What new ideas are reflected in the vernacular short stories of the Ming Dynasty?
Many new ideas were reflected in the vernacular short stories of the Ming Dynasty. 1. Opposing Confucianism: Criticizing and challenging Confucianism often appeared in the vernacular short stories of the Ming Dynasty. Some authors even directly denied the basic concepts of Confucianism such as "conscience" and "justice". 2. Pay attention to social reality: The short stories in the Ming Dynasty reflect various problems in social reality, such as the gap between the rich and the poor, corruption, war, etc. These works reflected the voices and wishes of the people through their descriptions of reality. 3. Pursuit of freedom: In the Ming Dynasty's short stories, there were some thoughts that pursued freedom and opposed restraint, such as "freedom" and "equality". These works expressed the author's pursuit of freedom and equality by describing the protagonist's experience. 4. Pay attention to personality: In the vernacular short stories of the Ming Dynasty, emphasis was placed on individual personality and freedom. Some works expressed the importance of the author's personal freedom by describing the protagonist's personality and encounters. 5. Pay attention to science: In the vernacular short stories of the Ming Dynasty, science and knowledge were emphasized. Some works reflected the author's admiration for science and knowledge by describing natural phenomena. The vernacular short stories of the Ming Dynasty reflected the reality of the society and the wishes of the people at that time, as well as the rise and influence of new ideas.