (started 1904). Sometimes, the magazines and newspapers welcomed more translations than originals. Translations were also well accepted by publishing houses. Xu Nianci said in 1908, not unexaggeratedly, that originals took up no more than 20% of the stories published in 1907 whereas translations occupied 80% or more space.9 Luo Pu boldly estimated that nearly 1000 foreign stories were translated every year.10 The years 1906 to 1908 saw a peak of translated fictions, with respectively 105, 135, and 94 translations in those three years. Those numbers doubled original Chinese works in the same period. In 1911, Lu Shi’e convincingly claimed in his article that most of the works of the varied societies and fiction writers were translations. Though it’s hard to give accurate statistics, translations of foreign fictions bloomed in the first two decades of the century. Some people criticized that it was absurd to take foreign fictions as models and gave up the long-lasting Chinese traditions of fiction writing.11 Others thought it acceptable for the writers to cater to

7 See Yan Fu and Xia Zenyou’s Publishing Announcement of the Office, serialized in National News from October 16 to November 18, 1897. 8 See “On Publishing Political Fictions” by Liang Qichao in Political Criticism, No. 1, 1898. 9 See “My Views on Fiction” by Juewo (Xu Nianci) in Collection of Fictions, No. 9, 1908. 10 See Pifasheng (Luo Pu)’s Preface to Tears of A Young Lady, published by Guangzhi Book Company, 1909. 11 See Preface to Chinese Detective Stories by Wu Jianren, published by Guangzhi Book Company, 1906.

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the readers because of the changed notion of fiction writing and fiction marketing.12 In any event, the development during the two decades was astonishing, a change from 7 fictions in 50 years to 126 fictions in one year. It was a change from a time when originals were deemed more superior so that some writers lied to claim their translations as their original writings to a time when translators lied to claim their own creations as translations. Lin Shu translated Camille simply for pleasure while Liang Qichao translated political fictions with a goal for political reformation. Neither expected the great impact of foreign fictions on the artistic innovation in Chinese fictions. When writers like Zhou Guisheng and Xu Nianci began to translate, there was definite recognition of the aesthetic value of foreign fictions and a clear sense of learning from them, as evidenced in their prefaces or reviews for their translations. In 1909 when Lu Xun and his brother published A Collection of Foreign Stories, they further emphasized the importance of the Western fictions in enhancing the content and techniques of modern Chinese literature. They hoped that the collection could bring more recognition among Chinese people of modern ideas and techniques.13 People’s change from passive acceptance of, to active learning from, the translations lies not only in the sheer number of translated works but also in the enhanced quality of translation. Translators would not translate whatever at hand. Instead, they would choose masterpieces with great artistic value. Despite the general selectivity in foreign works chosen for translation, responsible translators like the Zhou brothers (Lu Xun and his brother) and Zeng Pu were still rare to see at the time. Before doing their translations, the Zhou brothers would conduct extensive readings of foreign fictions and literary histories of the source countries. Zeng Pu started translating French fictions only after a systematic study of French literature. Table 2.1 lists 20 world masterpieces translated during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period. As reflected in the table, the quality of translations greatly improved after 1905. Though world masterpieces may not suit Chinese readers or help Chinese fictions, the careful selections of world-class fictions spoke for the translators’ better insight and taste. It represented a shift from popular writers like Arthur Conan Doyle and Henry Rider Haggard to more serious writers like Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy and Charles Dickens. Compared with the works translated by the May-Fourth translators, translations of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period were still poor in quality, but they did include some world classics, unlike the popular stories of the earlier period. Meanwhile, reviews of the translated works and theoretical studies of translation appeared in newspapers and magazines. Zhou Guisheng and his friends even established a Society of Translation, though it lasted only for half a year after two issues. Besides, poor translations were still not uncommon. However, fiction translation as a serious cultural undertaking saw wide recognition, though translation criticism and quality of translations were still far from satisfying.

12 See 13 See

“My Views on Fiction” by Juewo (Xu Nianci) in Collection of Fictions, No. 9, 1908. Preface to A Collection of Foreign Stories (1909 edition) published in Tokyo.

2.1 An Open Eye to the World

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Table 2.1 World classics translated during the late qing dynasty and the early republican period Chinese title: old/new

English title

Author

Translator

Year of publication

Cha Hua Nü Yishi/Cha Hua Nü

Camille

Alexandre Dumas, Junior

Lin Shu/Wang Shouchang

1899

Hei Nu Yutian Lu/Tom Shushu de Xiaowu

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe

Lin Shu/Wei Yi

1901

E’guo Qingshi/Shangwei de Nü’er

The Captain’s Daughter

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin

Ji Yihui

1903

Sakexun Jiehou Yingxiong Lue

Ivanhoe

Walter Scott

Lin Shu/Wei Yi

1905

Lubinsun Piaoliu Ji

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

Daniel Defoe

Lin Shu/Zeng Zonggong

1905–1906

Haiwai Xuanqu Lu/Geliefo Youji

Gulliver’s Travels

Jonathan Swift

Lin Shu/Zeng Zonggong

1906

Tian Fang Ye Tan/Yi Qian Ling Yi Ye

Arabian Nights (The Thousand and One Nights)

Xiruo

1906

Yin Niu Bei/Dangdai A Hero of Our Yingxiong Time

M. Lermontov

Wu Tao

1907

Xia Yin Ji/Sange Huoqiangshou

The Three Musketeers

Alexandre Dumas, Senior

Wu Guangjian

1907

Xiaonü Nai’er Zhuan/Lao Guwan Dian

The Old Curiosity Shop

Charles Dickens

Lin Shu/Wei Yi

1907

Fuzhang Lu/Jianwen The Sketch Book Zaji

Washington Irving

Lin Shu/Wei Yi

1907

Gu Xing Lei/Beican Shijie

The Wretched

Victor Hugo

The Commercial 1907 Press

Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu/Dawei Kebofei’er

David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

Lin Shu/Wei Yi

1908

Bu Ru Gui

Namiko

Tokutomi Roka

Lin Shu/Wei Yi

1908

Liu Hao Shi/Di Liu Bingshi

Ward Number 6

Anton Pavlovich Bao Tianxiao Chekhov

1910

Yi You Qing/Hai Shang Laogong

Toilers of the Sea

Victor Hugo

Di Chuqing

1910

Jiu Shi San Nian/Jiu Ninety-Three San Nian

Victor Hugo

Zeng Pu

1913

Xin Yu/Fu Huo

Resurrection

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy

Ma Junwu

1914

Chun Chao

The Torrents of Spring

Ivan Turgenev

Chen Gu

1915 (continued)

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Table 2.1 (continued) Chinese title: old/new

English title

Author

Translator

Year of publication

Fengsu Xian Ping

Idle Comments on Social Customs

Anton Pavlovich Chen Jialin/Chen 1916 Chekhov Dadeng

Notes 1. The table only presents a rough selection of world classics due to the variety of standards for evaluation 2. Adaptions and abridged versions are not included while single pieces of trilogies and the like are selected 3. Novels, novellas, and collections of short stories are included, but collections of different writers are excluded

When fiction translations prevailed in China in 1906 and 1907, some critics (like Wang Zhongqi) saw the awkward situation in which translations prevailed over originals. They earnestly hoped that great writers like Dickens and Tolstoy be translated in China as early as possible, since they saw that if fictions could facilitate social reformation, Chinese people needed to depend on fiction creations of their own rather than on the translations of foreign fictions.14 Huang Xiaopei called for a shift from simple translation to intentional imitation. In his understanding, the true development of indigenous Chinese literature must follow and then surpass translations of foreign literature.15 Some critics like Wu Jianren even went to the extremist argument that translations were unsuitable for the Chinese people and society.16 Undoubtedly, it was foresighted to advocate domestic fiction creations. However, a rash conclusion that translations of foreign fiction were excessive or that they should be denied access with the excuse that they might not agree with the Chinese situation, and may lead to the danger of self-isolation. Chinese learning of foreign literature remained shallow and there was a ready tendency to relapse into old traditional Chinese fiction. These perhaps were the reasons why “the new novelists” never truly broke free from the trammel of traditions.

2.2 Free Translation in Trend In the early period, translators’ names were not seen in the translated works. This remained the case even after the publication of the magazine Illustrated Fictions in 1903. In The Arabian Nights published in the eleventh issue of Illustrated Fictions, a note read, “This is a well-known Arabian story widely introduced to the western 14 See “Chronicles of Chinese Fictions” by Tianlusheng (Wang Zhonglin) in The All-Story Monthly,

Vol. 1, No. 11, 1907. 15 See “Translation of Fictions Leading the Development of Fictions” by Huang Shizhong in Chinese

and Foreign Stories, Vol. 2, No 4, 1908. 16 See Preface to Chinese Detective Stories by Wu Jianren, published by Guangzhi Book Company,

1906.

2.2 Free Translation in Trend

27

countries. Here is a Chinese translation by a renowned writer to entertain the readers.” But there was no mention of the translator’s name. There is a difference between no mention of the translator’s name and mention of the translator with a pseudonym. The former belittles the translator’s creative work while the latter at least recognizes the existence of the translator. Along with the rapid ascent of fictions and translation of fictions, fiction translation began to be acknowledged as a decent job. Under such social circumstances, translators would have their names on the translated works. Some translators even attempted to secure their own name via translations of others’ work. The first translator that was acclaimed among the common readers as well as among the literati was Lin Shu, not only because he wielded a facile pen but also because people shifted to a positive attitude toward translation. Ordinary readers as well as scholars came to see the important role of translators in social reformation, in literary revolution, in the affirmation of the artistic value of fictions. Luo Pu acclaimed, “Who can predict that the likes of master pens such as Shi Nai’an, Wang Fengzhou and Cao Xueqin will not emerge from among the translators?”17 Fiction criticism started with the column of “Comment on Fiction” by Liang Qichao in the magazine New Fiction in 1903, which was followed by many other similar columns like “Talking about Fiction” in the magazine The All-Story Monthly and “Close Readings” in the magazine Collection of Fictions. Apart from the preface and introduction to a specific translated fiction, there were also systematic writings about fictions as a whole, such as Yu Mingzhen’s Essays by Gu’an,18 Zhong Junwen’s19 Idle Comments on Fictions, Qiu Weixuan’s Reading New Fictions, and Dong Sheng’s Comments on Fiction. Comments on fiction translation concerned both the originals and the translations. The former, either highly appreciative or strongly depreciative, were usually impressively done, such as Yu Mingzhen’s appreciation of the characterization of Watson in Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Zhong Junwen’s criticisms of the chaotic plotting of Japanese Sword, and the dull plotting in Bo Nai Yin Zhuan.20 But the latter—that is, criticism of the translations—were rather impressionistic, general, and poor in critical vocabulary with frequent dull repetitions such as “excellent”, “great”, “graceful”, and “fluent”. For instance, the comment “the excellent translator shall first go to Zhou Guisheng” was seen concerning his translation of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, or “graceful translation” for Plum Blossom in the Snow and Yellow Pencil, or “marvelous original and excellent translation” for David Copperfield. But there was little explanation on how exactly they are excellent or graceful. It’s clear that the critics then regarded the translations the same as the originals, attending more to the translators’ art of writing rather than the fidelity of their translations. Some critics did notice the agreement of personal temperament between the original writer and the translator. For example, some said that Lin Shu was more 17 See Pifasheng (Luo Pu)’s Preface to Tears of A Young Lady, published by Guangzhi Book Company, 1909. 18 Gu’an is the pseudonym of Yu Mingzhen. 19 Zhong Junwen’s pseudonym is Yinbansheng. 20 No recording of the original.

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suitable to translate Washington Irving but was “no good”21 in translating detective stories and that Xiruo, another translator, whose translations were generally “clean and compact”, did a lousy job with The Skull Cup as if it “had been done by a different person.”22 Critics at the time neither differentiated the creativeness of translations from that of the original writings nor set up specific criteria and terminology for translation criticism. Some critics did note that translators were supposed to be faithful to the original work “without false representation.”23 However, it was almost a false proposition since few of the critics would read the originals for comparison. “How could they know the truth if they do not read the original?”24 They would just compare different translations of the same story, like Zhong Junwen’s comparison between Four Cases and Detective Stories, between Flower in Trap and Sergeant Peter,25 and Xin Lou’s comparison between Jealousy in Love and A Lady with A Round Silk Fan.26 It’s no wonder that they would focus more on the writing techniques rather than the translator’s techniques. However, translators themselves know better of the subtlety and difficulty of doing translations. Yan Fu wrote that sometimes he “lingered on one word for several months”27 before he finally settled it in Chinese. Su Manshu also mentioned that metrics in poetry mattered much and could be very difficult to reproduce in the translation.28 Surely, translators as serious as Yan Fu and Su Manshu were rare to see at the time. Difficulty in translation was commonly recognized, as noted by Zhou Guisheng: “Translating is hard; translating fictions is even harder. It requires a thorough study of the ins and outs of the original. If not, the translated version could be dull and unintelligible.”29

Fiction translation may not be harder than poetry translation or the translation of other books of humanities. Apparently, the purpose of saying so was to raise the social status of the translator. People saw that translation was not an easy job and that it demanded not only a mastery of both the mother tongue and the foreign language but also extensive knowledge in varied fields of study and an incisive 21 See

“Comment on Fiction” by Dong Sheng, in Friction Monthly, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1911. “Leisurely Comments on Fictions” by Yin Bansheng (Zhong Junwen), in World of Entertainments, No. 1–18, 1906–1907. 23 Dong Sheng commented that Lin Shu fulfilled the requirement in his reproduction of David’s proposal in the Chinese version of David Copperfield. But the problem is, Dong Sheng didn’t read the original novel, how was he sure of it? And he himself didn’t disclose this in his comment. 24 See “Some Words on the Translated Fictions on the Monthly Magazines” by Xin Lou in New Magazine of Fictions. Vol. 5, 1915. 25 The original of the novel is unknown. 26 The original of the novel is unknown. 27 See Yan Fu’s “Translator’s Notes” in his Chinese translation of Evolution and Ethics and other Essays, 1898. 28 See the Preface to A Collection of Translated Poems in Complete Works of Su Manshu, Vol 1, 1928. 29 See the Introduction to Sherlock Holmes Stories (11, 12, 13) by Zhou Guisheng in The All-Story Monthly, Vol 1, No. 5, 1907. 22 See

2.2 Free Translation in Trend

29

grasp of human psychology.30 These unquestionably constitute high standards for translators, standards that few translators could meet. On the one hand, it’s needless to say that translators’ abilities were limited; on the other hand, readers of the time did not expect so highly of the translators; they just wanted to be able to consume the plots of the original stories. Hence, there was a time when bold rough translations prevailed and suffered no brickbats of criticism during the late Qing and the early Republican period. Translation theories have long existed in China spanning more than 1600 years from the Han Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, the initial remarkable manifestation of which could be Lokaksema’s Preface to Dhammapada. The Preface insisted that “translators should strictly follow the original Buddhist sutras with plain rather than ornate words”. But translation theories at the time mainly focused on the translation of Buddhist scriptures and scientific books, not on literary writings. After the introduction of overseas fictions into China in the late Qing Dynasty, a growing number of translators would write from their experiences. Despite some occasional insights, no systematic theories emerged. The kernel of traditional translation theories in China has always been the contradiction between a free translation and literal translation, as asserted in Liang Qichao’s discussion of the translation of Buddhist scriptures.31 The conflict between free translation and literal translation has long been a controversial topic. In his discussion of the stylistic evolution of Buddhist translation, Liang Qichao believed that the choice between free and literal translations was largely dependent on the taste of the time, a choice that cannot be made absolutely. Yan Fu’s principle in translation, the Principle of Faithfulness-Expressiveness-Elegance, though hard to fulfill, was influential in the late Qing Dynasty. As far as fiction translation is considered, Expressiveness32 was valued over Faithfulness at the time since fiction translation, unlike poetry translation, demanded more readability and was expected to keep the literary quality of the original.33 Those which read natural and fluent were better accepted by the readers, though this was done sometimes at the cost of faithfulness and even distortion of the original. Theoretically, Faithfulness was more prized. Translators at the time often declared in the prefaces or translator’s notes that they’d done their best to give a faithful rendition of the original. Seemingly, it showed translators’ respect for the original works, but such a declaration often meant to remind the readers of the exotic quality of the original story, or in many cases, to excuse themselves from any possible negative criticism. In fact, some translators even flaunted their alterations and omissions.34 30 See

Preface to Seven Writers by Yun Tieqiao in Short Story Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 7, 1915.

31 See “Translated Literature and Buddhist Classics” in The Complete Collections of Liang Qichao,

Vol. 14, Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1936. Yan Fu’s concept, Elegance means to write in lexis and syntax before the Han Dynasty. But in fiction translation in the late Qing Dynasty, to be elegant means to write with rhetorical and florid diction. 33 See Wu Jianren’s “Notes to the Hypnotism” in Hypnotism, Guangzhi Book Company, 1905; in Pifahseng (Luo Pu)’s Preface to Tears of A Young Lady. 34 An example is seen in Zhou Guisheng’s translation of The Sculptor’s Coils. He claimed that he translated strictly from the original, but he also added a section to Chap. 9 in which he described 32 In

30

2 Inspiration and Simulation from Foreign Fictions

Lin Shu once pointed out that translation differed from creation in that a writer can bring his imagination to the foreground in his creations whereas a translator needed to suppress his imagination in the translation for sake of fidelity to the original.35 But it was well-known that Lin Shu made alterations quite freely, largely for fear of causing religious controversies due to the doctrines expressed in the original works. Lu Xun and his brother also declared that they would not make alterations in the translation and would keep the exotic names of people and places by way of transliteration.36 But before this, both of them would have abridgments as seen in Lu Xun’s translation of Around The Moon (1870) by Jules Verne and in Zhou Zuoren’s37 translation of Midst the Wild Carpathians (1877) by Dr. Maurus Jokai, a Hungarian writer, and in Zhou Zuoren’s half-translation-and-half-creation version of Victor Hugo’s Claude Gueux (with the Chinese title of Gu’er Ji, meaning “The Story of An Orphan”). Since 1907 or 1908, there were indeed some highly faithful translations such as Wu Tao’s Yin Niu Bei (A Hero of Our Time by Lermontov), Ma Junwu’s Fu Huo (Resurrection by Tolstoy), and Zeng Pu’s Jiu Shi San Nian (NinetyThree by Victor Hugo). But as a whole, literal translation was given little account at the time. Moreover, literal translation was almost tantamount to being “obscure, banal, unintelligible, or perplexing” which was later referred to as “word-for-word translation” by beginner translators in their reference to “rigid translation”. In the late Qing Dynasty, free translation38 generally was given absolute superiority over literal translation. Liang Qichao’s citations from English scholars were quite popular that the sense rather than the diction should be more valued in translation.39 Free translation at the time was manifested in the following respects: (1) adaption of foreign names of people and places into Chinese names for the convenience of Chinese readers, a practice that was highly acclaimed; (2) adaption of foreign fictions into the traditional Chinese style of chapter novels by creating rhyming couplet titles for each chapter. This was a popular practice acclaimed by well-known writers and translators such as Liang Qichao and Xu Nianci. They believed that translations rendered in this way were even better than the originals40 ; (3) the deletion of trifles and things incompatible with China’s situations, as determined by the translators’ literary taste as well as their political vision; (4) the amplification of comments and the

how Miao’er missed her father. Wu Jianren added to it an explanation that without the added section, it would be somewhat imperfect if judged by the traditional Chinese ethics of an affectionate father and a filial daughter. See in New Fiction, No. 12. 35 See Preface to Robinson Crusoe, The Commercial Press, 1905. 36 See Preface and Notes of Translation to A Collection of Foreign Stories. 37 Lu Xun’s brother. 38 Here, “free translation” is used differently than in its usual sense; it means “translating freely”. 39 See “Notes of Translation” to Deux Ans de Vacances (Two Years’ Vacation, by Jules Verne, 1888) in the magazine Sein Min Choong Bou. No. 2, 1902. 40 Ibid.

2.2 Free Translation in Trend

31

addition of details to the plot, the most typical example of which could be the collaborated translation of Hypnotism by Fang Qingzhou and Wu Jianren. Twenty-four chapters were developed from the six chapters of the original, with many comments added by the translators.41 Why was free translation so prevalent in the late Qing Dynasty? Two points may account for it: the translators’ low proficiency in foreign languages, and the readers’ and translators’ casual attitude toward translation. First, translators were frequently thwarted by their low proficiency in foreign languages. Few translators at the time were good at foreign languages including noted ones like Liang Qichao and Bao Tianxiao. Liang Qichao translated A Woman’s Adventure from Japanese while still learning the language whereas Bao Tianxiao started to learn Japanese after he co-translated Joan Haste. Many of the translated fictions were done by translators who were themselves beginners with the foreign language and in many cases couldn’t even understand the original, let alone “have a thorough study of it.”42 Therefore, general practice was that the translators would translate and adapt at the same time and delete the things they could not translate, on the excuse that their work represented “the spirit rather than the diction of the original.”43 Second, cooperative translation in which one dictated and the other scripted also promoted the practice of free translation. The convention of cooperative translation was handed down from Buddhist translation in the Tang Dynasty and the translation of science books in the early and late Ming Dynasty. Hence, Lin Shu had his day when he was acclaimed as a great translator of the time, but he actually knew no foreign languages. Cooperative translation was somewhat a fashion in the late Qing Dynasty, and the Zhou Brothers44 also translated in this way. But the problem is, the dictator may not fully understand the original while the scribe may add to it his own understanding and imagination. Ma Jianzhong was critical of the many mistranslations that occurred in this way.45 Translated fictions were popular with the public and were profitable. Translations and even fake ones came out in droves. Though profit-grabbing translators were assailed for their casually irresponsible attitude toward translation, people forgot that the irresponsible attitude partly derived from the lack of a clear definition of “literal translation” and its important relation with the introduction of foreign literature. Strategies of translation were related to the translators’ and the readers’ attitude toward and evaluation of overseas fictions. In his introduction to Xin Xi Xian Tan (Idle Commentary at Dawn and Dusk; the first half of Morning and Night by British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton), Liang Qichao contended that overseas fictions broadened people’s horizon in China. Many agreed with Liang. Later, some people saw overseas 41 See

“Notes to the Hypnotism” by Wu Jianren in Hypnotism, Guangzhi Book Company, 1905. “A Proposal of Establishing A Translation Institution” (1894) by Ma Jianzhong in Notes of Shikezhai Study, Vol. 4. 43 See Review of Hongfen Jie (the original is unknown) published by Guohua Book Company, 1914. 44 Lu Xun (Zhou Shuren) and his brother, Zhou Zuoren. 45 See A Proposal of Establishing A Translation Institution (1894) by Ma Jianzhong. 42 See

32

2 Inspiration and Simulation from Foreign Fictions

fictions as political manuals with interesting stories. Plausible as they were, they somewhat neglected the artistic value of the overseas fictions. In addition to the translators’ limited understanding of the original, their neglect of the artistic value of the original may also allow them to give free rein to their translations, even with the pretense that their alterations were better than the original. However, with time, overseas fictions became more appreciated in China, and consequently, their Chinese translations received more serious treatment. The translation aesthetics is deeply imprinted with the mark of its age. This was mainly seen in the translators’ selection of the originals rather than in the translator’s style. Professional translators (such as Wu Tao and Wu Guangjian) were usually more serious and faithful toward the original work. On the other hand, translators who were also writers (e.g. Bao Tianxiao and Zhou Shujuan) simply couldn’t suppress their authorial prowess and took high liberty with translations (this to be further discussed in Sect. 2.3). The fuzzy boundary between translators and writers may also account for the common practice of free translation in the late Qing Dynasty.

2.3 Achievements of Foreign Fictions Translated From the first introduction of foreign fictions by the newspaper The Chinese Progress in 1896 to the early rise of the May-Fourth writers in 1916, writers of New Fiction translated some 800 foreign fictions including separate editions as well as full novels published in installments by magazines. The most influential early magazines that published translated fictions were New Fiction (initiated in 1902), Illustrated Fictions (1903),46 New New-fictions (1904), The All-Story Monthly (1906), Collection of Fictions (1907), Fiction Times (1909), Short Story Magazine (1910), and Fiction Gallimaufry (1915). Book companies also contributed to the introduction and spread of foreign fictions in China, among which The Commercial Press and Xiaoshuolin Press were the most notable between 1900 and 1920, which accounted for two-fifths of total publications of the time. Table 2.2 shows the business of publications of foreign fictions by the top eight book companies of the time. Among sources of the original works of the 796 translations, British fictions took the greatest proportion (293 total) followed in sequence by French, Japanese, American, Russian, and German fictions. The number of fictions from other countries was negligible. Table 2.3 presents a detailed list. Understandably, British and French fictions took the lead in the list of translations. Japanese fictions were also favored because of their geographic and cultural adjacency to China. Compared with the May-Fourth writers, the new novelists were noticeably indifferent toward Russian fictions which were introduced to China much later and numbered only one-fourth of the Japanese fictions translated. It was due to the distribution of the overseas Chinese students at the time and the languages 46 The years noted here represented the early stage of translated fictions published in newspapers or magazines.

1

Wenming Book Company

Zhonghua Book Company

Reformation Fiction Press

New World Fiction Press

Youzheng Book Company

Xiaoshuolin Press

1

The Commercial Press

1

4

4

4

10

3

11

1

2

21

3

20

2

5

5

30

2

32

6

10

2

19

55

7

11

3

3

9

45

1

5

2

19

1

2

1

5

1

2

3 2

2

3

2

9

11

3

23

4

2

12

5

1

1

17

20

23

23

90

14

241

29

2

Guangzhi Book Company

1

1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 Unknown Total

Institution year

Table 2.2 Publications of translated fictions of top eight book companies

2.3 Achievements of Foreign Fictions Translated 33

15 42

11

4

5

8

14

62

16

1

1

7

6

12

19

110

26

1

7

14

15

47

126

23

1

5

18

15

12

52

97

23

2

15

4

13

40

61

19

1

1

4

4

3

29

30

11

1

1

2

1

6

8

24

9

3

5

1

3

3

5

3

1

1

11

3

1

3

4

26

6

2

4

3

11

65

17

2

4

3

5

11

23

42

12

1

3

1

7

18

32

7

3

6

6

10

796

203

8

21

78

80

113

293

Notes: 1. The calculations in Tables 2.2 and 2.3 are based on A’Ying’s Catalogue of Operas and Fictions in the late Qing Dynasty, Tan Ruqian’s Comprehensive Catalogues of Chinese Translations of Japanese Books, and the section of Foreign Literature in A General Catalogue of Republican China compiled by Beijing Library. Inaccurate calculations and fake translations were removed and some supplements were added. The supplements include offprints, separate editions, and full novels published in installments by magazines 2. Since there were many errors concerning the source languages noted in translations at the time, errors remain despite the best effort for accuracy. Translations with no labeled original language were included in “Others” in the table

44

2

8

7

Total

1

Others

3

1

German

1

10

7

9

1

2

2

2

Russian

1

2

American

1

4

1

French

Japanese

2

British

Nation and 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 Unknown Total year

Table 2.3 Publications of translated fictions by source of the fictions

34 2 Inspiration and Simulation from Foreign Fictions

2.3 Achievements of Foreign Fictions Translated

35

the new novelists knew. However, these are not the main reasons. The May-Fourth writers took preference to Russian fictions not because they were good at Russian, but because the translations were done from English and Japanese translations of the original Russian fictions. It is the aesthetic taste of the new novelists that inclined them toward British fictions rather than Russian fictions, which certainly limited the scope of their translations. Such aesthetic taste and preference were well demonstrated by the ranking of the bestsellers47 of the time. From 1896 to 1916, Conan Doyle took the lead with 32 of his fictions translated, followed by H. R. Haggard with 25 of his fictions translated. Jules Verne and Alexandre Dumas the senior tied for the third, each having 17 of their fictions translated. Next on the list was Shunro Oshikawa with 10 of his fictions translated. This ranking was largely reversed during the May Fourth period. Foreign writers favored by the new novelists diminished in the eye of the May-Fourth writers, during which time Conan Doyle had only 5 of his fictions translated, and H. R. Haggard had only 6 of his fictions translated. All these translations were done by Lin Shu and Chen Jialin. None of Jules Verne’s works was translated during this period. Foreign writers that became popular with the May-Fourth writers were Tolstoy (15 books translated), Maupassant (13 books), Ivan Turgenev (8 books), Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (6 books), and Rabindranath Tagore (5 books). A small number of writers (like Tolstoy) were favored by both the new novelists and the May-Fourth writers. Though it may not be proper to judge the foreign writers only by the number of their works translated, selections for translation by the new novelists and the May-Fourth writers were not done randomly. The selections may be regarded as a manifestation of ideological trends in the literature of the time. The differences between the new novelists and the May-Fourth writers in their selected works for translation may be discerned in the following aspects. Firstly, the new novelists tended to favor writers of novels while the May-Fourth writers tended to favor masters of short stories like Maupassant and Chekhov or masters of both novels and short stories like Tolstoy and Turgenev. Secondly, the new novelists preferred detective stories, historical romances, science fictions, or military fictions whereas the MayFourth writers by and large liked to translate “social stories” (in the term of the new novelists). Thirdly, the new novelists’ translations were basically popular stories whereas the May-Fourth writers chose serious novels. Lastly, the new novelists were still restrained by the traditional predilection toward interesting stories, but the MayFourth writers began to shift to appreciate the “sentiment appeal” or “style”, in Mao Dun’s words.48 Though the translators of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican period had an immature aesthetic preference in their selections, the early development of modern Chinese fiction owed a lot to their translations. It was perhaps the similar tastes of 47 It’s calculated according to the number of fictions translated and published rather than sales, since

it was hard to ascertain sales statistics at the time. 48 See “Comment on Fiction Collection”, in Literature Magazine, No. 43, 1922; Mao Dun is a famous Chinese writer, founder of the Mao Dun Literature Award, the most prestigious literary award in China. He worked at the time as an editor at The Commercial Press.

36

2 Inspiration and Simulation from Foreign Fictions

translated foreign fictions to those of Chinese readers that excited a Chinese demand for foreign fictions. If Chekhov’s serious works were introduced at the very beginning of the translation of foreign fictions, the Chinese public probably would have rejected them. The excellent early translations helped to cultivate more mature aesthetics in subsequent readers. What follows is an introduction of twelve excellent translators, as a summary of the accomplishments in fiction translation during this time. Lin Shu A stylish writer of classical Chinese, Lin Shu translated foreign fictions with a magic pen. He gained fame as a translator with his maiden translation of Camille, together with another 163 foreign fictions, most being second- or third-rate nonentities, but 9 out of the 20 world-class works translated at the time, as I estimate, came out of his pen. Lin Shu’s translations spanned nearly thirty years of roughly two stages: clean and elegant before 1911 and loose and dragging after 1911.49 He made the extreme claim that foreign fictions were all congruent with the style of traditional Chinese writing50 and that all literary brains, despite the barrier by different continents, are the same. He demonstrated a unique Chinese perspective in his interpretations of Haggard and Dickens. He never mutilated the original fictions despite his alterations and abridgments. He claimed high fidelity in his management of techniques such as suspense, cohesion, tone modulation, and scene shifts.51 Such a view in literary translation gained him the reputation that he was much more brilliant than his peers in terms of making alterations and that his translations were quite close to the originals both in sense and sentiment. His translation of Camille, though not his best, manifested a highly unique style, in spite of its some modifications, mistranslations, and abridgments. Most of the abridgments occurred in the first four chapters including the story of a prostitute, the description of the auction scene, the digressions about Mark’s sister, and the authorial comments on prostitutes, which were nothing but redundancy in Lin Shu’s view. In Chapters Five to Sixteen, we see occasional omissions of digressions and authorial comments. Chapters 17 through 27 show few abridgements, probably because, by this time into the novel, the translator was so deeply engrossed with the work that he no longer could find it in himself to alter the original. In addition, Lin Shu was very careful with descriptions of character psychology (as seen in Chapter Fourteen) and descriptions of natural scenery (seen in Chapter Sixteen). Chen Lengxue Chen Lengxue started the magazine New New-fictions in 1904, which published a wide range of translated fictions covering political fictions, social fictions, and war 49 See “Lin Shu’s Translation” by Qian Zhongshu in Patchwork: Seven Essays on Art and Literature,

published by Shanghai Classics Publishing House, 1985. “Translator’s Note” in the Chinese version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Heinu Yu Tian Lu in Chinese) in the edition of Wulin Weishi in 1901. 51 See Preface to the Chinese version of Dombey and Son (Binxue Yinyuan in Chinese), published by The Commercial Press in 1909. 50 See

2.3 Achievements of Foreign Fictions Translated

37

fictions. Sample works included Eugene Aram (by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English writer, 1832), Les Mystères de Paris (by Eugèn Sue, French writer, 1842), and The Volunteer Corps (by Maupassant, French writer). He was especially fascinated with the nihilist fictions. He once wrote, “I love the intricate stories and admire the gallantry of those nihilists and their determination to defy authority.”52 He was well-known for his translations of nihilist fictions such as Nihilists (1904), Legend of Nihilists (1906), and Chivalrous Swordsmen (1910). His translations were often seen in new newspapers and were usually laconic with a cold tone. Hence the “Lengxue (cold blood) Style” was named after his name. The most notable translation by Chen Lengxue is the novel Heart published in the sixth issue of Fiction Times with a brief introduction to the original writer. According to the introduction, it was a translation of Russian writer Leonid Andreyev, who was highly appreciated at the time. One year later, Lu Xun translated another two fictions by the same writer—Silence and Deceit. Zhou Guisheng In 1900, Zhou Guisheng began to translate Arabian Nights for the newspaper Folklore edited by Wu Jianren and later anthologized the stories in The First Collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1903). He wrote in the authorial preface that he embarked on translating foreign fictions because he believed that the dogmas of the Chinese population cannot be ameliorated without the introduction of foreign civilizations. He often adapted foreign notes, sketches, essays, and even newspaper reports into Chinese fictions. His main translations were detective stories such as The Sculptor’s Coils and No. 11, 12, 13 of Sherlock Holmes Stories and some science fictions like Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Flying to Jupiter. Based on his wide knowledge of foreign fictions and a serious attitude toward translation, Zhou Guisheng’s translations were of high quality. He was concerned with the varying quality of translations of the time. He established the Society of Translation with the hope to enhance communication among translators so as to improve the quality of translations in general. Zhou Guisheng asserted, “Translators should try not to be too free or too stiff when translating western fictions into Chinese.”53 He definitely spoke from his own experience. However, it’s really hard to strike the optimum balance between “free” and “stiff” translations. In many people’s assessment, Zhou’s translations were freer than stiff as he tended to freely make alterations and seldom gave names of the original author. But it’s noteworthy that his style of vernacular Chinese and simple classical Chinese in translation (e.g. The Sculptor’s Coils) did have exerted much influence on translations by subsequent generations. Xu Nianci Xu Nianci was a notable translator with a brief career of five years. He started in 1903 with the translation of Masterman Ready, or Wreck of the Pacific by British writer Frederick Marryat. His career ended when he died in June of 1908 in Shanghai. 52 See 53 See

Preface of Nihilists, Kaiming Bookstore, 1904. the entry “Quan Che” in New History of Laughter by Wu Jianren.

38

2 Inspiration and Simulation from Foreign Fictions

However, his rare insight in translation theory was well represented in his articles “An Account of the Founding of Collection of Fictions” and “My Views on Fiction”. It’s a pity that he did more reviewing and editing work than translating, leaving us only seven or eight translated fictions such as Black Planet by American writer Simon Newcomb, New Stage by Japanese writer Shunro Oshikawa and Masterman Ready, or Wreck of the Pacific. He was quite discontented with the prevalence of translated detective fictions that “are no good to the society”. He lamented the small number of publications with grand themes such as military affairs, adventures, and science, which accounted for only two-tenths54 of the total. Xu’s concern showed a sense of social responsibility in translating works that were of themes useful to societal welfare. However, his espoused themes in translation somewhat ran counter to his advocacy of the best works in aesthetics of ideals and emotion. He was extremely serious toward translation and seldom made abridgments. Besides, he was much empathetic with the original works. He translated in vernacular Chinese and simple classical Chinese, and always attempted to keep the original style. Wu Guangjian Wu Guangjian started to translate in the 1890s and became a professional translator in the 1930s. His corpus encompassed more than 130 translations on literature, history, and philosophy, with nearly one hundred million words. He translated some large tomes of novels during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period, works that quickly caught the fashion of the time. He chose to translate complex history novels such as those by French writer Alexandre Dumas the senior including The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Anecdotes of French Palace (I and II). Owing to his great command of both languages, his translations are vivid and attractive and thus quite popular. He translated into vernacular Chinese with a refined, succinct, simple, and witty style. In 1924 and 1926, annotated by Mao Dun and reprinted by The Commercial Press, The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After were officially endorsed as supplemental Chinese readings for middle school students under the new school system. This testifies to the popularity of Wu Guangjian’s translation since a few of the translated works of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican China were still read during the May Fourth period. He was careful with characterization, but would make appropriate abridgments in descriptions of settings and character psychology. Some extraneous comments and Western allusions were also deleted. In Mao Dun’s point of view, his translations (such as The Three Musketeers) “preserve the original works well and some parts are even clearer and more readable than the original works” in spite of his abridgements.55 Wu Tao Many of the translators in the late Qing Dynasty also created their own works except Wu Guangjian and Wu Tao. Wu Tao was a serious-minded professional translator 54 See

“My Views on Fiction” by Donghai Juewo (Xu Nianci) in Collection of Fictions, No. 9–10, 1908. 55 See “Two Chinese Versions of Jane Eyre” by Mao Dun in Translations, Vol. 2, No. 5, 1937.

2.3 Achievements of Foreign Fictions Translated

39

producing translations of top quality of his time. He always gave the writer’s name and nationality of the original work even if he translated indirectly from another translation. In contrast, some renowned translators at the time just recounted the foreign stories with less consideration of the original work and its writer. Zhou Shoujuan, for instance, seldom gave the name of the original writer and Bao Tianxiao, similarly, often took his translations as his own creations. Wu Tao translated into vernacular Chinese and seldom made abridgments as most translators did at the time. He was primarily known as a translator of political fictions such as The Traitor and detective fictions such Che Zhong Du Zhen (meaning “a poisonous needle in the carriage”).56 However, he soon shifted attention to serious literature. Thanks to his work, many world masterpieces were introduced into China, such as Lighthouse Keeper (1906),57 The Californian’s Tale (1906),58 Cain and Artyom (1907),59 and Cassock Clergymen (1907).60 His best translation is Yin Niu Bei (1907, the first part of A Hero of Our Time),61 a faithful reproduction of the original with few abridgments. The Zhou Brothers The Zhou Brothers refer to Lu Xun (alias Zhou Shuren) and his brother Zhou Zuoren. In 1903, Lu Xun published his translation of Around the Moon, a science fiction by Jules Verne. In 1904, Zhou Zuoren published his translation of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. They never stopped translating after that. Though they began translating early, they didn’t earn their fame as translators until they published A Collection of Foreign Stories in 1909. From their choice of the source fictions to the diction of their translations, they largely followed the common practice of the time without distinctive features of their own. The publication of A Collection of Foreign Stories is a landmark both for the Zhou Brothers and for fiction translation of the late Qing Dynasty, and marked the birth of a new era’s translators and novelists. However, translation came to its prime after the May Fourth Movement. The Zhou Brothers kept the allusions in the stories with annotations rather than gave them up as was often practiced by other translators of the time. They added translators’ notes and introductions of the original writers. The preface of the collection was generally regarded as the declaration of the translators of a new era. It made clear the principles of translation such as the policy in choosing the source fictions and making alterations (especially abridgments). Out of political considerations, the Zhou Brothers also chose to translate fictions from Russia and some north European countries. Their far-sightedness, however, was reflected in their translations of short stories of the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. The two brothers’ translations tended to give excessive use of classical Chinese, occasionally obscuring the meaning of their work. 56 The

original is unidentified in the Chinese version of the book. original is written by Henryk Sienkiewicz, a Polish writer. 58 The original is written by Mark Twain. 59 The original is written by Maksim Gorky. 60 The original is written by Anton Chekhov. 61 The original is written by M. Lermontov. 57 The

40

2 Inspiration and Simulation from Foreign Fictions

Zeng Pu In 1898, Zeng Pu made acquaintance with Chen Jitong, a master of French literature. Chen inspired Zeng to read a lot of French fictions and dramas, which laid a solid foundation for Zeng’s translations later. Such a solid foundation was rare for translators during the late Qing Dynasty, many of whom simply turned their pen loose with few rules. Zeng Pu was more devoted to literary than to political works. He left behind three translated fictions: Ying Zhi Hua (1905, from Fleur d’ Ombre), Ma Ge Wanghou Yishi (1908, from La Reine Margot) and Jiu Shi San Nian (1913, from Ninety-Three), and a drama, Xiao Yu (Lucréce Borgia). Zeng Pu held unequivocal views on translation. First, he advocated the use of vernacular Chinese for a wider readership and to facilitate a better understanding of the writing style of the original writers and the essence of foreign literature. Second, he believed that translators should have reasonable criteria in their selection of the originals so as to include world masterpieces of different times and countries.62 He followed these principles closely in the 1920s, though in his early years, he chose some obscure foreign works (such as Fleur d’Ombre) and translated them using classical Chinese (such as Ninety-Three). His Chinese version of Ninety-Three was abridged in terms of detailed social background, digressions, and authorial comments. His diction, though rendered in exquisite classical Chinese, couldn’t match Lin Shu’s elegance, Chen Lengxue’s individuality, or the Zhou Brothers’ simplicity. This, however, does not detract from the importance of Zeng’s translations. He not only demonstrated a deep understanding of the original writer, Victor Hugo, but also faithfully reproduced the spirit of the original work.63 Ma Junwu Ma Junwu didn’t translate much, but his translations were of high quality. His translations included On Liberty by John Mill. His Poems by Junwu has a collection of 38 Chinese translations of foreign poems among which those by Byron and Goethe were especially popular with the public. His translation of William Tell, a drama by Friedrich von Schiller, was highly appraised by A’Ying64 as “the most representative translated drama among the translations from the late Qing Dynasty to the period of May Fourth Movement”. This translation, along with Lucréce Borgia65 translated by Zeng Pu and A Doll’s House66 translated by Chen Gu, was collected into Anthology of the Late Qing Dynasty: Volume of Translations of Overseas Literature. Though criticized by Luo Jialun and Zheng Zhenduo as having been over-abridged to “less than

62 See “A Letter of Reply to Hu Shi” in Anthology of Hu Shi, Vol. 3, Shanghai Yadong Library, 1921. 63 Zeng Pu believed that Ninety-Three was “a piece of poetic prose writing” and the theme of it was

“utter innocence”. See “Comment on Ninety-Three” in Ninety-Three, Shanghai Youzheng Book Company, 1913. 64 A’Ying (1900–1977) is an established Chinese writer and literary theoretician. 65 Written by Victor Hugo and trans. by Zeng Pu. 66 Written by Henrik Ibsen and trans. by Chen Gu.

2.3 Achievements of Foreign Fictions Translated

41

one-third or one-fourth of the original,”67 Ma’s translation of Resurrection (1914), a world masterpiece by Tolstoy, remains the most notable of his translations. Actually, he was wronged since the translation was just the first installment of the trilogy of Resurrection. He did omit some digressions, but his translation is quite faithful to the original in tone and spirit, especially in terms of the characters’ psychology and philosophical thoughts. All this may well be ascribed to his interest and selfcultivation in classical Chinese. Some say his translation is even cleaner and of a more refined style than Lin Shu’s translation. Bao Tianxiao Bao Tianxiao was a prolific and experienced translator during the late Qing Dynasty, second only to Lin Shu. His translation work started in 1901 with the co-translated Jiayin Xiaozhuan (Joan Haste). By 1916, he had translated or co-translated 36 or 37 foreign fictions. Also, as a professional novelist, he translated in a lively style of classical Chinese, which made his translations more readable and popular with the public. However, he seldom gave the name of the original author, and sometimes even took his translations as his own creations. His translations, varied in quality, cover many popular types during the late Qing Dynasty, including romances, detective fictions, history fictions, and science fictions. Among his translations, three educational fictions were much favored by the Ministry of Education: Ku’er Liulang Ji (Alone in the World, by French writer Hector Malot), Xin’er Jiu Xue Ji (Cuore, by Italian writer Edmondo De Amicis), and Qi Shi Mai Shi Ji (a Japanese fiction). He usually translated with bold alterations, an example of which is found in his translation of Cuore. He not only gave the personae Chinese names and domesticated their conventions and articles for daily life but also projected some of his own family life (such as the digressed section about his tomb-sweeping). His translation of Ward Six (by Chekhov), published in the magazine Fiction Times (No. 4 in 1910), is generally considered noteworthy. Three works of Chekhov were translated at the time. Wu Tao first translated Chekhov’s Cassock Clergymen in 1907. After that, Bao Tianxiao translated Ward Six. Chen Jialin and Chen Dadeng published their translation Fengsu Xian Ping (Idle Comments on Social Customs) in 1916, a collection of short stories by Chekhov. Though Chekhov was much translated then, the translators didn’t quite understand him or his aesthetic principles and could not well represent his linguistic style of terse implicitness. This is easily visible in Bao Tianxiao’s translation of Ward Six. The Chinese translators interspersed and superimposed their own comments upon the original characters, as a way to explain the original plots to readers of the translation. Nevertheless, Bao Tianxiao’s translation of Ward Six was done in plain classical Chinese, fresh and fluent, that well represented the spirit of the story, earning it the fame of being one of the excellent translations during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period.

67 See

Zhi Xi (Luo Jialun)’s article “Fictions Today in China” in New Tide, No. 1, Vol. 1, 1919 and Zheng Zhenduo’s “Mr. Lin Qinnan (alias of Lin Shu)” in Short Story Magazine, No. 11, Vol. 15, 1924.

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Zhou Shoujuan Zhou Shoujuan was a late bloomer who started translating in 1913. After some early unknown translations like Mang Xu Wu Dang Yuan (Blind Nihilists)68 and Xue Hai Fan Bo Lu,69 he garnered fame with Collection of Short Stories of Eminent Writers from Europe and America (1917). This collection contained short stories of 47 writers from 14 countries. Zhou’s translations were the first to introduce to China “stories of Italy, Spain, Sweden, Holland, and Serbia.”70 It’s not surprising to read the following appraisal of him, “He had read a large number of European and American fictions and knew well the writers so that he could cull such a fine collection, much superior to work by irresponsible translators of his time.”71 Some contend that Zhou’s collection may be rendered from an existing collection of short stories already translated into English, for each of the stories in the collection was preceded with a writer photo and profile in a uniform format. Such uniformity with rich information was hard for translators of the time to accomplish independently. Zhou’s work contained 50 stories of different styles, 18 of which were in modern vernacular Chinese and 32 in classical Chinese. The stories were of varied quality, some of which quite distorted the originals.72 Nevertheless, Zhou’s translations were described as “a beam of light in darkness and a giant among dwarfs” by the Zhou Brothers (Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren).73

2.4 Misunderstanding in the Acceptance of Foreign Fictions In this section, “acceptance” rather than “influence” is used to highlight Chinese people’s active embrace of foreign fictions during the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, the Chinese public actively sought foreign fictions and consumed a large amount of them according to their personal tastes. Although the consumed foreign fictions may not be truly understood, they did become highly popular with the Chinese public. Chinese writers apparently learned a lot from the translated foreign fictions. In this section, we will discuss the intended and unintended misunderstandings and their causes and consequences that arose in Chinese adoptions of and learnings from foreign fictions. The following chapters will discuss how the new novelists in China 68 Some critics think that it was Zhou Shoujuan’s original work in the name of translation for a better acceptance which was somewhat a popular practice at the time. 69 The original was unidentified in the Chinese version of the book. 70 See “Review of A Collection of Short Stories of Eminent Writers from Europe and America” by Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren in Education Bulletin, Vol. 4, No. 15, 1917. 71 See the Preface to A Collection of Short Stories of Eminent Writers from Europe and America, by Wang Dungen, Zhonghua Book Company, 1917. 72 For example, with much embellishments and dramatizations, Maupassant’s Umbrella was distorted by the translator’s shallow understanding of its basic tone and style. 73 See “Review of A Collection of Short Stories of Eminent Writers from Europe and America” by Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren in Education Bulletin, Vol. 4, No. 15, 1917.

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pursued their literary explorations under the inspiration of foreign fictions, and how they opened the gate of modern Chinese fiction by expediting the disintegration of classical Chinese fiction. First, the Chinese public’s acceptance of foreign fictions was not always in sync with the translators’ introduction and recommendation. Between the two, there sometimes was a large discrepancy. The popularity of the translated foreign writers among Chinese readers depended on many incidental factors, not just the recognition of their aesthetic value. Nevertheless, it was not that difficult to trace why Chinese people of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period accepted a particular foreign writer or work. Frequently, it was not just the result of readers’ ephemeral fervor. A distinction must be made between a work’s superficial fame and its intrinsic quality. To Chinese readers of that time, the French writer Voltaire was one of (if not the) greatest foreign writers, whose name was constantly on the lips of Chinese critics. Voltaire’s work was great testimony to how fiction served social progress. Liang Qichao thus expressed his admiration of Voltaire, “He satirizes the politics in the Great Britain with great incisiveness in his elegant writings including both poems and fictions.”74 In many critical articles, Voltaire was often referred to as the most eminent novelist of the Western countries. These articles may include Comments on Fiction by Di Pingzi, On the Higher Utility of Fictions over Newspapers by Ya Raozhi, Translated Fictions Leading the Trend of Fictions by Huang Shizhong, On the Power and Influence of Fictions by Tao Youzeng, and Biography of Shi Nai’an, A Chinese Master Novelist by an anonymous writer.75 It was likely that these writers never read Voltaire since his works were not yet translated into Chinese during the two decades of the published criticisms, which made it more remarkable to see such influence from Voltaire in China. Another two well-known foreign writers in the late Qing Dynasty received similar esteem: British writers Edward BulwerLytton and Benjamin Disraeli. The former had a Chinese version of his Eugene Aram76 while the latter didn’t even have a single piece in Chinese. Second, more translations of a foreign writer did not necessarily equate to better acceptance of that writer. For example, Lin Shu viewed Haggard as “the best writer of the western countries.”77 Lin would translate any of Haggard’s works available. Actually, most Chinese translations of Haggard were done by Lin. However, many contemporary critics disagreed with Lin and did not consider Haggard as the greatest foreign writer. This, however, did not mean that Chinese people did not like Haggard and his stories, but that the new novelists did not want to be limited to the model of his writings. Other than Lin Shu’s passing mention of Haggard’s influence in the former’s novel Romaunt of Sword, we see little of Haggard’s influence on the other new novelists. In contrast, Camille by Alexandre Dumas was so well accepted in China that the 74 See

“The Influence of Literature on Society” in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 1, 1902.

75 These articles are seen in the magazines New Fiction, No. 7; Chinese and Foreign Stories, Vol. 1,

No. 11 & Vol. 2, No. 4; Fiction Society of A New World, No. 8; World of Entertainments, No. 10. 76 The story has another Chinese version by Chen Lengxue, published in the magazine New Newfictions. The translator noted that it was “the best of the best”. 77 See the Preface of the translation of Ivanhoe by Lin Shu, The Commercial Press, 1905.

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inspired Chinese writers of the time modeled their stories on Camille. Examples of such modeling include Zhong Xinqing’s New Camellia, He Zou’s The Hall of Broken Zither, Lin Shu’s The Story of Liu Tingting, Su Manshu’s The Story of A Broken Hairpin, and Xu Zhenya’s He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story. In this sense, Camille alone was far more influential than Haggard’s thirty-two stories78 combined. Third, even if the story was translated into Chinese and was hailed by the readers, and even if critics and writers would model their writings on the translation, it doesn’t mean that the essence of the original work was well absorbed by the Chinese people. Mai Menghua commented, “It has occurred frequently that a fiction of one language translated into another fails to appeal to the majority of the latter.”79 Readers of the translation may either highly appreciate or depreciate a work without a substantial understanding of it. During the late Qing Dynasty, Marguerite Gautier in Camille and Sherlock Holmes the well-known detective were the two most popular fictional characters and were touted as representatives of Western fictions. The translation of Conan Doyle’s detective stories introduced to Chinese readers not only a great detective story but also a new type of fiction. Chinese writers quickly began to adopt detective stories as a way of narration. Many writers of the late Qing Dynasty admired the story rather than the art of Camille. No wonder that even in 1911, some critics still sighed, “In China, we have Asian Armand Duval and Asian Marguerite Gautier,80 but we don’t have Asian Alexandre Dumas.”81 The gap between the public’s acceptance on the one hand and the fame of the foreign writers in China, the publication of the translations, and the admiration of the critics on the other hand is chiefly due to misunderstandings of foreign fictions. Such “creative misunderstandings” were mainly demonstrated in three respects. The first misunderstanding was of the function of fictions. This misunderstanding holds that political fictions were the greatest contributor to the social development of Western and developed countries such as America, Great Britain, German, France, Austria, Italy, and Japan.82 That was why the moment these fictions were introduced to China, they immediately became top topics of a national conversation. It might be all but a fantastic fairy tale. The second misunderstanding was the evaluation of different types of fictions. In the late Qing Dynasty, the critics reiterated that more political fictions, detective fictions, and science fictions should be introduced to China to fill the void in Chinese fictions. They also believed that these types of fictions were of the highest value among all types of fictions.83 It’s no surprise that popular novelists like Benjamin Disraeli, Jules Verne, and Conan Doyle were considered at the time the 78 Among the 32 stories, 25 were translated during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican period; 6 were translated around the May Fourth Movement; 1 was translated in the 1930s. 79 See the quotation of Tui’an (Mai Menghua) in “Comments on Fiction” in New Fiction, No. 7, 1903. 80 Armand Duval and Marguerite Gautier are the male and female protagonists in Camille. 81 See “Comments on Fiction” by Dong Sheng in Short Story Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1911. 82 See “On Publishing Political Fictions” by Liang Qichao in Political Criticism, Vol. 1, 1898. 83 See Dingyi’s quotation in "Comments on Fiction", New Fiction, No. 15, 1905.

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most brilliant Western writers. The third misunderstanding was of the artistic features of Western writers. The first truly great novelist introduced to Chinese readers was Tolstoy. There was a portrait of him in the debut issue of New Fiction in 1902. Tolstoy was often a fashionable topic in articles. Translations of his novels came out in a continuous flow. However, he was mainly recognized as a writer of political fictions and was mentioned often together with Voltaire, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Benjamin Disraeli, and Shiba Shiro. Translators also gave some emphatic attention to Tolstoy’s didactic religious folktales such as Tuoshi Zongjiao Xiaoshuo (Religious Stories by Tolstoy) and Luo Cha Yinguo Lu (The Demon). However, none of such subject matters was Tolstoy’s forte but perhaps even his weakness. Three things account for the above-cited misunderstandings: unfaithful translation; translations indirectly from Japanese translations rather than directly from the originals, and Chinese readers’ limited expectations. China of the late Qing Dynasty was a country that had just opened its door to the world after long self-seclusion. It was through the medium of translators and critics that the public gained access to foreign fictions. Therefore, the public perception of foreign fictions was very much at the mercy of the quality of the translations. Xiaren conceded, “I know nothing of foreign languages and cannot read the original works but the translations.”84 Likewise, the quality of criticism, also dependent on translations, was confined by the quality of translations. Two characteristic misunderstandings in criticism consequently emerged. One, Western fictions, even masterpieces, were short, often of just one slim volume, less than one-tenth of Chinese novels. Two, Western fictions were usually of a one-thread plot and only one type of character such as army men, adventurers, and romantic young men and women. These misunderstandings, in many cases, arose from the translators’ abridgments of the Western originals. Lin Shu and Ma Junwu all made abridgments in their respective translations of Camille and Resurrection, though their works adequately kept the original style and artistic conception. Many translations at the time were done from adaptions or abridged editions that merely offered the story synopsis and were devoid of the artistic appeal of the originals. Victor Hugo was a widely acclaimed Western writer in the late Qing Dynasty. Many of his works were translated into Chinese including Ninety-Three, Toilers of the Sea, and The Wretched. The Wretched even has several Chinese versions, among which Ai Shi (meaning “lamenting a history”) was the most popular version but the poorest in quality. In 1904, Shanghai Jingjin Book Company published an abridged version of the second section of the first part of The Wretched translated by Su Manshu. Soon afterwards, the Chinese magazine Times published an abridged version of it titled Yi Qiu (meaning “Prisoner”). In 1907, The Commercial Press published another version titled Gu Xing Lei (meaning “The Story of An Orphan”) in two volumes, which was a full masterful rendition. Abridgments were commonly practiced in the late Qing Dynasty, even by well-known writers and translators such as Lin Shu, Zeng Pu, and Ma Junwu, who, deeply influenced by traditional Chinese fictions,

84 See

Xiaren’s quotation in “Comments on Fiction” in New Fiction, No. 13, 1905.

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were not used to the Western-style digressions such as interwoven stories, descriptions, and flashbacks. The criticism of “single-plot stories of the Western fictions” were apparently due to the abridgments by translators. The abridged version was no doubt clearer in storyline, but the intricacies of the original story were somewhat lost, leading to the popular misconception of “drab” Western fictions. Reversely, shallow criticism also hindered the translators’ understanding of Western fictions. Translators at the time could not perfectly render Western languages into classical Chinese as expected by Lin Shu.85 It’s of vital importance that translators have a deep understanding of the style of the originals since most translators would translate summarily. Chinese translations of The Old Curiosity Shop, The Three Musketeers, and Resurrection are considered masterpieces of translation, simply because they have well kept the purport and the appealing charm of the originals. Chen Diexian lamented, “Readers just take the translations as western fictions, but actually, other than the basic plot of the story, the translators have added elements of Chinese literary tradition to the whole story.”86 In fact, the so-called “basic plot” would also be altered one way or another due to the translators’ personal understanding. Such subtle modifications were hardly identifiable to ordinary readers. Lin Shu once said complacently, “Though I don’t know foreign languages, yet I carefully listen to my interpreter.87 I can easily tell the different styles of the originals just the way I can distinguish the voices of my family.”88 It’s testified that he is capable of accurately representing the originals in Chinese. However, keeping the original style is a challenging task, be the original style harsh or hushed, effeminate or virile, melancholy or naughty. Fidelity proved especially challenging when the style of the original conflicted with the contemporary Chinese fashion. For instance, in Bao Tianxiao’s translation of Ward Six and Zhou Shoujuan’s translation of Umbrella, the styles of the originals were much altered by the use of popular clichés. Another example is seen in Wu Tao’s translation of A Hero of Our Time. He deleted the last sentence of the original, “Pechorin has been ill for some time, getting leaner, the poor guy. Yet, we never mentioned Bela since then, for we knew he would be sad.” Here he simply took Pechorin as a heartless lover, as frequently seen in traditional Chinese fictions and dramas. Obviously, the writers and translators of the time could not understand the conception of the dualistic personality of the characters; neither could they see why Western writers bother to describe the agony or perplexity of the “unnecessary” personae. If it were the writers of May-Fourth period like Lu Xun and Yu Dafu, things would be different. They would preserve the original style even with amplifying comments. Here we see the contradiction: translators were unable to produce faithful versions, which however constituted the foundation for objective 85 See

Preface of Hong Han Nülang Zhuan (Lin Shu’s translation of Colonel Quaritch), published by The Commercial Press, 1906. 86 See Preface of Collection of Short Stories of Eminent Writers from Europe and America by writer Chen Diexian (alias Chen Xu or Tianxu Wosheng). 87 It is well-known that Lin Shu wrote very well but he knew nothing of foreign languages and he usually translated through another person’s interpretation of the main idea of the original. 88 See Preface of Xiao Nü Nai’er Zhuan (The Old Curiosity Shop), The Commercial Press, 1907.

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reviews. A vicious circle thus arose, misleading the readers of the late Qing Dynasty in their understanding of foreign fictions. Zhou Guisheng wrote in his review of Zeng Guangquan’s translation of She, “Zeng’s translation has neglected some details and is cut to no more than a half the original length, leaving just the fanciful and pictorial story to the readers who can hardly get the thematic significance of it.”89 This is quite the prototype of translation during the late Qing Dynasty in China. Table 3.3 shows the number of published translations during the late Qing Dynasty and the early republic period, in which fictions from Japan ranked after those from Great Britain and France. However, if we count according to the source texts of translation rather than the source of the original, Japan should rank first because many of the English and French fictions were translated from Japanese versions. Among the twelve well-known translators introduced in Sect. 2.3, Chen Lengxue, Xu Nianci, Wu Tao, and Bao Tianxiao mainly translated from Japanese translations. It was an intellectual and cultural trend at the time to take Japan as “a transfer station” for introductions of Western culture. This was simply because of the great number of Chinese students in Japan compared with other countries. In the peak years of 1905 and 1906, there were 800090 Chinese students in Japan in addition to businessmen, exiled politicians, and visiting students not officially enrolled. The number of people who knew Japanese far exceeded those who knew English. Besides, politicians also accelerated translations from Japanese as Kang Youwei saw that Japanese had translations of almost all the excellent Western works and called on more translations from Japanese.91 Liang Qichao encouraged Chinese people to learn and read Japanese, believing that Western languages are even harder to learn. He said, “We may acquire a pretty good command of Japanese after several months of learning to translate whatever in Japanese.”92 Overstated as it was, it’s rather true that before the Meiji Reform, Japanese translations of Western books, mixed with Chinese characters, were roughly understandable by Chinese readers and thus easy to be converted into Chinese.93 Some translators just revised the Japanese texts to produce Chinese versions of them.94 All these account for the overwhelming number of Chinese translations of Western works through Japanese translations during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period. According to Yang Shouchun’s statistics in A Rough Survey of Translations, among the 533 translated works in China, 321 were from

89 See "Translator’s Preface" of Zhou Guisheng’s translation of Return of She (the Chinese title is Shen Nü Zaishi Qiyuan) in New Fiction, No. 22, 1905. 90 See Section Five of Chapter Two in A History of Chinese Students in Japan by Sanetou Keishuu, SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1983. 91 See “Suggestions to Emperor: On the Necessity of Increasing Translation from Japanese” in Political Wrings of Kang Youwei, Zhonghua Book Company, 1981. 92 See “On the Advantages of Learning Japanese” in Political Criticism, Vol. 10, 1899. 93 In “Starting to Translate” in his Memoirs at Chuanying Study, Bao Tianxiao recalled, “I know that it’s easy to translate into Chinese from Japanese texts written largely with Chinese characters. So, I entrusted my friends to search for fictions for me in Japan. But I have two conditions: first, the Japanese versions must be of western sources; second, they must be of many Chinese characters”. 94 See “Jinsuzhai Translation Office” in Memoirs at Chuanying Study by Bao Tianxiao.

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Japanese, occupying more than 60% of the total.95 Tan Ruqian’s statistics indicated that in the four hundred years of the Qing Dynasty, translations from Japanese were 5,765, which almost equaled translations from Western languages (6,279).96 It was almost a convention of the time to translate Western works from Japanese versions. During the period of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period, translations from Japanese were probably even more than those from Western languages, but it’s hard to be confirmed with accurate statistics because the publishers at the time would either just give the names of the original writers, or confuse the Japanese translators with the original writers, or just give the names of the Chinese translators. According to the researches by Nakamura Tadayuki,97 20 Japanese translations of Western fictions by Kuroiwa Ruiko98 were re-translated into Chinese.99 Among the Chinese translations: 2 were anonymous; 6 only had the nationalities or names of the originals; another 6 took Kuroiwa Ruiko as the original writer (actually one was his creation, the other five were his translations); 5 just gave the names of the Chinese translators; and only one clearly indicated that it was from Kuroiwa Ruiko’s Japanese version. Rare were cases where the works were first translated into English before being translated into Chinese (like Namiko, or Bu Ru Gui in Chinese). More than likely, they were translated into Chinese from Japanese versions of Western works from Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. Since Japanese versions were a transfer station for Chinese readers to get access to Western works, the evaluation and selection of Western works by Japanese writers and critics were of crucial importance to Chinese people. Liang Qichao was obviously influenced by the translated literature in Japan because he took fictions as the best of literature and was keen on introducing political fictions, and because he highly recommended Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Benjamin Disraeli who were highly popular Western writers during the Meiji period in Japan. Chen Lengxue, who translated Bulwer-Lytton’s Eugene Aram from the Japanese version, commented in the Translator’s Notes, “The fiction is prefaced by 50 Japanese writers, indicating how marvelous it is.”100 No doubt, China was then greatly influenced by the translated literature in Japan. But it’s worth mentioning that political fictions by Bulwer-Lytton largely were not translated into Chinese from Japanese versions,101 for he was a 95 See “A Simplified History of Publication Industry in China” in The Second Collection of the Historical Records of Publication in Modern China, Qunlian Publishing House, 1954, p. 99. 96 See “Past, Present and Future of Translation Between China and Japan” in A Comprehensive Catalogue of Chinese Translations of Japanese Books, Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1980. 97 Nakamura Tadayuki is a Japanese scholar whose Japanese name is なかむら ただゆき. 98 Kuroiwa Ruiko is a Japanese translator whose Japanese name is くろいわ るいこう. 99 See “History of Detective Fictions in Late Qing Dynasty” in Fictions in Late Qing Dynasty, N0. 2–4, 1978–1980. 100 See the debut issue of New New-fictions, 1904. 101 At least five fictions by Bulwer-Lytton were translated in Japan, but only one of them was translated into Chinese.

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bit out of date in Japan at the time, and his works were beyond the appreciation of Chinese people of the time. Instead, Haggard’s works were much translated in China, directly from the originals rather than from Japanese versions.102 Chinese versions of Western fictions were much constrained because of the “Japanese transference”. It was impossible for Chinese translators to reproduce the art and style of the originals no matter how diligent they were, especially when they came via “bold and unrestrained”103 Japanese translation. Adding to the exacerbation of the situation, Chinese translators would also make alterations in their translations from Japanese versions. As a result, except for the basic storyline, too much of the original Western fictions were lost in the Chinese translations. However, translators of the late Qing Dynasty didn’t think it a problem. They would not mind telling frankly how they made alterations in their translations, claiming that they never did them against the purport of the original. A typical example was found in Liang Qichao’s translation. He wrote in the Translator’s Note in his translation of Two Years’ Vacation by the French writer Jules Verne: Though rendered in a typical Chinese style, my Chinese rendition offers no betrayal of the essence of the original work. This same approach was adopted by Japanese translators. Personally, I believe I have done no less a job than my Japanese counterparts. The original author, Jules Verne, if able to read Chinese, would find no offense in my Chinese rendition.

We see that the Chinese version of the novel was done from Japanese which was from the English translation of the French original. The English translator, the Japanese translator, and the Chinese translator all nationalized it in some way. How could it be “no betrayal of the original”? More examples are seen in Xu Nianci and Bao Tianxiao. Xu translated Masterman Ready by the British writer Frederick Marryat from its Japanese version, tailoring it into the style of traditional Chinese novels with captioned chapters. Xu was also confident of “no betrayal of the original” as he affirmed in the annotations for the first chapter. Bao Tianxiao translated Cuore by the Italian writer Edmondo De Amicis from its Japanese version. Just like the Japanese translator’s adaptations to cater to the Japanese habit of names, customs, and everyday life, so did Bao Tianxiao for Chinese readers.104 Even direct translations from the original may have misunderstandings, let alone the transference from a third language. Chinese translators’ understanding of the originals and Chinese writers’ criticism of the translated versions, all depended on Chinese readers’ habits and expectations. The didactic function of literary works was much expected at the time in China, as evidenced in their choice of political fictions and science fictions. As for detective fictions, the attraction for the readers was entertaining and crafty plotting. The 102 It

is recorded in History of Detective Fictions in Late Qing Dynasty that Conan Doyle was first translated in China in 1896, but in 1899 in Japan. 103 For example, as recorded in History of Detective Fictions in Late Qing Dynasty, Japanese translator Kuroiwa Ruiko thus recalled how he translated Dark Days by Hugh Conway, “After reading it, I closed the book and started to translate it according to my memory, from the beginning to the end. I did not refer to the original anymore.”. 104 See “The Commercial Press” in Memoirs at Chuanying Study by Bao Tianxiao.

