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Chinese Narratology II
As the second volume of a two-volume set on Chinese narratology, this title
investigates the quintessential characteristics of the Chinese narrative style, with a
focus on image and perspective.
The first chapter introduces two opposing concepts of perspective: “focalization”
and “blind spot,” to connect “perspective” with traditional aesthetics, highlighting
the mutual relation between the nonexistent and the existent. The author believes
that both the narrator and perspective are central to the narrative forms and
strategies adopted by Chinese writers and that study of the narrator and perspective
is integral to understanding the cultural, aesthetic, and philosophical connotations
of the narrative text and the spiritual world of the author. Drawing on perceptual
phenomenology, the chapter on image broadens the extant knowledge of “image”
and points out that image narration is unique to Chinese narratology and central
to Chinese aesthetics. The final chapter illustrates the achievements of influential
critics of classical Chinese novels, proving that these critics have contributed to the
canonization of the genuine masterpieces of Chinese narrative literature.
The book is a must-read for scholars and students interested in narrative theory,
Chinese culture and literature, and the dialogue between Chinese and Western
narratological studies.
Yang Yi (ᶞѿ) was a research fellow and doctoral supervisor at the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and a CASS member. His research fields
included the interaction of Chinese literature and culture, Chinese narratology,
poetics of Chinese literature, and Chinese cultural thought.
China Perspectives
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ing Chinese scholars writing about both global topics and China-related themes. It
covers Humanities and Social Sciences, Education, Media and Psychology, as well
as many interdisciplinary themes.
This is the first time any of these books have been published in English for inter-
national readers. The series aims to put forward a Chinese perspective, give insights
into cutting-edge academic thinking in China, and inspire researchers globally.
To submit proposals, please contact the Taylor & Francis Publisher for China
Publishing Programme, Lian Sun (Lian.Sun@informa.com).
Titles in literature currently include:
Fuzzy Language in Literature and Translation
Lu SHAO
The Magic Cube of Ancient Chinese Poetry
A Linguistic Perspective
Ge Zhaoguang
Introduction to Ethical Literary Criticism
Nie Zhenzhao
Chinese Narratology I
Heaven and Human
Yang Yi
Chinese Narratology II
Ancient and Modern
Yang Yi
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/China-Perspectives/book-series/CPH
Chinese Narratology II
Ancient and Modern
Yang Yi
This book is published with financial support from the Chinese Fund for the
Humanities and Social Sciences.
First published in English 2024
by Routledge
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© 2024 Yang Yi
Translated by Shao Xueping
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English Version by permission of The Commercial Press.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-57906-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-57915-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-44157-1 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003441571
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
1 On Narrative Perspective 1
2 On Image 39
3 On Commenters 98
Afterword of the Chinese Edition 179
Works Cited 182
Index 187
1 On Narrative Perspective
ӊ䍥ᡅ䀶ᡆᐝ⾮
Abstract: This chapter explores the aesthetic characteristic of a mutually promo-
tive relationship between the nonexistent and the existent perspective, expanding
readers’ understanding of perspective as a narrative form. The author creatively
introduces two opposing concepts, the “focalization” and “blind spot,” of perspec-
tive. They deepen the understanding of it as a narrative form and also make it
possible to connect the perspective and the traditional aesthetic law, highlighting
the mutual promotive relation of the nonexistent and the existent. The concept of
internal blind spot proposed by the author helps understand the structure of narra-
tion. Narrative strategies such as “coincidence,” “misunderstanding,” and “tricks”
are often used in the plots of novels. These narrative components and narration are
“within the range of focalization. A blind point existing due to a limited perspec-
tive will vanish with the expansion of perspective. The story titled “Shi Wu Guan
Xi Yan Cheng Qiao Huo, or The Joke about Fifteen Strings of Cash Turns into a
Coincidental Misfortune” ( ) [hereafter “The Joke about Fifteen
Strings of Cash Turns into a Coincidental Misfortune”] in Stories to Awaken the
World (䟈ьᚈ䀶) by Feng Menglong ( ߥỜ嗏) and quite a few contemporary de-
tective novels adopt this narrative strategy. The existence of the blind spot created
a meaningful blank in the range of certainty of focalization. Since the perspective
and narrator are different, researchers of narrative literature need to study the essen-
tial characteristics of various perspectives and the force adjusting the relationship
between the perspective and narrator. The narrative writer releases the specter-like
narrator and cuts the circle of omniscient of their own into sectors of a limited
view in the text, which is called perspective. The perspective includes four types:
the omniscient, the limited, the external, and the internal, which provide the writer
with the angle, degree, layer, and method of depicting the world and life, respec-
tively. Readers can grasp a literary work’s philosophical and aesthetic connotations
as well as the change and originality of the literary trend. In other words, both
the narrator and perspective are the narrative forms and strategies adopted by the
author. Only by studying the narrator and perspective can we explore the cultural,
philosophical, and aesthetic connotations of the narrative text and understand the
spiritual world of the author. Connecting the “focalization” of narrative perspective
with Chinese aesthetics emphasizing the mutual promotive relationship between
DOI: 10.4324/9781003441571-1
2 On Narrative Perspective
the existent and nonexistent, the author improves the realm of narrative art. Chi-
nese narratology has the same origin as Chinese culture. The system of aesthetics
highlighting the mutual promotive relationship between the void and the solid and
the nonexistent and the existent brought about by the philosophical views of Lao
Zi, Zhuang Zi, and Zen and the aesthetic views embedded in the theories of ancient
literary and painting criticism has two layers: the existent giving birth to the non-
existent and the nonexistent producing the existent. Focusing on the existent and
the nonexistent is about the narrative strategy, while the existent giving birth to the
nonexistent and the nonexistent producing the existent is about the aesthetic effect.
The reason for focusing on the nonexistent is that it is more colorful than the exist-
ent for it includes the “Grand Existent.” The crux of both the existent giving birth
to the nonexistent and the nonexistent producing the existing is focalization, which
means considering narration as a complete system or procedure in a specific time
and scope. Time and range supplement each other and compensate for each other’s
deficiencies. Focalization is impossible if treated as being isolated or deprived of a
specific time as it can only happen in a particular time and scope in the evolution
of the narrative world.
1.1 The Significances of the Narrative Perspective
The narrative perspective ( Ӂ㿼䀈) in narratology is a unique perspective on
the world adopted in an opus or a text. The focalization or the point of view is
selective, just like the filter used by the narrator or author. An author cannot de-
pict the world in the same way as reality. For example, when writing about the
Battle of Red Cliffs, Sima Guang cannot merely “duplicate” the battlefield of
hundreds of thousands of li with hundreds of thousands or millions of warriors
and battle steeds, nor could he use a few words to represent the very structure of
the Grand View Garden, which covers three and a half li or every facial expres-
sion of hundreds of servants and their masters when writing the tragic love story
of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai in The Dream of the Red Chamber.
