J4 ›› 2012, Vol. 11 ›› Issue (5): 17-21.

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Evolvement of the Images of Prostitutes in the Novels of Tang and Ming Dynasties

Prostitute images in the vernacular novels of Ming Dynasty inherited and developed the Tang legends. This paper takes Biography of HUO Xiaoyu, Biography of LI Wa and The Businessmen Selling Oil Married a Courtesan, DU Shiniang Angrily Discarded the Box Filled with Treasure into Water as study objects, and points out the evolvement of the prostitute images and the differences of authors' creating concepts. These differences indicate that the romantic feelings of the Tang romance author have given way to the realistic thinking of the commodity economy society of the late Ming Dynasty.   

  1. Department of Literature and Education, Bengbu College, Bengbu, Anhui 233040, China
  • Received:2012-03-09 Revised:2012-03-14 Online:2012-05-15 Published:2012-05-15

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Abstract:

Prostitute images in the vernacular novels of Ming Dynasty inherited and developed the Tang legends. This paper takes Biography of HUO Xiaoyu, Biography of LI Wa and The Businessmen Selling Oil Married a Courtesan, DU Shiniang Angrily Discarded the Box Filled with Treasure into Water as study objects, and points out the evolvement of the prostitute images and the differences of authors' creating concepts. These differences indicate that the romantic feelings of the Tang romance author have given way to the realistic thinking of the commodity economy society of the late Ming Dynasty.

Key words: novel, prostitute, evolvement, times

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