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An Annotated Translation of Gu wen tan gai⋅yufu

  • JOURNAL OF CHINESE STUDIES
  • 2020, (69), pp.337-359
  • DOI : 10.26585/chlab.2020..69.014
  • Publisher : CHINESE STUDIES INSTITUTE
  • Research Area : Humanities > Chinese Language and Literature
  • Received : July 30, 2020
  • Accepted : September 2, 2020
  • Published : September 30, 2020

sookhyang Kim 1

1가천대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Gu wen tan gai(古今譚概) is a collection of Xiaohua(笑話) compiled by Feng Menglong(馮夢龍). Feng Meng-long is a writer who lived in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. As it is known, he made great achievements in ancient Chinese folk literature. In particular, he compiled and collected Xiaohua that had been passed down from generation to generation. He also took stories from ancient scriptures, edited them, and put them in this book. As such, Feng Meng-long contributed greatly to the compilation of the Xiaohua. This paper translated and annotated works from 1 to 10, including the introduction, among the 70 of yufu(迂腐), the first of Gu wen tan gai (古今譚概). Except for the last episode, all of the other nine major figures were bureaucrats. He selected and introduced anecdotes from officials who could highlight the topic of ‘hackneyed’. He mainly focused on stories where officials spoke words and actions that did not fit their position. These 10 Xiaohua have already been recorded in several ancient Chinese original texts, including Meng zi(孟子), Han shu(漢書), He lin yu lu(鶴林玉露). Although, he did not reveal from which source he was quoted, but it was not difficult to find the source in most cases. What is clear is that he has concisely adapted the original text to fit the characteristics of the genre of Xiaohua. Also, he added implicit and sarcastic criticism. And from that, although the readers might not immediately understand the appearance of the hackneyed officials. But they could have their own interpretation and appreciation because they had to think carefully to realize it.

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