Therefore, the author must employ some narratological skills and strategies crea-
tively and use a specific language as a lens and certain words as filters to trans-
form the three-dimensional and dynamic world into an ichnographic and static
one in which characters and events are linearly arranged as sequences. The lenses
and filters here all refer to the narrative perspective, combining the author and
the texts. And by applying these lenses and filters and this fundamental point of
view, the author can turn the world he experiences into a narrative one. And the
focalization or the point of view is also a guide to a narrative world and a key to
the author’s heart “casement.”
Though the focalization or the point of view is often implicit, it is ubiquitous.
One will find that true as long as one reads with this awareness. The focalization
or the point of view could be dated back to ancient times. People at that time might
intentionally or unintentionally apply it as an expressive and implicative narrative
strategy. The application of the first-person point of view can be found in inscrip-
tions on bronze vessels. For example, in the Western Zhou dynasty, the “Bin Zun
3 On Narrative Perspective
epigraph” (ᇴቀ䬣ᮽ)1,2 on the bronze ware records an event when Taibao (འؓ)3
and other dukes or princes of five vassal states in the east were summoned to the of-
ferings ceremony by the Emperor of Zhou at the capital. In these inscriptions on the
ritual bronze vessel made for his uncle Gui ( Ⲯ),4 “Taibao” could only be called by
), the name of his official post. And there ؓ), without “Bao” ( འhis name, “Tai” (
could be only one explanation – this bronze vessel is made by “Bin” ( ᇴ, the at-
tendants of a ceremony), and then the point of view of these attendants (first-person
perspective) is adopted. And “Bao” is used by them (except Taibao himself) as an
honorific. The inscriptions on bronze vessels tend to record some influential or
honorable events, such as offering sacrifices to gods or ancestors, conferring titles
upon them, or bestowing rewards on somebody. The producer uses his name and
narrates from the third-person perspective. But if the first-person point of view like
“Zhen” (ᵋ)5 and “Yu” ( ֏),6 as in “Yu Gui” ( ֏㉁) epigraph on a bronze vessel is
adopted in these inscriptions, various emotions like the fond remembrance and best
wishes for ancestors and friends will be well expressed.
The art of focalization or the point of view is more prominent in narrative fi c-
tion. The same phenomenon observed by different people at different positions
from different perspectives will present various aspects, orbits, and states and
arouse mixed feelings and thoughts. The choice and setting of the focalization or
the point of view often make the same phenomenon different. Sometimes a selec-
tive perspective would achieve an earth-shattering and heaven-battering aesthetic
effect or add some quirkiness to the text. This is true in the scene in which Lu
Zhishen ( 劷Ჰ)7 causes an uproar in Wild Boar Forest in The Outlaws of the
Marsh: “From behind the pine woods comes a thunderous roar as an iron rod flies
off, knocking two officials’ staves far away and then jumps out a hefty monk.” This
scene is seen by the two officials rather than Lin Chong, who was sent here under
guard with eyes closed when the two officials attempted to murder him. In this de-
scription, due to the dense woods, the two officials could only hear the thunderous
roar and then see the staves be knocked off by an iron rod. After that, they know the
monk’s appearance, clothing, and actions. The monk’s name can only be revealed
when Lin Chong suddenly opens his eyes and squints at the monk. This particular
perspective adds excitement and suddenness to the plot, and redundant descriptions
1 Bin (ᇴ) refers to attendants who usher and guide guests (Translator’s note).
2 Zun (ቀ) is a quantifier (Translator’s note).
3 In this context, taibao (འؓ) refers to Ji Shi (ဢྣ), who was in the official position of Shao Gong
(ޢ). Taibao was a title of an official who was expected to help and support the young or weak
future ruler in the Western Zhou dynasty (Translator’s note).
4 Gui, a posthumous name of an aristocrat in the Shang dynasty, is also one of the ten tiangan, or
Heavenly Stems, in the ganzhi (ᒨ᭥), or sexagenary cycle (Translator’s note).
5 Zhen (ᵋ) is a personal pronoun used solely by an emperor to call himself. It is just like “we” used
as the royal plural (Translator’s note).
6 Yu (֏) means “I” here (Translator’s note).
7 Lu Zhishen is a character in The Outlaws of the Marsh, a monk known for his quick temper and hate
for injustice. Ჰ, pronounced as [zhì], literally means “wisdom”; , pronounced as [shēn], literally
means “profound” (Translator’s note).
4 On Narrative Perspective
are omitted. At last, in the very face of the officials, the monk bravely talks about
his identity and whereabouts, demonstrating his frankness and chivalrous spirit.
The Chinese version of “narration” is a nominalized phrase formed by a verb
with its object. It means things or events narrated. And the key to it is that one puts
a lot of thought into what he feels and sees, and gets feelings and sights. Between
what one has felt and hasn’t and what one has seen and hasn’t, there is a problem
with the angle of perception. Therefore, the focalization or the point of view should
not be considered minor details. Its functions lie in creating a unique perspective
revealing a new life, a different feeling of the world, a fresh taste of aesthetics, and
a new form and genre of description. In other words, the successful innovation of
the focalization or the point of view may catalyze the innovation of narrative texts.
The focalization or the point of view is alive with its feelings and thoughts. It
can be found in a painter’s painting and thinkers’ ideas. It presents itself in lines
along with feelings and thoughts. And its subtle applications could fulfill philo-
sophical functions and enable a profound reflection upon society and life. Unique
focalization has philosophical functions and stimulates readers to reflect on their
life and society. In other words, focalization is also an implicit representation
of a philosophy of life and history. The short story “The Medicine,” authored
by Lu Xun, explores great fortitude and sacrifice embodied by Xia Yu, a young
man fighting for the Revolution of 1911 ( 䗑ӛ䶟ળ). The character was based on
the female revolutionary martyr Qiu Jin. It is worth noting that the focus is not
highlighted stereotypically. Instead, the author erected three reflectors around the
focus to present three points of view. The first point of view ( 㿼䀈), or the first
perspective, is that of Hua Laoshuan ( 㘷ṉ). What weighs on his mind is a
pouch of hard silver coins. He can use the money to buy steamed buns soaked in
human blood to treat his only son’s consumption. In the street, the desperate father
saw a crowd waiting to see someone beheaded. The spectators have “extended
necks, as if they were so many ducks, their heads stretched upwards by an invis-
ible hand” (Lu, The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China 69). He also
saw the executioner, “a man dressed in black,” and shrank back from his “razor-
sharp glare.” A blood-dripping steamed bun was traded. For the focus, this point
of view is callous. The second point of view, or the second reflector, is owned by
patrons of a tea shop. They praised the medical efficacy of the bloodstained bun
while ridiculing Xia Yu for his rebellion and instigating the prison guard to do the
same. These people remarked that Xia “sweated blood” and “went nuts” and that
his uncle, who betrayed revolutionaries, was “as sharp as a tack” (Lu, The Real
Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China 72). As far as its focus is concerned, this
point of view is snobbish. The third point of view, or the third reflector, is owned
by the revolutionary’s mothers and the boy who died of consumption. “Across the
grave’s rounded peak lay a wreath of red and white flowers” (Lu, The Real Story
74). Xia Yu’s mother believed this meant that her wronged son’s ghost had made
its power felt. Given the purpose of the focus, this point of view reveals one kind
of love that fails to be understood. These three points of view, callous, snobbish,
and lack of understanding, loop around and reflect the seemingly unimportant
focus. Inextricably intertwined, they access respective strengths, narrowing the
5 On Narrative Perspective
psychological distance between how revolutionaries sacrificed themselves for the
Revolution of 1911 and its real social impacts. Such insight reveals a philosophy
of history. A revolution that cannot awaken people’s consciousness of the need to
fight, identify with followers, or gain their understanding will end up as a solitary
struggle. Unsurprisingly, such an undertaking did not produce a profound trans-
formation of social structure.
