During the middle Tang Dynasty, the number of works in Qing Dynasty increased unprecedentedly, and the 1970s was the golden age of legendary novels. In content, works that reflect real life occupy a major position. Even if they talk about gods and strange things, they often have social reality, such as "the story under the pillow" and "the biography of Conan's satrap". Shen Jiji (750? ~800? ), a native of Wu, Suzhou (now Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province), was a former Zuo Shiyi, editor of the History Museum and author of A Record of Jianzhong. The story of "Sleeping Man" is inspired by Liu Yiqing's "The Ghost Record" and "Jiaohu Temple", which shows the reality of officialdom in the Tang Dynasty. It is written that Lu Sheng fell asleep on the celadon pillow of Taoist Lu Weng during his rebellious trip to Handan, and experienced the "appearance" life that he enthusiastically pursued all his life. Once you wake up, it's not time to steam rice. So he fully realized that all thoughts were over. Li Gongzuo (770? ~850? ), the word Zhuan Xu, a native of Longxi, is a scholar. There are 4 legends today, and the biography of Conan's satrap is the highest achievement. His works are not only inspired by Jiaohu Temple, but also influenced by Lu Fen's dream of entering an ant's nest in Su Ji Shen. It is said that Chun Yu was drunk and fell asleep, and was recruited as a satrap by Huai 'an. He is very capable and deeply loved by the people. Later, due to the failure of the war with Tanluo, the princess died; So the pet declined and was finally sent out of Guo by the king. Ba was shocked when he woke up. After searching and digging, he realized that Huai 'an and Tan were both ant nests. From then on, he deeply felt that life was illusory, a door to his own soul, and he did not care about the world. These two works reflect the general feudal scholars' enthusiasm for fame and fortune, and also expose the sinister and ugly state of the feudal officialdom. However, due to the influence of Taoism, the author takes a passive evasive attitude towards realistic contradictions, and his works are not ideological. The more they exaggerate the sudden emergence and exclusion of Lu Sheng and Chunyuba, the more they strengthen the theme of "Life is like a dream" advocated in their works. However, both of these works can combine fables and strange stories, which have some characteristics of satirical literature and are valuable in art. The biography of Conan Taishou is interspersed with a lot of words, with rigorous structure, rich plots and clear context. The ending was particularly successful. Lu Xun said: "At the end of the article, the servants were ordered to send acupuncture points to get to the bottom of the matter, but when they saw ants gathering, they knew their dreams, which were illusory and had a long aftertaste. Although it is not full of material feelings, it is also beyond the reach of pillows. " (A Brief History of Chinese Novels) Li Gongzuo also wrote an ancient Du Yue Jing, in which Li Tang, the secretariat of Chuzhou, saw a monster in Guishan water without knowing it. Later, the author went to Dongting, climbed Baoshan into Lingdong, and got the eighth volume of the Ancient Classics, but he knew that the Huai vortex water god was helpless. Yu managed to control the water to Tongbai Mountain, so he subdued it and locked it at the foot of Guishan Mountain. This myth reflects the people's victory over the flood, creating an image of "God changing on his head", which has a certain relationship with the image of the Monkey King in The Journey to the West. Love-themed works, such as Biography of Ren, Biography of Liu Yi, Biography of Huo Xiaoyu, Biography of Li Wa and Biography of Yingying. , made the highest achievement of Tang legend. Most of them praise the faithful love and condemn the persecution of women by feudal ethics and gate system; And often use realistic techniques to describe the character and environmental atmosphere, and create a series of beautiful women images. These works are based on the conditions of both men and women, and take "both talents and looks" as the ideal standard of love. Compared with the marriage that required "suitable marriage" at that time, they have certain historical progress significance. The fictional happy ending of the work also reflects people's good wishes for a happy marriage. However, some authors regard high technology as a method to solve contradictions, which shows their vulgar feudal thoughts. Ren Zhuan and Zhuan are both romantic novels with the color of ghosts and gods, which are full of fresh