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喻世明言

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《喻世明言》,明冯梦龙纂辑,宋元明话本小说选集,与《警世通言》、《醒世恒言》合称"三言".本书是"三言"中的第一种.《喻世明言》初版本名为《古今小说》,全称《全像古今小说》.后重印改名为《喻世明言》。为兴〈三言〉其他作品书名相配。全书四十卷,每卷一篇,共四十篇。它和《通言》、《恒言》一样,为宋元明话本小说。作品题材广泛,内容复杂.有对封建官僚丑恶的谴责和对正直官吏德行的赞扬,有对友谊/爱情的歌颂和对背信弃义负心行为的斥责.更有不少作品描写了市井之民的生活.可以说是写画了当时社会"千奇百怪事"、“各式各样”,再现了宋元明市井万象。

500 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 23, 2012

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About the author

冯梦龙 Feng Menglong

236 books20 followers
Feng Menglong (1574–1646) was a Chinese vernacular writer and poet of the late Ming Dynasty.

Most of his literary work was in editing and compiling histories, almanacs and novels. Two of his noteworthy novels are Qing Shi and the shenmo work Pingyao Zhuan. In 1620 he published the Illustrious Words to Instruct the World (喻世明言 Yushi Mingyan), or Stories Old and New.

Feng was a proponent of the school of Li Zhi, which supported the importance of human feelings and behavior in literature. He is frequently associated with Ling Mengchu, author of Slapping the Table in Amazement.

Feng Menglong was in love with a famous prostitute when he was young. Unfortunately, Feng Menglong was not able to afford to redeem his lover out. At the end, his lover was redeemed by a merchant, and they had to leave each other. Feng Menglong suffered from pain and desperation due to the separation, and he expressed his sorrow through poems. This experience influenced the way he portrayed female characters in his stories. In fact, Feng Menglong was one of the few authors who portrayed female as being strong and intelligent; and this is different from other authors, where they tended to ignore the importance of female’s position. The female characters in Feng Menglong’s stories were portrayed as brave and bright when dealing with different situations. For instance, in his story Wan Xiuniang Takes Revenge Through Toy Pavilions from Jing Shi Tong Yan, Wan Xiuniang showed her braveness during her tough times, and she was able to escape using her intelligence. Other female characters, such as Miss Du Shi Niang and Qu Xiuxiu, are example to show Feng Menglong’s respect to female.

Feng Menglong expressed his attitudes towards the society through his works, and the reason was tightly related to his experience during his career. Feng Menglong became a local officer in Shouning in his sixties. He pursued justice and wished to build up his reputation by acting as an honest and upright official. Unfortunately, he was born in a time of corruption; bribery and extortion were common bureaucratic behaviors, and they opposed the principle of Feng Menglong. Realizing that atmosphere of corruption could not be easily changed, Feng Menglong conveyed his discontent and patriotism through words. Each character of his stories has strong and direct characteristics: there is a clear morality line drawn between “good” and “bad”. Moreover, the meaning behind the stories explores the social issues during Ming Dynasty. For instance, the story The White Maiden Locked for Eternity in Leifeng Pagoda and The Young Lady Gives the Young Man a Gift of Money from Jing Shi Tong Yan express the idea of how women pursue their freedom and happiness under a feudal society.

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