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critics’ assessment of a work, however, was done exclusively from the qualities of “ambition”, “martiality”, “law”, and “equal rights”. Detective fictions, if devoid of the above qualities, were rather depreciated by the critics. From the Chinese titles of the two novels,105 we clearly see Lin Shu’s highlight of filial piety in his translation of Haggard’s Montezuma’s Daughter and Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop. In his translation of Anton Chekhov’s Ward Six, Bao Tianxiao made the following adaptations to the last chapter: “The whole world is asleep. Who’d search far and wide for humanity like me?”; “The servant, with teary eyes, so missed his old master”. Albeit clear deviations from the original, these statements were made to accentuate the traditional Chinese values of the “loyal servant” and “solitude about the commoners’ hardships.”106 Men of letters in the late Qing Dynasty in China advocated translations of overseas political fictions, science fictions, and detective fictions, especially the first two, believing they were more in line with the purpose of such an endeavor—to awaken the public and impel social reforms. However, Chinese readers were much attracted to detective fictions, translations of which came out in a flow clearly surpassing political and science fictions. Yun Tieqiao107 wrote, “Chinese New Fiction started with the translation of Camille and Joan Haste, but the most popular translation is Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes published by The Commercial Press.”108 Evidently, the prosperity of translated fictions in China should, to some extent, be ascribed to the translation of detective fictions. It’s fair to say that Chinese readers were more percipient of the plots of novels, and they embraced detective fictions out of artistic interest whereas they accepted political fictions and science fictions out of the traditional Chinese notion of the literature that literary works should be enlightening. Foreign romances and fictions of social problems, though popular elsewhere, were not so appealing to the Chinese readers of the time because there had been many similar fictions in Chinese literature. Only those of novelties and congruent with the traditional Chinese literary taste could appeal to the public and sweep the country. Detective fictions perfectly satisfied such requirements. Out of the long-established story-oriented reading habit, Chinese readers of the late Qing Dynasty preferred Conan Doyle to Voltaire and Benjamin Disraeli. For the same reason, Chinese translators tended to leave out descriptions of psychology and scenes on the belief that they had nothing to do with the plot development. All these severely constrained the artistic capacity of the translators and consequently debased the quality of their translations. As a medium between different languages and cultures, translation cannot be free from misunderstandings, some of which may even be blessings in disguise. The “new 105 Lin

Shu entitled the Chinese translation of Montezuma’s Daughter as “Ying Xiaozi Huoshan Baochou Lu” (“revenge of a dutiful son in England”); the Chinese title for The Old Curiosity Shop was Xiao Nü Nai’er Zhuang ( “The story of a dutiful granddaughter”). 106 The traditional Chinese ideology offers the Three Cardinal Principles (subjects follow the monarchs; sons follow fathers; wives follow husbands) and the Five Constant Virtues (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, knowledge, and sincerity). 107 He was a translator and editor of The Commercial Press at the time. 108 See Preface to The Story of Seven by Yun Tieqiao in Short Story Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 7, 1915.

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novelists” selected political fictions from a didactic viewpoint. The introduction of political fictions may be a good thing for traditional Chinese novels that revolved around the plot. Thus, the distinction between “literary” and “non-literary” acceptance was not always clear. It was obviously a misunderstanding by the novelists that Western novels were uniformly based on one character and one plot. This misunderstanding, however, consciously or unconsciously influenced Chinese novels to evolve their narrative method. The result was nothing short of a blessing in disguise. The Chinese “acceptance”, “misguided acceptance”, and “creative misunderstandings” were all eventually reflected in the creativity of the “new novels”. Such discussion, though not the focus, will be interspersed in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 3

Commercialization of Fictions and Rise of Book Printing

Cultural and historical development in the late Qing Dynasty accelerated the fiction revolution and pushed forward New Fiction spreading widely in Shanghai and other coastal cities. In addition to the common factors of the urban cultural psychology and the value system of the citizens, another two factors of political turbulence and the implementation of the new-style education also drove the development of fictions in the late Qing Dynasty. The former, being the main force, directly caused the slogan of “fiction revolution” while the latter has hatched batches of writers as well as readers of New Fiction who helped the classic Chinese fictions to be transformed to the modern types. Among all the factors that regulated the trend of New Fiction, the most important one is the commercialization of fictions. It’s true that in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, fictions were in fact in commercial circulation, but the writers of the time who had the least commercial mind of fiction writing were not actually involved in it.1 When it came to the late Qing and the early Republican period, along with the establishment of the markets for New Fiction and the professionalization of writers, the sense of commercialized fiction writing of the writers was awakened and developed, which greatly affected fiction writing of the time. It had negative result indeed as was often criticized by the critics of the time that the commercialization of fictions caused the side effects of rough and slipshod works, but the positive aspects of it in the process of fiction development in China are also obvious, especially in a dynamically transitional time between the old and the new.

3.1 Pioneers of Fiction Markets Robert Morrison started the first modern Chinese periodical Chinese Monthly Magazine in Malacca on August 5, 1815. Forty years later, the first modern Chinese newspaper Zhongwai Newspaper run by Chinese people was started by Wu Tingfang in 1 Here,

we have exceptions like Feng Menglong and Yu Xiangdou who were writers as well as publishers. © Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9_3

53

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3 Commercialization of Fictions and Rise of Book Printing

Table 3.1 Statistics of early chinese periodicals Time 1815–1861

Total periodicals 8

Sources

Magazines (weekly, monthly, quarterly)

➀

–

Source

1886

78

➁

44

1901

124

➂

44

➁ ➂

1911

500

➃

203

➄

1921

1104

➅

548

➅

Notes for the sources ➀ In “The Development of Chinese Newspapers” by Ge Gongzhen in National News Weekly (No. 5, Vol. 4), it reads, “according to the records in Current Affairs, from 1815 to 1861, there had been 8 kinds of newspapers that were all sponsored by the western churches.” ➁ In “Press in China” by Timothy Richard in “Comments of Current Affairs”, Vol. 1, 1898, it reads, “according to the calculations by Jesuit Church last year, except for Peking Newspaper, Chinese periodicals have reached 76 kinds”. Actually, the number shall be 78 including 36 monthlies and 8 weeklies ➂ See in “Table of Chinese Periodicals Existent and Nonexistent” by Liang Qichao in Political Criticism (Vol. 100, 1901). It includes 80 daily newspapers (60 were existent) and 44 serials (21 were existent). Meanwhile, in “Table of Periodicals: Old and New” in “A Sequel of Collection of Current Affairs” (Vol. 26), there had been 144 kinds of periodicals from 1872 to 1902, including 65 daily newspapers (45 were existent) and 79 booklets (37 were existent) ➃ See in Chap. 5 of History of Chinese Newspapers and Magazines by Ge Gongzhen, published by SDX Joint Publishing Company in 1955 (p 118). It reads, “periodicals were quite flourished then with altogether 500 kinds in China, one fifth of which were in Peking, the political center.” ➄ See in “Catalogue of Significant Periodicals in Qing Dynasty” edited by Zhang Jinglu in The First Collection of Historical Records of Publication in Modern China (published in 1957 by Zhonghua Book Company). It collects 203 magazines and 252 newspapers, making a total of 455 ➅ In “Repository of the Second Press Congress of the World”, it reads, “There were 1,114 kinds of periodicals in China by 1921” (see in The Development of Chinese Newspapers by Ge Gongzhen), but according to the further detailed calculation enclosed, it should be 1,104, with 548 magazines of various kinds

Hong Kong in 1858. Chinese newspapers flourished in the second half of the nineteenth century. There were only 8 kinds of Chinese periodicals from 1815 to 1861. Statistics show that it rose to 124 till 1902 when Liang Qichao made a national investigation. After the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, “since people’s freedom of speech and the freedom of setting up periodicals were written in the provisional constitution, periodicals of varieties got mushroomed,”2 and the number of periodicals reached 500 kinds all over China. Until Yuan Shikai came to power, the press industry in China declined because of his interdiction policies. It could have been thwarted under political pressure, but it had long been an inexorable trend and could never be stopped. By 1921, there were 1,104 kinds of periodicals in China which is roughly calculated in Table 3.1. It gives a rough picture in the sense that the calculation of the

2 See

in History of Chinese Newspapers and Magazines by Ge Gongzhen, published by SDX Joint Publishing Company in 1955, p. 178.

3.1 Pioneers of Fiction Markets

55

time could be exaggerated, and the calculation of the late generations could unavoidably have omissions. Besides, the calculations in different periods of time may also have overlaps. In correspondence with the growth of periodicals, fiction magazines came into being. In the late Qing Dynasty, newspapers and specific periodicals on politics, education, economics, or agriculture all published fictions to enlarge the readership,3 but what truly drove the development of fictions were the literary supplements to the newspapers and the specialized literary magazines. In 1897, in the “Publishing Announcement of the Office” by the newspaper National News, Yan Fu and Xia Zengyou released the message that they planned to attach fiction supplements for free in the newspaper, though they did not actualize it. In the same year, Writing Shanghai Newspaper started a literary supplement titled “Entertainment” distributed every day together with the newspaper for free; in 1900, China Daily set up a supplement of “Advertising”. Following the practices, most of the newspapers of the time began to have regular literary supplements with or without titles ever since. Literary supplements did not have much capacity (usually covering two to three thousand words), but it worked well. They were more advantageous than the magazines because of their larger circulation, wider readership, and shorter cycles of issuance. The earliest literary magazine in China was Stories Around the World initiated in 1872, the first issue of which included Scholar Lishao’s translation of the first half of Morning and Night (Xin Xi Xian Tan in Chinese) by British writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton and some poems. Han Ziyun set up a literary magazine Anecdotes in Shanghai that mainly published his own works and some earlier literary sketches. Statistics show that there were only 5 kinds of literary magazines during the 25 years from 1872 to 1897, three of which were actually modified versions of Stories Around the World. This number was increased to 57 from 1902 to 1916,4 eleven times larger than before. Literary works of all genres were published in these magazines, but fictions took a larger proportion, especially in fiction magazines. There had been 29 fiction magazines from 1902 to 1917 which are shown in Table 3.2 (two of them are newspapers).5

3 Hu

Daojing wrote in his “Rectifications for Newspapers in Shanghai”, “Shenpao Newspaper initiated the practice of poetry fillers” and “Hupao Newspaper started the practice of fiction fillers”. Actually, in the first year of Shenpao Newspaper (1872), it had published poems such as Folk Songs About Shanghai, Lyrics in Shanghai and Ode to Shenjiang River, and Chinese translation of Western fictions like the excerpts from Gulliver’s Travels (Tan Ying Xiao Lu), Rip Van Winkle (Yi Shui Qi Shi Nian), and The Pacha of Many Tales (Nai Su Guo Qiwen) by Frederick Marryat, a British writer. The purpose of the fiction fillers was clearly stated in the Foreword to Times, “for entertainment and information”. 4 See in “Catalogue of Late Qing Literary Magazines” by Lu Shen in The Fourth Collection of the Historical Records of Publication in Modern China (Book 2). 5 Some uncertain magazines need verifying and are not included in Table 3.2 such as Shanghai Fiction and Fun of Frictions mentioned by Yang Shiji in his “Reminiscence of the Literary World”; Fiction Cartoons mentioned in “On the Late Qing Literary Magazines” by A’Ying; Ningbo Fiction Weekly in “Catalogue of Zhejiang Fiction Magazines” by Shi He and Fictions from Eastern Guangdong in “Catalogue of Guangdong magazines During 1911 Revolution” by Li Mo.

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3 Commercialization of Fictions and Rise of Book Printing

Table 3.2 Chinese periodicals of fictions initiated during 1902–1917 (Numbers in brackets only include the known issues) Periodical title

Initiation

Setting-up place

Distribution cycle

Main editors

Quantity of issuance

New Fiction

1902

Yokohamaa (Japan)

Monthly

Liang Qichao

24

Illustrated Fictions

1903

Shanghai

Semimonthly

Li Boyuan 72

New New-fictions

1904

Shanghai

Monthly

Chen Jinghan

(10)

Fiction World Daily

1905

Shanghai

Daily

Unknown

(200)

Fiction World

1905

Shanghai

Semimonthly

Unknown

(2)

The All-Story Monthly

1906

Shanghai

Monthly

Wang Weifu Wu Jianren

24

Fiction Society of A New World

1906

Shanghai

Monthly

Jing Seng

(9)

Fictions Weekly

1906

Shanghai

Weekly

Tan Xiaolian

(5)

Collection of Fictions

1907

Shanghai

Monthly

Xu Nianci

12

Fiction World

1907

Hong Kong

Ten-day circling

unknown

(4)

Chinese and Foreign Stories

1907

Guangzhou

Ten-day circling

Huang Boyao Huang Shizhong

(28)

Guangdong Opium-banning New Fictions

1907

Guangzhou

Weekly

Li Zhe

(9)

Fictions Monthly: from Jingli Society

1907

Shanghai

Monthly

Peng Yu

(2)

New Fiction Serials

1908

Hong Kong

Monthly

Lin Ziqiu

(3)

Vernacular 1908 Chinese Fictions

Shanghai

Monthly

Lao Xia Yu Sheng

(2)

Yangtze River Fiction

1909

Hankou

Monthly

Hu Shi’an

(5)

Yangtze River Fiction Daily

1909

Hankou

Daily

Hu Shi’an

(30)

Shanghai

Ten-day circling

Global society

(12)

Ten-day Fictions 1909

(continued)

3.1 Pioneers of Fiction Markets

57

Table 3.2 (continued) Periodical title

Initiation

Setting-up place

Distribution cycle

Main editors

Quantity of issuance

Fiction Times

1909

Shanghai

Monthly

Chen Lengxue Bao Tianxiao

33

Short Story Magazine

1910

Shanghai

Monthly

Yun Tieqiao Wang Xishen

126b

Illustrated Fictions

1910

Unknown

Monthly

unknown

6

Chinese Novels

1914

Shanghai

Monthly

Shen Ping’an

30

Fiction Series

1914

Shanghai

Monthly

Xu Zhenya 44

Fictions: A 1914 Ten-day Circling

Shanghai

Ten-day circling

Ying Fei et al.

(3)

Short-Story Waves

1915

Shanghai

Monthly

Huang Shanmin

36

Fiction Gallimaufry

1915

Shanghai

Seasonal

Bao Tianxiao

15

New Magazine of Fictions

1915

Shanghai

Monthly

Li Dingyi

94

Illustrated Fictions

1917

Shanghai

Monthly

Bao Tianxiao et al.

21

Revolutionist Fictions

1917

Shanghai

Monthly

Hu Jichen

3

Notes a It was transferred to Shanghai the next year b It includes the issues till 1920

In his “Felicitation on the Hundredth Issue of Political Criticism”, Liang Qichao once mentioned the difficulties of running periodicals in China: first, appropriation inadequacy; second, few qualified editors; third, little readership; and fourth, pedantic and ill-informed personnel. He also regretted that newspaper offices had grown for scores of years with hundreds of newspapers and magazines, but the social influence was little. Comprehensive periodicals were short of financial support. The same situation was found for fiction magazines where magazines were often seen to run no more than two issues.6 Even so, newspapers and magazines had developed with increasing readership, especially those that featured popular ones. The sale of The 6 Tao

Baopi mentioned the poor financial support of running fiction magazines in the Foreword in Yangtze River Fiction, No. 1, 1909; similar comment was found in “Introduction to the 1907 Investigation of Publications of Fictions” by Xu Nianci in Collection of Fictions, No. 9, 1908.

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3 Commercialization of Fictions and Rise of Book Printing

Chinese Progress, for example, had once amazingly increased from 4,000 to 17,000. Runners of newspapers and magazines, from the late Qing Dynasty to the May Fourth period, were usually casual with the calculation of the sales which were often amplified in the advertisements. More reliable numbers could be seen in the letters to their friends or family members, or in their reminiscences. Circulations of the five major influential magazines of the time are shown in Table 3.3 with supporting sources. For Table 3.3, here are some notes to make: first, it doesn’t mean that there were only these five magazines worth mentioning, but records of the circulation of other important magazines are not available; second, though the circulation statistics of the five magazines, being sorted out by removing the invalid numbers, are reliable, they are not accurate enough and are in need of further verification; third, the figures of the highest and lowest printings are inferred from the historical materials that are available. Book publication has a long history in China though modern Chinese periodicals started until the late Qing Dynasty. During the late Qing and the early Republican period, the introduction of new printing technology and readers’ intensified thirst for reading gave much impetus for a book publication boom. Christian Literature Society once made a calculation of its sales of translated books in 1898: 800 silver dollars in 1893 which rose to 18,000 in 1898, “20 times larger in just five years, which suffices to demonstrate the staggeringly increased population of the readers.”7 Publication in China strode forward after the 1898 Reform. Li Zezhang gave the statistics of yearly publication of The Commercial Press from 1902 to 1930 in his Publication in China in Thirty-Five years; in his Publication and Printing Business in China in Sixty Years, Lu Feikui demonstrated that the turnover of The Commercial Press had kept taking up one-third of the total book publication in China from the late Qing Dynasty to 1920s.8 These historical materials constructed a rough picture of book publication in China during these 30 years. Today, the yearly publication of hundreds or even thousands of kinds of books is surely a small amount of publication in a large country like China,9 but it was no doubt great progress in the late Qing Dynasty and the early twentieth century in China. As far as the publication of fictions is concerned, it’s hard to know the exact amount of the printings since the publishers then usually did not give a clear note of it on the copyright page10 and people of the time did not care about it. We try to infer from historical materials to roughly reconstruct a contour of it. 7 See

in The 11th Annual Report of Christian Literature Society (1898) translated by Cai Erkang; The Second Collection of the Historical Records of Publication in Modern China eds by Zhang Jinglu, published by Zhonghua Book Company in 1957. 8 See in The Fourth Collection of the Historical Records of Publication in Modern China by Li Wen and Supplement to the Historical Records of Publication in Modern China by Lu Wen. 9 According to the statistics in Yearbook of Publication in China in 1981, 17,212 kinds of books were published in 1979; recorded in Booklist, 51,789 kinds of books were published in 1980. 10 There were exceptions. For example, Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel (published by Shenpao Newspaper and printed by Shanghai Jicheng Book Company in 1905) stated clearly on its copyright page that “the first printing is 3,000”.

Place of publication

Shanghai

Shanghai

Yokohama (Japan)

Tokyo (Japan)

Title

Chinese Globe Magazine

The Chinese Progress

Sein Min Choong Bou

The Minpao Magazine

Zhang Ji, Zhang Binglin, Tao Chengzhang

Liang Qichao

Liang Qichao, Mai Menghua, Zhang Binglin

Lin Lezhi

Editor in chief

Monthly

Semimonthly

Ten-day circling

Weekly monthly

Circling

Table 3.3 Circulation statistics of early chinese magazines

1905.11

1902.2

1896.8

1874.9

Initiation

1910.2

1907.11

1898.8

1907.12

Termination

26

96

69

Weekly 450 monthly 227

Quantity of publication

6,000

4,000

4,000

1,800

Lowest printing

17,000

14,000

17,000

54,396

Highest printing

(continued)

➃

➂

➁

➀

Source of statistics

3.1 Pioneers of Fiction Markets 59

Shanghai

The Saturday

Wang Dungen

Editor in chief weekly

Circling 1914.6

Initiation 1916.4

Termination 100

Quantity of publication Unknown

Lowest printing 20,000

Highest printing ➄

Source of statistics

Notes of the Sources for this Table ➀ In History of Modern Chinese Periodicals (Book 1, Shanxi People’s Publishing House, 1981, p. 29), Fang Hanqi mentioned that Chinese Globe Magazine “had little readership and was often given away to the readers” when it was just initiated, but the sales increased every year later, from 1,800 in 1876 to 54,396 in 1903 with the largest circulation of all the magazines ➁ In History of Modern Chinese Periodicals (Book 1, p. 83), Fang Hanqi quoted from “Announcement of the Office of The Chinese Progress” in The Chinese Progress (Vol. 39) on September 17, 1897, “One year has passed since the establishment of the magazine. Under the cooperation of the whole stuff, the magazine has gone well with an unexpected sale of more than 12,000 copies a year.” In his “Felicitation to the Hundredth Issue of The Chinese Progress”, Liang Qichao congratulated, “The Chinese Progress was established after the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). It has grown so popular that the sales have risen to 10,000 copies in just several months, which is quite unprecedented ever since the rise of periodicals in China. People all over the country are keen on reading it as were the thirsty person yearning for water.” ➂ Liang Qichao wrote to Kang Youwei in April 1902, concerning the publication of Sein Min Choong Bou, “The sale of the magazine is amazing. Every month we have 1,000 more copies published and it’s nearly 5,000 copies up to now.” In the advertisement of Sein Min Choong Bou in Shenpao Newspaper (March 1, 1906), it drumbeat in the following words, “Sein Min Choong Bou has run for several years and has been popular with the literati. Its sales have reached 14,000. The first issue of the fourth year is ready and the subscriptions of it have been in quite a succession these days, which testifies to the enlightenment of the people of China.” ➃ In History of Modern Chinese Periodicals (Book 2, p. 386), Fang Hanqi mentioned that the initial issue of The Minpao Magazine had been reprinted six times with a circulation of nearly 6,000 copies. In the advertisement of The Minpao Magazine in Fupao Magazine, September 3, 1906), it reads, “Since The Minpao Magazine was established last year, seven issues have come out. Luckily, Zhang Binglin was set free and came to Tokyo and was invited as the editor in chief, having greatly accelerated the development of the magazine. The sales have now reached 17,000.” ➄ On the forty-sixth issue of The Saturday, there was published a four-lined poem by Chen Diexian, singing for the magazine that had published nearly 50 issues with about 20,000 copies of circulation. Besides, in his “Reminiscence of The Saturday” in The Saturday (August 25, 1928), Zhou Shoujuan mentioned, “The magazine had so much created a public sensation that the sales of the initial issue had reached more than 20,000 copies.” Zhang Jinglu confirmed in his My Two Decades of Publishing Life (Shanghai Magazine Company, 1938, p. 36) that the 60 issues of The Saturday had been a best-selling magazine and “some of them did have sold more than 10.000 or even 20,000 copies”

Place of publication

Title

Table 3.3 (continued)

60 3 Commercialization of Fictions and Rise of Book Printing

3.1 Pioneers of Fiction Markets

61

Among the new fictions, the largest printings are The Flower in the World of Retribution by Zeng Pu and He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story by Xu Zhenya. According to the article “A New Talk on the New Fiction” in Fiction Times (No. 9, 1911), “The novel The Flower in the World of Retribution has been reprinted six or seven times with a top sale of 20,000 copies among the new fictions.”11 In “Zhenya’s Announcement” in Fiction Series (Vol. 16, 1915), it claims, “two years after it was published, He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story has sold more than 20,000 copies.” Zhang Jinglu confirmed it in his My Two Decades of Publishing Life, “the novel He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story has reprinted three times, and all are sold out within two months.” and he further affirmed, “nobody would deny that it may be the largest sale in the recent twenty years among the new fictions.”12 Considering the poor situation of the publishing industry and the educational level of the people of the time, a sale of 20,000 was quite an amazing number. Sein Min Choong Bou, an influential newspaper in the late Qing Dynasty, had just reached the highest circulation of 14,000 in its prime, and Shenpao Newspaper, the most prestigious newspaper of the longest history, had just reached a circulation of 30,000 copies till 1918. Book circulation was no better than newspapers. It was true that the circulation of popular novels was less than the sensational political books and textbooks,13 but it was a lot more than that of other books. Printings of most of the novels of the late Qing and the early Republican period are not available nowadays, including those so-called “bestsellers”. Nevertheless, it can be inferred from the numbers of editions and re-editions. Among the Chinese novels translated, Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes (originally by Conan Doyle) had seven editions from 1906 to 1920; Cuore (originally by Edmondo De Amicis) had eight editions from 1910 to 192614 ; and A Completion of Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes had twenty editions in two decades since it was first published in 1916. The creation of Chinese novels is in the same situation, for instances, He Mengxia’s Diary by Xu Zhenya had ten editions from 1916 to 1920; Change and Turbulence by Li Hanqiu had fourteen editions from 1914 to 1933; even Zhenya’s Free Writings, a collection of short stories and poems, had twelve editions in no more than ten years. Not to mention, some of the bestsellers are hard to make statistics of

11 In Chapter Two of History of Fictions of Late Qing Dynasty, A’Ying writes, “The novel of The Flower in the World of Retribution was such a sensation that it was reprinted 15 times with a sale of more than 50,000 copies within two years”. 12 See in My Two Decades of Publishing Life (Shanghai Magazine Company, 1938, p. 37); also in “A Brief History of Old Fictions in Republican China” by Fan Yanqiao in References of Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School ed. by Wei Shaochang (Shanghai Art and Literature Publishing House, 1984), it claims that He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story had a sale of hundreds of thousands of copies, but with no accurate numbers and time span. 13 For example, Fang Hanqi noted in his History of Modern Chinese Periodicals (Shanxi People’s Publishing House, 1981) that Revolutionists had been reprinted more than twenty times with a circulation of more than 1,100,000 copies within ten years. 14 Bao Tianxiao claimed to have read the 18th edition of it and several other pirated editions of different places in his Memoirs at Chuanying Study.

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3 Commercialization of Fictions and Rise of Book Printing

their editions, for there had been numerous pirated editions, such as The Nine-tailed Turtle which is said to have dozens of different pirated editions. What’s worth noting is the status of fictions in the publishing industry. Kang Youwei once noted in the Introduction to the tenth volume of his A Bibliography of Japanese Books: I once asked a Shanghai publisher what kinds of books are well sold and was replied that the ancient classics were no better than stereotyped eight-part writings and stereotyped eight-part writings were no better than novels.

Xia Songlai sighed in his My Experience of Book-selling in Jinling City that “novels are poorly sold”, but we know he actually referred to those flops but not the popular ones like the Chinese versions of Uncle Tom’s Cabin or Two Years’ Vacation. Under the new literati’s recommendation of the new fictions in much high terms, not only the ordinary literate people but also the scholars who once read only works of classics began to buy new fictions to read.15 Markets of the new fictions were thus fast expanded, which in turn affected the publishers’ policy in their business, and finally brought about a large proportion of the new fictions in their total publications. It is estimated that nearly one-fourth of the publication then were novels. Take The Commercial Press as an example. From 1902 to 1910, it had published 865 kinds of books with a total number of 2,042 copies, among which literary books (most of them are novels) took a proportion of 220 kinds, 639 copies. From 1911 to 1920, the number of its total publication rose to 2,657 kinds with 7,087 copies and 626 kinds, about 1,755 copies of which were literary books. Besides, there were many publishers who mainly published novels such as Xiaoshuolin Press, New World Fiction Press, Reformation Fiction Press, and the like. Especially in the year 1907, novels even took a proportion of one-third of the total. In this year, The Commercial Press had published 182 kinds of books with 435 copies (including some magazines)16 while the publication of the whole country was around 555 kinds and 1,300 copies, among which verified publication of novels are 199 kinds (135 translations and 64 Chinese originals).17 Compared with the US, Japan, and some European countries, the Chinese publishing industry was still backward during the late Qing and the early Republican period. Liang Qichao once gave an exaggerated statistic of the publication of fictions in other countries, “8,000–10,000 kinds of novels were published every year, among which about 2,000 in the US, 1,500 in Great Britain, 1,000 in Russia, 600 in France, 500 in Italy and Spain respectively, 400 in Japan and another 400 in India and Syria.”18 But compared with China itself, the publication of novels had unprecedentedly increased and the market of novels got flourished, which is testified by the 15 See in “Development of Literature and Position of Fictions” by Laodi (Xu Nianci) in Chinese and Foreign Stories, No. 6, Vol. 1, 1907. 16 See in “Publication in China in Thirty-Five Years” by Li (1957). 17 The statistics are from Catalogue of Operas and Fictions in the Late Qing Dynasty by A’Ying. Unfinished ones and those published in magazines are also included. 18 See in “Comments on Fiction” by Yinbing (Liang Qichao) in New Fiction, No. 11, 1904.

3.1 Pioneers of Fiction Markets

63

fact that novels published in the fourteen years between 1898 and 1911 were much more than the total of it 250 years ago.19

3.2 Professionalization of Novelists Readership of fictions staggeringly increased during the late Qing and the early Republican period, resulting in the great development of markets for fictions and, in turn, another two factors of the introduction of the notion of copyright from Western countries and the formation of the publishing industry in China provided essential conditions for the professionalization of novelists, especially the factor of increased readership as there were at the time many professional novelists but a few professional poets or professional prose writers. Though book pirating was prohibited in China since the Song Dynasty,20 the notion of copyright was not popular until the late Qing Dynasty.21 Most of the fictions in the late Qing and the early Republican period had “All rights reserved” clearly printed except for some political fictions which were tolerant for piracy since they were not meant to make money but to be spread among the population. Copyrights of books, including both separated editions and those installments in magazines, were all reserved. An announcement of Collection of Fictions (No. 3, 1907) reads: It is hereby announced that all the fictions, long or short, published in this magazine are copyright reserved and reprinting without permission is banned by law. We regretfully found that XXX Newspaper Office had published the story of Regional Autonomy (published in No. 2 of Collection of Fictions) by having simply changed its title into Twenty Pence, and that XXX Newspaper Office had recently published the story of Legend of Xuanxiang Tower (published in No. 1 of Collection of Fictions) even without any changes. All these infringed upon the interests of us. Agents are being sent to tackle on it. All later transgressors shall directly be sent to court with no negotiations.

We don’t see the force of the law, but we do see that the notion of “all rights reserved” was quite popular at the time. In Chap. 9 of Li Boyuan’s novel Reality of China (describing the dark social life after the 1898 Reformation), we read an anecdote of the county magistrate of Mengyin County who made a fool of himself by writing “All rights reserved” in his work report to the provincial magistrate. Censures of plagiarism and illegal reprinting were frequently seen in newspapers and 19 There

are 275 items of fictions from the early Qing to 1897 collected in Catalogue of Chinese Popular Fictions by Sun Kaidi and 559 items of fictions in classical Chinese in Catalogue of Fictions in Classical Chinese by Yuan Xingpei and Hou Zhongyi, making a total of 834; there are 1145 items from 1898 to 1911 collected in Catalogue of Operas and Fictions in the Late Qing Dynasty by A’Ying, including both fictions and operas. 20 See in Book Printing in China (Book 2) by Ye Dehui, Zhonghua Book Company, 1956. 21 It reads in Legal Regulations for Copyright of Books enacted by the Qing government in 1910, “Copyright of a book belongs to its author which will be inherited by his hires for thirty years” during which period, “anyone shall not plagiarize or reprint or in any other ways to infringe its copyright”.

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magazines, and some writers had to make an apology for their duplicate submission,22 since all these infringed upon not only reputation but also financial interests of the copyright holders including both the writers and the publishers. Protection of the latter’s interests has accelerated the development of the publishing industry in China while the protection of the former’s interests facilitated the professionalization of Chinese novelists, and altogether have in turn greatly improved the development of modern Chinese fictions in the twentieth century. Copyright disputes often occurred between authors and publishers in the late Qing and the Republican period. Xu Zhenya had quite a number of announcements in Fiction Series to win the copyright of He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story. It is worth noting that behind the copyright disputes over copyright interests is the notion of copyrights, making it quite a “literary phenomenon”. It is still disputed that payment (usually called “Runbi”) to writers started in the Han Dynasty or in Jin and Song Dynasties,23 but it is verified that Tang writers did take payments24 which sometimes were pretty high. Payments at the time were not regulated but were more like private gifts. Moreover, writers would not be paid for all their writings but for those specifically written for others who requested (like epitaphs). Usually, only such lipsalve writings could be bartered for money. It was impossible for writers to live on their writings before the emergence of the modern publishing industry. “Digging bread by writing” was once a complaint of Gong Zizhen, a Qing writer, so was it true to some extent till the late Qing Dynasty. Even in the late Qing Dynasty, not every piece of literary writings (like poems or lyrical writings) could be paid for. Writers were paid only for their fictions because fictions were well sold and had a larger readership that was profitable for the publishers. Here is an item in “Regulations of the News Agency” in the initial issue of Shenpao Newspaper in 1872: Poems and lyrical writings like folk songs of love, or poetic chronicles, are welcomed, but may not be fairly scaled and paid.

Newspapers made profits mainly from advertisements. Take Shenpao Newspaper as an example. In its first year, it especially made a notice to drum up its advertisement business and three out of the total eight pages were occupied by advertisements of various things. Advertisements of fictions were often seen in newspapers at the time. Considering that fictions occasionally published in early Shenpao Newspaper were just free of advertising fee, we see that “not fairly scaled and paid” was not too bad. When it came to the early twentieth century, newspapers of various scales in Shanghai all strove to increase advertisements for the survival and development of the newspapers. They spared much space for fictions which was not only free of 22 Such

as “Xu Zhiyan’s Acknowledgment” in Short Story Magazine, No. 6, Vol. 4.

23 Hong Mai, a writer of Song Dynasty, wrote in his Essays at Rongzhai Study, “Payment to writers

started in Jin and Song Dynasty and came to its prime in Tang Dynasty” while it is regarded to have started in Han Dynasty by Wang Mao (another Song writer) in his Jottings by Nobody and Gu Yanwu (a Qing writer) in his Daily Learning Jottings. 24 See in “Payment of Tang Writers” by Mu (1983).

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advertisements but also paid. It was not because they had a strong sense of copyright but because fictions were popular among the newspaper readers. Stories or installments of stories would attract more readers, which would expand the sales of the newspapers and, in turn, attract more advertisement investors. “Except for fictions, poems and lyrical prose writings were usually not paid and the writers just wrote out of interest and never asked for payments.”25 It is not that poem writers and lyrical prose writers were not interested in payment but that they were unable to get payments, for their poems and lyrical prose writings were just adornments of the newspapers that did not rely on it for making a profit. In other words, the spiritual work of the writers of poems and lyrical prose writings could not be transferred into consumption goods.26 Specific fiction magazines and single editions of novels made profits exclusively from the sales of the magazines or the novels. Accurate calculations of the publishers’ profit from novels are now unavailable, but it is safe to say that fiction publication at the time was a way of earning money since most of the book companies dealt with the business of the publication and marketing of books, and advertisements of fictions were frequently seen in newspapers and magazines.27 This is essential for the professionalization of writers since writers are possible to be paid only when publishers make profits in their business. During the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period, most of the newspapers and magazines paid the writers and translators, except for a few numbers who not only had no payment but also required the writers to donate to them.28 There was no universal standard of payment. It is learned from the notice of “Fictions Wanted” in Collection of Fictions that “payment for the first-rate works is 5 yuan per thousand words; the second-rate is 3 yuan; the third-rate is 2 yuan”. But most of the newspapers and magazines would vaguely boast “high payments”. The Commercial Press paid Lin Shu for his translations of fictions at 5 yuan for a thousand words,29 and Bao Tianxiao 4 yuan for a thousand words.30 Lu Qiuxin offered to translate for the company and was paid at a scale of 3 yuan for the first-rates, 2.5 yuan for the 25 See

in the section of “Management of Newspapers” in Memoirs at Chuanying Study by Bao Tianxiao, Hong Kong: Dahua Publishing House, 1971. 26 On each issue of Collection of Fictions, there was a notice of “Welcoming Fictions” in which they clarified the standards of payment for the writers. There was only one notice of “Welcoming Poems, Lyrical Prose Writings and Essays” on the 4th issue of it and clarified that the writers “would be rewarded with coupons for books”; on the 8th issue of New Fiction, there was also a notice of welcoming literary works of various types apart from fictions with no mention of rewards at all, not even coupons for books. 27 Advertisements at the earlier times were mainly taken up by profitable medicines, theatre programs, ship schedules, and goods of various kinds. At the beginning of the twentieth century when fictions got in the air, advertisements of books became more often seen in newspapers and magazines. Most of the book advertisements are for fictions, reference books, and textbooks. 28 An example is seen in World of Entertainments, a specialized magazine for fictions and other literary writings, on which it had a notice reading, “one yuan of donation for every two pages”, “the editors will decide whether they publish the works or not if the writer makes no donation”. 29 It is a piece of false information that in “Writing Again on Lin Qinnan” by Zhou Zuoren in Free Voices, No. 20, 1912, saying Lin Shu was paid 10 yuan for a thousand words. 30 See in Zhang Yuanji’s Dairy, The Commercial Press, 1981, p. 9.

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second-rates, and 2 yuan for the third-rates.31 It is said that the standard of payment in Shanghai at the time was about 2 yuan per thousand words and the lowest could be 0.5 yuan. Xiang Kairan was poorly paid at 0.5 yuan for his Chinese Overseas Students in Japan: A Novel since he was then quite a green writer.32 It’s true that well-known writers were usually more privileged in the “business” of writing, but ordinary writers were also benefited from it. A payment of 2 yuan for a thousand words was pretty tempting in terms of the price index of the time. Bao Tianxiao made a fortune of 100 yuan for his translations of Cuore and The Mysterious Island (around forty or fifty thousand words altogether), and he wrote, “it can afford not only my trip to Shanghai but also my family’s living expenses of several months.”33 Zhou Zuoren earned 200 yuan from The Commercial Press for his translation of The World’s Desire (by H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang), which was “quite a large sum of income”34 at the time. It’s unfair to attribute the late-Qing writers’ motivation of writing to economic interests only, but it was true for some of them (like Bao Tianxiao) who “changed the idea of being admitted to academies of classical learning to translating books for money.”35 But it’s not necessarily the case that money-motivated writing or translating would surely be of poor quality. For instance, Liu’e accomplished his masterpiece of The Travels of Lao Ts’an initially out of the wish of financing his friend Lian Mengqing. As for Lin Shu who “would leisurely translate five or six thousand words a day and found in surprise that they had snowballed into nearly 20 volumes in two years,”36 economic interests would be one among other factors. The fact that fiction writing and translating are economically profitable accelerated the development of new fictions with another condition in addition to those of social ideology and literary interest of the writers, that is, the market of fictions which was self-contained and could not be controlled by the writers’ wishes. This situation was never met with by the writers of the previous generations. Whether Wu Jingzi or Cao Xueqin, they never had the idea of writing for money, but writers of the late Qing and the early Republican period did, for they made a living on writing and translating. In 1906, the traditional imperial examination system was abolished. Seeing the profitable market of fictions, swarms of Chinese intellectuals were steered into the “gold rush” of fiction writing and translating. On account of the long-affecting notion of reading and writing for an official career, many of them felt adrift to face the economic motivation of their writing and translating and claimed that they wrote for the purpose of social reform. Sometimes they admitted that they had to earn some money to make a living though it was against their will, sighing that capable 31 See

in Zhang Yuanji’s Dairy, The Commercial Press, 1981, p. 13. in “Fictions” in Memoirs at Chuanying Study. 33 See in “Beginning to Translate Fictions” in Memoirs at Chuanying Study by Bao Tianxiao. 34 See in “Translating Fictions” in Memoirs by Zhou Zuoren, Hongkong Sam Yuk Books Co., Ltd, 1980. 35 See in “Beginning to Translate Fictions” in Memoirs at Chuanying Study by Bao Tianxiao. 36 See in the Preface to Feizhou Yan Shui Chou Cheng Lu (Allan Quatermain, originally by H. R. Haggard), translated by Lin Shu, The Commercial Press, 1905. 32 See

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as they were, they had no chance to realize their ideals. Actually, it is neither noble nor humble to be a professional writer, but the writers were not accustomed to it. Some new novelists were keen on politics and wrote novels as a means of public enlightenment other than those making money, such as Liang Qichao, Luo Pu, and Zhang Zhaotong. However, most writers made a living by writing even if they were not professional writers. In the late Qing and the early Republican period, there emerged in the history of Chinese literature the first batch of professional writers who were novelists, which had a great impact on fiction writing. It cannot be simply concluded as a “positive” or a “negative” movement. It’s a mixture of both which is addressed in the following two sections from the perspective of the commercialization of the new fictions and the development of storytelling from the oral way to the written way.

3.3 Commercialization of New Fiction Professionalized novelists, in a sense, live on readers. They would write to cater to the readers rather than to the imperial government or the mainstream ideology of the society. The old mode of writing to speak for the emperors or to preach doctrines of the ancient sages was gradually replaced by the reader-oriented mode of writing, leading fast to the commercialization of fictions. In the late Qing and early Republican China, novelists were much more dynamic than before. Fiction creations and translations were both flourished. Many scholars tried to explore the causes of it, the passage below by A’Ying probably giving the most general view of it. First, the development of printing techniques enabled the journalism to grow with larger amount of production; second, intellectuals of the time were enlightened by the western civilization and recognized the social significance of fictions; third, the conservative and corrupted imperial government was frequently thwarted by the invaders, hence helpless intellectuals meant to assail it and to advocate for reformation and revolution in fictions.37

A’Ying is insightful in it, but he forgot the fact that new fictions can be bartered for money. Kang Youwei knew well the reading interest of the public and consciously made advantage of it to propagate new ideology. But surely, it was not because of the spread of new ideas that novels had a wide market, but because novels had a wide market that enlighteners began to take advantage of novels to spread new ideas. Novelists’ mentality in writing could partially tell the trend of the new fictions on the whole, but the quantity of the new fictions was largely decided by the market of fictions. The genre of fiction was elevated as “the best of literature” from its traditional humble position by Liang Qichao, which no doubt aroused the novelists’ desire of writing fictions. Had it not been the “general nature of human beings”38 of reading stories and the flourished markets of fictions brought about by it, fictions 37 See 38 See

in Chapter One in History of the Late Qing Fictions by A’Ying. in “Fiction and Social Administration” in New Fiction, Vol. 1, 1902.

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of the late Qing and early Republican China would not be so prosperous. There could be novelists who wrote for the sake of art itself or of their political ideal with no consideration of the market of fictions, but taking fiction publication as a whole, the law of commodity economy works the same way as it did in other fields, stimulating or restraining the production of fictions. Comparatively, freer atmosphere for writing, plus the developing market of fictions and the growing production of fictions (including both writing and publishing), all these were the factors of the booming fictions in the late Qing Dynasty. Though it sounds disrespectful to describe the development of the fictions of the late Qing and early Republican China with economic terms like “market” and “production”, it actually well fits it. Those fictions as commodities got circulated in the market started earlier than in the late Qing Dynasty. But it did start in the late Qing Dynasty such that writers involved themselves in the production of fictions as a commercial business by receiving remuneration for their writings. Writers’ mentality for fictions as commodities accelerated the production of fictions. Despite the negative effect of the commercialization of fictions, it surely caused more writers to abandon the traditional contempt for fictions and to actively involve themselves in writing fictions, which finally helped to bring about the prosperity of fictions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican China. In 1915, Liang Qichao, the preacher of new fictions, showed his worry about such abnormal prosperity of fiction writing when he saw that “apart from textbooks, ninetenths of the book publications are fictions.”39 Since it’s a way of earning money, many people began to write fictions, among whom there were both serious writers and solely money-oriented writers. It’s no wonder that the works of the latter much distressed Liang Qichao who saw “most of them are vulgar stories.”40 Fictions as commodities not only increased the production of fictions, but also enticed trash works. There were writers who just wrote for money and those who were indeed just engrossed in vulgar stories. Even those talented serious writers would sometimes produce fictions of low quality either because of the turbulent time that made it hard for them to translate in good mood for refined works, or because of the time limit for periodical installments. What’s essential is that writing somewhat became more irreverent and unhallowed because of the absence of a sense of dignity in writing. Many critics of the time had commented on it, such as Wang Zhonglin’s criticism of “money worship in writing,”41 Zhong Junwen’s criticism of some new novelists who “wrote for money and even knew there were flaws, but had no mind to perfect it”42 and Juanqiu’s satire on those who “would complete their works quickly in several days, boasting about their fast speed but knowing not that all their fast works are

39 See

in “Address to the novelists” by Liang Qichao in Chinese Novels, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1915.

40 Ibid. 41 See in “Chronicles of Chinese Fictions” by Tianlusheng (Wang Zhonglin) in The All-Story Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 11, 1907. 42 See in “On Leisurely Comments on Fictions” by Yinbansheng (Zhong Junwen) in World of Entertainments, No. 1, 1906.

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none other than trash works.”43 They felt nostalgic about the bygone writers who just “occasionally wrote fictions out of interest” and could produce masterpieces since they did not write for money. Thus, they deeply grieved for the poor quality of the fictions in commodity economy when “the fictions were completed in the morning and got printed in the evening, but were forgotten overnight.”44 During the late Qing and the early Republican period when the production of fictions became a business, professionalized writers could not afford to polish their works as carefully as Cao Xueqin45 who went over the story a score of times in ten years to revise and polish it. In the late Qing Dynasty, writers wrote for a living and their remuneration was low. Besides, periodical installments left the writers no time to polish their writings, not even for a second read of it. Hence, there had been coarse products of poor quality on account of the fast speed in writing. Wu Jianren accomplished 18 novels and some 12 or 13 short stories and literary essays in seven or eight years; Li Dingyi left us 48 literary works including novels in no more than ten years; Li Hanqiu accomplished 33 novels in fifteen years; Bao Tianxiao translated 37 novels and novellas from 1903 to 1916 in addition to his large number of fiction creations. They usually wrote several novels at the same time. Sometimes, they gave it up because the magazines or newspapers ceased publication, or because they shifted their interest in something else. And those they completed would probably be of poor quality because of the overhasty process of writing. Zhong Junwen once predicted that most works of the time were no match for the works of the previous dynasties.46 He was right. Few of the novels of the time could compete with the previous works like Outlaws of the Marsh and A Dream in Red Mansions. Poor quality is not only decided by the writers’ gift in writing but also by their attitude in writing, especially at the beginning of the introduction of Western fictions. Wu Jianren was once much reproached for his articles advertising for some specific commodities47 though such commodity consciousness was actually quite popular with the writers of the time. Scores of years later, Li Dingyi sighed that “writers could not afford their living necessities if they did not barter their stories for money.”48 Under the heavy burden of life, writers had to keep writing for the living necessities at the cost of sacrificing 43 See

in “Comment on Fictions” by Juanqiu in Elegant Writing, No. 1, 1912. in “On Leisurely Comments on Fictions” by Yinbansheng (Zhong Junwen) in World of Entertainments, No. 1, 1906. 45 Cao Xueqin was a well-known Chinese writer, the author of Hong Lou Meng (A Dream of Red Mansions). 46 See in “On Leisurely Comments on Fictions” by Bansheng (Zhong Junwen) in World of Entertainments, No. 1, 1906. 47 Wu Jianren in his early years once wrote an article with the title Some Tips on Food advertising for the Bird’s Nest beverage made by Shanghai Huaxing Company; in his later life, he had another article with the title of “Coming Back to Life” advertising for the brain-nourishing syrup of the Sino-French Pharmacy. He was much denounced by his peer writers for it. But Zhou Guisheng had a different opinion on it, “in ancient China, there were writers writing flattering epitaphs for money, how come we cannot write advertising articles for money?” (see in the section of “Wu Jianren” in Jottings by Xin’an, Shanghai Gujin Library, 1914). 48 See in “World of Letters of Shanghai in Early Republican China” by Li (1986). 44 See

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the artistic craft and taste of their works that were full of careless repetitions, mistakes, contradictions, and slips and cribs. Even the well-known writers would have works with uneven quality in a novel in which some of the episodes were excellently woven, but some others were hastily pieced together. In a word, it’s possible to read wonderful episodes in a novel but hard to read a wonderful novel as a whole that stood careful reading. Commercialization of fictions made it possible that the intellectuals did not necessarily take the imperial examinations for the purpose of working in the imperial government, which was traditionally the ultimate goal for the intellectuals. Economic independence from high officials and dignitaries enabled them to own independent personality and to be ideologically free. They were enabled to write according to their own artistic interest and talent on the condition that their writings be accepted by the readers so as to make a living on it. It’s true that they were no longer so much tied to the traditional ideology, but there was still a baton to dance with, that is the readers. In general, such a shift from ideological bind to the bind of the readers helped to enhance the political independence and artistic rebelling spirit of the writers of the late Qing and the early Republican China, not just for the politically active writers like Liang Qichao and Chen Tianhua, but also for all the ordinary professionalized writers. Here is a passage from A Biography of Li Boyuan by Wu Jianren, In Emperor Guangxu’s reign in 1901, the imperial government recruited economic experts for setting up a new department. Zeng Mutao recommended Li Boyuan to the government, but the latter declined, saying that he would not delay it till that time if he wanted to work in the government.49

In 1916, Yuan Shikai,50 for the purpose of gaining popular support of his new government, meant to appoint Lin Shu as an advanced counselor. Lin Shu resolutely refused, “I resolutely won’t to serve for the republican government.”51 Surely, Li Boyuan refused the invitation out of his hatred of the governmental corruption and Lin Shu out of his nostalgic loyalty to the late Qing Dynasty, but there was another reason for their refusal, that is, both of them could earn their fame and a living by writing or translating novels. Most of the new novelists of the time were ordinary civilians and they felt at ease with it.52 Freedom of speech is one of the advantages of being independent of the government. That is why there appeared many novels full of denunciation of the corrupted late Qing government, which was impossible in the previous dynasties. 49 See in “A Biography of Li Boyuan” by Wu Jianren in The All-Story Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 3, 1906. 50 Yuan Shikai (1859–1916), a Chinese general, statesman, and warlord, is famous for his influence during the late Qing Dynasty; his role in the events leading up to the abdication of the last Qing Emperor, his autocratic rule as the first formal President of the Republic of China. He attempted to restore monarchy in China in Dec. of 1915 with himself being Hongxian Emperor, but was strongly opposed and had to quit it in March of 1916. 51 See in “A Concise Biographical Chronology of Lin Shu” by Zhang Juncai in Researches on Lin Shu, Fujian People’s Publishing House, 1983. 52 Only a few number of the new novelists passed the imperial examinations at the provincial level such as Lin Shu, Liang Qichao, Zeng Pu, and Qiu Shuyuan.

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Novelists of the time incisively pictured the dark and ugly officialdom and the foulness of bureaucracy, which would consequently irritate the government. There did have the item of punishment for “heretic writings and speeches” in The Amended Statutes and Precedents of Qing Dynasty, but the government had to leave it that way since it was such a multitude of writers and works. Writers then, knowing that they would irritate the government and even violate the governmental statutes, would still write novels rebuking the government because such novels were much popular with the readers. Conservatives would not read the new fictions; new fiction readers acclaimed reforms, and the civilians utterly detested governmental corruptions, all these brought about a ready market for fictions attacking officialdom and bureaucracy. Lu Xun once commented on it, “the mass see the deficiencies of the government and want to improve it.”53 Here, “the mass” includes not only the writers but also the readers. Actually, the existence of the market of fictions partially accounted for the prevalence of officialdom fictions, most of which were imitations of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation54 and were merely money-making trash just giving vent to the resentment of the public toward the corrupted government. Professional writers had to cater to the readers and became bold enough to intrude upon the political forbidden zone and also to have artistic innovation in their fictions. A good example is seen in Xu Zhenya’s romances of He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story and Mengxia’s Diary. Traditionally in China, correspondences were used in argumentation, travel jottings, and other prose writings, but never in novels. In Wu Jianren’s Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years and Wang Junqing’s A Cold Eye on the World, the correspondences would be reported by the storytellers rather than presented in the form of correspondences. It is Xu Zhenya who first made use of correspondences in his novel He Mengxia and Bai Liying for the convenience of expressing feelings. Besides, readers of the time were fond of reading letters. Models of epistolary art were quite a in fashion at the time. Xu Zhenya once compiled Models of Epistolary Art for Advanced Learners and Models of Epistolary Art for Ordinary Learners, which probably inspired him to write the novel He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story. This reminds us of the eighteenth-century British novelist Samuel Richardson and his novel Clarissa. Many scholars made analogy studies of the two. He Mengxia and Bai Liying became a great sensation and the passionate letters in the novel were especially popular with the readers, and the writer of it thereupon adapted and expanded it into an epistolary novel titled Mengxia’s Diary, making it a novel that “should not be missed for those who are in favor of passionate love letters.”55 Leaving aside the raffish words in the elaborated passionate love letters, anyway, the style of epistolary novels came into being in China along with it. Overmuch ingratiation to the market and the readers was dangerous, causing the quality of most of the novels to descend. For example, satirical novels turned out to 53 See

Chap. 28 in A Brief History of Chinese Fiction by Lu Xun. was a sensational novel of the late Qing Dynasty by Li Boyuan for its detailed exposure of the dark side of the corrupt government and inspired many imitations of the time. 55 See an advertising article “He Mengxia’s Diary: A Novel Not to be Missed” in Fiction Series, No. 13, 1915. 54 It

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be stories of shady deals as a result, which was aggravated by the profit-grabbing booksellers. After all, the aesthetic taste of most of the readers of the time was of a pretty low level. New novelists of the later period did not try to hoist such a low level of aesthetic taste, but to cater to it for the purpose of making money. This is the primary cause for the deterioration of the new fictions after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. Fiction writing during the late Qing and the early Republican period, though flourished, had not achieved much since most of the works lacked originality. A successful style or a subject matter would immediately breed batches of imitations that would soon submerge the freshness and creativity of it. They would come noisily in great numbers but soon died namelessly. Some better ones like Li Boyuan’s officialdom novels and Xu Zhenya’s romances lasted for a longer time, but most of the novels were just a fleeting show, among which were archaized novels around 1909 and the novels of shady deals around 1916. The life of New Fiction came to an end when it went into bulk production out of the drive of winning the market. Superficially, novels of the time thrived in waves, however, a large proportion of them was cliché trash with similar characterization and foreseeable plotting and the spirit of artistic exploration got diminished. Accordingly, New Fiction which was once a pioneering literary style with a rebelling spirit soon deviated from Liang Qichao’s expectation of “the best of literature” and became totally so-called “pop literature”. Actually, newly rising contradictions brought about by the professionalization of writers and the commercialization of fictions during the late Qing and the early Republican period had always beset the later generations of Chinese writers, and never disappeared even though “money-worship in literature”56 was harshly criticized later by the May-Fourth writers.

3.4 Fictions in Written Form The development of the publishing industry and the commercialization of fictions did not just impact the literature by producing large numbers of works but also served as a powerful cultural strength that affected the innovation of the texture of Chinese fictions. Periodical installment and book publication impacted the texture of fictions in that the shift of modes of dissemination caused the writers to ponder on the relationship between the writers and the readers, and rebuild it consequently. In the previous dynasties, many writers could not even live to see their works being printed. In contrast, fictions in the late Qing Dynasty would be brought to the readers very soon as is described in Xie Tao’s article, “having finished writing in the morning, coming out in the evening and will be spread all over the country in ten days.”57 This is a great 56 See in “Naturalism and Modern Chinese fictions” by Shen Yanbing in Short Story Magazine, Vol.

13, No. 7, 1922. in On Fictions by Xie Tao published by Zhonghua Book Company in 1919, p. 116.

57 See

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stimulus, for the writers realized that they were no longer sitting in the playhouses to tell stories but writing stories at their tables for any story readers who may read their stories by any chance. Such a seemingly slight change in the notion of fiction writing had undergone hundreds of years of practice in China. It is true that Chinese literature was no longer oral at a much earlier time. A few Huaben Stories of the Song Dynasty58 are verified, among which there have been revisions and modifications by the writers of the reading houses59 and writers of the later generations. Those mimic Huaben Stories verified by Lu Xun are not oral literature at all, but fictions in the form of oral storytelling. However, the form of oral storytelling was well dragged on for several hundred years into some novels of the Qing Dynasty (such as The Scholars and A Dream in Red Mansions) which still carry the tone and features of oral storytelling. The writers knew well that they were not telling stories in a playhouse but still observed the rules and techniques of storytelling in a playhouse such as omniscient narration, chronological narration, and plot-oriented structure. The prosperity of the publishing industry and the shortened cycle of the publication changed the writing techniques of the late Qing writers after they realized the change from the mode of “telling–listening” to that of “writing–reading”. They gradually gave up the clichés of storytelling and experimented with diversified modes of narration. Reading fiction is different from listening to stories. In listening, any slip of attention may keep the listener miles away from the storyteller and unable to catch it in time while in reading, the reader can start from any part of the book and stop for thinking and enjoying it in retrospect at any time. Reading is a process of arousing emotions as well as provoking thought; it is meant not only for pleasure but also for sensibility. The consciousness of such a change in the notion of fiction writing was important to the writers, based on which some writing techniques became understandable such as the “abrupt beginning” (in The Strange Case of Nine Murders) advocated by Liang Qichao. Some other techniques, such as the fixed perspective in the novels by Wu Jianren and Lin Shu, the scenery descriptions in The Travels of Lao Ts’an, and the monologues in Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story, would also be better tasted in the written form of novels. During the late Qing and the early Republican period, the change from oral storytelling to written form also strengthened the argumentation of the political novels, the poetic features of the romances, and the episodic division of novels of exposure. The last is discussed in the fifth chapter of this book, expounding how the structure of the late Qing novels turned to have episodic divisions on account of installments in periodicals. Here, this chapter mainly focuses on the relationship between the development of the publishing industry and the propagandization of political novels and the poetics of romances. Traditional Chinese fictions tend to be didactic with philosophies of life, most of which are far-fetched clichés to show that the fictions are instructive rather than totally 58 Huaben Stories are a type of novels in China that prevailed in Song Dynasty. They were originally transcripts of the stories told by the story-tellers in playhouses, a popular entertainment of the time. 59 The reading houses were originally places for reading. When it came to Song Dynasty, they gradually developed into places where people gathered together to write stories, operas, and dramas.

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leisurely chitchats, yet such philosophies are never the thematic significance of the fiction or make the fiction a weapon of argumentation. The introduction of political fictions into China changed the Chinese novelists in their perception of weaving stories, and they began “to voice their political opinion in their fictions”60 as did Liang Qichao in his The Prospect of New China and Wu Jianren in his Travelings in Shanghai, to name just a few of them. In such political novels, the focus of weaving interesting stories was replaced by making long paragraphs of political comments, which had exerted far-reaching effect at the time though some critics like Xia Zengyou and Huang Renit argued against it. Di Baoxian once compared Chapter Three (captioned with “An Eloquent Debate on the Current Affairs”) in The Prospect of New China to Debating on Salt and Iron,61 a conference document in West Han Dynasty on a debate between state-operated economy and free economy; the long speech in the third chapter of Women Revolutionists in Russia was drawn as an analogy to The Social Contract by Rousseau,62 and the political comments in The Story of Jin Yaose and The Story of A Woman Prisoner were also highly appraised. Some renowned writers would even like to impersonate characters in their novels to voice their political points of view. In general, Chinese political novels were of some pioneering significance though they did not achieve much and are defective as well. At least, plotting was no longer of the priority in fiction writing, which greatly impacted Chinese novels. In terms of the specific novels, the artistic value of them varied in accordance with the varied aesthetic taste of their writers. Long passages of political speeches experienced by Gu Wangyan, the male protagonist in Travelings in Shanghai, helped to demonstrate how Gu was enlightened, giving a good example of relating the comments to the character’s fate in novels; in The Travels of Lao Ts’an by Liu’e, the intervening “Shanzhong old tune” well diminished the monotony of the argumentation between Yugu and Huang Longzi; Qian Xibao expressed boldly his startling speeches through the characters in his A Compendium of Monsters. Mass enthusiasm in state affairs pushed forward the prosperity of political novels, and the development of the publishing industry that had accelerated the shift from oral storytelling to the written form of novels also contributed to it. The written form of novels changed the plot-oriented storytelling that was supposed to be gripping and easy to follow, and it allowed the reader to pause and think about what he was reading, just like any reading of philosophical writings. Critics of the late Qing Dynasty hoped that the readers read the novels the way they read textbooks and Chinese classics,63 which was even accepted by those traditional Chinese literati who put away Chinese

60 See

in “The only Literary Magazine of New Fiction” in Sein Min Choong Bou. No. 14, 1902. in “Criticism of Chapter Three of The Prospect of New China” by Master of Equality Study (Di Baoxian) in New Fiction, No. 2, 1902. 62 See in “Review of No. 3 of New Fiction” in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 25, 1903. 63 See in “On Promoting Education by Holding Community Novel-reading Meetings” published in Chinese and Foreign Stories, Vol. 2, No. 3, 1908; “How to Read New Fictions” in Fiction Society of A New World, No. 6–7, 1907. 61 See

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classics to buy the new fictions to read,64 but they tended to read with the traditional reading habit of exploring the lofty significance and expanding knowledge from the fictions. This habit, in turn, encouraged the writers to write novels the way they wrote political articles. Besides, most of the late Qing novels were first published in installments in periodicals and came out as books later. As is known, political articles and installments of novels were usually juxtaposed in the periodicals, which could unknowingly mix up the stylistic features of the two. For the readers, they read everything in the periodicals with no need to distinguish what is what whereas for the writers, they would unconsciously be influenced by the political articles in the periodicals. The fuzzy border of genres testified again the impact on the form of Chinese novels from the development of periodicals, and the mass enthusiasm in state affairs made it more popular to introduce political comments into novels than to intervene with poems or correspondences. The most conspicuous feature of traditional Chinese novels is to have numerous poems in the novels. Writers of the Tang Dynasty were good at poems; they would involve poems in their tales to add to the atmosphere, fresh and natural for a casual mind. This style was handed down to the writers of the later generations, some of whom would even create a novel full of poems. Take Yingying’s Love Story, a Tang romance by Yuan Zhen, as an example. It started the style of giving love poems between lovers, and since then, writers of the later generations would in their love stories involve myriads of love poems between the lovers, which was mocked in the first chapter of A Dream in Red Mansions. It should be made clear that the intervention of poems is a great tradition with its specific aesthetic value in Chinese classic novels and that it is good for characterization and for adding to the atmosphere if properly used. A Dream in Red Mansions itself has woven 124 poems, 35 songs, and 8 Chinese ci poems. There were a few poems in the late Qing novels and many of the late Qing writers even deprecatingly mocked at the practice of interweaving poems in the novels. For instance, in Chapter 13 of The Travels of Lao Ts’an, Liu’e showed his attitude through Cuihuan that poems in the novels were nothing but rumors; in Chapter 50 of Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, Wu Jianren amused his readers by lampooning the recurring poems in Two Men and Their Concubines; in Chap. 18 of A Cold Eye on the World, Wang Junqing wrote a poem but immediately worried that it would be mocked by the critics. The new fictions of an earlier stage seldom had poems because the writers focused more on political issues rather than on love stories in which poems, especially love poems, seemed to be indispensable. After the 1898 Reformation, the focus of the writers returned to love stories, and poem intervention in novels again revived. Some of them even wrote novels in the style of prose writing with exaggerating paralleled sentences which is quite unique in the history of Chinese literature. Among this type of novels, One Night in A Villa by Zhang Hu (a Tang writer) and Shengzu and Aigu: A Romance by Chen Qiu (a Qing writer) are too short to make the style a fashion, but writers of the later generation 64 See in “Development of Literature and Position of Fictions” in Chinese and Foreign Stories, No. 6, 1907.

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in the Qing Dynasty such as Xu Zhenya, Wu Shuangre, and Li Dingyi did make it a sensation by their productivity in novels.65 It was not surprising that writers would write novels in the form of prose writing with exaggerating paralleled sentences, but it was amazing that such a style became a fashion of the time and was quite popular with the public. For example, He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story by Xu Zhenya was once the most sensational bestseller of the time. Prose writing with exaggerating paralleled sentences is advantageous in scenery description and lyrical expression. Romances in the early Republican period were almost the same, and the only technique that helped them win out was the art of language use, which could be a reason for the popularity of novels in the style of prose writing with exaggerating paralleled sentences. But the most primary reason is still the development of the publishing industry that accelerated the change of oral storytelling into novels in written form. In ancient China, Stories were of two types: the type of oral storytelling in playhouses and the type of written stories in personal studies. The former includes historical fictions, chivalry fictions, and so on that usually have more clichés with only a few poems for pretentious ornament, but the later includes romances, satires, and the like in which poems are usually important segments of the novel, adding more literary atmosphere out of natural feelings. With the development of the publishing industry during the late Qing and the early Republican period, writers knew well that they were not writing story scripts for the audience of the playhouses, which in a sense enhanced the use of poems in their fictions. Yet, it was still a great leap for the novels that had grown from wide use of poems to the style of prose writing with exaggerating paralleled sentences. It required not only the renunciation of the mind of writing story scripts but also a large number of readers who read the poems and appreciation of the beauty of the exaggerating paralleled sentences in preference to the story, which never occurred before. Novels in the style of prose writing with exaggerating paralleled sentences never rallied though many writers tried to free themselves from the mind of writing story scripts for the audience of the playhouses.

References Li, Zezhang. 1957. The Fourth Collection of the Historical Records of Publication in Modern China (Book 2). Zhonghua Book Company. Li, Jianqing. (Li Dingyi). 1986. Materials of Shanghai Local History (Book 4), Shanghai Social Sciences Press. Mu, Qian. 1983. Essays on Chinese Literature. Dongda Book Co. Ltd., Taipei.

65 One

Night in A Villa has 10,000 words; Shengzu and Aigu: A Romance has 31,000 words; and He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story by Xu Zhenya has 140,000 words.

Chapter 4

Swaying Between Philistinism and Sublimity

The confrontation and compromise between popular fictions and serious fictions (or experimental fictions, literati fictions, and sublime fictions) is undoubtedly an important force to push forward the development of Chinese fictions in the twentieth century. The genre of fiction had been much peripheral in Chinese literature with no differentiation of philistinism or sublimity. When it came to the new novelists like Liang Qichao who hoisted it to as much a higher position as “the superior of literature as a whole”, people came to see the contradiction between popular fictions and serious fictions. The contradiction came into being during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period when it was just seen as a misty beginning with no typical characteristics at all, which is discussed here roughly as a whole with a focus of its function in relation to the development of Chinese fictions, leaving the discussions of stylistic characteristics, motifs, narration types, aesthetic value, and the novelists’ reflection on these things the topics of the next chapter.

4.1 Between Philistinism-and-Sublimity and Old-and-New In Chinese literature, philistinism and sublimity are discriminated not only by genres, subject matters, and target readers but also by artistic style and aesthetic taste. The Chinese character of Su may refer to “popular and simple language” as is read in “to use easy language for a larger readership”1 and “to avoid obscurity by using simple language”.2 It may also indicate vulgar artistic style and low aesthetic taste as is read in “clear and uncommon”3 and “to avoid profanity”.4 Though critics in ancient China like to demarcate literary works from the perspective of philistinism 1 See

in “Miraculous Reunion of Two Couples” in Stories to Warn Men. in the Preface by Yongyuzi to Romance of Records of the Three Kingdom. 3 See in “Story-telling in Playhouses” in Record of City Life in Lin’an by Wu Zimu. 4 See in the Comments on Chapter 87 in Li Zhuowu’s Criticism of Romance of Three Kindoms. 2 See

© Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9_4

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and sublimity, they neither have a clear mind of it nor develop it into any systematic theories but judge it mainly by conventions in the respect of popularity or vulgarity. The former refers to the form of the work (such as the style of traditional Chinese novels with captioned chapters, or modern vernacular Chinese novels) while the latter refers to the taste and style of the work whether it’s a poem or a traditional Chinese novel with captioned chapters, and whether it’s in modern vernacular Chinese or in classical Chinese, and because of the partiality of scholar-officials, popularity in form is blurred and muddled with vulgarity in taste. Hence, fictions, especially the traditional Chinese novels with captioned chapters, had long been marginalized in Chinese literature. Historically, classical Chinese fictions and vernacular Chinese fictions originated with different systems and were created by different writers and read by different readers with different tastes, but they had one thing in common: neither the former nor the latter had ever occupied an important position in Chinese literature. The term fiction was originally paraphrased as “trivial talks” of merely meager pedestrian readings, which had been a firm notion in a period of nearly two thousand years from around the first century to the nineteenth century.5 Fictions were deemed as trivial talks and not as sublime as the classical works for two reasons: first, they were not edifying enough; second, they were short of aesthetic value. It was recognized that fictions should work their way toward sublimity to be accepted by orthodox Chinese literature. They need to be of knowledge, intelligence, edification, and grand motif—all the qualities shared by orthodox classics. In a sense, the frequent cut-in of poems and allusions in the traditional Chinese novels with captioned chapters and the transcripts of stories told in playhouses evidence sort of awkward endeavor of “getting closer to sublimity” with the purpose of being recognized as unofficial histories that are good for public morals and mores as well as writing artisanship.6 However, fictions are altogether more entertaining than orthodox classics so that even scholar-officials may sometimes feel dozy over classics, but have an insatiable appetite for fictions, let alone the common people. Scholar-officials were contemptuous of fictions which were thought to be easy-to-read materials for the uneducated common people. This mainly accounts for the fact that fictions were not accepted in orthodox literature, a realm of scholar-officials, though writers of generations had been struggling against it with unremitting efforts. Jin Shengtan once sighed, “few writings are better than Outlaws of the Marsh”7 ; Mao Zonggang claimed, “the narrating techniques of Romance of Three Kingdom are as good as Records of the Historian, yet doubled the difficulty in writing”8 ; Zhang Zhupo hailed The Plum in the Golden Vase as the best work in Chinese literary history.9 Such great men of letters as Wu Jingzi and Cao Xueqin who wrote traditional Chinese novels with captioned chapters had indeed much promoted Chinese fictions. 5 See

in “On Fictions” in Contemporary Criticsm, by Pu Jiangqing, Vol 4, No. 8–9, 1944. in the Introduction to Outlaws of the Marsh, by Li Zhi, but the actual writer is Yuan Wuya. 7 See in “Third Preface of Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai’an”. 8 See in “Reading Romance of Three Kingdom”. 9 See in “Reading The Plum in the Golden Vase, the Best of All”. 6 See

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Nevertheless, fictions were still generally recognized as pop literature till the new novelists came to ascend the altar of Chinese literature though there were some farsighted scholars who were in support of the creation of vernacular Chinese fictions and showed their appreciation of fictions in private.10 No doubt, the genre of fiction was greatly restricted in its development because of its marginal position in Chinese literature. Theoreticians of New Fiction reconstructed Chinese literature by learning from the West and by advocating fiction creations, bringing the genre of fiction into the center of literature. Meanwhile, they actively translated Western fictions as models for Chinese new fictions. Thus, we see in Chinese literature two movements that are essentially different but much interrelated: one is the movement of fictions from a marginal position to the center of literature; another one is the change of fictions from classical models to modern Western models. The former emphasizes the shift from sublimity to philistinism while the latter focuses on the harmonization of old and new though writers of the late Qing Dynasty tended to identify “new” with “sublimity” rather than made further consideration of the two. Either off or on, modern Chinese fictions had accomplished a switch-over from sublimity to philistinism, which saw a new look of fictions becoming the most popular genre of the literature with the public. Here lies a latent crisis: most of the Western works then were pop fictions. The late Qing writers did not classify fictions in the same way. Some did it according to the subject matter, some according to the style and some others according to the narration type, and in most cases a mixture of the three. Hence, in the reader’s view, the same work may be taken as any of the categories.11 Still, there are six categories accepted: heroism fictions, romances, ghost stories, political fictions, science fictions, and detective fictions. In the view of the late Qing writers, the first three categories were indigenous in Chinese literature, but the last three were newly introduced from the West as is mentioned in Comments on Fiction by Dingyi: One reason that Chinese fictions are undeveloped is that writers like to use old materials so that one or two of the same type can see the whole of it. One way to improve it is to introduce political fictions, detective fictions and science fictions into China, for these three types are the most important types of all, yet we don’t have them in China.12

Zhou Guisheng expressed a similar idea in his Preface to Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes, followed by Huang Xiaopei in his Recommendation of Fictions as Reading Materials at School, Guan Daru in his On Fictions, and Lu Simian13 in his 10 Such

as Yu Yue who admired the “unbridledness and fancifulness” of Three Heroes and Five Gallants, and was impassioned to revise it into Seven Heroes and Five Gallants; or Zhaolian, a Manchu aristocrat as well as a scholar, mentioned in his Records at Xiaoting Study that they all like Outlaws of the Marsh and The Plum in the Golden Vase. 11 For example, Sergeant Peter and Flower in Trap are the two versions of the same fiction, but the former was regarded as a detective fiction while the latter a romance, and the author of A Study of Fiction took it as a political fiction; for another example, Wu Jianren satirically labeled his short story The Ten-thousandth Year of Emperor Guangxu as “ideal ironical humorous science allegory”. 12 See in New Fiction, No. 15, 1905. 13 Another of his name is Chengzhi.