Focalization, which evokes a unique feeling about how the world is going,
embodies a philosophy of life and history. Besides, untiring efforts to find ingen-
ious use of focalization can transform and innovate a narrative style. Contem-
porary literature study includes an “old stories retold” course. It provides a new
and highly effective point of view for modern audiences to understand histori-
cal, philosophical, and literary concepts and to experience society. Inspired by
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, Shi Zhecun transformed “Shi Xiu Sha Sao, or
Shi Xiu Kills His Sister-in-law” ( ⸩⿶ᵶჸ), a story of a larger-than-life hero
contained in Shui Hu Zhuan, or The Outlaws of the Marsh, into a psychologi-
cal fiction titled “Shi Xiu” ( ⸩⿶, 1931).
8 When external focalization is shifted
into internal one to reveal characters’ feelings, which are the research objective
of modern psychology, readers find that the central identity of Shi Xiu is not a
warrior who fights for the greater good but an ordinary young man who with a
complex personality. Overwhelmed by growing sensitivity and depression, he
has been fettered by whether or not he can satisfy his sexual desire, which is
firstly aroused, then inhibited, causing him to go from being excited to abnormal.
Filled with a deep sense of shame, he becomes fascinated with the idea of venting
his frustration by killing someone.
This internal focalization explores the possibility that a narrative can enter an
inner world left unexamined by the classical novel. This point of view opens a
window into the characters’ subconsciousness, inviting readers to peer into Shi’s
sexual desire and lifting the ban of “A hero has to distance himself from the fairer
sex” imposed by the original novel. Thus, a new Shi Xiu was created. To this end,
Freudian psychology was borrowed to urbanize Robin Hood into a neurotic man.
The gory death scene of Pan Qiaoyun ( ▎ᐝӇ) in Green Screen Mountain is the
epitome of Shi Xiu’s thirst for blood derived from his unfulfilled sexual desire.
When instigating Yang Xiong ( ᶞ䳺) to cut out her tongue, pull out her guts, and
mutilate her body, Shi Xiu experiences a surge of emotions alternating between sat-
isfaction, disgust, delight, and pleasure. Even when observing a raven feasting on
her heart, he thinks, “Hmm! That must be very yummy.” This kind of description
represents a new realm beyond The Outlaws of the Marsh, whose ancient frame-
work is woven into some cruelty driven by sexual revenge, shedding great light on
interpreting a well-known case of the classical novel. In a word, a Freudian-style
new point of view allows readers to gain a fresh perspective and make an intrigu-
ing scrutiny of an old narrative. Reworking old classics do create a new narrative
called psychological fiction.
Shi Xiu was also spelt as Shi Hsiu (Translator’s note). 8
6 On Narrative Perspective
1.2 Focalization and Authorship
Focalization is the projection of the author’s insight and perspective. This argument
demands no further explanation. Researchers have long examined the interaction
system between society, author, literary work, and reader. But when delving into
the text, we will notice that the text does not present a linear trajectory accepting
the author’s insight and perspective but a multi-angle reflection indicating com-
plex and profound twists. Ever since The Rhetoric of Fiction, written by Professor
Wayne C. Booth (1921–2005 ൺൽ ) from the University of Chicago, was published
in the 1960s, Western narratology researchers have become increasingly conscious
of classifying texts, authors, and their points of view, giving shape to a semiotic
model of communication depicted by the following diagram:
The Real Author . . . – The Implied Author – (The Narrator) – (The Narratee) –
The Implied reader . . . – The Real reader (Rimmon-Kenan 155)
This diagram indicates that focalization is directly connected to the narrator, while
a dotted line alienates focalization from the real author. Classifications of the nar-
rator implied author and the real author made by Western narratology concretize
textual analysis. Of course, the arbitrary announcement that “The author is dead”
carries a price tag. Nevertheless, this narrator is only a mental projection of the au-
thor manifested in the text. Or this is a narrative strategy the author adopts to create
a deceptively complicated twist. The textual analysis temporarily allows research-
ers to leave the author behind and explore deep meanings without distraction. This
dedication has the merit of evaluating narratology in its own right. But Chinese
critics have always honored the tradition of “understanding the author and reflect-
ing on his/her time” and “exploring in depth and rising to the surface.” Of course,
there is yet another approach provided by Taoist wisdom. In the “External Things,”
the purported author Chuang Tzu observed, “The fish trap exists because of the
fish; once you’ve gotten the fish, you can forget the trap” (Zhuang 165). Indeed,
ignoring authorship can be a shortcut for textual analysis. That said, as the Chinese
saying “Destroy the bridge after crossing the river” aptly describes the situation,
we cannot afford to overlook the significance of the real author. We should unveil
the text and real author and share the aspiration of Sima Qian: “examine into all
that concerns heaven and humankind, and penetrate the changes of the past and
present” (Zhuang 138). Such examination and penetration will undoubtedly reveal
a mind-to-mind conversation featuring multiple twists and turns.
There is a historical phenomenon in which the author relies on the narrator
or a mock narrator to tell the story. This is a unique approach to establishing
a relationship between the real author and the narrator. Chinese scholars have
been known for their strong commitment to searching for the real author behind
the narrator. Cultural code sustaining the text can be deciphered only if the real
author is found. Otherwise, reliance on perplexing interpretations will only lead
to a labyrinth of confusion and make you a laughingstock. The author of Yue
Jue Shu, or The Gazetteer of the Unbroken Yue State (䏀㔓Ҝ) [hereafter The
7 On Narrative Perspective
Gazetteer of the Unbroken Yue State], a miscellaneous collection of historical
writings, was purportedly credited as Zigong ( ᆆ䍗, 520–446 ൻർ ), a disciple of
Confucius, or Wu Zixu ( Ճᆆ㜛, 559–484 ൻർ ), a trusted advisor of King Helu
(䱌䰴, 547–496 ൻർ ). This book has an omnipresent point of view constructed by
historiography and local gazetteer. Comments by certain historians are inserted
to present the author’s or narrator’s point of view. The authorship of Zigong is
attributed to his eloquence, a remarkable gift that distinguished him from Con-
fucius’s other disciples. A diplomatic mission put the spotlight on his talent as
he “helped the State of Lu State survive, destabilized the State of Qi, destroyed
the State of Wu, strengthened the State of Jin and made the State of Yue a he-
gemon” during the tumultuous years of late Spring and Autumn period. This in-
credible feat was immortalized by Sima Qian (Aisin-Gioro 583).
