Charles Dickens is one of the greatest novelists and humorist in the 19^th. He enjoys a reputation all over the World. His works disclose and criticize all levels of society with exquisite and artistic methods. A Tale of Two Cities is Charles Dickens’ most important historical novel. It was set in London and Paris and presented a rather vivid picture of the French society before and during the French Revolution. Lao She is a contemporary Chinese writer, whose works are unique in style, and makes an outstanding position in literature history. He is famous for his unique Beijing cavity and humor all over the world. Teahouse is the Chinese classic works of contemporary drama which receives highly evaluation from readers and audiences at home and abroad. It was set in Beijing from the early 1900s to the founding of The People's Republic of China, revealing the intensified social contradictions.

Lots of studies have appeared about these two works respectively in recent years. As for A tale of two cities, previous researches are mainly about the themes, characters ,humorous language, writing styles, the sources of Dickens’ description of the novel and his attitude towards the French Revolution. In 1921, J. A. Falconer published “The Sources of A Tale of Two Cities”. He thinks that Dickens is deeply influenced by Carlyle’s The French Revolution and points out that Collins exerts an important influence on A Tale of Two Cities. In 1977, John and Mc Williams published an essay“Progress without Politics: A Tale of Two Cities”. This essay shows that Dickens has little faith in political progresses, distrusts all institutional progress and fears of revolutionary violence. In 2009, the book Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cites and the French Revolution edited by Colin Jones, Josephine Mc Donagh, and Jon Mee came out. According to the author, this book places the novel in an international text, enlarges the understanding of the French Revolution, and presents the readers brand-new interpretations of the novel. In China, the study of A Tale of Two Cities continues to follow the convention established in the previous century by focusing on the following aspects: the creative ideas and themes, characters, writing skills, the French Revolution. Zhang ahui analyses the irony from the perspective of speech act theory which is different from the humor and irony use in the novel. In the article “Analysis of Dickens’ humanitarianism from A Tale of Two Cities”, Yi Shuquan thinks that the novel centrally and vividly shows Dickens’ humanitarian spirit, which still has the positive side and the negative side. Guo Yanan and Han Meizhu conclude that Dicken’s benevolent spirit paid much attention to the stability of the society, praised people’s efforts to use their love to dissolve hatred, emphasized that people should chase material wealth and spiritual happiness through their own hard work, and cared about children’s living and education, which are worth learning. Chen Qiao studies the heroin personalities about Lucie and points out that Lucie was a kind and loving person who were different from Madame Defarge. Luice transformed her hatred into love and many people were touched by her action. Li Na makes a comparative study about the self-sacrifice spirits between A Tale of Two Cities and The Great Gatsby.

As for Teahouse, it receives extensive attention from the researches of home and abroad. There are a lot of studies from different and comprehensive perspectives about Teahouse such as the structure of drama, the language charm, the character personalities and the national culture and artistic value reflected in it. Yang Yingping highlights the idea of aesthetic character of the Tea House, and argues that the means of expressing aesthetics presents a epic drama and makes the audience not lost in the dark age, instead, think spontaneously with the stylized people in the drama. And he thinks Lao She’s unique description about stylized characters in the Tea House fully reflect the theme, ideological connotation and artistic value. In the article “ On Teahouse”, the Japanese writer Shikang Jingyi points out the symbolism of the scene and characters, which reveals the contradictions of the contemporary society. Han Yuan regards the Beijing cavity as a distinct style to show Lao she’s love for Being custom and the highest pursuit of literature.

There are many comparison between Dickens and Lao She from the angles of humorous style, selecting their representative works such as The Pickwick Papers and Lao She’s Lao Zhang’s Philosophy. This paper tries to appreciate and compare humor mainly from new perspectives, providing readers with new approaches to understand humor better. In terms of the individualized characters, Zhou Xiaowei describes the opposite attitude and endings of the same group-lower class in their different works. Liu Sumin divides the same group-ironic character into three types: educator, merchant and hypocritical people to present the similar writing skills on ironic writing of Dickens and Lao She.

However, few studies focus on the two works, especially on the comparison of the aristocratic class in the unsettled tomes. One is Charles Darney, and another is Chang Siye. Both Dickens and Lao She lived in the period of social transformation, experienced the change of time, so they shared something in common when depicted the images of the same kind of people. Moreover, the aristocratic class itself have the similar social identity, economic status and political power. They are born with glory, with the privilege and servants at their service and live a superior life. Facing the social turmoil but with different forms and in different situations, they showed their attitude and behaviors. They have to either follow the declining fate or be changed or eliminated. They represent the aristocratic class of France and China in the chaotic society. So this paper tries to make a original comparison and analysis of the two person to reveal the changes of the declining aristocratic class and can give readers a new understanding of the two characters, the two works and the social changes in France and China. Furthermore, it’s a way to learn more about the history and culture of France and China.

2. 研究的基本内容与方案

This paper focuses on the comparison and analysis of the two characters, Charles Darney and Chang Siye who live in the turbulent times when the aristocratic class is declining by the study of literature and comprehensive analysis. To have a detailed understanding of the background information , reading the original version is the first step. Then collect the historical information about the development of European aristocrats and the Manchu aristocrats. Further study is based on the preparation.The paper is divided into five parts. Here is the contents:

1 Introduction

1.1 Charles Dickens and A Tale of Two Cities

1.2 Lao She and Teahouse

1.3 Literature Review