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The Four Greatest Classical Chinese Novels-A Souvenir Stamp Album Introduction Journey to the West This is a mythological novel written by Wu Cheng'en in the Ming Dynasty. Based on the monk Xuan Zang's journey to India for Buddhist scriptures in the Tang Dynasty, it tells the story of how Xuan Zang, escorted by three disciples, passed eighty-one tests involving fight against demons and succeeded in getting the true scriptures. It is divided into one hundred chapters. The first seven tell the birth of the monkey named Sun Wukong and the big trouble he gets into in the Heavenly Palace. In the following chapters, he is converted to Buddhism, and, together with converted Bajie the Hog and Shaseng, Xuan Zang to India, subduing one demon after another along the way. It is a fantasized reflection of social conflicts and man's struggle between his inborn desire for freedom and reluctant yield to restriction. It also praises the monkey's courage, resourcefulness and perseverance. Its style is romantic and unique, with colorful imagination, a complicated plot, humorous language, and such unforgettable characters as the monk and Bajie the Hog. It is regarded as a masterpiece among classical romantic Chinese novels, and is important in the history of Chinese novels. Water Margin Written by Shi Nai'an in the Ming Dynasty, this novel tells the story of an army of peasant rebels led by Song Jiang and based in Liangshanbo, from its beginning to its final surrender to the government. It is considered the first novel about the conflict between peasantry and the landlord class, the major conflict in the feudal society. It paints a grand, exciting picture of a revolutionary struggle by peasants. Through such well depicted characters as Li Kui, Lu Zhishen, Wu Song and Lin Chong, it reveals the evil of the feudal society and the crimes of the ruling class, justifying the rebellion by ascribing it to relentless oppression and exploitation by the government. Artistically speaking, it also achieves high, with a complicated plot, lively and effective language, and clean-cut characters. Its limitation lies in the idea of the importance of 'loyalty'. The novel has a wide readership and influence. The Dream of the Red Mansion Originally named The Story of the Stone, this is a novel written in the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the first eighty chapters by Cao Xueqin, and the other forty by Gao E. It describes the four noble clans of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue and the love story of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, narrating the tragic destinies of Baoyu and the girls in the Jia clan during its turn from heyday to decline. It reveals the debauchery, corruption and infighting of the nobility and its relentless oppression and exploitation of the working class. It praises the resistance by progressive-minded young nobles and some of the slaves, condemning the feudal ethical code. The language is beautiful and vivid, and there are such archetypal characters as Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, You Sanjie and Qingwen. It features, for the first time in Chinese novels, smart and charming women as the embodiment of goodness in human nature. With a grand, close-knit structure and outstanding artistry, it marks the pinnacle of realism in classical Chinese novels. Romance of the Three Kingdoms This is a historical romance written by Luo Guanzhong at the turn from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty. It starts from the oath of brotherhood taken by Liu Bei, Guanyu and Zhangfei in a peach garden in 169 AD, the second year of Jianning in the reign of Han Emperor Ling, and ends in 280 AD, when Wang Rui overthrew the Kingdom of Wu and the Western Jin Dynasty reunified China, describing the conflicts between the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu as well as their rise and decline. Setting political and military events against a broad social and historical backdrop, it reveals the penetration and transformation of the period's social conflicts and its cataclysmic significance. Its description of political and military strategies has deeply influenced the Chinese. The plot is complicated and gripping, and there are such household names as Zhuge Liang, Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun. The novel covers such wars and clashes as the Battle of Guandu and the Battle of the Red Cliff. With a grand structure, diverse techniques, and concise, effective and lively language, it is the earliest Chinese novel in chapters and the best Chinese historical romance. |