9 If Sima Qian’s
description of Zigong’s achievement is accurate, The Gazetteer of the Unbroken
Yue State relies on a worthy man to gain authority. If the book was attributed to
Wu Zixu, it is a revenge story, given Wu’s image in history. His fierce loyalty
motivated him to help King Helv (䱌䰴, ?- 496 BC) defeat the powerful Chu
State in the west, overawe northern states Qi and Jin, and conquer Yue State in
the south. Fuchai ( ཡᐤ, r. 495–473 ൻർ ), the king’s successor, became mistrust-
ful of Wu because of someone’s slander and ordered him to commit suicide, a
surrogate for the death penalty, which was usually not applied to members of
the aristocracy or higher social ranks. Fuchai’s poor decisions, such as wronging
Wu, were fatal to his kingdom. However, the reliance on Zigong and Wu Zixu
proves unreliable since the second volume describes historical changes occur-
ring in the region where the Wu State had jurisdiction after the Qin and Han
periods (221 ൻർ –220 ൺൽ ). The two purported authors could not have witnessed
these changes.
Based on previous scholars’ analysis, A Comprehensive Catalogue of the
Complete Imperial Library concludes that “This book was written by Yuan Kang
(㺷ᓭ, fl ourished in about 40 ൻർ ), a native of Kuaiji ( Րび), and reviewed by his
townsman Wu Ping ( ᒩ).” The Catalogue further maintains that this book is
Yue Niu Lu, or The Historical Records of Yue (䏀㓳ᖋ) [hereafter The Historical
Records of Yue] mentioned in Wang Chong’s “An Shu Pian, or The Critical
Remarks on Various Books” ( Ҝㇽ), Lun Heng, or A Scale to Assess the Value
of Contemporary Opinions on Public Affairs (䇰㺗, c. 86 ൺൽ ) [hereafter A Scale
to Assess the Value of Contemporary Opinions on Public Affairs], in which
The Historical Records of Yue was attributed to Wu Jungao ( 儎), also a
native of Kuaiji (Aisin-Gioro 583).
10 A good understanding of the real author
and the publishing year enables us to decipher the cultural code of this book
9 See “Zhong Ni Di Zi Lie Zhuan, or Biographies of the Disciples of Confucius” ( ԨቲᕕᆆࡍՖ)
[hereafter “Biographies of the Disciples of Confucius”] in Records of the Grand Historian.
10 See “Yue Jue Shu Ti Yao, or A Synopsis of Miscellanies on the History of the State of Yue ” ( Ʌ䏀㔓
ҜɆᨆ㾷) edited by Aisin-Gioro Yongrong (⡧᯦㿿㖍·≮⪘) et al. Aisin-Gioro Yongrong (⡧᯦㿿
㖍·≮⪘, 1744–1790 ൺൽ ) was the sixth son of Emperor Kangxi.
8 On Narrative Perspective
and reach a convincing conclusion that Chu culture had been represented in the
form of ci (lyric song), fu (rhyme-prose), or other thoughts, and well received by
mainstream culture during the Han dynasty. In contrast, Wu and Yue cultures,
which were formed in the backward border areas, had crystallized the theme
of revenge in Miscellanies on the History of the State of Yue and Wu Yue Chun
Qiu, or Miscellaneous Annals of Wu and Yue (䏀ᱛ、). A close parallel can
be found in Prince Dan of Yan (⠋ѯᆆ) under the same theme, an embodiment
of Yan Culture. This conclusion could not have been drawn if the real author of
Miscellanies on the History of the State of Yue is not identified as Yue people liv-
ing in the early Eastern Han period.
Once the narrator is identified, it becomes a constant. But since the narrator is a
mere mental projection of the author or a part of the narrative strategy, the match
and mismatch between narrator and author become a variable. In narrative focali-
zation, a variable is no less valuable than a constant. For example, Xi Jing Za Ji, or
Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital (㾵Ӣᵸ䇦) [hereafter Miscellane-
ous Records of the Western Capital], written by Ge Hong, adopts the point of view
of Liu Xin ( ࡎⅼ, 50 ൻർ –23 ൺൽ ), a noted scholar in the short-lived Xin ( ᯦) dynasty
(8–23 ൺൽ ), to ensure the book’s authority through the ancients.
This technique predates Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital, even
before The History of the Han Dynasty. The latter is the official dynastic history
compiled by Ban Gu, enjoying lasting popularity. Liu Xin’s point of view is partly
revealed between the lines, as the narrator calls himself “I,” and indicates that Liu
Xiang ( ࡎ, 77–6 ൻർ ) is his father. Considering that this “father” lived under the
reign of Emperor Cheng ( ᡆᑓ) or Liu Ao ( ࡎ僒, 51–7 ൻർ θ r. 33–7 ൻർ ) of the Han
dynasty, he would not have been the father of Ge Hong, instead of Liu Xiang. In
this sense, Lu Wenchao ( ঘᮽᕞ, 1717–1795 ൺൽ ), a scholar of the Qing dynasty
who authored “Xin Diao Xi Jing Za Ji Yuan Qi, or Reasons of Reconstructing
Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital” ( ᯦䴋㾵Ӣᵸ䇦㕎䎭),11 said, “This
is why Xin called Xiang his father. Why did Ge Hong write a book which is by no
means of being monumental to win the trust of his audience by featuring another
person’s father at his father’s expense? It simply makes no sense.” In my opinion,
Lu’s remark shows his ignorance of the author’s narrative strategy. As a result, he
mistook the narrator for the author and had blind faith in the originality and value
of the book. It also shows how forceful the first-person point of view can be. The
same approach can also be found in Volume 3, where Liu Xin is the first-person
narrator.
Liu Xin, a famous historian of the Western Han dynasty and the Xin dynasty,
was a trusted and essential official of Wang Mang ( ⧁㧳, 45 ൻർ –23 ൺൽ ), the em-
peror of the Xin dynasty. Liu Xin called Wang’s name directly without any honor-
ific title, killed Wu Zhang ( ㄖ, 206 ൻർ –24 ൺൽ ), the mentor of Wang Mang’s son,
and praised the integrity of Wu’s students who properly buried the body of Wu.
11 The Western Capital refers to the present-day Xi’an City ( 㾵ᆿᐸ), Shaanxi Province ( 䲋㾵ⴷ)
(Translator’s note).
9 On Narrative Perspective
This contradiction had been pointed out in the The Complete Library in the Four
Branches of Literature. All of these make people speculate that the real author of
this book is Ge Hong, a famous Taoist theorist, alchemist, and pharmacist in the
Eastern Jin dynasty, rather than Liu Xin. Therefore, the displacement of the real
author and narrator, as well as the closer mental distance and the skewed perspec-
tive resulting from this, can let readers enjoy the aesthetic tension of the book with
a mental contradiction between reality and confusion.
