In travel notes, there is a recognition activity which changes strange and abstract space into a familiar and concrete place. At this time, space is an aesthetic 'landscape' that exists between space and place. Analyzing Space Recognition is equal to ...
In travel notes, there is a recognition activity which changes strange and abstract space into a familiar and concrete place. At this time, space is an aesthetic 'landscape' that exists between space and place. Analyzing Space Recognition is equal to analyzing the writer's world-view and society's culture.
The beauty of Nature space was first found in the Wei[魏] and Jin[晉] periods, but at this time space was imagined as a utopia. In the Tang[唐]and Song[宋] dynasties, writers of travel notes failed to keep their 'aesthetic distance' in the process of making space into their own and meaningful place by naming or empathy for spaces.
In the Late Ming[晩明] Period, while the travel industry grew rapidly with the development of the social economy and Yangmingxue[陽明學], there was a revolution in space recognition. Writers started to recognize spaces as an aesthetic art. Travel was a type of play that gave enjoyment, and space was recognized as a visual-perceptual, sensuous 'landscape,' not a materialization ‘Dao[道],’a kind of imaginary utopia.
This paper is aimed at understanding Wang Siren[王思任]'s Space Recognition by analyzing his 47 travel notes, including 《Youhuan[遊喚]》. He was a famous and influential writer in the Late Ming Period, and traveled widely across China during his life. His travel notes reflect the change in space recognition in the Late Ming Period.
Wang Siren superficially wanted a mystic union with nature, but actually expressed a strong desire to possess nature. To be an owner of nature, he often conflicted with nature. In his travel notes, sublime[崇高] beauty caused by tension and conflicts with nature appeared remarkable rather than graceful[優美] beauty caused by harmony with nature. In addition Wang Siren wrote lots of travel notes dealing with secular space like famous beauty spots and villages. His attitude about space concretely shows positive thoughts about the emotions and desires of humans at this time.
Wang Siren regards space as entertaining, and tried to make space into his own meaningful place using various methods. First he tried to enjoy the sensuous beauty of space. Secondly, making full use of cultural knowledge and personal reminiscences of space, he enjoyed the historical and cultural meaning of space.
To embody these kinds of space recognition in his travel notes, he used various literary devices. First he used a dialogue style and vernacular language[白話] to embody his dynamic space experience. This is a typical style of xiaopinwen[小品文], much in fashion at that time. Secondly, he used diverse rhetoric for detailed descriptions of sensuous space. Simile and personification were mainly used. Thirdly, to amplify cultural meaning and visuospatial memory of space, he used lots of literary quotations [典故]. Fourthly, he used unique structures of text like combination style[組合化] and section style[節目化] to embody his own space experience.
The earlier studies on Wang Siren's travel notes were focused on his style of writing as a xiaopinwen and provided a vein of humor. But the most significant characteristic of his travel notes is that these texts convey an independent attitude toward space that reflects cultural changes in the Late Ming Period.