Abstract
From the perspective of New Literature after the May Fourth New Culture Movement, Liang Qichao’s “new fiction”, Lu Xun’s “satirical fiction” and old scholars’ fiction from “the School of Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies”, are all classified as old literature. Yet from the perspective of both fiction studies and feminism, Zeng Pu’s A Flower in a Sinful Sea is a new, instead of an old, novel. Its literary practice of “transforming anecdotes into fiction”, by integrating the style of the chaptered novel, note-form fiction, as well as western fiction, connects the old and new literature during the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. Other than historical interpretation, A Flower in a Sinful Sea’s brilliant depiction of Late Qing history and its officials and gentry contains rich life details and customs. As China’s pioneer of “academic fiction”,it links The Unofficial History of the Scholars and The Besieged City, thus making an indelible contribution to Chinese fiction.
First Page
55
Last Page
65
Recommended Citation
Wei, Quan. 2021. "Transforming Anecdotes into Fiction:Zeng Pu’s A Flower in a Sinful Sea and the Study of Anecdotes in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 41, (6): pp.55-65. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol41/iss6/22