The narrative work contains the cultural code and the code for knowing the
author’s inner world. It is necessary to figure out the intrinsic connection between
the narrative perspective and the author, decoding the author’s inner world through
his work if we want to enjoy the vitality of the work instead of the disassembly of
inanimate mechanical elements. The announcement that “the author is dead” de-
prives the work of its life. The reverse thinking based on the text and its narrative
perspective to figure out the light spots, feelings, and scars in the author’s heart is
a critical way to understand the connotation of the work.
Of course, emphasizing that the author projects his feelings and animation onto
his work through a narrative perspective doesn’t mean that this kind of project is
linear without intermedia. Although they are different in difficulty and distance, an
outstanding literary author will show his talents in expressing and hiding truth and
illusion. With many cover-ups or self-ridicules, he often projects his emotion in a
cloak of fantasy in his work. He even makes various changes like Monkey King,
which makes many researchers who want to find the author’s biographical details
from their literary works very embarrassed. The first chapter of The Dream of the
Red Chamber mentions that when Nvwa melted down stones to repair the sky, there
was an unused stone that transformed into a human and was taken to “a brilliant,
successful, poetic, cultivated, aristocratic, elegant, delectable, luxurious, opulent lo-
cality on a little trip” (Cao, The Story of the Stone 1: 2).
12 After the travel, he returned
to “the Incredible Crags of the Great Fable Mountains” (Cao, The Story of the Stone
1: 2)
13 with densely recorded stories of the joys and sorrows it had experienced in
the fickle world on its body. The dialogue between a Taoist called Vanitas (Cao, The
Story of the Stone 1: 3)14 and the stone adopts a narrative perspective similar to that
of the metafiction ( ݹቅ䈪), which means standing outside the novel to talk about
the book itself. Vanitas and the stone seem to be two incarnations of the author.
The former is used for irony, and the latter is for defense. The Vanitas criticized the
incomprehensible parts of this novel, questioning why there was no discoverable
dynasty period and no examples of moral grandeur among its characters — having
nothing to do with the sage, the loyal, or what helps realize good governance or
refining customs (Cao, The Story of the Stone 1: 2).
15 The stone talked about moving
12 Quoted from the 1973 edition of David Hawkes’ translation of The Story of the Stone (Translator’s
note).
13 Ibid. (Translator’s note).
14 Ibid. (Translator’s note).
15 Quoted from the 1973 edition of David Hawkes’ translation of The Story of the Stone (Translator’s
note).
10 On Narrative Perspective
away from the convention revolving around gifted scholars and beautiful ladies and
about the ultimate goal of making creative artwork. The argument is that
all that my story narrates, the meetings and partings, the joys and sorrows, the
ups and downs of fortune, are recorded exactly as they happened. I have not
dared to add the tiniest bit of touching-up, for fear of losing the true picture.
(Cao, The Story of the Stone 1: 4)16
This is to expose reality and clarify the reason. But the novel is covered with a layer
of fantasy when all stories are from the perspective of an ungifted stone incapable
of repairing the sky. Subsequently, the author of the book is explained as follows:
Vanitas, starting in the Void (which is Truth), came to the contemplation of
Form (which is Illusion); and from Form engendered Passion; and by com-
municating Passion, entered again into Form; and from Form awoke to the
Void (which is Truth). He, therefore, changed his name from Vanitas to
Brother Amor, or the Passionate Monk, (because he had approached Truth
by way of Passion), and changed the title of the book from The Story of the
Stone, also known as The Dream of the Red Chamber, to Qing Seng Lu, or
The Tale of an Amo-, 1791) [hereafter ܝᖋ(The Tale of an Amorous Monk
rous Monk]. Old Kong Meixi ( ᆊẻⓠ, 1648–1718 ൺൽ ) from the Lu State in
the Spring and Autumn period called the book Feng Yue Bao Jian, or A Mir-
ror for the Romantic (伄ᴾᇓ䢪, 1791). Wu Yufeng ( ⦿ጦ, 1644–1704 ൺൽ )
called it The Dream of the Red Chamber. Cao Xueqin, in his Mourning-the-
Red Studio (ᛲ㓘䖟), worked on it for ten years, during which he revised it
five times. Then he divided it into chapters and compiled the catalog, renam-
ing it “Jin Ling Shi Er Chai, or The Twelve Beauties of Jinling” ( 䠇䲫ӂ
䫍) [hereafter “The Twelve Beauties of Jinling”], and adding an introductory
quatrain. Red Inkstone restored the original title when he recopied the book
and added his second set of annotations to it in 1754, the year of Jiaxu.
(Cao A Facsimile of Zhiyanzhai’s Copy of and
New Comments on The Story of the Stone in the
Year of Jiaxu 8–9; Cao The Story of the Stone 1: 5)17
That’s why people need clarification about the real name and author of the novel.
The diversity of authors leads to the different names of the book, which cover
the multiple perspectives from which the narrator examines and experiences vari-
ous ways of life. Firstly, through the incompetent, stubborn, and intelligent stone
which became human, the so-called The Dream of the Red Chamber shows the
16 Quoted from the 1973 edition of David Hawkes’ translation of The Story of the Stone (Transla-
tor’s note).
17 For the English translation of the quotation, see the 1973 edition of David Hawkes’ translation of
The Story of the Stone (Translator’s note).
On Narrative Perspective 11
perspective that the stone travels around heaven and earth and the perspective of
humanity as well as the philosophical experience of human nature. And The Tale
of an Amorous Monk is the title of a literary sketch, emphasizing its documentary
nature. And it combines the two extremes – male and female love with ascetic re-
ligious monks, purifying eroticism or conveying an ironic meaning. The Vanitas’
starting in the Void (which is Truth) came to the contemplation of Form (which
is Illusion). Form engendered Passion. It is also a metaphor for Jia Baoyu, which
forms a perspective with a sense of paradox and illusion of human emotions.
In a word, the author is the narrator and the “origin” of the perspective of the
work, which forms a narrative mode and creates a circle of the narrative world in
perspective transformation. Of course, the author, narrator, perspective, and other
concepts can be explained separately, making the narrative theory more rigorous.
However, such separation should be rational. An excessive severance of the rela-
tions between the author and the narrative text may deprive the reader of vitality,
just like a tree without a root, a river without a source, tending to pale and wither.
