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An Investigation into the Mentality of Yuan Dynasty Literati from the Perspective of Regional Culture ― A Case Study of ItinerantSanquWriters in Hangzhou

  • The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China
  • Abbr : JSLCKC
  • 2026, (81), pp.285~311
  • DOI : 10.16874/jslckc.2026..81.011
  • Publisher : Korean Society of Study on Chinese Languge and Culture
  • Research Area : Humanities > Chinese Language and Literature
  • Received : July 10, 2026
  • Accepted : August 20, 2026
  • Published : August 31, 2026

xukexin 1

1경북대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The Song-Yuan transformation represented a holistic shock to Chinese tradition under the impact of a heterogeneous civilization. Literati fell from their social status as the "head of the four classes," and the prolonged suspension of the imperial examination system disrupted their traditional life paths grounded in Confucian ideals. Against this backdrop, the focus of literati literary creation shifted from conventional poetry (shiandci) towardsanqu, a more flexible and freer emerging genre. The innovation of this study lies in its focus on itinerantsanquwriters in Hangzhou, introducing "regional culture" into the collective study of literati psychology to reveal the interactive relationship between literati mentality and specific geographical spaces. In terms of the historical context, political displacement plunged Han literati into an identity crisis. The psychological adjustment mechanism of Confucian-Taoist fusion—particularly the infiltration of Quanzhen Taoism—enabled them to confront secular dilemmas with a detached attitude, forming a complex psychological structure characterized by unresolvable angst balanced by Taoist self-accommodation. Regarding Hangzhou's regional culture, the city integrated the superior natural elements of the Wu-Yue water towns with the profound cultural heritage of the Southern Song capital. Consequently, Hangzhou served not only as an ideal aesthetic dwelling for Yuan literati but also as a dynastic ruin that triggered historical contemplation, profoundly shaping their mentality and creative orientations. On this basis,sanquworks of the "enjoying leisure and lamenting the world" category expressed a detachment from official honors and a yearning for pastoral life through landscape appreciation. Yet, this "leisure" was not genuine transcendence but a psychological strategy to aesthetically sublimate political frustration. Meanwhile,sanquworks of the "historical contemplation and nostalgia" category utilized Hangzhou's palace ruins and historical figures as media to superimpose personal failure onto dynastic decline. By mirroring reality through history, these works obliquely reflected the authentic historical experience and existential conditions of Yuan literati.

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