15、16世纪之交市民文学新的萌动和明代社会的初始变化

明初,政府出于自然经济重建的考虑,极力抑制带有异质性的市民文化的成长,将市民的精神需求降低到了最低水平。随着经济的复苏和社会的进步,及至 15、16世纪之交,南北地区的传统消费性城市得到发展,具有生产性的新类型市镇在太湖平原相继涌现,市民阶层逐渐壮大,同时提出了精神生活的要求,这样以市民嗜好为轴心的小说、戏曲等文学作品不断推出,从而实现了对明初限制的突破。因其所处的由明前期向中期过渡阶段的制约,更多地表现出了曾在唐、宋市民文学兴起时期出现过的“夹生”特点,从侧面映衬出该期明代社会变化的初始层面的事实。

On the Relation of Sprouting of Citizen Culture in the Late 15th and Early 16th Centuries and the Social Change in Early-Ming

At the beginning of Ming Dynasty, in order to reconstruct feudal economy, the government did its utmost to suppress the growth of the citizen culture that had heterogeneity, so as to play down the city spiritual requirement to the lowest line. With economy resuscitating and society progressing, the traditional consumption cities in south and north areas expanded, and the new-style cities and towns that had energy of manufacturing came forth in Taihu Lake Basin, so that the citizen class gradually enlarged, and their need for spiritual life became strong. As a result novels, dramas and so forth for citizen came up successively. As they were in the transitional period from early-Ming to middle-Ming, they consequentially showed themselves the immature characteristics, which reflect the fact that the social change in this time was on the beginning level.