Emphasizing the author’s position in the narrative process and results opposes the
theory which rashly announces that “the author is dead,” which is conducive to re-
storing the interpretability of the cultural and spiritual codes of the narrative world
and its vitality. Therefore, it is necessary to redraw the linear diagram of the rela-
tionship among the author, narrator, and perspective into a circular diagram:
Perspective
Author
Text
Narrator
1.3 The Omniscient Perspective and the Limited Perspective
Authors, especially fiction authors, often have the right qualifications to know all
about their works’ characters, psychology, and destiny. Not to mention the authors
good at telling legends, even those writers using a stream of consciousness can
12 On Narrative Perspective
even describe the subconscious and dreams of the characters. They have some
omniscient trick to probe into the secret psychology of the characters. The problem
lies in the way from the author to the text, the key of which is the narrative strate-
gies. The author releases the ghostly narrator, who cuts the author’s omniscient
circle into several fan-shaped parts. Such is the perspective that can be divided into
the omniscient, limited, external, and internal ones, according to the angle, degree,
level, and way of the sense of the world in work, from which we can understand a
specific philosophical implication and aesthetic taste contained in literary works, as
well as learn the transfer and innovation of narrative literature atmosphere.
A narrative with a long history generally adopts the omniscient perspective
because a historical narrative needs not only materials collection from various
sources for comprehensively recording historical facts but causality exploration for
knowing the whole process of the events. With the omniscient perspective, it will
be easier to express the complex causality comprehensively, personal relations, as
well as the form of the rise and fall of major historical events.
The so-called omniscience is a relative concept. Firstly, any “omniscient per-
spective” can’t encompass everything. Secondly, the reasonable omniscient perspec-
tive in a particular literary style may be challenged in another (literary style). But
the omniscient perspective is also limited, and once it goes beyond the genres, it
may remove the rationality of omniscience itself. This can be considered omnisci-
ence’s principle of limitedness.
That overall, the historical narrative ( ়Ӂ) uses an omniscient perspec-
tive is compatible with adopting the limited perspective in its partial description.
In a sense, the limited perspective is the recognition, breakthrough, and leverage
of the limitation of the omniscient perspective. Adopting the limited perspective,
some remarkable historical narrative fragments show the tension between explicit-
ness and implicitness, external events, and deep-rooted reasons in the development
chain of the cause, process, and result of the event, which makes the narrative eu-
phemistic and intriguing. Such fragments often become a sign of the sophisticating
of historical narratives.
The limited perspective displays various levels of society, character behavior,
and psychology as a slow and well-organized cognitive process. It sets up suspense
and then reveals it, playing cat and mouse, and making the text full of twists and
turns and vitality brought by them. The limited perspective expresses a way of
world sense. The shift from an omniscient perspective to a narrow view means that
people can separate appearance from the substance when they perceive the world.
Therefore, the emergence of the little perspective reflects that people’s aesthetic
perception of the world has become deep and rich. Refining the style of historical
biography, the chuanqi novel or legendary Chinese novels have widely used the
omniscient perspective of historical narrative.
In contrast, zhiguai novels about the weird, uncanny, or supernatural are in-
genious and unconventional, in which the masterpieces more often adopt a lim-
ited perspective. These tales of the mysterious and the supernatural make authors
shrink from mechanically applying the development model of Western novels from
an omniscient to a limited view. We must admit that there are novels with limited
On Narrative Perspective 13
perspectives in ancient China. The tales of the mysterious and the supernatural
have described many supernatural creatures whose identities cannot be revealed
at the very beginning, so it is necessary to cover up the anomaly with normality
and impersonate the truth with falsehood. Therefore, the characters (and readers)
cannot recognize demons when they first encounter them. The characters deal with
the flower monsters, fox fairies, and evil spirits with intimacy in daily life, but then
gradually, suspicions arise. Suddenly the novel gives an unexpected reversal. This
way, readers can enjoy aesthetic stimulation from alternate familiarity and surprise.
The unfading popularity of adopting a limited perspective in the Zhiguai (ᘍᙠ)
novel has persisted for thousands of years. Beyond this viewpoint, there is the un-
known in narration. However, the unknown should be a source of hints rather than
nothing. In extreme cases, broad suggestions are on the verge of revealing what is
previously unknown. Despite all those hints, the facts are still hidden. This is like
the scenario of finding the pipa player, described by Bai Juyi ( ⲳቻ᱉, 722–846 ൻർ )
in his poem “Pi Pa Xing, or The Song of a Pipa Player” ( ⩫⩬㺂, 815), “Only after
a thousand entreaties does she appear, yet her face half-hidden behind the lute in
her arms.” Likewise, the narration doesn’t cross the boundary of viewpoint rashly,
offering room for readers to delve into the text. For example, “Lady Linen Scarf”
(Pu Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 507), collected in The Strange Tales from
a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling,
18 showed how the exploitation of the limited per-
spective could present impressive results. It captured the love story between Chang
Dayong ( ᑮཝ⭞) from Luoyang during his journey in Caozhou with Lady Linen
Scarf, a peony fairy. This story’s limited point of view was adopted from start to
finish. When running across her in the garden, Chang Dayong started to suspect
that she was a member of a wealthy family (Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Stu-
dio 509) or a fairy (Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 509). The suspicion
persisted even when they got married in Luoyang. Genjin or “Kudzu Scarf ” (㪑ᐴ),
the name of Lady Linen Scarf, was introduced by an old lady. In contrast, the name
of this old lady, Matron Mulberry ( ẇရရ) (Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Stu-
dio 519), and another fairy, Jade Clapper ( ⦿⡾), was introduced by Lady Linen
Scarf. All characters were introduced through the narration of limited points of
view in a manner that dared not to go one step beyond the limit. However, it didn’t
follow that hints were unnecessary in such narration; instead, they were necessary.
In other words, limited points of view and suggestions were opposite and comple-
mentary, thus, interdependent. At first sight, the scholar Dayong is enchanted by
Lady Linen Scarf with her charming makeup and her gorgeous palace robe (Pu,
Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 509), leading him to fall sick for longing for
her. The scholar was offered by Matron Mulberry the “ Zhen (呟) potion” prepared
by Lady Linen Scarf. The scholar found the brew fragrant and cooling (Pu, Strange
18 Pu Songling was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty who spent most of his life working as
a private tutor, collecting the stories that were later published as The Strange Tales from a Chinese
Studio (㚀ᯁᘍᔸ). 㚀ᯁᘍᔸwas also translated as Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio (Transla-
tor’s note).
14 On Narrative Perspective
Tales from Make-Do Studio 513). “Soon, he felt an expansiveness in his chest and
a bracing clarity in his skull. A mellow feeling overcame him, and he fell asleep”
(Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 513). When staying together, Dayong
smelled her charming fragrance. After she left, “He smoothed his sleeves and la-
pels, on which the fragrance of her body was still clinging” (Pu, Strange Tales from
Make-Do Studio 517). Once, when she came to his room at night,
he pulled her body against his and undid the clasp of her dress. Her jade flesh
was instantly revealed, and a warm scent exuded her. As they touched and
embraced. He sensed no exhalation, whether breath from her nostrils and the
pungency of her perspiration, that was not sweet.
(Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 517)
“Though she was gone, his pillows and covers were suffused with a rare fragrance”
(Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 519). Those repeated broad hints almost
revealed that Lady Linen Scarf was the beautiful fairy of peony. However, this latent
source of information just provided clues continuously instead of displaying the hid-
den facts. However, Chang Dayong (and the limited point of view), as if grasping
some of the information, still failed to decipher it. Two years later, his suspicion was
resumed when she told him, “Our family name is Wei, and our mother was awarded
the title Lady of Cao” (Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 525). Traveling
to Caozhou again, he found a poem dedicated to “the Lady of Cao” and a purple
“Linen Scarf” (Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 527), a variety of peonies.
Then his suspicion that his wife and her sister, Jade Clapper, were the fairies of the
peonies was further confirmed. Since they had been identified, the two sisters “lifted
their children and threw a great distance. Both of them disappeared the moment
they fell to the ground” (Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 527). Then the two
sisters also vanished. Later, “Two peony shrubs sprang up where the children had
fallen” (Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 527). Later, two peonies of choice,
Linen Scarf, and Jade Clapper, grew where the children disappeared. “From this
time on, the Luo River valley was unmatched for the splendor of its peonies” (Zhu,
An Unabridged Version of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio with New Annota-
tions 1422–1426; Pu, Strange Tales from Make-Do Studio 527). With the unknown
revealed, narration starting from the limited point of view, comes to an end, making
the whole story a complete circle in terms of vision and spirit.
The limited point of view in the tales of the mysterious and the supernatural
relates to the practice of writing. In ancient China, it needed to be explored, sum-
marized, and refined theoretically, thus failing to exert an extensive and profound
impact on literature and other novels. Given its grand structure, intricate plots, and
abundant yet confusing clues, it took a lot of work to apply a limited point of view
in the zhanghui story. But this approach might suit part of it. The limited perspec-
tive often overstepped its blurring boundary or led to deviation due to the lack of
theoretical consciousness, which didn’t take shape until the end of the Ming dy-
nasty, when Jin Shengtan, a literary critic, revised and commented on the original
Chinese novel The Outlaws of the Marsh.
On Narrative Perspective 15
A vivid example could be found in Jin’s revised version of Chapter 20, “Qian
Po Zui Da Tang Niu Er, Song Jiang Nu Sha Yan Po Xi, or The Drunk Old Bawd
Beats Tang the Bull; Song Jiang Kills Poxi in Fury” (
ᵶ䱄ၼᜒ). In this chapter (Yan) Poxi ( 䱄ၼᜒ), Song Jiang’s wife, finds upstairs
the letter from an outlaw of Mount Liang and gold wrapped in the pouch Song
Jiang left on her bed, which gives her an excellent reason to blackmail him. Mis-
tress Yan, her foster mother, was asleep downstairs when Song Jiang returned for
the pouch. Jin Shengtan revised a few details based on the impressive addition of
“what was heard” to the original text, which delivered extraordinary effects. He
also commented, “It is this addition that makes it remarkable to unfold the story
from the point of view of Poxi instead of Song Jiang. What an unusual approach!”
This comment reflected Jin’s extraordinary aesthetic sensitivity. Before his revi-
sion, the plot was incoherent, with the blurring boundary between the descrip-
tions of Poxi, Mistress Yan, and Song Jiang due to the limited point of view. The
perspective is in disorder, shifting from Poxi upstairs to the old woman asleep
downstairs and to Song Jiang in front of the door. The narrator is fixed on Poxi’s
audition, thanks to Jin’s revision. Hence the direction of the old woman and Song
㲊ၼ䞿ᢉ⢑ݵθᇁ⊕ᙈ
and their conversation were presented. Having clarified the boundary, Jin com-
mented naturally, “The whole story unfolds just from the limited point of view
of Poxi’s hearing. The effect is as outstanding as when a ray of moonlight gleams
although the light is blocked out.” To be specific, the light was obscured partly,
leaving darkness, while a ray of moonlight could pierce through the night. As an
aesthetic description of a limited point of view, it vividly outlined the boundary
between the known and the unknown. To be specific, from a limited point of view,
the limited known bounds. Only when a narrow opening existed could the narra-
tion be made limitless amidst the limited.
Jin Shengtan’s revision and comment were by no means a spur-of-the-moment
decision. Instead, they were out of his extraordinary aesthetic sensitivity and in-
sights into aesthetics. A limited point of view is extensively and deeply applied in
modern novels, especially in short stories. It is even considered a symbol of a de-
tailed and penetrating understanding of the world. Though not the limited perspec-
tive, the first-person perspective was undoubtedly significant. More importantly,
thanks to the widespread application of such a first-person point of view and the
resultant impressive narrative effects, people’s awareness of points of view, includ-
ing limited ones, started to emerge. The limited point of view could be classified
into two types. One is the observation of the external world or the “narrator’s ob-
servation of others,” and the other is the reflection on the inner world or the “nar-
rator’s observation of himself or herself.” In most cases, the two inseparable types
integrate into a mixture. In modern novels, the understanding of the world derives
from sensory organs and one’s inner world.
In “Shan Xia Zhong, or Amidst Mountains and Hills” ( ኧѣ, 1934), a short
story by Ai Wu ( 㢴㣒, 1904–1992 ൺൽ ), apart from visual and auditory senses, mo-
rality and justice and conscientiousness were adapted to perceive a wild soul in
mountains and hills and a fierce world with at least a little decency and righteous-
ness. Set on the border between Yunnan Province and Myanmar, where the author
16 On Narrative Perspective
lived as a wanderer in his younger days, the story unfolded from a first-person
perspective. Forbidden mountains, rivers, iron bridges, and god-worshipping tem-
ples depicted bleakness and steepness. Here, the protagonist, “I,” experienced the
living conditions of bandits in the mountains, abandoned by the world, and their
unique life philosophy. Thanks to the protagonist, the entwined perception of what
was seen, heard, and felt depicted the strong wind, fire, and rough people and
transcended time, space, and plots, significantly influencing our minds. All these
stimulated the protagonist to explore the potentially bright future in the world. By
adopting the limited point of view, the author presented a unique and robust reality
and contrasted different life pursuits by transcending time and space, showing the
significant influence of impressive life lessons. This novel was made grave and
gloomy thanks to a limited point of view.
Undoubtedly, the limited point of view exposes its restraints when presenting a
new aspect and greater depth of understanding of the world. While leaving some-
thing unknown for further exploration, it curbs the broader temporal and spatial
perception. Therefore, apart from applying a limited point of view, outstanding
contemporary narrators tend to leverage an “anti-limited point of view.” Such a
point of view plays a supplementary role rather than a destructive role. By adding
a minor point of view, a complex point of view serves to overcome the shortcom-
ings of a limited point of view. This could be fully exemplified by “The New-
Year Sacrifice,” by Lu Xun. The first-person point of view was adopted to build
the narrative framework at the beginning and end. The novel presented what the
protagonist “I” saw, heard, and felt when back in Luzhen County, his hometown,
after a long absence of five years. From the first-person point of view, the study of
Fourth Uncle (), steeped in Neo-Confucianism, was connected with the death
of Xianglin’s wife, who was crushed by the social prejudice concerning purity and
impurity, the popular Neo-Confucianist thoughts then. This reflected the satire and
social philosophical concerns of the novel. When seeing her alive for the last time,
I answered her question originated from the fears about the existence of souls and
hell. Thus, the narration of her death unfolded out of the uneasiness of the protago-
nist, caused by the trial of the soul, which was in striking contrast to the festive
mood in preparation for the sacrifice for the new year in Luzhen County. The com-
bination of the first person and specific identities and occasions yielded remarkable
results regarding narration tension, depth of thoughts, and aesthetic intensity.