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Comments on Fiction.14 They all tried to differentiate the narration types of Western fictions and Chinese fictions and placed on it much hope of the development of Chinese fictions and the translation as well as the creation of political fictions, science fictions, and detective fictions to realize social reforms. Political fictions declined later and were succeeded by similar types such as fictions of ideals, adventure fictions, and military fictions. It’s understandable to say that these types of fictions were new to Chinese readers and to advocate much translation of them into Chinese,15 but it’s far-fetched to take them as “the most important of all” and to place on it so much hope of the reformation of Chinese fictions and society. New novelists did what they advocated. From 1896 to 1916, among the foreign writers translated, the top five of them were Conan Doyle, H. R. Haggard, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas the senior, and Shunro Oshikawa.16 Detective fictions took the largest proportion of the works translated as is estimated by Nakamura Tadayuki,17 “1/3 of the one thousand and one hundred late Qing fictions were translations of detective fictions or quasi-detective fictions.”18 Large circulation of pop fictions may easily lead to a misunderstanding that they were the best of the literature of a country. Even Yun Tieqiao who was good at both Chinese and English would consider Conan Doyle as the most famous Western writer,19 let alone the other people. These fictions were firmly held as masterpieces since they were bestsellers in the West. Therefore, writers fell over each other in their eagerness to translate these fictions into Chinese.20 Pop fictions were welcomed by the general readers abroad and at home. It’s natural to have more pop fictions translated in China, but what was prejudicial for the late Qing writers was to take these fictions as the essence of Western literature and, by learning from them, to try to reform Chinese traditional fictions, and make them accepted as sublime literature in China. There were also first-rate serious works among the Western fictions translated during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period, but the number and influence were far inferior to the pop fictions. However, what the new novelists struggled for was not the vitalization of Chinese pop fictions, but the growth of Chinese serious fictions (in other words, sublime fictions) instead. There did at the time exist two types of fictions: belles-lettres giving pure aesthetic perception with fine images

14 These articles are seen respectively in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 55; Chinese and Foreign Stories, No. 18, 1907; Short Story Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 5–11; Chinese Novels, No. 3–8, 1914. 15 For example, Yun Tieqiao writes in his “Inferiority of Romance Writing to Romance Translating”, “detective stories and science stories are rare to see in China, it’s necessary to translate them into Chinese”; see in Short Story Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 7, 1915. 16 See in section 2.3 of Chapter Two of this book. 17 The Japanese spelling of his name is なかむら ただゆき. 18 See in “History of Detective Fictions in Late Qing Dynasty” (3) in Fictions in Late Qing Dynasty, No. 4, 1980. 19 See in the Preface to Seven Writer, in Short Story Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 7, 1915. 20 See more details in the Preface to Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes and the Preface to Return of She by Zhou Guisheng; the Recommendation to Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes (11, 12, 13) by an anonymous writer.

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and popular fictions that are instructive and edifying in addition to aesthetic perception. We see that the difference between the two was there, but due to the strong advocacy of the enlightenment of the society and people, “popular fictions are more demanded and are thus regarded superior to the fictions of belles-lettres.”21 New novelists consciously played up the popular fictions while neglecting the fictions of belles-lettres, which to some extent accounts for the wholehearted acceptance of overseas pop fictions in the late Qing Dynasty. Science fictions, political fictions, and military fictions are inspiring and instructive indeed, but why are detective fictions that are of little use for social reformation so generally praised? It’s because new novelists selected overseas fictions not only for the noble idea of accelerating social reformation but also for the fantastic plotting of the fictions which are in line with the tradition of Chinese fiction writing that emphasizes more on plotting rather than characterization and settings. Hence, detective stories sailed into China and were highly appreciated by the public with no dissent. However, it may not be a good thing, for it indicates little distinction between the old and the new. In terms of literary taste, detective fictions were much to the Chinese readers’ liking who would easily understand the art of it and happily accept it with no need to adjust their reading habit or aesthetic taste. The new novelists intended to encourage the creation of new fictions by promoting the status of fictions and by translating overseas fictions as the models for Chinese new fictions. Here, we see a dilemma or a conflict: on the one hand, to hoist fictions as “the best of all literature” means to create more sublime (or serious) works; on the other hand, what they took as models were no other than pop fictions from abroad. Superficially, fictions were unprecedentedly emphasized in China, but it was mainly out of social movement rather than out of the consideration of artistic charm. Though new novelists never accomplished the transformation of fictions from merely pop readings to the literature of belles-lettres (such transformation was realized by the May-Fourth writers), there did have the tendency to take fictions as sublime literary works, which was vulnerable on account of inadequate theoretical support and the deficiencies of the models. Roughly speaking, before the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, fiction writing tended to move from pop readings to serious literature; after the Xinhai Revolution, it showed the tendency from serious literature to pop readings; when it came to the time of May Fourth Movement (1919), May Fourth New Literature arose, and New Fiction was totally accepted as popular literature in a real sense that was in contrast with modern Chinese fictions represented by A Madman’s Diary (by Lu Xun) and A Melancholia And His love Story (by Yu Dafu), bringing the coexistence of pop fictions and serious fictions that went through the history of Chinese fictions in the twentieth century.

21 See

in “Comments on Fiction” by Chengzhi (Lu Simian) in Chinese Novels, No. 3–8, 1914.

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4.2 From Pop Readings to Serious Literature—Attempt of Social Redemption of China Before 1911, writers held in the esteem of Liang Qichao’s advocation of social redemption that fiction creation should serve for the goal of social reformation. Their reasoning is simple: fictions are “magically powerful in mind-control because of the fascinating plots”22 and there has been no lack of excellent works of patriotism along Chinese history.23 Therefore, “fiction revolution shall be initiated to carry out Chinese social reformation.”24 Besides, they firmly believed that the social development of Western countries lied in the prosperity of their political fictions25 and such should be the case with Chinese society in which novelists should play the most crucial role.26 Before Liang Qichao, writers like Kang Youwei, Yan Fu, and Xia Zengyou made similar statements though not as systematic and circumstantial as his; after Liang Qichao, such writers as Tao Youzeng, Wang Zhonglin, Huang Xiaopei, Huang Boyao, and the journalists of Fiction Society of A New World also published utilitarian articles that sang high of the theme of “new fictions creating a new world”27 which was no less exaggerating than Liang Qichao’s preaching. Meanwhile, Liang Qichao repudiated the old fictions of their “vulgarity and violence”, deeming it as the “root of the decadence of Chinese society”. His criticism of some works (such as Outlaws of the Marsh and A Dream in Red Mansions) were challenged by critics of later generations on whether they are novels “full of vulgarity and violence” or novels “of realistic significance of exposing social problems”; his opposition of the traditional idea that fictions were nothing more than entertainment was yet taken over by the followers nevertheless. Cai Fen’s criticism well represents the general attitude toward the traditional idea of fictions at the time: Few fictions are of political significance, for they are written merely to entertain the readers, and it’s no wonder that there is full of dirty or even pornographic diction in the fictions since most of the writers are mean shallow persons.28

The critics are somewhat biased to compare the shortcomings of Chinese fictions with the strong points of Western fictions, but it does indicate that if the writers are great men of letters instead of the mean shallow people, or if the fictions are full of philosophical thoughts rather than obscene depictions, or if the fictions are not just 22 See

in “Fiction and Social Administration” by Liang Qichao in New Fiction, No. 1, 1902.

23 See in “On the Ten Features of the Complete Collection of Political Criticism” (possibly by Liang

Qichao) in The Complete Collection of Political Criticism. 24 See in “Fiction and Social Administration” by Liang Qichao in New Fiction, No. 1, 1902. 25 Details in “On Publishing Political Fictions” by Rengong (Liang Qichao) in Political Criticism, No. 1, 1898. 26 Details in “Address to the Novelists” by Liang Qichao in Chinese Novels, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1915. 27 See in the Foreword to Fiction Society of A New World in Fiction Society of A New World, No. 1, 1906. 28 See in “The Power of Fictions” by Cai Fen (also pen-named Hengnan Jiehuoxian) in Political Criticism, Vol. 68, 1901.

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entertaining but also instructive, fictions can be the best work of orthodox literature. In fact, new novelists tried to reform fictions just from the abovementioned aspects. It’s not rare that fictions were frequently rebuked by the orthodox critics of the Ming and Qing Dynasties for vulgarity and violence. But the advocacy of patriotism in unofficial writings with the hope to reform the old fictions does indicate the acknowledgment that fictions can do well in conveying truth, removing consequently the label of “sheer entertainment” of fictions. That is, it was not the genre itself but the low-leveled writers that had deteriorated the genre of fiction. We see that the core of Liang Qichao’s preaching is still the traditional idea that writings are for conveying truth, but, together with the translation boom of overseas fictions of the time, it was indeed a body blow to the traditional system of Chinese literature. Though the preaching was utopian in a sense, it shattered the traditional notion that had lasted for more than a thousand years and set up the central position of fictions in the newly established literary system. New novelists meant to popularize fictions in the respect of style rather than aesthetic taste as is written by Liang Qichao and Di Baoxian that classical Chinese is not good for fictions29 and that dialects are always better for fictions to awaken the masses of different places.30 The use of vernacular Chinese and dialects helps to popularize fictions, but it may not be the decisive factor, for there had been examples of serious fictions written in vernacular Chinese and examples of pop fictions written in classical Chinese. Actually, compared with the traditional Chinese novels with captioned chapters, the new fictions were not so easily accepted by the poorly educated common people. New novelists tried to make the fictions close to the common people so as to convey new thoughts to them, and the popularization of fictions is the artifice for the purpose of social enlightenment. The literature of enlightenment shall not be pop writings but serious works in disguise that are written for the common people by the awakened intellectuals who would think from the perspective of the common people. It is seemingly mundane but serious in nature. Xia Zengyou’s statement below well represents the attitude of the new novelists of the time: There are two types of fictions in China which are of different styles but the same purport.31 One is for the literati while the other is for the uneducated common people.

Fictions for the literati are serious and so are the fictions for uneducated common people. In a word, the latter is of the same philosophy and purport as the former but in a more popular style and plainer language. Different from fiction translation, fiction creation in the late Qing Dynasty had the tendency of pursuing sublimity rather than mundane manners, which was evidenced by the writers’ indifference to plotting. It indicates a reaction of the entertainment function of fictions in which plotting is surely the most important element. 29 Details

in the column of “Comments on Fiction” by Liang Qichao in New Fiction, No. 7, 1903. in “Orientating Fictions in Chinese Literature” by Chuqing (Di Baoxian) in New Fiction, No. 7, 1903. 31 See in “Principles of Fictions” by Bieshi (the pen name of Xia Zengyou) in Illustrated Novels, No. 3, 1903. 30 Details

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It also suggests the pursuit of philosophical significance and science spirit in the new fictions. Liang Qichao pointed it out, “political fictions outlet political opinions by way of fictional events”32 and Lu Xun said, “science fictions express life and emotions through science illusions.”33 The former focuses on politics and the latter on science knowledge, and none of them focuses on the plotting of the fiction. Attractive stories can be read in the political fictions translated in the late Qing Dynasty such as A Woman’s Adventure and Plum Blossom in the Snow, but the poorly plotted Chinese creations of political fictions like The Prospect of New China and Howl of the Lion are political argumentation rather than story weaving. Such is the case with science fictions. Science fictions translated at the time such as Around the Moon and Journey to the Centre Of the Earth are quite intricate, but the Chinese creations of science fictions such as Adventures of Mr. Fancy: A New Story and The World of Electricity have a strong bias toward the introduction of scientific knowledge rather than the story itself. In a word, the creations of political fictions at the time are more political and science fictions are more scientific. In 1905, Xiaoshuolin Press published New Fancies, a collection of science fictions including Adventures of Mr. Fancy, Adventures of Mr. Fancy: A Sequel, and Adventures of Mr. Fancy: A New Story. The first two are translated by Bao Tianxiao while the third is created by Xu Nianci after he read the first two and “is shocked by the fictions, and then have the idea of writing a mimic fiction as such.”34 The first two fictions tell Mr. Fancy’s adventures in the North Pole and the Moon, and the third describes his experiences in the Moon, Mercury, and Mars and back to the Earth where he set up a school to teach techniques of the electronic brain that developed quickly and gave body blow to the industry and commerce, for which he was persecuted and had to escape finally from Shanghai. There are many technical terms such as “centrifugal force”, “human creation”, “circulation system”, “satellite”, “electronic brain”, and “accelerated motion of falling objects”. All these surely stimulated the readers’ imagination and directly conveyed the new ideas to the readers, but too much explanation of the scientific terms and rules made the readers too busy working out the concepts and ideas and have no mind to appreciate the characterization and the development of the story. Lu Xun holds that science fictions are the direct access to enlightening the public on scientific knowledge. However, to develop Chinese fictions, science fictions may not be the best choice to rely on. During the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period in China, many people were in favor of science fictions, yet there were many translations of science fictions but few creations in Chinese. It is not that Chinese readers then were poor in science knowledge or in imagination, but that too many illustrations of scientific concepts and laws were not welcomed by the general readers, as is commented by Zhong Junwen in his review of Black Planet

32 See

in On Publishing Political Fictions by Liang Qichao. in “Some Words on Around The Moon” by Lu Xun, Tokyo Evolution Press, 1903. 34 See in the “Introduction to Adventures of Mr. Fancy: A New Story” by Donghai Juewo (Xu Nianci) in New Fancies, Xiaoshuolin Press, 1905. 33 See

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(an American science fiction translated by Xu Nianci), “scientists may be interested in it, but novelists may not understand it so well.”35 Since Liang Qichao had published The Prospect of New China in 1902, political fictions were in trend for a time, but actually, The Prospect of New China was unfinished like many other Chinese creations of political fictions such as Howl of the Lion by Chen Tianhua and Freedom of Marriage by Zhang Zhaotong. Critics tried to fathom the reason why Liang Qichao dropped out. Sun Baoxuan thought that a Utopian fiction like The Prospect of New China should also make sound views of daily life, so the writer felt it hard to weave the story of the protagonist’s life back to his country36 ; Zhong Junwen accused the writer of his flippancy in writing which was frequently seen among the writers of the time37 ; Liang Qichao himself once wrote that he constantly changed his ideas and that he needed a number of years to finish it, for he could only finish several chapters a month,38 indicating that he dropped out due to his transitional ideas and shortage of time. In Huang Zunxian’s letter to Liang Qichao on November 12, 1902, we read the most pertinent remarks of the fiction: Two weak points lie in the fiction: one being short of vitality; the other being uninteresting.39

This is not only seen in The Prospect of New China that is a half-done of the first five chapters but is virtually a common failing of political fictions of the time. From the authorial introduction of Sword in the Boudoir made by Monk Ruguan (Peng Yu), we learn that the fiction is “of fluency and felicity and is well-constructed and good in characterization, but these count for little,”40 for the fiction is meant “to awaken the public of probing social problems of the time and to preserve the quintessence of Chinese culture.”41 It’s no wonder that the six chapters of the fiction bear much resemblance to academic papers with the captions reading like thesis titles such as “Mathematics: Grounding of All Disciplines” and “Relationship Between Man and Nature”. In his Preface to the fiction, the author expounds heterosexuality descriptions in the fiction as follows: The nature of a person takes root when he was just an embryo, therefore, the mother should take it cautiously. Therefore, this fiction highlights the education of women, holding antenatal training as the starting point of life which shall go with hygienics. Hence, hygienics is 35 See

in the section of “On Black planet” by Yinbanshen (Zhong Junwen) in the column of “Leisurely Comments on Fictions”, World of Entertainments, No. 1, 1906. 36 See in the passages on 28, May 1903 in Diary of Wangshan Cabin by Sun Baoxuan, Shanghai Classics Publishing House, 1983. 37 See in “On Leisurely Comments on Fictions” by Yinbansheng (Zhong Junwen) in World of Entertainments, No. 1, 1906. 38 See in the “Preface to The Prospect of New China” in New Fiction, No. 1, 1902. 39 See in Extensive Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life, ed. by Ding Wenjiang, Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1983:300. 40 See in “Reading Sword in the Boudoir” by Monk Ruguan, in Sword in the Boudoir, Xiaoshuolin Press, 1906. 41 Ibid.

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4 Swaying Between Philistinism and Sublimity addressed in the fiction, and it makes medical science an indispensable topic in the fiction because hygienics and medical science are always in a reciprocal relationship.

The author’s emphasis on medical science, hygienics, and antenatal training well serves for the motif of bringing the rise of women’s education and awakening the public’s awareness of social reformation. A fiction as such is different from traditional romances or from the common sense of the fiction in its own sense, as the author acknowledged. Sword in the Boudoir surely goes to an extreme somehow, for most of the political fictions still consider the readers’ interest in reading. But with the purpose of addressing political ideals rather than telling stories, it is consequently less considered whether the fiction is intricate and interesting. There are only a few number of political fictions and science fictions in the real sense, but political discussions and prophecies are frequently read in social fictions (such as the 9th-11th chapters in The Travels of Lao Ts’an42 ). Such is the case with science fictions in which scientific laws are blended with fantasies as is read in the 9th–10th chapters in The Story of Jin Yaose: A Righteous Woman. What’s more, the introduction of political fictions and science fictions into China makes it a popular practice of fiction writing to cut in argumentation and indoctrination, and normal romances of gripping stories are despised for giving no impetus to social reformation. Such an inclination of de-plotting was usually seen as a feature of serious literature which was not well accepted by the poorly educated common readers who just read for fun.43 Actually, it was neither easy to write a fiction as such, for it was against the traditional entertainment-orientation in fiction creation, nor was it proper for the readers who should be indoctrinated a great deal of new thoughts at all times.44 In the article Suggested Ways of Reading New Fictions,45 the author even prescribed the fundamental qualities of a qualified reader of modern fictions of the time: knowledge of science, of physiology, of phonology, of politics, of ethnics, and of the experience of police training as well. The author meant to pay tribute to the sublimity and scholarship of the new fictions; however, he right-hit unintentionally the very weak points of the new fictions. If the new fictions are in the case that only the highbrows can read them, the force of fictions brought by easiness and entertainment would be well diminished. Compatible with the inclination of the instructive de-plotting fictions, more scholarly gentlemen rather than ordinary townspeople began to write fictions, which highly evidenced the inclination of refined sublimity in fiction writing. In ancient China, well-educated scholars were also engrossed in fictions, for they needed to keep themselves elegant by distinguishing the sublime works from vulgarity. Such is the case 42 For this reason, it is regarded as a political fiction by Hsia Chih-tsing in his “Re-reading The Travels of Lao Ts’an”, in References of Liu’e and The Travels of Lao Ts’an, Chengdu: Sichuan People’s Publishing House, 1985. 43 Juewo (Xu Nianci) mentioned in My Views on Fiction that only 9% of the people who’d like to buy fictions are common readers. See in Collection of Fictions, No. 10, 1908. 44 See in “Development of Literature and Position of Fictions in the Future” by Laodi (Huang Xiaopei) in Chinese and Foreign Stories, No. 6, 1907. 45 An anonymous article published in Fiction Society of A New World, No. 6–7, 1907.

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in the readers of traditional Chinese novels with captioned chapters of the late Qing and the early Republican China, since real scholarly gentlemen are capable enough to keep a sublime eye on philistine works. Therefore, men of letters in Chinese history disdained fictions, and they read a lot although they’d rather not write one. Hu Yinglin46 highly praised the author of Outlaws of the Marsh for his art in writing, but he also regretted for him that he made use of it in such a “low-grade” genre as a fiction.47 Similarly, Cheng Jinfang who is a friend of Wu Jingzi also sighed for the latter’s waste of talent of letters in writing the novel The Scholars. The common practice of having no names printed on the fictions also shows people’s contemptuous attitude toward fictions, which is dissected by Huang Xiaopei as follows: Twenty years ago, writers of fictions seldom had their names printed on the fictions. Apart from the probably forbidden subject matters of the fictions, general negative attitude towards fictions then also plays a part in it. Writers usually did it on a whim, for fictions in Chinese history were never taken as classical writings. Therefore, writing fictions had been more discreditable than meritorious.48

To promote fictions, the first thing is to break the traditional idea that scholarly writers shall not write fictions. Ever since Liang Qichao pointed out in On Publishing Political Fictions that many great Western writers wrote fictions, many Chinese new novelists liked to highlight the prominent position or profound knowledge of overseas fiction writers. They would annotate the Japanese writer Shiba Shiro as “former Minister of Japanese Agriculture and Commerce” and Yano Fumio as “former Japanese ambassador to China”. When talking about Benjamin Disraeli, they would attach the specific epithet of “former British Prime Minister”. They’d say, people of such high social positions would write fictions and it somewhat testified to the social position of fiction writers that could be as high as that of ministers and ambassadors. But they went too far to say that Mark Twain had obtained his college certificate49 and proposed that there should be civil examinations for an official ranking of fiction writers in China.50 Some even say that writers of classical writings like Sima Qian,51 Ban Gu,52 and Zhu Xi53 weighed less than Shi Nan’an54 and Jin Shengtan.55 Thus, they pushed fiction writers to the highest position of the literary altar. 46 Hu

Yinglin (1551–1602), a poet and literary critic of the Ming Dynasty. in “A Brief Talk on Zhuangyue” in Jottings by Shaoshishan by Hu Yinglin. 48 See in Development of Literature and Position of Fictions in the Future by Laodi (Huang Xiaopei). 49 As is claimed in “Two English Writers” in the column of “Collected Translations by Xin’an” in The All-Story Monthly, No. 19, 1908. 50 See in “Suggested Ways of Reading New Fictions” in the magazine of Fiction Society of A New World, No. 6–7, 1907. 51 Sima Qian (147 BC-?), a historian and a scholar of West Han Dynasty, author of Records of the Historian. 52 Ban Gu (32–92), a historian and a scholar of East Han Dynasty, author of The History of the Former Han Dynasty. 53 Zhu Xi (1130–1200), a philosopher of the Song Dynasty. 54 Shi Nai’an (1296–1370), the author of the novel of Outlaws of the Marsh. 55 Jin Shengtan (1601–1668), a literary critic of the Ming Dynasty. 47 See

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Now that fiction writers hold such a high position for fictions, their fictions are supposed not to be philistine. Those well-educated writers would flaunt their knowledge in their fictions, and those who are not well-educated would pretend to be knowledgeable in their writings. They all wrote fictions in the way they wrote political articles, making fictions alienated from the common readers. Booksellers knew well of such drug fictions on the market,56 and some critics also disdained such novels since “too much discussions do not comply with the genre of fictions.”57 In the era of revolution, such political fictions may win some readership, but after the failure of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, fictions of this type soon lost their readers whose revolutionary spirit faded accordingly.

4.3 Return to Philistinism—Leisurely Writing of the School of Saturday Fiction writing moves alternatively from refined letters to philistinism like a pendulum with each having its own prosperity. Fiction writing after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, along with the growth of fictions full of vulgarity and violence or of total frivolity, turned to be quite the opposite of the new fictions of an earlier stage, betraying its original intention of accelerating social reformation. It’s no wonder that Liang Qichao rebuked fiercely the depravity of fiction writing58 and Yun Tieqiao regretted the maladies of romances of the time which “never existed at the initial stage of the new fictions.”59 Actually, these maladies well lurked in the refined artistic pursuit of the new fictions at the initial stage, for the unavoidable failure of such pursuit soon caused the new fictions of the later stage go to philistinism in order to win as large readership as possible. Kitsches ran rampant, which tells less of the writers’ aesthetic taste than of the readers’ demand in reading since the latter were bored with didactic fictions. Hence there was the predomination of leisurely fictions of the time. It doesn’t quite hit the point more to say the post-revolution fictions are full of vulgarity and violence than to say they are full of frivolity. Those who wrote in the style of extravagant paralleled sentences and were most assailed by the May-Fourth writers would also in the prefaces or in the fictions lay a strong accent on their just political views and morals. They would claim that they told love stories but never transgress the rules of etiquette, indicating a discernible profound preoccupation with feudal ethics in the fictions of the time. Politically, the writers would add heroism to their love affairs. For example, they would set their stories against the 56 See

in My Experience of Book-selling in Jinling City (Book I) by Gongnu, Kaiming Bookstore, 1902. 57 See in the Preface to The Story of Jin Yaose, 1904. 58 Details in “Address to the Novelists” by Liang Qichao, in Chinese Novels, No. 1, Vol. 2, 1915. 59 See in “Inferiority of Romance Writing to Romance Translating” by Yun Tieqiao, in Short Story Magazine, No. 7, Vol. 6, 1915.

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Wuchang Uprising,60 and revolutionists’ secret gatherings were frequent events in the romances. Concerning Yuan Shikai’s attempt of restoring the autocratic monarchy, Li Dingyi wrote in his A Reply to A Friend’s Advice of Joining the Peace Society: Historically, it’s a general practice to undergo from monarchy to republicanism, but as illinformed as I am, I’ve never heard of a reverse from republicanism to monarchy… I’d like to live the life of humble civilians rather than that of eminences, calmly watching the world go by.61

Ironically, below this article of righteousness, we read the comical article A Parody of Constitution of the Henpecked-husband Society by the same writer. This is actually the very hallmark of the writers of Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School and even all the post-revolution new novelists—who never write against the political progressive thoughts, but with leisure and game spirit, creating a totally different style from that of the earlier new novelists on the whole. Neither the negative criticism of “reactionary thoughts” nor the positive criticism of “domestic spirit” is accurate for the fiction writing at the time, but “philistinism” hit the mark with a single word no matter whether it’s a romance or a story of shady deals or whether it’s written with extravagant paralleled sentences or in modern vernacular Chinese. “Philistinism” is the key element of the change of the trend of fiction writing. Love stories are more in trend at the time with the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School as the most representative, but it may not be justified to classify all the fictions of love stories into it as some writers feel wronged.62 To see how new novelists consider the function of fictions rather than the theme of their fictions may well show their overall attitude toward fiction writing. The new novelists of the earlier stage all strongly agree that fiction writing served for social reformation while the post-revolution new novelists acknowledged the function of entertainment of fictions though some of them still insisted on the priority of its function of moral education and social reformation. It’s a deep-seated traditional idea in China that fictions are light readings. Zhu Ziqing once commented, “Fictions from the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School are mainly for people to kill time, which may as well tell the tenet of fiction writing.” The half-illiterates liked to read for fun and the well-educated men of letters liked to write stories for pleasure. Political fiction writers like Liang Qichao opposed to writing fictions for pleasure, but writers of strong literary and artistic temperament like Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren were inclined to write for pleasure. Works by Wu Jianren such as Hu Baoyu, New History of Laughter, Witty Remarks, and Talk on Comics are all full of comic spirit though he tried to highlight the instructive function as well, and Li Boyuan went further to run comic newspapers such as Games in 1897 and 60 It’s a mutiny took place in Wuchang city on Oct. 10, 1911, aiming to overturn the reins of the Qing government. 61 See in Book Series by Dingyi (Book II), Guohua Book Company, 1915. 62 For example, Zhou Shoujuan acknowledged that he was a member of the School of Saturday but denied that of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School as he stated ironically that “‘mandarin ducks and butterflies’ were often seen in the stories, but not everywhere”. See in New Essays of Life, Jiansu People’s Publishing House, 1958.

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Patchworks in 1901, which anticipated the circulation of leisurely tabloids during the late Qing and the early Republican period. Though he also emphasized the instructive function in his comic stories,63 due to the circumstances of the fiction revolution at the time, the political sense in the fictions took an upper hand and such leisurely writings were thus neglected. Leisurely writings catering to the common readers got in trend with no need of drumbeats once political passion faded. Wang Dungen’s advert in “On Publishing Saturday” may be the most straightforward view on it: There is nothing like fictions to get fun with less expense, for it’s costly to go to the theater, unhealthy to drink too much wine and too noisy to listen to music… Sitting by the window in the morning in front of flowers, you hold a book in hand, reading; you forget all the annoyance, and your fatigue is relieved. Perhaps you don’t like to go to the theater, nor drink wine, nor listen to music, but you may surely like reading fictions, especially the magazine of The Saturday, handy and enjoyable.64

The new fictions of the earlier stage emphasized instructive function whereas the post-revolution new fictions intensified entertainment although the writers then still tried to highlight a sense of instruction in the fictions, in vain however. Such “handy and enjoyable” magazines were very popular with the readers who were tired of the didactic instruction of the earlier fictions. The magazine The Saturday sold so well65 that a score of similar magazines mushroomed in 1914. One of the functions of fictions is to entertain, but Liang Qichao and his proponents neither noticed it nor noticed the readers’ psychological expectation in reading. They did fiction writing the way they did in Chinese classics; instructive as it was, it was not interesting enough to catch the readers. They would lose the readers one day. But the day came too soon on account of the specific political circumstances after the failure of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution in addition to the rapid growth of the commercialization of literary writings. Sublime fiction writings in expectation got developed into writings of philistine works. The very manifestations are as follows: writers of enlightenment and political activists were replaced by literary writers who lived upon their works; readers shifted from well-educated scholars and officials to common people; the purpose of writing fictions changed from edifying the public to making profits. Actually, the so-called sublime fiction writing may not be sublime whereas the philistine works may have some edifying significance. The benchmark is whether it is kitsch just for making money. Take as an example the fictions of extravagant paralleled sentences. In terms of the language, they are of much refined quality, but most of them are virtually kitsch, for they are totally profit-making works full of 63 See in “On the Inappropriateness of This Newspaper” in the newspaper of Games, No. 149, 1897. 64 See

in The Saturday, No. 1, 1914. Diexian mentioned that the magazine of The Saturday had printed 20,000 copies per issue (The Saturday, No. 46, 1915); Zhou Shoujuan also wrote in his “Reminiscence of The Saturday” (in The Saturday, No. 271, 1928) that the first issue of the magazine sold more than 20,000 copies; Zhang Jinglu confirmed the sale of the first 60 issues of The Saturday having reached around 20,000 copies in My Two Decades of Publishing Life published by Shanghai Magazine Company, 1938. 65 Chen

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fun writings or ostentatious descriptions to cater to those of the bygone age. That is why romances together with novels of shady deals were all fiercely rebuked by the May-Fourth critics as kitsch of immoral swindlers for money. Compared with the fiction magazines of the late Qing Dynasty that were often short-lived at losses in business, running only several issues on account of the smaller readership of the didactic stories,66 fiction magazines of the early Republican period became the knack of making money for both the book companies and the editors (most of the time, they were writers as well), for the fictions then were leisurely writings with a much larger readership. It is an everlasting truth in China or elsewhere that leisurely writings always sell better than didactic writings or aesthetic writings, but usually such writings do not occupy the central position of literature. Fictions of the early Republican period are more scolded because such leisurely philistine writings were taken as the mainstream in literature at the time when “readers read for fun and writers write for money”, which was regarded as “depravity of literature” by the May-Fourth writers and critics. The philistinism tendency of fictions is more focused here in this book. The first manifestation of the philistinism tendency of the post-revolution fictions is the identification with the thoughts and taste of the common people rather than the sense of enlightenment of the earlier new fictions. Different from the new fictions of the earlier stage which were meant to awaken the people of social reformation and to spread new thoughts, the post-revolution fictions were more down to the earth and instructive as well with broad ethics easily seen by the common people. The post-revolution writers of fictions accepted the value system and literary taste of the common people to orientate their sense of value and fiction writing, showing no independent thinking nor outstripping spirit, which is the most fatal defect of these writers. They neither preach new ideas nor adhered to old civilization, but, with no aim nor maxims, followed the established social norms and common practices. In their romances, they criticized mercenary marriage but opposed freedom in love and marriage as well; their novels of shady deals were termed as “textbooks outside classrooms,”67 but the writers’ life philosophy was worrisome, for in such novels revealed overtones of a false view of life like “women are sinister” and the exposure of privy deals just served for the purpose of making money, which are “of no literary value”68 but well-provided materials for the hairsplitters who were interested in the abnormal national character of some Chinese people. The writers were nobody other than gossipers, for they did not criticize but talked up the dark tricks with an air of curiosity and admiration. Such novels are totally different from the rebuking novels by some writers of a sense of justice like Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren.

66 See

in “Editor’s Notes” in The All-Story Monthly, The All-Story Monthly, No. 12, Vol. 1, and the article of “Advantages of Reading The All-Story Monthly” in The All-Story Monthly, No. 1, Vol. 2. 67 See in the Preface to Panorama of Shady Deals in China by Wang Dungen, Zhonghua Book Integration Company, 1918. 68 See in “Rethinking of ‘Shady Deals’” by Zhongmi (Deng Yanda) in New Youth, No. 2, Vol. 6, 1919.

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The second manifestation of the philistinism tendency of the post-revolution fictions is the formalized fiction writing caused by commercialization. Actually, there was a novelty in the post-revolution fictions, but it was drowned in a large number of imitations. The novel He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story had all the punch and panache to catch the readers when it first came out. It sold so well that its writer adapted it into a diary novel titled He Mengxia’s Diary and his later fictions were all in a similar set pattern, followed by numerous other imitators. The first reading of He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story and Mirror of Love Tragedy may leave the readers an impression of the writer’s talent in writing, but they would soon be bored with a score of monotonous imitations and complained about the shoddy volume production of similar works. However, there is one advantage of it—the writing techniques borrowed from the Western writers got well popularized because of such bulk production of imitations. For example, the technique of analepsis and first-person narrations were seldom seen in the fictions before the revolution, but they were much popular after the revolution. The technique of diary writing in fictions was just mentioned by Qiu Weixuan in his review of the Chinese translation of The Lady of the Camellias,69 but it was quite a normal technique in the post-revolution fictions such as He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story and He Mengxia’s Diary by Xu Zhenya, Flowers in Season by Zhou Shoujuan, The Diary by Bao Tianxiao, and Lenghong’s Dairy by Wu Qiyuan, as the results of clear self-conscious artistic pursuit. Xu Zhenya reminded the readers that although He Mengxia’s Diary was adapted from He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story, they were different in style—the former was in the form of dairies while the latter was of normal narrations.70 Dairy fictions started with He Mengxia’s Diary which was followed by Lenghong’s Dairy. Here, in fiction writing, we see the concomitant existence of novel techniques and the weakness of innovation. On the whole, the post-revolution writers of fictions are self-conscious in learning from the Western writers, but they just follow suit leaving no time to reflect on the Western techniques they’ve learned. The post-revolution fictions try to be more entertaining, which is the third and most obvious manifestation of the philistinism tendency of fiction writing at the time. The new fictions of the earlier stage attenuate plotting to highlight the purport of enlightenment whereas the post-revolution fictions resort to the tradition of plotting to strengthen the function of entertainment. Romances, novels of shady deals, and fictions of social problems (e.g. Chinese Overseas Students in Japan: A Novel) are all well-plotted fictions. The new fictions of the earlier stage are advertised for their noble ideas while the post-revolution fictions like to brag about their intricate plots instead. Therefore, detective fictions, anecdotes, swordsman fictions, and historical novels were much in trend at the time. Romances were subdivided into different types such as stories of tragic love, sinister love, martyrdom love, illusionary love, 69 See

the item of “Cha Hua Nü (The Lady of the Camellias)” in Literary Jottings: A Supplement by Qiu Weixuan, 1901. 70 See in the Preface to He Mengxia’s Diary by Xu Zhenya, published by Tsinghua Book Company, 1916.

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suffering love, legendary love, or of unyielding lovers, jealous lovers, resentful lovers, and chivalrous lovers.71 These terms are usually printed on the cover of the fictions so as to play up the interesting story. Diversified epithets as such somehow reveal the readers’ taste in reading. Most of the detective fictions then were translations and a few numbers of Chinese originals were usually of poor quality72 till the second half of the 1920s when original Chinese detective fictions had achieved maturation in the works by Cheng Xiaoqing, Yu Tianfeng, and Lu Dan’an. Things were the same with the swordsman fictions of the time, most of which were nameless short stories. They got flourished till the second half of the 1920s after Xiang Kairan had A Legend of Swordsmen published in installments in the magazines Red and Red Roses.

4.4 Coexistence of Sublime Writing and Leisurely Writing The popularity of leisurely writing after the revolution doesn’t mean that there were no refined serious works at the time. Some writers of the Saturday School such as Bao Tianxiao and Zhou Shoujuan also have serious fictions come out. What’s more, a small number of writers remained uninfected and adhered to their independent artistic pursuits. Lin Shu admired Dickens for his balanced writing of sublime theme and philistine life, which is well represented in Lin Shu’s novel Romaunt of Sword. It’s not as good as Dickens’s works but is peculiar of his own style. Su Manshu has profound knowledge of foreign languages73 and literature, and he holds that the study of the literature of a nation is premised on the basis of a mastery of its language. It’s no wonder that he pioneered the first-person romance with his Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story, a novel with an air of European romanticism. Apart from his fictions of serious motifs like Snowflakes and A Profile of Workers, Yun Tieqiao has a number of insightful critical articles on fictions such as Reflections of Editing Fictions, Reflections of Editing Fictions, Inferiority of Romance Writing to Romance Translating, A Reply to Mr. Chen Guanghui, and A Letter of Reply, revealing explicitly his negative attitude toward the popular love stories of sensation74 and fictions written with extravagant paralleled sentences.75 He advocates serious fictions instead of leisurely writings so as to create a work that can live throughout the ages rather than a flash in the pan. Against the style of fiction writing in trend were Zhou Brothers who had established their own style in both theory and practice. They were in support of Liang Qichao’s revolution in fiction, for they also wrote with the hope of accelerating social 71 Such classifications are seen in Zhenya’s Free Writings (Book 1) published by Tsinghua Book Company, 1915; in Jottings by Tieleng published by Society of Fiction Series, 1914; in Panoramic View of Foreign Fictions published by Wenming Book Company, 1916. 72 Such as the detective fictions by Chen Lengxue and Liu Bannong. 73 He knows Japanese, English, French, German, and Sanskrit. 74 See more in his Inferiority of Romance Writing to Romance Translating. 75 See more in his A Reply to Mr. Chen Guanghui.

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reformation. But they didn’t agree to take literature as a tool and were skeptical about the effect of the utility of the “tool”.76 They held that fictions could be beneficial to human beings, for they helped to nurture the readers’ temperament and to rebuild the society, but these were not the immediate purpose of literary writing because: The nature of art is to delight the beholders. Fictions, as an art, are the same. They should not be tied with the purpose of redeeming a person or a nation. In terms of utilitarian speculation, fictions are not as useful as historical classics to accumulate intelligence, or as mottoes to cultivate life philosophy, or as industry and commerce to grow wealth, or as certificates to testify to the accomplishment in a field.77

It doesn’t mean that “futility” is of “no utilitarian use”. To nurture the readers’ temperament is the use of literature, and an excessive requirement on its social function may give too much burden to the writers to create good works. Neither the post-revolution kitsches nor the edifying works of social reformation of the earlier stage are worthy of advocacy. Refined serious fictions shall be there but not in the way of taking fictions as classics by imposing too many political discussions and enlightening significance as is advocated and practiced by Liang Qichao and his proponents. What’s important is that writers shall have their idiosyncrasies rather than blindly follow up the trend.78 Such emphasis on the non-utilitarian independence of art was much advanced at the time. In A Brief Discussion on Literature, Wang Guowei objects to profit-oriented writing or deliberate fancy plotting. He advocates to write for literature itself rather than to write for life.79 In The Duty of Philosophers and Artists, he tries to defend literature proper, and criticizes those ancient writers who just write to cater to the readers as the clowns who play the fool to make the audience laugh: Pitifully, there is a long time we see art of no independence. In the history, people always adore the writings singing for loyalty, patriotism, virtue or justice, but despise pure literary writings. What’s worse, no one has realized it. This is one of the reasons to explain why Chinese philosophy and art are still underdeveloped.80

Great minds think alike. Zhou Brothers also denied the utilitarian opinion to take literature as a tool though they admitted the significance of literature to human beings. They even mimicked some critics saying, “a hundred politicians are no better than a great writer”, for politicians carry out a short-term operation to improve people’s livelihood while writers’ spiritual cultivation of the public is permanent.81 Insightful as his idea was, Wang Guowei had little impact on fiction writing of the time because he didn’t quite involve himself in the world of fictions then. 76 See in “Fictions and the Society” by Qiming (Zhou Zuoren) in Monthly Journal of Shaoxing Education Society, No. 5, 1914. 77 See in “On Western Romantic Poetry” by Lingfei (Lu Xun) in the magazine of Henan, No. 2, 1908. 78 See in “Fictions and the Society” by Qiming (Zhou Zuoren) in Monthly Journal of Shaoxing Education Society, No. 5, 1914. 79 See Item 1, 3, 17 in “A Brief Discussion on Literature” in Education World, No. 139, 1906. 80 See in “The Duty of Philosophers and Artists” in Education World, No. 99, 1905. 81 See in “Four Pieces of Reflections on Education” in Anthology of Jing’an, 1905.

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Those who hold the same idea as Wang Guowei but had much influence on fiction writing are Huang Ren and Xu Nianci from Xiaoshuolin Press. Huang Ren regards the genre of fiction as a type of art that shall not be muddled with other types such as philosophical writings, scientific writings, legal writings, and historical writings. He satirizes the fictions of didacticism as “worthless teaching materials and incompetent collections of aphorisms.”82 In his “An Account of the Founding of Collection of Fictions”, Xu Nianci, referring to Hegel’s theory of aesthetics, expounds on the five characteristics of fictions, and defines the genre of fiction as literary works that are meant to entertain and cultivate the readers as well as to do good to social development.83 Their opinions on fictions were counteraction to the popular perception of fictions that exaggerated the social role of fictions and equated fictions with political manuals. However, due to the long-lasting doctrine of conveying the truth in writings, these opinions could not take root then. In History of Chinese Literature and A Brief Comment on Fictions by Huang Ren and in My Views on Fiction by Xu Nianci and in his translations of File No. 11384 and Every Man a King or Might in Mind Mastery,85 we frequently read comments on the relationship between fictions and society and between fictions and politics, but few comments from the aesthetic perspective of fiction writing. Besides, Huang Ren had his translation of Yinshan Nüwang (Queen of Yinshan) and Xu Nianci had his translations of Black Planet, a science fiction, New Stage, a military fiction, and Masterman Ready, or the Wreck of the Pacific, a fiction of adventure. All of them selected the source overseas fictions, instead of aesthetic consideration, by judging their social roles—the edifying role to accelerate the social reformation—to which they actually did not agree. This is why Xiaoshuolin Press and the magazine of Collection of Fictions that they ran made no difference from other fiction societies and magazines. Zhou Brothers were unique in the literary world during the late Qing and the early Republican period. They no longer wrote or translated from the utilitarian perspective but from personal interest and taste, which somewhat made themselves aloof from the common readers. A Collection of Foreign Stories sold only 20 copies, and Lu Xun’s short story of Nostalgia, though highly recommended by Yun Tieqiao, was left out of the collection of short stories of Panoramic View of Foreign Fictions (1915)86 which included 300 pieces of short stories. The Story of A Village by the River by Zhou Zuoren was included but with little influence at the time. The two brothers did not care about being left out but enjoyed such isolation instead. Their earlier Chinese translations of Around the Moon, The Origin of Fantine, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and The Gold-Bug, from the choice of target fictions to the diction in 82 See

in “Foreword to Collection of Fictions”, in the initial issue of Collection of Fictions, 1907. in “Foreword to Collection of Fictions”, in the initial issue of Collection of Fictions, 1907; “My Views on Fiction” in Collection of Fictions, No. 9, 1908. 84 It’s a detective fiction by French writer Emile Gaboriau and is translated by Chen Hongbi. 85 It’s a science fiction by Orison Swett Marden and translated by Chen Hongbi. 86 Panoramic View of Foreign Fictions is a collection of short stories edited by Hu Jichen, published by Kaiming Book Company, 1915. It contains 24 volumes that collect 300 pieces of short stories of both originals and translations. 83 See

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the translations, were obviously influenced by the common practice of the time—to preach ethics by writing. The Chinese translation of The World’s Desire “may not well agree to the trend of the time,”87 but was still to the readers’ interest. However, A Collection of Foreign Stories was indeed a work of plain language and with great foresight in work selection, which was beyond the common readers and even most of the scholars of new learning, but only appreciated by a few talented people. It shows the two brothers’ artistic taste that far surpassed their peers. They clearly knew the estrangement from their peers but would not accommodate themselves to them. Instead of writing for the enlightenment of the public, they adhered to their high standards “to introduce the new writing techniques of western fictions,”88 which well conformed to the spirit of the May Fourth New Cultural Movement at a later time. There always exists a dilemma of literary enlightenment, for there are always discrepancies in the torchbearers’ understanding of the essence of the new ideas and notions. On the one hand, the torchbearers may distort the new ideas and notions to cater to the public; on the other hand, they may give up the support from the public to stick to the new ideas and notions. Take Di Baoxian as an example. As early as 1903, he showed his disapproving attitude toward the popular idea that fictions were there to entertain women and those of little education. He believed that the nation needed fine fictions to instruct the public, but regretted that fine fictions for the common readers were few.89 He made fine fictions a fuzzy concept and had no further speculation on the difference between the fictions for the well-educated and the fictions for the common readers. However, in his later writings, we see that he still thought highly of the social role of fictions.90 Zhou Zuoren explicitly claimed that he would not follow up the trend of leisurely writing and that women and the uneducated people were not his prescribed readers: Most of the readers are common readers who are apt to follow the crowd. Literary writings would deteriorate if philistine works are taken as the mainstream to cater to the masses, which surely will do harm to human civilization.91

From it, we see the idea that it’s time for Chinese fictions to search for other ways to return to refined serious writings. Both Zhou Brothers and Liang Qichao were in favor of “returning to refined literature”. Different from Liang Qichao and his follower new novelists, Zhou Brothers tried to establish the artistic independence of fictions as a genre of literature rather than impose the features of classics on fictions, to pursue the aesthetic value of fictions as belles-lettres rather than the social roles of fictions, which sets it against 87 See

in the Preface to Hong Xing Yi Shi (The World’s Desire). in the Self-introduction to A Collection of Foreign Stories published in Tokyo, 1909. 89 See in “Comments on Fiction” by Pingzi (Di Baoxian) in the magazine of New Fiction, No. 7, 1903. 90 Such as his discussions in “Orientating Fictions in Chinese Literature” in New Fiction, No. 7, 1903; “A Further Talk on New Fiction” in the magazine of Fiction Times, No. 9, 1911. 91 From “Fictions and the Society” by Qiming (Zhou Zuoren) in Monthly Journal of Shaoxing Education Society, No. 5, 1914. 88 Mentioned

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the didactic fictions before the 1911 Xinhai Revolution and the leisurely writings after the revolution. It was an undercurrent till the May Fourth New Literary Movement began, and it grew into the mainstream of fiction writing and the central position of babbittry fictions was replaced by refined sublime fictions as was envisaged by Zhou Zuoren. Writers of Saturday School had to adjust themselves in writing once the quality and style of the May-Fourth fictions as refined sublime fictions were established. After a period of self-adjustment, the new popular novels with captioned chapters (with borrowed techniques from Western fictions) derived from the fiction revolution grew concomitant with the sublime fictions initiated with the May Fourth Movement. It drove farther apart the writers and the readers of different tastes, which was beneficial for the writers to play their strengths in perfecting their writings, and it exerted great impact on the development of Chinese fictions in the twentieth century.

Chapter 5

Compound Plot and Scenic Structure

The structures of the fictions of the late Qing and the early Republic period are quite peculiar because of the interaction of the writers’ personal artistic interest, the lapse of time as well as the fusion of Chinese traditions and Western techniques. Structures of the traditional Chinese fictions (novels with captioned chapters, fictions in classical Chinese, etc.) exist side by side with westernized types of fictions with mutual functions to each other. On the one hand, translators reform the overseas fictions from their own understanding to adapt them to the Chinese readers’ reading habits. On the other hand, Chinese writers try to learn from Western fictions to create fictions different from traditional Chinese fictions in plotting and structure. The new novelists are of different proficiency in writing. Some of them would stick to the traditions; some would try novel techniques and some others would blend the two in fiction writing. The chaos of such a situation animated fiction writing in China and foresaw a future of it full of vigor. Some of the experimental writings survived and exerted an influence on the later writings while some sank into oblivion. No matter whether they survived or died, writers of this period have left their footprints in their experiments of fiction plotting. For the writers of the late Qing and the early Republic period, the difficulties of writing novels are different from those of writing short stories. When writing a novel, the writer needs to consider the logic of a complete story, hence the two types of bead-flower structure and compound plot; when writing a short story, the writer considers more to create his own style, hence the two types of bonsai-like structures and scenic structures. Some of the new novelists would keep to one of them while some others would try both. Wu Jianren, for example, had tried all of them. The book here is not meant to judge the writing skills of the writers but to make clear of the development of the four patterns of fiction plotting that had much affected fiction writing during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period, and of the ways in which they exerted influence on fiction writing of the time on the whole.

© Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9_5

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5.1 Bead-Flower Structure The bead-flower structure is in contrast with a bead-string structure which is an analogical term first presented by Zeng Pu in his defense of the structure of his novel The Flower in the World of Retribution. In 1917, Hu Shi criticized the structure of The Flower in the World of Retribution in his Letter to Chen Duxiu in Response to Qian Xuantong, “If combined, it could be a long novel with no ending; if separated, it can be a collection of many short stories… the structure is loose with too many materials. It is well done in the style of jottings like Chunbing’s Jottings, but it’s not a good novel.”1 Ten years later, Zeng Pu responded to Hu Shi when he had a modified version of The Flower in the World of Retribution published. …I don’t agree to his view that the structure of The Flower in the World of Retribution is as the same as that of The Scholars. Although both of the two novels have fixed together many stories, but they are organized in different ways. Just like stringing beads, The Scholars is done one by one into a single string of beads whereas The Flower in the World of Retribution is done in convolutions to get a bead-flower.2

The key point of the dispute is: does the novel have a complicated structure that rises and falls with the formers and the latters well correlating one another? Or is it free to develop or to end at any time? Hu Shi was somewhat biased in his comment on The Flower in the World of Retribution, for he overstressed the compactness of the structures of novels and neglected the possible variations they may have when getting developed; Zeng Pu was not faultless in his defense since the structure of The Flower in the World of Retribution is not a perfect bead-flower structure. Actually, most of the novels of the time are decentralized with loose structures, which shows that the writers intended to increase the capacity of the novels and to supplement the orthodox history with current affairs.3 A bead-flower structure usually has a core, a complete plot, and characters to go through the whole story. It emphasizes the unity of the plot rather than a string of loosely related episodes. Hu Shi and some later critics highly appreciated the structure of The Strange Case of Nine Murders ingeniously woven around its core.4 But actually, this type of structure is totally derived from Chinese traditions, even more traditional than the structure of The Scholars, a string of scenic stories. Therefore, it is not a good example of modern Chinese fictions. All the fictions have complete plots and characters to go through the story no matter whether they are romances, historical fictions, chivalry fictions, or fictions of spirits and devils (in Lu Xun’s classification of Chinese fictions),5 yet The Scholars is an exception. Before the twentieth century, Chinese novels were based on the tradition of oral storytelling. Writers wrote as if 1 It

is published in the magazine of New Youth, No. 4, Vol. 3, 1917. in “Something to Say on the Modified Version” in the modified version of The Flower in the World of Retribution published by Truth-Good-Virtue Bookstore, 1928. 3 This is further discussed in Sect. 8.2 of Chap. 8 and Sect. 9.1 of Chap. 9 in this book. 4 See in “A Letter to Chen Duxiu in Response to Qian Xuantong” by Hu Shi, published in the magazine of New Youth, No. 4, Vol. 3, 1917. 5 See in Chap. 23 of A Brief History of Chinese Fiction by Lu Hsun (Lu Xun). 2 See

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they were telling stories face to face to the audience in playhouses. Although they had cast off the properties of oral storytelling in their novels, they were still fixated on peculiar plots to attract the readers. No matter whether they are linked by events one after another as in Outlaws of the Marsh, or intermingled as in Three Kingdoms, or centered on one event as in Pilgrimage to the West, or centered on family life as in The Plum in the Golden Vase, plot-orientated novels usually had complete riseand-fall plots rather than open-ending plots however diversified they are. We see that all the writers intended to produce novels of complete complicated plots no matter whether they were skillful or not. Due to the high reputation of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation and Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, people falsely think that novels of the late Qing and Republic period all have compound plots like the above two novels. In fact, the traditional bead-flower structure generally accounts for a large proportion of the novels at the time—with variations. Be they political novels like The Story of Jin Yaose, social novels like The Story of Huang Xiuqiu, romances like The Hall of Broken Zither, courtesan novels like The Nine-tailed Turtle, or detective stories like The Strange Case of Nine Murders, they all have complete plots and characters going through the whole story. Compound plots of scenic stories are mostly found in some social fictions that expose officialdom corruption. Bead-flower structured novels are of their own features. First, some of them have single-lined plots containing a main character and the main event. But such a structure is often a target of blame for the critics of the time as is despised by Wang Zhonglin, “Western novels usually deal with one person and one event, but we see that Chinese novels tend to have more characters and events intermingled.”6 Similar opinions are found in the criticism by Liang Qixun, Xiaren, Xu Nianci, and Lu Simian. Such a comparison between Western novels and Chinese novels was limited by the low level of translation of Western novels as well as the critics’ narrow view of Chinese novels, for they just counted a small number of masterpieces of complicated plots like Outlaws of the Marsh and Three Kingdoms, but excluded the large quantities of Romances of Gifted Scholars and Beauties of the time, most of which are of unitary plots; and when talking about Western novels, they would just keep in mind some single-lined popular novels like The Lady of the Camellias, Joan Haste, or Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes. Therefore, we see Chinese writers then intentionally learned from the West in fiction writing when they ignore the negative criticism of single-lined novels and insisted on weaving stories of unitary plots. Freedom of Marriage by Zhang Zhaotong describes a young couple’s struggle for the freedom of marriage—Huang Huo and Guanguan not only obtained the freedom of marriage but gained more than that thereafter. The Story of Jin Yaose by Haitian Duxiaozi tells the story of a heroic woman who got rid of her unlucky marriage and led a peripatetic life, making friends with other heroes and heroines and trying to build up an independent republic country. Both of the two well followed the tradition of Western love stories attaching to national affairs as the mainstay. Furthermore, both He Mengxia and Bai 6 See in “Chronicles of Chinese Fictions” by Tianlusheng (Wang Zhonglin) in The All-Story Monthly,

No. 11, 1907.

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Liying: A Love Story by Xu Zhenya and Mirror of Love Tragedy by Wu Shuangre describe the agony of being not free in marriage. Not only do they have similar value judgement but also have similar writing techniques learned from the West. The letter from Junqian at the end of the novel He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story reminds us of The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas the junior, so does the first-person narration telling a sad love story in Mirror of Love Tragedy. Hence, they earned their reputation of “Chinese Alexandre Dumas”. What’s worth mentioning is that some novels of unitary plots are more of Chinese tradition. For example, Nightmare of Fortune by Huang Xiaopei and Xiao’e by Song Youmei are more affected by Chinese biographical fictions. The former tells the twenty years’ vicissitudes of the life of Zhou Yongyou, a customs warehouse keeper while the latter is a story of Xiao’e, a clerk of Peking Warehouse Bureau. It tells how he was punished for his misdoings and how he repented and began to do good deeds. Both of the two are based on real persons and incidents, and they concentrate on characterization rather than plots. This is rare in the Chinese novels with captioned chapters but often seen in romances and ghost fictions as a result of the influence of the tradition of Chinese biographical writings, which somewhat explains why these novels are often centered on one person but with too many offshoot events, for the writer cares more in the unity of the characters rather than the plots. The one-person-one-event structure may be well-knit, but it restricts the fiction world in one way or another. The writers of the time did not want to be restricted to the ups and downs of a young couple’s life. So, there rose a number of double-lined novels with a mainline and a subsidiary line. The mainline creates the unity of the novel while the subsidiary line helps to expand the fiction world. The most typical examples are The Blind Fortuneteller and The Sea of Regret by Wu Jianren, The Flower in the World of Retribution by Zeng Pu, and A Compendium of Monsters by Qian Xibao. The Blind Fortuneteller is woven upon the two lines of the life of a rich man and a poor man, telling how they were led to their downfall on account of their blind faith in a fortuneteller, and develops along with the two guys’ revelation to it. The writer means to warn the readers not to be superstitious. The two lines advance side by side and play a part together. The Sea of Regret tells the sad love stories of two couples during social turmoils, one being the elder brother Bohe and his wife Dihua, the other being the younger brother Zhong’ai and his wife Juanjuan. Bohe died miserably, Dihua became a nun, and Juanjuan descended to a prostitute and Zhong’ai became a monk. They seem to be negligible and helpless as the novel is set in the event of the Gengzi National Crisis in 1900. The Flower in the World of Retribution tries to unfold the historical vicissitudes of 30 years. It describes the life of the couple of Jin Wenqing and Fu Caiyun, but frequently interrupts with “the onstage performance” of the numerous scholars. The couple’s legendary life is told in a coherent whole, but interruptions of the scholars’ stories are nothing more than anecdotes, making the structure of the novel somewhat loose and chaotic. The two lines exist side by side giving rise to the disputes over the structure of the novel between Hu Shi and Zeng Pu. A Compendium of Monsters describes the lives of all kinds of people from government officials to common people, pungently disclosing the corruption in the late Qing officialdom. The novel is well-knitted with Jia Duanfu,

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an antagonist in the novel, as the center who goes through the novel to unite it as a whole. Hence, some critics regarded A Compendium of Monsters as the best example of the structure of novels.7 To knit the novel with one person and one event may well attain the superficial unity of the plot, but it is the characterization and the description of psychological activities that make Chinese fictions change in nature. As early as 1903, Mai Zhonghua quoted from Western views, “the more descriptions of the inner side a fiction has, the better it can be”. In 1904, Chen Lengxue published in installment his Eugene Aram as a psychological novel in the magazine New New-fictions. In 1908, Chen Diexian published in installment another psychological novel Destiny: A New Book in the magazine The All-Story Monthly. There were a few number of psychological novels ever since, although psychological novels in China were far from maturity. However, we should admit that the new novelists of the time were apt to characterize the personages by way of psychological analysis as is read in Thunderbolt 8 (1904) by Sun Jinxian, The Sea of Regret (1906) by Wu Jianren, Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story (1912) by Su Manshu, and A Compendium of Monsters (1916) by Qian Xibao. It’s clearly seen that early sexual repression much affects the character formation of Xun Beishan in Thunderbolt and Jia Duanfu in A Compendium of Monsters. Xun Beishan risked his life to submit a petition. The abnormal relationship between his wife and him partially reveals his motivation to do so—the entanglement of the sense of justice and desire of fame and gains, the dissatisfaction of sexuality, and failure in realizing the value of life. It tries to demonstrate the characters’ complicated personality, making it a distinct difference from the earlier novels that simply play up the righteous loyalists and martyrs who would readily sacrifice their lives for justice. In the prelude of A Compendium of Monsters, we read a comment on Jia Duanfu, “…led a dog’s life with no money; no woman would like him, and gradually developed into a cold eccentric personality.” The novel started with the events how Jia Duanfu schemed to refuse a woman at night and how he was humiliated at a brothel, concentrating on how he changed from a rogue male to a Confucian scholar. It succeeds in analyzing the character formation of a hypocrite, which is much better than its peer works of a similar theme. Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story foreshadows the May-Fourth poetic psychological fictions, in which we frequently read self-analyses in first-person narrations. The Sea of Regret gives one-third of the novel to the description of Dihua’s inner pain. The innovative significance of the two novels lies in the structural transformation—weakened plot and reinforced non-plot elements. There were some other new fictions with structures in between bead-flowers and compound plots such as The Travels of Lao Ts’an, Tales from My Women Neighbors, Travelings in Shanghai, and Romaunt of Sword which there have the main characters going through the novel interwoven with plenty of anecdotes and trifles. The most 7 See

in “Reminiscence of the Literary World” by Yang Shiji, published by Zhonghua Book Company, 1945. 8 This novel is a fake translation from a Japanese writer; the actual writer is Sun Jingxian. See more details in “Who Is the Writer of Thunderbolt?” in the journal of Literary Legacy, No. 3, 1986.

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distinctive feature is that, different from traditional vernacular Chinese fictions of omniscient perspective, these novels adopt limited narrative perspectives. Structural features of this type of novels are to be discussed in Chap. 8.

5.2 Compound Plot Lu Xun once made a comment in A Brief History of Chinese Fiction that the structure of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation is a mimic of The Scholars, “it starts and ends a story with a person, then starts another one with another person.” and he added to it: All the stories collected are just conversation pieces and combined into one that reads more like a reference book than a novel, and the stories of officialdom corruptions are similar to one another.9

The use of “conversation pieces” and “a reference book” obviously shows Lu Xun’s negative attitude toward it as well as his peculiar perspective of it—not just a diachronical point of view but also a synchronical point of view comparing it with the other genres of writings, but it’s a pity that he did not make any further discussions on it. Lu Xun is not the first one who argued that the structure of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation imitates that of The Scholars. As early as 1915, it was pointed out, “the structure imitates that of The Scholars: a new storyteller starts with his story after the previous one finished his. The novel lasts in this way to an open ending, which is somewhat a variation of traditional Chinese novels with captioned chapters.”10 In 1922, Hu Shi also commented, “it’s a string of inconnected short stories, the style of which reminds the readers of The Scholars.” and he then related to the structural features of The Scholars as follows: The Scholars is constructed with fragments without a complete structure. It can be divided into several independent stories or may as well be combined into one with no ending.11

Studies on the novels of compound plots of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period were mainly made with relation to The Scholars. Some found faults with its structure while some others defended it. Negative criticism started with the May-Fourth critics, but it was not until the 1980s that some critics began to see the value of it, especially in the unity of its deeper structure that connected the stories.12 They insisted that compound plots were of their own “completeness 9 See in Chap. 28 (“Novels of Exposure at the End of Qing Dynasty”) of A Brief History of Chinese

Fiction by Lu Hsun (Lu Xun). in “On the Writer of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation” in Essays from Tanying Study by an anonymous writer, in the magazine of Literature and Arts, No. 5, 1915. 11 In “Chinese Literature in the Past Fifty Years” collected in the fiftieth anniversary issue of Shenpao Newspaper, 1922. 12 In “Typology of Plot Structures in Late Qing Novels” in Chinese Novel at the Turn of the Century, ed. by Milena Doleželová-Velingerová, Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1980. 10 See

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in structure”. What’s more important is that they did not just defend the novels but also tried to find out the reasons why this type of novels got fully developed and flourished as a representative way of constructing novels at the time. In Hu Shi’s opinion, Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years is still a mimic of The Scholars although it narrates in the first person so that all the stories, many being squeezed into it, are connected by the I-narrator.13 Judging from the studies of narratology, the two novels The Bureaucrats: A Revelation and Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years are much different, for the former narrates in an omniscient perspective as is the tradition of telling stories in playhouses while the latter narrates in first-person limited perspective. However, the two novels are of the same type of novels of compound plots since both combine unconnected stories into one. There are two categories of novels of compound plots during the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period. One is a simple collection of short stories such as The Bureaucrats: A Revelation, The Civilized Society: A Novel, The Officialdom and Chitchat in the Sun; the other one tells anecdotes one by one by someone who travels, connecting what he sees and hears into an entity as is seen in Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years and A Cold Eye on the World. These novels attain the unity of the novel by exposing the officialdom corruption in the tone of condemnation. Lu Xun made his definition and criticism of the novels of exposure mainly based on the type of compound-plot novels. Novels with captioned chapters, of course, cannot be reference books as is criticized by Lu Xun. It’s just a metaphor to say that the way of selecting, cutting, and ordering the materials into a novel of the compound plot is similar to the compilation of a reference book. China has a long history of compiling reference books of more than six hundred kinds, from the compilation of Emperor’s Readers in the period of Three Kingdom (220 AD) to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Anthology of Tales from Records of The Taiping Era collects all kinds of anecdotes, reading notes and unofficial historical stories, and divides them into 92 categories. The practice of compiling reference books has much influence on the writers of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period when anecdotes and reading notes were frequently read in the specific column in every magazine of fictions, and special collections of anecdotes and reading notes were especially hot for book companies. Some were classified by the subject matter such as Officialdom of Qing Dynasty and Masters of Martial Arts, some by historical periods such as A Collection of Anecdotes of Ming and Qing Dynasties and The Secret History of the Thirteen Imperial Reigns of Qing Dynasties, and some by the personage such as Anecdotes of Zuo Zongtang and Anecdotes of Yuan Shikai. It’s not a coincidence that writers of compound-plot novels (like Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren) are often the writers of collections of anecdotes and reading notes. Li Boyuan categorizes his stories by personage. In each volume of his sixteen-volumed Reading Notes at South Pavilion, he tells the anecdotes of some people of the Qing Dynasty, especially in the sixteenth volume that is specialized on Zhang Zhidong. In contrast, in his Chinese Detective Stories and 13 In “Chinese Literature in the Past Fifty Years” collected in the fiftieth anniversary issue of Shenpao Newspaper, 1922.

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Shanghai Brothel Stories in Three Decades, Wu Jianren categorizes his collections by events, the former being a collection of detective stories and the latter a record of vicissitudes of brothels in Shanghai. Similar to this kind of anecdote collections are stories of shady deals which are meant to tell real stories of real persons but are actually traditional fictional sketches. Moreover, they’re usually categorized, well in the way of compiling reference books, into stories of government officials, of army men, of businessmen, of factions, of bandits, of monks, and the like. Collections of anecdotes and stories of shady deals are actually not modern novels while serial short stories are in a different case. They are fictions rather than fictional sketches though the writers sometimes claimed that the stories were based on real events. In 1904, Chen Lengxue published his serial short stories of Chivalrous Swordsmen in the magazine New New-fictions. We do see in his stories the influence from the translations of Western detective stories and nihilist stories, but the writer indicated the influence on him from Chinese historical writing in his foreword, “Those who do not read Chivalrous Men14 may not understand my Chivalrous Swordsmen.”15 Bao Tianxiao’s serial stories Fictional Sketches at Qiuxingge Study published in Fiction Times, Yun Tieqiao’s serial stories Revolution in Short Story Magazine, and Xu Zhenya’s Anecdotes of Taiping Rebellion serialized in Fiction Series are simply collections of, or potpourris of, short stories of similar subject matter which are independent with neither consideration of the motif as a whole nor that of the structure as a whole. In 1906, Nefu published the first chapter of his Mystery of Shanghai which “was an imitation of Les Mystères de Paris and was planned to have five volumes that focus on the mystery of officialdom, of businessmen, of students, of the Labor Party and of hoodlum in Shanghai.” It’s hard to judge whether it was an imitation of the abovementioned French fiction, for it ceased after the publication of the first chapter. Yet it’s true that the “mysteries”, “jokes” and “exposures” of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period are influenced more by Chinese historical compilations than by foreign fictions. The most typical example is A Hell on Earth written by Li Boyuan and continued by Ouyang Juyuan. It has 43 chapters with independent 15 stories, the longest of which runs for 8 chapters, and five of which run for only one chapter. All the stories expose the shady deals of the county government. If lengthened or added an element that goes through the whole book from the beginning to the end, it may well grow into a novel of compound plot like The Bureaucrats: A Revelation. Actually, novels of compound plots developed from such serial stories and collections of anecdotes. The Officialdom by Zhang Chunfan, The Bureaucrats: A Revelation by Li Boyuan, Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years by Wu Jianren, and A Cold Eye on the World by Wang Junqing, all are created in this way, as we see it in The Officialdom, “the writer collected the shady deals one by one into a novel to expose the dark side of the society.” Here “collected the shady deals one by one into a novel” speaks for itself for the features of the structures of this type 14 “Chivalrous Men” is a section in The History of the Former Han Dynasty. It gives accounts of the

scholar-officials in the former Han Dynasty. in Chen Lengxue’s Foreword to Chivalrous Swordsmen in New New-fictions, No. 1, 1906.

