Four Great Classical Novels

Four Great Classical Novels

The Four Great Classical Novels, or Four Major Classical Novels (zh-c|c=四大名著) of Chinese literature, are the four novels commonly counted by scholars to be the greatest and most influential in classical Chinese fiction. Well known to every Chinese reader in the 20th century, they are not to be confused with the Four Books of Confucianism. The Four Great Classical Novels are considered to be the pinnacle of China's achievement in classical novels, influencing the creation of many stories, theater, movies, games, and other entertainment throughout China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

In chronological order, they are:

* "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" ( _zh. 三國演義, Sānguó Yǎnyì) (14th century) (more recently and appropriately known as, and translated as, simply "Three Kingdoms")
* "Water Margin" ( _zh. 水滸傳, Shuǐhǔ Zhuàn) (also known as "Outlaws of the Marsh") (14th century),
* "Journey to the West" ( _zh. 西遊記, Xīyóujì) (16th century),
* "Dream of the Red Chamber" ( _zh. 紅樓夢, Hónglóu mèng) (also known as "The Story of the Stone", 石頭記, Shítóu Jì) (18th century)

Some consider "Jin Ping Mei" ( _zh. 金瓶梅) ("The Plum in the Golden Vase" or "Golden Lotus") (1610) to be a fifth classic. In the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, "Jin Ping Mei" along with the above first three novels, was classified as "Four Major Novels of Wonder" (zh-ts|t=四大奇書|s=四大奇书) by Feng Menglong ( _zh. 馮夢龍). With the advent of "Dream of the Red Chamber", its position has gradually been usurped. It has almost faded into oblivion in the modern era, because Chinese governments often banned it for its explicit description of sex.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Four Great Inventions — Five major steps in papermaking, outlined by Cai Lun in AD 105 Traditional Chinese 四大發明 …   Wikipedia

  • Four Great Inventions of ancient China — [ papermaking, outlined by Cai Lun in 105 AD] The Four Great Inventions of ancient China (zh tsp|t=四大發明|s=四大发明|p=sì dà fā míng, meaning four great inventions ) are four inventions that are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical… …   Wikipedia

  • Four Books — Distinguish from The Four Books, which are Shi a Muslim collections of hadiths. The Four Books of Confucianism (zh tp|t=四書|p=Sì Shū) (not to be confused with the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature), are Chinese classic texts that… …   Wikipedia

  • Four Beauties — The Four Beauties or Four Great Beauties (zh cp|c=四大美女|p=sì dà měi nǚ) are four ancient Chinese women, renowned for their beauty. Three of these women were genuine historical figures, but the scarcity of historical records concerning them meant… …   Wikipedia

  • Classical — The word classical has several meanings. In general, these meanings refer to some past time, works of that era or later works influenced by that time. Classical things are often seen as ordered and part of high culture or a golden age, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Classical music of the United Kingdom — The Royal Albert Hall in London. A major venue for classical and other forms of music. Classical music of the United Kingdom is taken in this article to mean classical music in the sense elsewhere defined, of formally composed and written music… …   Wikipedia

  • Ming Dynasty — Great Ming 大明 ← 1368–1644 …   Wikipedia

  • Chinese literature — History of Literature Bronze Age literature Sumerian Egyptian Akkadian Classical literatu …   Wikipedia

  • Dream of the Red Chamber — The Story of the Stone redirects here. For the 1988 novel, see The Story of the Stone (Barry Hughart). For other uses, see Dream of the Red Chamber (disambiguation). Dream of the Red Chamber 紅樓夢   …   Wikipedia

  • Journey to the West — For other uses, see Journey to the West (disambiguation). Journey to the West 西遊記   …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”