III
AUTHOR: VARIOUS
DATE: FOURTEENTH–EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES
The Four Classic Novels are a mini-canon of Chinese stories written during the reigns of the Ming and Qing dynasties between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. In terms of subject, they are disparate works and their precise authorship and historical origins are frequently subjects of debate. But as a unified body, they represent an extraordinary cultural achievement whose impact is wide-ranging. They have played a vital role in the creation of the Chinese cultural identity, although what they tell us about that identity has been and remains under almost constant reappraisal. They compel their readers to engage with profound issues of Chinese history – among them, the influence of Buddhism and Confucian dialectics, the cyclical nature of power and what constitutes good rule.
Technically, the novels are things of wonder, combining the influence of traditional, orally transmitted folk tales, ancient written histories and their own novelistic innovations (not least the melding of classical Chinese with vernacular forms) to create epics replete with memorable characters and highly involved storylines. The result is an invitation to examine personal ethics but also to undertake a moral critique of wider society. What does it mean, the novels ultimately ask, to be human and what sort of country should China aspire to be? Quite the questions to ask of the world’s most populous country and a major global power.
JOIN THE CLUB
Modern literary criticism sometimes expands the Four Classic Novels into a group of six. The additions are:
•The Plum in the Golden Vase by an unknown author using the pseudonym Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng, ‘The Scoffing Scholar of Lanling’ (published c. 1610)
•Unofficial History of the Scholars by Wu Jingzi (published 1750)
Each of the novels is remarkably long, ranging from roughly eight hundred to two and a half thousand pages, ensuring that a brief synopsis can only provide an incomplete glimpse. Nonetheless, each work was written to stand alone and needs to be seen as such, as well as part of the quartet:
Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Written in the fourteenth century and widely attributed (though not without some dissent) to Luo Guanzhong, it tells the tale of the turbulent latter stages of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era (in which the states of Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu vied for power), covering the period from around AD 169 until regional reunification in 280. The novel draws on history, myth and legend as it follows the fortunes of a cast of hundreds, including feudal lords and their vassals. The tale’s opening line gives a sense of one of its overriding themes: the cyclical nature of power and the influence upon this of human ambition, loyalty and morality. ‘The empire, long divided,’ it begins, ‘must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been.’
Water Margin. This was also written in the fourteenth century and is often attributed to Shi Nai’an, although its authorship is a subject of intense debate among experts. The events it depicts are set some two hundred years earlier in the period of the Song dynasty. It narrates the exploits of a group of 108 bandits who come together at Liangshan Marsh and who eventually secure an amnesty from the authorities in order to go off on campaign, battling rebel uprisings and fending off foreign attackers. The novel’s most famous figure, Song Jiang, is a version of a true-life historical figure of that name, whose life was already the subject of much folklore. By the time the novel arrived, Jiang was well established as an outlaw-hero, righting wrongs and fighting for justice outside the law in a manner that has parallels to the English-language tales of Robin Hood. Bonds of brotherhood and male camaraderie are a central theme, often at the expense of women, who are largely depicted in an unsympathetic light amid some highly bawdy exchanges. The book’s celebration of rebellion and outlawry led to its banning at certain points in its history.
Journey to the West. Widely thought to have been written by Wu Cheng’en in the sixteenth century, and arguably the best known of the Four Classic Novels outside of China, this was inspired by the seventh-century adventures of Xuanzang, a Buddhist monk who spent many years pilgrimaging to the ‘Western Regions’ (that is to say, the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia) in search of religious texts. Xuanzang recorded his travels, which saw him endure enormous hardships and face extraordinary challenges. The novel’s lead character, Tang Sanzang, is assisted by a group of comrades, perhaps most famously the Monkey King. The novel’s frequently comedic narrative addresses multiple themes. In terms of spirituality, it mingles aspects of mythology, Buddhism and Taoism, as well as traits of Confucianism and more localized religious belief systems. It also serves as a satire on bureaucracy and government.
Dream of the Red Chamber. Written by Cao Xueqin in the eighteenth century, this adopts a more realist tone than the rest of the quartet. It tells the story of an aristocratic dynasty divided into two houses, the narrative focusing on some forty main characters and a cast of several hundred supporting figures. Like Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is interested in the nature of power (how it is both won and lost). It is also the most obviously ‘psychological’ of the four books, including subplots of romance, fraternity and tragedy. In parts loosely biographical, it is influenced by the author’s own experience of growing up in a family in decline, and reflects the slow waning of the ruling Qing dynasty. It was a ground-breaking work in depicting characters of moral ambiguity and by using vernacular rather than classical Chinese. Indeed, Cao’s employment of the Beijing dialect proved a significant influence on the development of Modern Mandarin.
The novel in the East had an evolutionary history distinct from that of the form in the West, but in both instances the form became an essential mode to examine the history and mores of the societies that produced them, and the moral and cultural dilemmas that their citizens faced.
The Plum in the Golden Vase gained notoriety for its sexually charged narrative but also represents a milestone in sophisticated storytelling that sees it lauded as a Chinese equivalent to Don Quixote in terms of literary importance. Unofficial History of the Scholars, meanwhile, is a searing satire of the academic world. As such, the Four Classic Novels are a potent window onto a vital civilization.