[简答题,10分] Talk about the social significance of The Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer, in his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales, provides the readers a true-to-life picture of the society of his time. Taking the stand of the rising bourgeoisie, he affirms man and opposes the dogma of asceticism preached by the church. As a forerunner of humanism, he praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit, and love of life. His tales expose and satirize the evils of his time. They attack the degeneration of the noble, the heartlessness of the judge, the corruption of the church and so on.