A Brief History of Chinese Fiction (Ancient Part)

Author: Li Xianfang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The title of this book is "A Concise History of Chinese Fiction" (Ancient Part), which aims to simplify and streamline, presenting the development of ancient Chinese fiction in a clear and concise manner. The book divides the process of fiction development into three parts—Classical Chinese Fiction, Vernacular Fiction, and Ming-Qing Long Chapter Novels. On one hand, it clarifies the vertical development of fiction to explore the evolution of its themes and expressive methods. On the other hand, it also pays attention to the horizontal influence of fiction. When heroic legends, fantasy novels, and social novels emerged, fiction developed lateral connections in terms of themes. We place the semi-mythological and semi-historical "Fengshen Yanyi" among the sequels to "Journey to the West," and position "Green Forest Wanderer," which contains both "fantasy" and "social" elements, among its sequels. This arrangement reveals the mutual influence and fusion of themes, showing how the former inspired the emergence of the latter type of fiction.