A Brief History of Chinese Fiction (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Lu Xun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
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 an empty (literary figure)." This shows how important A Brief History of Chinese Fiction was in Lu Xun's entire intellectual legacy in Cai Yuanpei's eyes. Lu Xun's life was marked by numerous brilliant achievements. Mao Zedong and Zhang Wentian both pointed out that Lu Xun was a great litterateur, thinker, and revolutionary. This is undoubtedly profound. Cai Yuanpei's, however, emphasizes Lu Xun's significance as a great scholar, praising his outstanding contributions and intellectual style as a scholar. Lu Xun wrote extensively, and it is particularly meaningful to highlight A Brief History of Chinese Fiction as a model. 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 two to twenty-eight systematically explore the origins and development of Chinese fiction. It traces the roots back to ancient myths and legends, then follows in order to discuss each stage of the history of Chinese fiction, from Han Dynasty fiction, Six Dynasties fiction, to Tang and Song Dynasty legends. From Song Dynasty storytelling and imitation storytelling, to Yuan and Ming Dynasty historical tales, Ming Dynasty fantasy and romance fiction, human-interest fiction, to Qing Dynasty imitation Tang and Song fiction, satirical fiction, human-interest fiction, narrow fiction, martial hero and case fiction, and finally Qing Dynasty reprimanding fiction. The entire work comprehensively discusses the emergence, development, and evolution of Chinese fiction, analyzes the social, historical, ideological, and cultural backgrounds of the rise and fall of fiction in each era, introduces the main representative writers and works of each era, and evaluates the ideological and artistic characteristics, achievements, and shortcomings of various types of fiction. The content is very rich, making it a comprehensive and historically coherent general history of Chinese fiction.
The writing of A Brief History of Chinese Fiction fully reflects Lu Xun's admirable courage and scholarship as a pioneer in the field of Chinese fiction history research. The first monograph on Chinese fiction history written by Lu Xun, and the great writer laying the foundation for the study of Chinese fiction history with his pen—this is highly meaningful and fortunate.