The Merchant Elite and Vernacular Writing - Revision history

Root at 10:02, 26 June 2013

2013-06-26T10:02:37Z

Root: /* Presentation */

2013-04-22T02:05:28Z

Presentation

Brandon H: /* Vernacular Writing in the Ming Dynasty */

2013-04-14T16:32:45Z

Vernacular Writing in the Ming Dynasty

Brandon H: /* Analysis */

2013-04-14T03:22:28Z

Analysis

Brandon H: /* References */

2013-04-14T03:08:06Z

References

Brandon H: /* References */

2013-04-14T03:00:25Z

References

Brandon H: /* Analysis */

2013-04-14T02:47:55Z

Analysis

Brandon H: /* Excerpts from Jin Ping Mei */

2013-04-14T02:45:04Z

Excerpts from Jin Ping Mei

Brandon H: /* Analysis */

2013-04-14T02:44:40Z

Analysis

Brandon H: /* Excerpts from Feng Menglong's Kerbal Space Program */

2013-04-14T02:35:43Z

Excerpts from Feng Menglong's Kerbal Space Program

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:Woodblock Books.jpg|375px|thumb|right|Woodblock printed books from the Ming Dynasty.
+[[File:Woodblock Books.jpg|375px|thumb|right|Woodblock printed books from the Ming Dynasty, cc licence via Wikimedia.
 Click [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ming_Dynasty_wood_carving_books_in_Tian_Yi_Chamber_colllection.JPG here] for original source.]]
 = Vernacular Writing in the Ming Dynasty =
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 ==== The End of Manuscript Culture, Movement into Print Culture ====
-[[File:Manuscript 1.jpg|375px|thumb|left|Calligraphy by Wang Wen.
+[[File:Manuscript 1.jpg|375px|thumb|left|Calligraphy by Wang Wen, cc licence via Wikimedia.
 Click [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CMOC_Treasures_of_Ancient_China_exhibit_-_classical_poem_in_cursive_script.jpg here] for original source.]]
-[[File:Woodblock Print 1.jpg|375px|thumb|left|A woodblock for printing from the Yangzhou Museum.
+[[File:Woodblock Print 1.jpg|375px|thumb|left|A woodblock for printing from the Yangzhou Museum, cc licence via Wikimedia.
 Click [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yangzhou_Museum_-_woodblock_for_printing_-_CIMG2878.JPG here] for original source.]]
@@ Line 93: / Line 93: @@
 == The Novel ==
-[[File:watermargin1.jpg|400px|thumb||Panel depicting a scene from ''The Water Margin''.
+[[File:watermargin1.jpg|400px|thumb||Panel depicting a scene from ''The Water Margin'', cc licence via Wikimedia.
 Click [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Journey_to_the_West_at_Long_Corridor.JPG here] for original source.]]
@@ Line 111: / Line 111: @@
 === Jin Ping Mei ===
-[[File:goldenplum1.jpg|400px|thumb|left|Scene from ''Jin Ping Mei''.
+[[File:goldenplum1.jpg|400px|thumb|left|Scene from ''Jin Ping Mei'', cc licence via Wikimedia.
 Click [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Freer_026.jpg here] for original source.]]
@@ Line 178: / Line 178: @@
 ==== Analysis ====
-[[file:minglady.jpg|thumb|right|Painting of a Ming Dynasty woman. Click [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E6%98%8E%E5%BC%8F%E6%AF%94%E7%94%B2.jpg here] for the original.]]
+[[file:minglady.jpg|thumb|right|Painting of a Ming Dynasty woman, cc licence via Wikimedia.
 This short story features both vernacular and classic Chinese writing. The two poems displayed in this short passage are both presumably classic, while the longer sections are vernacular. The effect of this is comparable to reading a poem in English compared to a piece of prose; prose reads faster because, while it has more words, many of them are words understood immediately upon looking at them without reading them, while in a poem, each word is given greater emphasis.

