A Brief Discussion on the Historical Materials of Ancient Fiction -- A Series of Brief Discussions on Ancient Fiction Literature

Author: Cheng Yizhong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: It was not until there were novels that a history of novels came into being. The history of Chinese fiction emerged very late. In the preface to A Brief History of Chinese Fiction, Lu Xun wrote: "Chinese fiction has never had a history of its own. The earliest accounts of it appeared in the histories of Chinese literature written by foreigners, and later in those written by Chinese scholars, but their volume was less than one-tenth of the whole, so they remained vague about the fiction." A Brief History of Chinese Fiction is the first comprehensive history of Chinese fiction and remains a reference for studying Chinese fiction to this day. However, historical materials for Chinese fiction had long existed. Lu Xun himself compiled Collected Records of Old Fiction, which is a compilation of fiction materials. The works of fiction themselves are the primary historical materials for studying fiction, but they are not enough on their own. To research the history of fiction, one must also refer to other books, including biographies of authors, catalogs of works, editions and textual research, reviews, and editorial materials. Some ancient novels have been lost, but there are still other supporting materials, which are also part of the historical materials for fiction.