This study examines the characteristics and ways of communication of ‘parody’ through a textual analysis of Wang Meng’s Chengyu xinbian. Parody in literature is characterized by a writer’s critical and creative attitude toward the original text. The writer attempts to re-read the original text based on his or her own historical and social contexts and semiotically creates a parodic text. Hence, in reading a parodic text, the readers should find out the ways in which the writer critically re-interprets the original text. The meanings of the parodic text become complete when the readers grasp the intentions and messages of the writer. The original texts of Chengyu xinbian comprise of old fables and idiomatic phrases. Based on the contemporary contexts of the 1990s, Wang Meng twists and subverts the conventional ideologies and fixed ideas inherent in the original fables and idiomatic phrases. In addition, through an innovative revision of the original fables and phrases, Wang Meng induces the readers to have open mind and to carry out a critical analysis. By introducing a shrewd and materialistic swordsman, “Kezhouqiujian” overturns our usual feelings when we used to laugh at and ridicule the swordsman for being simple-minded and stubborn. By focusing on the individualism and materialism of contemporary society, “Shishizhinei, biyouzhongxin” subverts the romanticism and optimism built into the traditional values of ‘loyalty’ and ‘trust.’ Highlighting the mutual cooperation between artists and enterprises as their patrons, “Gaoshanliushui” destabilizes the highly aesthesized and idealized ‘zhiyin 知音’myth. Through the secularization and depravation of the frog after he has freed himself from the well, “Zuojingguantian” makes us rethink the conventional dichotomy between the inside and outside of the well. By describing the changes in the attitude of the monkeys towards shrewdness and materialism under lucrative circumstances, “Zaosanmusi” overturns the message of the original text, which had emphasized that the monkeys can be easily fooled and ridiculed. In sum, Wang Meng subverts the conventional and unquestioned ways of understanding original texts and, through satires and critical analyses, expands his criticism to contemporary reality. In addition, he leads the readers to view and interpret the world with open-mindedness and new perspectives and also induces us to critically examine the snobbish world in which we are living. This is the reason for his writing Chengyu xinbian and the intention of his parody.

This study examines the characteristics and ways of communication of ‘parody’ through a textual analysis of Wang Meng’s Chengyu xinbian. Parody in literature is characterized by a writer’s critical and creative attitude toward the original text. The writer attempts to re-read the original text based on his or her own historical and social contexts and semiotically creates a parodic text. Hence, in reading a parodic text, the readers should find out the ways in which the writer critically re-interprets the original text. The meanings of the parodic text become complete when the readers grasp the intentions and messages of the writer. The original texts of Chengyu xinbian comprise of old fables and idiomatic phrases. Based on the contemporary contexts of the 1990s, Wang Meng twists and subverts the conventional ideologies and fixed ideas inherent in the original fables and idiomatic phrases. In addition, through an innovative revision of the original fables and phrases, Wang Meng induces the readers to have open mind and to carry out a critical analysis. By introducing a shrewd and materialistic swordsman, “Kezhouqiujian” overturns our usual feelings when we used to laugh at and ridicule the swordsman for being simple-minded and stubborn. By focusing on the individualism and materialism of contemporary society, “Shishizhinei, biyouzhongxin” subverts the romanticism and optimism built into the traditional values of ‘loyalty’ and ‘trust.’ Highlighting the mutual cooperation between artists and enterprises as their patrons, “Gaoshanliushui” destabilizes the highly aesthesized and idealized ‘zhiyin 知音’myth. Through the secularization and depravation of the frog after he has freed himself from the well, “Zuojingguantian” makes us rethink the conventional dichotomy between the inside and outside of the well. By describing the changes in the attitude of the monkeys towards shrewdness and materialism under lucrative circumstances, “Zaosanmusi” overturns the message of the original text, which had emphasized that the monkeys can be easily fooled and ridiculed. In sum, Wang Meng subverts the conventional and unquestioned ways of understanding original texts and, through satires and critical analyses, expands his criticism to contemporary reality. In addition, he leads the readers to view and interpret the world with open-mindedness and new perspectives and also induces us to critically examine the snobbish world in which we are living. This is the reason for his writing Chengyu xinbian and the intention of his parody.