San Yan Er Pai

Author: Feng Menglong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: "Yushi Mingyan," "Xingshi Hengyan," and "Jingshi Tongyan" are collectively known as the "Three Words" (San Yan), authored by Feng Menglong during the Ming Dynasty. "The First and Second Strange Tales" (Chu Ke Padian Qingyi and Er Ke Padian Qingyi) are collectively known as the "Two Paks" (Er Pai), authored by Ling Mengchu during the Ming Dynasty. Due to their compilation dates and similar content forms, the "Three Words" and "Two Paks" were later combined into "Three Words and Two Paks," becoming a representative collection of ancient Chinese short stories and holding significant importance in the history of ancient Chinese literature. This book selects the essence of these works and accompanies them with exquisite illustrations to make reading more accessible. As a peak of ancient vernacular short stories, "Jingshi Tongyan" constructs its own unique artistic world. Ancient Chinese vernacular novels were refined and elevated from the foundations of "storytelling" (shuohua) and "story texts" (huaben) by literati. The story texts of storytellers were called "huaben," and modern scholars refer to the "Three Words" and "Two Paks" as "imitated huaben." Compared to early "huaben," "Jingshi Tongyan" underwent significant changes and developments in language, style, and structure. First, in terms of language, it broke the separation between written and spoken language, fully adopting colloquial and clear vernacular, avoiding mixed literary and colloquial styles, and achieving a unified style. "Xingshi Hengyan" primarily collects mature huaben stories, reaching a high artistic level, with a notable improvement in writing techniques compared to earlier works of the same type. Huaben stories were originally the basis for storytelling, strong in narrative, and excelled in plot. "Xingshi Hengyan" inherits this tradition of huaben stories while also introducing new developments. Most stories in the work do not unfold linearly but rather with twists and turns, creating a compelling and engaging narrative through their and varied plots.