The Realization of Poetic Composition and Literary Conception: How the Creation and Development of Ye Xiaoluan Imagery Contributes to the Literature History

Abstract

Being a real historic personage, Ye Xiaoluan 叶小鸾, a talented lady in late Ming dynasty, not only triggered a literary family’s calamity, but also became into a public topic of discussion by widely circulating Wumengtang ji 午 梦堂集 (Collection of Noon Dream hall). She was clever and quick on the uptake, and excessively sentimental. Being romanced by her family, especially by Ye Shaoyuan 叶绍袁, her profile opened up a new outlook of literary conception, while her immortal sense and supernatural power, played up by Jin Shengtan’s 金圣叹 planchette writing, was endowed with romantic charm and rebelling appeal. Since being into Qing dynasty, Ye Xiaoluan had became the element for various literary works, but most of the works could simply simulate fairy tales or copy planchette words, except Honglou meng 红楼梦 (Dream of the red chamber) could deeply expand this imagery’s literary grace and core value in light of cultural interest and aesthetics aspect. The development of Ye Xiaoluan’s imagery and its success on aesthetics clearly indicated a literary element’s roadmap and structural feature, also disclosed that writer’s personality, liking, even the ethics level, could make significant effect on the literary conception and compositional structure.

Keywords

Ye Xiaoluan / Jin Shengtan / poetic composition / literary conception, literature history