Chinese Novels

中国的小说

The traditional Chinese novel developed as a literary form during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is episodic in nature, relating the adventures of a large number of characters in a string of loosely connected events. Its thematic ranges is broad, including historical romances, chivalric¹ tales, ghost stories, social satires² and love stories. Most of the novels depend heavily on the ancient tradition of popular storytellers in the marketplaces and teahouses. This dependence³ carries two consequences. The first is that the long，episodic novels are strong in fascinating detail but weak in unified⁴ plot. The second is that the authors tend to be collectors, editors, and adapters of earlier materials. There follows a few of the best-known novels that still remain popular among current Chinese readers.

传统的中国小说文体在明、清两代形成。这是自然形成的，在一连串松散连接的字符中，涉及到大量冒险角色的事件。它的主题范围很广，包括历史的恋情，行侠仗义的故事，鬼故事，社会讽刺和爱情故事。大多数小说的严重依赖于在市场和茶馆流行的讲故事的人的古老传统。这种依赖衍生出两种影响。第一个是从长远来说，小说的情节强项是令人着迷的细节，但在整体情节的联系是比较弱的。第二个是，作者往往是收藏家，编辑，和早期的材料连接者。如下有几个最有名的小说目前在中国读者中仍然流行。