今江蘇省地方大體相當於明代「南直隸」所屬之六府一州(應天、淮安、揚州、鎮江、蘇州、常州六府及直隸徐州)。江蘇明代作家不僅在全國範圍內占很大的比重----作家數量眾多，多有領袖文壇的大家，而且呈現出鮮明的地域文化特徵：一是形成了吳中、金陵、廣陵三個不同的區域作家隊伍，呈現出三種不同的文化生態；二是從科舉中走出來的作家成為作家隊伍的中堅，尤其蘇、常二府成為典型的科舉雄邑，大大提升了江蘇作家的數量和品質；三是文化家族的大量湧現，為地域文學的持續性發展提供了基礎；四是作家追求一種調和世俗與風雅的人生道路，使生活藝術化、藝術生活化，市隱心態、鄉願生活觀突顯，特別是對「吳趣」的追求，成為吳中作家有別于其他地方作家的獨特個性。 Today's Jiangsu Province roughly equals to the six Fu and one Zhou (Zhou and Fu are administrative divisions) in Ming Dynasty, namely Yingtian, Huaian, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Suzhou, Changzhou, and Zhili Xuzhou. Writers of Jiangsu in Ming Dynasty account for a large proportion in China and most of them are great leaders in literature. Their writings show distinctive characteristics of regional culture: First, three different groups of regional writers, Wu, Jinling and Guangling, are gradually formed, presenting three different cultural ecologies; the second is that writers from imperial examinations become the backbone, especially those from Suzhou and Changzhou, which have greatly enhanced both the number of the quality of the team of the writers in Jiangsu povince. Third, cultural families spring up in large numbers, which provides a basis for sustainable development of regional literature; Fourth is that writers are seeking to reconcile the secular and the elegant, bringing art to life and making art a part of life. An attitude of “Shiyin” and a life value of “Xiangyuan” get prominent. The pursuit of “Wu Interest” becomes a unique personality of the local writers in Wu and makes them different from all others.
