Title

On the Discourse of Ch'ing in Mid-Late Ming Studies 

Author

Sin-yu Huang  

Genre

Article  

Pages

175-207  

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

mid-late Ming, ch'ing, enlightenment, modern period  

Abstract

  Although many scholars have agreed that a ch’ing (情)-valuing trend existed in mid-late Ming culture, one should first ask how ch’ing attracted the attention of the mid-late Ming academic world.  The reason that ch’ing became a cultural focus in the mid-late Ming was not only because of the prevailing culture, but also because of Ming academic fashion.  Capitalist discourse caused ch’ing to become popular in the mid-late Ming.  However, it was often invoked out of context to exaggerate intertextuality.  While many operas and novels of this period were about love and desire, were they a part of the thought trends of that time?  Although recent researchers have generally surpassed the limitations of economic determinism, they are often still influenced by "nlightenment" or "nti-tradition", both of which are contested concepts.  Is ch’ing a cultural key word in the mid-late Ming?  If so, how did it become one?  This paper will shed some light on these questions.