Abstract
The pursuit of "good writing" is a long and profound tradition among Chinese literati, who demonstrate their talent, knowledge and accomplishment by writing various types of literary works. Among them, the unique Ming-Qing marvel tales as a kind of ancient Chinese drama mostly represent national characters. However, as the marvel tale is a narrative art, there must be certain tension between the "good writing" tradition and the drama narrative, which is reflected in both speeches and songs. Songs, often desktop-oriented, tend to be conventionalized and detached from or even in conflict with characters. Speeches are often used for characters' opening and concluding poems, and other occasions with texts written in verse. Marvel tale writers try to tell stories successfully and show their talent and accomplishment in the meantime in order to win the recognition and praise of contemporary people. For the people of nowadays, the pursuit of "good writing" should have played a minor role in marvel tale narration, but if we put it into its original cultural context, we may have more understanding and appreciation of it.
First Page
132
Last Page
141
Recommended Citation
He, Cui. 2018. "The Tradition of "Good Writing" and the Narrative of Ming-Qing Marvel Tales." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 38, (6): pp.132-141. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol38/iss6/19