breath of human society and a great innovation to the tradition of the Six Dynasties. Shen Jiji wrote in Ren Chuan that the poor friend of a rich boy fell in love with a fox. Wei Ying was impressed by the beauty of the stone man, wanted to commit rape, and was impressed by the sense of justice of the stone man. The stone man also plotted a conspiracy for Zheng Sheng and made huge profits. After Zheng Shengyuan went out to take office, the stone man predicted that the trip was unlucky and decided not to follow. He went at the invitation of Zheng Shengqiang, but he was harmed by hunting dogs on the way. The whole story is sentimental and euphemistic, based on real life and full of romantic spirit. The work created a touching image of a fox. She is beautiful, affectionate, intelligent and brave. Because she is extremely loyal to Zheng Sheng, she can use a weak woman to resist Wei Ao's rudeness and expose his unjust behavior of "submit to humiliation". However, the author asks her to repay Wei Ying's kindness by seducing beautiful women, which will be detrimental to the perfection of this image. The work describes Zheng Sheng's two encounters with a stone man and a stone man to resist the rape of Wei Ying, with many wonderful and vivid details. The image of the stone man actually summarizes the personality characteristics of women in Jiao Fang. The author writes that she can "keep her temper in case of violence and kill people to death", which shows that he sees the healthy side of these street people. Li, a native of Longxi, life is unknown. In Liu Yichuan, Liu Yi, a scholar, passed by Jinghe River and met a shepherd girl in Dongting. The dragon lady said that she was abused in Jinghe's husband's family and asked Liu Yi to send a book to Dongting. Liu Yi generously promised to enter the Dragon Palace in Dongting. Qiantangjun, the younger brother of Dongting, was furious when he heard the news. He left in a rage, killed the dragon in the river and saved the dragon girl. After many twists and turns, the Dragon Lady finally formed a happy marriage with Liu Yi. The dragon girl in the works is a female image who resists the oppression of husband's power and pursues happy love. The marriage arranged by her parents gave her infinite pain and suffering. But after her loyal opposition, she finally married Liu Yi. Liu Yi is a scholar with a sense of justice. His biography was filled with indignation and had no personal intention, so when Qiantangjun was forced to get married after drinking, he resolutely refused. Later, he fell in love with the dragon lady, not only because of his love for color, but also because of her deep affection for him. The author's description of the Dragon Qiantang King is vivid and colorful. Before he appeared, he used the mouth of the king of Dongting to render. And through Dongting Jun's weakness and caution, his fiery and strong character is set off. His answer is short and crisp, which completely conforms to his character, so he writes little ink but vivid images. In a word, the description of characters in Liu Yichuan is quite successful, with poetic imagination, strong romantic color, bizarre twists and turns and dramatic plot. It typically adopts the expression method of reflecting reality through fantasy. The editors of "Quan" thought it was obscene and deleted two biographies of He, which just showed their distinct anti-feudal tendency and touching details. Jiang Fang, the word is subtle, and righteousness promotes people. Biography of Huo Xiaoyu tells the love tragedy of geisha Huo Xiaoyu and scholar Li Yi. Li Yi fell in love with Huo Xiaoyu in Chang 'an. Later, Li Yi was awarded the master book of Zheng County. Before leaving, he swore to Xiaoyu that he would grow old together. After returning home, he changed his mind and married another woman named Lu. Xiaoyu is lovesick, and she can't afford it. The yellow knight was outraged, kidnapped Li Yi and re-entered Xiaoyu's house. Xiaoyu was so sad and indignant that she denounced Li Yi and was so angry that she died. Murder turned into a spectre, which led to discord between Li Yi and his wife and was plagued by suspicion and jealousy for life. With the greatest sympathy, the author portrayed Huo Xiaoyu as a gentle and beautiful tragic image. She was oppressed and insulted by feudal society and refused to give in. She was born to Huo Wang's handmaid. After the death of King Huo, she was demoted to a prostitute and became a prostitute. This unfortunate experience made her deeply realize the ruthlessness of the feudal aristocratic family. Even when Li Yi was most infatuated with her, she always