15 See

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of novel. In Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, the writer mentioned several times that the storyteller often jotted down the jokes and anecdotes from his friends, and in A Cold Eye on the World, the jokes and anecdotes were introduced by way of in-turn story-telling at feasts or at brothel merry-makings. Such a string-up way of storytelling may easily turn a novel into a collection of independent stories. New novelists of the time were fond of collecting jokes or anecdotes to produce novels with little editing. Someone once made a close comparative reading of Li Boyuan’s Reading Notes at South Pavilion and his The Bureaucrats: A Revelation, finding that 9 stories in the former were used in the latter16 ; in Wu Jianren’s Jianchan’s Jottings17 and his Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, there are 5 similar stories.18 Bao Tianxiao once made a notice of “anecdotes collection in recent three years” in the magazine Collection of Fictions for preparing for his novel The Story of Qiuyu. In the notice, he made clear the focus of the anecdotes to be collected: 1. politicians; 2. businessmen; 3. societies; 4. prostitutes and actors or actresses; 5. detectives and fraudsters and the like, and all other well-known persons, events and customs.19

It remains a secret how he would use these collected anecdotes in his novel since he stopped writing of it because the magazine Collection of Fictions ceased its publication soon. Yet we may learn from his foreword to his novel City Life in Shanghai that this novel simply feeds off collected anecdotes, which is no different from the way how Wu Jianren created a novel. Coincidentally, Bao Tianxiao once recalled how he learned from Wu Jianren in writing novels, He showed me a scrapbook in which there pasted kinds of newspaper cuttings of news stories in addition to his jottings of the stories he learned from everyday gossips. He said these were the materials to be used in his novels. The only thing to do was to string them up.20

Novelists of the late Qing and the early Republican period rely too much on the collected anecdotes and are negligent in the plotting. Many short stories and novels are based on actual events with little editing and polishing. Here is Zhou Shoujuan’s understanding of fiction writing in his novel The West Lake: A peculiar person like this is often a hero in my novel. If a rough picture conjures up in my mind, I can finish it in a day.21

It’s not wrong to borrow news stories in a novel, but it’s inappropriate to simply string them up into a novel with little editing. A short story written in this way is crude, let alone a novel that contains more events and people. For a novel that is of 16 See

in “Reading The Bureaucrats: A Revelation” by Zhou Yibai in the journal of Culture and History, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1948. 17 Jianchan is the pen name of Wu Jianren. 18 See in “Reading Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years” by Liu Yeqiu in Reading Chinese Classical Fictions published by Nankai University Press, 1985. 19 See in Collection of Fictions, No. 7. 20 See in Memoirs at Chuanying Study by Bao Tianxiao pubished by Dahua Publishing House (Hong Kong), 1971. 21 See in the third collection of Fiction Gallimaufry, 1915.

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a poor overall structure and is lacking a ruling theme, the easiest way to compose is to string up the materials based on similar subject matters. Writers as great as Wu Jianren and Wang Junqing who wrote in the first-person cannot change it, for the first-person storytellers or listeners are just onlookers of the events and are never actually involved in the stories. Anecdotes with similar subject matters are collected in novels and the overall configuration of novels is apt to dissolve, which reveals how fictions, as a literary genre, absorb elements from sorts of writings and from the way of compiling reference books while moving from a peripheral position to the center of literature. Newspapers rose during the late Qing and the early Republican period and fictions were popular in newspapers, which blurred the demarcation of literary genres and brought about the mutual infiltration between fictions and the other genres. One of the reasons why novels of compound plots represented by The Scholars took off in the late Qing Dynasty is that most of such novels expose the dark side of the officialdom rather than depict the contradiction between loyalty and treachery as did the traditional Chinese fictions. This leads to the absence of a ruling theme and the fragmentation of the novel with no central plot, which, started with Li Boyuan, is typically represented by the word “exposure” in the title of the novel. For another, the written form of stories during the late Qing and the early Republican period helped the scenic novels with no intriguing plots win the public, which was impossible at the time when face-to-face oral storytelling was prevailing in China. However, the installment of fictions in newspapers has pushed forward most of the novels of compound plots in this period. Most of the novelists of the time are editors of newspapers or magazines, and most novels are published in installments in newspapers before they are published in a separate edition, which forced the writers to adjust their writing techniques with consideration of the specific way of communication. It was pointed out early in 1901 that “Chinese literary genres changed a lot with the rise of newspapers and magazines.”22 It occurred in both prose writings and fictions. Fiction theoreticians noticed that “fictions have achieved the most conspicuous development along with the rise of newspapers and magazines”23 and that “fictions live together with newspapers and magazines”24 though they made no further study on the different structures of traditional fictions and new fictions published in installments from the perspective of the structures of fictions. But fiction writers recognized much earlier the peculiarity of the fictions published in installments in newspapers and magazines at the time when Liang Qichao started the magazine New Fiction and began to write The Prospect of New China. He described the specific features of fiction publication by means of periodical installments as follows:

22 See in the article of “Table of Chinese Periodicals Existent and Nonexistent” in Political Criticism,

Vol. 100, 1901. in the Foreword to the magazine of Collection of Fictions, No. 1, 1907. 24 See in “On the Relationship Between Fiction and Customs” by Huang Boyao in Chinese and Foreign Stories, No. 5, 1908. 23 See

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It costs a writer huge effort to fix dozens of chapters into an organized whole. He would revise the manuscript several times to accomplish a satisfying work. However, fictions published in periodical installments is in a different case since it comes out by chapters once a month and the deficiencies cannot be mended once each chapter came out, making it more difficult to produce excellent works.25

He acknowledged that “it’s better to get it published in installments after the writer accomplished the whole novel, yet it needs time, perhaps several years”, but the periodicals cannot wait. Therefore, the novel was published by chapters at the time when the writer was writing it. Most of the new novels at the time were published by way of periodical installments once a chapter was finished and nobody knew when it would be ceased. The novel would be doomed as a half-done on account of the writer’s death or his interest shift or because of the sudden bankruptcy of the periodicals. Actually, many new novels were such half-done products. Even those that were finally accomplished as was planned were often inconsistent in tune or contradictory in plots because of the long run. Writers writing for periodicals were much pressed because of the time limit, especially those for daily newspapers. In many cases, some writers would slack off in writing and had to hastily finish it to meet the deadline with less consideration of the plot design. Therefore, considered as a whole, contradictions, and repetitions in a novel often occurred.26 By way of publishing in installments, novels lack a sense of wholeness, instead, they demand chapters that attract the readers. The writers therefore need to make a hard effort in each chapter as is commented by Liang Qichao as follows: Generally, the most excellent part in a novel is no more than a dozen of chapters with the chapters being minor ones in which deficiencies are acceptable. However, novels published in installments are in a different case. Since they are read by chapters once a month, each chapter counts much for the whole novel.27

To say “each chapter counts much for the whole novel” doesn’t mean that the writer needs to contrive each chapter ingeniously. It means that each chapter shall be interesting enough to attract readers. The whole novel A Dream in Red Mansions is popular with the readers and each chapter of it is well written, but it may not be good for periodical installments. It does have the cliché transition such as “to be continued in the next chapter” and have a couplet caption for each chapter, yet it is not contrived by chapters. Instead, it lays out the structure integrally. In 1892, Han Ziyun started the magazine Anecdotes in Shanghai in which he published in the installment The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai (a novel with captioned chapters) and Taixian’s Jottings (a novel in classical Chinese). It was first a semimonthly but was changed into a monthly since the tenth issue because of “the pressure 25 See in the article of “The First Issue of New Fiction” of the column of “Introduction to the Newspaper” in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 20, 1902. 26 For example, Song Youmei confessed at the end of his novel that the novel was first published in installments and there were many imperfections in the novel because of the limit of time. More examples are seen in The Travels of Lao Ts’an and The Civilized Society: A Novel. 27 See in the article of “The First Issue of New Fiction” of the column of “Introduction to the Newspaper” in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 20, 1902.

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of time restriction”. Some people who were reluctant to wait thus complained about the dilatory publication of each installment. Here is how Han Ziyun justified the novels published in periodical installments, taking The Story of Duan Qianqing as an example. Someone say that it tests readers’ patience to keep them wait for two months to read The Story of Duan Qianqing, but I think it other way. I speak from my own experience of reading Chinese classical fictions. Every time I came to the gripping part, I would stop reading and close the book and imagine what may come next. It may last for several days. My curiosity would be much satisfied when it came to the day I opened the book again. Isn’t it a great enjoyment?

Similarly, twenty years later when readers complained about the long wait for the newspaper installment of He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story, Xu Zhenya (the writer of the novel) pointed it out that the readers wanted the result while the writers focused on the process and that “the mental tempo of the writers for periodical installment and that of the readers of the novels is inversely proportional to each other.” He thought the readers who were eager for quick results knew little about enjoying the novels in newspaper installments, The very moment of the ecstasy in drinking is to be slightly drunk and the best time for flowers is to blossom halfway. It’s the same in reading novels. The best way is to read a bit every day and leave some space for imagination. It would be more enjoyable to stop reading at some intriguing places, for it prolongs the perceptive process of reading. Usually, after we finish reading a novel, we may put it away and never read it again. If we keep reading day and night and finish reading in several days, how much fun in reading we may lose.28

Xu Zhenya may suggest a good way of reading novels, but few readers would follow him. On the surface, he is suggesting the readers of a good way of reading novels by periodical installments. Actually, he is trying to guide the readers to adapt their reading habits and aesthetic perception to the novels in periodical installments. Now that fiction installments in periodicals were characterized by a long cycling of publication of one or two years to be accomplished, there must be ways to stimulate the readers’ interest in reading them. There are two ways. First, they would publish several chapters of a novel to attract the readers, and then stopped it and announced that a single edition would come soon. A good example is seen in the suspension announcement of A Historical Romance of East-and-West Jin Dynasties. Second, they would try to have relatively complete stories in every installment. Novels like The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai, The Bureaucrats: A Revelation, and Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years are all good examples of it, especially the latter two. The first was often an excuse for the delayed or even suspended fiction installments of some periodicals, but the second is worth noticing, for it did affect the way of fiction writing of the time. In the earlier periodical installments of novels (most of them are translations of foreign novels), it was seen that for the convenience of typesetting, sometimes a sentence was split in half in two issues, let alone have complete chapters. For 28 See

in “A Reply to the Readers Asking for He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story” in the magazine Spirit of Civil Rights, No. 2, 1914.

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this reason, Liang Qichao made rules for periodical installments when he started the magazine New Fiction, one of which concerns the funny splitting sentences in periodical installments. All the installments of novels in this magazine are complete chapters each issue whether it was one or two or three chapters. No casual typesetting with split sentences is to be seen as before.29

Since then, most of the periodical installments of novels were done with relatively complete chapters to cater to readers’ aspiration of complete stories in each issue, which to some extent resulted in the writers’ negligence of the organization of the novel as a whole and finally brought about the prevalence of novels of compound plots.

5.3 Revival of Short Stories There was once a glorious time of short stories in ancient Chinese literature whether they are Tang romances in classic Chinese or vernacular short stories of the Ming Dynasty represented by the renowned five collections of short stories.30 Later in the Qing Dynasty, attractive short stories were read in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio as well as in collections of short stories in vernacular Chinese such as Lian Chenbi, Twelve Towers, and Stories from the Vined Canopy. Till the reign of Emperor Qianlong, short stories came to a dead end as those in vernacular Chinese were seldom seen and those in classical Chinese were much in the formulaic “ghost stories”. The concept of “traditional fictions” in the concern of Liang Qichao and other new novelists was mainly fictional sketches and novels with captioned chapters. They seldom mention short stories whether in classical Chinese or in vernacular Chinese as if they forgot there were short stories. In their criticism of traditional fictions of either “full of vulgarity and violence” or “accelerate the social reformation”, they referred to the Chinese novels with captioned chapters only. At the very beginning of the fiction revolution, criticism was focused mainly on the content of the Chinese novels with captioned chapters. Fictional sketches of real happenings were considered high by the literati of the time and some fiction theoreticians even held this type of writings above Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and A Dream in Red Mansions.31 Even so, fictional sketches of the late Qing and the early Republican period, though once in the rage, were still less influential than the novels with captioned chapters. Paradoxically, to the surprise of Liang Qichao and his proponents, it was short stories rising at the 29 See

in “New Fiction, the Only Literary Magazine” in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 14, 1902. renowned five collections of short stories of Ming Dynasty” refers to the three collections of short stories by Feng Menglong, namely, The Enlightening Stories, The Warning Stories, The Awakening Stories, and the two collections of short stories by Ling Mengchu—The Amazing Stories (Vol. 1) and The Amazing Stories (Vol. 2). 31 For further reference, see the item of “Fictions” in Shuyuan’s Jottings by Qiu Weixuan (Qiu Shuyuan), 1897. 30 “The

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time that eventually posed a threat to the existence and development of the novels with captioned chapters. Short stories rose during the late Qing and the early Republican period and grew stronger with exuberant vitality till the May Fourth Movement and finally replaced the novels with captioned chapters as the major form of fictions and the main force that pushed forward fiction writing in China. Short stories were the most important literary genre of Chinese literature in the twentieth century even though modern novels later emerged as an outcome under the influence of Western novels. There were no masterpieces of short stories during the late Qing and the early Republican period; the rise of short stories was one of the most noticeable events at the time nevertheless. At the beginning of the fiction revolution, the mainstay writers did not encourage short story writing until 1906; the column of short story was set up in the magazine The All-Story Monthly and short stories were more focused ever since. Actually, earlier than this, short stories not only were published but also played an important role in various magazines and newspapers. The rise of short stories was closely related to the development of magazines and newspapers at the time, for short stories are the most suitable form of literary works for the magazines and newspapers to attract the readers. Periodical installments of novels may well keep the readers dangling for the story, but against the risk of lacking the wholeness of the novel. Lively short stories are complete as a whole but are less intricate. So, the magazines and newspapers found the best way to have both. This is not obvious in the early periodicals such as Shenpao Newspaper and Around the World (magazine), for they seldom publish fictions. In 1892, the magazine Anecdotes in Shanghai was set up, in each issue of which two chapters of The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai were published as well as some short stories by Han Ziyun and other writers probably with the purpose of avoiding monotony. In 1902, the establishment of the magazine New Fiction betokened the fiction revolution. In the Foreword of the magazine, also a sort of advertisement, it claimed that the magazine welcomed both Chinese originals of fictions and translations of foreign fictions whether in classical Chinese or in vernacular Chinese, and frequently referred to “novels of scores of chapters” without the mentioning of short stories which were obviously out of the consideration of the magazine editors. Even so, short stories were still published in New Fiction such as translations of detective stories and Ghost Stories: A New Version by Di Baoxian and Anti-Ghost Story by Pomi.32 In this period, short stories in magazines were no better than fillers. Short stories became more and more important along with the introduction of the Western concept of fictions and the increased demand of the readership of short stories in periodicals since new periodicals constantly came out. A novel runs for a score of issues of a magazine, but an issue of a magazine needs several short stories, which was usually a hard nut for the editors who had to spend more time organizing short stories. Notices of calling for fictions in the magazines well demonstrated it. In 1907, Collection of Fictions had a notice calling for “fictions of no limit on the length”; in 1908, The All-Story Monthly had a notice calling for short stories only; in 1912, a notice in Short Story Magazine made clear that “short stories 32 Some

say Pomi is the pen name of Wu Jianren.

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were more favored”; in 1913, The Commercial Press advertised for translators of “especially short stories.”33 It was not that the editors had realized the artistic value of short stories but that short stories were indispensable for the magazine layouts. Though the English titles of the magazines have either the word “novel” such as Chinese Novels and Illustrated Novels, or “short stories” such as Short Story Magazine and Short-Story Waves, they publish both novels and short stories. In the early magazines like New Fiction, Illustrated Fictions, The All-Story Monthly, and Collection of Fictions, there were few short stories which were all laid out behind the installments of novels. But since Fiction Times (started in 1909) and Short Story Magazine (started in 1910), most magazines would lay out short stories ahead of the installments of novels and usually there were several short stories in each issue of the magazines, especially in the magazine The Saturday that mainly published short stories. This, to some extent, testifies to the promotion of the status of short stories along with the growth of the fiction revolution and the introduction of the Western concept of fictions. In the criticism by Ziying in The All-Story Monthly (No. 5, 1907), he referred to the classification of fictions: The western people tend to have strict categories of things. Taking the case of fictions as an example. They have specific terms for each genre rather than simply adding epithets to distinguish the difference such as Romances, Novelette, Story, Tale and Fable, etc. But in China, we just have Story or by adding the word of “short” to have Short Story.

Emphasizing that Short Story is a specific genre of literature rather than a piece of shortened writing of a Novel, he does not only make a name of Short Story but a value evaluation of it. It is the magazine The All-Story Monthly that is the first to set up the column of Short Story besides the columns of novels which are classified by the subject matter and style such as historical novels, philosophical fictions, nihilist fictions, detective stories, fictions of social problems, romances, and comic fictions. Besides, it is Wu Jianren and Zhou Guisheng who actively wrote and translated short stories and brought about the upsurge of short story writing in the late Qing Dynasty. The twelve short stories by Wu Jianren in The All-Story Monthly represent the highest achievement of the late Qing short story writing. Editors of Collection of Fictions were well known among the writers for their knowledge of Western culture. Xu Nianci, for example, even cited Hegel’s aesthetics to expound the characteristics of fiction writing.34 He tried to distinguish the difference between short stories and novels with captioned chapters, and advocated to write novels with captioned chapters for the less-educated laborers and women and short stories for students.35 Collection of Fictions also had the column of Short Story and it had a notice offering reward to call for short stories during its first anniversary, and the three winners of the first, the second, and the third prize were published in the ninth issue of it. For Wu Jianren and Xu Nianci, short stories are of specific artistic value worth advocating rather than fillers or makeshifts for easy editing. 33 See

in Zhang Yuanji’s Dairy (Book 1) published by The Commercial Press, 1981, p. 13. in “An Account of the Founding of Collection of Fictions” in Collection of Fictions, the first issue, 1907. 35 See in “My Views on Fiction” in Collection of Fictions, No. 10, 1908. 34 See

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Under writers’ subjective advocacy and editors’ objective demand, short stories became more matured from translations to creations and from slipshod travesties to fine works. The late Qing writers came to accept Western fictions with the introduction of detective stories. Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes was so popular with Chinese readers for its offbeat intricate stories that the periodicals at the time ran to publish similar detective stories, having no mind to consider which was superior and better, novels or short stories. At an earlier time, romances, political novels, novels of social problems, scientific fictions, military fictions, etc. all contributed to constituting the main part of the translations of foreign novels whereas most of the translations of short stories were detective stories. Up to 1906, excellent Western short stories began to be introduced to Chinese readers with Wu Tao’s vernacular Chinese translations of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Lighthouse Keeper and Mark Twain’s The Californian’s Tale published in Illustrated Fictions. Since then, Chen Lengxue and Bao Tianxiao began to translate Chekhov; Ma Junwu and Liu Bannong began to translate Tolstoy; Lin Shu translated Washington Irving; and Hu Shi translated Alphonse Daudet. All were helpful for Chinese readers to learn about the art of Western short stories. The greatest achievements in translating Western short stories go to the two brothers Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren (Zhou Brothers) with their A Collection of Foreign Stories (Book 1 and 2) published in 1909 and to Zhou Shoujuan with his Collection of Short Stories of Eminent Writers from Europe and America (Book 1, 2, 3). The two brothers’ collection has 16 short stories, most of which are new works with a clear political inclination and interest focusing on the oppressed nations in Northern and Eastern Europe. They are especially forward-looking with the introductions of Andreev, Garshin, and Chekhov, which exerted much influence on their later writings. The Introduction they have to each of the short stories in the collection represented at the time the highest level of the understanding of Western short stories. The two brothers’ A Collection of Foreign Stories has far-reaching influence indeed although only 20 copies were sold at the time when Western short stories were not well accepted in China. Zhou Shoujuan’s Collection of Short Stories of Eminent Writers from Europe and America was an immediate follower of the collection of the two brothers who appraised it as “the most exciting event in translating foreign works.”36 It “includes 47 stories of 14 countries in Europe and America, of which the stories of Italy, Spain, Sweden, Holland, and Serbia are first seen in China, and most of which are excellent works.”37 The translator was very serious about the work. Apart from the English names of the writers and English titles of the stories, each writer has a portrait of the writer and a brief introduction as well. Since most of the stories in the collection were first published in The Saturday, Chinese Novels, and Fiction Gallimaufry around 1914 and 1915, the style is different from one another as 18 of them are in vernacular 36 See

in “Review of Collection of Short Stories of Eminent Writers from Europe and America” in Education Bulletin, No. 15, Vol. 4, 1917. 37 Ibid.

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Table 5.1 Short stories by maupassant in chinese version Title

Translator

Magazine

Les Prisonniers

Chen Lengxue

New New-fictions (No. 2) 1904

Publication time

Moonlight

Zhou Zuoren

A Collection of Foreign Stories (Book 3)

1909

La Confession

Chen Renxian, Liao Xuren

Short Story Magazine (Vol. 4, No. 10)

1914

The Jewelry

Wang Shuqin, Liao Xuren

Short Story Magazine (Vol. 5, No. 1)

1914

L’Ermite

Wang Xishen

Short Story Magazine (Vol. 5, No. 5)

1914

The Necklace

Suibo, Zhu’er

Short Story Magazine (Vol. 5, No. 7)

1914

L’Ordonnance

Wang Xishen

Short Story Magazine (Vol. 5, No. 12)

1914

The Umbrella

Zhou Shoujuan

The Saturday (No. 74)

1915

Edmont About

Wang Shuqin, Liao Xuren

Fiction Gallimaufry (Book 3)

1915

La Rempailleuse

Yun Tieqiao

Short Story Magazine (Vol. 6, No. 3)

1915

The Reward

Liao Xuren

Short Story Magazine (Vol. 6, No. 3)

1915

Chinese and 32 are in classical Chinese, some in strict translation and some in the way of a combination of translation and creation. Even so, it still well deserves “the best of all.”38 It’s hard to say which Western writer of short stories has exerted the most influence on Chinese fiction writing. From 1904 to 1915, 12 short stories by Maupassant were translated into Chinese (see Table 5.1). Not all the translators understand the very spirit of Maupassant’s stories as we read in the front pages of The Necklace a piece of comment on the relationship between sex and desire which totally deviated from the motif of the story. Except for Zhou Zuoren and Zhou Shoujuan who did notice the valuable stylistic characteristics of Maupassant’s short stories, most of the criticism of Western short stories at the time fell into the stereotyped pattern of the criticism of novels and few of them clung to the uniqueness of short stories taken as an independent genre of literature. It is under the inspiration of Western short stories that Chinese writers began to “lower down” themselves to write short stories. Following Wu Jianren’s 12 short stories from 1906 to 1907, other writers such as Su Manshu, Cheng Shanzhi, Lin Shu, Bao Tianxiao, and Zhou Shoujuan were all renowned for their short stories which were obviously affected by Western short stories in the structure of the story, breathing 38 Ibid.

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some fresh air for the Chinese short stories that had long been in stagnation. It also prepared some aspiring writers and enthusiastic readers for the further development of modern Chinese short stories during the May Fourth Movement.

5.4 Microcosmic Structures and Scenic Structures There are excellent short stories in ancient China, but the revival of short stories during the late Qing and the early Republican period does not mean a simple return to the tales of Tang Dynasty or to the short stories in vernacular Chinese in Ming and Qing Dynasties, but a boom that was more influenced and inspired by the introduction of Western fictions. The most distinguished difference between ancient Chinese short stories and Western short stories lies in the sense of plotting. The former has microcosmic structures that are miniatures of novels and can be lengthened into a novel of scores of chapters while the latter has scenic structures that are only transects of personal lives or social vicissitudes that, like landscape paintings, cannot be amplified.39 It is during the May Fourth Movement that writers made a theoretical analysis of the structures of the two types, but in the late Qing Dynasty, writers began to imitate the scenic structures of Western short stories. During the late Qing period, there were particular columns of Short Story in the magazines, yet they did not have a clear idea of “Short Story”. “How thick a fiction shall be to be deemed as a short story or a novel? It’s hard to regulate it.”40 Some magazines had rough requirements of it. In the fourteenth issue of The All-Story Monthly in 1908, it had a notice calling for short stories, “short stories are wanted, each of two or three thousand words”; in 1912, Short Story Magazine (Vol. 3, No. 12) had a notice “Short Stories Wanted”, requiring the length of the stories from 1,000 words to 8,000 words. They tried to define Short Story from the perspective of the length of the stories though they had different requirements. Chen Diexian’s A Short Story and The Net of Heaven published in The Saturday (No. 38, 1915) broke the general regulation of the length of a short story, for the two stories only have 38 words for each. Short as it is, each of them, as is claimed by the writer, can be expanded into a novel of scores of chapters because the two stories “are intricately plotted though they are short”. Actually, apart from the length of the stories, the difference between short stories and novels also lies in the structure. Short stories of the late Qing and the early Republican period had been reformed in many respects as a specific genre of literature. However, most of them still had similar traditional microcosmic structures as novels. The most typical examples are The Story of A Broken Hairpin by Su Manshu and Liu Tingting by Lin Shu, both of which are imitations of Camille. They kept the framework of the story but sacrificed 39 See more in “On Short Stories” by Hu Shi in New Youth, No. 5, Vol. 4, 1918, and in the Foreword by Zheng Zhenduo to A Collection of Chinese Short Stories (Book 1), 1928. 40 See in “Comments on Fiction” by Chengzhi (Lu Simian) in Chinese Novels, Vol. 1, No. 3–8, 1914.

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the characters’ temperamental traits. There are two ways of constructing stories of microcosmic structures—either keeping the characters’ profiles or struggling for the integrity of the plot. The former is influenced by traditional biographical writings usually in classical Chinese while the latter focuses on event-recording that inherits the tradition of the renowned five collections of short stories of the Ming Dynasty in vernacular Chinese by Feng Menglong and Ling Mengchu, but they do not cling so firmly to the demarcation of classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese or that of the tradition of biographical writing and event-recording. It’s true that The Great Reform by Wu Jianren and The Shadow of the Cloud by Zhou Shoujuan in vernacular Chinese lay particular stress on storytelling while Misery in Poverty by Ye Shengtao and The Heartbroken Deserted Wife by Xu Zhenya in classical Chinese focus more on the profile of the characters, but the demarcation of classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese and that of the tradition of biographical writing and event-recording get much blurred. Besides, there were some short stories that had more depictions of inner feelings and were hard to be classified into Chinese traditional biographical writing or event-recording such as A Piece of Crimson Cloth by Su Manshu and Suicide by Cheng Shanzhi. The tendency from diachronical description to synchronical description in short stories is in line with the main characteristics of modern fictions—the rise of nonplot elements and the decline of the function of plot. Fictions focusing on scenes and segments rather than integrated plots were strange to the Chinese readers who were used to reading intricately woven stories. A compensating approach was to restore the plot in segments by way of analepsis, which indicates a reaction to the narration time of traditional Chinese fiction writing. In traditional Chinese literature, chronological narration dominates in fiction writing and analepsis was seldom seen until Western fictions were introduced into China in the early twentieth century. In 1902, Liang Qichao made a comment at the end of the first chapter of his translation of the French novel Two Years’ Vacation from Japanese, “the story starts abruptly but fascinatingly, from which we see the awesome imposing manner of western fictions.”41 Zhou Guisheng also pointed out the abrupt beginning of The Serpents’ Coils when he translated it into Chinese, “it begins with the conversation between the father and his daughter, giving no information of the settings at all.”42 Lin Shu once said that the Western detective stories “tend to start with the disclosure of the murder so as to attract the readers to find out the ins and outs of it.”43 Xu Nianci compared Chinese fictions and Western fictions, “Chinese fictions tend to tell in a straightforward way with a normal beginning and a satisfactory ending while western fictions used to starting with an abrupt beginning and a free ending.”44 All are criticism of the flat style of the narration time of Chinese narratives with admiration and desire of flexible upside-down narration. 41 See

in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 2, Feb. 22, 1902. in “Translator’s Notes to The Serpents’ Coils” in New Fiction, No. 8, 1903. 43 See in Lin Shu’s Foreword to Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes’s Fancy Cases published by The Commercial Press, 1908. 44 See in the Introduction to Might in Mind Mastery in Collection of Fictions, No. 8, 1908. 42 See

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Liang Qichao’s political fiction The Prospect of New China, Wu Woyao’s detective story The Strange Case of Nine Murders and He Zou’s romance The Hall of Broken Zither, all try to start with an “abrupt beginning”. Whether they are successful or not, it’s another thing. Abrupt beginnings are easier for short stories. Apart from the influence of Western fictions, writers also learn from some Chinese narrative poems such as Song to The Conscripts by Du Fu, Song of the Lute Player by Bai Juyi, and some short stories in classical Chinese such as A Stranger from Liaodong by Changbai Haogezi45 and Pear Blossom by He Bang’e. In both of the two stories, the narrator recounted the happenings to somebody else, either someone’s recalling of his own experience or the experience of others. This is close to the mode of upside-down narration. Therefore, short stories of the late Qing and the early Republican period were soon adapted to upside-down narration, especially the stories in classical Chinese. Apart from “abrupt beginnings”, recalls of the past happenings can be readily adopted to diversify the narration time and to broaden the space of the narrative. In The Lost Soul of An Opium Addict by Wu Jianren, the narrator tells how he got a ragged autobiography of a dead opium addict, based on which it unfolds his story to persuade people to get rid of opium indulgence. Similar plotting as such is seen in some ancient Chinese stories, especially the transition from a space to another by introducing what is recorded in a book or a notebook. Differently, in The Lost Soul of An Opium Addict, it enhances the logical relationship between the past (broken family on account of opium indulgence) and the present (died on the street) rather than simply records what the narrator sees and hears. Detective stories may have shed some light on it. In A Chance Meeting at the Cowshed, “I” came upon Biwu, an acquaintance of “I”, and listened to her story of how she had experienced hardships and finally married a man much older than she. The story is different from Song of the Lute Player or A Stranger from Liaodong in that Biwu and “I” were acquaintances and “I” was somewhat related to her life and involved in the story rather than a simply sympathetic and attentive listener of her story. The above two short stories still have some traits of traditional Chinese poetry and stories. A Profile of Workers by Yun Tieqiao and The West Lake by Zhou Shoujuan bear, instead, more influence from Western fictions. The former tells two days of the hard life of a worker named Han Nieren and how he drifted to the south of Shanghai and earned his living as a worker in a factory. It is quite a “westernized” short story, if the writer did not add a typical ending of traditional Chinese fictional sketches to it—what occurred to the worker and what the writer’s attitude was toward it. Zhou Shoujuan is the most westernized among those active writers of the time, which is evidenced by the scenery descriptions in the beginning of each of his stories, plus the stories and the temperamental depictions with both Chinese and Western characteristics. His stories were popular with the readers. He is also more skillful with upside-down narration than the other writers of his day. In The West Lake, the narrator “I” tried to get close to an eccentric man named Laojiang, for he was curious about the silk handkerchief and the dried rose that were so much cherished by 45 It

is a pen name, the identity of the writer is uncertain. It’s possibly Yin Qinglan or Ping Buqing.

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Laojiang. Later he learned the following story from Laojiang: thirty years ago, there was a shipwreck on the West Lake and Laojiang jumped into the water to rescue the drowning people. He saw a young lady inside the water and suddenly he changed his mind the moment he seized her. He’d like her to be there so that she would be nobody’s lady but his. Laojiang swam to the bank with the lady’s rose and her silk handkerchief, and since then, he seldom went out of his room, for he deeply fell in love with the lady and missed her very much. Till one day, he dreamed of the lady, so he well dressed and jumped into the lake to meet her. The story is not a recording of somebody’s anecdote, for the narrator is involved in it, in which the past is the furtherance of the present and the two are thus closely related to each other. Upside-down narration helps to amplify the space of the narrative without affecting the integrity of the plot. Therefore, Chinese readers were easy to adapt themselves to it, for they could still sort out the intricate story in it by making some adjustments in reading. The most shaking novels for Chinese readers are those with no clear plots telling no interesting stories but encapsulating some scenes of everyday life, which demands a different reading habit—a shift from “reading for stories” to “reading for sentiment and style”46 as is presented by Mao Dun, a May-Fourth writer. The new novelists did make some hard but rewarding attempts in this field. The Promotion by Wu Jianren, The Tickets by Xu Zhuodai, A Southern Village by Zhou Zuoren and A Wretched Person by Cheng Shanzhi, all are short stories that have no complete stories but descriptions of scenes. The first two are no more than jokes with ridiculous events such as the clerk’s worshiping the porcelain vase from his boss in The Promotion or the students’ immoral deed of intentional false claim of a ten-yuan banknote as their own in The Tickets. Many writers of the time were used to writing short stories in the way they wrote fictional sketches or collected jokes or anecdotes which were not short stories in the real sense. The latter two are in the same case though they are of a different style: one recording what the narrator heard and the other he saw. Both writers are good at atmospheric scene description in excellent classical Chinese. However, the writers’ solid foundation in ancient Chinese writing impeded their reformation in short story writing—to have scenic structures in the real sense of “revolution”. Comparatively, Yinjiao’s Pingwang Inn in Collection of Fictions (No. 4, 1907), Lu Xun’s Nostalgia in Short Story Magazine (No. 1, Vol. 4, 1913), and Cheng Shanzhi’s A Warmhearted Person in A Collection of Short Stories (1914) are closer to modern fictions as far as the structures of the stories are considered. None of them has dramatic conflicts or intricate plots, but sketches of scenes of life in which the writers are detached and objective. They adopt either an omniscient perspective or a third-person restricted perspective or first-person narration. In Pingwang Inn, the description of the quarrel between the passenger and the innkeeper is interwoven in contrast with that of the response of the onlooking scholar and the safeguard of the freighters, highlighting the goodness of the respectable safeguard. In A Warmhearted Person, the writer objectively describes such a scene of life: some government officials of different ranks were drinking in a bar, each saying with 46 See

in the Review of the magazine of Fiction Collection in Literature Magazine, No. 43, 1922.

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fervor that a person should be active and warmhearted at the critical time of national crisis. A young man just kept silent there and was thus sneered at by these government officials as being indifferent and cold-hearted in national affairs. Sometime later came a wounded soldier. The young man asked the “patriotic” officials to send the soldier to the hospital, but they all tried to wriggle out of it. Finally, the young man sent the wounded soldier to the hospital. Though the writer’s indignation can be clearly told, he narrates objectively but ironically the different attitude of the officials and that of the young man toward the wounded soldier. Other details, such as who the young man is and whether the wounded soldier is saved, are not within the consideration of the writer, which is much different from traditional Chinese fictions. Clearly, the writer doesn’t want to make it a biographical sketch nor a suspenseful story. What he focuses on is the tension from the contrast of the two kinds of attitudes and based on which he gains an insight into the society, and this is how fictions count. Lu Xun has achieved more in fiction writing than Yinjiao and Cheng Shanzhi. Nostalgia is his maiden work. His skill of reflecting his time in minor events, his seemingly calm writing of the people’s indifference of the revolution, and his employment of the perspective of a child, all are further improved in his later works such as the short stories in the two collections of Call to Arms and Lost. The innovative significance of Nostalgia lies in the technique of “revealing the significance in trifles”47 which he later much emphasized. In the story, Wang Weng and Li’ao were chatting under a tung tree on a peaceful night. It suddenly rained when Wang came to the critical time of his story of the Russian men, and Li’ao decided to go home for fear of hard rain. Here is the comment that followed it in the fiction: Usually, when a story comes to a critical time, it would be stopped with “to be continued in the next section”, but the reader would be more stimulated to go on reading the next section till he finishes reading the whole book. But this Li’ao is different.

Actually, it is not that Li’ao doesn’t want to know what may come next, but that the writer means to suspend the story in this way so that retrospection is accomplished through the characters’ gossip, which constitutes an attribute of modern fictions. One thing is worth noticing, narrativeness shall be well kept when intensifying the scenic description in fictions. Complete “showing” with no narration may turn a fiction into a play as is in the cases of An Inspection of Schoolwork (1907) by Wu Jianren and A Phone Call (1904) by Bao Tianxiao in which conversations cover the whole story except for the brief introduction in the beginning. The two fictions are important in breaking the traditional model of Chinese fiction writing, but it had not been fully developed in later writing practices. However, it does reflect the resolution and wish of the new novelists to learn from foreign fictions so as to innovate short story writing in China. Probably, the two stories had learned from either the newly arisen “new plays” or the translated fictions in the form of letters and diaries. Bao Tianxiao had once accomplished The Diary, a story in the form of diaries and Letters to My Dead Husband, a story in the form of letters. 47 See

in the Introduction to The Anthology of Modern World Short Stories collected in Leisurely Essays published by Beixin Book Company, 1932.

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In terms of quantity, novels of bead-flower structure and short stories of microcosmic structure were still in predominance in the late Qing and the early Republican period. However, novels of compound plots and scenic short stories are more worth being focused on, for the former manifests the structure of the novels of the time, no more typical ones than it before or after, and the latter speaks for Chinese short stories in the twentieth century.

Chapter 6

Coexistence of Classical Chinese and Vernacular Chinese in Fiction Writing

Stylistics of fictions is critical for the development of fictions since fiction writing is the art of language. However, historically in China, literary theoreticians did not think stylistics of fictions as highly as that of poetry or of essays. When they occasionally commented on fictions, they did it in the way as they did to essays. Few of them are as excellent as Jin Shengtan’s criticism on Outlaws of the Marsh that is centered on the characterization in it. In the twentieth century, stylistics of fictions became an issue of general concern for Chinese writers and literary theoreticians. Criticism of the theoreticians of the late Qing Dynasty on fictions was somewhat empty since they focused more on the choice of “popular style” rather than the appraisal of the stylistic value of the works. They were concerned more about the relationship between the style and the reality or that between the style and political consciousness rather than about the relationship between the style and its aesthetic value, cultural value, and way of thinking. But one thing shall be acknowledged, their stylistic studies of fictions were centered on the contention between classical Chinese fictions and vernacular Chinese fictions, which have much accelerated the establishment of modern stylistics of Chinese fictions and have laid a foundation for the writers and theoreticians of the later generations.

6.1 Contention Between Classical Chinese Fictions and Vernacular Chinese Fictions Historically in China, classical Chinese fictions and vernacular Chinese fictions coexist peacefully with writers and readers of their own. No theoreticians would make a comparison between the two. In the eyes of Chinese writers and critics, neither vernacular Chinese fictions (e.g. novels with captioned chapters) nor classical Chinese fictions (e.g. fictional sketches) are superior to each other as two different genres. The distinction between the two has shifted the focus from the perspective of genre to that of stylistic value since the introduction of foreign fictions. Before this, © Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9_6

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writers are clearly inclined to use vernacular Chinese for novels and classical Chinese for short stories. The top three influential translated fictions of Looking Backward, Sherlock Holmes’s Notes and Camille are all in classical Chinese. Ever since then, novels in classical Chinese, either translations or originals, have proliferated. Meanwhile, great changes have also taken place for vernacular Chinese fictions. Short stories grow in number and novels begin to leave out the couplet captions and some clichés like “Here is a poem testifying to it” and “But what happened thereafter? It will be disclosed in the next chapter”. The demarcation between classical Chinese fictions and vernacular Chinese fictions gets blurred, which caused the writers and theoreticians of fictions to think about the two types of fictions from new perspectives. They begin to discuss the two types of fictions as the same genre. At the time, it was not rare that for the same foreign fiction, there were translations in both classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese and that in the same magazine, there were published both classical Chinese fictions and vernacular Chinese fictions. Besides, fiction writers also wrote freely in both classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese. In a word, fictions of the two types coexisted peacefully before long disputes over the superiority of the two arose among the theoreticians. The initial motivation of the fiction revolution is based on the idea that “the literates may not read the classics, but they read fictions”.1 To be a means to improve social reformation, fictions should not only contain new thoughts but also be readable so as to enlarge the readership. Liang Qichao asserts in his Fiction and Social Administration that classical Chinese is no better than vernacular Chinese as fables in Chuang-tzu are more popular than its doctrines. Critics who insist that fictions are helpful in social reformation believe that vernacular Chinese does better than classical Chinese.2 Since the idea was clear and in line with the trend of the political enlightenment of the time, supporters of classical Chinese fictions were more confident and greater in strength and impetus than those of vernacular Chinese fictions. When denouncing the old fictions of vulgarity and violence, fiction theoreticians referred to the novels with captioned chapters; when praising the old fictions of their touching and influential stories, they still referred to the novels with captioned chapters. Tales and fictional sketches were much ignored, for they “do no good nor harm”.3 Therefore, novels with captioned chapters were more concerned and consequently vernacular Chinese was more favored. Besides, the language of the novels with captioned chapters had improved to be vivid and succinct and much better than before. Some writers even took Outlaws of the Marsh as the model of Chinese writing since they learned that novels like Outlaws of the Marsh and The Romance of West Chamber were used as textbooks at school in Japan. But more importantly, it was because Chinese writers needed a model of novels with captioned chapters in 1 See in the Introduction to A Bibliography of Japanese Books by Kang Youwei published by Datong

Translation Book Company, 1897. 2 More similar comments in On Fictions by Guan Daru, Comments on Fiction by Chengzhi (Lyu Simian), Views of Novelists by Wu Yuefa and “Editor’s Notes’ by Yun Tieqiao to Views of Novelists, etc. 3 See in “On Fictions” by Guan Daru in Short Story Magazine, No. 7, Vol. 3, 1912.

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the practice of fiction writing, yet translated fictions could do nothing to help in this respect. “Chinese writing” here concerns the structure and the diction as well. Many writers of the late Qing Dynasty took Outlaws of the Marsh, The Scholars, and A Dream in Red Mansions as the textbooks for Chinese writing, which also counts for the thriving development of vernacular Chinese fictions at the time. The Movement of Vernacular Chinese also helps to strengthen the advantageous position of vernacular Chinese fictions. The reformists hold that the development of the country relies on the education of the people which is in turn decided by the literacy of the people. Classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese had long been adopted in China by entirely different populations, classical Chinese for the welleducated scholars and officials and vernacular Chinese for the ordinary people. “There must be a simple way to teach the ordinary people to read and write”, and the “simple way” could be Chinese in its Pinyin form4 or vernacular Chinese. The Movement of Chinese Pinyin System during the late Qing Dynasty was vigorous with many proposals, which greatly contributed to the mass education at the time though it did not much promote the development of literature. What actually promoted the progress of Chinese literature was the advocacy of vernacular Chinese. In 1898, Qiu Tingliang published his Vernacular Chinese: Foundation of the Reform; in 1900, Chen Ronggun published his Magazine Writings Shall Be in Simple Language; meanwhile, periodicals and books in vernacular Chinese mushroomed overnight. As a result, vernacular Chinese became highly acknowledged. Liang Qichao thus asserts that the inclination from classical Chinese to vernacular Chinese is a critical factor in literary development. Essays or articles of any kind shall be in common language, let alone fictions for which readership is held high as is shown in the judgment that “fictions cannot be well done in classical style.”5 As a matter of fact, unlike Liang Qichao, the preachers of vernacular Chinese during the late Qing Dynasty focused more on whether it was in plain language for the general readers but less on whether it was suitable for fictions since the critics did not mean to discard classical Chinese. For them, vernacular Chinese was nothing more than an auxiliary tool. They wrote in vernacular Chinese for the common people but in classical Chinese to voice their own emotions and aspiration. Many of the vernacular periodicals and books of the earlier time were translations from classical Chinese so that people of less education could read. Many writers of the late Qing Dynasty of vernacular Chinese fictions were inclined to write in simple language that “could be read by an ordinary woman” or “could be used as textbooks for students”. They wrote fictions in plain vernacular Chinese as simple as everyday Chinese conversations with little literariness that read like compositions by someone who just began to learn Chinese. Thus, it left a theoretical deficiency: if we emphasize the literary value of fictions as literature but not its role of a means of education, we don’t need to hold so high of vernacular Chinese. Reversely, we shall hold high of classical Chinese, for it is refined in the use of men of letters for thousands of years and is rich in literariness. Zhou Zuoren argued exactly from this point, “Fictions should be written 4 Pinyin 5 See

form of Chinese refers to the system of the Roman spelling of Chinese. in “Comments on Fiction” by Yinbing (Liang Qichao) in New Fiction, No 7, 1903.

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in classical Chinese to restore literariness in fiction writing rather than in vernacular Chinese to cater to the society.”6 Yun Tieqiao held a similar idea that fictions should be an expression of disposition as well as high-end knowledge of art and science and should by no means be limited as a tool of basic education. He suggested the writers adopt some innovated words of classical Chinese for better communication, and the low level of national education shall be blamed if it is not well read in China, but the value of classical Chinese in fiction writing shall not be doubted.7 Since fictions were regarded as the best of literature rather than dinner-party stock so that it was worth making painstaking efforts to achieve perfection as orthodox writing that demanded decency, many great writers of remarkable literary accomplishment and serious attitude in writing chose to write in classical Chinese. Therefore, even though the Movement of Vernacular Chinese moved forward with great strength and vigor and there appeared more supporters of vernacular Chinese fictions, classical Chinese fiction writing did not sink, instead, it was full of vibrancy and even came to the most glorious time in its history. To some extent, writers of the time sometimes had to write in classical Chinese. For one thing, the demarcation between classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese had long been existed in China. It was thus not an easy thing to write fictions in vernacular Chinese though the writers tried to do so because vernacular Chinese did somewhat not appeal to refined temperaments and was considered lack of words and expressions for abstruse thoughts. When he translated Two Years’ Vacation in 1902, Liang Qichao once sighed, “I planned to model it on Outlaws of the Marsh and A Dream in Red Mansions and translate it in vernacular Chinese, but is often frustrated and finally have to use both vernacular Chinese and classical Chinese.”8 Liang Qichao was not alone in this tough task. In 1903, when Lu Xun translated Around the Moon, he met with the same difficulty and “have to use both vernacular Chinese and classical Chinese.”9 For another, the writers were more used to writing in classical Chinese as they began to read Chinese classics and write in classical Chinese since their childhood. In the Foreword to Short-Story Waves (No. 1, Vol. 1, 1915), it reads “it’s more difficult to write in common vernacular Chinese than in decent classical Chinese”. Thirdly, the choice of language of the writers would sway on account of the readers’ preference. People who bought and read new fictions were those who were much immersed with traditional learning and fresh to the new thoughts, for whom the classical Chinese works were better received than the vernacular Chinese works. Therefore, as long as classical Chinese fictions held some market shares, no matter how they were reviewed by the critics, fiction writing in classical Chinese would still be in trend. 6 See

in “Fictions and the Society” by Qiming (Zhou Zuoren) in Monthly Journal of Shaoxing Education Society, No. 5, 1914. 7 See in “A Reply to Mr. Chen Guanghui” by Shujue (Yun Tieqiao) in Short Story Magazine, No.1, Vol. 7, 1916. 8 See in “Translator’s Notes” to Chap. 4 of Shiwu Xiao Haojie (Two Years’ Vacation) in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 6, 1902. 9 See in the Foreword to Around the Moon published by Tokyo Evolution Press, 1903.

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Writers of the late Qing Dynasty were indeed in a dilemma. On the one hand, vernacular Chinese fictions theoretically manifested the future of fiction writing, but the shallowness of it restrained the spread of modern thoughts and the pursuit of aesthetics of fictions. On the other hand, classical Chinese as a written language had its own drawbacks— abstruse, rigid, and detached from real life, but it was decent, implicative, and appealing, which was unmatchable for vernacular Chinese. That’s why some early translators who cherished aesthetic value of writings complained that vernacular Chinese could not well convey the idea and express the emotions and had to resort to classical Chinese. Nevertheless, along with the progress of the Movement of Vernacular Chinese, more and more theoreticians came to realize the general trend of the innovation of Chinese literary language. Few people would publicly oppose to vernacular Chinese fictions, and they would instead present suggestions to harmonize classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese. Some proposed to hold vernacular Chinese as the basis and improve it by mixing it up with classical lexis and syntax whereas some others proposed to hold classical Chinese for the main body and delete some abstruse expressions so as to make it better understood, and use some new words to keep it to the time. Though they held different arguments, they were in agreement on the wish that classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese supplement and perfect each other. But in China, the distinction between classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese lies not only in linguistic expressions but also in value evaluation of superiority and decency. That’s why even though the late Qing writers had advocated vernacular writing for 20 years it was still an agitating event when the May Fourth writers proposed to take vernacular Chinese, instead of classical Chinese, as a literary language for Chinese literature. As a matter of fact, a number of fiction styles that actually influenced Chinese fictions in the twentieth century were established in the hands of May Fourth writers. The attempt of harmonizing classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese brought both the two styles much developed with their advantages and disadvantages fully revealed. Classical Chinese fictions and vernacular Chinese fictions once peacefully coexisted, but then vernacular Chinese fictions took the upper hand and classical Chinese fictions gradually withered away. However, it was during these 20 years that classical Chinese fictions came to its unprecedented prosperity that never occurred later, which is quite a distinctive feature of the new fictions of the time. Writers including Bao Tianxiao and Zhou Shoujuan steered themselves into vernacular Chinese writing. Some writers became the mainstay of May Fourth vernacular Chinese literature such as Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren. Classical Chinese novels as a whole suffered a fatal blow in the May-Fourth New Culture Movement and never recovered from it. The May-Fourth style of fictions does not simply inherit the vernacular Chinese of the traditional novels with captioned chapters, but on the basis of which it uses some dialects, expressions of classical Chinese, newly arisen words and Western lexis and syntax though these elements do not work as a systemic whole. In the following sections, discussions are held, respectively, on vernacular Chinese

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fictions, classical Chinese fictions, fictions in the style of rhythmical prose characterized by parallelism and ornateness as well as the style of translated fictions that have influenced all the above styles of fictions in the late Qing and the early republican China.

6.2 Fictions in Vernacular Chinese and Fictions in Dialects Vernacular Chinese fictions predominate in the fictions of the late Qing and the early republican period as is commented, “whether it’s a novel with captioned chapters, a short story or a satire, vernacular Chinese is preferred.”10 Vernacular Chinese fictions are divided into the categories of “written plus oral language” (e.g. Outlaws of the Marsh) and “purely oral language” (e.g. The Plum in the Golden Vase) by Di Pingzi. Writers of the late Qing dynasty pursue the integration of written language and everyday language, but the language of novels with captioned chapters is actually distanced from everyday language in real life, so it’s hard to achieve such perfection that when reading the fiction, a reader seems to see the characters and hear them speaking as if being together with them rather than reading a novel unless everyday language is adopted to achieve it. Many writers of the late Qing Dynasty were from the south of China speaking dialects like Goetian11 and Cantonese. The general model they took in their fiction writing was neither A Dream in Red Mansions in Peking dialect nor The Plum in the Golden Vase in Shandong dialect but The Scholars in northern Mandarin Chinese spoken along Yangtze valley that most influenced fiction writing in the late Qing Dynasty. Writers from the south did not speak the Peking dialect but they know northern Mandarin Chinese. Vernacular Chinese fictions of the late Qing Dynasty are easy to read, but they are somewhat simple and plain with no fineness. New novelists found a dead-end in the approach of adopting dialects in novels so as to be close to everyday life, and then they detoured to the attempt of bringing stylistic concordance to novels. The coexistence of classical Chinese fictions and vernacular Chinese fictions aggravated the disunity of style of fiction writing of the time, for many writers could not well keep in consistency the linguistic style of their novels. Since they wrote for installments in periodicals, they would have a classical Chinese episode this time but a vernacular fragment next time, causing disturbance and discontinuity to the novel as a whole. For instance, the editors of the magazine of New Fiction and New New-fictions drummed it into the writers to write in either classical Chinese or vernacular Chinese but “once you chose one, then once and for all”.12 Sure is it that it’s another thing if a mixture of both is done for a specific effect, but the writers of the late Qing Dynasty were not conscious enough of such 10 See in “Fictions in the form of Opera and Vernacular Chinese for the Common People” by Laobo (Huang Boyao) in Chinese and Foreign Stories, No. 10, 1908. 11 It’s a dialect that is spoken in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces along the Yangtse River. 12 See in “New Fiction, the Only Literary Magazine” and the Foreword to New New-fictions.

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stylistic exploration. Another attempt of bringing stylistic concordance to novels was to reduce the use of verses that were ubiquitously embedded into the novels with captioned chapters. The use of verses in the traditional novels with captioned chapters does have aesthetic function of its own—to adjust the proportion of classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese so as to avoid monotony and keep the stylistic tension of the novels. However, it would be out of kilter if it is abusively used as in Two Men and Their Concubines, for example, making the novel dragged and burdensome. Wu Jianren once taunted and jeered at it in his Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, “how come there are such affairs and people? I just borrow some verses for the occasion” (in the 50th chapter). Ever since then, writers became prudent to have verses in their novels. Writers of the late Qing Dynasty gave up the convention of having verses in their novels so as to make them closer to the real life, and the style thus became clear and clean. For instance, traditional Chinese novels with captioned chapters like to give overdrawn figure descriptions and scenery descriptions full of hackneyed tunes and phrases. Some new novelists did make efforts to forsake this habitude. Zhou Guisheng intentionally added a humorous passage as follows in his translation of The Serpents’ Coils when he gave the figure description of the young man: What a pity! He was born in France where they do not have extravagant words to describe a handsome man like him. If it were in China in Chinese novels, he would be described as “having a jade face with rosy lips and ivory white teeth who is as handsome as Pan’an and as talented as Song Yu, etc.” (New Fiction, No. 9, 1904)

Wu Jianren much appreciated it and bantered, “You do your translation, how come you make fun of those orthodox writers?” Though the stereotypes of extravagant figure descriptions and scenery descriptions were still there (especially in the romances after the Xinhai Revolution), some leading writers began to employ a straightforward style of writing, which perhaps was related to the subject matter they chose—officialdom novels—making it easy to get rid of the common practices as in romances and to distance themselves from the characters for more objective narration. Vernacular Chinese was suggested in fiction writing for the purpose of “achieving the best effect”, a very high standard of fiction writing—it demands so broad a scale from language to expressiveness as to be close to the real life and to the personage with the most accurate words for the depth and significance of the novel. Both classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese are good for narration, but vernacular Chinese is better at vivid and touching descriptions of trivial things and the feeling of sensitivity. Here is an example in The Travels of Lao Ts’an, a passage in the 12th chapter describing the frozen Yellow River: Lao Ts’an saw piled up before him layers of packed ice which rose seven or eight inches above the surface. He wandered up the river a couple of hundred paces. The ice from above kept coming down block after block, until at this point it was caught by the ice in front, couldn’t move, and came to a standstill. More ice came and pressed it with a rustling sound, ch’ih-ch’ih, until the ice behind, pressed harder by the flowing water, simply jumped on top of the ice in front. Pressed down in this way the ice in front gradually went under. The surface of the water was not more than a hundred chang wide. In the middle the main stream was not

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more than twenty or thirty chang, and on both sides was smooth water. This smooth water had long before been frozen over completely and the surface of the ice was smooth but had been covered with dust by the wind so that it looked like a sandy desert. The main stream in the middle, however, continued to roar on with noise and power, pushing the packed ice so that it jumped away on both sides, until the ice on the smooth water was crushed by the pieces from the main stream and driven five or six feet up in the shore. Many broken pieces of ice were stood on end by the pressure, forming a low screen. Lao Ts’an watched it for about an hour, until the packed ice was wedged solid.

Here, Liu’e describes the frozen Yellow River in fluent vernacular Chinese, plain and vivid with the accurate use of onomatopoeia (ch’ih-ch’ih), figures of speech (such as “looked like a sandy desert”, “roar on with noise and power”, “forming a low screen”) and some verbs like “caught”, “pressed”, “jumped”, “covered”, “push”, “packed”, “crushed”, and “wedged solid”. It not only draws the picture of the frozen river but also activates the animation of thawing ice of the river, thus fully displays the charm of vernacular Chinese. Another example is found in the third chapter of The Sea of Regret by Wu Jianren describing Dihua’s missing of her fiance whose name is Bohe. She was separated from Bohe and even lost touch with him because of the chaos caused by the war. Here we see the power of vernacular Chinese in psychological descriptions of the character: It’s all my fault. I dare not to speak to him for fear of gossip. He is considerate and would not speak with me so as not to make me embarrassed. If I spoke to him, he’d be very glad, then, everything would be all right now. Oh, brother Bohe, I did hurt you. If anything bad should happen to you, what shall I do? If you come back to me, I’ll not be afraid of the gossip any more. Anyway, I’m yours by my parents’ order and on the matchmaker’s word.

Girl’s complicated mind is there with the use of simple sentences and the gentle tone that strikingly resembles the character. Everything is carried in plain language. Usually, Dihua would blush with shyness whenever she mentioned her fiance, but now she kept mentioning him and even called him “brother Bohe” with strong emotion. And the person switched from “he” to “you” indicates the character’s explosive turn of mood. It’s no wonder that it was appraised as “a fine sketch of life”. The style of the beginning of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation by Li Boyuan is quite representative of the late Qing novels. Plain, vivid and flowing, it reads, “In the south suburbs of Chaohu County of Tongzhou City of Shanxi province, there was a village that is not very big or very small. The two clans of Zhao and Fang of twenty or thirty families once lived there”. It is in the obvious tone handed down from the traditional story tellers at playhouses with subjective comments. However, the character’s voice is often covered by the voice of the narrator, and easily loses its individuality. So, an old official may sound the same as a little girl. Even the direct speeches are filtered by the personal color of the characters as if they all sound the same person. One more thing, storytellers often speak with exaggeration to draw the attention of the audience. Flat narration at playhouses is impossible since the audience cannot perceive the deep feelings after listening to it once. The storytellers need to enhance the tone to create distinction and vividness. This was carried on in the late Qing fictions and prevailed for some time. Take a passage in the novel The Bureaucrats: A Revelation as an example. In the nineteenth chapter of the novel,

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Director of Neo-Confucianism decided to rectify the wasteful life of the officials, putting on airs right when he appears The Director had gray long gown of cloth and blue mandarin jacket, a string of wooden beads hanging on his chest. The official pattern on the upper part of the gown was drawn and discolored with time passage. He wore a pair of worn boots and a hat of an old style, the red tassels of which looked yellowish for a certain amount of years gone by. All the officials went into the hall, bowed and sat down. The attendant wearing gowns with patches served the director a cup of tea. The moment the director removed the lid, he flied into a temper, “What did I told you? You just need to browse a bowl of thick tea with some tea leaves and serve each of the officials a cup of white water adding a bit of the thick tea. It’s done. Now you browse tea leaves for each cup of tea. What a waste! We may end up in poverty soon.” Cursing, complaining he went on.

The warn boots, old hat, and wooden beads all speak for themselves. That’s not enough and the writer enhances it with a detailed case of tea-serving. It’s exaggerated a bit. If it were told at a playhouse, with the storyteller’s gestures and facial expressions, you can even anticipate when the audience may burst into laughter. The best effect of storytelling may be the most exaggerated misrepresentation in a novel. After all, they are two different art of language. Among the late Qing writers, those who are of the strongest sense of stylistics are the four leading novelists: Li Boyuan, Wu Jianren, Liu’e, and Zeng Pu. Zeng Pu once sighed in The Flower in the World of Retribution through the characters, “written Chinese has long been separated from spoken Chinese” “we shall refine a new written language to make vernacular Chinese as good as it can be.” In the first chapter of The Romance of West Chamber: A Version of Vernacular Chinese, Wu Jianren imagined a writing contest in the heaven among the great writers in Chinese history in which writings in vernacular Chinese overcame the gorgeous scripts of the poets for its sincerity. Though the four of them are all in favor of vernacular Chinese to be used in fiction writing, they do it with their own style distinct from one another. Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren much inherit the tradition of storytelling in playhouses absorbing nourishment from joke telling as well as storytelling to the accompaniment of stringed instruments. Liu’e and Zeng Pu have novels with captioned chapters and are inevitably affected by the traditional means of storytelling in one way or another, but still they are more inclined to the orthodox writings of literati (such as poetry and essays). Li Boyuan’s writings are the easiest to read with a good command of irony and invective that best fits for the novels of exposure. Zeng Pu writes “with much literary grace”13 that is the closest to the style of classical Chinese writings, but somehow with excessive fondness of using literary quotations and historical allusions. Wu Jianren and Liu’e are in between Li Boyuan and Zeng Pu, neither overdo with vernacular nor with classical, and especially few of the late Qing writers can match Liu’e in the respects of accuracy, vividness, and long-lasting charm. Yet, Wu Jianren is quite unique among the late Qing writers in that he is bold in exploration and is good at writing with varied styles. His fictions of officialdom are distinct from his stories of love affairs, and his novels are also sharply different from his short stories. 13 See

in the 28th section in A Brief History of Chinese Fiction by Lu Xun.

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In his Foreword to The Bureaucrats: A Revelation, Ouyang Juyuan acclaimed it, “it reads like traditional unofficial histories but not as complicated in wording, and it narrates with dialects but not as awkward in articulation.”14 Actually, it’s half correct, for the writer of the novel employs northern Mandarin Chinese with no dialects. There were novels written with dialects indeed at the time, but they were far less influential than those in northern Mandarin Chinese. In the beginning, writers were upset about being unable to well use northern Mandarin Chinese and felt sorry about it as was publicly acknowledged by some writers like Haitian Duxiaozi and Cheng Zongqi. Yet, the writers and theoreticians soon came to realize the significance of the use of dialects in fictions, making comments from the perspective of popular education, of localism or of aesthetics, but none of them gave any further discussions. The most impressive descriptions of the relationship between dialects and the experiences of the writers and the relationship between dialects and the local color of the works are found in Wu Jianren’s novel Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years. For example, he distinguished the sound in Cantonese from that in Shanghai dialect in the 34th chapter; he differentiated between the articulation of Fujian accent and that of Yangzhou accent in the 45th chapter; he uses some Cantonese in the 59th chapter and explored the use of a word of Peking dialect in the 72th chapter. What’s important is that he wrote naturally out of the need for plot development or scene description rather than a show-off of his wide knowledge of phonology. There are a number of novels dotted with some dialects—Peking dialects in The Flower in the World of Retribution, Suzhou dialects in Vanity Life in Shanghai. In Chitchat in the Sun, the writer uses Peking dialects when the event occurred in the capital city of Peking and Shanghai dialects when in Shanghai. But few of them are as worthy of discussions as The Legends of the Celebrities and the Prostitutes, The Nine-tailed Turtle, and Xiao’e. In Hu Shi’s view, “Three dialects are noticeably used in fictions. They are Peking dialect, Suzhou dialect (Goetian) and Cantonese.”15 Fictions in Peking dialects and Suzhou dialects had achieved more than fictions in Cantonese that had only Cantonese Love Songs. There should have been more achievements in Cantonese fictions since Guangzhou and Hong Kong occupied much high position in the world of intellectuals during the late Qing period—there were quite a number of magazines of fictions16 and well-known writers— yet there were no proper Cantonese novels. Su Manshu wrote in classical Chinese; Liang Qichao, Wu Jianren, and Huang Xiaopei wrote in vernacular Chinese but with few use of dialects. It is not that they neglected the literature of dialects. Liang Qichao especially started a column of “Cantonese Love Songs and Operas” in the magazine of New Fiction in which there once published Cantonese operas like The Story of Huang Xiaoyang and A Dream Interpretation by Huang Daxian; when he started the magazine of 14 See

in The Bureaucrats: A Revelation published by Newspaper Office of Patchworks, 1903. in the Foreword to The First Collection of Goetian Ballads in Anthology of Hu Shi (Book 3), Vol. 8, 1930. 16 Statistically, there were 25 magazines of fictions from 1902 to 1916, among which 20 were in Shanghai, 4 in Guangzhou and Hong Kong and 1 in Hankou. 15 See

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Chinese and Foreign Stories, Huang Xiaopei got published many Cantonese works including operas, southern melodies, dragon-boat songs, wooden-knocker songs, and Cantonese folk songs with the wish that the magazine would be better accepted by the readers. However, the distinctive difference between Cantonese and northern Mandarin much restricted it from a wider spread in China. That’s why writers like Liang Qichao and Huang Xiaopei would not use Cantonese in their fiction writing though they encouraged works of dialects. The same cases were found in other dialects like Fujian dialects, Hunan dialects, Jiangxi dialects, and Hakka. Two types of novels of dialects have achieved the most in the late Qing Dynasty: Goetian novels and novels of Peking dialect, the former being more influential. The fact that novels of dialects of the time were mainly seen in the Goetian speaking areas is partially related to the tradition of Chinese literature and partially to the cultural atmosphere at the time. Hu Shi further explained it in his Foreword to The First Collection of Goetian Ballads as follows: Geographically speaking, Goetian speaking areas cover the cities of Suzhou, Wusong, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Huzhou and the waters of Taihu Lake and Jialingjiang River. It has a history of 300 years and anyone who learns Kunqu Opera is trained in Goetian. In the latest 100 years, Shanghai has become a national commercial center and Goetian has thus played a role of special importance. Moreover, the fair and delicate girls of the southern Yangtze River have much won the heart of men. The so-called language of the southern barbarians has become a soft touching sound and Goetian literary works thus become hopeful and powerful next to the literary works in Peking dialects.

There were another two cultural elements for the late Qing writers to consider: first, most of the new novelists lived in Shanghai and those who did not could also speak Goetion; second, courtesan novels were prevailing during the late Qing period and Goetion was the very language to portray the smartness and bashful tenderness of the brothel girls. Before The Legends of the Celebrities and the Prostitutes and The Nine-tailed Turtle, there were two types of Goetian novels: one is represented by The Singsong Girls of Shanghai by Han Ziyun in which it narrates in northern Mandarin but the characters’ talk in Goetian; the other one is represented by The World of the Ghosts by Zhang Nanzhuang in which Goetian is used for both of the narration and the characters’ conversations. The Legends of the Celebrities and the Prostitutes just well inherited from The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai the tradition of vividly involving brothel girls’ conversations in Goetian, which was considered to have outdone Vanity Life In Shanghai and The Nine-tailed Turtle. Actually, The Nine-tailed Turtle has its own merits. It narrates in northern Mandarin and the whore-masters also speak northern Mandarin, but the brothel girls speak in Goetian. In this way, the novel had won a larger number of readers, and those who know Goetian may easily conjure up the brothel girls playing the coquette. Therefore, the characters’ conversations in the novels of dialects somehow become a token rather than a realistic representation of life. In The Nine-tailed Turtle, the whore-masters usually spoke northern Mandarin, but they would switch to Goetian when they flirted with the brothel girls. Hence, Goetian in the late Qing novels is taken as a language specifically spoken by brothel girls which becomes a symbol of

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brothel girls’ special charm of their tender voice, glamor countenance, and coquettish carriage. A good woman never uses it. That’s why in The Nine-tailed Turtle the prostitute turned to speak northern Mandarin after she married Zhang Qiugu, and that’s why Zhang Qiugu felt it a pity that he did not meet any girls speaking Goetian in the brothels in the cities of Tianjin, Nanjing, and Beijing. To some extent, Goetian reminds of the citizens of Suzhou and Shanghai, of the brothel girls of Suzhou and Shanghai, of the ideal image of brothel girls with fair skin and sweet voice. Thus, the use of dialects, more than a means of atmospheric description and characterization, gives the novels a deeper meaning. Leaving aside the writers’ attitude toward Goetian and brothel girls in Shanghai, we see that his understanding of the use of dialects in novels from the perspective of culture had outdistanced what did his predecessors, and has provided experiences for the novels of dialects of the later generations. Because of geographical restrict, Goetian novels were hard to be read all over the country as the novels of Peking dialect. Goetian novels were once popular in the late Qing Dynasty because of the brothel culture of Shanghai and the prevalence of courtesan novels at the time. Courtesan novels declined soon after the May-Fourth Movement and Goetian novels never developed further accordingly. By contrast, following the late Qing novels of A Dream in Red Mansions, A Woman Revenger and Xiao’e, novels of Peking dialect kept coming forth even after the May-Fourth Movement. One obvious reason is that the Peking dialect is close to northern Mandarin and is easily understood and thus wan more readers including those who did not speak the Peking dialect. Novels of Peking dialect better avoid the possible monotony of narrating all the time in northern Mandarin and, meanwhile, keep the advantage of creating vividness by the use of dialects in the novel, and thus contribute more to the study of stylistics of Chinese fictions. Xiao’e by Song Youmei was published in Peking and the writer especially used some Peking dialects to better envision the fiction world for the readers as if they were on the scene in person and could see and hear the characters.17 One hundred and thirty years later after the publication of A Dream in Red Mansions, A Woman Avenger came out, and another 60 years later after the publication of A Woman Avenger, Xiao’e came out. A Dream in Red Mansions concentrates on the ups and downs of a notable great clan; A Woman Avenger describes all the aspects of social life; Xiao’e depicts the lives of rascals and swindlers. We see that during these hundreds of years, along with the constant change of Peking dialect, the climate of literature had become more liberal and dialects had been more used in literary works. The most distinctive feature of Xiao’e is the vivid and witty use of the Peking dialect. In Xiao’e, after Yi Laozhe was beaten in a conflict with Xiao’e, some henchmen of the latter came to Yi Laozhe’s place trying to quash the affair. The leading henchman sounds more provoking than comforting. Here is the conversation between the leading henchman named Chunzi the small-head and Shanjin, Yi Laozhe’s son: Chunzi the small-head saw that Shanjin kept silent and thought he was scared and bragged pompously to the other guys, “Silence, men, leave it to me.” Then he turned to Shanjin, “So, what? Is Uncle Shan in? We’re here to help. You jist want to send us away like this? Anyone 17 See

in the Foreword to Xiao’e published by Beijing Heji Book Company, 1908.

