History of Chinese Fiction

Author: Lu Xun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-12-01
Features: When Lu Xun (1881-1936) passed away, Cai Yuanpei presented a (eulogy couplet) that read: "His writings were meticulous, not merely a history of Chinese fiction; his parting words were too sorrowful, do not become a hollow literary figure." This shows how important A Brief History of Chinese Fiction was in Cai Yuanpei's eyes within the entire intellectual legacy of Lu Xun. Lu Xun's life was marked by brilliant achievements in many fields, and both Mao Zedong and Zhang Wentian pointed out that he was a great litterateur, thinker, and revolutionary. This is undoubtedly profound. Cai Yuanpei's, however, emphasized Lu Xun's significance as a great scholar, highlighting his outstanding contributions and intellectual style as a scholar. Among Lu Xun's numerous writings, A Brief History of Chinese Fiction was chosen as a model for good reason.
A Brief History of Chinese Fiction consists of twenty-eight chapters. Except for the chapter On the Recording and Discussion of Fiction by Historians, chapters 2 to 28 systematically explore the emergence and development of Chinese fiction. It traces its origins to ancient myths and legends, then follows in order to discuss each stage of the history of Chinese fiction, from Han Dynasty fiction and Six Dynasties fiction to Tang and Song Dynasty legends, Song Dynasty storytelling and imitation storytelling, Yuan and Ming Dynasty historical narratives, Ming Dynasty fantasy and romance novels, human-interest novels, Qing Dynasty imitation Tang and Song Dynasty fiction, satirical fiction, human-interest novels, erotic novels, martial arts and detective fiction, and finally Qing Dynasty novels. The entire work comprehensively examines the brewing, emergence, development, and evolution of Chinese fiction, analyzing the social, historical, and intellectual-cultural reasons behind the rise and fall of fiction in different eras, introducing major representative writers and works from each period, and evaluating the ideological and artistic characteristics, achievements, and shortcomings of various types of fiction. The content is extremely rich, making it a comprehensive and historically coherent general history of Chinese fiction.
The writing of A Brief History of Chinese Fiction fully reflects the admirable courage and scholarship of Lu Xun as a pioneer in the study of Chinese fiction history. The first monograph on Chinese fiction history written by Lu Xun, and the foundation of Chinese fiction history research laid by this great writer, is highly meaningful and fortunate.