A Comparative Study in the Narratological Features of “Wuseshi” and “Badontian”

• Main Author: 楊舒淳
• Other Authors: 徐志平
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/52070187260088919166

碩士 === 國立嘉義大學 === 中國文學系研究所 === 100 === “Wuseshi”, also known as Biliange bian shu wuseshi, is generally considered a work by Biliange zhuren. “Badontian”, also known as Biliange bian shu badontian , is widely regarded as a work by Wuseshi zhuren. Both “Wusesh”i and “Badontian” are Chinese vernacular fiction collections written during late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. Despite the commonly held view that the creation of the latter was intended to supplement the former, there have been debates over the identities of their authors, as some suspect that “Wuseshi zhuren” is another penname of Biliange zhuren, who edited and annotated both collections. My research aims to provide a rather objective approach to the author-identification of both works by comparing their various narratological features. My research covers all the sixteen short stories collected in “Wusesh”i and “Badongtian”. Chapter One is the literature review and a further discussion of both works’ editions and versions. Chapter Two probes into both works’ narrative logic in light of Claude Brémond’s theorization of narratology, which suggests that these two works have different narrative sequences and narrative cycles. From Chapter Three to Chapter Five, I apply Gérard Genette’ s concept of “narrative discourse” to my reading: in Chapter Three, I compare the narrative time and the discourse time embedded in both works, exploring their distinctive use of time and rhythm. In Chapter Four, their differences are further underscored by the discussion of their narrative modes. In Chapter Five, the issue of narrative voice will be brought up with a focus on the narrator’s intervention. Apart from the theoretical insights provided by Brémond and Genette, my research is also informed by the narratological studies done by Lo Gang, Hu Yamin , and Tan Jyunciang. These theoretical resources provide the fundamental frameworks for my inquiry into Wuseshi and Badongtian’s distinctive narratological features.