SOURCE: Evans, Nancy J. F. “Social Criticism in the Ch'ing: The Novel Ching‐hua yuan.” Papers on China, no. 23 (1970): 52‐64.

In the following essay, Evans examines the characters and events in Li Ju‐chen's novel and concludes that the work is an important piece of social criticism.

Li Juhchen and His Novel

The influence of the West on the thinking of Chinese intellectuals too often has tended to obscure the period prior to Western contact, for it has lulled students of Chinese history into overlooking the diversities within the Chinese scene itself. The novel Ching‐hua yuan (The flowers in the mirror) by Li Ju‐chen, published by about 1828, provides an intriguing challenge to the view that dissent came only after the Western impact.

Since the source of information about the social and political thought of Li Ju‐chen was a novel, conclusions about his social message are impossible...