Comparative Analysis of Shui Hu Chuan And Hsi Yu Chi: The Bounds of The Classic Chinese Novel [antikvár]

Acta Orientai™ AcademiaeScientiarum Hungaricae, TomusXXIX (1),pp.1-6 (1975) A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SHUI HU CHUAN AND HSI YU CHI THE BOUNDS OF THE CLASSIC CHINESE NOVEL BY B. CSONGOR The novels Water Margin and Journey to the West apparently show some parallel features. Both Sung Chiang and Sun Wu-k'ung succeeded in establishing independent states by armed force, both of them appeared to an outside superior power as threatening dangers, both of them were invincible or indestructible — but finally both had to surrender and to pursue their bellicose activities in the service of their former adversaries. The leading characters are described in both novels as being of supernatural origin — and the second part of both is definitely anticlimactic. There are some obvious differences also to be found. The Liangshan story is set against a background commonly accepted as historical, the romance of Monkey is a product of sheer fantasy. Sung Chiang had a host of friends and allies around him, Sun Wu-k'ung's struggles were practically always one-man-fights. Sung Chiang is described as being essentially a passive character, while Sun Wu-k'ung is presented as being frantically active up to the last. Sung Chiang and his men were endowed with a mandate from Heaven, and they surrendered at the first propitious occasion offered, while Monkey fought on blindly, defying the whole realm of Heaven only to satisfy his innate and boundless ambitions, until tamed by force. Both novels, on account of their historical (or, in the case of Hsi yu chi pseudo-historical) setting seem to be related to the epic genre in Yiian-Ming times commonly called historical romances.1 The development of the epic genre — of novels in particular — shows a marked upward trend in Chinese literature from Sung-time onward. From oral tales it developed into written novels of considerable length and of tremenduous popularity. Most of these novels, lacked composition, they were at best series of adventurous stories loosely strung together. The only principle of composition available at the early stage of development was to follow a historical sequence of events, in full-length novels historical themes were dominant. It is 1 The term was taken from Lu Hsun's A Brief History of Chinese Fiction, Peking 1959 (English version) for sake of convenience only. 1 Acta Orient. Huna. XXIX, 1975