Abstract:
In Chinese traditional society, Confucianism worshipped by the gentry was not only official political ideology but also cultural traditions commonly followed by patriarchal families. Its firm ruling place lasted more than 2.000 years. Under the impact of western modernity since the late 19th century, the gentry began to gradually decline as a social class, and Confucian culture they worshipped also faced an unprecedented crisis. Niu Zhaolian, a wellknown Guanzhong Confucianist and gentleman in the last reign of the Qing Dynasty, fell into an irreversible condition of decline together with his class in time of the fall of Chinese empire. Based on Niu’s prototype, Chen Zhongshi portrayed Zhu the scholar in The White Deer Plain. In this character, the author implied both the destiny of Confucian decline in the early 20th century, and his own hypothesis to reconstruct Chinese contemporary literature.