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:05, 22 April 2013
Line 207:		Line 207:
	[[The Merchant Class in the Ming Dynasty: Vernacular Novels and Fiction in China]]		[[The Merchant Class in the Ming Dynasty: Vernacular Novels and Fiction in China]]

−	[[~~File~~:MerchantFiction.pptx]]	+	[[Media:MerchantFiction.pptx]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:32, 14 April 2013
Line 6:		Line 6:

	At the forefront of changes to class and literature during the Ming were the merchant class. A class of merchant elite, moving between gentry and civil service examination culture, and business culture, grew out of the new wealth of city life and foreign trade.		At the forefront of changes to class and literature during the Ming were the merchant class. A class of merchant elite, moving between gentry and civil service examination culture, and business culture, grew out of the new wealth of city life and foreign trade.
		+
		+	Writing began to reflect the blurring of social class. Vernacular writing, which is writing done in the spoken language, was not only becoming extremely common, but also began to receive canonical status by the scholarly elite.

	= Historical Background =		= Historical Background =

@@ Line 176: / Line 176: @@
 ==== Analysis ====
+[[file:minglady.jpg|thumb|right|Painting of a Ming Dynasty woman. Click [http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E6%98%8E%E5%BC%8F%E6%AF%94%E7%94%B2.jpg here] for the original.]]
 This short story features both vernacular and classic Chinese writing. The two poems displayed in this short passage are both presumably classic, while the longer sections are vernacular. The effect of this is comparable to reading a poem in English compared to a piece of prose; prose reads faster because, while it has more words, many of them are words understood immediately upon looking at them without reading them, while in a poem, each word is given greater emphasis.

@@ Line 188: / Line 188: @@
 An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. Ed. Stephen Owen. Trans. Stephen Owen. New York: Norton, 1996. Print.
 Nesta, Frederick. "Publishing, Culture, and Power in Early Modern China (review)." ''Libraries & Culture'', 41.2 (2006): 266-267. Print.
-Ding, Naifei. ''Obscene Things: Sexual Politics in Jin Ping Mei.'' North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2002. Print.
+''The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature Vol. 2''. Ed. Kang-i Sun Chang and Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:00, 14 April 2013
Line 186:		Line 186:

	= References =		= References =
		+
		+	An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. Ed. Stephen Owen. Trans. Stephen Owen. New York: Norton, 1996. Print.
		+
		+	Nesta, Frederick. "Publishing, Culture, and Power in Early Modern China (review)." ''Libraries & Culture'', 41.2 (2006): 266-267. Print.
		+
		+	Ding, Naifei. ''Obscene Things: Sexual Politics in Jin Ping Mei.'' North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2002. Print.
		+
		+	''The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature''. Ed. Kang-i Sun Chang and Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:47, 14 April 2013
Line 182:		Line 182:

	The second poem is most interesting; the first two words, explaining the purpose of the poem, the "she was," are written in prose, not included in the poem. The poem is used to elaborate on her appearance and her situation in life, but unlike Li Jia, the scholar in the piece, her appearance is apparently worthy of the elevated language of classical Chinese. This intersection of poetry to describe her not only indicates her importance, but also idealizes her to a great degree. It also forces the reader to slow down and read more carefully when it's describing her.		The second poem is most interesting; the first two words, explaining the purpose of the poem, the "she was," are written in prose, not included in the poem. The poem is used to elaborate on her appearance and her situation in life, but unlike Li Jia, the scholar in the piece, her appearance is apparently worthy of the elevated language of classical Chinese. This intersection of poetry to describe her not only indicates her importance, but also idealizes her to a great degree. It also forces the reader to slow down and read more carefully when it's describing her.
		+
		+	The mixture of classic and vernacular Chinese in this story is a later development during the Ming of the writing style. Previously, mixtures of the two styles were not used to elaborate or illuminate parts of the story like the two poems do in this story. They were used more as ornament and were not so intricately related to the story, nor as necessary. Feng Menglong's affiliations with the Revivalist School, which desired emotion, particularly over ornamented language, might explain why this story features clever use of classical and vernacular Chinese.

