Reading Notes W4: Early Modern Chinese Vernacular Literature, Part B

Reading Notes 

Week 4 

Part B 

• pg. 415 explains how this section of the book on the Chinese Vernacular Literature would not be included in conversation with these other writing in the early twentieth-century. This is because writings like poems, prose, and tales were consider more important but now these pieces are works of art.
• This literature felt with themes such as sex, violence, corruption, social satire, and slapstick humor. This type of literature was set apart at the time from the rest because it was a time of intellectual literature. But this writing used the living vernacular of everyday speech. 
• In China this literature caught fire throughout all classes and since it was even more relatable it became very profitable as well. 
• Vernacular literature took the place of classical writings and became triumph over time by flooding the public with plays, verse romances, and prose fiction. 
• The beginnings of this writing began during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) on pg. 416
• Only during the Ming Dynasty was China introduced to the genre of drama and was not like the Greeks who had a classical tradition of drama. 
• Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) was one of the more famous drama play writers with his play Peony Pavilion that dived into the more romantic side. 
• The  Romance of Three Kingdoms was the struggle of three kingdoms that was one of the most famous romances thats was able to survive. And on pg. 417 it shows a picture. 
• on pg. 424 is the beginning of the story of The Journey to the West and it begins with a large amount of descriptive writing that gives you a sense of the setting. Also the imagery it gives when explaining how the money was born is amazing. 
• The monkey who was born from the egg was born being able to walk, climb, and with all his limbs. He made friends with other animals like the tiger, lizard, wold, and many more animals. 
• On pg. 425 also had stanzas of what looked like poems in between the story which is unique and the structure shows the openers in structure of writing.