A Brief History of Han and Wei Six Dynasties Fiction A Brief History of Tang Dynasty Fiction

Author: Hou Zhongyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The minor works before the Tang Dynasty were all written in classical Chinese, so they can also be referred to as classical Chinese novels. They belong to the embryonic period of Chinese fiction history and cannot yet be considered mature novels. Moreover, they should not be measured or evaluated by today's standards of fiction. There has always been ambiguity regarding the definition of classical Chinese novels. This book determines, from a literary perspective and based on the principle of combining ancient and modern, that any creative narrative work with a certain plot and artistic interest can be regarded as a novel. However, narrative works in historical records and philosophical treatises, as well as fables and narrative prose, are not included in our discussion.
Fiction before the Tang Dynasty can be divided into two categories—supernatural tales and anecdotal tales—based on content and genre. Supernatural tales record ghosts, gods, and strange events, while anecdotal tales record the words and deeds of people and their anecdotes. These two genres of fiction were already present in the fifteen types of fiction listed in the Book of Han·Bibliography. Therefore, this small book introduces Chinese fiction starting from the Han Dynasty, though some of the works included are definitely from before the Han period. From the pre-Qin and Han dynasties to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties, both supernatural tales and anecdotal tales continued to mature and progress. Summarizing their experience and understanding their process is extremely necessary for recognizing the development of Chinese fiction. It is also extremely necessary for understanding the relationship and influence between fiction of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern dynasties, popular fiction, and ancient opera.