Theatrical and Fictional Lyricism in Early Qing Literature
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Realm of Shadows and Dreams: Theatrical and Fictional Lyricism in Early Qing Literature The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Zhao, Yingzhi. 2014. Realm of Shadows and Dreams: Theatrical and Fictional Lyricism in Early Qing Literature. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:12274209 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Realm of Shadows and Dreams: Theatrical and Fictional Lyricism in Early Qing Literature A dissertation presented by Yingzhi Zhao to The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of East Asian Languages and Civilizations Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts May, 2014 ©2014 –Yingzhi Zhao All rights reserved. Professor Wai-yee Li Yingzhi Zhao Realm of Shadows and Dreams: Theatrical and Fictional Lyricism in Early Qing Literature Abstract Early twentieth-century Chinese literary critics create a model of literary development that highlights leading genres for each dynasty. For the Ming and the Qing dynasties, these are drama and fiction. This model relegates other genres of the period, especially poetry and lyric, to a second-class status, and accounts for their less visibility in scholarly research until today. The aim of my dissertation is not to reverse the hierarchy of genres, but to break the boundaries of genres, examining the ways in which the aesthetic sensibility connected to drama and fiction is transposed to other genres and renews their conventions. The cross-genre approach used in my dissertation is supported by an overview of the literary scene of the period, when literati took up diverse roles from scholar-officials to professional dramatists, novelists, and painters, when the boundaries between “high” and “low” genres became more fluid and literati wrote across elite and popular genres, and when illustrations of printed plays and fiction, thanks to the rise of print culture, circulated widely and inspired the literati’s cross-media imagination. Social practices of Ming and Qing literati, such as going to the theater, reading and writing commentary on drama and fiction, appreciating illustrations of printed plays and fiction, or listening to story-telling, translated into an awareness of the commensurability of life and theater ( theatrum mundi ), bringing role play, playfulness, staging, and fictional time and space to the reading and writing of other genres, creating textual and aesthetic hybridity in these latter genres. I use the term theatrical/fictional lyricism to refer to the ways in which drama and fiction, commentary on drama and fiction, and illustrations to drama and fiction change the conventions of reading and writing poetry and prose in terms of rhetoric and theme. The term also draws attention to the iii textual and aesthetic hybridity in these genres. Theatrical/fictional lyricism is a new form of lyricism, in which role play gives a twist to the genuine poetic voice, the records of real events gives way to self-conscious fictionality, and normal time and space merges with staged, illusory time and space. iv Table of Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgments vi Introduction 1 Chapter One: Lyrical Self and Theatrical Self: Mapping the Literary World in 9 Early Qing Chapter Two: All the World Is a Stage: Reading Poetry as Drama and Fiction 61 Chapter Three: Catching Shadows: Wang Fuzhi’s Lyrics and Commentary on Poetry 115 Chapter Four: History as Puppet Theater: Ballad Narratives on History 173 Chapter Five: Writing, Dreaming, and Painting: Redefining Time and Space 237 Epilogue 298 Selected Bibliography 301 v Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to express gratitude to my supportive professors. Professor Wai-yee Li played an instrumental role in instructing me to develop my fragmented thoughts into an organized project. Her meticulous comments on the draft of my dissertation have been most helpful intellectual sources throughout the whole process of my writing. Her formidable knowledge of early Chinese texts and late imperial literature, her superb guidance, and warm encouragement have made her an inspiring role model for me both as a scholar and a teacher. I am deeply grateful to Professor Stephen Owen, who was the first to spark my interest in seventeenth-century poetics. It is his faith in my academic potential that gave me the valuable opportunity to pursue my graduate study at Harvard. It is also his constant encouragement that has sustained my enthusiasm for my research. His poetic insights and intellectual intensity will remain an unparalleled exemplar for me. I am indebted to Professor Eugene Wang, who taught me to analyze the painting by discovering its intriguing details. The visual world he opened for me has greatly enriched my understanding of the interaction of poetry and painting. I am equally indebted to Professor Tian Xiaofei. My