burst into tears, believing that the fate of being abandoned was inevitable. However, the reality is even colder than imagined, and even the minimum requirement for her to want to be in love for 8 years, that is, to escape from an empty door forever, will eventually be shattered. Unwilling to stop there, she sold clothes year after year, entrusted relatives and friends, and explored Li Yi everywhere. Her persistent infatuation not only makes readers more sympathetic to her experience, but also reflects Li Yi's meanness and ruthlessness. But once her hopes were disillusioned, the lingering love immediately turned into strong hatred. The author describes her last meeting with Li Yi in this way: it takes a long time to find someone. Suddenly I heard it coming. From the beginning. Get dressed and come out as if there were gods. When you see the students, you glare and stop talking. If you have charm, you can't reach it; Back to Li Sheng as a masked waitress. It hurts to feel something, and it hurts to sit. In a short time, there are dozens of plates of wine and vegetables, all from the outside. ..... because of the furnishings, sit down. Yu Nai leaned over, squinted for a long time, chose a glass of wine and suddenly said, "I'm a woman, so unlucky." You are the husband, if you are ungrateful. I was young and naive, and I finally ate and drank. The loving mother is in the hall and can't help. Resume the leading edge chord tube and never rest. It was all caused by the monarch's pain in the grave. Lily Jun Jun, today is forever! After I die, I will be a spectre, making your wives and concubines restless all day! " But he led his left hand to hold the raw arm, dropped the cup on the ground, wailed for a long time and died several times.
In this way, the author leads the story to a climax through vivid description of personality conflict. Huo Xiaoyu failed in reality, but won morally. Under the disguise of Li Yi, the author created a man with quite contradictory and complicated psychological activities. He fell in love with Xiaoyu at first, purely for the sake of "heavy color". After that, although he caused a little affection in his heart and a little sense of shame after breaking his promise, he finally chose a suitable feudal marriage and became an ungrateful person. It is precisely because he gave Huo Xiaoyu hope and personally crushed it that he brought greater pain to Huo Xiaoyu, and he himself eventually became a moral sinner. The author uses the method of contrast, combining with the plot of Huo Xiaoyu's meeting with Li Yi, and depicts a series of foil characters. They are the embodiment of public opinion. Although their identities and positions are different, they all sympathize with Xiaoyu and condemn Li Yi. The result of revenge by ghosts is superstitious, but it also shows the author's distinct love and hate. The Biography of Huo Xiaoyu not only reflects the tragic fate of women being insulted and hurt in feudal society in Tang Dynasty, but also reveals the contradiction between rich gentry and civilians. Moreover, it can describe love and portray characters in connection with broader social life, and promote the plot development through personality conflict, so it is rigorous in structure, perfect in image and full of typical significance. Bai Xingjian (776~826), the author of Biography of Li Wa, is Bai Juyi's younger brother. The work tells the love story of Li Wa, a prostitute, and the son of Xingyang Gong, a student. Li Wa is a woman with sincere feelings. Although she obeyed her wife's will at first, she was forced to give up some kind of life; However, when she saw a student starving in the snow, she blamed herself and fought the madam to save a student. The author intends to arrange the appearance of Li Wa and Xingyang Gong in two completely different situations, namely, a student is reduced to a beggar and a senior official. Through objective comparison, the author shows the sharp opposition of people from two different classes. When a student fell, Xingyang Gong killed his parents for the dignity of his family. But Liwa saved him at the most dangerous moment. After a student became rich, Liwa felt the pressure of feudal gate valve, and reluctantly gave up what she wanted to do in order not to hinder a student's career prospects. But Gong of Xingyang immediately recognized his son and daughter-in-law. It is not difficult to see from these scenes that a prostitute despised by others has a noble character; And a sanctimonious "master", his soul is hypocritical and vicious to a terrible extent. Through the combination of a student and Li Wa, the