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may have a say in unfair things. What does the proverb say? —Every dog has his day. We guys are here for your goodness. It’s just a small potato, you know. We were once in all bloody fights with the most fierce and tough men. Give me a straight answer, huh, yes or no. If yes, ok. If no, you just wait. Hey, don’t think I’m chickenshit, I mean it.” Poor kindly Shanjin was irritated, trembling and dumbfounded, then stumbled out, “Good, very good. It’s… it’s none of your business. God…God knows what will happen!”

Having Xiao’e to back him up, the henchman was fearless, arrogant, and aggressive; Shanjin, a teacher who never went beyond his bounds, got oppressed, not knowing what to say. A contrast of the two is vividly on the paper. By the use of dialect, it so well does the accents and thus brings the characters true to life. It creates an effect that northern Mandarin can never match. However, in the late Qing and early republican period, Peking was not the center of fiction writing where traditional writings of poems and essays still dominated, thus novels of Peking dialect had little chance to be further developed.

6.3 Fictions in Classical Chinese and Fictions of Rhythmical Prose of Parallelism and Ornateness Though writers of the late Qing and the early republican period widely accepted that it’s normal to describe the quotidian life in vernacular Chinese but abnormal to describe it in classical Chinese,18 fictions in classical Chinese never declined. “Normal” or “abnormal” does not matter so much as “sublimity” or “philistinism” does in the evaluation of fictions. Scholars of Chinese ancient classics, such as Lin Shu, Su Manshu, Liang Qichao, and Zhang Shizhao, are used to writing fictions in classical Chinese, and other writers like Brothers Zhou, Cheng Shanzhi, Yun Tieqiao, and Chen Lengxue are also good at classical Chinese writing with idiosyncratic styles. Therefore, there are still many supporters of fictions in classical Chinese against the powerful and dynamic trend of fiction writing in vernacular Chinese. Roughly speaking, classical Chinese was mainly adopted in translated works and short stories before the Xinhai Revolution (1911), and creations of novels in classical Chinese notably mushroomed after the revolution, but disappeared till the May-Fourth writers came to the center of the literary arena of China. In the old times, children learned to write from different starting points according to their teachers’ preference, some from the style of eight-part writings, some from the art of poetry and prose and some from Chinese ancient classics. Yun Tieqiao preferred Chinese ancient classics, making statements against the so-called Pianwen fictions (fictions in the style of rhythmical prose characterized by parallelism and ornateness) that were much popular during the late Qing and the early republican period, “The style of eight-part writings emphasizes logic while the art of poetry and prose focuses on aesthetic value. Thus, writers of eight-part writings would not write in other styles of writings and came to be illogical. Writers in the pursuit of aesthetic 18 See

in “Views of Novelists” by Wu Yuefa in Short Story Magazine, No.6, Vol. 6, 1915.

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value of the writings tend to be abusive of ornate diction, which is unnatural and affected and not well-written at all. Only the writers who admire Chinese ancient classics follow the rhetorical rules in writing. As for how far they can go, it’s another thing.”19 The style of eight-part writings may have affected fiction writing at the time in one way or another, but fictions totally done in such a style were few to read. However, fictions of traditional classical Chinese and fictions in the style of rhythmical prose characterized by parallelism and ornateness are really noticeable. The former had a long history in China and was naturally forceful and self-confident while the latter was a newly risen type during the early republican period, which was not fully grounded but was popular with the young readers. Yun Tieqiao reiterated that the style of rhythmical prose focused too much on ornate diction and was not right for fiction writing and he even prophesied that fictions of such a style would definitely be obsoleted because of the rule of “the survival of the fittest.”20 To his surprise, He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story became a bestseller and was more influential than any fictions of traditional classical Chinese. During the early republican period, the major battlefields for the fictions of traditional classical Chinese were Short Story Magazine and Chinese Novels, and those for the fictions in the style of rhythmical prose were New Magazine of Fictions and Fiction Series. Each of them had its own writers and readers. Generally speaking, writers of the former held a traditional and serious attitude in writing whereas writers of the latter were the rising generation and were more commercial-minded. In History of Modern Chinese Literature (1st ed.) by Qian Jibo, it reads, “The style of writings were diversified during the republican period. Scholars were not in favor of the style of ornateness, but the style of ornateness and the style of traditional classical Chinese had been competing with each other, the former prevailing in Wei and Jin dynasties (220–420) and the latter in Tang and Song dynasties (618–1279). Zhang Taiyan was taken as the leading figure of the followers of the style of Wei and Jin dynasties whereas Lin Shu was the leading master of the style of Tang and Song dynasties”. It may invite objection to say that Lin Shu was a master of the style of traditional classical Chinese, but he was indeed greatly influential at the time in the style of traditional classical Chinese.21 He was much imitated by the other writers though he was criticized for his writings “being neither sublime nor philistine” by Zhang Taiyan. Actually, the most typical fiction writings of the style of ornateness is few to see other than A Collection of Foreign Stories by Brothers Zhou, and the fictions by Su Manshu who is categorized in the style of ornateness by Qian Jibo are 19 In

“Inferiority of Romance Writing to Romance Translating” by Yun Tieqiao in Short Story Magazine, No. 7, Vol. 6, 1915. 20 In “A Reply to Liu Youxin’s Criticism of Romances” in Short Story Magazine, No. 4, Vol. 6, 1915. 21 In the foreword by Gao Mengdan to Anthology of Weilu (3rd book, published by The Commercial Press, 1924), it reads, “each of Weilu’s fictions coming out could sell ten thousand of copies” (Weilu is the pen name of Lin Shu). Lin Shu’s Essays Written at Chunjuezhai Study published in installments in Pingpao Newspaper since 1913 and a single edition came out in 1916. Qian Jibo wrote in his History of Modern Chinese Literature, “Once the edition came out, more than 6000 people bought, which is seldom seen at the time”.

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not pompous and verbose at all like the typical writings of ornate style. Maybe, it’s true that quotidian things in fictions do require common language and that no matter how much graceful classical Chinese is employed, it cannot be too detached from the common people. Zhou Zuoren regards Yan Fu, Lin Shu, and Liang Qichao as the most representative late Qing translators of the three categories. Yan Fu’s writings are refined letters, not aiming to cater to the general readers while Liang Qichao is just to the contrary who writes in plain Chinese so that the general readers can read. Lin Shu’s style is in between the two, neither too plain nor too abstruse, neither too new nor too old, but straight and concise. His essays are close to the styles of Zuo Qiuming, Sima Qian, Ban Gu, and Han Yu22 and his novels are obviously of properties of Tang fictions. Lin Shu once boasted that he had searched for and read all the Tang fictions he could find. His Short Stories by Jianzhuoweng23 (a collection of short stories) does bear some traits of Duan Kegu,24 and the influence of Tang and Song fictions is indeed discernible in his translations of foreign novels and creations of novels. It’s fair to say that Lin Shu models his translations and creations of novels on Tang fictions. Perhaps, it’s just because of such an intermediate style which is not abstruse nor sheer plain, Lin Shu’s works well balanced the two extremist styles of the time and were better accepted by the readers and finally brought his leading position in fiction writing during the late Qing and the early republican period. Zhuo Zuoren mentioned that he liked Lin Shu’s translation the best, “it opened to me the western world and also helped me savour the taste of classical Chinese.”25 He admitted that he once imitated Lin Shu’s style of writing.26 Lin Shu emphasizes the specific rules of traditional classical Chinese writing. Such rules include a detailed consideration of the whole structure of the work as well as the techniques of narration and description (“the rules of organization” in Jin Shengtan’s term) and an examination of diction of the work (“the rule of lexis and syntax” in Jin Shengtan’s term). The former holds true either in modern or ancient times, in China or elsewhere, but the latter depends on the personal experience and mental capacity of the writers. It’s commonly admitted among the historians of literature that Lin Shu was unprecedentedly unique to write novels by the specific rules of traditional classical Chinese writing. In 1922 in Chinese Literature in the Past Fifty Years, Hu Shi gives a brief but comprehensive comment on Lin Shu’s novels: 22 Zuo Qiuming (502BC–422BC), Sima Qian (145BC–?), Ban Gu (32–92), and Han Yu (768–824) are all great writers in China. 23 Jianzhuoweng is a pen name of Lin Shu. 24 See more information in Lin Shu’s Foreword to Short Stories by Jianzhuoweng (Book 1) published by Dumen Printing Office, 1913 (Jianzhuoweng is a pen name of Lin Shu). Duan Kegu is a wellknown Tang writer, especially for his fictional sketches. 25 In “My Experience of Learning Chinese Language and Literature” in Anthology of Zhitang published by Tianma Book Store, 1933. 26 He mentioned it in “Lin Qinnan and Luo Zhenyu” in Free Voices, No. 3, 1924. Later, the two brothers of Zhou Zuoren and Lu Xun began to learn from Zhang Taiyan and thought Lin Shu was inferior in style.

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No writer has ever accomplished a novel in traditional classical Chinese, but Lin Shu actually translated more than one hundred novels in it, and furthermore, set an example for so many other translators of novels to model on him; writings of traditional classical Chinese are often solemn and serious, but Lin Shu did translate Washington Irving and Charles Dickens wittily in traditional classical Chinese; traditional classical Chinese does not suit for expressing feelings, but Lin Shu well translated Camellias and Joan Haste in traditional classical Chinese. Traditional classical Chinese has never been brought into full play as such ever since Sima Qian.27

In terms of fiction writing instead of fiction translation and the art of fictions, traditional classical Chinese fictions are strong in witty writing as well as in scenery description and emotional expression in clean and clear words. In Lin Shu’s point of view, Zuo Qiuming, Sima Qian, Ban Gu, and Han Yu are good at serious writings but not at awkward yet vivid description of life as Dickens is. Such descriptions demand not only details but also a sense of wit. Lin Shu sees humorous strokes in Western novels as he sees in Chinese jokes, which is demonstrated by his Chinese translations of the titles of Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Irving’s The Sketch Book: the former being Haiwai Xuanqu Lu (Gulliver’s Travels) and the latter Fuzhang Lu (The Sketch Book).28 Lin Shu appreciates Irving’s ability of expressing melancholy in a humorous way and encourages some witty style in traditional classical Chinese writing. He thought that such a style could actually be read in Records of the Historian and The History of the Former Han Dynasty but never in the writings after the Tang Dynasty. In his Short Stories by Lin Shu and Fictional Sketches of Weilu, Lin Shu has collected many humorous stories. In some novels and short stories such as Romaunt of Sword and Short Stories by Jianzhuoweng, he mainly shows a sort of entertaining spirit. In the seventh chapter of The Epic of A Heroine, he overdid the description of the farce moment when Yuan Shikai forced the congressmen to elect him Present of the country, attributing it more characteristics of a satirical novel of exposure. A good example is the description of Yangguang’s fighting with the thief in the 34th chapter of Romaunt of Sword. It’s serious and also comic and better represents Lin Shu’s unique witty style: Zhongguang suddenly appeared behind the thief. The moment he slashed his sword, the thief’s scarf was cut open, a strand of his hair floating down to the earth. Inflamed, the thief turned and speared at Zhongguang, but the spear was broken. At this moment, another three spears pointed to Zhonggguang from not knowing somewhere in the trees. Zhong leaped high over the spears, wielding his sword down, and the three spears broke at it in a second. The thief grabbed a spear to stab Zhong, but the latter seized the spear in good time with his left hand and swept his sword past the thief. With a scream of pain, the thief’s finger was cut off. Zhong grabbed his spear and stuck it deeply into the ground, shouting to the thief, “come on, dare you come to get it back?” The thief cursed fiercely with pain of his broken finger. Zhong roared with a contemptuous laughter, “you, a beaten dog, a whining dog, hahhh…” 27 In Anthology of Hu Shi (Book 2), Vol. 2, by Shanghai Yadong Library, 1924. Sima Qian (145BC–?)

is a great writer and historian, the writer of Records of the Historian. Chinese title for Overseas Humorous Stories is borrowed from a Song Writer, whose name is Lyu Juren who has a collection of funny stories titled “Xuanqu”, and the Chinese title for The Sketch Book is borrowed from another Song writer whose name is Xing Jushi who has a collection of jokes that is titled “Fuzhang Lu”. 28 The

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Zhongguang abused the thief as “a beaten dog, a whining dog” banteringly from a comic allusion in Wang Anshi’s Decoding Chinese Characters, and was more admired by his fiancee there. The whole passage gives an atmosphere of humor. The scene of fierce fighting, violent but not bloody, is more like a performance of martial art. Then the writer has a description of the courtesy between the young couple of Zhongguang and his fiancee, but then he writes, “yet whether they made eyes sending silent endearing message to each other or not, those by-standers there could not tell. Only the two knew it well to themselves.” Such a humorous stroke is indeed distinctive from other vernacular Chinese novels of the same time which tend to be serious and satirical. Compared with vernacular Chinese, traditional classical Chinese is concise, but the problem is how to take an advantage of it in popular fictions so as to better balance the concise of the language and the elaborative narration of novels. Though many late Qing novels read like biographical recounting, there did have some novels in traditional classical Chinese that are well written in a flexible style of combining the concise style of classical Chinese with the elaborative style of vernacular Chinese rather than adhering stubbornly to the rules of traditional classical Chinese writing. Compared with the plain and expatiatory style of vernacular Chinese, traditional classical Chinese is strong in its clean style of brief and elliptical sentences, but elliptical sentences may sometimes cause semantic ambiguity in the description of complicated events and things. Here is an example from the 5th chapter of The Hall of Broken Zither by He Zou describing a young couple courting on the grass: After a while, they came to the grassland. It felt soft like a grass blanket. Yunlang was glad at it and sat on the grass. Qionghua stood by him, looking out into the distance. It seemed to rain. Beside them was a fenced field of vegetables in full bloom. Qionghua bent down and picked a flower, saying with seemingly casualness to Yunlang, “Yunlang, where is the handkerchief I gave to you the other day?” Yunlang said, “I put it in my bosom pocket. Here it is.” So saying, he withdrew the handkerchief from his bosom pocket and handed it to Qionghua. Qionghua grinned and blushed, “I just asked. I gave it to you. I do not mean to take it back.” Yunlang put it back and said, “thank you.” The moment he put it back to his pocket, he stretched his leg a bit and exposed his shinbone. Swiftly, he retracted his feet in a flurry, but Qionghua saw it. Wondering about it, she looked down and saw his broken heel.

The novel was much popular with the readers who often equated it with Namiko and Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story not only for its moving love story but also for its easy and fluent style as is shown in the above extract that gives such a lifelike description of the haze love between the young man and the girl. One is smart and sensible, the other simple and honest. In the Chinese text, it’s ambiguous to see who picked the flower from the simplified sentence structure, but in the English version, as is demanded by the English syntax, the translator needs to make a decision on who did it. The late Qing writers of vernacular Chinese novels found pleasure in exposing the dark sides of the society or promoting new ideas. Few of them were interested in scenery description like what Liu’e did in his The Travels of Lao Ts’an. They would do it perfunctorily with simple words or with clichés. In contrast, writers of classical Chinese novels such as Romaunt of Sword and The Hall of Broken Zither would give

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terse and vivid scenery descriptions in their novels. They were serious in scenery description as they were in essay writing. Scenery description in classical Chinese is strong in its large vocabulary and set phrases at hand, but it is also for this, few of such scenery descriptions are peculiar to their own. Speaking of novels in the style of rhythmical prose characterized by parallelism and ornateness, we have One Night in A Villa by Zhang Hu in Tang Dynasty and Shengzu and Aigu: A Romance by Chen Qiu, but novels of this style were usually occasional experiments and was never in trend. Early in the republican period, some well-known writers such as Xu Zhenya, Wu Shuangre, and Li Dingyi were in favor of novels of this style, setting off a new wave of fiction writing of this style. Literature of the late Qing and the early republican period is an experimenting time in which traditional literature was being disintegrated in one way or another and new literature was being set up, and people would try all different styles in writing. Traditional classical Chinese is used in novels, why not the style of rhythmical prose in novels? It’s true that not all the experimental writings are well established, but the effort of bringing forth new ideas is of its own value. Actually, there had been no literary experiments more abortive than the novels in the style of rhythmical prose characterized by parallelism and ornateness. It warned the writers that poetic fiction writing has gone to its extremist and could not go any further. Novels in the style of rhythmical prose were once much popular, for the young people were in favor of the poetic style of it with sentimental love stories as well as ornate diction. Novels in the style of rhythmical prose best catered to them in all respects from the subject matter to the diction. It reflects the influence of traditional Chinese poetry and the half-new view of the love of this generation. What’s more, it also shows the writers’ pursuit of belles-lettres in their mind. Basically, Chinese literature lays more stress on communicating ideas rather than rhetorical consideration, but Chinese writers never cease to refine their words to the uttermost, sometimes to an extent of being morbid in a sense. The most obvious evidence is their attempt of the specific effect of the rhyme and rhythm of the text. When writers found that the genre of fiction had been promoted from the peripheral position to the center of literature and was regarded as “the best of literature”, they changed their attitude toward fiction writing, evaluating it naturally in the way as they once did for serious writings. First, it must be written for moralization or for conveying truth, which was mainly supported by the late Qing reformist writers; second, it must contribute to the art of writing, which was practiced by the writers of the early republican period of political tensions. Chinese writers would easily resort to the rhyme, rhythm, and ornate diction for aesthetic pursuit in writing, which was best demonstrated in the style of rhythmical prose. Yun Tieqiao gave his viewpoint of the reason why the young writers of the time were in favor of this style of writing: Some think that novels are counted as literature in the west. Therefore, they write novels in the style of rhythmical prose though imperfectly. Actually, it’s too far away from literature in its real sense.29 29 In

“A Reply to Liu Youxin’s Criticism of Romances” in Short Story Magazine, No. 4, Vol. 6, 1915.

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Writers of novels of the style of rhythmical prose were not the first batch or the last batch who were distracted from belles-lettres. Many of them wrote with the mind of showing off their writing ability or their mastery of the language as is commented in the 8th chapter of He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story. The so-called “imperfection” of the novels of the style of rhythmical prose saved the novels in a sense, for the intermittent use of conversations and narrations in classical Chinese amid the couplets of rhythmical prose creates a particular stylistic variation in the novel so that it well avoids monotony. Definitely, lyrical descriptions of the style of rhythmical prose give a pleasing enjoyment in reading, for both the writers and the readers may as well neglect the development of the plot and enjoy the pleasing perception of the words in the novel. No doubt, it’s a bold idea in fiction writing that plotting gave way to a secondary position and the art of narrative discourse is thus highlighted. The novel He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story30 contains many poems and erotic love letters and when it was adapted into He Mengxia’s Diary, it was amplified with more poems and love letters than additional plots, and actually lyrics in it well overwhelmed the narration of the story. As a matter of fact, the lyrics and erotic love letters have exactly exposed the shortcomings of novels of the style of rhythmical prose rather than made a contribution to it. Novels of the style turned to be collections of pieces of rhythmical prose based on thin clues of plots. Fragments of such rhythmical prose would be pleasing to read, but the novel as a whole may be long-winded and repetitious. Novels of the style of rhythmical prose soon reached an impasse on account of the identical plots and narrative discourses. No matter how great the writers were, they would finally be at the end of their wit one day. Then, they turned to quote from the classical writing, or repeat their old ones, or copy those in the writings of other writers. Yun Tieqiao wrote, “They would copy those writings by the great writers of rhythmical prose (such as Beijiang and Oubei31 ) in the earlier times of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1735–1799) and Emperor Jiaqing’s reign (1796–1820). Such classics of rhythmical prose are no more than two volumes which are far less enough for the novels today coming out one after another. Writers of novels of rhythmical prose are doomed to meet the day when they use up the resources and the repetitious expressions will be like diluted wine with water and finally tastes like plain water, making readers dozy. Moreover, refined poetic words are not always suitable for fiction writing that demands the depiction of trivial things.”32 He may overgeneralize it, but he came to the very point of the problem indeed. May-Fourth writers’ criticism of the style of rhythmical prose was harsher and more pungent. Some even depreciated it as “diabolism in fiction writing”.33 As a matter of fact, 30 It

is quite a representative of the novels of the style of rhythmical prose at the time. (1746–1809, viz. Hong Liangji) is a well-known writer in Qing Dynasty; Oubei (1727– 1814, viz. Zhao Yi) is also a well-known writer of Qing Dynasty. 32 In A Reply to Liu Youxin’s Criticism of Romances. 33 In The First Additional Collected Criticism of Novels of the Branch of Novels of Popular Education Research Society (1918), He Mengxia’s Diary is rated as a work of the lowest quality since “it’s no 31 Beijiang

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the May-Fourth writers were determined to overturn both the trite content and the pretentious antithetical couplets and resplendent words in the novels of the style of rhythmical prose.

6.4 Peculiar Stylistic Features of Translations Vernacular Chinese novels by Liang Qichao interweaves with poems as well as legal documents, speeches, and essays in classical Chinese; Lin Shu’s novels of traditional classical Chinese is also a hybrid of classical Chinese and colloquialism, localism, Buddhist terms, and aphorism. Actually, the genre of fiction itself demands a hybrid use of language to depict different people of their varied lives. Vernacular Chinese novels, classical Chinese novels, and novels of the style of rhythmical prose inevitably intermingled with one another, yet within the extent of keeping the distinctive features of their own as a specific style. What had virtually impacted the narrative discourse of the late Qing Dynasty is the translation of foreign fictions. Wu Jianren wrote in the foreword to his short story of Preparing for Constitutionalism: Translated novels are done from foreign languages into Chinese with exotic features. Hence there would be some traits of translationese and the difficulty of doing translation. Nevertheless, the specific narrative discourse has its own merits. I intentionally imitated the narrative discourse of translated novels so that it may be deemed as a translation rather than a Chinese original. Just for fun.34

Translation from one language into another may well carry some specific use of words in the translated text unless the translator renders it in a totally different way— if so, it would be creation rather than translation. No matter how much the foreign novel is acculturated in its Chinese translation, the exotic narrative discourse appeals to Chinese readers in one way or another. Along with the time passage, Chinese writers changed their attitude toward the narrative discourse of the translated novels from repelling to becoming curious and to accepting it, going so far as to the extent that their fiction creations were deemed as translations rather than originals. Some of them did intentionally imitate it, but most of them acquired it subliminally by osmosis of plenty of readings of the translated novels. People held different views on it. Wu Jianren was half commendatory and half critical toward it; Liang Qichao was all for it and never regretted at the foreign syntax in his writings35 ; Xu Zhenya rebuked it for “being neither fish nor fowl”.36 However, they were somehow assimilated with it no mater whether they were in favor of it or not. less than diabolism in fiction writing, for it misled young writers too far away to extricate themselves from a pitfall of bad writing habits”. 34 Published in The All-Story Monthly, No. 2, 1906. 35 See more in the 25th section in his Academic Essentials of Qing Dynasty published by The Commercial Press, 1921. 36 In Xu Zhenya’s foreword to The Sad Story of Lanniang by Wu Shuangre.

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To begin with, translated novels use many punctuation marks for concise communication of meaning and emotions. Periods and commas were not fresh for the writers since they had already been used in Qing Dynasty, but the question mark, the exclamatory mark, and the suspension points were newly introduced into Chinese writings, which aroused strong antagonism from Wu Jianren, thinking it was “spare at the spigot, and spill at the bung”: In my point of view, Chinese is much more profound than the languages of other countries. Multifarious punctuation marks in the foreign writings are thus created as a remedy for the inadequacy of vocabulary of the language. For example, in Chinese we have modal particles like Xin, Ye, Zai, Hu and the like to indicate interjection, but the translators would replace them with the symbol of “?” in their translations. For another example, we have many words of interjection such as Wuhu, Yi, Xi, Shanf u, Beifu for the expression of strong emotions, but the translators would rather use the strange symbol of “!”. Similar symbols like these are seen everywhere in the translated novels as if these symbols must be there to uplift the quality of the works.37

What’s interesting is that at the time when Wu Jianren criticized the use of Western punctuation marks, he himself also used it in his fictions (e.g. his use of the suspension points in his short story of An Inspection of Schoolwork). The late Qing writers often mixed up their emotions of patriotism, national chauvinism, and literary criticism, which naturally resulted in the self-contradiction in their literary declarations. Wu Jianren’s antagonistic attitude toward the use of Western punctuation marks is representative at the time. At first, Western punctuation marks were occasionally used in some translated stories such as A Jewelry Box and The Wretched published in The All-Story Monthly (the initial issue), but they were soon practiced in Chinese originals such as the question marks and exclamatory marks in The Flower in the World of Retribution (in the initial issue of Collection of Fictions), the suspension points in Travels to the Utopia (in the initial issue of The All-Story Monthly). The most impressive sentence is seen in the novel The Evolution of China38 in which it used superimposed exclamatory marks to enhance the speaking tone, which was rare in Chinese texts: At this moment, the crowd all shouted, “Beat him! Beat him!! Beat him!!!”

The superimposed exclamatory marks fully reveal the students’ hatred of the county magistrate. Till in 1909 when Brothers Zhou published A Collection of Foreign Stories, question marks and exclamatory marks were commonly used, and Brothers Zhou just made some explanation on the use of the suspension points and dashes. The tentative use of punctuation marks of the late Qing and the early republican writers did improve the expressiveness of Chinese though the standardization and popularization of punctuation marks were accomplished later by the May-Fourth writers. Syntactic variations were more difficult to be accepted than punctuation marks and had impacted more on Chinese narrative discourses. The late Qing and the early 37 See

in the Preface to Chinese Detective Stories published by Guangzhi Book Company in 1906. in the initial issue of All-Story Monthly.

38 Also

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republican novels did leave some obvious traits in their use of foreign sentence structures. For example, Wu Jianren made annotation for a conversation in Zhou Guisheng’s translation of the 3rd chapter of The Serpents’ Coils (in New Fiction, No. 9, 1904): Here, speeches switch with no introductory words in the conversation, which is commonly seen in western fictions and is now introduced into Chinese fictions as a means of brachylogy.

In classical Chinese narratives, introductory words of a conversation are usually “said” or “answered”, or sometimes are left out, but they are seldom left out in vernacular Chinese narratives. Hence, Wu Jianren thought it was fresh and tried using it in the first chapter of his The Strange Case of Nine Murders and in his short story of An Inspection of Schoolwork, especially in the latter. Wu Jianren even adopted anterior direct speech, which was later universally employed by the MayFourth writers. Another trait of Western influence on the narrative discourse of the late Qing fictions is the mixture of Western sentences into Chinese texts. Liang Qichao would insert the whole original passage into the story and add a Chinese translation below (e.g. in The Prospect of New China); Su Manshu sometimes inserted an original passage with no translation at all, or sometimes insert an English word or phrase in a Chinese sentence (e.g. in The Story of A Broken Hairpin). Hybrid sentences like these are supposed to be helpful to vividly represent the scenes and people’s speeches, but the effect was often diminished because few of the readers knew a foreign language. During the late Qing and the early republican period, more Japanese sentences than Western sentences were introduced into Chinese fictions (e.g. Preparing for Constitutionalism by Wu Jianren). Japanese possessive case of の was translated as 之 (zhi) in Chinese which indicates ownership. It’s also a connector between a noun and its modifiers. Therefore, there was an abusive use of 之 in Chinese texts at the time, producing cumbersome discourses in fictions, but it indeed did well to clarify the function of each part of the sentences. Perhaps that’s why Wu Jianren thinks that “the specific narrative discourse has its own merits”. The most obvious impact on the New Fiction is the import of foreign words though many people were against it. In the translator’s notes at the end of the short story of “On the Christmas Eve” in Lin Shu’s The Sketch Book, a collection of translated short stories, he sighed with regret: Nowadays, China is strong only in its language, but along with the import of the new vocabulary, the language of Chinese may be ruined someday. Gosh!

Actually, Lin Shu himself helped create many new words since the new words came along with a large quantity of translations of foreign works in which Lin Shu had made a great contribution. He sometimes created new words in his translations (tian xin) for sweetheart. Even in by transliteration. For example, he created his Chinese creations of novels, he would unavoidably use many new words. For instance, in the 18th chapter of The Epic of A Heroine, he used such new words as 总统 (zong tong, meaning president), 租界 (zu jie, meaning leased territory), 宪法 (xian fa, meaning constitution), 国会 (guo hui, meaning parliament), 联邦 (lian bang, meaning commonwealth), 议员 (yi yuan, meaning senator), 制度 (zhi

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du, meaning political system), 消防队 (xiao fang dui, meaning fire brigade), etc. As a matter of fact, new words like these had become a part of everyday language and nobody can avoid them whether in speeches or in writings. Even Xu Zhenya, a writer of novels of the style of rhythmical prose could not do without using some new words such as 文明 (wen ming, meaning civilization), 自由 (zi you, meaning freedom), let alone Liang Qichao who wrote in vernacular Chinese. In The Prospect of New China, he had created many proper nouns by transliteration and absorbed some words from Japanese, which well reflected the idiosyncrasy of the times. The emergence of large quantities of new words helped spread the new thoughts from the West and accelerate the social reformation of the late Qing Dynasty, and also enhance the expressiveness and flexibility of the narrative discourse of Chinese fictions. New novelists did make some achievement in their tentative innovations in vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation marks. However, it was left to the May-Fourth writers to consciously integrate the three elements into vernacular Chinese so as to establish narrative discourses of modern Chinese fictions that are more suitable for depicting modern life by means of foreignization and colloquialism.

Chapter 7

From Romances to Officialdom Novels

The late Qing writers were perplexed more than the writers before and after them. There were varied ideals of life and society, but all of them were no more than blurred visions that were seemingly good but actually unpleasing. The writers roughly knew what they were longing for, but never expounded it explicitly. On the one hand, they never had clear views on it and would readily change their views and danced to another tune. On the other hand, the varied views were too complicatedly infiltrated and entangled to be told apart. The perplexity that the late Qing writers had to face is demonstrated on the three interrelated contradictions between the old and the new, between Chinese traditions and foreign cultures, and between the orthodox Confucianism and the unorthodox Buddhism and Taoism. Subject matters of the novels of the time well reflect the perplexity of the writers. The subject matters fall into two types: officialdom novels of the earlier period and love stories of the later period. Subject matters of the officialdom novels changed from the model of “righteous officials in opposition to corrupt officials” to the model of “the antagonism between the government and the people” while love stories are divided into the model of sad stories and that of love triangles. From an analysis of these four models, we may have a full picture of the writers’ changing views of politics, culture, ethics, and love. Since the motifs of the novels are built up on a specific character’s repeated action under given circumstances rather than the change of a specific character1 through different times, I don’t trace it from the perspective of embryology but give a contour map of it as a whole.

1 Such

as Faust and Don Juan in Western literature or Wang Zhaojun and Wang Kui in Chinese literature. © Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9_7

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7.1 Decline of the Model of Righteous-Officials-in-Opposition-to-Evil-Officials Officialdom novels occupy the largest proportion of the late Qing novels.2 Along with the publication of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation by Li Boyuan, there appeared a great deal of similar novels, among which at least 19 novels clearly have the word of “officialdom” in the title. They are not sequels to the novels by Li Boyuan, but well represent the trend of the time in the subject matter of the novels. As a matter of fact, since the characters and background in The Bureaucrats: A Revelation change abruptly, even the sequels of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation cannot keep the integrity of the story. Therefore, in the trend of officialdom novels of the late Qing Dynasty, different from the previously continuation of The Plum in the Golden Vase or A Dream in Red Mansions, either the writers or the readers paid more attention to the plotting and motifs of the novels rather than the development of the stories and the destiny of the characters. It has a long tradition in Chinese novels taking officialdom as the target of criticism. Satirical criticism of officialdom is especially a centered subject of the new novelists in China and few of their novels are done with no criticism of officialdom whether directly or in directly. The main theme of the late Qing novels is the exposure of the shady society, especially the officialdom, which reveals people’s grievances with the corrupt government and indicates the awakening of the intellectuals under the influence of the introduction of Western democratic thoughts as well as the freedom of speech3 under the asylum of the leased territories, a factor that we’d rather avoid but have to mention. The leased territories, though a token of national humiliation, did objectively provide some conditions for the rebels. In the late Qing novels, we read how Chinese people were bullied by foreigners and we also read how the rebels took advantage of the leased territories to fight against the government. For example, in the 13th chapter of Chitchat in the Sun, it describes how the reformists were suppressed by the government and how they resisted by running newspapers and holding rallies in the autonomously administrated leased territories: How could these people of new learning swallow such insults and humiliations? Some of them wrote to denounce the government as they were under the protection of the autonomous administration in the leased territories and became bold enough to defy the government. They set up a forum in a garden and every Sunday they would give speeches there.

Most of the “speeches” at the time are inflammatory condemnations of the government and advocacy of revolution. Such condemnations would not put the lives of the writers or the speakers in danger if they did not go to the extent to enrage the government. In the 5th chapter of “Adversities of Newspapers and Magazines of 2 See in History of Fictions of Late Qing Dynasty

by A’Ying, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1980:128. 3 See in Shanghai: its Municipality and the Chinese by A. M. Kotenev, published by North-China Daily News & Herald, 1927:72; Newspapers in Shanghai by Hu Daojing, published by Shanghai Museum of Chronicles, 1935; the Foreword to The Bureaucrats: A Revelation by Hu Shi.

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the Late Qing Dynasty” in History of Chinese Newspapers and Magazines by Ge Gongzhen, he gives accounts of the persecutions of the press in the late Qing Dynasty, but it was lessened than the previous diction imprisonments.4 For example, Supao Newspaper, a newspaper registered in the Japanese consulate in Shanghai, advocated revolutionary thoughts and two of its writers (Zou Rong and Zhang Taiyan) were sentenced to death to the Laws of Qing Dynasty, but the conviction had to be amended to 2 or 3 years of imprisonment under the pressure of the resistance of the public and the opposition of the foreign consular corps. Not all the newspapers were set up in the leased territories; however, they would flee to the leased territories or foreign countries whenever they met with persecution, making them even bolder to write to defy the government. This is also one of the reasons why the writers in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou were more radical than the writers in other places. It was not that the government did not care about it, but that they could not forbid it for the constraints from many parties, which to some extent accounts for the dissemination of the anti-governmental speeches and the prevalence of the novels taking officialdom as the target of their satires. All sorts of weird things occurred among the officials may well fall into four types: satires of their greed, brutality, fatuity, and hypocrisy, which are the portrayals of the bureaucrats of all the dynasties in China. The new fictions have their own properties. First, they dare to reproach all the ranks of officials, especially the officials of high ranks. In the 18th chapter of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation, Empress Dowager Cixi said, “I know clearly that there are few honest and upright officials in the country. I just pretend that I know nothing about the corruption if the censors don’t mention it to me. If the censors report it to me, I will send a working team to investigate it and some corrupt officials will be punished and discharged from the post. Even so, it cannot be eradicated, for new batches will successively appear.” In this situation, the officials in power would rather send their trusted followers to take advantage of it for money. Few of the late Qing writers dare to bitterly attack the autocratic government as read in the 2nd chapter of Freedom of Marriage, “Emperors of all the dynasties are none other than robbers and off-springs of robbers.” Yet they are bold enough to directly point to the high officials and dignitaries. Second, the new fictions dare to reproach the officials in power. In Ming and the early Qing dynasties, there are also novels taking officialdom as the target of criticism, but the targeted officials are all out of power (e.g. in A Commentary of Monsters). However, the late Qing writers tend to involve some satires of the in-power officials in their novels, for totally fictional stories are not solid enough to vent their hatred. Here, the artistic perception has to give way to the political outlet. Third, the new fictions reproach not only Han officials but also Manchu officials for their ill governance, which are seen in the novels such as The Bureaucrats: A Revelation, Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, Chitchat in the Sun, and Raise and Fall of An Official. Especially in the last one, it describes the antagonism and conflicts between Manchu officials and Han officials. In a sense, it manifests the nationalist inclination of the Han writers. 4 In the past dynasties in China, the rulers would persecute the rebelling intellectuals by even finding

faults with the diction in their writings so as to have excuses to put them in jail.

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In the Qing Dynasty, both Manchu people and Han people are entitled to serve the government. Generally, Han officials are of more profound learning than Manchu officials, most of whom are backed up with money and their blood lineage as Manchu people. Last but not the least, none of the officials are clean in the late Qing novels which are different from the Ming and early Qing novels in which there are always righteous officials fighting courageously against the corrupt and filthy officials. In Li Boyuan’s bantering words, “Originally, the first half of the novel focuses on the evil deeds of the filthy officials and the second half instructs how to behave as an official. Now, only the second half is kept”. Hence, all through his The Bureaucrats: A Revelation, we see no clean officials. Wu Jianren makes an even pungent comment on it, “During the twenty years since I’ve begun to make a living, I’ve encountered only three types of things: small creatures like rats and ants, fierce animals like lions and tigers, and all sorts of evil men and deals.”5 It makes the late Qing officialdom the most filthy thing in the world to spend money to be a governmental official and later accumulate wealth by unfair means in the position. “You need to learn to be mean and shameless so as to obtain a position in the government, and then you give away your conscience to make money in the position.”6 How about the righteous officials? Those officials in the Song, Yuan, Ming and the early Qing novels who were readily to sacrifice their lives for the people, where are they? The new novelists never deny the existence of the righteous officials, what they deny is the conflict between the righteous officials and the corrupt officials. In their views, there were only conflicts between the officials and the civilians. It was not that nobody wanted to act rightfully, but that they had to give up in the melting pot of the corrupt officialdom. A small number of quixotic non-conformists fought against it just like striking an egg against a rock—only to cause its own doom. In the novels, occasional descriptions of such quixotic righteous officials are casually done in a few words. It seems that the writers are dispirited at it. Cai Lyusheng, the upright official in Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, was finally discharged from his position; Jin Yi, the Chief Prosecutor of Guangdong Province in The Officialdom who was determined to fight against gambling, finally died with humiliation from his superiors and colleagues; The Unjust Case of Guo Jitai, a rare novel singing for righteous officials, mainly tells how Guo Jitai (an upright magistrate) was framed up and put in jail rather than how he rightfully settled lawsuits. The writer of the novel claimed that the story was not a total fabrication as was did in A Woman Revenger, Three Heroes and Five Gallants, and A Song of Peace.7 Thus, we see an ironical contrast between the total fabrications in which all-mighty righteous officials can always defeat the evil officials and the biographical novels in which the righteous officials cannot even help themselves.

5 In

the second chapter of Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years by Wu Jianren. the 50th chapter of Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years by Wu Jianren. 7 In the 48th chapter of The Unjust Case of Guo Jitai. 6 In

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From all-mighty righteous officials to impotent righteous officials and to hypocritical “clean” officials, new novelists eventually dissolved the model of righteous officials in opposition to corrupt officials in traditional novel writing. Liu’e writes in his The Travels of Lao Ts’an: People all know that corrupt officials are detestable, but they don’t realize that the “clean” officials are even more detestable. Corrupt officials dare not to do filthy deals since they know it’s not right, but the so-called “clean” officials are so bold enough to quell the evil as to commit homicide as they like, for they would justify themselves that they did not do it for money but for justice. There have been novels to expose the evil deeds of corrupt officials, and this is the first novel that exposes the evil deeds of the “clean” officials.8

Here, we notice that clean officials are not real righteous officials. They do not deserve the title of righteous officials since they are neither virtuous nor capable as righteous officials should be. Yuxian and Gangbi in The Travels of Lao Ts’an may be clean officials in a sense but they are not righteous officials. Criticism of such officials is not rare in poems but seldom seen in novels. After Liu’e, Qian Xibao also satires the so-called clean officials in his A Compendium of Monsters in which “clean” officials (like Jia Duanfu and Fan Xingpu) are none other than hypocrites infatuated for either fame or wealth. Descriptions of corrupt officials and the dark sides of the society in the novels demonstrate the writers’ insightful understanding of the bureaucracy and autocracy of the late Qing Dynasty. In view of the history of the development of novels, what’s worth more attention is not whether it holds water to say “clean officials are even more detestable” but that the abandonment of the belief that clean officials may save the country had brought changes to the structure of novels of the time. The traditional model of righteous officials in opposition to corrupt officials may easily have a tension and come to the climax, and the novel may clearly have a wholeness— a story centered on the conflict between the righteous officials and the corrupt officials. But for the late Qing writers, there is no conflict between the righteous officials and the corrupt officials since they all embody the tyranny of the rules, setting themselves against the civilians. Thus, the traditional model is replaced by the new model of the conflicts between the officials and the civilians so that the dramatic plot and wholeness of the novel could be kept. Inspired by the structure of The Scholars, Li Boyuan created the “exposure” structure of novels in which the whole novel consists of several episodic stories that are centered on a specific personage for each9 and the novel develops not along with intensified conflicts but along with emotional changes of the given subject matter. The absence of righteous officials sterilizes the normal development of the novel based on the conflict between righteous officials and evil officials. Hence, the novel becomes a collection of episodic stories that develop along with the change of the scenes and the characters. The late Qing writers’ preference of the “exposure” structure is related to the rise of short stories and the evolution of novels, to the adoption of the perspective of on-lookers and the change of the narrator, and to the decline of the model of 8 See 9 See

in the 16th chapter of The Travels of Lao Ts’an. in the 28th section in A Brief History of Chinese Fiction.

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righteous officials in opposition to corrupt officials as well.10 Along with the decline of the model, the portrayal of corrupt officials is set against the conflict between the corrupt officials and the civilians instead. What’s worth being mentioned is that there are few impressive characterizations in the late Qing officialdom novels, even in the novels by Li Boyuan who was regarded as a master of officialdom novels. As a compensation for it, what they did was to exaggerate the rank and the quantity of the corrupt officials and the severity of the corruption. Even so, it was still hard for them to attract the readers. Most of the new novelists were just able to write about the minor officials since their stories were based on hearsay such as anecdotes and jokes rather than on their own experience except for Liu’e and Qian Xibao, who had long served in the government and knew more about officialdom.11 Here we see why the late Qing novels are somewhat more like caricature comedies with rough descriptions and similar plots. The late Qing writers lost all hope of the government and denied the traditional model of righteous officials in opposition to corrupt officials but were caught into the awkwardness of hotchpotch writings that involved all anecdotes, jokes, and gossips they could collect since they were at a loss of plot conception after they gave up the traditional model of officialdom novels.

7.2 Rise of the Model of Officials-in-Opposition-to-Civilians In traditional officialdom novels, the portrayal of the dark government usually falls into two models: the model of righteous officials in opposition to corrupt officials and the model of officials in opposition to civilians. The former is abandoned in the new fictions and the latter becomes different from the traditional pattern—rose in rebellion against the oppression by officials, became an outlaw and a local despot and finally accepted amnesty and surrendered— as is represented in Outlaws of the Marsh. In the novel A Cold Eye on the World, we read, “Now, there is a cycling phenomenon that the foreigners are afraid of the public and the public are afraid of the emperor.” Actually, it should be added another part— the emperor is afraid of the foreigners. Many late Qing novels conceive the plot by this cycling phenomenon, the most typical of which is seen in The Civilized Society: A Novel by Li Boyuan. The first 11 chapters of the novel describe how the foreigners were afraid of the public and how the public were afraid of the officials, especially how the officials were put in an awkward situation that they dared not to offend the foreigners and defy the imperial government, nor would they curry favor with the foreigners to persecute the innocent people, which is of more profound implications than the novels of exposure of the time in general. The writers dislike the foreigners, hate the bogus foreigners even more, and are indifferent to those who fought with the foreigners (such as the 10 See

more details in Chapter Five and Chapter Eight in this book. is seen in Hu Shi’s view of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation in his Anthology of Hu Shi (Book 3, Vol. 6), published by Shanghai Yadong Library, 1930. 11 As

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Boxers). In their novels, all these just serve to mirror the ugly behavior of the corrupt officials. Therefore, it neither serves for the plotting nor functions as a productive thematic model in consequence. The most representative novel of the model of officials in opposition to civilians is Outlaws of the Marsh which is highly evaluated by the late Qing critics as a model of prose writing for its democratic thought and martial art as well.12 It is also, in a sense, a textbook on politics. But strange enough, new novelists who gave a high compliment to the novel never followed its model—the model of officials in opposition to civilians. Two things may account for it. First, the writers did not think high of the Boxer Uprising which was considered neither a typical case of “the masses revolting against the governmental oppression” nor an intensified conflict between the officials and the civilians. Second, those who tried to follow the model of Outlaws of the Marsh failed to produce refreshing novels. Such an awkward situation entailed the innovation of the traditional model of officials in opposition to civilians. As a matter of fact, the democratic thought in Outlaws of the Marsh had made it inevitable to adapt the model to the new times when Western fictions were introduced into China. What had really influenced the model of officials in opposition to civilians is Russian nihilist fictions. Political fictions lead to new aspiration. Nihilist fictions also rebuke the feudal autocracy, but the writers meant to voice their political ambition rather than to simply weave a story in the model of officials in opposition to civilians. Nihilist fictions were popular with the readers, for they were full of sharp conflicts, fierce fightings, and especially thrilling assassinations, an extremity of the model of officials in opposition to civilians. Chen Lenxue once gave the reason why he liked reading nihilist fictions as follows: I like the tangled and complicated tales; I admire the dauntless heroes full of valor and vigor resisting firmly against the rulers.13

In the late Qing Dynasty, both the reformists and the revolutionists admire the dedicated “dauntless heroes”. The late Qing politicians tended to relate revolution with ethics, thinking the deficiency of the latter is the root of the failure of the former,14 and ethical evolution was frequently the primacy of the establishment of the image of revolutionists. Such political ideas of the Nihilists may not be well understood and accepted by the Chinese people, yet their spirit of martyrdom was indeed highly appreciated by the reformists. Sophia15 was much admired by the young people. Nihilist novels have the noble ideal of political novels and the intricate plotting of detective stories (some readers then did not tell apart nihilist novels from detective stories), which well catered to the Chinese readers of the time. 12 See in “Comments on Fiction” by Dingyi in New Fiction, Vol. 15, 1905, also in “Biography of Shi Nai’an, A Chinese Novelist” by an anonymous writer in Fiction Society of A New World. No. 8, 1907. 13 In the author’s foreword to Nihilists by Chen Lengxue, published by Kaiming Bookstore, 1904. 14 See in “The Ethics of Revolution” by Zhang Taiyan in The Minpao Magazine. No. 8, 1906. 15 Sophia Perovskaya (1854–1881), a Russian socialist revolutionary.

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Nihilist novels prevailed in China with the publication of “Women Revolutionists in Russia” (1902) by Luo Pu in New Fiction and developed into its prime from 1904 to 1907 with more than 14 translations of foreign novels and Chinese originals. Being regarded as chivalrous men, assassinators were not rare in Chinese biographies and fictions who committed assassinations either out of personal hatred or out of the national mission. Though they are different from the Russian revolutionaries, they were accepted the way the ancient national heroes were accepted in China, which also tells the reason why the Chinese people were more interested in the exciting stories of the assassinations rather than in the belief of the Russian revolutionaries. Zeng Pu strictly followed the style of Russian nihilist novels to weave his story of Xia Yali’s assassination of the Tsarist ruler in his The Flower in the World of Retribution while Haitian Duxiaozi made up a Chinese nihilist story of Jin Yaose’s assassination of Empress Dowager in The Story of Jin Yaose. And even Li Boyuan who was disdainful of the reformists had some cases of assassinations not without admiration in his novel The Civilized Society. In the understanding of Chinese new novelists, the Russian nihilists’ assertion that national affairs should be discussed democratically, their deep enmity with the autocratic government, and their resolution to overturn it and to amend the current law well went with the model of officials in opposition to civilians. But the democratic thought of the new novelists did not go so far as to overturn the government, and neither military conflicts nor assassinations were the focus of the novel to go throughout the whole novel. Therefore, the late Qing writers never accomplished a modern novel in its real sense that developed on centered conflicts although they had a strong sense of the conflict between the officials and the civilians. Apart from rebelling against the government, escaping from political life is another motif of officialdom novels that is seemingly mild but inexorable. Different from the influence of nationalism and the Western democratic idea in the motif of rebelling against the government, the motif of escaping from the political life resorts to religious beliefs such as Buddhism and Taoism that well conform with the Chinese traditional practice of seclusion so as not to associate with the evil government. Since the ancient times, Chinese intellectuals had long fought for the moral accomplishments to manage the family affairs as the immediate goal and to govern the country as the final aim. Nevertheless, they would retreat to religious tranquility when they are confronted with fatuous rulers in turbulent times but cannot help it. On the one hand, acknowledgment of the rationality and necessity of the existence of seclusion is tantamount to admitting the darkness of the society and the fatuity and incompetence of the ruler. That’s why the rulers of all the dynasties would on certain days post official notice of the recruitment of recluses though the recluses may not really help the state affairs. On the other hand, Chinese literati would write in admiration about seclusion as a means of criticizing the darkness of the society. That’s why there are many poems singing for seclusion and many novels and dramas end with the protagonist becoming a monk. It’s the writers’ outlet of their complaint and despair of the society (especially the officialdom) rather than their attitude toward Buddhism and Taoism that generates profound significance. Such ending of the protagonists

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is frequently seen in the late Qing novels such as Jia Baoyu in A Dream in Red Mansions, Zhong Ai in The Sea of Regret, Leng Jingwei in A Scholar’s Disgrace, Guo Jitai in The Unjust Case of Guo Jitai and Li Ruoyu in Travelings in Shanghai. The motif of retreating to the religious tranquility is not only a resistance to the government but also a challenge of the orthodox Confucianism, which is actually against the writers’ will. Having predicted the bleak helpless future, they have no alternative but to send their protagonists to the temples. Different from the writers of the novels with the motif of rebelling against the government, they (such as Wu Jianren and Liu’e) do not believe that the Western political thought can save China, neither do they believe in Buddhism nor in Taoism which just serve to help them give vent to their emotional inclination. Here is how Wu Jianren commented on Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism: Buddhism and Taoism are totally heresies that should have been annihilated. Early in Song Dynasty, Confucians began to exert themselves to fight against them only to find them more widely spread in China. Now they have established a firm position next to Confucianism, constituting one of the three main beliefs in China. I cannot help feeling regret of it.16

Though in many cases the protagonists in their novels finally became monks, it’s clearly seen that they do not believe in Buddhism and Taoism which are none other than weapons for them to fight against the government. They never expound their views on the significance of Buddhism and Taoism in people’s life. Not all the novels preach negative seclusion with recourse to Buddhism and Taoism. Novels like The Travels of Lao Ts’an and A Compendium of Monsters are exceptions. Yugu’s criticism of Confucianism and Huang Longzi’s prediction of the current affairs all show their concern for the nation17 and Lao Ts’an himself is but a worldly writer with a Taoist spirit. Lao Ts’an and his characters all share one thing in common: to be detached from the officialdom to keep the freedom of mentality and the true nature of man. Ren Tianran, Wang Mengsheng, and Da Yixuan18 are all resigned officials who had experienced the ups and downs in the corrupt government and knew that they could do nothing to help. They were once warm-hearted men but were thwarted repeatedly and finally became hopeless and ran away from it. New novelists focus more on the contradiction between religion and the reality, especially on the contrast between the warmth of the religious disciples and the hypocrisy of the impotent officials. Wu Jianren asked in his Surviving A Turbulent Time that “Buddhism determines to rescue the whole world. Is there anything greater than this aspiration?” In Lian Mengqing’s Tales from My Women Neighbours, he ironically satirizes the ugliness of the officials who fled southward with their properties plundering the people along their way of escape when the allied foreign forces invaded Peking while in contrast Jin Bumo, a monk, went to Peking to donate to help. It well illustrates the purport of the novel— to expose the corrupt officialdom of the time. 16 See

in Wu Jianren Cried by Wu Jianren. Yugu and Huang Longzi are characters in The Travels of Lao Ts’an. 18 Ren Tianran, Wang Mengsheng and Da Yixuan are all characters in A Compendium of Monsters. 17 Both

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There are also many novels satirizing those reformists, who neither resist the corrupt government nor retreat to the religious tranquility but preach new thoughts with the intention of entering the government for fame and gains. It isn’t that the writers are against the Reform or the Revolution but that they see no hope for it: We feel angry since the reformists regard themselves as liberators of the country but are no less corrupted; we feel hateful since we see narrow chance for the country to be rescued as both the conservatives and so-called reformists are corrupted; we feel worried since the country is perishable and vulnerable as the so-called liberators are awful as such.19

The late Qing writers hold different opinions on the issues of old and new, east and west, reform and revolution, constitutionalism and republic. Actually, most of the writers do not have clear political inclinations except for Huang Xiaopei who satirizes Kang Youwei from the stance of the revolutionists in his Swindlers, and Gurun Yedaoren who scolds Kang Youwei from the stance of the conservatives in his Arresting Kang and Liang, The Two Rebels. In most of the cases, the writers just express their resentment at the fame-and-gain chasers who hypocritically talk in favor of the Reform. For example, in an article titled “The Fall of the Youth” in Sein Min Choong Bou (No. 25, 1903), it writes, “Every day I hear some disgraceful anecdotes of the so-called reformists in Shanghai, yet in inland China, it will be considered guilty if anyone dares to say anything against the Reform or the reformists.” It demonstrates that there once existed indeed many hypocritical reformists then who swindled around with new terms from Japan, talked about freedom at brothels, equality at home and sovereignty at opium dens, cursing with “slaves” or “corruption” here and there. The new novelists are somewhat stern and narrow-minded as well, but some of them stand careful reading indeed. For instance, in the 13th chapter of Chitchat in the Sun, it gives a vivid depiction of the ugliness of the hypocritical reformists. Some reformists at a brothel were waxing eloquent on revolution. The moment they see some coquettish women coming in, they all stopped talking and began to whisper to one another, their eyes following the women all the way. For another instance, in the 7th chapter of Travelings in Shanghai, two reformists were rebuking the government excitedly but immediately altered the tune the moment they learned that they could get kickbacks, saying, “whether it’s constitutionalism or autocracy, it’s all the same to me as long as I can earn money from it.” And in The Reform, Yuan Bozhen, an extremist conservative, was suddenly converted to the new ideas of reformation. He told the truth, “I just want to get a chance of promotion.” and so did he. In the 57th chapter in The Civilized Society, it hits the mark with a single comment on Cannon20 : This Cannon is an extremist reformist as well as a conservative to the utmost, for he is superficially liberal but conservative inside.

19 See in the foreword to Reformists in Shanghai

by Langdang Nan’er (meaning “a wandering man, the pseudonym for an anonymous writer). 20 It’s a nickname of a character in the novel. “Cannon” is used to describe someone, who tends to rush to give radical speech in a debate.

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The late Qing writers are insightful enough to see the spiritual resemblance between the hypocritical reformists and the corrupt government, but they curse more than think, thus failed to give a vivid portrayal of the hypocritical reformists as they did to the corrupt officials. Characterization is neglected in both of the novels of rebelling against the government and the novels of the hypocritical reformists’ entering the government for fame and gains, for the writers of the former are too idealistic and eager to express their political passion while the writers of the latter are too keen on attacking and mocking the corrupt government and the hypocritical reformists. None of them would spare time and energy on characterization. In contrast, in the novels of escaping from political life, characterization is quite well done. Due to the long tradition of such personages in Chinese literature, writers are usually more familiar and sympathetic with them. Anyway, in terms of the structure of the novel, all the variations of the novels of the model of officials in opposition to civilians are different from the traditional model of righteous officials in opposition to evil officials in that in the former novels, there is the main conflict going through the whole novel, creating the wholeness of the novel rather than a collection of unconnected fragments of stories.

7.3 Love Stories with No Love Whether supporting or opposing it, most of the late Qing writers agree that heroism and love are the two permanent motifs of novels that were written to boost morale rather than to merely indulge in vulgarity and violence in the earlier times, for the critics changed the perspectives in viewing the works. Different from the general points of views in Western literature that laid equal stress on heroism and love, critics in China obviously had a strong bias toward the motif of heroism although there were also excellent translated Western love stories such as The Lady of the Camellias, Namiko, and Ladies’ Tears that were once very hot among the readers and were regarded as “A Dream in Red Mansions of foreign countries”. The reason is seen in that love stories should fall out of the writers’ consideration at the time of national crisis, as is read in Lin Shu’s writing: I’ve accomplished nearly 19 novels and most of them are love stories. I’d have more novels of heroism to encourage the martial spirit of the people, but feel regretful that I’m short of the capability of it.21

Ever since then, Lin Shu did translate more novels full of martial spirit and he even preached for banditry, believing that it could arouse the weak-minded people of servility to fight.22 Actually, there were many writers who wrote to play up the 21 See in “Translator’s Notes” in Lin Shu’s translation of Cleopatra (by H. R. Haggard,1889) published by The Commercial Press in 1905. 22 See in “Author’s Introduction” to Lin Shu’s translation of Nada the Lily (by H. R. Haggard,1892) published by The Commercial Press in 1905.

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martial spirit as they saw the weakness and servility of Chinese people then,23 and many chivalry fictions, nihilist fictions, military fictions, and adventure fictions came out not without the purpose of awakening the fainthearted people. As for love stories, they had run rampant with no need for advertisement. Novels can never leave out love affairs. The novels by the late Qing writers were no exceptions though they intentionally focused on heroism instead of love affairs. The writers then always tried to set the love stories in the background of the times and the people’s livelihood as was observed by Lin Shu, “to weave love stories against the war environment”. Similar examples are found in The Sea of Regret by Wu Jianren and Stones in the Sea by Fu Lin, both of which are set in the background of the 1900 National Crisis, in The Flower in the World of Retribution by Zeng Pu that tried to “cover the historical affairs in the latest thirty years” and in Zhong Xinqing’s New Camellia (“a novel that well matches The Lady of the Camellias”24 ) that involved in the latest affairs of the new partisans. Apart from setting the love stories in a broader temporal and spatial context, the writers also tried to interpret love from different perspectives. One type of them was termed as Emotion Novel and it started with Wu Jianren and his Miserable Love published in 1906. As a matter of fact, being precedented by The Love Story of Qin Baozhu by Chen Diexian and some other similar novels, it was not the first Emotion Novel. However, it was indeed the first novel that justified the theme of love in the late Qing Dynasty and had exerted much influence on the later novels. Love in the general sense refers to the love between men and women, but love in my mind is the in-born emotion that goes along with a person all through his life. He shows it as loyalty in his devotion to his country, as filial piety in his attendance for his parents, as affection in his care for his children and as fraternity in his relationship with his friends. All is love. There are of course sappy love and even anthomaniac between men and women.25

Wu Jianren extended his theory of broad-sense love in his Surviving A Turbulent Time and Anan’s Love. Huang Boyao further developed this theory, emphasizing that all the great deeds of the great men were motivated by the great love inside them and there could be heroes with no names but there were no heroes without love, and that chivalry novels and romances are both Emotion Novels.26 Wu Jianren’s love stories are no different from A Dream in Red Mansions though he tried to draw a demarcation line from it. The only difference was that new love stories were more subject to nationalist feelings. If setting aside the connotation of the national feelings and the advocacy of the feudal notion of loyalty, filial piety, affection, and fraternity, such new love stories were representatives of the novels of the late Qing and the early republican period. 23 Such as Liang Qichao’s Fiction and Social Administration, the section of “Gallantry in the Battle-

field” in Freedom, the section of “On Martial Spirit” in The Awakening of the People, and his compilation of Chinese Martial Spirit. 24 See in the first chapter of New Camellia published by Shenjiang Fiction Society in 1907. 25 See in the first chapter of The Sea of Regret. 26 See in “Chivalry Novels and Romantic Novels: Works of Social Emotions” in Chinese and Foreign Stories, No. 7, 1907.

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In the late Qing Dynasty, critics make reviews of A Dream in Red Mansions from the perspectives of society, philosophy, ethics except for love because love stories are much biased at the time. In contrast to it, love stories of the early Qing Dynasty were much flourished and were classified into numerous types. Yun Tieqiao once commented that the early new fictions had a wider scope of subject matters while it pinned down love affairs in the later period. His viewpoint is widely accepted by both the May-Fourth writers and the literary historians of the later generations. It’s no doubt that love stories were not thought high in the late Qing Dynasty though they were much popular in the early republican period. If discussed in the narrow sense of love, the love stories of the late Qing Dynasty are cold enough, for the protagonists usually sacrifice love for politics, for feudal creeds, or for money which are frequently read in political novels, romances, and courtesan novels of the late Qing and the early republican period. Women are indispensable in novels, which is a truth for the writers of all generations, not to respect women for their life value and social value but to reinforce the readability of the novel. Therefore, we read love stories in political novels that sing for heroism. Liang Qichao sighed for the sentimental love between the hero and his lover in his translation of the Japanese novels A Woman’s Adventure and Pelopidas. In the fourth and fifth chapters of his uncompleted novel The Prospect of New China, he obviously foreshadowed a love story in the later part of the novel. In the political novels of the late Qing Dynasty such as The Story of Jin Yaose and Sha Xuemei, we also read love stories between men and women with women being the focus, but they are more of mannish heroic spirit because what the writers highlight is their political actions rather than their emotional life. This is the common literary ethos of the times, not just in novels. For example, Qiu Jin27 expressed her ideal of being a heroine of freedom in her Preface to Jingwei Stone; the same case is found in the woman head of the Carbonari in Liang Qichao’s Legend of New Rome as well as in A Woman Warrior, a poem by Liu Yazi. They highlighted the fighting spirit of women rather than their emotional experience, especially in the descriptions of their attitude toward marriage. Typical examples are seen in the political view of marriage in the poems of two poets, one being Go Xu’s verses— “The best wife for a man is Sophia28 and the best husband is Mazzini29 ”, the other being Ma Junwu’s verses celebrating the marriage of a new couple— “a couple of great ambition, two talents for the social reform”. It isn’t that the writers were cold, but that they consciously and sincerely wanted to be part of the political struggles and gave vent to their passion in their writings. The heroines in novels are rather cold. For example, in The Story of Jin Yaose, the Huaxue Party that were devoted to assassinating traitors demanded all its party members to get rid of the four “ill minds”, namely, servility to the foreign invaders and to the emperor, the third perverse one—family bond, and the last one that was even perverse—sexual desire. Women could be implanted sperm for the purpose of 27 She

is a well-known woman revolutionist of the time. Lvovna Perovskaya (1853–1881), a Russian revolutionist. 29 Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1972), an Italian revolutionary leader. 28 Sophia

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reproduction of offspring, but they could never have sex with men so as to keep the purity of the body to fight for their belief. In The Story of A Woman Prisoner, the headwoman revolutionary leader had cleared off her amorous relationship with men and devoted to revolution and finally burned herself in the failure of an act. Perhaps, out of the wish of avoiding the misunderstanding that women revolutionists held men in abomination, the writer let Xu Pingquan, the woman leader’s friend, married to a man novelist who totally supported her political belief. However, their married life still focused on political struggles, which is a model for almost all the female protagonists in the late Qing novels such as Freedom of Marriage, The Story of Huang Xiuqiu, Frost in June, etc. Apart from the influence of the political climate, literary trend and nihilist fictions of the time, the new novelists were also influenced by classical Chinese fictions and fictional sketches. Swordsmen in classical Chinese fictions and fictional sketches lived like rovers in the world and could hardly have normal family life. As a matter of fact, many women revolutionists were called swordswomen, or so did they call themselves. Sha Xuemei30 killed her husband for her freedom and Jin Yaose31 committed the assassination of The Empress Dowager and began her rover life ever since then. All of them, in one way or another, carry the characteristics of swordswomen. Though they fought with a different goal from that of the historical swordswomen like Nie Yinniang and Hongxian,32 women revolutionists of the twentieth century also had to sacrifice their love and family lives. After the Xinhai Revolution (1911), politics faded as a topic of literary works, and romances again took off. At the time, freedom of marriage from the West was accepted by many young people, yet the traditional ethics still deeply rooted in their minds. Thus, sad love stories were more seen at such a turning point from the old marriage system to the new, which accounts for the popularity of romances at the time, especially sad love stories. Consequently, similar “stories of Mandarin ducks and butterflies” came out one after another with varied quality. Some writers would rather not have their works labeled as love stories and many critics of the time wrote disapprovingly about this trend of love stories. Even Wang Dungen, the editor of The Saturday, commented discontentedly as follows: Well, how about these love stories? Most of them are nothing but deja-vu stories between young men and women occurred at gardens or at bedrooms. The writers are proud of their works whereas the readers follow them up interestingly. However, neither of them knows how to do novels.33

Most of the novels call for freedom of marriage, but at the same time they also satirize the freedom of marriage. Li Dingyi pointed out sarcastically, “freedom of marriage is good, but divorce is even harder for a couple.”34 In Yun Tieqiao’s view, 30 Sha Xuemei is the protagonist of the novel The Story of A Woman Prisoner, a woman revolutionist. 31 Jin

Yaose is the protagonist of the novel The Story of Jin Yaose, still a woman revolutionist. Nie Yinniang and Hongxian are the protagonist in the tales of Tang Dynasty. 33 See in the Preface of A Collection of Short Stories, published by Jiangnan Printing House, 1914. 34 See in the author’s introduction to The Happy Life of A Couple by Li Dingyi, the second edition published by Guohua Book Company, 1916. 32 Both

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women who are in support of freedom of marriage are more or less frivolous35 ; Zhang Chunfan even created Women of Freedom, a novel that mainly exposes the negative aspects of freedom of marriage.36 They made it clear that the only way to pursue freedom of marriage and avoid its disadvantages at the same time was to do it right, that is, never transgress mores between men and women however deep their love is. It is the May-Fourth writers’ misunderstanding to depreciate the works of the Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies School as obscene literature, for they are not obscene but too innocent. There are no sexual descriptions, no tantalizing flirtations but natural strong yearnings toward love. Readers today may find it hard to understand how these “loveless” love stories could attract the readers of the time, but it is exactly this vague, restrained spiritual love that best fits for the readers’ aesthetic view of the then half-old-and-half-new era. There were some capable writers of “pure love stories” such as Xu Zhenya, Wu Shuangre, and Li Dingyi. The so-called pure love stories refer to those that sing for the restrained love under traditional mores, including He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story by Xu Zhenya, The Sad Story of Lanniang by Wu Shuangre, and Tears at the Boudoir and The Sad Story of Housewife Lin by Li Dingyi. In their love stories, what they promote is the stale idea that good women shall be “tender and gentle, virtuous and chaste”, leaving no room for sexual passion, and even if there are descriptions of sexual passion, they are there to display how it is beat by traditional mores. Contrasted with the romances of Ming and the early Qing dynasties and those after May-Fourth Movement, the lovers in the love stories of the late Qing and the early republican period are rather loveless. Prostitution had been a part of Chinese literature since the Tang Dynasty and there had been excellent works in every Dynasty. From Dancers and Songs and Notes and Data of Brothels of Tang Dynasty to Recordings of Whoredom and Hu Baoyu of the late Qing Dynasty, all are good references of brothel life and inspiring for the later writers in their fiction writing, but they are not “fiction” in its modern sense. The Tale of Huo Xiaoyu and The Tale of Li Wa, two tales of the Tang Dynasty, are centered on brothel girls, but they were historically recognized as love stories and brothels were merely taken as the background rather than a symbol with specific cultural significance. Novels centered on brothel life emerged in the Qing Dynasty and are classified into “courtesan novel” which well stimulates the attention of literary historians as a specific genre. In terms of the tradition of fiction writing, the rise of courtesan novels is a turning point in the development of romances, but it is a pity that this turning originated from the change of times and the development of brothels instead of the promotion of writers’ aesthetic views. Lu Xun once commented, “brothel novels had gone in three phases: admiring in the beginning, realistic in the middle, and critical in the

35 See in the postscript by Yun Tieqiao to “The Sad Story of Liu Susu: a play” in Short Story Magazine, No. 9, Vol. 3, 1912. 36 See in the author’s preface to Women of Freedom by Zhang Chunfan, published by Sanxing Bookstore, 1914.

