Selected Novels of the Han, Wei, Six Dynasties Periods - Great China Library (Chinese-English Bilingual) (Chinese-English Bilingual)

Author: Yang Xianyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: This book selects 90 stories from novels such as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, Records of the Spirit World, and New Tales of the World to showcase the general appearance of the childhood period of ancient Chinese fiction. The novels from the Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties periods (206 BC–589 AD) can be roughly divided into three categories. The first category is yìzhì books that record tales of gods, immortals, ghosts, and monsters, such as Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. The second category records historical figures and events but includes a lot of fantastical and implausible content, sometimes referred to as záshǐ or zátchuán (miscellaneous histories and biographies), such as The Legend of Yan Dan and The Story of Emperor Wu of Han. The third category is zhìrén books that record the extraordinary deeds and words of famous scholars of the time, such as New Tales of the World. Except for the záshǐ and zátchuán, most of these ancient novels are fragmented and consist of short, incomplete anecdotes. Some are not even properly stories. The language is archaic but concise yet rich in content, capable of narrating complex matters with extremely brief text. These novels were popular in foreign countries as early as the Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties periods. The English translations used in this book were done by the renowned literary translators Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang. This is one of the best English translations available today.