study of seventeenth-century poetry and poetics would not have been possible had I not learned medieval literature with her. I also want to thank her for being the first to teach me the importance of accurate translation. I have greatly benefited from the erudition of Professor Wilt Idema, who brought my attention to popular genres and guided the writing of my chapter on ballad-narratives. I want to extend my gratitude to Professor David Der-wei Wang who introduced western literary theory to me; to Professor Peter Bol who inspired my interest in intellectual history; and to Professor Shigehisa Kuriyama who generously shared his insights in research and academic presentation with me. vi I am equally grateful to my professors at Fudan University who initiated me into classical Chinese literature. My thanks go to Professors Yang Ming, Chen Shangjun, Chen Yinchi, and Zhang Yanbing. Over my years at Harvard many friends have helped my intellectual development and enriched my life. I want to thank them all for delightful conversations, outings, and travels. My parents and grandparents have sustained me with unconditional love and support. It is to them that I dedicate my dissertation. vii Introduction Early twentieth-century Chinese literary critics create a model of literary development that highlights leading genres for each dynasty. For the Ming and the Qing dynasties, these are drama and fiction. This model relegates other genres of the period, especially poetry and lyric, to a second-class status, and accounts for their less visibility in scholarly research until today. The aim of my dissertation is not to reverse the hierarchy of genres, but to break the boundaries of genres, examining the ways in which the aesthetic sensibility connected to drama and fiction is transposed to other genres and renews their conventions. The cross-genre approach used in my dissertation is supported by an overview of the literary scene of the period, when literati took up diverse roles from scholar-officials to professional dramatists, novelists, and painters, when the boundaries between “high” and “low” genres became more fluid and literati wrote across elite and popular genres, and when illustrations of printed plays and fiction, thanks to the rise of print culture, circulated widely and inspired the literati’s cross-media imagination. Social practices of Ming and Qing literati, such as going to the theater, reading and writing commentary on drama and fiction, appreciating illustrations of printed plays and fiction, or listening to story-telling, translated into an awareness of the commensurability of life and theater ( theatrum mundi ), bringing role play, playfulness, staging, and fictional time and space to the reading and writing of other genres, creating textual and aesthetic hybridity in these latter genres. I use the term theatrical/fictional lyricism to refer to the ways in which drama and fiction, commentary on drama and fiction, and illustrations to drama and fiction change the conventions of reading and writing poetry and prose in terms of rhetoric and theme. The term also draws attention to the textual and aesthetic hybridity in these genres. Theatrical/fictional lyricism is a new form of lyricism, in which role play gives a twist to the genuine poetic voice, the records of real events 1 gives way to self-conscious fictionality, and normal time and space merges with staged, illusory time and space. The historical context of my dissertation is the fall of the Ming dynasty and the consolidation of Qing rule in the mid and late seventeenth century, a vibrant period in Chinese literary and cultural history. To cultural figures who crossed the Ming-Qing divide, the theatrical and fictional imagination of the self and the world proved to be an effective strategy of coping with the political turmoil during the dynastic transition. Regarding men as actors and the world as representation are two characteristics shared by early Qing literati who practiced theatrical/fictional lyricism. My study of theatrical and fictional lyricism associates early Qing literature with the intellectual and cultural trends of the Ming, especially the late Ming (ca. 1550- 1644), illuminating linkages and changes between late Ming and early Qing and demonstrating how salient characteristics of late Ming culture extended into early Qing regardless of the dynastic transition. My study also situates theatrical/fictional lyricism in the context of political turmoil, revealing the ways whereby theatricality and fictionality helped “remnant subjects” (yimin ) transform traumatic experiences into art, rethink selfhood and identity, and redefine the world they lived in. The first chapter “Lyrical Self and Theatrical Self: Mapping the Literary World in Early Qing” lays the groundwork for the dissertation with a survey of the different perspectives of early Qing intellectuals on the meanings of writing and being a writer in the context of political turmoil.