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end.”37 In the first phrase, they exaggerate the complimentary to the brothel girls as in Dream of Brothels; in the second phrase, they portray realistically the brothel life as in The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai; in the last phase, they expose the ugliness of brothel life as in The Nine-tailed Turtle and Vanity Life in Shanghai. Actually, it’s not easy to teach didactically in a brothel novel and the writers were even not sure whether they should persuade men not to whoring or teach them how to gentlemanly go whoring. During the late Qing and the early republican period, writers frequented brothels, and it was not considered depraved, but admirable and romantic instead. Zhan Chunfan and Sun Yusheng all identified themselves with this mood of the times (which is clearly evidenced in the characterization in their works38 ), thus they felt obliged to preach Confucian teachings of dutiful sons and chaste women and put on the mask of upright gentlemen to criticize whoredom. Nevertheless, their seemingly dignified teachings were made in vain because of the contradictory value standard. In their warnings, they either gave long passages of criticism of whoredom or gave an ugly caricature of prostitutes. In the novels, it frequently complained about the change of the prostitutes who had been elegant, talented, and affectionate, but then were greedy, vulgar, and overcharging as is read, “Nowadays, Du Shiniang and Huo Xiaoyu are seldom seen and even never heard.”39 In most of the late Qing brothel novels, the writers intentionally exaggerate the coldness and meanness of the prostitutes and that of the whore-masters as well. It is partially based on the writers’ life experiences and partially because of the literary trend of the time. The Bureaucrats: A Revelation starts a new era of literature in China, and novels of exposure of this type prevailed then for a time when various exposure novels came out such as “exposures of literature”, “exposures of business world”, “exposures of women”, etc. It is in such a time that Vanity Life in Shanghai and The Nine-tailed Turtle were produced that became popular exposures of whoredom at the time. That’s why such novels were classified as social novels rather than romances. To make a long story short, love stories of the late Qing and the early republican period seemed to be cold and loveless in which there were few stories of true love— prostitutes are cold and loveless for money, chaste women for the traditional ethics and women revolutionists for nationalist faith. Though love stories were once prevailed after the Xinhai Revolution (1911), there were no impressive stories except for He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story. One of the reasons could be the specific understanding of the love of the writers of the time, and perhaps, love stories with no love are no love stories at all.

37 See

in Chapter Six of The Development of Chinese Novels by Lu Xun. as Zhang Qiugu in The Nine-tailed Turtle and Xie You’an in Vanity Life in Shanghai. 39 See in chapter Six of The Nine-tailed Turtle. Du Shiniang is a prostitute who is lauded for her devotion to love in The Warning Stories by Feng Menglong, a writer of Ming Dynasty. Huo Xiaoyu is an entertainer of dancing and singing in a tale of Tang Dynasty who is outstandingly smart and talented. 38 Such

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7.4 Cultural Significance of Love Triangles The mode of love triangles starts with the advent of the twentieth century in China, for neither polygamy nor parental order of marriage that had long been practiced before could make it possible. In A Woman Revenger, Zhang Yufeng and He Yufeng married the same man and lived peacefully like sisters; in Six Chapters of A Floating Life, Chen Yun even persuaded her husband to marry Hanyuan, a charming girl. However, it’s different from love triangles in the modern sense that is competitive and exclusive and full of collisions. As for Ximen Qing,40 a good-for-nothing man from a wealthy family who had many concubines, though his concubines fought for his favor all the time, they fought for his money rather than for love of him. Love triangles of two-men-and-a-girl are frequently read in Ming and Qing romances of gifted scholars and beauties. Usually, one of the two men is a mean guy, but the girl is pure and noble, thus never made a real love triangle. The only love triangle in its modern sense then is found in A Dream in Red Mansions in which Jia Baoyu has some hazy emotion toward both Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. Novels of the late Qing and the early republican period begin to discuss the issue of the emancipation of women, but mainly focus on women education, the abolition of foot-binding, and the political right of women rather than on the equality of men and women. Since women were poorly educated, they were weak in self-administration; and because they did no social work, they are poor in self-supporting. Therefore, they depended on men to live and there was no equality of men and women in nature,41 and the so-called freedom of marriage did nothing but gave men more priority in marriage; monogamy was virtually relied on the moral restraint of men which was obviously weak at work as men still took concubines, and chastity of women was still highly valued. Though monogamy was not widely recognized yet, the mode of love triangles had already been established in novels largely because of the introduction of foreign novels. Lin Shu had translated numerous works by H. R. Haggard. Here is a passage from one of his forewords to his translations giving a summary of Haggard’s writing skills: As for the plotting in Haggard’s stories, we see mainly two kinds from the twenty-six stories translated. It is either a story between two girls and a man or between two men and a girl. The former is represented by Eric Brighteyes, Allan Quatermain and Joan Haste; the latter is found in Elissa, Cleopatra and Colonel Quaritch.42

His viewpoint may not be accepted by the critics of the time, they’d at most agree that these stories shared similar structures but were with different descriptions. In other words, they were not much interested into the mode of love triangles, but the writers had already begun practicing it in their novels. There had been traditional

40 The

male protagonist of The Plum in the Golden Vase. Women Rights by Siqi Zhai published by Zuoxin Press in 1907. 42 The postscript of Colonel Quaritch, published by The Commercial Press, 1906. 41 In

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“pseudo-triangles”, “covert triangles” in which the third part was hidden, and especially, the real triangles that were full of perplexity of choice and were worthy of cultural value. In “pseudo-triangles”, there are three parties, but the third party was usually arranged by the side of parents who represent either feudal ethics or money. For examples, in Stones in the Sea, Qin Ruhua and Gu Renfen fell in love with each other and were engaged, but they were separated from each other because of the war, and Ruhua’s father finally forced him to marry Miss Bi; in The Hall of Broken Zither, Qionghua and Yunlang fell in love with each other, but Qionghua’s father disliked Yunlang because of his poor family and betrothed Qionghua to a court functionary; in Mirror of Love Tragedy, Wang Keqing loved Xue Huanniang and was engaged with her, but his father forced him to marry the daughter of a high official; in The Sad Story of Xiaqing, a poor learner Liu Qizhai was in love with Shi Xiaqing, a girl from a rich family, but the girl’s stepmother insisted on marrying her to a good-for-nothing young man from a wealthy family; in Change and Turbulence, though Yunlin and Wu Shuyi had an affinity to each other, Yunlin had to marry another girl since the parents of Yunlin and Wu Shuyi disapproved of their marriage. These five novels were well-known at the time, telling love tragedies that originated from their parents’ orders as was required by feudal ethics. Conflicts did not exist between the lovers themselves but between the lovers and the commanding parents who represented the feudal notion and force. As for the third party in the love triangles, he/she actually counted for nothing. Therefore, love triangles did not exist at all. Either for money or for parents’ authority, love tragedies were then created. This was not rare in traditional fictions. Structurally, there was nothing new in these five novels, and they just changed the traditional happy endings into tragic ones. An important difference in the love tragedies of the time is the thought of freedom of marriage. In Stones in the Sea, Ruhua recognized the wrong feudal notion of “marriage shall be arranged by parents and matchmakers”, saying, “If there were no such feudal notion, I would marry Renfen.” Wu Shuangre claimed that his purpose to write Mirror of Love Tragedy was to edify the parents with the modern idea of freedom of marriage so as to help the young people in love to escape from the mental sufferings of the old ideas.43 Love triangles could exist only when the male and female protagonists are entitled as lovers to take up the responsibility of love or marriage. There are no real love triangles in the novels by Wu Jianren and Lin Shu. Although they are aware of the existence of the third parties, and even have a third party who does not exist in the novel but functions as the role of the third party, the characters in their novels are not entitled to choose their true love. What they sing in their novels is still the chastity of women, and sometimes, they sing for the virtue of the characters, but the subtext is to expose the dark sides of the freedom of marriage. Apart from those who do not adhere to Chinese traditional ethical norms, in the novels of Wu Jianren and Lin Shu, there is another kind of women who are also criticized. They are women recognized as “new women”. They are influenced by 43 In

the author’s preface to Mirror of Love Tragedy, published by Minquan Press, 1914.

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the Western culture. In many cases, they know a foreign language, love money and are coquettish and never behave themselves traditionally (such as Miss Kuan in The Reform and Miss Zhan in Bubble Dreams). In the novels of Wu and Lin, they highlight the traditional virtues of women to set against the “new women”. We see that the traditional rich-poor or beautiful-ugly conflicts of the images of women in the novels have changed into old–new, and eastern–western ones. In terms of the cultural significance of female images, new novelists have broken the traditional mode of “beauty and vanilla” or the mode of “beauty and hero”; instead, they voice the intellectuals’ choice of cultures in their choice of the two kinds of women in China in the twentieth century. Of course, the two cultures are simplified and abstract in their works as a result of the writers’ objective attitudes so that the stories are usually dramatic, and the characters are often caricatured. As for the focus on females rather than males as the symbols of the old culture and the new culture, it is much related to the patriarchal tradition. In most of the novels, it is a man who needs to make a choice between two women. Even in a small number of the novels44 that leave the choice to the woman, she is left to make a choice to construct her image as a woman: to be a new woman or a traditional woman. Actually, the writers focus on the same point: what is an ideal woman? Or further, what is an ideal wife? On the one hand, new women and traditional women were characteristically distinguished as a cultural symbol; on the other hand, women had always been an issue in literary works as is read in what a woman said to her brother in the 40th chapter of Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years: Men always take women as the issues of their poems. I just hate it. And not only in poems but also in paintings; there are only paintings of beauties. Nobody has painted men. Men only appear in picture-story books.

Poems of women and paintings of beauties are all for the aesthetic appreciation of men. The conflict between the new women and the traditional women well demonstrates the writers’ attitude. Leaving aside the attitudes they have, we see that the mode of love triangles brought about by the conflict between the new women and the traditional women has provided the early republican writers with a new way of plotting. What’s worth noting is that the writers revealed their perplexity of making choices— the choices of two kinds of cultures disguised as the choice between the new women and the traditional women. Therefore, it’s not the mode of two men fighting for a woman or two women for a man, but the mode of a man’s choice of two women or a woman’s choice of two men. That is, it’s not the problem of whether the man or the woman can get his/her true love nor the problem of how to get his/her true love, but the problem of which man or woman to get. In such a choice, the two roles to be chosen are not virtually involved in the conflict since the conflict mainly lies in static psychological descriptions and value judgment and is too weak to create 44 Such as Miss Lin’s Marriage, The Story of An Imperial Concubine Named Nangong and A Compendium of Monsters.

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actions. As a result, the love triangles do not work well in plotting, but culturally, the unstable triangles in a sense speak for the early republican writers’ understanding of the east and west cultures. Miss Lin’s Marriage by Bao Tianxiao, The Story of An Imperial Concubine Named Nangong and Freedom by Zhou Shoujuan, and A Commentary of Monsters by Qian Xibao, all of these novels tell how a woman made a choice between two men of different types. In the first two novels, the female protagonists parted with the men they loved either to stay in line with the traditional ethics or to pay a debt of gratitude, but in Miss Lin’s Marriage, the female protagonist was in favor of the new thoughts and in support of the idea of divorce, and in The Story of An Imperial Concubine Named Nangong, both Renfen and the man she loved were in favor of the new thoughts—here, the old conquered the new. In the last two novels, the female protagonists finally married the men they loved. In Freedom, Shulan married the man she loved after her husband died and upon his death, he said to Shulan, “I’d return to you your freedom”. In A Commentary of Monsters, He Bizhen left her husband and married Zhang Qiuchi as his concubine, for she thought that polygamy was acceptable if the man and the woman loved each other. The third party was occasionally cleared up since the writers would rather not intensify the conflict, but they did portray new women who dared to discard the idea of chastity of women and to pursue the right of love and the freedom of marriage. However, they are not typical and reveal the cultural significance behind the triangles only when they are considered by referring to some other novels. Different from them, novels by Xu Zhenya, Su Manshu, and Zhang Shizhao are self-contained in that they are of no need to turn to other works for cultural significance. The most distinguishing characteristic of love triangles in the novels by Xu Zhenya, Zhang Shizhao, and Su Manshu is the choice between a man and two women (exactly a new woman and a traditional woman). They are the best early republican writers who consciously make clear their attitudes toward the east and west cultures by making a choice between the new women and the traditional women. Only in the works of these three writers is the cultural function of love triangles fully displayed. In He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story, Mengxia and Liying were in love with each other, but Liying was widowed and could not marry Mengxia according to Chinese feudal ethics. In this situation, Liying tried to persuade Junqian (her sister-in-law) to marry Mengxia. Yet, Mengxia’s love for Liying never diminished. A tragedy of love thus occurred. In the story, Junqian was a representative of new women who were in support of the freedom of marriage while Liying was no doubt a representative of traditional women. Mengxia did not like Junqian, and in his letters to Liying, he much assailed the men of new thoughts and felt sorry to be one of them. This is somewhat in line with the writer’s attitude toward new women. In the other works of the writer of the novel,45 we clearly see his negative attitude toward the new women. 45 Such

as his eulogy of the chastity of women in the story of “Death” in Zhenya’s Free Writings, his satirical writings in False Freedom, his criticism of the young female students in the preface to Eulogy to the Moon.

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In contrast with Xu Zhenya, Su Manshu’s stories are depressive. Love triangles in which two beautiful women are in love with the same gentleman is frequently seen in his stories.46 These stories of love and hatred are touching and intricate, all with a sad end. There are usually two types of women in his stories, one being typical eastern ladies who are demure and elegant, introverted and tender47 and the other being Westernized ladies who are passionate and persistent, smart and resolute.48 Both of these two types are lovable though not ideal. Facing the two types of women, the male protagonists were disorientated and agonized. At the end of the stories, Sanlang, Zhuang Shi, and Haiqin49 all became converts to Buddhism. The dilemma in the choice of the two types of women revealed the writer’s perplexity of the two different cultures of the east and the west. Being a forerunner of historical transition, Su Manshu had a more profound understanding of both the traditional Chinese culture and Western civilization, making it difficult for him to choose either of the two. This spiritual contradiction was universal among the writers of the early twentieth century. They were influenced by Western civilization yet were at a loss to cope with it and its conflict with traditional Chinese culture. Most writers were inclined to explicitly make a choice of either of the two, but Su Manshu would rather display the problem in his stories and leave it to the readers. Zhang Shizhao is not a novelist, but his novel A Chance Meeting was worth reading. In his preface to the novel, he introduced it as “a profile of the transition system of marriage from the old to the new”.50 Speaking of the Chinese system of marriage at its transitional period, he naturally depicts the old and new image of men and women at the time. Different from Xu Zhenya and Su Mansu, he saw old in the new and new in the old, and never simply made a dichotomous judgment for the old or the new. There are two love triangles interrelated in the novel. One was set up among the male protagonist He Mishi and another two young women Qiqing and Shendu while the other one was among the female protagonist Qiqing and another two men He Mishi and Gui’er. Shendu was simply a woman of loose moral and Gui’er was totally a randy man who disguised himself as a reformist to lure women. Only He Mishi and Qiqing were normal people who criticized the old ideas of marriage and respected the traditional ethics as well. He Mishi could not agree more with Qiqing when she said, “only when a person well understands both Chinese culture and Western culture can he communicate with the two cultures”. This is no doubt the view of the writer.

46 Such as Sanlang and Xuemei and Jingzi in Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story, Zhuang Shi and lingfang and Lianpei in The Story of A Broken Hairpin, Haiqin and Weixiang and Fengxian in It’s Not A Dream. 47 Like Xuemei in Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story and Weixiang in It’s Not A Dream. 48 Like Jingzi in Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story and Fengxian in It’s Not A Dream. 49 Sanlang, Zhuang Shi and Haiqin are, respectively, the male protagonists in Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story, The Story of A Broken Hairpin and It’s Not A Dream. 50 See in the magazine of Jia Yin, Vol. 1, No. 4, 1914.

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In summary, the mode of love triangles was preliminarily established in the stories by the new novelists who were inspired by the Western novels, and the writers implicated the choice of culture in the choice of women. In addition, there are another two minor types of motifs of the late Qing and the early republican novels. One is the motif of “the conflict between hypocritical and real gentlemen with no official posts” as is read in The Flower in the World of Retribution and Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years. The other one is the motif of “the conflict between rich and poor and between good and evil” as is read in Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel and some of the short stories by Cheng Shanzhi and Ye Shengtao. The first one had inherited the tradition of The Scholars with nothing new whereas the second one did make a good trial that was further developed by the May-Fourth writers at a later time. The specific function of the narrator of the second type and the distance it thus created between the early republican writers and the May-Fourth writers are discussed in detail in Chapter Eight of this book.

Chapter 8

Travelers in Narratives

Fiction writing that takes a traveler as the protagonist did not begin in Qing Dynasty, but it is the new fictions of the late Qing Dynasty and the early republican period that came to be a notable literary phenomenon and to play an important role in the transformation of the narrative modes of Chinese novels. Personages in the new fictions were often on the move with changing settings. It may be caused by war migration, diplomatic missions, overseas studies, international trades, service export, etc., or by writers’ conscious artistic pursuit. The traveler could be a free traveler (like Lao Ts’an in The Travels of Lao Ts’an), or someone who was forced to leave his hometown (like Gu Wangyan in Travelings in Shanghai). Whoever they were, one thing was in common—they observed and discovered new things from the perspectives of the travelers and thus created a specific sense of strangeness and freshness. Few of the travelers in the new fictions were real travelers like Xu Xiake,1 but the technique of travelog was well accepted by the writers then. Travelers of the novels of travelog played a decisive function in establishing the holistic structures, the shift of narrative perspectives and the new way of value judgment. It’s more self-adjustment of Chinese novels to adapt to the challenge brought about by the introduction of foreign fictions than a simple imitation of foreign fictions; therefore, there often is a discernible connection with the Chinese literary tradition in the fiction writing of the time.

8.1 Motif of Enlightenment and Unity of Plot Unlike dramas, there are no “Three Unities” of novels in which the personages and settings change freely. As a matter of fact, few of the traditional Chinese family sagas (or love affairs) with captioned chapters are of stable settings and places, but 1 Xu Xiake (1587–1641), A Chinese Geologist, traveler, and man of letters of Ming Dynasty whose

Travel Notes of Xu Xiake is well known to all in China. © Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9_8

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the difference is that the change of the settings is usually caused by the narrators of different storylines. Even the spatial displacement caused by the characters’ travels serves most probably for the plot development rather than for the mental development of the characters. Of course, traveler narrators for plot development also exist in new novels such as The Nine-tailed Turtle by Zhang Chunfan and Nightmare of Fortune by Huang Xiaopei. In the former, Zhang Qiugu traveled in the cities of Tianjin, Nanjing, and Guangzhou where he did nothing but played in brothels, making a contrast between the bold and straightforward northern prostitutes and the gentle and enchanting southern prostitutes; in the latter, Zhou Yongyou was forced to leave his home and fled to Siam. He was deprived of his wealth and social position, but his way of living was never changed. What’s worth being noticed is another kind of novels in which traveling is the key element to change the characters’ fate and their ways of living, and the traveling itself is a metaphor for the mental experience of the characters. In these novels, it is the traveling that enables the characters to observe, speculate, and analyze in a strange environment the things they’ve never seen and to have a new understanding of life. The things that are common to the local people may well attract the travelers and inspire them to think about the significance of life from new perspectives. New novelists are apt to attempt to bring forth the new through the old and to reflect their ideals of life in their novels, thus, it’s no wonder that they are especially fond of traveler narrations. What matters in the traveling of new novels is the state of mind and the fresh angles it provides to see things, and the length of the journey is not important. Gu Wangyan took refuge in Shanghai2 ; Bangjie and Tingyan traveled in Nanjing3 ; Bian Zisheng and Yang Xinzhai traveled in Suzhou and Hangzhou.4 Short journeys as they are, they are crucial to the travelers because they indicate the pilgrimage to truth. Gu Wangyan went to Shanghai to join the revolutionists, yet he was disappointed to see the tyrannical government and some hypocritical revolutionists, and finally left for Japan. The writer expresses his viewpoint of the current situation of the time in the narrations of Gu’s travels in Shanghai. He made Gu traveled to different places, hearing from various political, social, economic, and cultural arguments and making judgments of his own. Though Bangjie and Tingyan thought not as deeply as Gu, they gradually saw that the so-called “reforms” and “civilization” were somewhat deceptive, so they returned to their hometown. At the end of the novel, Tingyan left home traveling again and Bangjie established a school at home preaching against foot-banding. Bian Zisheng and Yang Xinzhai’s travels were the most fruitful. Bian Zisheng was pragmatic and never believed in superstitions while Yang Xinzhai, his cousin, was ignorant and stubborn. Therefore, Bian asked Yang to travel with him so as to help him “to see things right”. What they heard and saw on the way traveling did greatly awaken Yang. 2 In

Travelings in Shanghai. Bubble Dreams. 4 In Anti-superstition. 3 In

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The writers show their political opinion and ideals of life in what the travelers saw and argued—superstitions are deceptive or the introduction of Western civilization alone could not renew the Chinese society. In other words, they are somewhat romances of political arguments and the purport of them is to awaken the public and to express the writer’s ideal of life. The writers sometimes show their viewpoint ironically. For example, in The Civilized Society: A Novel, the three bothers of Jia family saw the chance of making money in the name of revolution and Rao Hongsheng went abroad on a tour of investigation of technology, but what he learned only remained at the level that the east and the west hemisphere are different. Such inspiration is no doubt an ironical laughing butt that is especially intensified by his sincerity. However, it does not matter whether the inspirations are negative or positive. What matters is the relation between the characters’ inspirations and their travelings that directly inspired them. Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story by Su Manshu and The Travels of Lao Ts’an by Liu’e are of distinctive features as two novels of enlightenment. In the former, the events of Sanlang’s leaving home to visit his mother and returning to pay a visit to his dead fiancee at her tomb serve well to reveal how and why Sanlang finally became a monk, and his fiancee and his cousin Jingzi are none other than trials for him. Besides, the title of the novel also well indicates Sanlang’s agony of life. In the latter, as a wise man, Lao Ts’an traveled to many places to awaken others rather than to be awakened, which is seen by his philosophical speeches. In the narration of the travels of Lao Ts’an, different characters (such as Shen Ziping, Yugu, Huang Longzi, Yiyun, etc.) are involved, and in their associations with one another, illuminating thoughts are conveyed. The conveyance of illuminating thoughts, in a sense, constructs the narrative framework of the novel. Here, although the traveler is a person who awakens the others rather than a person who is awakened by the others, the usual model of traveling and awakening keeps the same. As for the novels of Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, A Cold Eye on the World, The Story of A Woman Prisoner, and Stones in the Sea, they are not typical novels of enlightenment though they are meant to awaken people, for there are many digressions of either exposure of dirty deals or narrations of romantic love stories. Yet, one thing is in common—they are assembled by the characters’ travels. It is the relationship between the travels and the enlightenment that concealed the specific sense of plotting. Once the foreign novels were introduced into China during the late Qing Dynasty and the early republican period, many critics noticed the structural difference between the eastern and the Western novels—Western novels always centered on one main role and event while Chinese novels usually contain many characters and digressing events. Apart from Lin Shu’s appreciation of Allan Quatermain by Haggard that centered on one person,5 most of the critics held the positive attitude that it is exactly the distinctive features of Chinese novels that made

5 See

in the foreword to Lin Shu’s Chinese version of Allan Quatermain published by The Commercial Press in 1905.

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them more appealing to the readers, and that Chinese writers should be proud of it.6 However, no matter how much critics tried to argue for the superiority of the plotting of Chinese novels, the Western structure of one main person and event had been gradually accepted by Chinese writers. A good example is Wu Jianren and his Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years. Novels like The Bureaucrats: A Revelation narrate freely with changeable points of view and are centered on different characters, in which stories are fragmented. It may be convenient for romances as is testified by many excellent stories in classical Chinese literature, but it’s not easy for a grand topic that endeavors to draw a picture of people of various lives in the society. Novels of travels well solved the problem in which it sees and tells by the travelers so as to create the superficial wholeness of the novels at least. If the traveler’s traveling not only strings up the events but also accounts for the change of thoughts of the characters, the novel then may well achieve its wholeness indeed. Novels of the late Qing and the early republican period are usually of loose structures that tend to neglect the unity of the plot. Meanwhile, some writers tried to achieve the structural integration of the novels by revealing the enlightening thoughts in what the traveler narrator saw and commented.

8.2 Fillers of Historical Documents and Limited Perspective Novels of travels project the purport of enlightenment and the ideal of life onto the travelings of the protagonists. In addition, the traveler in the novel is also a witness of historic events and social vicissitudes in the time of turmoils. In China, it has always been regarded as the writers’ sacred duty to write to supplement historical documents. Possibly with the mind of supplementing historical records, writers meant to endow their novels with historical significance by taking the advantage of the convenience of the traveler’s rich experience and changeable points of view. What’s more, the choice of the traveler narrator indicates a reaction against the omniscient and omnipotent story-teller in traditional Chinese fictions. New novelists seldom consider the perspectives of narration, and it is at the beginning of the republican period that the classification of first-person narration and thirdperson narration appeared in literary critical writings. However, the perspective of narration of new fictions gradually changed along with the introduction of foreign fictions though the translators tried hard to adapt the foreign fictions to cater to the Chinese readers. The usual prelude of the story, the couplets titles, clichés like “here is a poem to go with it” or “to learn what will happen later, please read the next chapter”, all these traits of traditional Chinese story-telling were left out. Such variations seem to be minor in fiction writing, yet they undermined the tradition of the 6 See

more in “Chronicles of Chinese Fictions” by Wang Zhonglin in The All-Story Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 11, 1907; in “Comments on Fiction” by Chengzhi (Lyu Simian) in Chinese Novels, Vol. 1, No. 3, 1914.

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omniscient storytelling that has lasted for hundreds of years. The diminished voice of the story-teller enabled Chinese novels to develop from the omniscient narrator to more varied voices. Omniscient narration is advantageous for grand scenes of life and for psychological analysis of the characters. However, modern readers became dubious about the reliability of such omniscient narrations, which pushed forward the use of limited perspectives. In order to achieve the sense of reality of the novels, new novelists either based the novels on real events or interwove with anecdotes of real person, or involved news and reports from newspapers, or claimed that the story was from a notebook found unexpectedly. New novelists came to use limited perspectives out of the sense of plotting rather than of the mind of achieving the sense of reality. First, they consciously weave the story by centering on one main person and event, and then they try to keep the same perspective, which occurred coincidentally. The first 12 chapters of The Civilized Society: A Novel by Li Boyuan are centered on the officialdom of Yongshun county of Hunan Province; the first three chapters of Reality of China are centered on assistant minister Zhu. Compact as the structures are in these examples, they are still omniscient narrations. When it came to the novels Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, A Cold Eye on the World, Tales from My Women Neighbors, and Romaunt of Sword, writers began to try to narrate from the perspective of the characters. Although the technique was still imperfect and immature, the artistic exploration was no doubt worth trying. Here is not a problem of diversified narrative perspectives or of the technique of constructing stories, but a problem of adopting the specific perspective of observing lives, of thinking, of plotting, or of narrating in specific perspectives. It is crucial to the development of Chinese fiction writing, thus is restricted by the traditional aesthetics of Chinese fiction writing as well. In the negotiation of limited perspective and omniscient narration, the former pushed forward with great difficulties as well as growing influence, having sacrificed its distinctive features though. Therefore, when we acclaim the reformation of Chinese novels by adopting limited perspectives, we find it hard to give a successful example of such reformation. The writers’ ambivalence may to some extent account for it. They are tempted to use the limited perspective to center on one main person and event, but still lingered on the traditional omniscient narration for its convenience of the free shift of time and space; they wanted to achieve the sense of reality by making use of limited perspectives, but would not give up the use of historical materials for the reliability of the novel; they wanted to enhance the integration of the novel for its artistic value by the use of limited perspectives, but could not leave out the convenience of omniscient narration of grand social life for its historical value. Changing from the unitary voice of the story-teller to diversified narrative voices, Chinese novels had been much reformed. The new novelists were unable to go further to discuss some issues concerning narrative perspectives such as the changed reading habits caused by changed narrative perspectives, ironical effect caused by the distance between the narrator and the implied author, multiple narrative voices caused by the alternative use of different narrators. What they cared about was how to achieve the

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unity of narrative perspective so as to maximally reproduce great social vicissitudes. However, it is exactly the ambition of providing “fillers of historical documents” that hindered the use of limited perspectives in Chinese novels. Let’s temporarily put away the first-person novels of Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story and He Mengxia’s Diary which are regarded as forerunners of the May-Fourth autobiographical novels and are then of the significance of innovation, and put aside the enlightening novels of limited third-person narration like The Travels of Lao Ts’an and Travelings in Shanghai. The former is valued for its narration of a fixed point of view and the latter for being the only novel of the time that adheres to the limited third-person narration from the beginning to the end. Here we mainly focus on how the writers soften the conflicts between the traveler protagonist and the historical events and anecdotes of eminent figures. It’s worth being noticed that the narrator-I in the early first-person Chinese versions of foreign novels are always minor roles. That is, “I” gave accounts of what “I” learned from others (such as the stories of “my” friends) rather than stories of “my” own. In the four major magazines of the late Qing Dynasty, there are altogether 36 translations of first-person foreign novels. Except for The Wretched, all the rest narrator-I are supporting roles. They either record what “I” saw and heard as a stranger in strange environments or tell how “my” friend tracked down the criminal. As a matter of fact, it’s not rare in ancient Chinese fictions to see narrator-I as a recorder of an event or as an observer of social life. It testifies that the early new novelists read the Western first-person novels in the way they read the traditional collections of anecdotes. Writers take travelers as the protagonists either for its enlightening function or for its convenience to display grand scenes of life. As is mentioned before, the novels of Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years and A Cold Eye on the World are actually not typical novels of enlightenment. They are significant in that they provide the narrative technique of viewing the society from the perspective of travelers so as to include more people and events in the novel. That’s why traveler narration was once much in trend in the late Qing and the early republican period. However, it was nothing more than a variation of traditional collections of anecdotes, not as fresh as it seemed to be. Therefore, traveler narration could neither exert much impact on the traditional narrative perspectives of Chinese novels nor ever deeply impressed the readers. The act of storytelling in first-person narrations may easily achieve integrated plots, but the writers are not satisfied with the personal experiences of the protagonists because they are convinced that they must involve as much anecdotes of real persons to prove the historical significance of their novels. For example, Wu Jianren meant to “give a full picture of social ugliness that his protagonist saw in the twenty years he entered the society”7 and Wang Junqing had many scandalous stories of governmental officials that “could not end in three years”.8 In order to have enough stories to tell, the travelers often noted down the jokes and anecdotes they learned from others. Obviously, the stories in the novels are stringed up all by the protagonists’ travelings, 7 In 8 In

the 2nd chapter of Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years by Wu Jianren. the 14th chapter of A Cold Eye on the World by Wang Junqing.

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or else, the stories would fall apart like a tray of loose sand. Immature as the plotting is, the adherence to the first-person narration is a more advanced technique than the traditional omniscient narration. Third-person limited narration is more complicated. The new novelists relied on the technique of collecting anecdotes to keep the unity of narrative perspective, but they felt hard to stick to it because they are not satisfied with it since it restricted the possibility of displaying the grand social life. Take Tales from My Women Neighbors as an example. The first six chapters take Jin Bumo as the central consciousness to tell how he sold off his property and traveled to the north to collect war relief fund and noted down what he learned from his woman neighbors. Though it involved in almost all the aspects of the society of the time and the impact of the 1900 National Crisis upon the social life of people of different classes, the technique of anecdote collection forced the writer to narrate by second-hand accounts of the Qing army, the Boxers, and the Eight-Power Allied Forces. Therefore, with the purpose of reproducing historical truth, the later six chapters give up the third-person limited narration from Jin Bomo’s narrative consciousness and restored the traditional omniscient narration. Readers as well as critics then were more interested in the traditional omniscient narration of historical events that are free from the travelers’ first-person perspective. A good example is seen in the review of the novel Tales from My Women Neighbors made by Liu’e in which he focuses more on the distracting unofficial historical events rather than on the protagonist of the novel. Lingering between the tempting new technique and the old aesthetic principles, the new novelists found a compromising way to narrate—to have someone going through the whole novel so as to reproduce the full picture of historical events. The most typical writer is Lin Shu. In the forewords to his novels of Romaunt of Sword, Moment in Nanjing, The Epic of A Heroine, and Love of Warring Time, Lin Shu mentioned several times how he set his romances of gifted scholars and beauties against historical events. Lin Shu was clear about the awkward situation of the choice between the traditional omniscient narration for the convenience of reproducing historical truth and the unity of narrative perspective of the novel, and he sometimes reminded the readers of the means by which he deals with it. A great writer as Lin Shu is, he finds it hard to deal with it, for limited narration may be easier in love stories but difficult for grand state affairs. In the 32nd chapter of his novel Romaunt of Sword, he tells how he coordinated the contradiction between the two: The city of Peking was broken through and the Eight-Power Allied Forces soon swept into the city. How to present a full picture of it in the novel? The story in the novel is told from Bing Zhongguang’s perspective, but at the warring moment, he dared not to go out but took shelter at home all day long. How to stick to his perspective and give accounts of what happened in the city? To be frank, in novels, the character cannot fully reproduce history if he has no sufficient historical materials, but if you require perfect history, why not turn to official history books? For a grand topic, we need both limited perspectives and omniscient perspectives as is taken in the compilation of annals so as to give a microscopic view as well as a macroscopic view of it. Here in the novel, omniscient perspective is adopted to describe the social situations of the time and shifted later to Bing Zhongguang’s perspective again.

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Therefore, in the novel, Lin Shu takes two chapters to tell what occurred in the government and explained from time to time why the writer had to give up Bing Zhongguang’s perspective for the time being. Actually, there are similar awkward situations in the other chapters. Lin Shu tried to expand Bing’s vision and achieve the reliability of the narration as well by giving clearly the channel of the information. For example, from the 20th to the 26th chapters, after the very detailed accounts of the Boxer Movement that could not be observed by Bing alone, he added, “Bing has learned all these from Huiyue who was much experienced and had many friends”. The 27th chapter of the novel describes the death of Yuan Xunqiu and Xu Zhuyuan which is impossibly seen by Bing, so the writer explained, “Bing was at home all day long and he learned the death of the two from others”. In the novel The Epic of A Heroine, Lin Shu makes full use of this method to tell the love story of A’liang against the historical background of Yuan Shikai’s endeavor of restoring the monarchy. Obviously, Lin Shu is narrow-minded in his understanding of the third-person limited narration. That’s why, apart from the additional explanations, he achieved little in the use of narrative perspectives even though he tried hard to be reasonable to keep everything within the protagonists’ knowledge so as to keep the unitary perspective in the novel.

8.3 Involvement of Travelogues in Novels Except for Yu Mingzhen who recognized the third-person limited narration from the angle of authenticity and elaboration,9 most of the new novelists employed the thirdperson limited narration for the combination of personal experiences and historical events with the purpose of keeping the integration of the novel. This has to do with the introduction of travelog into novels. At the end of Qing Dynasty, a great deal of overseas first-person novels was translated into Chinese and had attracted increasing attention of the writers and critics. However, few third-person novels were translated, and few reviews were made on them. As a matter of fact, new novelists did not directly learn the third-person limited narration from the Western writers, but they learned from them how to tell stories centering on one main person and event, and together with the traditional travelog they were accustomed, they tried to unite everything all through the protagonist. Thus, the specific use of third-person limited narration was invented by the writers of the time. Travelogues were much favored by Chinese writers in history. Some new novelists had travelogs (e.g. Liang Qichao and Lin Shu) and some made theoretical comments 9 See

more in the installment of “Essays by Gu’an” by Yu Mingzhen in Collection of Fictions, No. 5, 1907 in which Yu Mingzhen made a comment on The Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes that it made the narrative more reliable and easier to be elaborated from an external focalization—the perspective of physician John Watson, assistant of Sherlock Holmes. It is actually a discussion of achieving the sense of reality of novels from the approach of limited narration. But it’s a pity that Yu Mingzhen did not go further into it; Gu’an is the pen name of Yu Mingzhen.

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on it,10 and none of them were impressive nor insightful. The best travelogs may be read in novels. Liu’e once suggested that some chapters of his novel The Travels of Lao Ts’an be read as travelogs. Nevertheless, travelogs in novels are not the travelog in its general sense. Travelogues take down the time and places of one’s trips and make comments on what he sees and hears in his journey. Whether scenery descriptions or stories of people in travelogs, all shall be within the consciousness of the travelers. Scenery descriptions are changing along with the travelers’ travelings and the stories of people are filtered by the travelers. A traveler of travelogs is definitely an observer. If he notes down the stories of people in his imagination rather than in reality, his travelogs become fictions. Such is the case with the short story of The Peach Colony by Tao Yuanming. In the fictions of classical Chinese of Ming and Qing dynasties, we often read tales of mysteries or supernaturals from the travelogs in the fictions, such as A Dream in a Garden by Wang Zhuo, The Village of Taoyao by Shen Qifeng, The Story of Tanjiu by He Bang’e, and The Mysterious Experience of Shangguan Wangu by Yue Jun. In such fictions of travelogs, the writers narrate in either first-person narration or third-person limited narration other than the traditional omniscient narration. Yet, most of them are short stories and not as good to bring much focus to them, and it’s a pity that no Chinese novels with captioned chapters adopt the specific perspective of travelogs, even those that have the word of “travelogue” in the titles. Setting love stories against a specific social background is not a fresh technique in earlier Chinese narratives such as The Peach Blossom Fan, A Commentary of Monsters, etc. Narratives centered on one main person and event are neither rare in the romances of gifted scholars and beauties of the late Ming and the early Qing dynasties. What gives a refreshing reading experience in such new novels as The Travels of Lao Ts’an, Travelings in Shanghai, Tales from My Women Neighbors, and Romaunt of Sword is that they narrate with limited perspectives as is done in travelogs. First, in these novels, the stories are developed from a moving perspective of the traveler rather than the traditional fixed perspectives preferred by the earlier writers. The first two examples above explicitly use the word of “travel” in the title while the characters in the last two examples, either to the north or to the south, all traveled much in China. Second, stories are told by the characters rather than by the story-teller in traditional narratives who gives everything. The writers may note down the hearsay however strange it seems to be, but they always do it from the traveler’s perspective. Third, the travelers are merely observers of the historical events and social problems on which the novels focus—they are witnesses of the times by living in strange environments, seeing and hearing what happened in the society, either observing publicly or investigating privately or meeting unexpectedly. Zeng Pu and Lin Shu think that The Flower in the World of Retribution and Romaunt of Sword are artistically better than The Peach Blossom Fan since the latter centers too much on the love story to take Li Xiangjun as the female protagonist whereas the former two take Fu Caiyun and Bing Zhongguang as the observers so as to give fuller pictures 10 Such

as the chapter of “On Genres” in Essays Written at Chunjuezhai Study by Lin Shu; “How to Teach Writing in Middle Schools and Higher Education” by Liang Qichao.

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of the historical events in the two novels. These three aspects of fiction writing are not the general practice in traditional Chinese novels, but something resulted from the technique of the travelogs in the new novels, which adds some new blood in the characterization, narration, and scenery description in Chinese fiction writing ever since. In the ancient vernacular Chinese fictions, the narrators are always omniscient who may go deep in the mind of any character. But in the novels of travelogs, the stories are told from the perspective of the traveler who is ineligible to touch the mind of his own. In first-person novels, the writers usually do not make psychological analysis of a third person though sometimes transitions of focalization may occur. But in thirdperson novels, it’s not easy for the writers to avoid it. Take Travelings in Shanghai as an example. The writer narrates from the perspective of Gu Wangyan who notes down what he sees and hears in his travelings and it’s natural to make an authorial revelation of his mind as is mentioned several times in the novel, “he thought that…” Li Ruoyu is a character in the novel who is most sympathized and focused apart from Gu Wangyan. However, the writer never transgressed the logic to describe his psychological activities. He let Li Ruoyu reveal his innermost feelings to Gu so as to tell how Li changed from a young man who had been active in public welfare undertakings to a depraved pessimist who was indulged in wine and women. Besides, the writer never made any psychological analysis of the hypocritical revolutionists who were actually mean profit-makers. Instead, he tried to expose the ugliness of them from what they said and how they behaved. New novelists tried to restrict psychological activities within the consciousness of the focalizer though very few of them could do as well as did the writer of Travelings in Shanghai. The writer narrates from the perspective of Bing Zhongguang, and speaks off his mind sometimes, but in the 34th chapter of Romaunt of Sword, the writer cannot help giving descriptions of the psychological activities of Mei’er. It’s normal in traditional Chinese fictions, yet the writer was still somewhat guilty of it and excused himself, “This is assumed by the narrator. Mei’er may not really think it this way”. In The Travels of Lao Ts’an, it mainly narrates from the perspective of Lao Ts’an except for the description of Shen Ziping’s appreciation of music and that of Madam De’s missing of Yiyun, and an abrupt detective story from the 15th to the 20th chapters. In the ancient vernacular Chinese fictions, the omniscient narrators are free to dispose of the characters and plots, but narrators in the novels of travelogs must follow the steps of the traveler to see what he sees and to hear what he hears. For example, Gu Wangyan in Travelings in Shanghai learned about the burning of his house and the death of his old servant from his country fellows while he hid himself under the table in a temple. Although it is somewhat far-fetched with too many coincidences, either by overhearing or meeting unexpectedly, it is indeed a reaction to the traditional omniscient story-teller. In the first six chapters of Tales from My Women Neighbors, it gives a profile of the social turmoil of the 1900 National Crisis through the harangue of Master Kongxiang, the complaint of the old woman storekeeper, and the tearful story of the girl singer. In contrast to it, Romaunt of Sword closely displays the deplorable society during the 1900 National Crisis from Bing Zhongguang’s perspective, but the writer found it illogical to have Bing experience everything of it, so he gave

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authorial details of it with additional explanations of the sources of the information. This is more of the writing technique of traditional fictional sketches of hearsay that usually provide the source of the hearsay. However, what’s worth noting is the writer’s consciousness of keeping the unitary perspective of the novel—the perspective of Bing Zhongguang. To achieve a sense of reality, writers need to consider not only the representation of the story from the perspective of the characters but also the logicality of the characters’ perception of the story. The new novelists never make clear of this theoretical point, but they have left some traces of such considerations in their novels. In the 5th chapter of The Travels of Lao Ts’an, after Lao Dong told the story of how the bandits regretted having hidden the stolen stuff, Lao Ts’an asked immediately, “how he learned the bandits’ regret about it?” The source of the information is thus given and omniscient narration is avoided as well. Scenery descriptions in the ancient vernacular Chinese fictions are introduced either from the perspective of a character or from the omniscient narrator in rhymed lines whereas scenery descriptions are always introduced from the perspective of the traveler in the novels of travelogs, the most typical examples of which are the visit to Lake Daming in The Travels of Lao Ts’an by Liu’e and the appreciation of plum blossoms of Chaoshan in Romaunt of Sword by Lin Shu. Comparing the diary of Liu’e on May 9, 1905, in which he records his visit to Huqiu Scenery Spot and Lin Shu’s prose writing of “Enjoying the View of Plum Blossoms of Chaoshan” in classical Chinese, it’s easy to see that both of the two writers write the travelogs in their novels in the way they write the diary and the prose writing. In Lin Shu’s prose writing of “Enjoying the View of Plum Blossoms of Chaoshan”, he starts with buying a boat for enjoying the plum blossoms across the river. He first sketches the contours of the groves of plum trees from the distance, then the view of the plum blossoms along the river. He strolled idly from the north hill to the south hill and from enjoying the groves of plum trees to visiting the ancient buildings. In his diary, Liu’e records that he went from Qimen gate to the foot of the hill, to the hillside, to Chanlin Temple, and finally to the backyard of the temple to have a full view of Suzhou city. One being a piece of prose writing in classical Chinese, the other being a piece of diary, all the two closely follow the travelers’ steps. Coming back to the two novels, we read similar writings in the 5th chapter of Romaunt of Sword in which Bing Zhongguang and the prefect enjoyed the view of plum blossoms of Chaoshan. The only difference is that in the novel, they met with a young woman which is a prolepsis of the later story. In the 2nd chapter of The Travels of Lao Ts’an, Lao Ts’an went off the boat from Quechua Bridge, and then strolled from Lixia Pavilion to Tiegong Ancestral Temple. From there, Lao Ts’an saw Qianfo hills in the distance, and the lake like a mirror in front of him, then he shifted his sight to the street and stores in the south, and as he turned back, he saw the couplets on the door. Then, he went on board the boat again, lotus flowers flanking on both sides of the boat and birds being shocked flying into the sky. Eating the lotus seedpod, he went back to Quechua Bridge. All of the scenery descriptions are displayed chronologically within the range of vision of Lao Ts’an and his footsteps. None is given from omniscient

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perspectives. All the scenery descriptions here can be read as normal travelogs. The same cases are found in all other novels of travelogs and the only difference is that they are of different qualities as travelogs Chinese writers tried to break through the traditional omniscient narration by introducing travelogs into novels—restricting psychological activities to the travelers themselves, narrating on the travelers’ central consciousness and describing scenery along with the travelers’ eyesight. They may consciously endeavor to keep unitary perspectives though with little achievement (e.g. Wu Jianren and Lin Shu). They may unconsciously give up such endeavors as is read in Tales from My Women Neighbors and The Travels of Lao Ts’an. However, without clear theoretical principles, it’s difficult to accomplish the shift of narrative perspective only by the introduction of travelogs in novels as we see that few of the new novelists adhered to the new artistic innovation and even if they did, they just made do with less artistic value. Here are some reasons for it. Though narrating from the perspective of the traveler may be helpful to keep the unitary perspective—to hear more than to see and to narrate more than to describe. However, a traveler cannot experience everything, especially those that happened at different times and different places. So he learned from hearsay of others who only gave rough accounts of it. If the traveler hears a piece of political discussion, the novel of travelogs could be dull. What’s more, if the stories are represented all through conversations, the novel may easily be transformed as a collection of short stories by means of the traditional omniscient narration if the traveler’s trips are left out. In addition, the writers intend to present great historical events through the eyes of the travelers as observers who actually cannot fulfill the task. Therefore, the writers have to give up the perspectives of the travelers and restore the traditional omniscient narration as is read in The Flower in the World of Retribution. Even if the writers tried to unite the historical events and the narrative perspective, it is usually far-fetched as is read in Romaunt of Sword.

8.4 Witness of the Hardships of the People Love and heroes or heroic love had been favored motifs of all the Chinese writers as well as the foreign writers in the early modern time. It’s unchanged in Chinese fictions even in the early twentieth century although the patterns of manifestation and the criteria of evaluation are different. New novelists began to concern about the mundane realities of people’s lives along with the spread of political ideas and the introduction of foreign fictions. Lingshi sighed after he read the Chinese version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, “we cried for us Chinese people now as we cried for the black slaves whose miserable life is exactly the present hardships of us Chinese people.”11 Sun Yusheng praised Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel, “the hard life in the novel is so touching that 11 See

in “Reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Lingshi in The Awakening, No. 8, 1904.

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we teared out all through the novel.”12 Zhou Zuoren wrote in the forward to his The Story of the Orphan, an imitation of the novel Claude Gueux, “decent society will never be realized if miserable life like this exists in the world.”13 The first two novels sigh with the strong emotion of Chinese people being enslaved, and the last one, from the angle of humanism, shows deep suspicion of the so-called “politics of strong power” of the time. They are of different levels of consideration, but one thing is in common—they all concerned about the destination of the nation by depicting the hardships of the people of lower classes. Depiction of the hardships of the people is not rare in ancient Chinese fictions, so is in some fictions of the late Qing and the early republican period, such as the novels Freedom of Marriage, A Hell on Earth, and The Strange Case of Nine Murders. They are innovative in that they not only add new thematic significance but also indicate new aesthetic interest in the novel. This is clearly shown in Lin Shu’s comment on the novels by Dickens, “He spared no effort to expose the darkness of the society in his novels, which may help the government to investigate and ameliorate it.”14 This is no different from the Chinese critics of the same time such as Liang Qichao who thought high of the didactic value of novels, taking novels as tools of social reformation. As a writer of excellent accomplishment of classical Chinese language and outstanding appreciation of foreign fictions, Lin Shu was able to see more of the novels by Dickens that mainly depict the lives of the people of lower classes. He saw the aesthetic value of the novels which was neglected by most of the critics who advocated novels that tell people’s hardships. In Lin Shu’s point of view, there are many fictions singing for loyal governors, dutiful sons, obliging husbands, and chaste women in traditional Chinese writings, but there are few writings telling the miserable lives of the people of lower classes. Besides, he holds the principle of realism for such novels to strengthen the sense of the reality of the novels: All the things are true to life as if being reflected by a mirror and reading a novel may seem like sitting on the bank to enjoy the view of swimming fishes.15

However, we had few such Chinese novels of mundane realities of life till then since it’s difficult to accomplish a novel this way. Such novels tell the trivial daily lives of ordinary people and are apt to be dull for the writers of poor capability of writing as is claimed by Lin Shu, and in his favorite book of Records of the Historian, he finds few cases of such writings. Novels like A Dream in Red Mansions and Outlaws of the Marsh have outstanding figures of gentlemen, pretty ladies, or heroic outlaws to attract the readers, but novels telling the mundane lives of ordinary people “are hard to appeal to the readers”,16 and it’s a great challenge for the writers to attract 12 See in the Foreword to Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel by Shushisheng (Zhang Chunfan), published by Shenpao Newspaper Office in 1905. 13 See in the Foreword to The Story of the Orphan published by Xiaoshuolin Press in 1906. 14 See in the Foreword to Lin Shu’s translation of Oliver Twist (Xiao Nü Nai’er Zhuan in Chinese), published by The Commercial Press in 1908. 15 See in the Foreword to Lin Shu’s translation of The Old Curiosity Shop (Zei Shi in Chinese), published by The Commercial Press in 1907. 16 Ibid.

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the readers by creating the extraordinary from the ordinary as is read in Dickens. It’s no wonder that Lin Shu placed his translation of David Copperfield on the top of the list of his translations of the forty foreign novels. Lin Shu later has had some novels and short stories, few of which really focus on the trivial lives of the people of lower classes. Many new novelists began to write to tell the hardships of the people of lower classes, most of which are short stories. However, most of these stories are too dramatic to be true—too many tragedies unbelievably occurred during a short period of time (e.g. A Profile of Workers). It is the May-Fourth writers who learned to tell the miserable lives of the ordinary people naturally and artistically. New novelists had a shallow understanding of the society of the lower classed people and their miserable lives, but the May-Fourth writers well inherited the motif of people’s harsh livelihood in traditional Chinese literature. They inherited not only the subject matter but also narrative perspectives, especially the choice of narrators in narrative poems by Du Fu and Bai Juyi, two poets of Tang Dynasty. In The Pressgang by Du Fu, the narrator happened to witness the pressgang because he arrived at Shihao village that night; in Song of the Lute Player by Bai Juyi, the narrator happened to hear the song of the lute player while he was on the way to see off his friends. New novelists are used to the way of leading into stories of people’s hard lives and making comments on the stories by a traveler. Such are the cases with The Lost Soul of An Opium Addict by Wu Jianren, Regional Autonomy by Yinjiao, The Result from the Police by Tao Baopi, Brutality of Burying the Son by Henren, The Lonely Phoenix by Xiyou, A Chance Meeting at the Cowshed by Bao Tianxiao, The West Lake and Flowers in Season by Zhou Shoujuan as well as A Wretched Person by Chen Shanzhi, and The Girl of A Poor Family by Ye Shengtao. It could be a first-person narrator or a third-person narrator, and the sufferers could be a worker, peasant, a beggar, or an orphan girl from the bottom of society. Whichever type the narrator is and whoever the sufferer is, what’s important is that it narrates from the perspective of a traveler, which has exerted much influence on the art of Chinese fiction writing ever since. Comparing to the sufferer, the traveler is an outsider, a bystander as well as a redeemer. Except for Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel in which it tells the overseas life of the Chinese immigrants in America by themselves, creating true-tolife pictures of the hard lives of the Chinese immigrants, most of the new novelists are extradiegetic narratives—taking the perspective of the traveler in the fiction and narrating the hardships of the sufferers with external focalization. Bystanders are sympathetic with the sufferers, but they don’t actually know their hardships. The fictions just show a certain attitude toward them, which is fully demonstrated from the narrators’ stereotyped comments on their hardships. The traveler was usually hurried on his journey and it’s natural that he met with the sufferers unexpectedly and could not identify himself with the sufferers. Besides, as a bystander, the traveler was usually aloof and detached, and could neither share the acute pain with the sufferers nor think further about the source of their hardships as did the May-Fourth writers. The only thing he did is to show sympathy with the sufferers, but such sympathy often somehow revealed the traveler’s superiority complex of morality. All these make such fictions sincere but shallow.

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In their deep consciousness, the writers were estranged from what they described, but they identified themselves too much with the narrators and the world narrated at the surface level. Neither did they fully involve themselves in the world narrated when necessary, nor did they think independently when they should stand aloof. As a matter of fact, artistically, fictions of travelers revealing the hardships of the people did not achieve much as satisfyingly as is expected. A qualified traveler may not be a qualified narrator who often functions as the spokesman of the writer to express his aesthetic judgment and rational thinking. The writer implicitly expresses his value orientation and the tone of his work by adjusting the distance between the narrator and the world narrated. However, the travelers in the new novels did not well fulfill the task since they either simply recorded what they saw and heard (e.g. Regional Autonomy and The West Lake) or totally identified themselves with the people in the world narrated (e.g. The Lost Soul of An Opium Addict and A Chance Meeting at the Cowshed). The loss of the independent voice of the narrator results in the absence of a different point of view, making the traveler merely a tool that strings up the events of the story. All these caused the new fictions less diversified in motifs and inferior to the May-Fourth works that give insightful viewpoints and sophisticated feelings. Moreover, the distance between the narrator and the implied author is also an important means to indicate diversified motifs. In new novels, everything is given by the narrators and the implied authors are deprived of their right to speak since there is no distance between the narrator and the implied author. The narrators are usually the spokesmen of the implied authors,17 leaving little room for rational thinking. However, what is explicitly expressed is limited and shallow, for the approach to deeper thinking is blocked because of the silence of the implied author. To a great extent, the poor handling of the relationship between the narrators and the implied authors may well account for the crude new novels that leave little things for the aftertaste, especially the novels of travelogs.

17 Such

as Jiusi Yisheng, a narrator in Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years and Yiying, a narrator in A Chance Meeting at the Cowshed.

Chapter 9

Documentation, Condemnation, and Sentimentality

The introduction of foreign fictions plays a very important role in the structure and the modes of narrative of Chinese new fictions, but the influence from foreign fictions is weakened in the respects of the overall style and aesthetic features. Some literary notions from the Western fictions are accepted by the new novelists but are soon acculturated in China. Traditional Chinese culture is still a decisive factor in the formation of New Fiction which only made some surface revisions but never changed the basic notion and motif of fiction writing. Although New Fiction has been enriched in writing techniques, the basic tone is stale on the whole. It does not mean that the new fictions should exactly follow the patterns of the Western fictions and have renewal altogether, but that during the reformative stage of the late Qing and the early republican period, Chinese new fictions had never slipped the leash of the tradition of Chinese literature. New fictions in this situation are inevitably twisted to some extent. It needs to be emphasized here that along with the introduction of foreign fictions into China, influenced by as well as corresponding to it, the genre of fiction is moving to the center of literature from a peripheral position. In the trend, the poem was introduced into novels and the novel was gradually acknowledged as a genre of literature. By “the basic tone is stale”, it means that the new novelists tended to seek the driving force of innovation from inside the Chinese literary tradition. Of course, the innovation is first activated upon the introduction of foreign fictions, which is especially seen in the most outstanding features of the new fictions as a whole—realistic, critical, and sentimental.

9.1 From Realism to Documentation In 1902, Liang Qichao first discusses the two types of fiction writing—idealist fictions and realistic fictions. He focuses mainly on the effect of the fictions of the two types, “the former leads the readers to a different situation and gives them a chance to experience different lives while the latter gives detailed descriptions of the lives that © Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9_9

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the common people are unable to see, to tell and to write themselves.”1 But he does not give an exact definition of realistic fictions. Twelve years later, a fiction theoretician defines the term “realism” in explicit terms in an article of nearly 30,000 words. But it is his definition that misled the Chinese writers in the understanding of the new term that was introduced then into China not long before: Realism means that the writers write wisely on the basis of facts in reality with little modification …. Such writings are more valuable since they record real happenings and can be read as history book. Thus, it’s highly suggested for the writers not to fancy about things that do not exist.2

Here, “realism” in question is equated to fact recording. The theoretician cited above was not the only person who mistook “realism” as “fact recording”. Wu Yu writes in his introduction to the novel A Profile of Songgang by Liu Changshu, “Recent writings in the west relied more on fact recordings rather than on fancies.”3 They set “realism” in opposition to “fiction” but connect it with traditional Chinese unofficial historical writing. The principle of “realism” was then soon accepted by the writers, but we see that realism which was just introduced into Chinese literature was thus totally distorted. Except for the habitual practice of taking the words too literally, one more important factor that caused such misunderstanding is the specific horizon of expectation of the Chinese readers of the time. In ancient China, the fiction is termed as “unofficial history” which is different from but relates to the official history in one way or another. It’s well-acknowledged that fiction writing in China had been greatly affected by historical writings. We don’t have epics in ancient China, and fiction writing relied mainly on historical books. It’s no wonder that critics as well as writers always trace fictions from historical books. Besides, drawing an analogy between fictions and historical books is beneficial to promote the position of fictions because historical books have always been highly valued in China. Writers as well as readers along Chinese history often write and read fictions in the way they write and read historical books. The influence of historical books on Chinese fiction writing lies in three aspects—the purpose of supplementing historical materials, the technique of recording facts, and the narrative skills of biographical writings. When the term “realism” was introduced into China, what the new novelists first considered is to make supplements of historical books by recording historical happenings, which had exerted a subtle but deep impact on the basic style and development of the new fictions. “New fictions shall be read as historical books”. However, the new novelists know well that fictions are different from historical books. They just want to show the value of fictions by saying so. In Publishing Announcement of the Office, the first important article discussing fiction writing, Yan Fu and Xia Zengyou clearly point it out: fiction writing backs up official historical books, for the former is written for emotion while 1 See

in “Fiction and Social Administration” by Liang Qichao in New Fiction, No. 1, 1902. in “Comments on Fiction” by Chengzhi (Lyu Simian) in Chinese Novels, No. 1–8, 1914. 3 See in Wu Yu’s Introduction to A Profile of Songgang in Short Story Magazine, Vol. 6, No. 11, 1915. 2 See

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the latter is written for morality, and the writings for emotion may contribute to the writings for morality someday.4 The argument is exciting but far-fetched in a sense. Ever since then, many critics as well as writers like to discuss the difference and resemblance between fictions and historical books, from which we see the specific theoretical perspectives of the time. Historical romances well present the close relationship between fictions and history. New novelists usually think high of historical romances, which is fully demonstrated in that historical fictions were usually given priority in the magazines of New Fiction and The All-Story Monthly. In “New Fiction, the Only Literary Magazine”, the first type of fictions recommended by Liang Qichao is historical romances,5 and in his Introduction to The All-Story Monthly, Wu Jianren expressed his strong will to write as much novels based on historical facts for educational supplements.6 However, as a type of new fictions, historical romances did not achieve much although a great deal of historical romances came out during the late Qing and the early republican period. Taking historical romances as educational supplements is motivated by the purpose of teaching people in their leisure time. The basic requirement shall be accurate in facts, and it is hoped that historical romances are based on historical facts and historical facts are led to the public by historical romances. New novelists talked about the problems of “facts and fancies” and “detailed and brief” in the same way as did their predecessors. Historical romances are difficult to write, for the writers must base the romances on real happenings in history and, meanwhile, try to refrain from simply presenting dull historical facts. Things are the same for the new novelists. On the one hand, they make use of the past to satirize the present and to take the chance to express their political attitude toward current affairs. On the other hand, they are too restricted from historical facts and dared not to prune in their writings, which finally leads their historical romances to the awkward situation—they are neither historical books nor novels. New novelists are better good at fictions of current affairs, a variation of historical fictions. Actually, the fiction of current affairs is not fiction in its real sense, and new novelists create the term to show a difference from their predecessors of historical romances that are mainly focused on the past. The well-known Wuchang Mutiny took place on October 10, 1911, and in November the same year, the novel7 based on the mutiny by Lu Shi’e came out; Yuan Shikai was enthroned in December in 1915, but the restored monarchy collapsed in March in 1916, and Yuan Shikai died of illness in June in 1916. One year later in August 1917, Lin Shu published his two novels based on it—Exposing the Bureaucrats: A New Version and The Epic of A Heroine. Both of the two novels depict historical events through love stories as is claimed by Lin Shu himself.

4 See

in National News, Oct. 16-Nov. 18 in 1897. in Sein Min Choong Bou, No. 14, 1902. 6 Published in the first issue of The All-Story Monthly, 1906. 7 The title of the novel is The Mutiny. 5 Published

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What’s more worth noting is The Guangzhou Uprising by Huang Xiaopei and A Monarch on the Throne by Yang Chenyin. The former tells about the Guangzhou Uprising occurred on April 4, 1911, and it began to be published in installments the same year in May; the latter tells in detail about the event of Yuan Shikai’s restoration of the short-lived monarchy in 100 chapters of 650,000 words, and it came out in 1916 immediately after the collapse of the monarchy. Containing no fancied love stories as is seen in the usual practice, the two novels concentrate mainly on the related historical events. The writers write in the way of writing historical books and the readers read them as none other than historical books. Different from the previous historical romances, documentation, and timeliness are the main features of the two novels. In the past, historical romances are based on historical books and anecdotes, but at the time of the early republican period, novelists took the responsibility of historians so that the compilers of historical books later had to seek proofs in such novels of current affairs. Wu Jingheng thinks highly of it, for “it starts a new era of the novels with captioned chapters in modern China”. He attributes it to the freedom of speech at the time. Anyway, historical fictions are not books of history. The writers usually write on their personal experience8 and street gossips. It’s hard for them to give accurate accounts of historical events. Moreover, they usually write in a hurry because they want to timely present their works to the readers shortly after the events occurred. Therefore, they have no time to polish their works in artistic quality. As a matter of fact, readers were usually attracted by the subject matter and did not expect much in the artistic quality of the novels. To be frank, A Monarch on the Throne is not much of a novel and The Guangzhou Uprising is not as good as the other novels by the same writer. New novelists tried hard to write with the purpose of making supplements to books of history and keep reminding the readers of this purpose from time to time in their novels—“this part can be a reference of books of history”. Such reminders are frequently read in the novels of the time. However, historical romances are never books of history since all the events in the romances are not based on facts. They are mixtures of historical facts and anecdotes of well-known figures within fabricated frameworks so as to produce both interest in reading and a sense of reality. The facts claimed by the new novelists in their novels may sometimes be fabrications. Such cases are found in many novels such as Lost-Dragon Array by Wang Junqing, Women of Freedom by Zhang Chunfan, and even in the novels by some well-known novelists of the time including The Flower in the World of Retribution by Zeng Pu, Change and Turbulence by Li Hanqiu and The Lost Soul of An Opium Addict by Wu Jianren—just to name a few. It matters not whether their claims are true or not. What’s worth noting is their preference of facts to fabrications. It seems that fact recordings with little modifications in the novel do not diminish the value of the novel but increase it instead. It’s no wonder that the new novelists would, consciously or unconsciously, tend to amplify the quality of documentation of their novels.

8 Huang

Xiaopei, the writer of The Guangzhou Uprising, had participated in the uprising.

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For the general readers of the time, the trivial lives of common people can neither help to make a supplement for historical documents nor arouse people’s interest in reading, thus are of little value to be noted. New novelists then tried to involve as many anecdotes of the well-known figures in their novels to cater to the public. The anecdotes should be cryptic so as not to invite trouble and not too obscure at the same time so that they work well to appeal to the readers. Privacy of the celebrities can well do. New novelists make well use of the public’s curiosity about the lives of the wellknown people to arouse their interest in reading. This kind of fact recording works well in the novels of exposure by Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren which are regarded as powerful weapons of the criticism of the society, but it totally gets abused later in the so-called novels of shady deals. Novels of current affairs that involve criticism of well-known people function as news reports in a sense. It’s understandable in a time when journalism was underdeveloped or was dependent on account of political intervention. However, it cannot go on for long as is seen by Qiu Weixuan: Newspapers in China develop slowly. Criticism of current affairs appeared not long before in two or three kinds of newspapers. Besides, they are usually reserved with modified diction. However, novels, though being long despised with less achievement, well inherit the tradition of integrity of Xia, Shang and Zhou period in China. Therefore, novels are indispensable before journalism thrives someday.9

Qiu Weixuan did not say whether such novels are still necessary after journalism thrives, yet we see from the example of The White Steed he sets for the warning of self-incrimination that he held a reserved attitude toward the novels that take the business of newspapers to follow up current affairs and satirize the celebrities. Interweaving street gossips in the novel may well attract the readers and enlarge the readership, but it is at the cost of the artistic pursuit of the novelists, degrading them to tabloid journalists. In other words, the novelist are doing nothing but commit chronic suicide and such novels are nothing less than opium—a small dose may do in the beginning but soon the dosage needs to be increased. They are no more novels but collections of street gossips of secrets and scandals. They are source materials at best. However, novelists who were as great as Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren were heavily reliant on such materials to produce novels. The words “dream” and “mirror” are frequently used in the titles of the novels of the time. The former indicates fabricating while the latter realistic. “Mirror Complex”—novels are like mirrors of reality—is widely accepted by the new novelists. They hope that their novels can reflect the dark sides of the society and help people learn a lesson from them. Apart from the metaphorical image of mirror in the novels, it’s easy to count at least 10 novels that have the word “mirror” in the title. Here is a list of them:

9 See

in the section of “Criticism by Qiu Weixuan on Fiction Writing” in New Fiction Serials, No.2–3, 1908.

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The Mirror of Establishing Constitutionalism (1906) by Wugong; Mirror of Evil: A New Novel (1906) by Ma Yangyu; Mirror of the Family (1907) by Ma Yangyu; The Cosmetic Mirror (1908) by Tiehan; Mirror of the Medical World (1908) by Rulin Yiyin; Mirror of Brothels (1909) by Zhishi Zhi Yimin; Bolan Mirror (1909) by an anonymous writer; Mirror of Bravery (1909) by Tiannan Lu Min; Mirror of Education (1910) by Yanshou; Mirror of Love Tragedies (1914) by Wu Shuangre

Besides, the short story of The Great Reform by Wu Jianren is appraised as “a mirror of establishing constitutionalism” and Change and Turbulence by Li Hanqiu is originally titled “Mirror of the Transition Period”. Whether the readers learn a lesson from the novels depends on whether the novels are reliable. The most reliable novel is the one that records real happenings in life. But if so, what’s the difference between novels and news reports? How long can a novel hold the readers with no fancy fabrications? What’s the specific charm of the novel as a literary genre? These questions were obviously beyond the new novelists at the time. On account of the misunderstandings of “realism”, new novelists went further from it and depended more on the so-called fact recordings of anecdotes, secrets, and scandals, which finally leads to the depression of the new novels that were once so vibrant and vigorous, leaving to the May-Fourth writers the task of reevaluating novels as a literary genre and producing realistic fictions in its real sense.

9.2 From Satire to Condemnation Taking the Xinhai Revolution (1911) as the demarcation line, the new novels show a clear feature—more laughter in the earlier stage and more tears in the later stage, for there have been more social novels of satires and caricatures in the earlier stage and more romances of sad love stories in the later stage. It is decided by the overall cultural climate and aesthetic taste of the time. In 1898, Liang Qichao published his On Publishing Political Fictions, in the first paragraph of which he gives the reason why people like reading fictions— different from the usual didactic writings, fictions are humorous, witty, amusing, and relaxing. This viewpoint is accepted and developed by his followers. It is not a formal theoretical point since the fictions created or translated by Liang Qichao himself are not humorous at all, and he just unintentionally told (or predicted) the main features of the new fictions. In the earlier stage, political fictions and social fictions take the most proportion of the new fictions. The former advocates new lives and the latter exposes the shady society. Political fictions swept past soon and had left a few impressive works, but it had exerted an impact on almost all the types of fictions later. Before the 1911

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Xinhai Revolution, social fictions were active, and writers of social fictions like Li Boyuan, Wu Jianren, and Liu’e were much critical of the reality of the society. On the one hand, facing domestic troubles and foreign invasions and bureaucracy and corruption, the public were indignant with the government. On the other hand, it was rather free for writing, and satirical criticism of the government would not be persecuted. Many writers wrote to satirize the government and the society. Besides, it has to do with the writers’ own artistic preference. Wu Jianren writes in the summary of his writings not long before he died: I’m not good at the writings of grand topics and disdain to write romances of love stories. I loathe the incapable government and the dark society and cannot resist making criticism in my writing. I feel glad to give vent to my opinion this way.10

Different from the writers of political fictions, writers of social fictions like Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren are actually skeptical of the political ideals introduced from abroad. Therefore, they would rather not follow it by writing political fictions of grand topics but stay aloof with a critical eye. Many of them would highly attribute or be attributed to their works the features of being humorous and witty as is read in Pengyu’s self-criticism of his Bubble Dreams and in the self-introduction of New Shanghai by Lu Shi’e, making it quite a literary fashion at the time. The most representative of “humorous and witty” new fictions is The Scholars, the structure of which had a great influence on the new novels of the time. That is the structure of collecting independent short stories to make up a novel. Besides, quite a number of critics then noticed its satirical technique of writing and made an accurate appraisal of it— “clear attitude with no praising or denouncing words”,11 “overtones with a few simple remarks succinctly expressing the ideas”.12 Few new novels then could do as good as The Scholars. They usually scolded bluntly with straightforward words. The style of amusing writings has a long history in China and has much inspired Chinese writers of narratives. A Collection of Classic Chinese Jokes sets the beginning of comic fictions. When it came to the late Qing and the early republican period, under the influence of Traveling Around the World and Funny Travels from abroad, there was a good atmosphere for the writers then to produce comic fictions. From the literary criticism of the writers as well as the critics,13 we see the public’s demand for comic fictions. However, the writers then either ignored it or found their ability to fall short of it. Except for the short stories by Xu Zhuodai, most of the comic fictions then were solemn, sliding soon from the presumed mild buffoonery to pungent satire. 10 See in the foreword to Social Ugliness in the Latest Decade by Wu Jianren, published by Guangzhi

Book Company in 1910. in “Comments on Fiction” by Yuxuesheng in New Fiction, No. 17, 1905. 12 See in Li Youqin’s review of New Shanghai. 13 Yu Mingzhen called for real comic fictions in an essay from “Essays by Gu’an” published in Collection of Fictions, No. 7, 1907; Xu Yucheng suggested to establish a column of “History of Comic Fictions” in Short Story Magazine in “A Letter to the Editors of Short Story Magazine” in Short Story Magazine, Vol. 6, No.12, 1915. 11 See

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It’s understandable that the reality is so harsh for the new novelists that buffoonery is not enough to express their critical attitude and it needs pungent satire to alleviate the anger of the people, which is well seen in Wu shuangre’s comic fiction of The Education of Smile. It has nine sections telling how the partisans of Smile gathered to make a declaration of smile and how much they achieved in teaching people how to smile, but the education of smile finally came to nothing in the last section because nobody could gracefully smile when the war took place. It’s nothing but a bitter and sardonic smile in this situation—there are full of such forced smiles in the new novels. Under the harsh reality of the time, the writers feel it hard to make clear their political choice and aesthetic taste by mild buffoonery, and they just want to get the criticism off their chest in no time. However, we should see that it is not that mild buffoonery is not a good way for social and political criticism, but that the writers then could not get the knack of it. Therefore, they chose the type of novels of exposure. In his A Brief History of Chinese Fiction, Lu Xun gives his definition of “novels of exposure”: Though this attack on abuses has something in common with the novels of satire, the criticisms were made openly without innuendo, sometimes even exaggerated to suit the popular mood, and the spirit of these works is intolerant. This is why I class these novels of exposure in a category by themselves.

