THE RECEPTION OF JIN SHENGTAN’S LITERARY CRITICAL THOUGHT IN VIETNAM

Bui Thi Thuy Minh, Tran Minh Hung

Abstract


Jin Shengtan was a prominent literary theorist and critic during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties in China, whose influence reached far beyond his homeland. In the mid-18th century, his annotated editions of Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan) and Romance of the Western Chamber (Xixiang ji) were introduced to Korea, where they quickly gained widespread acclaim. At that time, Korea lacked a tradition of novel commentary, but by the early 19th century, several notable literary critics emerged, including figures such as the Master of Stone Spring (Thạch Tuyền chủ nhân), Park Tae-seok (Phác Thái Tích), and Teacher of Suisan (Thủy Sơn tiên sinh). These scholars were profoundly influenced by Jin Shengtan’s distinctive style, techniques, and ideas, laying the groundwork for the development of literary criticism in Korea. In Japan, Jin Shengtan’s annotated editions of Water Margin and Romance of the Western Chamber similarly inspired major literary figures, such as Ryotei Tanehiko (Lương Điền Thuế Nham), Kaisen Kigen (Giai Xuyên Kỳ Viên), and Seiden Danso (Thanh Điền Đam Tẩu), who became key contributors to the country’s literary discourse. This paper will outline the reception of Jin Shengtan’s thought in Vietnam, exploring the timeline of its introduction, the processes of translation and compilation, and the academic study of his works. The researchers aim to draw conclusions on how his literary ideas were assimilated within the Vietnamese context. In doing so, this study will examine how the incorporation of global literary excellence into Vietnam's national tradition enriched and diversified its own literary landscape, showcasing the enduring influence of Jin Shengtan's critical thought.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


Jin Shengtan, literary criticism, reception, East Asian influence, Vietnamese literature

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bui, G. (2017). Vietnamese literary theory and criticism in the context of Chinese literary reception. Education Publishing House.

Bùi, T. H. (2018). Literary criticism in Vietnam: A historical and theoretical approach. Vietnam National University Press.

Chibanđet, A. (2008). The essence of literary criticism: The role of the reader. European Journal of Literary Theory, 13(1), 1–15.

Jin, S. T. (2014). Chinese literary theory: Historical and contemporary perspectives. Routledge.

Kim, S. T. (1950). The Western Roof [Mái Tây]. Tân Việt Journal, 1(3), 45–50.

Le, T. D. (2012). Vietnamese literature from a theoretical perspective. Social Sciences Publishing House.

Lê, H. V. (2021). Literature and society in the modern world. Literature Publishing House.

Nguyen, D. T. (2009). Research on the influence of Chinese literature on Vietnamese literature. Hanoi National University Press.

Pham, T. Q. (2019). Research on Chinese literature and its influence on Vietnam. Journal of Literary Studies, 22(4), 112–130.

Thánh Thán, K. (2005). Theories of literary creation and criticism. Chinese Classical Literature Press.

Trần, T. K. (2018). Literary criticism and literary studies issues. National Political Publishing House.

Valery, P. (2015). The art of writing and literary criticism. French Literary Studies Journal, 48(2), 72–85.

Va-lery, P. (2017). Impressionism and literary realism. Journal of Literary Criticism, 28(3), 56–77.

Xuân, D. (2010). Literature and the components of literary works. Social Sciences Publishing House.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejls.v6i1.598

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The research works published in this journal are free to be accessed. They can be shared (copied and redistributed in any medium or format) and\or adapted (remixed, transformed, and built upon the material for any purpose, commercially and\or not commercially) under the following terms: attribution (appropriate credit must be given indicating original authors, research work name and publication name mentioning if changes were made) and without adding additional restrictions (without restricting others from doing anything the actual license permits). Authors retain the full copyright of their published research works and cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.

Copyright © 2018-2026. European Journal of Literary Studies (ISSN 2601-971X / ISSN-L 2601-971X). All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library. All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and standards formulated by Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002), the Bethesda Statement on Open Access Publishing (2003) and Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities (2003) and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Copyrights of the published research works are retained by authors.