Abstract

This book is based on the detective novels carried in newspapers and magazines，and published in separate editions in the period of the Republic of China（1912—1949），focusing on the development history of detective novels at that time，as well as the urban origin，public-case novel tradition，foreign translation，representative writers’works，formal characteristics（including narrative mode）and ideological value of detective novels in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.

In terms ofthe research methods，this book is based on the collection，sorting，reading and analysis of a large number of detective novels of the Republic of China.On one hand，it tries to sort out the evolution track of genre literature and the development framework of literary history about detective novels of the Republic of China，which as the description of“history”.On the other hand，it attempts to extract the modern value connotation and its own formal stipulation of detective novels in the Republic of China，that is，the generalization and interpretation of“theory”.Generally speaking，the goal of this book is a combination of history with theory and historical theory.It is intended to explore the development status and law of detective novels of the Republic of China as a type of literature，and try to clarify that detective novels of the Republic of China，which have always been regarded as“popular”，“not elegant”，or even“no inflow”，are essentially a novel type with modern significance and value.

Specifically，this book attempts to take“Modernity”and“literary genre”as two perspectives to understand the detective novels of the Republic of China.It not only means to break the general framework of“popular literature”，“leisure literature”and“citizen literature”in traditional research by investigating the“Modernity”in the detective novels of the Republic of China.But also guides and describes the development venation and internal law of detective novels in the Republic of China with the“literary genre”.This book holds the opinion that the detective novels of the Republic of China，as a type of novels，on the one hand means that they share a set of roughly the same type creation rules and basic narrative grammar with the other countries’detective novels，that is，the“detective novels of the Republic of China”is the part of“detective novels”.On the other hand，the detective novels of the Republic of China also have their own creative characteristics of localization，and play a certain role in promoting the development process of modern Chinese literature，culture and social history，even the formation of the subjectivity of modern China，that is，the“detective novels of the Republic of China”is a part of“modern Chinese novels”.The combination of the two aspects determines the unique type characteristics and modern value of detective novels in the Republic of China，which also establishes its historical status.

This book mainly discusses the Modernity Significance of detective novels of the Republic of China from the following four aspects.First of all，detective novels of the Republic of China are novel types born in modern cities，which are closely related to the formation and change of modern urbanites’perceptual experience and sensory structure；The second，the detective novels of the Republic of China contain a scientific and rational way of thinking and spiritual connotation.The rational spirit runs through every corner of the detective novels of the Republic of China from the macro creative motivation，the text recognition，to the arrangement of specific details；Besides，the detective novels of the Republic of China carry the imagination of modern Chinese people for social justice，and this“concept of justice”is actually mixed with the connotation and extension of multiple concepts such as“judicial justice”，“poetic justice”，“traditional chivalry”and“national righteousness”；Last but not least，The production，dissemination，circulation and acceptance of detective novels in the Republic of China are closely related to literary translation，newspaper distribution，book publishing，remuneration system，copyright concept，film adaptation，and the formation of mass reader market since modern times.These material carriers，production methods and literary systems also ensure the production mechanism，the media and consumption patterns of detective novels in the Republic of China are modern.

As for the type characteristics，this book will alsofocus on and analyze the detective novels of the Republic of China in the background of the other countries’detective novels，from the perspectives of narrative mode，form evolution，aesthetic style，the development of“sub types”and so on.In addition to the analysis of detective novels of the Republic of China，this book will also radiate to the types of public-case，detective，spy and anti-spy novels from the late Qing Dynasty to the New China period；And will involve the works of western detective fiction writers such as Ellen Poe，Conan Doyle，Maurice Leblanc，Agatha Christie，Ellery Queen，even the American hard-boiled detective fiction；And will try to cross the boundary between detective novels and the“detective film”，“Film Noir”，“crime news”and“Non-Fiction Detective Case”in different artistic forms.In the process of specific analysis，this book not only pays attention to the interaction and inheritance of“reality”between the texts of these different historical periods，regions，countries and art forms，but also tries to integrate them into the perspective of“detective type”for an overall investigation and analysis.

All in all，based on the detailed analysis of the literary origin，literary history development and several key concepts of detective novels in the Republic of China.The main conclusion of this book is that，as a type of novel，detective novels in the Republic of China have their own unique law of genre literature creation，aesthetic requirements and formal characteristics.At the same time，as a part of modern Chinese literature，detective novels of the Republic of China reflect obvious characteristics of Modernity in the whole process，from content to form，from mode of production to dissemination and acceptance.

Key words：detective novel in the Republic of China，public-case novel，literary translation，modern city，genre literature，rational spirit，justice ethics，narrative mode绪 论