Novels of exposure are not novels in the real sense, but a variation of satirical novels. In Lu Xun’s point of view, The Scholars is the most typical example of satirical novels, and novels like The Bureaucrats: A Revelation are variations of satirical novels. As a matter of fact, being viewed from the tradition of Chinese novels, the latter may be more typical as satirical novels and the former is a special case. But anyway, the term of condemnation is indeed a suitable word to give an overall feature of the satirical novels of the late Qing and the early republican period. First, satirical novels of the late Qing and the early republican period are more exaggerating. In Wu Jingzi’s case,14 he would leave twenty percent to the readers to think by themselves while writers of new novels like Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren would exaggerate it to the utmost and even to an unreasonable degree sometimes, as was criticized, “there is a common defect of the novels nowadays—they say too much.”15 Second, the characterization is much stereotyped and caricatured. Excessive deformation, being the same as excessive perfection, is a fault in characterization. A merit of The Scholars is that the characterization in it is diversified, but in the novels by Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren, we find no successful characterizations—there are either extremely good persons or extremely bad guys, though some detailed descriptions are attractive.16 Third, fierce remarks attacking the current politics are read everywhere in the satirical novels. The new novelists like to directly make comments on the characters and events in the novel or to make long speeches by means of the 14 Wu

Jingzi is the author of The Scholars. in “Comments on Fiction” by Yuxuesheng in New Fiction, No. 17, 1905. 16 For example, Goucai in Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years is simply a sign of corrupt governor rather than a flesh-and-blood person. 15 See

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conversations of the characters, adding more to the novel a subjective color. The last but not the least is that the novels are impassioned, pungent, and strongly contrastive on the whole, but cannot stand further reading and thinking. Apart from the artistic gift and personal capability of the writers, there are some other factors that may account for the writers’ straightforward condemnation in exaggerating diction rather than mild buffoonery—traces of oral storytelling, the influence from political fictions, and the use of jokes in the novel. New Fiction arises with the purpose to enlighten the public, and people with little education are included in the expected readers, as is commented by Xia Zengyou: Nowadays, fields of knowledge are expanded in which people of learning find themselves short of time to learn, and novels for them is simply a waste of time. However, women and poorly-educated people depend much on novels to be cultivated.17

Taking the people of little education as the expected readers, it needs to imitate the way of oral storytelling that they like. Features of oral storytelling in Chinese novels with captioned chapters are still traceable though they had been greatly improved by some great writers like Wu Jingzi and Cao Xueqin. In view of the narrative perspective and sentimental expression, it is true that new novels were getting rid of the features of oral storytelling at playhouses and getting closer to literary works in the real sense, but the exaggerating style of diction of the novels somehow expose the remained properties of oral storytelling. Zhang Henshui once mentioned it in his review of Change and Turbulence. The same cases are also found in the novels by Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren. Oral story tellers have to be impassioned and overacting, and assisted with mimic gestures to create the expected dramatic atmosphere in the playhouse. The mild ironical novel The Scholars is hard to be accepted in the playhouse. Consciously or unconsciously, new novelists were influenced by the way of storytelling in playhouses and meant to create a similar effect in the novel, but they did not realize that it was unfit for novels. Such examples can be found in the exaggerated description of Sun Laoliu’s killing of a quail in the 9th chapter of Chitchat in the Sun and the description of the farce of five pedantic scholars at Minglun hall in the 65th chapter of Change and Turbulence. The new novelists are too impassioned in politics to calmly observe and write, and they often make comments directly in their novels. Besides, Chinese versions of foreign political fiction set examples for them. Liang Qichao and his proponents introduced political fictions into China as the most important type of fictions, and they themselves also produced a batch of political fictions of Chinese style. However, political fictions were usually with abundant political comments, but dull in plotting so that they were not quite popular with the readers and soon died out. However, political fictions had inspired satirical fictions by their concern with the current affairs and the spirit of making straightforward comments on politics. Some new novels can be regarded as political novels in a sense such as The Travels of Lao Ts’an, Travelings in Shanghai, The Civilized Society: A Novel, Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, and A Compendium of Monsters, especially the last one that stresses 17 See

in “Principles of Fictions” by Bieshi (Xia Zengyou) in Illustrated Fictions, No. 3, 1903.

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the significance of making political comments in the novel in the beginning and the ending sections. Making comments in the novel is also seen in the tradition of Chinese fictions, but not as much as in the new novels, and in traditional Chinese fictions, authorial comments are more seen than making clear viewpoints through the characters’ conversations as is done in the new novels. And the purpose of the comments in new novels is to spread new thoughts rather than reiterate traditional morality. In a word, excessive political comments in the novel enhanced the tone of condemnation of the new novels. In the late Qing and the early republican period, jokes are often read in the magazines of new fictions. Many new novelists such as Li Boyuan and Wu Jianren like to borrow jokes in their novels,18 forming a specific feature of satirical novels of the time. First, they would adopt jokes that were once used by others. For example, that Tingyan was mocked when he farted at the feast in the first chapter of Bubble Dreams reminds us of a joke in Good Laughter, a collection of jokes by Shi Tianji. Second, they would adopt jokes that were widely spread but were not recorded in any published collections. This kind of jokes is usually vivid and funny while being spread and recreated among people so that they are often read in the novel with little modification. The funny story of a group of Manchu people eating shaobing19 at a tea house in the 6th chapter of Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years is a good example. Third, the writers would create and elaborate amusing stories in the novel. In the 3rd chapter of Experience of Unusualness, the 58th chapter of The Civilized Society: A Novel, and the 10th chapter of A Compendium of Monsters, there are similar stories telling that a governor was ill and some of his subordinates desperately curried favor with him and even recommended their wives to do massage for him. Different writers have different details elaborated, giving no feelings of simple repetition at all. The Scholars and The Bureaucrats: A Revelation are both satirical novels, but the former is critical with implicit buffoonery while the latter is explicit and exaggerating with too much amusement.

9.3 From Tragic Heroism to Mournful Love Before the translation of Camille, the first half of Morning and Night by British writer Edward Vulwer-Lytton and Looking Backward by American writer Edward Bellamy had been translated into Chinese. But it was the publication of the Chinese version of Camille that led to Chinese people’s interest in foreign fictions. Lin Shu’s excellent translation had well contributed to it, and the pathetic story of it greatly touched the readers who wrote in succession either poems or articles on it. One year later, Lin Shu translated Uncle Tom’s Cabin which is more pathetic than Camille. In Lin Shu’s forward to it, he writes, “I chose to translate the novel not to win the readers’ tears for the sad story, but to warn them of the current situation of national crisis in which 18 Wu 19 It’s

Jianren even created a term of “novels of jokes”. a kind of round baked food made from flour.

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we Chinese people are being enslaved.”20 Ever since then, more and more novels of personal misery and national crisis were introduced into China, and such novels were translated overwhelmingly more than novels of light tunes and were much popular with Chinese readers of the time. Maybe, it is that China was then in a situation of national crisis, Chinese readers then could better understand the novels of pathetic stories. Some people even doubt that Lin Shu would not win the reputation of a great writer if he did not first choose Camille to translate or that foreign fictions would not then be so popular with Chinese readers in such a short time. Such assumption is meaningless, yet, in a sense, it demonstrates Chinese readers’ taste in novels at the time. In terms of fiction creation of the time, sad stories are also popular with the readers. For example, Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel is about the miserable life of the overseas Chinese labors in America and The Sad Story of Housewife Lin tells how housewife Lin struggled to support the family life of her mother and two young kids after her husband joined the army and died in a battle, and hopelessly hanged herself in the end. Generally, political novels are more of tragic heroism whereas romances are more of mournful love. There are two categories of political novels. One is more optimistic in which it speaks up the social ideal positively and sees a bright future for China and Chinese people through the darkness of the present time. Such is read in The Prospect of New China by Liang Qichao and in Howl of the Lion by Chen Tianhua. The other is more pessimistic in which it criticizes the society and warns the people of the national crisis. The National Crisis of Being Parceled by Xuanyuan Zhengyi is a good example of it. Among the pessimistic political novels, those with the features of nihilist fictions are more worth noting since revolution is full of danger and assassination is even more dangerous however gallant the revolutionists are. Hence, the novels are inevitably sad and dreary. Sophia’s committing assassination (in Women Revolutionists in Russia by Luo Pu) and Sha Xuemei’s self-burning (in The Story of A Woman Prisoner by Wang Miaoru) are all tragic heroism. Qiujin and Zhang Zhaotong in Frost in June and Huang Huo and Guanguan in Freedom of Marriage mainly preached revolutionary ideas rather than involved themselves in battles, but the first two finally gave their lives to the course of the revolution and the last two were both put in jail. Corresponding to the tragic heroism in political novels, romances are of mournful love. The Sea of Regret by Wu Jianren and Stones in the Sea by Fu Lin set the tone early in 1906 with the publication of the two novels. Ever since then, few happy endings are read in love stories of the time though they had different types of romances. Different from the traditional pattern of love stories in which lovers finally live a happy life in the end, romances of the time often end in sorrowful death and parting, and love is full of tears rather than happiness. In the tearful love stories, people in love cannot escape from death in the end. Perhaps, they should be grateful to the writers if they are just plotted to abandon themselves or become monks instead of being put to death. In Xu Zhenya’s He Mengxia and Bai Liying: 20 See

in the postscript by Lin Shu to his Chinese version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Heinu Yu Tian Lu in Chinese) collected by Wulin Weishi, 1901.

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A Love Story, all the three in the entangled love died in the end. In Wu Shuangre’s Mirror of Love Tragedy, the two lovers also died miserably. Similar cases are found in The Sad Story of Xiaqing and The Sad Story of Housewife Lin by Li Dingyi, The Sad Story of Lanniang by Wu Shuangre, to name just a few. Novels of exposure mean to take amusing stories as weapons to criticize the society, but often they are amusing stories with sorrowful tears. As a matter of fact, few novels of exposure are light-hearted as they seem to be. In the 6th chapter of Tales from My Women Neighbors, it tries to tell in a light view how Jin Bumo saw many boxers’ heads wrapped roughly in red cloth hanging on the trees outside Dongguang town as if entering “a grove of peach trees in blossom”, yet he could not hold his tears upon it. Lin Shu comments on the two novels of The Civilized Society: A Novel and The Bureaucrats: A Revelation, “readers may find it amusing, but they don’t know how grieved the writer was while writing.”21 A large number of the new novels of the late Qing and the early republican period are sad stories. Why are sad stories so popular with the readers of the time? First, the writers’ personal experiences; second, the shift of the literary tradition. It’s a long tradition in China that the literates tend to write to give vent to their feelings when in poverty or in low spirit. Things are the same for the new novelists. What’s worth noting is that sentimentality in poems was then played up in fiction writing during the late Qing and the early republican period. Qiu weixuan once said “Similar to poetry, fiction writers also write from their discernment of hard life and works like these may go further.”22 Xu Zhenya also said, “Sadness is never easy to handle for poetry or for fictions.”23 Most of the new novelists found themselves unsuccessful in career and were of poor social status, and it’s no wonder that they would naturally paint a color of sadness in their novels. However, though the novels are of sad tune in common, they were more complicated in motif. Before he began to write novels, Wu Jianren had published a book Wu Jianren Cried in which he had 57 brief sketches that all end with “I cried”. For what did he cry? He writes, “There are many things with which I feel indignant or grieved. What’s worse, I can do nothing to help”. Most of the time, he cried for the national crisis rather than personal hardships. He writes, “Some people are so benighted to be awakened no matter how hard you try. I cried”. “Some governor submitted a report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that the idea of freedom is heresy. I cried”. “Conservatives think the Western thoughts heretical whereas people of a little knowledge of new learning easily forsake Chinese traditions. I cried”. “The public should be enlightened for the benefit of the nation. A person who is as slow-witted as me can do little to help. It’s a pity that slow-witted people like me are few to see. I 21 See

in “Translator’s Notes” in Lin Shu’s translation of Beatrice (Hong Jiao Hua Jiang Lu in Chinese) by H. R. Haggard, published by The Commercial Press in 1906. 22 See in the passage of “Writing in Depression” in “Criticism by Qiu Weixuan on Fiction Writing” in New Fiction Serials, No. 2–3, 1908. 23 See in the foreword to Tears at the Boudoir published by Guohua Book Company, 1914.

9.3 From Tragic Heroism to Mournful Love

197

cried”. Later, we see that such concern about the national crisis, illiberal governors, and poor knowledge of new learning as well as Chinese civilization went through all his novels, especially Travelings in Shanghai. In the foreword by Liu’e to the first edition of his The Travels of Lao Ts’an in the autumn of 1906, we hear him weeping all through it. In his point of view, human beings are full of feelings that cause them to weep, especially kind-hearted people, and he thinks that excellent works are all soaked with the writers’ tears: we see Zhuang Zhou’s tears in his Chuang-tzu, Sima Qian’s tears in his Records of the Historian; we see Du Fu’s tears in his poems, Emperor Li’s tears in his Ci-poetry, Zhu Da’s tears in his paintings; we see that Wang Shifu cried in his play of The Romance of West Chamber and that Cao Xueqin cried in his novel A Dream in Red Mansions. In the end, he makes clear his purpose of writing the novel—“we have sensibility in personal hardships, in national crisis, in the society and in beliefs. The deeper the sensibility is, the more we are grieved. All for this, I write this novel”. In the first chapter of the novel, Lao Ts’an dreamed that the boat he took aboard sank, which is quite symbolic as Liu’e writes in the forward, “alas! The game is nearly over and I’m getting old”. Liu’e concerns more about personal life though it’s closely related to national crisis. Su Manshu also concerns about the national crisis, which is demonstrated by some of his poems and his novel Burning the Sword telling the tangled warfare among war-loads that plunged the people into a miserable life. He depicts mournful love in novels as well as in poems. However, behind the mournful love, his writings indicate a more distinctive feature of philosophical consideration of life and death which is too complicated to tell for the characters, for the readers, and for the writer himself. But one thing is for sure—the mournful atmosphere is enhanced by the ancient temples and evening bells in his novels. Xu Zhenya and Li Dingyi are better good at stories of mournful love set in the national crisis as the background of the stories. Xu Zhenya writes in the forward to his Tears at the Boudoir, “It’s not so much a sad love story as a profile of the changing revolution time.”24 In He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story, Mengxia died in a battle in Wuchang. However, in their novels, the story of mournful love is still the focus of their concern. Xu Zhenya once made a comment on such novels: Most of them are inextricably sad and sentimental. The lovers either died or parted at the disposal of the writer. Readers are indulged in it whether it’s real or not, sighing for the lovers as well as the reality.25

Writers’ particular favor in stories of mournful love is partially out of their sentimentality in nature and partially driven by the book market for such stories. In Wu Shuangre’s Introduction to The Sad Love Story of A Young Girl by Xu Zhenya, he writes, “Zhenya’s novels are always full of tears such as He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story and its adaption of He Mengxia’s Diary, and the readers often suspended 24 See

in the author’s foreword to Tears at the Boudoir by Xu Zhenya published by Guohua Book Company, 1914. 25 Ibid.

198

9 Documentation, Condemnation, and Sentimentality

their reading, for they have to stop to wipe off their tears on cheeks. Here, we read a new one in The Sad Love Story of A Young Girl.”26 As a matter of fact, it is the same for Wu Shuangre himself and other writers of stories of mournful love during the early republican period. Another reason why writers then are in favor of death and tearful stories lies in the change of the attitude toward fictions which is highlighted all through this book. Due to the fiction revolution, fictions in China were promoted to be “the best of literature” and absorbed the essence of Chinese literary tradition all the way of moving from a marginal place to the center of literature. Just as Liu’e writes in his Self-introduction to The Travels of Lao Ts’an, writers consciously orientated themselves in the literary system consisted of the great writers like Qu Yuan, Zhuang Zhou, Sima Qian, Du Fu, Li Yu, etc. In the established literary system, the sense of sentimentality is particularly foregrounded. Liang Qichao is justifiable to say, “Generally, most Chinese literary works are of a spirit of critical realism.”27 The new novelists found themselves identical to it and created more works with a tint of sadness. However, not all the literary works of Chinese literature are sad. Some novels and dramas end with a joyous happy ending. New novelists reevaluate and choose to inherit the tradition of Chinese fictions by rejecting the happy endings. Liang Qichao highly appreciated The Peach Blossom Fan for its tragic love story. Wang Guowei shared the same opinion, “The Peach Blossom Fan and A Dream in Red Mansions are the only two works in Chinese literature that have the very spirit of tragedy”. and the latter is even “a tragedy above all the other tragedies.”28 The new novelists reject the happy endings of traditional Chinese fictions and dramas while the critics then advocated the spirit of tragedy and criticized the writers of Ming and Qing dynasties for their inferior practice of writing sequels to some stories to make the dead come back to life or to create a reunion in the end. Huangren made a compliment of The Tale of Yingying by Wangshifu and The Tale of Peach Blossom Fan by Kong Yunting, for they have broken the stereotyped happy endings such as the entitlement of the heroes and the reunion of the lovers29 ; Yu Mingzhen called on the readers to change their reading interest in happy endings30 ; Wang Guowei even made a conclusion that Chinese people were secular and buoyant in nature31 ; Cai Yuanpei also argued that Chinese people always hoped for perfection or happy

26 See

in the Introduction to The Sad Love Story of A Young Girl published by China book co., Ltd. 1916. 27 See in “Comments on Fiction” by Yinbing (Liang Qichao) in New Fiction, No. 7, 1903. 28 See in the third chapter of “Criticism on A Dream in Red Mansions” in Anthology of Jing’an, 1905. 29 See in “A Brief Comment on Fictions” by Huang Ren in Collection of Fictions, No.1, 1907. 30 See in the installment of Essays by Gu’an in Collection of Fictions, No.5, 1907. 31 See in the third chapter of “Criticism on A Dream in Red Mansions” in Anthology of Jing’an, 1905.

9.3 From Tragic Heroism to Mournful Love

199

endings for everything, demonstrating the deficiency of the spirit of tragedy.32 His point of view right motivated the May-Fourth writers’ criticism of “happy endings” from the perspective of national character. It is no doubt a breakthrough for Chinese novels that the new novelists begin to brave the miserable life of the public to reject “happy endings”. However, we see that the new novels of such breakthrough are of different significance, for the sentimentality in some novels is driven by the writers’ personal understanding of life while in some others, it is driven by the wish to cater to the book market. Besides, what’s worth noting is that the achievement of such breakthrough would be discounted if they just substitute the same stereotyped mode of sad endings for the stale mode of happy endings.

32 See

in “A Speech at the Peking Symposium on General Education” (held on Dec. 27, 1916) by Cai Yuanpei in the magazine of The Oriental, Vol. 14, No. 4, 1917.

Appendix A

Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916)

Notes: (1) The information of the main fictions published from 1897 to 1916 are listed in the table. (2) The author’s name and the publishing house or journal in which the fiction was published are given in the bracket after it. (3) The works are subject to the publication time of the separate edition. For those that had no separate editions during this period, the first publication time on journals is counted. (4) If the publication lasts for several years, the time span is indicated. (5) In the column “Cultural Background”, it involves the major historical events, activities of literary societies, foundation of the major journals, and the publication of significant articles. All of them are based on whether they have an impact on the development of fictions.

© Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9

201

1899

Lin Shu translated Camille by Alexandre Dumas, the junior, Weilu Study Zeng Guangquan translated She by H. R. Haggard, Suyin Study The Chinese Progress office organized to have translated Sherlock Holmes by Conan Doyle, Suyin Study

“On Publishing Political Fictions” (Liang Qichao, in Political Criticism)

1898

Academic articles Publishing Announcement of the Office (Yan Fu, Xia Zengyou, in National News) Introduction to Bibliographies of Japanese Books (Kang Youwei, Datong Translation Book Company) Shuyuan’s Jottings (Qiu Weixuan, self-printings)

Fiction translations

1897

Time Fiction originals

(continued)

Hundred Days of Reform (from 11 June to 21 September) Political Criticism was founded; Yan Fu had translated Evolution and Ethics and other Essays Huang Zunxian had published Poems Written in Japan; Qiu Tingliang had published Vernacular Chinese: Foundation of the Reform

School of Practical Learning was set up; (Newspaper of) The Chinese Progress was founded in 1896 (Newspaper of) Games was founded; The Commercial Press was established

Cultural background

202 Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916)

Fiction translations Xue Shaowei translated Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, Classics Publishing House

A Woman’s Adventure (trans. by Liang Qichao from Shiba Shiro, a Japanese writer, The Commercial Press) Lin Shu and Wei Yi translated Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Wulin Weishi’s version Yang Zilin and Bao Tianxiao translated Joan Haste by H. R. Haggard, Lixue Translation Bureau Japanese writer Yano Fumio’s novel Pelopidas was translated anonymously, The Commercial Press Limp Youngman translated Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Kaiming Book Company

Time Fiction originals

1900 Middle East War: A Novel (Hong Xingquan, Hong Kong Zhonghua Printing Office) The Love Story of Qin Baozhu (Chen Diexian, Hangzhou Daguan Newspaper Office)

1901

1902 “The Prospect of New China” (Liang Qichao, in New Fiction, 1902–1903) “Women Revolutionists in Russia” (Luo Pu, in New Fiction, 1902–1003)

(continued)

“Fiction and Social Administration” (Liang Qichao, in New Fiction) “Preface to The Prospect of New China” (Liang Qichao, in New Fiction) “About New Fiction, the Only Literary Magazine” in Sein Min Choong Bou

“The Power of Fictions” (Cai Fen, in Political Criticism) “Literary Jottings: A Supplement” (Qiu Weixuan, self-printing) “Translator’s Notes” (Lin Shu, in Wulin Weishi’s version)

Academic articles

(continued)

Sein Min Choong Bou was founded New Fiction was founded Liang Qichao published in series Poems and Essays by Liang Qichao from 1902 to 1907

Hangzhou Vernacular Newspaper was founded Patchworks (a newspaper) was founded Li Boyuan had accomplished Turmoils in 1900: A Novel (published in series from 1901 to 1902)

The Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing The China Ten-Day Newspaper set up a literary supplement of "Advertising" Newspaper Articles Should Use Simple Language (Chen Zibao)

Cultural background

Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916) 203

Fiction translations Liang Qichao and Luo Pu translated Two Years’ Vacation by Jules Verne, Yokohama Xinmin Press Lu Xun translated Around the Moon by Jules Verne, Tokyo Society of Evolution Bao Tianxiao translated The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, Wenming Book Company Ji Yihui translated The Captain’s Daughter by Alexander Pushkin, Dayi Book Company Plum Blossom in the Snow, a translation by Xiong Gai from Suehiro Tetcho’s novel, Zunye Book Company Airship: A Novel, a translation by Haitian Duxiaozi from Shunro Oshikawa’ s novel, Mingquan Press The First Collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, translated by Zhou Guisheng, Tsinghua Book Company

Time Fiction originals

1903 Freedom of Marriage (Zhang Zhaotong, Society of Freedom) “The Bureaucrats: A Revelation” (Li Boyuan, in Patchworks, 1902–1903) “A Hell on Earth” (Li Boyuan, in Illustrated Fictions, 1903–1906) “Chitchat in the Sun” (Ouyang Juyuan, in Illustrated Fictions, 1903–1905) “Tales from My Women Neighbors” (Lian Mengqing, in Illustrated Fictions, 1903–1904) Vanity Life in Shanghai (Sun Yusheng, Xiaolin News Agency, 1903–1906) “Trauma in History” (Wu Jianren, in New Fiction, 1903–1906)

(continued) “Principle of Fictions” (Xia Zengyou, in Illustrated Fictions) “Orientation of Fictions in Chinese Literature” (Di Baoxian, in New Fiction) “Comments on Fiction” (Liang Qichao et al, in New Fiction, 1903–1906) “Review of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation” (Ouyang Juyuan, in Patchworks); “Preface to Freedom of Marriage” (Zhang Zhaotong, Society of Freedom) “Preface” to the Chinese translation of Around the Moon (Lu Xun, Tokyo Society of Evolution)

Academic articles

(continued)

Zhejiang Tides, a newspaper, was founded China Vernacular Newspaper was founded Illustrated Fictions, a magazine was founded Zou Rong wrote Revolutionists The Anti-Qing Affairs of Supao took place

Cultural background

204 Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916)

Fiction translations Su Manshu translated The Wretched by Victor Hugo, Jingjin Book Company Traveling Around the World, a translation by Huang Ren from Suehiro Tetcho, Office of Collection of Fictions, 1904–1906 New Stage, a translation by Xu Nianci from Shunro Oshikawa, Office of Collection of Fictions, 1904–1906 Xiruo translated Sherlock Holmes Stories by Conan Doyle, Office of Collection of Fictions, 1904–1906 Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson was anonymously translated, The Commercial Press Nihilists, a translation by Chen Lengxue, Kaiming Bookstore

Time Fiction originals

1904 The Story of Jin Yaose (Haitian Duxiaozi, East Asia Editorial Office, 1904–1905) The Story of A Woman Prisoner (Wang Miaoru, a Luo’s version) Reality of China (Li Boyuan, in Times) The Legends of the Celebrities and the Prostitutes (Erchun Jushi, Patchworks Office) Thunderbolt (Sun Jingxian, Haiyu Literature Society)

(continued) Review on Hong Lou Meng (Wang Guowei, in Education World) “Preface” to the Chinese translation of Sherlock Holmes (Zhou Guisheng, in Sein Min Choong Bou) Preface to The Story of A Woman Prisoner (Yu Peilan, in the Luo’s version) Preface to The Story of Jin Yaose (Wohu Langshi, East Asia Editorial Office)

Academic articles

(continued)

Xiaoshuolin Press was founded Times was founded 21th-Century Grand Stage was founded New New-fictions was founded Chen Peiren wrote On the Advantage of Drama Chen Tianhua wrote Sudden Enlightenment

Cultural background

Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916) 205

Fiction translations Zhou Zuoren translated The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe, Xiaoshuolin Press Bao Tianxiao translated Bug Jargal by Victor Hugo, Xiaoshuolin Press Lin Shu and Zeng Zonggong translated Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, The Commercial Press, 1905–1906 Lin Shu and Wei Yi translated Ivanhoe by Walter Scott, The Commercial Press Lin Shu and Zeng Zonggong translated Allen Quatermain by H. R. Haggard, The Commercial Press

Time Fiction originals

1905 The Flower in the World of Retribution (Zeng Pu, Xiaoshuolin Press) Adventures of Mr. Fancy: A New Story (Xu Nianci, Xiaoshuolin Press) Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel (author unknown, Shenpao Newspaper Office)

(continued) “Fictions in Modern Vernacular Chinese” (Yao Pengtu, in Panoramic View) “On the Relationship Between Romances and the New Society” (Jin Songcen, in New Fiction) “Preface” to the Chinese translation of Allen Quatermain (Lin Shu, The Commercial Press) “Preface” to the Chinese translation of Ivanhoe (Lin Shu, The Commercial Press) “Preface to Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel” (Sun Yusheng, Shenpao Newspaper Office) “Preface” to the Chinese translation of Return of She (Zhou Guisheng, in New Fiction)

Academic articles

(continued)

The China Revolutionary Alliance was founded The Minpao Magazine was founded Chen Duxiu wrote On the Opera Jiang Zhiyou wrote Drama Life in China Fiction World, a daily newspaper, was founded

Cultural background

206 Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916)

Fiction translations Xiruo translated The Arabian Nights, The Commercial Press Travels inside the Earth, a translation by Lu Xun from Jules Verne, Qixin Book Company Lin Shu and Zeng Zonggong translated Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, The Commercial Press

Time Fiction originals

1906 Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years (Wu Jianren, Guangzhi Book Company, 1906–1910) The Strange Case of Nine Murders (Wu Jianren, Guangzhi Book Company) The Sea of Regret (Wu Jianren, Guangzhi Book Company) The Civilized Society: A Novel (Li Boyuan, The Commercial Press) The Travels of Lao Ts’an (Liu’e, in Tianjin Daily Newspaper, 1906–1907) The Nine-tailed Turtle (Zhang Chunfan, version of Dianshi Study, 1906–1910) Bubble Dreams (Peng Yu, Xiaoshuolin Press) Stones in the Sea (Fu Lin, Qunxue Society)

(continued) “General Prologue for Historical Novels” (Wu Jianren, in The All-Story Monthly) “Preface to Chinese Detective Stories” (Wu Jianren, Guangzhi Book Company) “Preface” to the Chinese translation of Colonel Quaritch (Lin Shu, The Commercial Press) “On Leisurely Comments on Fictions” (Zhong Junwen, in World of Games)

Academic articles

(continued)

The Qing government had done away with the imperial examination system Chunliu Society was founded Society of Translation was founded The All-Story Monthly, a magazine, was founded Fiction Society of A New World, a magazine, was founded Fictions Weekly was founded World of Games, a magazine, was founded

Cultural background

Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916) 207

Fiction translations Wu Tao translated the first part of A Hero of Our Time by Lermontov, The Commercial Press Cassock Clergymen, a translation by Wu Tao from Chekhov, The Commercial Press Religious Stories by Tolstoy translated by Ye Daosheng and Mai Meisheng, Hong Kong Courtesy Society Wu Tao translated Cain and Artyom by Maksim Gorky, in the magazine of The Oriental Lin Shu and Wei Yi translated The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens, The Commercial Press Lin Shu and Wei Yi translated The Sketch Book by Washington Irving, The Commercial Press Wu Guangjian translated The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, the senior, The Commercial Press Zhou Zuoren translated The World’s Desire by H. R. Haggard, The Commercial Press

Time Fiction originals

1907 Nightmare of Fortune (Huang Xiaopei, Hankou East Asia Editorial Office) A Cold Eye on the World (Wang Junqing, Xiaoshuolin Press, 1907–1909) Anti-superstition (Zhuangzhe, The Commercial Press) The Story of Huang Xiuqiu (Yisuo, New Fictions Society)

(continued) “On the Relationship between Fictions and Social Reform” (Wang Zhonglin, in The All-Story Monthly) “On the Power and Influence of Fictions” (Tao Youzeng, in World of Games) “Development of Literature and Position of Fictions in the Future” (Huang Xiaopei, in Chinese and Foreign Stories) “Suggested Ways of Reading New Fictions” (in Fiction Society of A New World) “Foreword to Collection of Fictions” (Huang Ren, in Collection of Fictions) “An Account of the Founding of Collection of Fictions” (Xu Nianci, in Collection of Fictions) “Preface” to the Chinese translation of The Old Curiosity Shop (Lin Shu, The Commercial Press) “A Brief Comment on Fictions” (Huang Ren, in Collection of Fictions) “Essays by Gu’an” (Yu Mingzhen, in Collection of Fictions)

Academic articles

(continued)

Chunyang Society was founded Collection of Fictions was founded Collection of Fictions was founded Guangdong Opium-banning New Fictions was founded Fiction Monthly: from Jingli Society was founded Fiction World was founded Xu Nianci wrote 1907 Investigation of Publications of Fictions

Cultural background

208 Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916)

Fiction translations Lin Shu and Wei Yi translated Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, The Commercial Press Lin Shu and Wei Yi translated David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, The Commercial Press Lin Shu and Wei Yi translated Namiko by Tokutomi Roka, The Commercial Press Anecdotes of French Palace, a translation by Wu Guangjian from Alexandre Dumas, the senior, The Commercial Press

Time Fiction originals

1908 Xiao’e (Song Youmei, Beijing Heji Book Company) The Blind Fortuneteller (Wu Jianren, The Commercial Press) The New Story of the Stone (Wu Jianren, Reformation Fiction Press) Hong Xiuquan: A Historical Romance (Huang Xiaopei, Hong Kong China Daily) Swindlers (Huang Xiaopei, Tokyo Sankoudou) Exposing the Bureaucrats:A Continuation (Xu Fumin, Fiction Preservation Society) Jade Buddha (Heisheng, The Commercial Press) Business (Jiwen, The Commercial Press)

(continued) “My Views on Fiction” (Xu Nianci, in Collection of Fictions) “Translation of Fictions Leading the Development of Fictions” (Huang Xiaopei, in Chinese and Foreign Stories) “On the Relationship Between Fiction and Customs” (Huang Boyao, in Chinese and Foreign Stories) “Preface” to the Chinese translation of David Copperfield (Book 1) (Lin Shu, The Commercial Press)

Academic articles

(continued)

New Fiction Serials was founded Vernacular Chinese Fictions was founded Lu Xu Wrote on Western Romantic Poetry Wang Guowei wrote Comments on Ci poetry Di Baoxian wrote Literary Comments at Equality Study Su Manshu finished A Collection of Translated Poems Wang Zhonglin wrote On the Educational Significance of Drama

Cultural background

Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916) 209

Bao Tianxiao translated Ward Six “Preface to Social Ugliness in the by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, in Latest Decade” (Wu Jianren, Fiction Times Guangzhi Book Company) Bao Tianxiao translated The Wretched by Victor Hugo, Qunxue Society Mai Jie Nü’er, a translation by Chen Lengxue from Victor Hugo, in Fiction Times Di Baoxian translated Toilers on the Sea by Victor Hugo, in Fiction Times Bao Tianxiao translated Cuore by Edmondo De Amicis, The Commercial Press Chen Lengxue translated Heart by Leonid Andreye, in Fiction Times

1910 Social Ugliness in the Latest Decade (Wu Jianren, Guangzhi Book Company) Surviving A Turbulent Time (Wu Jianren, Qunxue Society)

“Preface to A Collection of Foreign Stories” (Lu Xun in Tokyo) “Preface” to the Chinese tanslation of Dombey and Son (Lin Shu, The Commercial Press) “Foreword to Yangtze River Fiction” (Tao Baopi, in Yangtze River Fiction) “Preface to Ladies’ Tears” (Luo Pu, Guangzhi Book Company)

A Collection of Foreign Stories translated by Lu Xun and Zhou Zuoren, published in Tokyo Li Shu and Wei Yi translated Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens, The Commercial Press

1909 Traveling in Shanghai (Wu Jianren, Qunxue Society) Thirteen Short Stories by Wu Jianren (Wu Jianren, Qunxue Society) The Officialdom (Zhang Chunfan, Global Society) Raise and Fall of An Official (Huang Xiaopei, Hong Kong Shipao Newspaper Office) New Camellia (Zhong Xinqing, Mingming Society)

Academic articles

Fiction translations

Time Fiction originals

(continued)

(continued)

Evolution Theater was founded Tong-Guang Poets’ Club was set up in Peking Southern Society Serials was founded Short Story Magazine was founded

Southern Society was founded Yangtze River Fiction was founded Fiction Times was founded Ten-day Fictions was founded Su Manshu translated Byron’s poems and accomplished Selected Poems by George Gordon Byron

Cultural background

210 Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916)

1913 Romaunt of Sword (Lin Shu, Dumen Printing Office) Short Stories by Jianzhuoweng, Book 1 (Lin Shu, Dumen Printing Office) The Sad Story of Lanniang (Wu Shuangre, Minquan Press) Nostalgia (Lu Xun, in Short Story Magazine) A Profile of Workers (Yun Tieqiao, in Short Story Magazine)

Zeng Pu translated Ninety-Three by “Preface to Short Stories by Victor Hugo, Youzheng Book Jianzhuoweng” (Lin Shu, Dumen Company Printing Office) “Review” of the Chinese translation of Ninety-Three (Zeng Pu, Youzheng Book Company) “A Study of Walter Scott and Charles Dickens” (Sun Yuxiu, in Short Story Magazine)

(continued)

Lu Xun wrote On the Spread of Art Spirit The magazine of Games was founded

“On Fictions” (Guan Daru, in Short The Republic of China was founded Story Magazine) Chen Yan began his Literary Comments at Shiyi Study, 1912–1915, 18 volumes

Cultural background

1912 Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story (Su Manshu, the Pacific Newspaper) The Unjust Case of Guo Jitai (Taoist Priest Yeshi, Shanghai Book Company)

Academic articles

“A Further Talk on the New Fiction” 1911 Xinhai Revolution took place (Di Baoxian, in Fiction Times) “Comments on Fiction” (Dong Sheng, in Short Story Magazine)

Fiction translations

1911 Frost in June (Jingguanzi, Sai Xue’r, a translation by Wuwo Reformation Fiction Press) and Chen Lengxue, in Fiction The Mutiny (Lu Shi’e, New Times Xiaoshuolin Press) Lianbi and Juanhong: A Love Story (He Zou, in the magazine of The Oriental, 1911–1912)

Time Fiction originals

(continued)

Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916) 211

“Address to the Fictionists” (Liang Qichao, in Chinese Novels) “A Reply to Liu Youxin’s Criticism of Romances” (Yun Tieqiao, in Short Story Magazine) “Inferiority of Romance Writing to Romance Translating” (Yun Tieqiao, in Short Story Magazine) “Forward to Short Story Waves” (Yuchen, in Short Story Waves) “Preface to A Piece of Crimson Cloth” (Chen Duxiu, in Jia Yin) “Preface to A Profile of Songgang” (Wu Yu, in Short Story Magazine)

Chen Gu translated The Torrents of Spring by Ivan Turgenev, The Magazine of Youth Lin Shu and Chen Jialin translated Balzac’s short stories and made them into A Collection of Short Stories by Balzac, The Commercial Press

1915 Change and Turbulence (Li Hanqiu, Library of Chinese Studies) Zhenya’s Free Writings (Xu Zhenya, Tsinghua Book Company) A Piece of Crimson Cloth (Su Manshu, in Jia Yin) Letters to My Dead Husband (Bao Tianxiao, Fiction Gallimaufry)

Academic articles “Fictions and the Society” (Zhou Zuoren, in Monthly Journal of Shaoxing Education Society) “Comments on Fiction” (Lyu Simian, in Chinese Novels) “On Publishing Saturday” (Wang Dungen, in Saturday) “Preface to A Collection of Short Stories” (Wang Dungen, Jiangnan Printing House)

Fiction translations

1914 He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Ma Junwu translated Resurrection Story (Xu Zhenya, Publishing by Tolstoy, Zhonghua Book Office of Spirit of Civil Rights) Company Mirror of Love Tragedy (Wu Shuangre, Minquan Press) The Sad Story of Xiaqing (Li Dingyi, Guohua Book Company) Moment in Nanjing (Lin Shu, The Commercial Press) A Collection of Short Stories (Cheng Shanzhi, Jiangnan Printing House) Flowers in Season (Zhou Shoujuan, in The Saturday)

Time Fiction originals

(continued)

(continued)

Yuan Shikai became emperor of China Ministry of Education set up Fiction Branch of Popular Education Research Association The Magazine of Youth was founded Short Story Waves was founded Fiction Gallimaufry was founded New Magazine of Fictions was founded Chen Duxiu wrote On the History of Modern European Literature Wang Guowei wrote History of Song and Yuan Operas

The magazine of Saturday was founded The magazine of Chinese Novels was founded The magazine of Fiction Series was founded The magazine of Fictions: A Ten-day Circling was founded The magazine of New Drama was founded The magazine of Jia Yin was founded Manuscripts of Ma Junwu’s Poems was published

Cultural background

212 Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916)

Fiction translations Idle Comments on Social Customs, a translation by Chen Jialin and Chen Dadeng from Anton Pavlovich Chekhov A Completion of Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes, a translation by Cheng Xiaoqing et al, Zhonghua Book Company

Time Fiction originals

1916 He Mengxia’s Diary (Xu Zhenya, Tsinghua Book Company) A Compendium of Monsters (Qian Xibao, Hankou Middle-East Book Company) A Monarch on the Throne (Yang Chenyin, Taidong Book Company) A Chance Meeting (Zhang Shizhao, Eastern Asia Library)

(continued) “Correspondences on the Genre of Fiction” (Chen Guanghui and Yun Tieqiao, in Short Story Magazine) “Preface to He Mengxia’s Diary” (Xu Zhenya, Tsinghua Book Company) “Preface to A Monarch on the Throne” (Wu Jingheng, Taidong Book Company) “Preface to A Completion of Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes” (Liu Bannong, Zhonghua Book Company)

Academic articles

Hu Jichen compiled Panoramic View of Foreign Fictions “Viewpoints on the New Dramas of My University” (Zhou Enlai)

Cultural background

Appendix A: Chronology of Fiction Writing in China (1897–1916) 213

Appendix B

List of Chinese Writers and Translators

A A’Ying/阿英 B Bai Juyi/白居易 Ban Gu/班固 Bao Tianxiao/包天笑 Beijiang (i.e. Hong Beijiang)/北江 Bian Zisheng/卞资生 Bieshi (i.e. Xia Zengyou)/别士 Bing Zhongguang/邴仲光 Boyao (i.e. Huang Boyao)/伯耀 Brothers Zhou/周氏兄弟 C Cai Erkang/蔡尔康 Cai Fen/蔡奋 Cai Lyusheng/蔡侣笙 Cai Yuanpei/蔡元培 Cao Xueqin/曹雪芹 Chen Dadeng/陈大镫 Chen Duxiu/陈独秀 Chen Gu/陈嘏 Chen Hongbi/陈鸿璧 Chen Jitong/陈季同 Chen Jialin/陈家麟 Chen Jinghan (i.e. Chen Lengxue)/陈景韩 Chen Lengxue/陈冷血 Chen Mengxiong/陈梦熊 © Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9

215

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Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators

Chen Peiren/陈佩忍 Chen Qiu/陈球 Chen Renxian/陈任先 Chen Ronggun/陈荣衮 Chen Tianhua/陈天华 Chen Yan/陈衍Chen Zibao/陈子褒 Cheng Jinfang/程晋芳 Cheng Shanzhi/程善之 Cheng Xiaoqing/程小青 Chengzhi (i.e. Lyu Simian)/成之 Cheng Zongqi/程宗启 D Da Yixuan/达怡轩 Deng Yanda/邓演达 Di Baoxian/狄葆贤 Di Chuqing/狄楚青 Di Pingzi (i.e. Di Baoxian)/狄平子 Dingyi (i.e. Fu Dingyi)/定一 Donghai Juewo (i.e. Xu Nianci)/东海觉我 Dong Sheng/侗生 Du Fu/杜甫 杜Du Shiniang/十娘 Duan Kegu/段柯古 E Erchun Jushi/二春居士 F Fan Yanqiao/范烟桥 Fang Hanqi/方汉奇 Fang Qingzhou/方庆周 Feng Menglong/冯梦龙 Fu Caiyun/傅彩云 Fu Lin/符霖 G Gao Fengqian/高凤谦 Gao Mengdan/高梦旦 Gao Xu/高旭 Ge Gongzhen/戈公振 Gongnu/公奴 Gong Zizhen/龚自珍

Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators

Gu’an (i.e. Yu Mingzhen)/觚庵 Gu Wangyan/辜望延 Gurun Yedaoren/古润野道人 Gu Yanwu/顾炎武 Guan Daru/管达如 Guanguan/关关 Guo Jitai/郭继泰 Guo Moruo/郭沫若 H Haishang Shushisheng/海上漱石生 Haitian Duxiaozi/海天独啸子 Han Nieren/韩蘖人 Han Ziyu/韩子云 (Changbai) Haogezi/浩歌子 He Bang’e/和邦额 He Zou/何诹 Heisheng/嘿生 Henren/恨人 Hong Mai/洪迈 Hong Xingquan/洪兴全 Hou Zhongyi/侯忠义 Hsia Chih-tsing/夏志清 Hu Daojing/胡道静 Hu Jichen/胡寄尘 Hu Shi/胡适 Hu Shi’an/胡石庵 Hu Yinglin/胡应麟 Huang Boyao/黄伯耀 Huang Huo/黄祸 Huang Keqiang/黄克强 Huang Longzi/黄龙子 Huang Ren/黄人 Huang Shanmin/黄山民 Huang Shizhong/黄世仲 Huang Xiaopei/黄小配 Huang Zunxian/黄遵宪 J Jibo/计伯 Jichen/寄尘 Jiwen/姬文 Ji Yihui/戢翼翚 Jia Baoyu/贾宝玉

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Jia Duanfu/贾端甫 Jiang Daqi/蒋大器 Jiang Ruizao/蒋瑞藻 Jiang Zhiyou/蒋智由 Jin Bumo/金不磨 Jin Shengtan/金圣叹 Jin Songcen/金松岑 Jin Yaose/金瑶瑟 Jin Yi/金翼 Jingguanzi/静观子 Jingseng/警僧 Jiusi Yisheng/九死一生 Juanqiu/眷秋 Juewo (i.e. Xu Nianci)/觉我 K Kang Youwei/康有为 Kong Yunting/孔云亭 Kong Lingjing/孔另境 Kong Yunting/孔云亭 L Langdang Nan’er/浪荡男儿 Laobo (i.e. Huang Boyao)/老伯 Lao Xia Yu Sheng/姥下余生 Laodi (i.e. Huang Xiaopei)/老棣 Leng Jingwei/冷镜微 Li’ao/李媪 Li Boyuan/李伯元 Li Dingyi/李定夷 Li Hanqiu/李涵秋 Emperor Li/李后主 Li Jianqing/李健青 Li Mo/李默 Li Qubing/李去病 Li Ruoyu/李若愚 Scholar Lishao/蠡勺居士 Li Wen/李文 Li Xiangjun/李香君 Li Youqin/李友琴 Li Yu/李煜 Li Yuerui/李岳瑞 Li Zezhang/李泽彰

Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators

Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators

Li Zhe/李哲 Li Zhi/李贽 Li Zhuowu/李卓吾 Lian Mengqing/连梦青 Liang Qichao/梁启超 Liang Qixun/梁启勋 Liao Xuren/廖旭人 Lin Lezhi (i.e. Young John Allen)/林乐知 林琴南/Lin Qinnan Lin Shu/林纾 Lin Ziqiu/林紫虬 Lingfei (i.e. Lu Xun)/令飞 Ling Mengchu/凌濛初 Lingshi/灵石 Liu Bannon/刘半农 Liu Changshu/刘长述 Liu’e/刘鹗 Liu Kunyi/刘坤一 Liu Tieleng/刘铁冷 Liu Yazi/柳亚子 Liu Yeqiu/刘叶秋 Liu Youxin/刘幼新 Lokaksema/支谦 Lu Dan’an/陆澹庵 Lu Feikui/陆费逵 Lu Qiuxin/陆秋心 Lu Shen/鲁深 Lu Shi’e/陆士谔 Lu Wen/陆文 Lu Xun/鲁迅 Luo Jialun/罗家伦 Luo Pu/罗普 Lyu Juren/吕居仁 Lyu Simian/吕思勉 M Ma Jianzhong/马建忠 Ma Junwu/马君武 Ma Yangyu/马仰禹 Mai Meisheng/麦梅生 Mai Menghua/麦孟华 Mai Zhonghua/麦仲华 Man (i.e. Huang Ren)/蛮

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Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators

Mao Dun/茅盾 Mao Zonggang/毛宗岗 Master of Equality Study (i.e. Di Baoxian)/平等阁主人 Mengsheng/梦生 Mengsou (i.e. Zhuangzhou)/蒙叟 N Nefu/讷夫 Ni Haishu/倪海曙 O Oubei (i.e. Zhao Yi)/瓯北 Ouyang Juyuan/欧阳巨源 P Peng Wenzu/彭文祖 Peng Yu/彭俞 Pifasheng (i.e. Luo Pu)/披发生 Ping Jinya/平襟亚 Pomi/破迷 Pu Jiangqing/浦江清 Q Qiming (i.e. Zhou Zuoren)/启明 Qian Jibo/钱基博 Qian Mu/钱穆 Qian Xibao/钱锡宝 Qian Xuantong/钱玄同 Qian Zhongshu/钱钟书 Qiu Jin/秋瑾 Qiu Tingliang/裘廷梁 Qiu Shuyuan/丘菽园 Qiu Weixuan/邱炜萲 Qu Yuan/屈原 R Rao Hongsheng/饶鸿生 Ren Tianran/任天然 Rongzhai (i.e. Hong Mai)/荣斋 Monk Ruguan (i.e. Peng Yu)/儒冠和尚 Rulin Yinyi/儒林隐医

Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators

S Sha Xuemei/沙雪梅 Shen Ping’an/沈瓶庵 Shen Qifeng/沈起凤 Shen Yanbing/沈雁冰 Shen Ziping/申子平 Shi He/史和 Shi Nai’an/施耐庵 Shi Tianji/石天基 Shushisheng (i.e. Zhang Chunfan)/漱石生 Sima Qian/司马迁 Siqi Zhai/思绮斋 Song Youmei/松友梅 Su Manshu/苏曼殊 Suibo/随波 Sun Baoxuan/孙宝瑄 Sun Jingxian/孙景贤 Sun Kaidi/孙楷第 Sun Yusheng/孙玉声 Sun Yuxiu/孙毓修 T Tang Zhijun/汤志钧 Tao Baopi/陶报癖 Tao Chengzhang/陶成章 Tao Youzeng/陶祐曾 Tao Yuanming/陶渊明 Tan Ruqian/谭汝谦 Tan Sitong/谭嗣同 Tan Xiaolian/谈小莲 Tianlusheng (i.e. Wang Zhonglin)/天僇生 Tieleng (i.e. Liu Tieleng)/铁冷 Tie Qiao (i.e. Yun Tieqiao)/铁樵 Tiannan Lumin/天南僇民 Tingyan/廷彦 Taoist Priest Yeshi/也是道人 W Wang Dungen/王钝根 Wang Fengzhou/王凤洲 Wang Guowei/王国维 Wang Junqing/王濬卿 Wang Mao/王楙

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Wang Mengsheng/王梦笙 Wang Miaoru/王妙如 Wang Shifu/王实甫 Wang Shouchang/王寿昌 Wang Shuqin/王述勤 Wang Weifu/汪惟父 Wang Xishen/王西神 Wang Zhonglin/王钟麟 Wang Zhuo/王晫 Wei Shaochang/魏绍昌 Wei Yi/魏易 Wohu Langshi/卧虎浪士 Wugong/戊公 Wu Guangjian/伍光建 Wu Jianren/吴趼人 Wu Jingheng/吴敬恒 Wu Jingzi/吴敬梓 Wu Qiyuan/吴绮缘 Wu Shuangre/吴双热 Wu Tao/吴梼 Wu Woyao/吴沃尧 Wu Tingfang/伍廷芳 Wu Yu/吴虞 Wu Yuefa/吴曰法 Wu Zimu/吴自牧 X Xiruo/奚若 Xiyou/息游 Xiaren/侠人 Xia Songlai/夏颂莱 Xia Yali/夏雅丽 Xia Zengyou/夏曾佑 Xiang Kairan/向恺然 Xie Tao/解弢 Xie You’an/谢幼安 Xing Jushi/邢居实 Xin Lou/新廔 Xu Nianci/徐念慈 Xu Shoushang/许寿裳 Xu Xiake/徐霞客 Xu Yucheng/许与澄 Xu Zhenya/徐枕亚 Xu Zhiyan/许指严

Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators

Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators

Xu Zhuodai/徐卓呆 Xuanyuan Zhengyi/轩辕正裔 Xue Shaohui/薛绍徽 Y Ya Raozhi/亚荛之 Yan Fu/严复 Yansou/燕搜 Yang Chenyin/杨尘因 Yang Shiji/杨世骥 Yang Shouchun/杨寿椿 Yang Xinzhai/杨心斋 Yao Pengtu/姚鹏图 Yaogong (i.e. Huang Boyao)/耀公 Ye Daosheng/叶道胜 Ye Dehui/叶德辉 Ye Shengtao/叶圣陶 Yisuo/颐琐 Yiying/忆英 Yinbansheng (i.e. Zhong Junwen)/寅半生 Yinbing/饮冰 Yinjiao/饮椒 Ying Fei/英蜚 Yongyuzi (i.e. Jiang Daqi)/庸愚子 Yuchen/宇澄 Yu Dafu/郁达夫 Yugu/玙姑 Yu Mingzhen/俞明震 Yu Peilan/俞佩兰 Yu Tianfen/俞天愤 Yu Xiangdou/余象斗 Yuxuesheng/浴血生 Yu Yue/俞樾 Yuan Bozhen/袁伯珍 Yuan shikai/袁世凯 Yuan Xingpei/袁行霈 Yuan Wuya/袁无涯 Yuan Zhen/元稹 Yue Jun/乐钧 Yun Tieqiao/恽铁樵 Z Zeng Guangquan/曾广铨 Zeng Jize/曾纪泽

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Appendix B: List of Chinese Writers and Translators

Zeng Mutao/曾慕陶 Zeng Pu/曾朴 Zeng Zonggong/曾宗鞏 Zhang Binglin/章炳麟 Zhang Chunfan/张春帆 Zhang Hu/张鷟 Zhang Ji/张继 Zhang Jinglu/张静庐 Zhang Juncai/张俊才 Zhang Kunde/张坤德 Zhang Nanzhuang/张南庄 Zhang Qiugu/章秋谷 Zhang Taiyan/章太炎 Zhang Shizhao/章士钊 Zhang Yuanji/张元济 Zhang Zhaotong/张肇桐 Zhang Zhidong/张之洞 Zhang Zhupo/张竹坡 Zhaolian/昭梿 Zheng Yimei/郑逸梅 Zheng Zhenduo/郑振铎 Zhigang/志刚 Zhitang (i.e. Zhou Zuoren)/知堂老人 Zhixi (i.e. Luo Jialun)/志希 Zhong Ai/仲蔼 Zhong Junwen/钟骏文 Zhong Xinqing/钟心青 Zhou Guisheng/周桂笙 Zhou Qiming/周启明 Zhou Shoujuan/周瘦鹃 Zhou Yibai/周贻白 Zhou Yongyou/周庸祐 Zhou Zuoren/周作人 Zhu’er/珠儿 Zhu Xi/朱熹 Zhu Ziqing/朱自清 Zhuangzhe/壮者 Zhuang Zhou/Chuang-tzu/庄子 Zou Rong/邹容 Zuo Zongtang/左宗棠 Ziying/紫英

Appendix C

List of Articles and Books

A A Bibliography of Japanese Books/Riben Shumu Zhi/日本书目志 About “New Fiction, the Only Literary Magazine”/Zhongguo Weiyi Zhi Wenxue Bao Xin Xiaosuo/中国唯一之文学报 《新小说》 A Brief Discussion on Literature/Wenxue Xiao Yan/文学小言 A Brief History of Chinese Fiction/Zhongguo Xiaoshuo Shi Lue/中国小说史略 “A Brief Talk on Zhuangyue” in Jottings by Shaoshishan/Shao Shi Shan Fang Bi Cong· Zhuang Yue Wei Tan/少室山房笔丛·庄岳委谈 A Biography of Li Boyuan/Li Boyuan Zhuan/李伯元传 A Biography of Lin Xu/Lin Xu Zhuan/林旭传 About Lu Xun (II)/Guanyu Lu Xun (2)/关于鲁迅(二) A Brief Comment on Fictions/Xiaoshuo XiaoHua/小说小话 A Brief History of Old Fictions in Republican China/Minguo Jiu Pai Xiaoshuo Shi Lue/民国旧派小说史略 Academic Essentials of Qing Dynasty/Qingdai Xueshu Gaiyao/清代学术概要 A Chance Meeting/Shuang Ping Ji/双枰记 A Chance Meeting at The Cowshed/Niu Peng Xu Yu/牛棚絮语 A Cold Eye on the World/Leng Yan Guan/冷眼观 A Collection of Anecdotes of Ming and Qing Dynasties/Ming Qing Liang Dai Yiwen Da Guan/明清两代轶闻大观 A Collection of Chinese Short Stories/Zhongguo Duanpian Xiaoshuo Ji/中国短 篇小说集 A Collection of Classic Chinese Jokes/Xiao Lin Guang Ji/笑林广记 A Collection of Foreign Stories/Yu Wai Xiaoshuo Ji/域外小说集 A Collection of Four Articles/Jiu Wen Si Pian/旧闻四篇 A Collection of Short Stories/Xiaoshuo Cong Kan/小说丛刊 A Collection of Short Stories by Balzac/Ai Chui Lu/哀吹录 A Collection of Short Stories of Eminent Writers from Europe and America/Ou Mei Mingjia © Peking University Press 2021 P. Chen, A Historical Study of Early Modern Chinese Fictions (1890–1920), https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4889-9

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Appendix C: List of Articles and Books

Duanpian Xiaoshuo Cong Ke/欧美名家短篇小说丛刻 A Collection of Translated Poems/Wenxue Yinyuan/文学因缘 A Collection of Yan Fu’s Works/Yan Fu Ji/严复集 A Commentary of Monsters/Tao Wu Xian Ping/梼杌闲评 A Compendium of Monsters/Tao Wu Cui Bian/梼杌萃编 A Completion of Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes/Fuermosi Zhentan An Quan Ji/福尔摩斯侦探案全集 A Concise Biographical Chronology of Lin Shu/Lin Shu Nian Pu Jian Bian/林纾 年谱简编 A Chronicle of Li Boyuan’s Life/Li Boyuan Nian Pu/李伯元年谱 Address to the Novelists/Gao Xiaoshuojia/告小说家 A Diplomat’s Journals in the West/Shi Xi Riji/使西日记 A Doll’s House/Kuilei Jiating/傀儡家庭 A Dream in Red Mansions/Hong Lou Meng/红楼梦 A Dream Interpretation by Huang Daxian/Huang Da Xian Bao Meng/黄大仙报 梦 A Dream in a Garden/Kan Hua Shu Yi Ji/看花述异记 Advantages of Reading Monthly Fiction/Lun Kan Yue Yue Xiaoshuo De Yi Chu/ 论看 《月月小说》 的益处 Adventures of Mr. Fancy/Faluo Xiansheng Tan/法螺先生谭 Adventures of Mr. Fancy: A Sequel/Faluo Xiansheng Xu Tan/法螺先生续谭 Adventures of Mr. Fancy: A New Story/Xin Faluo Xiansheng Tan/新法螺先生谭 Adventures of Robinson Crusoe/Jue Dao Piaoliu Ji/绝岛漂流记 Advertising/Gu Chui Lu/鼓吹录 Aesop’s Fables/Hai Guo Miao Yu/海国妙喻 Aesop’s Fables/Kuang Yi/况义 Aesop’s Fables/Yi Shi Yuyan/意拾喻言 A Further Talk on the New Fiction/Xiaoshuo Xin Yu/小说新语 A Hell on Earth/Huo Di Yu/活地狱 A Hero of Our Time (the first part)/Yin Niu Bei/银钮碑 A Historical Romance of East-and-West Jin Dynasties/Liang Jin Yan Yi/两晋演 义 A History of Chinese Students in Japan/Zhongguo Ren Liuxue Riben Shi/中国人 留学日本史 A Lady with A Round Silk Fan/Qiufeng Wanshan Tan/秋风纨扇谈 A Legend of Swordsmen/Jiang Hu Qi Xia Zhuan/江湖奇侠传 A Letter Reply/Zai Da Mou Jun Shu/再答某君书 A Letter of Reply to Hu Shi/Fu Hu Shi Xin/复胡适信 A Letter to Chen Duxiu in Response to Qian Xuantong/Zai Ji Chen Duxiu Da Qian Xuantong/再寄陈独秀答钱玄同 A Letter to the Editors of Short Story Magazine/Zhi Xiaoshuo Yuebao Bianzhe 编者书 Shu/致 《小说月报》 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves/Xia’nü Nu/侠女奴 Allan Quatermain/Feizhou Yan Shui Chou Cheng Lu/斐洲烟水愁城录 All-Story Monthly, The/Yue Yue Xiaoshuo/月月小说

Appendix C: List of Articles and Books

227

Alone in the World/Ku’er Liulang Ji/苦儿流浪记 A Madman’s Diary/Kuang Ren Riji/狂人日记 Amazing Stories, The (Vol. 1)/Chu Ke Pai An Jingqi/初刻拍案惊奇 Amazing Stories, The (Vol. 2)/Er Ke Pai An Jingqi/二刻拍案惊奇 A Melancholia And His love Story/Chen Lun/沉沦 Amended Statutes and Precedents of Qing Dynasty, The/Da Qing Lüli Zeng Shan Tongchou Ji Cheng/大清律例增删统筹集成 A Monarch on the Throne/Xinhua Chun Meng Ji/新华春梦记 An Accident/Ou Ran/偶然 Analects of Confucius, The/Lun Yu/论语 Anan’s Love/Qing Bian/情变 Anecdotes in Shanghai/Hai Shang Qi Shu/海上奇书 Anecdotes of French Palace, I/Fa Gong Mishi Qianbian (I)/法宫秘史前编 Anecdotes of French Palace, II/Fa Gong Mishi Qianbian (II)/法宫秘史后编 Anecdotes of Taiping Rebellion/Hong Yang Yi Wen/红羊轶闻 Anecdotes of the Publishing Industry in Shanghai/Shanghai Chuban Jie Suo Wen/ 上海出版界琐闻 Anecdotes of Yuan Shikai/Yuan Shikai Yishi/袁世凯轶事 Anecdotes of Zuo Zongtang/Zuo Zongtang Yishi/左宗棠轶事 Anhui Vernacular Magazine/Anhui Suhua Bao/安徽俗话报 An Inspection of Schoolwork/Cha Gong Ke/查功课 Announcement of the Office of The Chinese Progress/Shiwu Baoguan Qishi/时 务报馆启事 Anthology of Hu Shi/Hu Shi Wen Cun/胡适文存 Anthology of Jing’an/Jing’an Wen Ji/静庵文集 Anthology of Modern World Short Stories, The/Jin Dai Shijie Duanpian Xiaoshuo Ji/近代世界 短篇小说集 Anthology of Weilu (3rd book)/Weilu San Ji/畏庐三集 Anti-Ghost Story/Fan Liao Zhai/反聊斋 Anti-superstition/Sao Mi Zhou/扫迷帚 An Unscientific Story/Zao Ren Shu/造人术 A Parody of Constitution of the Henpecked-husband Society/Xi Ni Pa Laopo Hui Huizhang/戏拟怕老婆会会章 A Piece of Crimson Cloth/Jiang Sha Ji/绛纱记 A Phone Call/Dianhua/电话 A Profile of Songgang/Songgang Xiao Shi/松冈小史 A Profile of Workers/Gong Ren Xiao Shi/工人小史 A Proposal of Establishing A Translation Institution/Ni She Fanyi Shuyuan Yi/拟 设翻译书院议 Arabian Nights, The/Tian Fang Ye Tan/天方夜谭 A Reply to A Friend’s Advice of Joining the Peace Society/Fu Youren Quan Ru Chou An Hui Shu/复友人劝入筹安会书 A Reply to Liu Youxin’s Criticism of Romances/Da Liu Youxin Lun Yanqing Xiaoshuo Shu/答刘幼新论言情小说书 A Reply to Mr. Chen Guanghui/Fu Chen Guanghui Jun Han/复陈光辉君函

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Appendix C: List of Articles and Books

A Reply to the Readers Asking for He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story/Da Han Suo Yu Li Hun Zhe/答函索玉梨魂者 Army of Volunteers/Yi Yong Jun/ 义勇军 A Rough Calculation of Translation/Yi Shu Jing Yan Lu/译书经眼录 Around the Moon/Yue Jie Lüxing/月界旅行 Around the World/Ying Huan Suo Ji/瀛寰琐记 Around the World in Eighty Days/Bashi Ri Huanyou Ji/八十日环游记 Arresting Kang and Liang, the Tow Rebels/Zhuona Kang Liang Er Ni Yanyi/捉 拿康梁二逆演义 A Scholar’s Disgrace/Si Wen Bian Xiang/斯文变相 A Sequel of Collection of Current Affairs/Shi Wu Hui Bian Xu Ji/时务汇编续集 A Short Story/Yi Hang Shu/一行书 A Simplified History of Publication Industry in China/Zhongguo Chuban Jie jianshi/中国出版界简史 A Song of Peace/Yong Qing Sheng Ping/永庆升平 A Southern Village/Jiang Cun Ye Hua/江村夜话 A Speech at the Peking Symposium on General Education/Zai Beijing Tongsu Jiaoyu Yanjiuhui Yanshuo Ci/在北京通俗教育研究会演说词 A Stranger From Liaodong/Liao Dong Ke/辽东客 A Study of Fiction/Xiaoshuo Guan Kui Lu/小说管窥录 A Study of the Political Thoughts of School of Tigu/Taigu Xue Pai Zhengzhi Sixiang Tan Lue/太古学派政治思想探略 A Study of Walter Scott and Charles Dickens/Si Ge De, Die Geng Si Er Jia Zhi Piping/司各德、迭更斯二家之批评 Awakening, The/Jue Min/觉民 Awakening of the People, The/Xin Min Shuo/新民说 Awakening Stories, The/Xing Shi Heng Yan/醒世恒言 A Warmhearted Person/Re Xin/热心 A Woman Avenger/Er Nü Yingxiong Zhuan/儿女英雄传 A Woman’s Adventure/Jiaren Qiyu/佳人奇遇 A Wretched Person/Ke Lian Chong/可怜虫 B Beatrice/Hong Jiao Hua Jiang Lu/红礁画浆录 Beginning to Translating Fictions/Yi Xiaoshuo De Kaishi/译小说的开始 Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes’s Fancy Cases/Xie Luo Ke Qi An Kaichang/歇洛 克奇案开场 Biography of Shi Nai’an, A Chinese Novelist/Zhongguo Xiaoshuo Dajia Shi Nai’an Zhuan/中国小说大家施耐庵传 Black Heaven/Hei Tian Guo/黑天国 Black Planet/Hei Xingxing/黑行星 Blind Fortuneteller, The/瞎骗奇闻 Blind Nihilists/Mang Xuwudang Yuan/盲虚无党员 Bolan Mirror/Bolan Jing/波兰镜

Appendix C: List of Articles and Books

229

Bo Nai Yin Zhuan/波乃茵传 Booklist/Shu Xun Bao/书讯报 Book Printing in China/Shu Lin Qing Hua/书林清话 Book Series by Dingyi/Dingyi Congkan/定夷丛刊 Boyhood/Tongnian Shidai/童年时代 Brutality of Burying the Son/Mai Er Can Shi/埋儿惨史 Bubble Dreams/Pao Ying Lu/泡影录 Bug Jargal/Xia Nu Xue/侠奴血 Bureaucrats: A Revelation, The/Guanchang Xianxing Ji/官场现形记 Burning the Sword/Fen Jian Lu/焚剑记 Business/Shi Sheng/市声 C Cain and Artyom/You Huan Yu Sheng/忧患余生 Californian’s Tale, The/Shan Jia Qiyu/山家奇遇 Call To Arms/Na han/呐喊 Camille/The Lady of the Camellias/Cha Hua Nü/巴黎茶花女遗事 Captain’s Daughter, The/E’guo Qing Shi/俄国情史 Carnal Prayer Mat, The/Rou Pu Tuan/肉蒲团 Cassock Clergymen/Hei Yi Jiaoshi/黑衣教士 Catalogue of Chinese Popular Fictions/Zhongguo Tongsu Xiaoshuo Shumu/中国 通俗小说书目 Catalogue of Fictions in Classical Chinese/Zhongguo Wenyan Xiaoshuo Shumu/ 中国文言小说书目 Catalogue of Guangdong magazines During 1911 Revolution/Xinhai Geming Shiqi Guangdong Baokan Lu/辛亥革命时期广东报刊录 Catalogue of Late Qing Literary Magazines/Wan Qing Yilai Wenxue Qinkan Mulu Jianbian/晚清以来文学期刊目录简编 Catalogue of Operas and Fictions in the Late Qing Dynasty/Wan Qing Xiqu Xiaoshuo Mu/晚清戏曲小说目 Catalogue of Significant Periodicals in Qing Dynasty/Qing Ji Zhongyao Baokan Mulu/清季重要报刊目录 Catalogue of Zhejiang Fiction Magazines/Wan Qing Zhejiang Baokan Lu/晚清 浙江报刊录 Change and Turbulence/Guangling Chao/广陵潮 Change: Revolution/Yi Ge/易·革 Che Zhong Du Zhen/meaning “a poisonous needle in the carriage”/车中毒针 Children’s Education/Meng Xue Bao/蒙学报 China Daily/Zhongguo Ribao/中国日报 China Vernacular Newspaper/Zhongguo Baihua Bao/中国白话报 Chinese and Foreign Stories/Zhong Wai Xiaoshuo Lin/中外小说林 Chinese Detective Stories/Zhongguo Zhentan An/中国侦探案 Chinese Globe Magazine/Wan Guo Gongbao/万国公报