However, a first-person introduction of the pathetic life and spiritual suffering
of Xianglin’s Wife six years ago was presented from “my” memory. Though not
the author, the protagonist shared the identity and experience of Lu Xun as the
background. It may beg the question of how I could keep abreast of every detail
about her behavior in five sacrifice rituals in the past six years, others’ mockery of
her when she confided her sorrows, and her conversation with a female servant sur-
named Liu by the stove. In response, the first-person point of view was reduced to
working as a potential narrator amid the third-person narration. In terms of identity
and perception, a protagonist is an ordinary person in Luzhen County. Therefore, it
begged another question how that was possible that local people in Luzhen County
knew what she underwent in the Hill of Wei Family ( ডᇬኧ) and the Bay Land of
On Narrative Perspective 17
He Family (䍰ᇬ), hence the need for a minor point of view: Old Mrs. Wei. She
worked as a go-between who commuted between Luzhen County and neighbor-
ing villages and earned a living with her glib tongue, the same as Three Gu and
Six Po19 described in ancient novels whose professions were either illegitimate or
disreputable. Thus, she could supplement the limited point of view of the ordinary
people in Luzhen County. It was her that brought Xianglin’s wife, a countrywoman,
to local people’s perspectives by making her a maid in Fourth Mr. Lu’s family and
introducing that she had just lost her husband. She also brought Xianglin’s wife be-
yond their perspectives by helping her mother-in-law tie her up. Xianglin’s wife
first revolted to be sold to He Family Hollow, bowed to the inevitable marriage,
and ultimately was “in luck.” The story of her, which happened outside Luzhen,
was conveyed by Old Mrs. Wei. By helping the latter to work in the Fourth Mr.
Lu’s family again, Old Mrs. Wei brought her back to the local people’s perspective
again and presented her tragedy as “a thunderbolt out of a clear sky.”
20 At last, all
those mental sufferings made her a broken woman, old before her time, and almost
as numb as a puppet. Maybe she was reduced to a beggar after being sent to Old
Mrs. Wei, which was the end of the go-between the absent. Mercenary and worldly,
the comic character Old Mrs. Wei was good at gauging others’ minds before taking
action carefully. Choosing her as the minor point of view reflected the author’s in-
sights into life and aesthetic creativity. A tragic life unfolded comically through her
perspective, presenting strong bitterness and meaningful satire. The supplementary
relations between the limited point of view and a minor point of view ensured flex-
ible narration within the bounds of the former. With the shackles of a limited point
of view, the novel danced freely within its bounds. Therefore, in modern times,
the difficulty is not applying a limited point of view but how to do so in a way that
reaches perfection. This requires subtle hints internally and the application of a
minor point of view externally to make room for flexibility of narration within the
precise boundary of the limited, which shows that it is not difficult to write from a
limited perspective in modern times and that doing it skillfully is indeed difficult.
Writers must ensure that their writings connote something more profound to their
readers. Besides, they must choose a subtle sub-perspective to write the rigorous
parts smoothly.
1.4 The Fluidity of Perspectives
Static perspectives can be divided into omniscient and limited ones. However, in
the dynamic manipulation of perspective, Chinese narrative literature usually forms
an omniscient perspective by narrating all the limited-knowledge perspectives of
19 In the past, “Three Gu ” ( пဇ) meant Buddhist nuns, Taoist nuns, and female fortune-tellers; “Six
Po” (ޣၼ) referred to midwives, sorceresses, madams of brothels, female human traffickers,
matchmakers, and pharmacists. Here they refer to women of the lower classes of various liberal
professions in old China (Translator’s note).
20 This refers to the tragic fact that her husband died of typhoid fever, her child was eaten by a wolf,
and her husband’s elder brother took over his house and turned her out (Translator’s note).
18 On Narrative Perspective
all characters. This is especially true in the zhuanghui novel, a genre of literature
that thrived in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In this literary genre, reaching omnis-
cience by narrating from all limited points of view is treated as a process that hap-
pens through changing perspectives. Seeing the flow of perspectives as a process is
related to the structure of Chinese cognitive psychology. Speaking of how Chinese
peasants appreciate a painting, Lu Xun, an eminent scholar with considerable con-
tributions to China’s literature, said,
For instance, there is no shadow in traditional Chinese paintings. Hence, most
оޡ㳽⸑
of the farmers I know do not like western paintings and photos. They criticize
the different colors on people’s left and right faces. While appreciating a pic-
ture, westerners observe it from a fixed position, while Chinese observers do
䶈嗏ٹᴾ࠶
not stand at a fixed point. In that sense, therefore, what he says is true indeed.
(Lu, “Tattling on Comic Strips” 27–28)
,
A fi xed point of view is, in other words, a limited-knowledge perspective; a non-
fixed point of view is, of course, a changing perspective, which matches Chinese
people’s understanding of the law of the universe and humans. This is a latent and
involuntary operation: Tao circulates endlessly, and inside, it is reflected as the
permanently dynamic psychological structure, while outside, it is reflected as the ever-
changing perspective of narration.
Though the changing perspectives of the zhuanghui novels feature the vivid
expression and freehandedness of traditional Chinese landscape painting, it stems,
in fact, from the art of speaking, or shuohua (䈪䈓), in the Song dynasty. Shuohua
is one of the many genres of drama in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and its practi-
tioners had to compete with actors of other miscellaneous fine arts and make their
audience from all walks of life have empathy with the stories they spoke. Standing
on the stage, the storyteller had to think as if they were the character, mimic the
way the figure says, move their body after the role, and put up their expression.
Even the fan in his hand can serve as the feather fan of Zhuge Liang, a famous
strategist in the Three Kingdoms period, or the famous Qing Long Yan Yue Dao,
or the Green Dragon Crescent Blade ( ) of Guan Yu, or the three-meter-
long serpent-headed spear ( ) of Zhang Fei.
21 Therefore, the narrator’s
perspective must be the same as that of the character he is talking about so that the
narrator can speak, move, act, and look as if he is, indeed, the character himself.
The perspective of the narrator is limited, and the point of view changes with the
character. Gathering everything narrated from limited perspectives, the reader can
finally know everything from an omniscient view.
Narrating as if the narrator is the character to enable the continuous change of
perspective – such is the genius of Shuohua. This narrative technique is exten-
sively shown in The Outlaws of the Marsh a zhanghui novel and one of China’s
21 Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are distinguished military commanders living in the same period as Zhuge
Liang (Translator’s note).
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