—Classics

Author: Ling Mengchu
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Features: Yushi Mingyan is an anthology compiled by Feng Menglong of the Ming Dynasty, a collection of storytelling novels from the Song, Yuan, and Ming periods. Together with Jingshi Tongyan and Xingshi Hengyan, it is collectively known as the "Three Canons." Yushi Mingyan is one of the Three Canons. The original title of the first edition of Yushi Mingyan was Gujin Xushuo, with the full title being Quanxiang Gujin Xushuo. Later, during reprints, it was renamed Yushi Mingyan to match the titles of the other works in the "Three Canons." The book comprises forty volumes, with one story per volume, totaling forty stories. Like Tongyan and Hengyan, it is a collection of storytelling novels from the Song, Yuan, and Ming periods. The works cover a wide range of themes and complex content, including condemnation of the vices of feudal officials and praise for the virtues of upright officials, as well as odes to friendship and love, and condemnation of treacherous and faithless behavior. Many stories also depict the lives of ordinary people in the streets and markets, capturing the "thousand strange and bizarre events" and "various aspects" of society at the time, therebying the vibrant scenes of the streets and markets during the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.