	= References =		= References =

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:45, 14 April 2013
Line 182:		Line 182:

	The second poem is most interesting; the first two words, explaining the purpose of the poem, the "she was," are written in prose, not included in the poem. The poem is used to elaborate on her appearance and her situation in life, but unlike Li Jia, the scholar in the piece, her appearance is apparently worthy of the elevated language of classical Chinese. This intersection of poetry to describe her not only indicates her importance, but also idealizes her to a great degree. It also forces the reader to slow down and read more carefully when it's describing her.		The second poem is most interesting; the first two words, explaining the purpose of the poem, the "she was," are written in prose, not included in the poem. The poem is used to elaborate on her appearance and her situation in life, but unlike Li Jia, the scholar in the piece, her appearance is apparently worthy of the elevated language of classical Chinese. This intersection of poetry to describe her not only indicates her importance, but also idealizes her to a great degree. It also forces the reader to slow down and read more carefully when it's describing her.
−
−	~~=== Excerpts from Jin Ping Mei ===~~

	= References =		= References =

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:44, 14 April 2013
Line 176:		Line 176:

	==== Analysis ====		==== Analysis ====
		+
		+	This short story features both vernacular and classic Chinese writing. The two poems displayed in this short passage are both presumably classic, while the longer sections are vernacular. The effect of this is comparable to reading a poem in English compared to a piece of prose; prose reads faster because, while it has more words, many of them are words understood immediately upon looking at them without reading them, while in a poem, each word is given greater emphasis.
		+
		+	In this piece, the prose writing reads quickly. It also explains a historical situation, while the first poem does the same but in a more elevated way. A poem appearing in the middle of a prose piece immediately draws attention to itself.
		+
		+	The second poem is most interesting; the first two words, explaining the purpose of the poem, the "she was," are written in prose, not included in the poem. The poem is used to elaborate on her appearance and her situation in life, but unlike Li Jia, the scholar in the piece, her appearance is apparently worthy of the elevated language of classical Chinese. This intersection of poetry to describe her not only indicates her importance, but also idealizes her to a great degree. It also forces the reader to slow down and read more carefully when it's describing her.

	=== Excerpts from Jin Ping Mei ===		=== Excerpts from Jin Ping Mei ===

@@ Line 127: / Line 127: @@
 = Excerpts =
-=== Excerpts from Feng Menglong's Kerbal Space Program ===
+=== Excerpts from Feng Menglong's "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger" from ''Common Words to Warn the World'' ===
 The Last barbarians swept away, the imperial seat is established;
 soaring dragons and dancing phoenixes--a majestic scene!
 To the left, encircled in a sash of east-sea sky;
 to the right, hugged by Tai-Hang's ten-thousand-mountain walls.
 Halberd and spear: the nine frontiers held in sway to the utmost passes;
 gown and cap: the myriad fiefdoms look up in reverence to the serene robes of state.
 In a peaceful age, the people rejoice in the realm of Hua-xu;
 for ever and ever, a golden jar gleaming in the sun.
 This poem is devoted to the praise of our dynasty's founding of the capital at Yan. As for the situation of the Yan capital, it is guarded to the north by towering passes, and commands the region of central China to the south. It is truly a golden citadel, a heavenly mansion, a foundation not to be toppled in ten thousand years! In the beginning, Granddad Hong-wu swept away the barbarian dust and established his reign at Jin-ling....
-Our story picks up during the twentieth year of the Wan-li period, when the Japanese Prime Minister created discord by invading Korea.
+Our story picks up during the twentieth year of the Wan-li period, when the Japanese Prime Minister created discord by invading Korea. The King of Korea submitted a missive requesting assistance, and our celestial court dispatched troops to traverse the sea and go to the rescue. Around this time, a proposal by a Bureau of Households official was granted approval, to this effects:
 === Excerpts from Jin Ping Mei ===