公案小說과 推理小說 비교 연구

Abstract

Mystery novels are products of early modern history. Edgar Allen Poe’s mystery novels, among others, were introduced to China during the translation boom of the 1920s. At the time, modern literature found its way into China through the Shanghai foreign concessions. During this era, there were mainly two kinds of readers: those of the intellectual class, who typically read modern literature and those who were ordinary citizens, who typically devoured popular literature such as romance, mystery, and hero stories. Meanwhile, there was a sharp increase in the publication of Chinese mystery novels. Although the Chinese did not invent the mystery genre, it easily gained a foothold in China due to its similarity to the existing gong’an novel. The Chinese versions of the mystery genre were heavily influenced by gong’an novels. The two genres, while still distinct, share many characteristics. This study first defines the origins and terms of the mystery genre. Subsequently, it shows its relationship with the gong’an novel. Finally, it analyzes the differences and similarities between the two styles based on the gong’an elements found in Sanyan and the mystery short stories of Cheng Xiaoqing, a Chinese mystery author active in the 1920s. This comparative analysis includes an examination of characters, descriptions of the investigation process, and narrative characteristics. While Sanyan consists of pictorial novels compiled by Feng Menglong, most of which are gong’an, Hwossangtaman is a popular mystery novel by Cheng Xiaoqing, who translated many mystery stories into Chinese. This comparative study of these two well-known works demonstrates how Chinese gong’an and mystery novels influenced each other.