Classical Chinese Literature Masterpieces - The Story of the Heroic Son and Daughter

Author: Wen Kang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-01-01
Features: In the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, a new genre of popular fiction emerged in China—children and heroes novels. Its representative work is The Story of the Heroic and Righteous Son and Daughter. Wen Kang, born into an Eight Banners family, wrote this story in his late years when he was poor and listless. He was not satisfied with the heroic display of prowess and the poetic exchanges of love between men and women. Instead, he gathered the virtues of heroes, heroines, and great sages into his beloved character, the thirteen-year-old girl, Sister Thirteen. Meanwhile, he had the young gentleman An Ji study and take the imperial examinations, achieving continuous success, finally reaching the pinnacle of power and enjoying immense wealth and luxury in the world.
The special strength of The Story of the Heroic and Righteous Son and Daughter lies in the vivid, elegant, playful, and witty vernacular language. Wen Kang wrote in Beijing dialect, incorporating a wealth of colloquial expressions. The liveliness, vividness, wit, and playfulness of the language often make readers forget the superficial and pedantic ideas behind the story and immerse themselves in the joy brought by the brilliant prose. The dialogue in the novel is particularly outstanding. Wen Kang must have carefully studied the tones, postures, and psychological activities of various characters in real life, so the conversations he wrote are lifelike, with each person having their own voice and manner. Describing them as vivid is truly most appropriate.