China's Four Classical Novels

China's four classical novels are A Dream of Red Mansions, The Journey to the West and Water Margin.

1, A Dream of Red Mansions

A Dream of Red Mansions, an ancient China novel with chapters and chapters, also known as The Story of the Stone, is listed as the first four classical novels in China.

It is generally believed that it was written by Cao Xueqin, a writer in Qing Dynasty. Based on the rise and fall of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue, the novel depicts the life of a group of beautiful women in the boudoir from the perspective of Jia Baoyu, a rich son, and shows the true beauty of human nature and tragedy. It can be said that it is an epic work that shows the beauty of women and various social conditions in ancient China from all angles.

2. Journey to the West

The Journey to the West is the first romantic novel with chapters and sections in ancient China. There are hundreds of The Journey to the West published in Ming Dynasty, and there is no author's signature. Wu et al., a scholar in Qing Dynasty, first proposed that The Journey to the West was written by Wu Cheng'en in Ming Dynasty.

This novel is based on the historical event of "Tang priest learning from the scriptures", which profoundly depicts the social reality at that time. The book mainly describes the story that the Monkey King was born, met Tang Priest, Pig Bajie, Friar Sand and Bai Hou, went west to learn Buddhist scriptures, and after 81 difficulties, he finally arrived in the Western Heaven to visit the Tathagata, and finally the five saints realized their dreams.

3. Romance of the Three Kingdoms

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the full name of which is Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms, is one of the four classical novels in China and the first chapter-by-chapter historical novel in China. The writer is Luo Guanzhong, a novelist in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. There are several versions of the popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms, such as Jiajing Renwu Edition. By the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Mao Zonggang had rearranged the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, revised the wording and changed the poems.

4. Water Margin

The Water Margin is one of China's four classical novels. It is a chapter-by-chapter novel with the Sung River Uprising as the main story background at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, and it belongs to a heroic legend in genre. The book describes the grand story of Liangshan hero's resistance to oppression, his growth in Liangshan, Shui Bo, his enlistment in the Song Dynasty and his eventual demise.

A Review of China's Four Classical Novels

China's four classical novels bear countless cultural essences, and they stand like four mountains in the vast field of classical novels. No matter how the world changes, their majestic posture will never be annihilated. No matter in artistic technique or ideological depth, they all represent the pinnacle of China's classical novels and are a brilliant stroke in the history of China literature.

Studying China's four classical novels provides people with an opportunity to experience China's traditional humanities, society, ethics, history, geography, folk customs, psychology and handling strategies, and at the same time, enables people to know their own nation and culture more deeply.

These four masterpieces are equally important in the history of world literature, and they all have high literary level and artistic achievements. The detailed description and profound thoughts contained in it have been praised by readers of all ages, and the stories, scenes and characters in it have deeply influenced the concepts and values of China people. It can be described as four monuments in the history of China literature.