History of Chinese Fiction: An Interpretive and Critical Edition

Author: Lu Xun/Zhou Xishan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: A work on the history of ancient Chinese fiction. Written by Lu Xun. This is the lecture notes from the author's course on the history of Chinese fiction at Peking University between 1920 and 1924. The first edition was published in two volumes by the New Tide Society of Peking University in December 1923 and June of the following year, originally titled "A Brief Outline of the History of Chinese Fiction," which was later renamed "An Outline of the History of Chinese Fiction." In September 1925, after minor revisions by the author, it was published as a single volume by Beishu Book Company. In 1930, three chapters were revised, and a second printing was made. The entire book consists of 28 chapters, narrating the emergence, development, and evolution of ancient Chinese fiction, starting from myths and legends and ending with the late Qing Dynasty's satirical fiction. It is the first comprehensive history of Chinese fiction. Additionally, there is one chapter titled "The Historical Changes of Chinese Fiction," which is the lecture notes from the author's teaching in Xi'an in July 1924. It can be seen as a summary of "An Outline of the History of Chinese Fiction" and is now included in "The Complete Works of Lu Xun." The standalone edition also includes this chapter. "An Outline of the History of Chinese Fiction" is rich in content and carefully compiled. As early as 1912, the author collected 36 ancient fictions from the Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty. During the teaching process, the author compiled "The Collection of Tang and Song Legends" and "Rectified and Verified," distinguishing between genuine and spurious works, correcting errors, and tracing their origins. At the same time, the author compiled "The Records of Old Fiction," which collected historical materials on 41 fictions from the Song Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty. It was compiled by extracting, verifying, and organizing records from numerous notes, miscellaneous collections, and ancient books. "An Outline of the History of Chinese Fiction" outlines a clear "line of progress" for thousands of years of Chinese fiction, analyzing the thoughts and art of fiction from various dynasties concisely and appropriately. Under the historical conditions of that time, "An Outline of the History of Chinese Fiction" was a representative specialized work on the history of literature.