The Great Classical Novels Ⅱ

  

Journey To The West

　Journey to the West is a mythological novel based on many centuries of popular tradition. It was probably put into its present form in the 1570 by Wu Cheng’en (1500-82). This lively fantasy relates the amazing adventures of the priest San-zang as he travels west in search of Buddhist sutras with his three disciples, the irreverent and capable Monkey, greedy Pig, and Friar Sand. The opening chapters recount the earlier exploits of Monkey, culminating in his rebellion against Heaven. We then learn how Sanzang became a monk and was sent on his pilgrimage by the Tang emperor who had escaped death with the help of an Underworld official.
　　The main story, the journey, takes the priest through all kinds of entertaining trials and tribulations, mainly at thehands of monsters and spirits who want to eat him. Only the courage and powers of his disciples, especially Monkey, save him from death. Monkey is the hero of the fantasy, and the reader will soon learn why he has long been so loved in China. Will the pilgrims reach the Vulture Peak and obtain the Scriptures? The answer will only be found at the end of the l00-chapter novel.
　　The story is as full of imagination as Monkey can do magic, and travel with clouds and has down-to-earth humors. The illustrations are from the 19th-century Chinese edition. This is the first of the three volumes of the novel.

 Dream of the red chamber

A wide branched scholarship does not agree about the main theme of this novel, should it be a novel of sentiment, of social observation, of the decay of an aristocratic families, or even a veiled attack on Manchu rule. The frame of the novel is the contest of a Buddhist and a Daoist priest who make be born a young noble boy called Baoyu Jia and his girl cousin Daiyu Lin. With a loving detail describing the life of the two cousins in a huge noble mansion, between gardens and palaces, the symbolist of the triangular love between Baoyu, Daiyu and a second girl cousin called Baochai Xue that is of more plumper character than the ever sick Daiyu. Switching between their life, the divine world and dreams, Baoyu becomes deranged after the disappearance of a stone (the origin of the second title) he had in his mouth when he was born. Not knowing, his love Daiyu died, he is tricked to marrying Baochai. Becoming aware of being tricked, Baoyu leaves the world of the "red dust" and becomes a monk.
　　With hundreds of persons and their stories, paralleling the life and feelings of servants to the life of the main persons, the story is very complex and full of symbolisms. But it remains very interesting and convincing for its encyclopedic character, depicting the life of a noble family in the 18th century of China.
   These works are great value not only in the past, nor in the present but also in the future. Anyhow, a majority of us today are still enjoying them and drawing lessons from the incidents told on each page of them, deeply and gratefully.

The Great Classical Novels

The Great Classical Novels     

     
Do you know the great classical novels of Chinese literature? They are "Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, “Journey to the West”, “Dream of the Red Chamber”. These four novels are commonly regarded by scholars to be the greatest and most influential of pre-modern Chinese fiction.

The Water Margin

One knows the North Song Dynasty (14th Century) lived its apogee and declined, a victim of corruption and decadence. One knows this story is based on real facts and has inspired many storytellers. One finds historical traces of outlaws who challenged the imperial authority and died under the executioner's blade. At last, as anyone knows today Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey, no one doubts anymore that a man called Shi Nai-an wrote during the 14th century the novel, Outlaws of the Marsh that reached us. Everyone recognizes that Jin Sheng-tan, during the 14thth century, published what is now as famous as the original version of a novel that obtained the interest and infatuation of successive generations.

Water Margin or Outlaws of the Marsh is an immortal novel because its tale is universal: it speaks of beings (outlaws but also nobles, strong muscled heroes but also intellectuals, anarchists but also philosophers.) who cannot bear injustice nor abuse nor arbitrariness. The universality is the reason novels are immortal and their popularity has lasted for centuries. Discover the 108 heroes,  the episodes,  the paper-cuts representing them, the Beijing operas their fighting exploits inspired. 

Romance of The Three Kingdoms

Romance of The Three Kingdoms is one of the great Chinese classics and was compiled into a semi-fictional literary masterpiece during the Ming Dynasty by Luo Guanzhong. The novel comprises around 70% fact and 20% fiction. Some issues such as Guan Yu's weapon weighing around 40kilograms, the capabilities of Lu Bu, Liu Bei's horses as well as the existence of the Hill of the Fallen Phoenix and some others are probably fictional.
That period in history can be referred as the golden age of chivalry and although it happened more than 1700 years ago, characters such as Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhuge Liang have become household names among the Chinese. Tales of their exploits, courage, adventures and many more are told in the novel Romance of The Three Kingdoms.
This novel portrays is one of the most turbulent periods in China's history taking place toward the end of the Han Dynasty where corruption is rampant in the imperial court due to a eunuch’s holding power. Coupled with natural disasters such as floods, plague and locust swarms devouring the crops grown by the peasants, hunger and dissatisfactory among the peasants soon escalated rapidly until a major rebellion known as the "Yellow Scarves Rebellion" led by Zhang Jiao broke out. Initially just a small band of rebels, but due to widespread hunger and ill-sentiment among the populace, swarms of common folks joined in the rebellion across many parts of the country.