Biography of Li Wa shows the theme that a young man and a woman with different social status have gone through hardships to win love and happiness, which has a strong significance of opposing the door-to-door system. It seems to tell people that the principle of marriage is not unbreakable. The idea that prostitutes can be labeled as "the wife of the country" is also quite bold. But the happy ending not only shows the author's ideological limitations, but also provides a cheap stereotype for later plays and novels. This novel is very distinctive in artistic expression, with flesh and blood characters, ups and downs and fascinating plots; The writing is beautiful and round, and the description is incisive. For example, writing a story about a student being cheated is quite vivid and detailed: Li Wa, a false mother and a messenger, each of whom successfully played a prescribed role in this mysterious scam; Whether it's laughter, frequent conversations, excuses and lies, forward and backward ... it's true or not, unfathomable. Another example is the scene and atmosphere of the song "Between East and West", which is also lively. This reflects the prosperous and complicated urban life of Chang 'an in Tang Dynasty, and greatly strengthens the life flavor of the works. Yuan Zhen's Biography of Yingying tells the story of Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying falling in love and finally betraying each other. According to Yuan Zhen's life and poems, Wang Xingzhi pointed out that Zhang Sheng's image has the author's own shadow and has certain reliability. Cui Yingying, the heroine of the novel, is very successful. She was born in a noble family, deeply influenced by feudal consciousness, dignified and taciturn. Therefore, although she has a strong demand for love, she still can't help hiding it in her heart, so that sometimes she will do something completely contrary to her original intention: she made an appointment with Zhang Sheng herself, but she scolded him for "indecent photos" with a straight face. This shows the profound contradiction between her feudal consciousness and her love request. But not long after, Yingying suddenly went to Zhang Sheng's residence for a private meeting in the evening. This bold action of breaking through feudal ethics is indeed a certain resistance to such a noble family. However, when she realized that Zhang Sheng was going to abandon her, she couldn't resist, so she had to feel sorry for herself and let fate do it. These weaknesses in Yingying's personality are inseparable from her aristocratic status and upbringing. As for Zhang Sheng, he is just a shameless feudal scholar who plays with women. He abandoned Yingying at the beginning, which is a true portrayal of a scholar obsessed with fame and fortune under the feudal system. The author not only did not criticize his despicable behavior, but also praised him as a "good man" from the perspective of feudal ethics. This reflects the serious feudal thought in the author's world outlook. From an artistic point of view, in the second half of the work, a large number of poems are used instead of vivid narration, which also greatly weakens the appeal of the image. However, because Yingying Biography is about the love of "talented people and beautiful women", it is deeply loved by literati, and many works have evolved from it since the Song Dynasty. In fact, Biography of Yingying is not comparable to Biography and Biography of Li Wa in terms of ideology and art. Legends describing love, such as Leaving the Soul by Chen and Biography of Liu by Xu Yaozuo, also have their own characteristics in ideology and art, but their achievements are not comparable to the above works. Legendary novels with historical stories as the theme did not achieve great success in this period. Guo Shu's Biography of Gao Lishi, Yao Runeng's An Shi Tales, and Wu Ming's Biography of Li. Write more stories of ruling class figures, mixed with supernatural beings. It is worth mentioning that Chen Hong's Biography of Song of Eternal Sorrow and Biography of Old Father in Dongcheng. The former is written with Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow, and the story is roughly similar. Among them, the description of Li Yang's love objectively reflects the debauchery and wrong country of feudal emperors. In the first half of the latter, the story of Jia Chang, a cockfighting boy, being loved by others can be seen from Tang Xuanzong's luxurious life. The second half wrote about the "Taiping Incident" that Kaiyuan yearned for, and also expressed his dissatisfaction with the corrupt current politics.