Pre-Qin Era: Emergence of Chinese Narrative Tradition

Abstract

Tradition is something that was born in the past but is still effective in the present. This chapter argues that the Chinese narrative tradition began to emerge in the Pre-Qin Era. In the narratives of this period, elements constituting narrativity could be more clearly identified, exerting much influence on later narrative. To be more exact, the Pre-Qin Era witnessed the growing sophistication of narrative strategies, in particular, the capacity to keep record of kings’ words. It also saw a growing sense of storytelling and authorial subjectivity, leading to the improvement of the narrative forms and the increase of fictive elements in the narrative, which paved the way for the separation of literary narrative from historical accounts. The forms, tendencies, and features of the Pre-Qin narrative have exerted profound influences on later narrative. Many features in Chinese narrative literature, such as its peculiar narrative devices and modes, literary motifs, and literary traits, can all be traced back to the Pre-Qin narrative.