The Innovative Representation of Romantic Love in “The Oil-peddler Wins the Queen of Flowers”

Abstract

There have been numerous studies on the cult of qing in the late Ming. While Feng Menglong’s notion of qing has been well studied, its influence on the development of the characteristics of the Chinese romance genre has not been fully explored, and it is here that this thesis aims to make a contribution. My master’s thesis traces the developments in Feng Menglong’s redefinition of qing through an examination of his understanding of the romantic tale. I begin by looking at Feng Menglong’s revision of The Extensive Records of the Taiping Era and compilation of A History of Qing, where critical developments of his notion of qing and the shape of the romantic tale emerge. I then turn to a new romantic story in the vernacular, “The Oil-peddler Wins the Queen of Flowers,” in which Feng Menglong’s complex and multidimensional redefinition of qing comes to full fruition. Romantic love comes to be portrayed through the characterizations of affection and sympathy. This portrayal differs from that in earlier tradition and marks a major shift in the development of the Chinese romance genre. Feng Menglong transfers affective expressions from other forms of relationships and creates a new narrative model, which turns the narrative process of courtship into the main and most important part of the romance. This process inevitably creates a fresh image of masculinity and a novel vision of romantic relationships, bringing new concepts and possibilities to the Chinese romance genre.