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Chinese Literature in the Past Fifty Years/Wushi Nian lai Zhongguo Zhi Wenxue/ 五十年来中国之文学 Chinese Martial Spirit/Zhongguo Wushi Zhi Dao/中国武士之道 Chinese Monthly Magazine/Cha Shisu Mei Yue Tong Ji Zhuan/察世俗每月统纪 传 Chinese Novels/Zhonghua Xiaoshuo Jie/中华小说界 Chinese Overseas Students in Japan: A Novel/Liu Dong Wai Shi/留东外史 Chinese Progress, The/Shi Wu Bao/时务报 Chinese Writers/Zhongguo Zuojia/中国作家 Chitchat in the Sun/Fu Pu Xian Tan/负曝闲谈 Chivalrous Men/You Xia Zhuan/游侠传 Chivalrous Swordsmen/Xia Ke Tan/侠客谈 Chivalry Novels and Romantic Novels: Works of Social Emotions/Yi Xia Xiaoshuo Yu Yanqing Xiaoshuo Ju Guanshu Shehui Ganqing Zhi Su Li/义侠小说与艳情小 说具灌输社会感情之速力 Chronicles of Chinese Fictions/Zhongguo Lidai Xiaoshuo Shi Lun/中国历代小 说史论 Chronicles of Japan/Ri Ben Guo Zhi/日本国志 Chuang-tzu/Zhuang Zi/庄子 City Life in Shanghai/Shanghai Chunqiu/上海春秋 Civilized Society: A Novel, The/Wenming Xiao Shi/文明小史 Clarissa, or The History of a Young Lady/Ke La Li Sha/克拉丽莎 Cleopatra/Aiji Jin Ta Pou Shi Ji/埃及金塔剖尸记 Cleopatra/Jin Ta Pou Shi Ji/金塔剖尸记 Collected Writings of the Late Qing Dynasty: Volume of Translations of Overseas Literature/Wan Qing Wenxue Cong Chao Yu Wai Wenxue Yiwen Juan/晚清文学 丛钞·域外文学译文卷 Collection of Fictions/Xiaoshuo Lin/小说林 Collection of Poems by Du Fu/Caotang Shi Ji/草堂诗集 Colonel Quaritch/Hong Han Nülang Zhuan/洪罕女郎传 Coming Back to Life/Huan Wo Linghun Ji/还我灵魂记 Commemorations of Lu Xun/Lu Xun Xiansheng Jinian Ji/鲁迅先生纪念集 Comments on Ci poetry/Ren Jian Ci Hua/人间词话 Comment on Fictions/Xiaoshuo Za Ping/小说杂评 Comments of Current Affairs/Shi Shi Xin Lun/时事新论 Comments on Fiction/Xiaoshuo Cong Hua/小说丛话 Contemporary Criticism/Dangdai Pinglun/当代评论 Complete Collections of Liang Qichao, The/Yin Bing Shi He Ji/饮冰室合集 Complete Collection of Political Criticism, The/Qing Yi Bao Quan Bain/清议报 全编 Complete Works of Lu Xun, The/Lu Xun Quan Ji/鲁迅全集 Complete Works of Su Manshu/Su Manshu Quan Ji/苏曼殊全集 Complete Works of Tang Sitong/Tan Sitong Quan Ji/谭嗣同全集 Comprehensive Catalogue of Chinese Translations of Japanese Books/Zhongguo Yi Riben Shu Zonghe Mulu/中国译日本书综合目录

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Contemporary Criticism/Dang Dai Ping Lun/当代评论 Correspondences on the Genre of Fiction/Guanyu Xiaoshuo Wenti De Tongxin/ 关于小说文体的通信 Cosmetic Mirror, The/Lin Jing Zhuang/临镜妆 Cosmos Wind/Yuzhou Feng/宇宙风 Criticism by Qiu Weixuan on Fiction Writing/Ke Yun Lu Xiao Shuo Hua/客云庐 小说话 Criticism of Some New Words/Mang Ren Xia Ma Zhi Xin Ming Ci/盲人瞎马之 新名词 Criticism on A Dream in Red Mansions/Hong Lou Meng Pinglun/红楼梦评论 Chronicles of Chinese Pinyin Reform at the End of Qing Dynasty/Qing Mo Hanyu Pinyin Yundong Bian Nian Shi/清末汉语拼音运动编年史 Culture and History/Wen Shi Zazhi/文史杂志 Cuore/San Qian Li Xun Qin Ji/三千里寻亲记 Cuore/Xin’er Jiu Xue Ji/馨儿就学记 Current Affairs/Shi Shi Xin Bao/时事新报 D Daily Learning Jottings/Ri Zhi Lu/日知录 Daguan Newspaper/Daguan Bao/大观报 Dancers and Songs/Jiao Fang Ji/教坊记 Dark Days/Fating Zhi Meiren/法庭之美人 David Copperfield/Kuai Rou Yu Sheng Shu/块肉余生述 Death/Yi Si Nan/一死难 Debating on Salt and Iron/Yan Tie Lun/盐铁论 Deceit/Man/谩 Decoding Chinese Characters/Zi Shuo/字说 Demon, The/Luo Cha Yinguo Lu/罗刹因果录 Destiny: A New Book/Xin Lei Zhu Yuan/新泪珠缘 Detective Stories/An Zhong An/案中案 Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes/Huasheng Bao Tan An/华生包探案 Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes/Fuermosi Tan An/福尔摩斯探案 Development of Chinese Newspapers, The/Zhongguo Baozhi Jinhua Zhi Gaiguan/ 中国报纸进化之概观 The Development of Chinese Novels/Zhongguo Xiaoshuo De Lishi De Bianqian/ 中国小说的历史的变迁 Development of Literature and Position of Fictions in the Future/Wenfeng Zhi Bianqian Yu Xiaoshuo Jianglai Zhi Weizhi/文风之变迁与小说将来之位置 Diary, The/Fei Lai Zhi Riji/飞来之日记 Diary of Wangshan Cabin/Wangshan Lu Riji/忘山庐日记 Disillusioned Overseas Life: A Novel/Ku Shehui/苦社会 Dombey and Son/Bing Xue Qi Yuan/冰雪因缘

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Drama Life in China/Zhongguo Zhi Xiju Jie/中国之戏剧届 Dream of Brothels/Qinglou Meng/青楼梦 Duty of Philosophers and Artists, The/Lun Zhexuejia Yu Meishujia Zhi Tian Zhi/ 论哲学家与美术学家之天职 E Editor’s Words in Monthly Fiction, The/Yue Yue Xiaoshuo Ba/ 《月月小说》 跋 Edmont About/Jia Hou Hen/嫁侯恨 Education Bulletin/Jiaoyu Gongbao/教育公报 Education of Smile, The/Xiao Zhi Jiaoyu/笑之教育 Education World/Jiaoyu Shijie/教育世界 Elegant Writing/Ya Yan/雅言 11 th Annual Report of Christian Literature Society, The/Guangxue Hui Di Shiyi Jie Nian Bao Ji Lue (1898)/广学会第十一届(1898)年报记略 Elissa/Man Huang Zhi Yi/蛮荒志异 Emotion and Entertainment: the Two Key Elements of Fiction/Xiaoshuo Zhi Zhipei Yu Shijie Zhi Shang Chun Yi Qingli Zhi Zheng Qu Wei Guan Gan/小说之支配于 世界之上纯以情理之真趣为观感 Emperor’s Readers/Huang Lan/皇览 Enjoying the View of Plum Blossoms of Chaoshan/Ji Chaoshan Meihua/记超山 梅花 Enlightening Stories, The/Yu Shi Ming Yan/喻世明言 Entertainment/Xiao Xian Bao/消闲报 Epic of A Heroine, The/Jin Guo Qiu Yang/巾帼阳秋 Eric Brighteyes/Qing Xia Zhuan/情侠传 Essays by Gu’an/Gu’an Suibi/觚庵漫笔 Essays at Rongzhai Study/Rong Zhai Suibi/容斋随笔 Essays From Tanying Study/Tanying Shi Suibi/谈瀛室随笔 Essays on Chinese Literature/Zhongguo Wenxue Lun Ji/中国文学论集 Essays Written at Chunjuezhai Study/Chunjuezhai Lunwen/春觉斋论文 Ethics of Revolution, The/Geming Zhi Daode/革命之道德 Exposing the Bureaucrats: A Continuation/Hou Guanchang Xian Xing Ji/后官 场现形记 Exposing the Bureaucrats: A New Version/Guanchang Xin Xianxing Ji/官场新现 形记 Extensive Chronicle of Liang Qichao’s Life/Liang Qichao Nian Pu Chang Bian/ 梁启超年谱长 编 Eugene Aram/A Luo Xiao Zhuan/阿罗小传 Eugene Aram/Sheng Ren Yu Dao Zei Yu/圣人欤盗贼》 Eulogy to the Moon/Bing Hu Han Yun/冰壶寒韵 Every Man a King or Might in Mind Mastery/Dian Guan/电冠 Evolution and Ethics and Other Essays/Tian Yan Lun/天演论 Evolution of China, The/Zhongguo Jinhua Xiao Shi/中国进化小史

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F Fall of the Youth, The/Qingnian Zhi Duoluo/青年之堕落 False Freedom/Ziyou Jian/自由鉴 Felicitation on the Hundredth Issue of Political Criticism/Qing Yi Bao Yi Bai Ce Zhuci Bing Lun Baoguan Zhi Zhize Ji Ben Guan Zhi Jingli/清议报一百册祝辞 并论报馆之责任及本馆之经历 Felicitation to the Hundredth Issue of The Chinese Progress/Ben Guan Di Yi Bai Ce Zhuci Bing Lun Baoguan Zhi Zhize Ji Ben Guan Zhi Jingli/本馆第一百册祝 辞并论报馆之职责及本馆之经历 Fiction and Social Administration/Lun Xiaoshuo Yu Qun Zhi Zhi Guanxi/论小说 与群治之关系 Fiction Cartoons/Xiaoshuo Tuhua Bao/小说图画报 Fiction Collection/Xiaoshuo Hui Kan/小说汇刊 Fiction Collection of South Society/Nan She Xiaoshuo Ji/南社小说集 Fiction Gallimaufry/Xiaoshuo Da Guan/小说大观 Fiction Series/Xiaoshuo Cong Bao/小说丛报 Fiction Society of A New World/Xin Shijie Xiaoshuo She Bao/新世界小说社报 Fiction Times/Xiaoshuo Shi Bao/小说时报 Fiction World/Xiaoshuo Shijie/小说世界 Fiction World Daily/Xiaoshuo Shijie Ribao/小说世界日报 Fictional Sketches at Qiuxing Study/Qiufeng Ge Biji/秋星阁笔记 Fictional Sketches of Weilu/Weilu Biji/畏庐笔记 Fictions and the Society/Xiaoshuo Yu Shehui/小说与社会 Fictions: A Ten-day Circling/Xiaoshuo Xun Bao/小说旬报 Fictions from Eastern Guangdong/Yue Dong Xiaoshuo Lin/粤东小说林 Fictions in Late Qing Dynasty/Qing Mo Xiaoshuo Yanjiu/清末小说研究 Fictions in Modern Vernacular Chinese/Lun Baihua Xiaoshuo/论白话小说 Fictions in the form of Opera and Vernacular Chinese for the Common People/Qu Ben Xiaoshuo Yu Baihua Xiaoshuo Zhi Yi Yu Putong Shehui/曲本小说与白话小 说之宜于普通社会 Fictions in Vernacular Chinese/Baihua Xiaoshuo/白话小说 Fictions Monthly: from Jingli Society/Jingli She Xiaoshuo Yue Bao/竞立社小说 月报 Fictions Today in China/Jin Ri Zhongguo Zhi Xiaoshuo Jie/今日中国之小说界 Fictions Weekly/Xiaoshuo Qi Ri Bao/小说七日报 File No. 113/Di Yibai Shisan An/第一百十三案 First Additional Collected Criticism of Novels of the Branch of Novels of Popular Education Research Society, The/Tongsu Jiaoyu Yanjiuhui Xiaoshuo Gu Shenhe Xiaoshuo Pingyu Di Yi Ci Bu Ji/通俗教育研究会小说股审核小说评语第一次 补辑 First Collection of Goetian Ballads, The/Wu Ge Jia Ji/吴歌甲集 First Collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, The/Xin’an Xie Yi Chu Bian/新庵谐译 初编

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First Collection of Historical Records of Publication in Modern China, The/Zhongguo Jindai Chuban Shiliao Chu Bian/中国近代出版史料初编 First Mission to the West/Chu Shi Taixi Ji/初使泰西记 Fleur d’ Ombre/Ying Zhi Hua/影之花 Flower in Trap/Jing Zhong Hua/阱中花 Flowers in Season/Hua Kai Hua Luo/花开花落 Flowers in the Mirror/Jing Hua Yuan/镜花缘镜花缘 Flower in the World of Retribution, The/Nie Hai Hua/孽海花 Flying to the Jupiter/Fei Fang Muxing/飞访木星 Folklore/Cai Feng Bao/采风报 Folk Songs About Shanghai/Yang Chang Zhi Zhi Ci/洋场竹枝词 Foreword to Fiction Society of A New World/Xin Shijie Xiaoshuo She Bao Fa Kan Ci/ 《新世界小说社报》 发刊词 《扬子 Foreword to Yangtze River Fiction/Yang Zi jiang Xiaoshuo Bao Fa Kan Ci/ 江小说报》 发刊辞 Four Cases/Si Ming An/四名案 Four Pieces of Reflections on Education/Jiaoyu Ou Gan Si Ze/教育偶感四则 Fourth Collection o f the Historical Records of Publication in Modern China (Book 2), The/Zhongguo Jindai Chuban Shiliao Ding Bian (Book 2)/中国近代 出版史料丁编(下) Fourth Proposal to the Emperor, The/Shang Qing Di Di Si Shu/上清帝第四书 Free Voices/Yu Si/语丝 Freedom/Ziyou/自由 Freedom/Ziyou Shu/自由书 Freedom of Marriage/Ziyou Jiehun/自由结婚 Frost in June/Liu Yue Shuang/六月霜 Funny Travels/Huaji Lüxing/滑稽旅行 Fun of Collection of Fictions, The/Xiaoshuo Lin Zhi Qu Zhi/小说林之趣旨 Fun of Frictions/Xiaoshuo Zhi Zhu/小说智珠 Fupao Magazine/Fu Bao/复报 Future of New China, The/Xin Zhongguo Weilai Ji/新中国未来记 G Gallantry in the Battlefield/Qi Zhan Si/祈战死 Games/Youxi Bao/游戏报 General Catalogue of Republican China·Foreign Literature, The/Minguo Shiqi Zong Shumu · Waiguo Wenxue/民国时期总书目·外国文学 General Prologue for Historical Novels/Lishi Xiaoshuo Zong Xu/历史小说总序 Geography of Asia, Europe, Africa and America/Si Zhou Zhi/四洲志 Geography of the World/Hai Guo Tu Zhi/海图国志 Ghost Stories: A New Version/Xin Liao Zhai/新聊斋 Girl of A Poor Family, The/Pin Jia Nü/贫家女 Gold Bug, the/Yu Chong Yuan/玉虫缘 Good Laughter/Xiao De Hao/笑得好

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Great Reform, The/Da Gaige/大改革 Grimm’s Fairy Tales/Xin’an Xie Yi/新庵谐译 Guangdong Opium-banning New Fictions/Guangdong Jieyan Xin Xiaoshuo/广 东戒烟新小说 Guangdong Newspaper/Guangdong Bao/广东报 Guangzhou Uprising, The/Wu Ri Fengsheng/五日风声 Gulliver’s travels/Ge Lie Fo Youji/格列佛游记 Gulliver’s Travels/Hai Wai Xuan Qu Lu/海外轩渠录 Gulliver’s Travels/Tan Ying Xiao Lu/谈瀛小录 H Hall of Broken Zither, The/Sui Qin Lou/碎琴楼 Hangzhou Vernacular Newspaper/Hangzhou Baihua Bao/杭州白话报 Heart/Xin/心 Heartbroken Deserted Wife, The/Qifu Duanchang Shi/弃妇断肠史 He Mengxia and Bai Liying: A Love Story/Yu Li Hun/玉梨魂 He Mengxia’s Diary/Xue Hong Lei Shi/雪鸿泪史 He Mengxia’s Diary: A Novel Not to be Missed/Ren Ren Bi Du Zhi Xiaoshuo Xue Hong Lei Shi/人人必读之小说 《雪鸿泪史》 Heretic Writings and Speeches/Zao Yao Shu Yao Yan/造妖书妖言 Historical Materials of Chinese Fictions/Zhongguo Xiaoshuo Shi Liao/中国小说 史料 Historical Romance/Yan Yi Bao/演义报 History of Chinese Literature/Zhongguo Wenxue Shi/中国文学史 History of Chinese Newspapers and Magazines/Zhongguo Bao Xue Shi/中国报 学史 History of Detective Fictions in Late Qing Dynasty/Qing Mo Tan Zhen Xiaoshuo Shi Gao/清末探侦小说史稿 History of Fictions of the Late Qing Dynasty/Wan Qing Xiaoshuo Shi/晚清小说 史 History of Late Qing Fcitions/Wan Qing Xiaoshuo Shi/晚清小说史 History of Modern Chinese Literature/Xiandai Zhongguo Wenxue Shi/现代中国 文学史 History of Modern Chinese Periodicals/Zhongguo Jindai Baokan Shi/中国近代 报刊史 History of Song and Yuan Operas/Song Yuan Xiqu Shi/宋元戏曲史 History of the Former Han Dynasty, The/Han Shu/汉书 Home, Sweet Home/An Le Jia/安乐家 Hongfen Jie/红粉劫 Hong Xiuquan: A Historical Romance/Hong Xiuquan Yanyi/洪秀全演义 Hu Baoyu/Hu Baoyu/胡宝玉 Hupao Newspaper/Hu Bao/沪报 Howl of The Lion/Shizi Hou/狮子吼

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How to Teach Writing in Middle Schools and Higher Education/Zhongxue Yi Shang Zuowen Jiaoxue Fa/中学以上作文教学法 Hypnotism/Dian Shu Qi Tan/电术奇谈 I Idle Comments on Social Customs/Fengsu Xian Ping/风俗闲评 Illustrated Fictions/Xiu Xiang Xiaoshuo/绣像小说 Illustrated Novels/Xiaoshuo Huabao/小说画报 Influence of Literature on the Society, The/Lun Xueshu Zhi Shili Zuo You Shiji/论 学术之势力左右世界 Inferiority of Romance Writing to Romance Translating/Lun Yanqing Xiaoshuo Zhuan Bu Ru Yi/ 论言情小说撰不如译 In the Latest Fifty Years/Zui Jin Wu Shi Nian/最近之五十年 Introduction to A Bibliography of Japanese Books/Riben Shumu Zhi Shi Yu/ 《日 本书目志》 识语 Introduction to Newspapers of Children’s Education and Historical Romance/Meng Xue Bao Yan Yi Bao He Xu/蒙学报演义报合叙 Introduction to Outlaws of the Marsh/Zhong Yi Shui Hu Quan Shu Fa Fan/ 《忠义 水浒全书》 发凡 Introduction to the Happy Life of A Couple, The/Kang Li Fu Zhi Qu/ 《伉俪福》 旨 趣 Introduction to the 1907 Investigation of Publications of Fictions/Dingwei Nian Xiaoshuo Jie Faxing Shumu Diaochabiao ·Yinyan/丁未年小说界发行书目调查表·引言 It’s Not A Dream/Fei Meng Ji/非梦记 Ivanhoe/Sa Ke Xun Jie Hou Yingxiong Lue/撒克逊劫后英雄略 J Jade Buddha/Yu Fo Yuan/玉佛缘 Japanese Sword/Riben Jian/日本剑 Jealousy in Love/Cu Hai Bo/醋海波 Jewelry, The/Bei Huan Ren Ying/悲欢人影 Jewelry Box, A/Ba Bao Xia/八宝匣 Jia Yin, The Magazine of/Jia Yin/甲寅 Jianchan’s Jottings/Jianchan Biji/趼廛笔记 Jingye Xunpao/Jingye Xun Bao/竞业旬报竞业旬报 Joan Haste/Jiayin Xiaozhuan/迦因小传 Jottings by Nobody/Ye Ke Congshu/野客丛书 Jottings by Tieleng/Tie Leng Sui Mo/铁冷碎墨 Jottings by Xin’an/Xi’an Biji/新庵笔记 Journal of Tianjin University/Tianjin Daxue Xuebao/天津大学学报 Journey to the Centre Of the Earth/Di Xin Lüxing/地心旅行

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K Kanadehon Chushingura/Hai Wai Qi Tan/海外奇谈 Kanadehon Chushingura: a kabuki play/Zhong Chen Zang/忠臣藏 L La Confession/Zao Du/蚤妒 Ladies’ Tears/Hong Lei Ying/红泪影 Lady of the Camellias, The/Cha Hua Nü/茶花女 La Rempailleuse/Qing Liang/情量 Legal Regulations for Copyright of Books/Zhuzuo Quan Lü/著作权律 Legendary Stories of Baozheng, A Judge of the Song Dynasty/Baogong An/ 包公 案 Leisurely Comments on Fictions/Xiaoshuo Xian Ping/小说闲评 Leisurely Essays/San Xian Ji/三闲集 Legend of New Rome/Xin Luoma Chuanqi/新罗马传奇 Legend of Nihilists/Xu Wu Dang Qi Hua/虚无党奇话 Legend of Xuanxiang Tower/Xuangxiang Lou Chuanqi/煖香楼传奇 Legends of the Celebrities and the Prostitutes, The/Hai Tian Hong Xue Ji/海天 鸿雪记 Lenghong’s Dairy/lenghong Riji/冷红日记 L’Ermite/Miao Liang Yan Di/妙莲艳蒂 Letters to the Dead Husband/Ming hong/冥鸿 Lian Chenbi/Lian Chenbi/连城璧 Lighthouse Keeper/Deng Tai Zu/灯台卒 Limited Views: Essays on Ideas and Letters/Guan Zhui Pian/管锥篇 Lin Qinnan and Luo Zhenyu/Lin Qinnan He Luo Zhenyu/林琴南与罗振玉 Lin Shu’s Translation/Lin Shu De Fanyi/林纾的翻译 Literary Comments at Equality Study/Ping Deng Ge Shi Hua/平等阁诗话 Literary Comments at Shiyi Study/Shiyi Shi Shi Hua/石遗室诗话 Literary Jottings: A Supplement/Hui Zhu Shi Yi/挥麈拾遗 Literary Legacy/Wenxue yichan/文学遗产 Literature and Arts/Wenyi Zazhi/文艺杂志 Literature Magazine/Wenxue Xun Kan/文学旬刊 Liu’e and his Laocan’s Travel Notes/Liu’e Yu Laocan You Ji/刘鄂与 《老残游记 》 Li Zhuowu’s Criticism of Romance of Three Kindoms/Li Zhuowu Xiansheng Piping Zhong Yi Shui Hu Zhuan/李卓吾先生批评忠义水浒传 Lonely Phoenix, The/Gu Huang Cao/孤凰操 Looking Backward/Bai Nian Yi Jiao/百年一觉 Looking Backward/Hui Tou Kan/回头看 L’Ordonnance/Zhang Xia Zu/帐下卒 Lost/Pang Huang/彷徨 Lost-Dragon Array/Mi Long Zhen/迷龙阵 Lost Soul of An Opium Addict, The/Hei Ji Yuan Hun/黑籍冤魂

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Love of Warring Time/Jie Wai Tan Hua/劫外昙花 Love Story of Qin Baozhu, The/Lei Zhu Yuan/泪珠缘 Lucréce Borgia/Xiao Yu/枭欤 Lu Xun and the Late Qing Literature/Lu Xun Yu Qing Mo Wen Tan/鲁迅与清末 文坛 Lu Xun in His Youth/Lu Xun de Qingnian Shidai/鲁迅的青年时代 Lyrics in Shanghai/Hu Cheng Gan Shi Shi/沪城感事诗 M Magazine of Henan, The/Henan/河南 Magazine of Youth, The/Qingnian Zazhi/青年杂志 Magazine Writings Shall Be in Simple Language/Lun Bao Zhang Yi Yong Qian Shuo/论报章宜 用浅说 Management of Newspapers/Shi Bao De Bianzhi/时报的编制 Manuscripts of Ma Junwu’s Poems/Ma Junwu Shi Gao/马君武诗稿 Marguerite de Valois/Ma Ge Wanghou Yishi/马哥王后佚史 Masters of Martial Arts/Ji Ji Yu Wen/技击余闻 Materials of Shanghai Local History/Shanghai Difang Shi Ziliao/上海地方史资 料 Memoirs/Zhitang Huixiang Lu/知堂回想录 Memoirs at Chuanying Study/Chuanying Lou Huiyi Lu/钏影楼回忆录 Middle East War: A Novel/Zhong Dong Da Zhan Yan Yi/中东大战演义 Mids the Wild Carpathians/Xiong Nu Qi Shi Lu/匈奴奇士录 Minpao Magazine, The/Min Bao/民报 Minutes of Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Discussion of Selecting Students to Japan/Zun Yi Linxuan Sheng Tu Youxue Riben Shiyi Pian/遵议遴选生徒游学日 本事宜片 Miraculous Reunion of Two Couples in Stories to Warn Men/警世通言·范鳅儿 双镜重圆 Mirror of Bravery/Zhao Dan Jing/照胆镜 Mirror of Brothels/Qinglou Jing/青楼镜 Mirror of Education/Xue Jie Jing/学界镜 Mirror of Establishing Constitutionalism, The/Li Xian Jing/立宪镜 Mirror of Evil: A New Novel/Xin Nie Jing/新孽镜 Mirror of Love Tragedy/Nie Yuan Jing/孽冤镜 Mirror of the Family/Qin Jian/亲鉴 Mirror of the Medical World/Yi Jie Jing/医界镜 Misery in Poverty/Qiong Chou/穷愁 Miss Lin’s Marriage/Yi Lü Ma/一缕麻 Models of Epistolary Art for Advanced Learners/Gaodeng Xuesheng Chidu/ 高 等学生尺牍 Models of Epistolary Art for Ordinary Learners/Putong Xuesheng Chidu/普通学 生尺牍 Moment in Nanjing/Jinling Qiu/金陵秋

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Money Demon, The/Huang Ji Sui/黄金祟 Montezuma’s Daughter/Ying Xiaozi Huoshan Baochou Lu/英孝子火山报仇录 Monthly Journal of Shaoxing Education Society/Shaoxing Xian Jianyu Hui Yue Kan/绍兴县教育会月刊 Moonlight/Yue Ye/月夜 Morning and Night (the first half)/Xin Xi Xian Tan/昕夕闲谈 Mr. Lin Qinnan/Lin Qinnan Xiansheng/林琴南先生 Mutiny, The/Xue Lei Huang Hua/血泪黄花 My Deceased Friend Lu Xun/Wang You Lun Xun Yinxiang Ji/亡友鲁迅印象记 My Experience of Book-selling in Jinling City (Book I)/Jinling Mai Shu Ji (I)/金 陵卖书记(卷上) My Experience of Learning Chinese Language and Literature/Wo Xue Guowen De Jingyan/我学国文的经验 Mystères de Paris, Les/Bali Zhi Mimi/巴黎之秘密 Mysterious Experience of Shangguan Wangu, The/Shangguan Wan Gu/上官完古 Mysterious Island, The/Tie Shiji/铁世界 Mystery of Shanghai/Shanghai Zhi Mimi/上海之秘密 My Two Decades of Publishing Life/Zai Chuban Jie Ershi Nian/在出版界二十 年 My Views on Fiction/Yu Zhi Xiaoshuo Guan/余之小说观 My Youth/Shaonian Shidai/少年时代 N Nada the Lily/Gui Shan Lang Xia Zhuan/鬼山狼侠传 Namiko/Bu Ru Gui/不如归 National Crisis of Being Parceled, The/Guafen Canhuo Yuyan Ji/瓜分惨祸预言 记 National News/Guo Wen Bao/国闻报 National News Weekly/Guo Wen Zhou Bao/国闻周报 Naturalism and Modern Chinese fictions/Ziran Zhuyi Yu Zhongguo Xiandai Xiaoshuo/自然主义与中国现代小说 Necklace, The/Bali Nüzi/巴黎女子 Necklace, The/Xiang Lian/项链 Net of Heaven, The/Tian Wang/天网 New Camellia/Xin Chahua/新茶花 New Drama/Xin Jü Zazhi/新剧杂志 New Essays of Life/Hua Qian Xin Ji/花前新记 New Fancies/Xin Fa Luo/新法螺 New Fiction/Xin Xiaoshuo/新小说 New Fiction Serials/Xin Xiaoshuo Cong/新小说丛 New History of Laughter/Xin Xiao Shi/新笑史 New Magazine of Fictions/Xiaoshuo Xin Bao/小说新报 New New-fictions/Xin Xin Xiaoshuo/新新小说 New Shanghai/Xin Shanghai/新上海

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Newspaper Articles Should Use Simple Language/Bao Zhang Yi Yong Qian Shuo/ 报章宜用浅说 Newspaper of Civil Rights, The/Min Quan Bao/民权报 Newspapers in Shanghai/Shanghai De Ribao/上海的日报 New Stage/Xin Wutai/新舞台 New Story of the Stone, The/Xin Shitou Ji/新石头记 New Tide/Xin Chao/新潮 New Youth/Xin Qingnian/新青年 Nightmare of Fortune/Nian Zai Fanhua Meng/廿载繁华梦 Nihilists/Xu Wu Dang/虚无党 Nine-tailed Turtle, The/Jiu Wei Gui/九尾龟 Ninety-Three/Jiu Shi San Nian/九十三年 Ningbo Fiction Weekly/Ningbo Xiaoshuo Qi Ri Bao/宁波小说七日报 No. 11, 12, 13 of Sherlock Holmes Stories/Fuermosi Zai Sheng Hou Zhi Tan’an Di Shiyi, Shi’er, Shisan An/福尔摩斯再生后之探案第十一、二、三案 Nostalgia/Huai Jiu/怀旧 Notes And Data of Brothels/Bei Li Zhi/北里志 Notes of Shikezhai Study/Shikezhai Ji Yan/适可斋记言 O Odd Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years/Er Shi Nian Mu Du Zhi Guai Xian Zhuang/二十年目 睹之怪现状 Ode to Shenjiang River/Shen Jiang Xing/申江行 Officialdom, The/Huan Hai/宦海 Officialdom of Qing Dynasty/Qingdai Guanchang Bai Guai Lu/清代官场百怪录 Official Reply to the Suggestion of Sending Students Abroad to Learn Techniques/Yi Fu Yu Shi Bi Shou Zou Qing Xuanpai Zidi Fen Song Ge Guo Xuexi Gongyi Zhe/议复御史俾寿奏请选派子弟分送各国学习工艺摺 Old Curiosity Shop, The/Xiao Nü Nai’er Zhuan/孝女耐儿传 Oliver Twist/Zei Shi/贼史 On Fictions/Shuo Xiaoshuo/说小说 On Fictions/Xiaoshuo Hua/小说话 On Freedom/Yin Bing Shi Ziyou Shu/饮冰室自由书 “On Genres” in Essays Written at Chunjuezhai Study/Chunjuezhai Lunwen · Liu Bie Lun/春觉 斋论文·流别论 On Late Qing Literary Magazines/Wan Qing Wenyi Baokan Shu Lue/晚清文艺 报刊述略 On Leisurely Comments on Fictions/Xiaoshuo Xian Ping Xu/ 《小说闲评》 叙 On Liberty/Ziyou Zhi Lun/自由之论 On Promoting Education by Holding Community Novel-reading Meetings/Puji Xianglü Jiaohua Yi Chang Ban Yanjiang Xiaoshuo Hui/普及乡闾教化宜倡办演 讲小说会 On Publishing Political Fictions/Yi Yin Zhengzhi Xiaoshuo Xu/译印政治小说序 On Publishing Saturday/Li Bai Liu Chuban Zhuiyan/《礼拜六》 出版赘言

Appendix C: List of Articles and Books

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On Serious Literature/Lun Yan Su/论严肃 On Short Stories/Lun Duanpian Xiaoshuo/论短篇小说 On the Advantages of Drama/Lun Xiju Zhi You Yi/论戏剧之有益 On the Advantages of Learning Japanese/Lun Xue Riben Wen Zhi Yi/论学日本 文之益 On the Christmas Eve/Yesu Sheng Jie Qian Yi Ri Zhi Xi Jing/耶稣圣节前一日之 夕景 On the Educational Significance of Drama/Juchang Zhi Jiaoyu/剧场之教育 On the Higher Utility of Fictions than of Newspapers/Xiaoshuo Zhi Gongyong Bi Baozhi Zhi Yingxiang Wei Geng Puji/小说之功用比报纸之影响为更普及 On the History of Modern European Literature/Xiandai Ouzhou Wen Yi Shi Tan/ 现代欧洲文艺史谭 On the Inappropriateness of This Newspaper/Lun Ben Baozhi Bu He Shi Yi/论本 报纸不合时宜 On the Nihilist Fictions of the Late Qing Dynasty/Guanyu Wangqing Xu Wu Dang Xiaoshuo/关于晚清虚无党小说 On the Opera/Lun Xiqu/论戏曲 On the Power and Influence of Fictions/Lun Xiaoshuo Zhi Shili Jiqi Yingxiang/论 小说之势力及其影响 On the Relationship Between Fiction and Customs/Xiaoshuo Yu Fengsu Zhi Guanxi/小说与风俗之关系 On the Relationship between Fictions and Social Reform/Lun Xiaoshuo Yu Gailiang Shehui Zhi Guanxi/论小说与改良社会只关系 On the Relationship Between Romances and the New Society/Lun Xie Qing Xiaoshuo Yu Xin Shehui Zhi Guanxi/论写情小说于新社会之关系 On the Spread of Art Spirit/Ni Bo Bu Meishu Yijian Shu/儗播布美术意见书 On the Ten Features of the Complete Collection of Political Criticism/Ben Bian Zhi Shi Da Tese/本编之十大特色 On Translation/Lun Yi Shu/论译书 On Translating Practical Books from the West/Fanyi Taixi Youyong Shuji Yi/翻译 泰西有用书籍议 On Western Romantic Poetry/Mo Luo Shi Li Shuo/ 摩罗诗力说 Operatic Life, The/Pin Hua Bao Jian/ 品花宝鉴 Oriental, The/ Dongfang Zazhi/ 东方杂志 Orientation of Fictions in Chinese Literature/Lun Wenxue Shang Xiaoshuo Zhi Weizhi/ 论文学上小说之位置 Origin of Fantine, The/Ai Chen/ 哀尘 Outlaws of the Marsh/Shui Hu Zhuan/ 水浒传 P Pacha of Many Tales, The/Nai Su Guo Qiwen/ 乃苏国奇闻 Pacific Newspaper, the/Tai Ping Yang Bao/ 太平洋报 Panorama of Shady Deals in China/Zhongguo Hei Mu Da Guan/ 中国黑幕大观 Panoramic View/Guang Yi Cong Bao/ 广益丛报

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Panoramic View of Foreign Fictions/Xiaoshuo Ming Hua Da Guan/ 小说名画大 观 Past, Present and Future of Translation Between China and Japan/Zhong Ri Zhian Jian Yi Shu Shiye De Guoqu, Xianzai Yu Weilai/ 中日之间译书事业的过去,现在 与未来 Patchworks/Shijie Fanhua Bao/ 世界繁华报 Patchwork: Seven Essays on Art and Literature/Qi Zhui Ji/ 七缀集 Paul et Virginie/li hen Tian/ 离恨天 Payment of Tang Writers/Ji Tangdai Wenren Zhi Runbi/ 记唐代文人之润笔 Peach Blossom Fan, The/Taohua Shan/ 桃花扇 Peach Colony, The/Taohua Yuan Ji/ 桃花源记 Pear Blossom/Li Hua/ 梨花 Peking Newspaper/Jing Bao/ 京报 Pelopidas/Jing Guo Mei Tan/ 经国美谈 Poems and Essays by Liang Qichao/Yin Bing Shi Shihua/ 饮冰室诗话 Pilgrimage to the West/Xi You Ji/ 西游记 Pingpao Newspaper/Ping Bao/ 平报 Pingwang Inn/Pingwang Yi/ 平望驿 Plum Blossom in the Snow/Xue Zhong Mei/ 雪中梅 Plum in the Golden Vase, The/Jin Ping Mei/ 金瓶梅 Poems by Junwu/Junwu Shi Gao/ 君武诗稿 Poems Written in Japan/ Riben Zashi Shi/ 日本杂事诗 Political Criticism/Qing Yi Bao/ 清议报 Political Writings of Kang Youwei/Kang Youwei Zheng Lun Ji/ 康有为政论集 Poor Students/Ku Xuesheng/ 苦学生 Power of Fictions, The/Xiaoshuo Zhi Shili/ 小说之势力 Preface to Airship: A Novel/Kong Zhong Fei Ting Bian Yan/《空中飞艇》 弁言 Preface to Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes/Xie Luo Ke Fu Sheng Zhentan An Bianyan/《歇洛克复生侦探案》 弁言 Preface to Dhammapada/Fa Ju Jing Xu/ 法句经序 Preface to Jingwei Stone, T he/Jingwei Shi Xu/《精卫石》 序 Preface to Reformists in Shanghai/Shanghai Zhi Weixin Dang Xu/《上海之维新 党》 序 Preface to Romance of Records of the Three Kingdom/San Guo Zhi Tongsu Yanyi Xu/《三国志通俗演义》 序 序 Preface to Seven Writers/Zuozhe Qi Ren Xu/《作者七人》 Preface to The Story of Seven/Xiaoshuo Qi Ren Xu/《小说七人》 序 Preparing for Constitutionalism/Yubei Lixian/ 预备立宪 Press in China/Zhongguo Ge Baoguan Shimo/ 中国各报馆始末 Pressgang, The/Shi Hao Li/ 石壕吏 Principles of Fictions/Xiaoshuo Yuanli/ 小说原理 Promotion, The/Ping Bu Qing Yun/ 平步青云 Publication and Printing Business in China in Sixty Years/Liushi Nian Lai Zhongguo Zhi Chuban Yu Yinshua Ye/ 六十年来中国之出版业与印刷业

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Publication in China in Thirty Five years/San Shi Wu Nian Lai Zhongguo Zhi Chuban Ye/ 三十五年来中国之出版业 Publishing Announcement of the Office/Ben Guan Fu Yin Shuo Bu Yuanqi/ 本馆 附印说部缘起 Q Queen of Yinshan/Yinshan Nüwang/ 银山女王 R Raise and Fall of An Official/Huan Hai Sheng Chen Lu/ 宦海升沉录 Reading Chinese Classical Fictions/Gudian Xiaoshuo Biji Lun Cong/ 古典小说 笔记论丛 Reading New Fictions/Xin Xiaoshuo Pin/ 新小说品 Reading Notes at South Pavilion/Nan Ting Biji/ 南亭笔记 Reading Romance of Three Kingdom/Du San Guo Zhi Fa/ 读 《三国志》 法 Reading The Plum in the Golden Vase, the Best of All/ Piping Di Yi Qi Shu Jin Ping Mei Dufa/ 批评第一奇书 《金瓶梅》 读法 Reality of China/Zhongguo Xianzai Ji/ 中国现在记 Recommendation of Fictions As Reading Materials at School/Xuetang Yi Tuiguang Yi Xiaoshuo Wei Jiaoshu/ 学堂宜推广以小说为教书 Recommendation to Detective Stories of Sherlock Holmes (11, 12, 13)/ Shao Jie Xinshu Fuermosi Zai Sheng Hou Zhi Tan’an Di Shiyi, Shi’er & Shisan/ 绍介新书 《福尔摩斯再生后之探案第十一、十二、十三》 Recordings of Whoredom/Hai Zou Ye You Lu/ 海陬冶游录 Records At Zhaoting Study/Xiaoting Xu Lu/ 啸亭续录 Records of the Historian/Shi Ji/ 史记 Records of The Taiping Era/Tai Ping Guang Ji/ 太平广记 Records of the Three Kingdoms/San Guo Zhi/ 三国志 Rectifications for Newspapers in Shanghai/Shanghai De Ribao Buzheng/《上海 的日报》 补正 Red, the magazine of/Hong Zazhi/ 红杂志 Red Roses, the magazine of/ Hong Meigui/ 红玫瑰 References of Liu’e and his Laocan’s Travel Notes/ Liu’e Ji Laocan Youji Ziliao/ 刘鄂及老残游记资料 References of Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School (Book 1)/Yuanyan Hudie Pai Yanjiu Ziliao (Book 1)/ 鸳鸯蝴蝶派研究资料(上) Reflections of Editing Fictions/Bianji Yu Tan/编辑余谈 Regional Autonomy/Difang Zizhi/ 地方自治 Regulations of the News Agency/Ben Guan Tiaoli/ 本馆条例 Religious Stories by Tolstoy/Tuoshi Zongjiao Xiaoshuo/ 托氏宗教小说 Reminiscence of the Literary World/Wen Yuan Tan Wang/ 文苑谈往 Reminiscence of The Saturday/Li Bai Liu Jiu Hua/《礼拜六》 旧话 Re-reading Laocan’s Travel Notes/Laocan You Ji Xin Lun/《老残游记》 新论 Research Materials on Lin Shu/Lin Shu Yanjiu Ziliao/ 林纾研究资料

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Result from the Police, The/JIngcha Zhi Jieguo/ 警察之结果 Resurrection/Xin Yu/ 心狱 Return of Overseas Chinese Labors, The/Zhu Zai Huan Guo Ji/ 猪仔还国记 Review of No. 3 of New Fiction/Xin Xiaoshuo Di San Hao Zhi Neirong/《新小说 》 第三号之内容 Review of Old Literary Periodicals in Republican China/Minguo Jiupai Wenyi Qikan Cong Hua/ 民国旧派文艺期刊丛话 Revolutionist Fictions/Xiaoshuo Geming Jun/ 小说革命军 Reward, The/Jiang Li Jin/ 奖励金 Robinson Crusoe/Lu Bin Xun Piaoliu Ji/ 鲁滨逊漂流记 Romance of West Chamber: A Version of Vernacular Chinese, The/Baihua Xi Xiang Ji/ 白话西厢记 Romance of West Chamber, The/Xi Xiang Ji/ 西厢记 Romaunt of Sword/Jian Xing Lu/ 剑腥录 Renovation of Narration Modes of Chinese Fictions/Zhongguo Xiaoshuo Xushi Moshi De Zhuanbian/ 中国小说叙事模式的转变 Repository of The Second Press Congress of the World/Di Er Jie Shijie Bao Jie Dahui Jishi Lu/ 第二届世界报界大会纪事录 Rereading Laocan’s Travel Notes/Laocan Youji Xin Lun/《老残游记》 新论 Resurrection/Fu Huo/ 复活 Rethinking of “Shady Deals”/Zai Lun “Hei Mu”/ 再论“黑幕” Review of the New Deal/Fu Yi Xin Zheng/ 覆议新政 Reviews of Fictions/Xiaoshuo Cong Tan/ 小说丛谈 Revolution/Geming Wai Shi/ 革命外史 Revolutionists/Geming Jun/ 革命军 Rickshaw Boys/Dongyang Che Fu/ 东洋车夫 Rip Van Winkle/Yi Shui Qishi Nian/ 一睡七十年 Rules for Personnel Going Abroad by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qing Dynasty/Zongli Yamen Zou Ding Zhuo Ni Chu Yang Youli Renyuan Zhangcheng/ 总理衙门奏定酌拟出洋游历人员章程 S Sad Story of Housewife Lin, The/Xiang E lei/ 湘娥泪 Sad Story of Lanniang, The/Lan Niang Ai Shi/ 兰娘哀史 Sad Story of Liu Susu: a play, The/Luo Yin Ji Za Ju/ 落茵记杂剧 Sad Story of Xiaqing, The/Yun Yu Yuan/ 霣玉怨 Sanlang’s Love: A Sad Story/Duan Hong Ling Yan Ji/ 断鸿零雁记 Sad Love Story of A Young Girl, The/Shuang Huan Ji/ 双鬟记 Saturday, The/Li Bai Liu/ 礼拜六 Scholars, The/Ru Lin Wai Shi/ 儒林外史 Sea of Regret, The/Hen Hai/ 恨海 Second Collection o f the Historical Records of Publication in Modern China, The/Zhongguo Jindai Chuban Shiliao Er Bian/ 中国近代出版史料二编

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Secret History of the Thirteen Imperial Reigns of Qing Dynasties, The/Man Qing Shisan Chao Zhi Mi Shi/ 满清十三朝之秘史 Sein Min Choong Bou/Xin Min Cong Bao/ 新民丛报 Selected Poems by George Gordon Byron/Bai Lun Shi Xuan/ 拜伦诗选 Self-introduction to Return of She/Shen Nü Zaishi Qiyuan Zixu/《神女再世奇缘 》 自序 Sergeant Peter/Bide Jingzhang/ 彼得警长 Serpents’ Coils, The/Dushe Quan/ 毒蛇圈 Seven Heroes and Five Gallants/Qi Xia Wu Yi/ 七侠五义 Brief Words on Xin Xi Xian Tan/Xin Xi Xian Tan Xiao Xu/《昕夕闲谈》 小叙 Several Words to Overseas Students/Jing Gao Liu Xue Sheng Zhu Jun/ 敬告留学 生诸君 Sketch Book, The/Fu Zhang Lu/ 拊掌录 Sketch Book, The/Jian Wen Za Ji/ 见闻杂记 Skull Cup, The/Du Lou Bei/ 髑髅杯 Shadow of the Cloud, The/Yun Ying/ 云影 Shanghai Brothel Stories in Three Decades/Shanghai Sanshi Nian Yan Ji/ 上海 三十年艳迹 Shanghai Fiction/Hu Bin Xiaoshuo/ 沪滨小说 She/Changsheng Shu/ 长生术 Shengzu and Aigu: A Romance/Yanshan Wai Shi/ 燕山外史 Shenpao Newspaper/Shen Bao/ 申报 Sherlock Holmes/ Bao Tan An/ 包探案 Sherock Homes’s Notes/Xie Luo Ke He’er Wu Si Biji/ 歇洛克呵尔唔斯笔记 Short-Story Waves/Xiaoshuo Hai/ 小说海 Short Story Magazine/Xiaoshuo Yue Bao/ 小说月报 Short Stories by Jianzhuoweng/Jian Zhuo Weng Xiaoshuo/ 践卓翁小说 Short Stories by Lin Shu/Tie Di Ting Suo Ji/ 铁笛亭琐记 Shuyuan’s Jottings/Shuyuan Zhui Tan/ 菽园赘谈 Silence/Mo/ 默 Sing-song Girls of Shanghai, The/Hai Shang Hua Lie Zhuan/ 海上花列传 Six Chapters of A Floating Life/Fu Sheng Liu Ji/ 浮生六记 Sketches at Awaking Study/Tui Xing Lu Biji/ 退醒庐笔记 Snowflakes/Xuehua Yi Mu/ 雪花一幕 Social Contract, The/Min Yue Lun/ 民约论 Social Reform: Focusing on Education of Children/Bian Fa Tong Yi Lun You Xue/ 变法通议·论幼学 Social Ugliness in the Latest Decade/Zui Jin Shehui Wochuo Shi/ 最近社会龌龊 史 Some Tips on Food/Shipin Xiao Shi/ 食品小识 Some Words on Around The Moon/Yue Jie Lüxing/《月界旅行》 辩言 Some Words on the Translated Fictions on the Monthly Magazines/Yue Kan Xiaoshuo Ping Yi/ 月刊小说平议 Song of the Lute Player/Pipa Xing/ 琵琶行 Song to The Conscripts/Bing Che Xing/ 兵车行

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South Society Serials/Nan She Cong Ke/ 南社丛刻 Spirit of Civil Rights/Min Quan Su/ 民权素 Stones in the Sea/Qin Hai Shi/ 禽海石 Stories from the Vined Canopy/Dou Peng Xian Hua/ 豆棚闲话 Stories to Warn Men/Jing Shi Tong Yan/ 警世通言 Story of A Broken Hairpin, The/Sui Zan Ji/ 碎簪记 Story of An Imperial Concubine Named Nangong, The/ Ci Hen Mian Mian Wu Jue Qi/ 此恨绵绵无绝期 Story of An Orphan, The/Gu’er Ji/ 孤儿记 Story of A Woman Prisoner, The/Nü Yu Hua/ 女狱花 Story of Duan Qianqing, The/Duan Qianqing Zhuan/ 段倩卿传 Story of Huang Xiaoyang, The/Huang Xiaoyang Hui Tou/ 黄萧养回头 Story of Huang Xiuqiu, The/Huang Xiuqiu/ 黄绣球 Story of Jin Yaose, The/Nüwa Shi/ 女娲石 Story of Liu Tingting, The/Liu Tingting/ 柳亭亭 Story of Qiuyu, The/ Bi Xue Mu/ 碧血幕 Story of Tanjiu, The/Tanjiu/ 谭九 Story-telling in Playhouses in Record of City Life in Lin’an/Meng Liang Lu · Xiaoshuo Jiang JingShi/ 梦粱录·小说讲经史 Strange Case of Nine Murders, The/Jiu Ming Qi Yuan/ 九命奇冤 Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio/Liao Zhai Zhi yi/ 聊斋志异 Studies on Lu Xun/Lu Xun Yanjiu Dongtai/ 鲁迅研究动态 Sudden Enlightenment/Meng Hui Tou/ 猛回头 Suggested Ways of Reading New Fictions/Du Xin Xiaoshuo Fa/ 读新小说法 Suggestions to Emperor: On the Necessity of Increasing Translation from Japanese/Qing Guang Yi Riben You Xue Zhe/ 请广译日本书派游学折 Suicide/Zisha/ 自杀 Supao Newspaper/Su Bao/ 苏报 Supplement of Poetry from The Study of Mangcangcang/Mangcangcang Zhai Shi Bu yi/ 莽苍苍斋诗补遗 Supplement to the Historical Records of Publication in Modern China/Zhongguo Chuban Shiliao Bu Bian/ 中国出版史料补编 Surviving A Turbulent Time/Jie Yu Hui/ 劫余灰 Swindlers/Da Ma Bian/ 大马扁 Sword in the Boudoir/Gui Zhong Jian/ 闺中剑 T Table of Chinese Periodicals Existent and Nonexistent/Zhongguo Ge Bao Cun Yi Biao/ 中国各报存佚表 Table of Periodicals: Old and New/Xin Jiu Ge Bao Cun Mulu/ 新旧各报存目表 Taixian’s Jottings/Taixian Man Gao/ 太仙漫稿 Tale of Huo Xiaoyu, The/Huo Xiaoyu Zhuan/ 霍小玉传 Tale of Li Wa, The/Li Wa Zhuan/ 李娃传

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Tale of Yingying, The/Hui Zhen Ji Chuanqi/ 会真记传奇 Tales from My Women Neighbors/lin Nü Yu/ 邻女语 Talk on Comics/Huaji Tan/ 滑稽谈 Tears at the Boudoir/Qian Chuang lei Ying/ 茜窗泪影 Ten-day Fictions/Shi Ri Xiaoshuo/ 十日小说 Ten-thousandth Year of Emperor Guangxu, The/Guangxu Wan Nian/ 光绪万年 Textual Criticism on Fiction/Xiaoshuo Kaozheng/ 小说考证 Theoretical Materials of Chinese Novels in the 20th Century/Er Shi Shiji Zhongguo Xiaoshuo Lilun Ziliao/ 二十世纪中国小说理论资料 Thirteen Short Stories by Wu Jianren/Jianren Shi San Zhong/ 趼人十三种 Thousand and One Nights/Yi Qian Ling Yi Ye/ 一千零一夜 Times/Shi Bao/ 时报 Torrents of Spring, The/Chun Chao/ 春潮 Translation of Fictions Leading the Development of Fictions/Xiaoshuo Fengshang Zhi Jinbu Yi Fanyi Shuobu Wei Fengqi Zhi Xian/ 小说风尚之进步以翻译说部为 风气之先 Translations/Yiwen/ 译文 Trauma in History/Tong Shi/ 痛史 Traveling in Shanghai/Shanghai You Can Lu/ 上海游骖录 Travels in Hawaii/Xi Wi Yi Youji/ 夏威夷游记 Travels to the Utopia/Wu Tuo Bang Youji/ 乌托邦游记 Treasure Island/Jin Yin Dao/ 金银岛 Three Heroes and Five Gallants/San Xia Wu Yi/ 三侠五义 Three Kingdoms/San Guo Yan Yi/ 三国演义 Three Musketeers, The/San Ge Huo Qiang Shou/ 三个火枪手 Three Musketeers, The/Xia Yin Ji/ 侠隐记 Thunderbolt/Hong Tian Lei/ 轰天雷 Tianjin Daily Newspaper/Tianjin Riri Xiwen/ 天津日日新闻 Tickets, The/Ru Chang Quan/ 入场券 Toilers of the Sea/Hai Shang Lao Gong/ 海上劳工 Toilers of the Sea/Yi You Qing/ 噫友情 Translated Literature and Buddhist Classics/Fanyi Wenxue Yu Fodian/ 翻译文学 与佛典 Traitor, The/Mai Guo Nu/ 卖国奴 Traveling Around the World/Ya Lüxing/ 哑旅行 Travel Notes of Xu Xiake/Xu Xiake Youji/ 徐霞客游记 Travels inside the Earth/Di Di Lyuxing/ 地底旅行 Travels of Lao Ts’an, The/Laocan Youji/ 老残游记 Turmoils in 1900: A Novel/Gengzi Guobian Tanci/ 庚子国变弹词 Twelve Towers/Shi Er Lou/ 十二楼 20th Century: Times for Fiction, The/Lun Er’shi Shiji Xiaoshuo Fada De Shidai/ 论二十世纪系小说发达的时代 Twenty Pence/Er Shi Wen/ 二十文 Twenty Years After/Er Shi Nian Hou/ 二十年后 Twenty Years After/Xu Xia Yin Ji/ 续侠隐记

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Two Chinese Versions of Jane Eyre/Jian’ai de Liang Ge Yi Ben/《简爱》 的两个 译本 “Two English Writers” in the column of Collected Translations by Xin’an/Xin’an Yi Cui · Ying Mei Er Xiaoshuo Jia/ 新庵译萃·英美二小说家 Two Men and Their Concubines/Hua Yue Hen/ 花月痕 Two Years’ Vacation/Shiwu Xiao Haojie/十五小豪杰 Typology of Plot Structures in Late Qing Novels/Wan Qing Xiaoshuo De Qingjie Jiegou Leixing Xue/ 晚清小说的情节结构类型学 U Umbrella, The/San/ 伞 Uncle Tom’s Cabin/Heinu Yu Tian Lu/ 黑奴吁天录 Unjust Case of Guo Jitai, The/Dai Yin Qi Yuan Guogong Zhuan/ 带印奇冤郭公 传 V Vanity Life In Shanghai/Fanhua Meng/ 繁华梦 Vanity Life In Shanghai/Haishang Fanhua Meng/ 海上繁华梦 Vernecular Chinese: Foundation of the Reform/Lun Baihua Wei Weixin Zhi Ben/ 论白话为维新之本 Viewpoints on the New Dramas of My University/Wu Xiao Zhi Xinju Guan/ 吾校 之新剧观 Views of Novelists/Xiaoshuo Jia Yan/ 小说家言 Village of Taoyao, The/Tao Yao Cun/ 桃夭村 Volume of Academia of Notes on Japan, the/Riben Guo Zhi Xueshu Zhi/ 日本国 志·学术志 W Ward Six/Liu Hao Shi/ 六号室 Welcoming Advertisements/Zhao Kan Gaobai Yin/ 招刊告白引 West Lake, The/Xi Zi Hu Di/ 西子湖底 What Did Yanfu Published in National News/ Yan Fu Zai Guo Wen Bao Shang 《国闻报》 上发表了哪些文章 Fabiao le Na Xie Wenzhang/ 严复在 White Steed, The/Bi Yun Xia/ 碧云騢 William Tell/Wei Lian Tui’er/ 威廉退尔 Witty Remarks/Qiao Pi Hua/ 俏皮话 Women of Freedom/Ziyou Nü/ 自由女 Women Revolutionists in Russia/Dong’ou Nü Haojie/ 东欧女豪杰 Women Rights/Nü Zi Quan/ 女子权 World’s Desire, The/Hong Xing Yi Shi/ 红星佚史 World of Electricity, The/Dian Shijie/ 电世界 World of Entertainments/Youxi Shijie/ 游戏世界 World of Letters of Shanghai in Early Republican China/Min Chu Shanghai Wentan/ 民初上海文坛

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World of the Ghosts, The/He Dian/ 何典 Wreck of the Pacific, The/Hai Wai Tian/ 海外天 Wretched, The/Ai Shi/ 哀史 Wretched, The/Beican Shijie/ 悲惨世界 Wretched, The/Gu Xing Lei/ 孤星泪 Wretched, The/Tie Chuang Hong Lei Ji/ 铁窗红泪记 Wretched, The/Yi Qiu/ 逸囚 Writing Again on Lin Qinnan/Zai Shuo Lin Qinnan/ 再说林琴南 Writing Shanghai Newspaper/Zi Lin Hu Bao/ 字林沪报 Writings of Late Qing Dynasty: A Reader/Wan Qing Wenxuan/ 晚清文选 Wu Jianren Cried/Wu Jianren Ku/ 吴趼人哭 X Xiao’e/Xiao’e/ 小额 Xidi’s Essays on Art and Literature/Xidi Shu Hua/ 西谛书话 Y Yangtze River Fiction/Yang Zi Jiang Xiaoshuo Bao/ 扬子江小说报 Yangtze River Fiction Daily/Yang Zi Jiang Xiaoshuo Ribao/ 扬子江小说日报 Yearbook of Publication in China in 1981/1981 Nian Zhongguo Chuban Nianjian/ 1981年中国出版年鉴 Yellow Pencil/Huang Qianbi/ 黄铅笔 Yingying’s Love Story/Yinging Zhuan/ 莺莺传 Z Zhang Yuanji’s Dairy/Zhang Yuanji Riji/ 张元济日记 Zhejiang Tides/Zhejiang Chao/ 浙江潮 Zhenru Island/Zhenru Dao/ 真如岛 Zhenya’s Free Writings/Zjhenya Lang Mo/ 枕亚浪墨 Zhongwai Newspaper/Zhong Wai Xin Bao/ 中外新报

References Newspapers and Magazines Anhui Vernacular Magazine Political Criticism China Press Monthly Journal of Shaoxing Education Society Magazine of The Oriental The Chinese Progress Guangdong Opium-Banning New Fictions Literature and Arts

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Panoramic View Literature Magazine National News Fiction Series Anecdotes in Shanghai Fiction Gallimaufry Henan Collection of Fictions Jia Yin Fiction Times Education Bulletin Short Story Magazine Education World New Magazine of Fictions The Awakening New Tide Jingye Xunpao Sein Min Choong Bou The Saturday New Youth The Minpao Magazine Fiction Society of A New World Spirit of Civil Rights New Fiction New Fiction Serials World of Entertainments New New-fictions Cosmos Wind Illustrated Fictions Free Voices Elegant Writing The All-Story Monthly Vernacular Historical Romance Chinese Novels Yangtze River Fiction Chinese and Foreign Stories Books Baoxuan, Sun. 1983. Diary of wangshan cabin. Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Publishing House. Beijing Library. 1987. The general catalogue of republican China·foreign literature. Beijing: Catalogs and Documentations Publishing House. Commemorations of Lu Xun. Shanghai: Shanghai Cultural Publishing House, 1937. Daojing, Hu. 1935. Newspapers in Shanghai. Shanghai Museum of Chronicles. Dehui, Ye. 1957. Book printing in China. Zhonghua Book Company. Doleželová-Velingerová, Milena. 1980. Chinese novel at the turn of the century. University of Toronto Press. Fu, Yan. 1898. Tian Yan Lun (Evolution and Ethics and other Essays). 1898 version. (trans.). Gongzhen, Ge. 1955. History of Chinese newspapers and magazines. Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company. Gongnu. 1902. My experience of book-selling in Jinling City. Kaiming Bookstore. Hanqi, Fang. 1981. History of modern Chinese periodicals. Taiyuan: Shanxi People’s Publishing House. Zunxian, Huang. 1980. Chronicles of Japan. Guangzhou: Yangcheng Fuwenzhai Book Company.

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Ruizao, Jiang. 1984. Textual criticism on fiction. Shanghai Classics Publishing House. Youwei, Kang. 1981. Political writings of Kang Youwei, ed. Tang Zhijun. Beijng: Zhonghua Book Company. Youwei, Kang. 1897. A Bibliography of Japanese books. Datong Translation Book Company. Lingjing, Kong. 1982. Historical materials of Chinese fictions. Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Publishing House. Qichao, Liang. 1921. Academic essentials of Qing dynasty. The Commercial Press. Qichao, Liang. 1936. The complete collections of Liang Qichao. Shanghai: Zhonghua Book Company. Shu, Lin. 1916. Essays written at chunjuezhai study. Beijing: Dumen Printing Office. Yeqiu, Liu. 1985. Reading Chinese classical fictions. Tianjin: Nankai University Press. Delong, Liu et al. 1985. References of Liu’e and his Laocan’s Travel Notes. Chengdu: Sichuan People’s Publishing House. Xun, Lu. 1981. A brief history of Chinese fiction. The Ninth Book of The Complete Works of Lu Xun. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House. Xun, Lu. 1981. The historical development of Chinese novels. The Ninth Book of The Complete Works of Lu Xun. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House. Xun, Lu. 1981. The complete works of Lu Xun. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House. Jianzhong, Ma. 1897. Notes of shikezhai study. Wenruilou Printing Office. Haishu, Ni. 1959. Chronicles of Chinese pinyin reform at the end of Qing dynasty. Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Publishing House. Wenzu, Peng. 1915. Criticism of some new words. Tokyo. Pingyuan, Chen, and Xiaohong, Xia. 1989. Theoretical materials of Chinese novels in the 20th century, vol. 1. Beijing: Peking University Press. Pingyuan, Chen. 2003. Renovation of narration modes of Chinese fictions. Beijing: Peking University Press. Zhongshu, Qian. 1979. Lin Shu’s translation. A collection of four articles. Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Publishing House. Zhongshu, Qian. 1979. Limited views: essays on ideas and letters. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Mu, Qian. 1983. Symposium of Chinese literature. Taipei: Dongda Book Co., Ltd. Zhongshu, Qian. 1985. Patchwork: seven essays on art and literature. Shanghai: Shanghai Classics Publishing House. Jibo, Qian. 1986. History of modern chinese literature. Changsha: Yuelu Press. Weixuan, Qiu. 1901. Literary jottings: a supplement. 1901 version. Ruqian, Tan. 1980. Comprehensive catalogue of Chinese translations of Japanese books. Hong Kong: Hong Kong: Chinese University Press. Sanetou, Keishuu. 1983. Tan Ruqian trans. A history of Chinese students in Japan. Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company. (Jan). Shushisheng, Haishang. 1925. Sketches at awaking study. Shanghai Library. Shi, Hu. 1922. Chinese literature in the past fifty years. Shenpao Newspaper, March 1922. Shi, Hu, et al. 1922. In the latest fifty years. Shenpao Newspaper Office. Shi, Hu. 1921. Anthology of Hu Shi. Shanghai: Eastern Asia Library. Shi, Hu. 1924. Anthology of Hu Shi (Book 2). Shanghai: Eastern Asia Library. Shi, Hu. 1930. Anthology of Hu Shi (Book 3). Shanghai: Eastern Asia Library. Sitong, Tang. 1981. Complete works of Tang Sitong. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Kaidi, Sun. 1982. Catalogue of Chinese popular fictions. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House. Tianxiao, Bao. 1971. Memoirs at chuanying study. Hong Kong: Dahua Publishing House. Guowei, Wang. 1905. Anthology of Jing’an. Shaochang, Wei. 1984. References of mandarin duck and butterfly school. Shanghai: Shanghai Art and Literature Publishing House. Xingpei, Yuan, and Zhongyi, Hou. 1981. Catalogue of fictions in classical Chinese. Beijing: Peking University Press.

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Tao, Xie. 1919. On fictions. Zhonghua Book Company. Shoutang, Xu. 1977. My deceased friend Lu Xun. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House. Yanqiao, Fan. 1926. Reviews of fictions. Shanghai: Datong Book Company. Shiji, Yang. 1957. Reminiscence of the literary world (Book 1). Zhonghua Book Company. A’Ying. 1954. Catalogue of operas and fictions in the late Qing dynasty. Shanghai: Shanghai Art and Literature Publishing House. A’Ying. 1958. On late qing literary magazines. Shanghai: Classical Literature Press. A’Ying. 1980. History of fictions of the late Qing dynasty. Beijing: People’s Literature Publishing House. Dafu, Yu. 1926. Talking about fictions. Shanghai: Guanghua Book Company. Jinglu, Zhang. 1938. My two decades of publishing life. Shanghai: Shanghai Magazine Company. Jinglu, Zhang. 1954. The second collection of historical records of publication in modern China. Shanghai: Qunlian Publishing House. Jinglu, Zhang. 1957. The first collection of historical records of publication in modern China. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Jinglu, Zhang. 1957. The fourth collection of historical records of publication in modern China. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Jinglu, Zhang. 1957. Supplement to historical records of publication in modern China. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Yuanji, Zhang. 1981. Zhang Yuanji’s dairy. Beijing: The Commercial Press. Juncai, Zhang. 1983. Research materials on Lin Shu. Fuzhou: Fujian People’s Publishing House. Zhenduo, Zheng. 1983. Xidi’s essays on art and literature. SDX Joint Publishing Company. Zhenduo, Zheng. 1987. Writings of late Qing dynasty: a reader. Shanghai: Shanghai Bookstore. Zuoren, Zhou. 1980. Memoirs. Hong Kong: Hongkong Sam Yuk Books Co., Ltd. Articles Mengxiong, Chen. 1986. Three letters by Zhou Zuoren concerning his review of Lu Xun’s translation of The Origin of Fantine and An Unscientific Story. Studies on Lu Xun. No. 12. Chih-tsing, Hsia. 1985. Re-reading of Laocan’s Travel Notes. References of Liu’e and his Laocan’s Travel Notes. Chengdu: Sichuan People’s Publishing House. Jianqing, Li. 1986. World of letters of Shanghai in early republican China. Materials of Shanghai local history (Book 4). Shanghai: Shanghai Social Sciences Press. Houze, Liu. 1985. Liu’e and his Laocan’s Travel Notes. References of Liu’e and his Laocan’s Travel Notes. Chengdu: Sichuan People’s Publishing House. Huisun, Liu. 1985. A study on the political thoughts of school of tigu. References of Liu’e and his Laocan’s Travel Notes. Chengdu: Sichuan People’s Publishing House. Nakamura, Tadayuki. 1973. On the nihilist fictions of the late Qing dynasty. Journal of Tianjin University 24(6). Nakamura, Tadayuki. 1978–1980. History of detective fictions in late Qing dynasty. Fictions in Late Qing Dynasty. No. 2–4. Jinya, Ping. 1986. Anecdotes of the publishing industry in Shanghai. Materials of Shanghai local history (Book 4). Shanghai: Shanghai Social Sciences Press. Jiangqing, Pu. 1944. On fictions. Contemporary Criticism 4(8–9). Meng, Shi. 1986. A chronicle of Li Boyuan’s life. Fictions in late Qing dynasty. No. 9. Shi, Wang. 1986. What did Yanfu published in National News. A collection of Yan Fu’s works (Appendix in Book 2). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Yanqiao, Fan. 1984. A brief history of old fictions in republican China. References of mandarin duck and butterfly school. Shanghai: Shanghai Art and Literature Publishing House. Yimei, Zheng. 1984. Review of old literary periodicals in republican China. References of mandarin duck and butterfly school. Shanghai: Shanghai Art and Literature Publishing House. Qiming, Zhou. 1957. Lu Xun and the late Qing literature. Lu Xun in his youth. Beijing: China Youth Publishing Group. Yibai, Zhou. 1948. A study of The Bureaucrats: A Revelation. Culture and History 6(2). Ziqing, Zhu. 1947. On serious literature. Chinese Writers. The first issue.