What are the four great masterpieces?

The Four Great Masterpieces of Classical Chinese Long Stories, or the Four Great Masterpieces for short, refer to the four masterpieces of Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, and Dream of the Red Mansions (in the order of their composition).

The Four Great Masterpieces are classics in the history of Chinese literature and are valuable cultural heritage of the world. The status of these four masterpieces in the history of Chinese literature is difficult to distinguish between high and low, have a very high level of literary and artistic achievements, meticulous portrayal and the profound ideas contained in the readers have been praised by successive generations, which the stories, scenes, characters have been y influenced by the ideological concepts of the Chinese people, values. They can be called the four great monuments in the history of Chinese literature.

Expanded Information:

p>1, "Water Margin"

Author: Shi Nai-an (1296-1370), "Water Margin" author who is controversial, the most widely recognized statement that the author is Shi Nai-an. There are several other historical opinions, including Luo Guanzhong, Shi Hui, Guo Xun, and Song Ren.

Introduction: The story of Water Margin originated during the Xuanhe period of the Northern Song Dynasty, when the story of Song Jiang, Wu Jialiang (Wu Yu) and Chao Gai (Chao Gai) and 36 other people who rose up in revolt was described in the playbook, which became the blueprint for Water Margin.

2, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" full name: "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"

Author: Luo Guanzhong (ca. 1330 - ca. 1400), the name of Ben, Cai Ben, the word Guanzhong, the name of the Lake and Sea Scattered people. Luo Guanzhong was a writer at the end of the Yuan and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, and a playwright. Luo Guanzhong was born at the end of the Yuan Dynasty when the society was in turmoil. He had his own political ideals, did not agree with the common people, and participated in the uprising against the Yuan Dynasty. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, he devoted himself to literary creation.

Introduction: The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a synthesis of folklore, opera, and drama, combined with Chen Shou's Three Kingdoms, Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty's Three Kingdoms, and Pei Songzhi's notes on the history of the Three Kingdoms, as well as the author's personal realization of the social life of the author. The earliest copy of the book seen now is the Ming Jiajing copy, which is divided into 24 volumes and 240 rules. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Mao Zonggang and his son made some modifications and it became the most common 120-volume version.

3. Journey to the West

Author: Wu Cheng'en (1501-1582), the word Ruzhong, the name of Shiyang Shanren. Outstanding Chinese novelist of the Ming Dynasty.

The author of The Journey to the West is also subject to some controversy, but at present the author is generally believed to be Wu Cheng'en.

Introduction: Journey to the West is based on the folklore of the story of the Tang Monk fetching scriptures and the related drama and miscellaneous plays (written by Yang Ne in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties).

4, "Dream of Red Mansions" original name: "The Book of Stones", "The Twelve Hairpins of the Golden Hairpin", "The Book of Wind and Moon", etc.

Author: Cao Xueqin (about 1715-about 1763), the name of the dip, the word Meng Ruan, the name of the Xueqin, and the name of the celestial brook, celestial garden. He was a novelist, poet and painter in the Qing Dynasty. Cao Xueqin's early years in Nanjing Jiangning Weaver's House experienced a period of brocade clothing, playboy, rich and elegant life.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia - The Four Great Masterpieces