The Double Sides of the Philosophy of "Official-turned Businessmen" Seen from Ming-Qing Novels

Many classical novels in Ming and Qing dynasties feature morality preaching. We, in these novels, however, can also clearly see that some officials and merchants held different opinions towards then feudal morality, that is too say, different characters might be totally different in dealing the moral standard, which reflects the authors confusion in learning and applying the moral standard. We can also see, in these novels, promoting goodness and pursuing benefits are two main forces confronting and collaborating with each other.