Classics Four Great Masterpieces: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West, Dream of the Red Chamber (Children's Edition) (Complete Set)

Author: Luo Guanzhong et al. (Ming Dynasty), adapted by Hong Lifu et al.
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-04-01
Features: Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a mature, multi-capped historical narrative novel in Chinese literary history. With its immense success in narrative ideas, character development, plot structure, narrative methods, and literary language, it opened up a brand-new artistic realm. Marking this achievement, Chinese literature underwent a transformation from lyricism to narrative, poetry to prose, and classical language to vernacular. Romance of the Three Kingdoms thus established its in the history of Chinese literary development. Water Margin is a long heroic epic and one of the representative works of ancient Chinese novels, created around the story of Song Jiang's uprising. The Song Jiang uprising took place during the Huizong period of the Northern Song Dynasty, and is recorded in the Annals of Emperor Huizong, Biography of Hou Meng, and Biography of Zhang Shuni in the History of the Song Dynasty. From the Southern Song Dynasty onwards, the story of Song Jiang's uprising spread in the folk, as documented in Record of the Drunken Scholar. Remnants of the Great Song in Xuanhe linked many Water Margin stories together, bringing them close to the form of a long novel. During the Yuan Dynasty, numerous Water Margin plays emerged, with the heroes of Liangshan appearing as stage characters. Water Margin evolved from the long-standing folk tales of Song Jiang's uprising, absorbing the nourishment of folk literature. Water Margin is one of the most beloved classical vernacular novels in China. It was created during the Ming Dynasty, based on the stories, tales, and plays about Water Margin that had circulated since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and was further refined and written by the author. The entire novel takes the peasant uprising led by Song Jiang as its main theme, artistically depicting the tragic and heroic struggle of the ancient Chinese people against oppression. The work fully exposes the corruption and cruelty of the feudal ruling class, reveals the sharp social contradictions and the brutal reality of "officials forcing the people to rebel," and successfully portrays a group of heroic characters such as Lu Zhishen, Li Kui, Wu Song, Lin Chong, and Ruan Xiaojiu. The novel features intricate plots, vivid language, and distinct character personalities, achieving a high level of artistic excellence. However, the work praises and idealizes Song Jiang, promotes the concepts of "loyalty and righteousness" and "carrying out the will of heaven," reflecting severe ideological limitations. Journey to the West is a story very familiar to people, with its most brilliant chapters, such as Sun Wukong's rebellion in Heaven, Zhu Bajie's marriage in the village of Gao Lao, the battle against the White Bone Demon, and borrowing the banana fan, being household names known to all. For centuries, it has attracted generations with its strong artistic charm, making it one of the most beloved classical masterpieces in China. Dream of the Red Chamber, originally titled Dream of the Red Chamber, is set against the backdrop of the four great families—Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue. It follows the tragic love story between Baochai and Daiyu, narrating the complex and intertwined relationships and conflicts among the father-son, brother-sister, husband-wife, master-servant, and other family members of the Jia and Ning branches in terms of marriage, morality, culture, education, and property. The novel truthfully and typically reflects the decline of the feudal aristocracy, presenting a broad social panorama and is therefore hailed as the "encyclopedia of late feudal social life in China." It also represents the peak of the development of classical Chinese novels. Due to its appeal to both the refined and the popular, it has been widely known and endlessly read for over 200 years since its publication.