Thinker | Tan Fan: Why did the "Four Wonderful Books" become classics in novels? Fiction | Evaluation | Strange Books

For many people, the "Four Great Classical Novels" of Chinese literature, namely "Water Margin", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Journey to the West", and "Dream of the Red Chamber", are well-known. But in fact, the use of the term "Four Great Classical Novels" is quite recent. In the history of Chinese literature, there is also the title of "Four Wonderful Books". As the four most outstanding works in Ming Dynasty novels, the "Four Wonderful Books" are recognized as classic works in the history of Chinese literature. How did the title "Four Wonderful Books" come about? Why has it become a classic novel? Tan Fan, a lifelong professor at East China Normal University, has compiled historical materials and presented them together. The following is his speech at the Guangqi General Education Lecture at Shanghai Normal University.

As is well known, our country has "four great classics" in classical literature, namely "Water Margin", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Journey to the West", and "Dream of the Red Chamber". But perhaps many people are unaware that in ancient China, the most popular books were the "Four Wonderful Books", namely "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", "Journey to the West", and "Plum in the Golden Vase". For current readers, the titles of the "Four Great Classical Novels" are much louder than those of the "Four Wonderful Books"; But in fact, the use of the term "Four Great Classical Novels" is quite recent. As the four most outstanding works in Ming Dynasty novels, the "Four Wonderful Books" are recognized as classic works in the history of Chinese literature. Today, I will talk to you about why the "Four Wonderful Books" have become classic novels.

The Origin of the "Four Wonderful Books"

The concept of "strange books" has existed since ancient times, and its connotations vary from generation to generation. Upon closer examination, there are two sides to it: firstly, the so-called "extraordinary book" refers to a book with profound content that is difficult for ordinary people to understand. As stated in the Preface to the Inner Chapters of Baopuzi: "There are many rare books that have been studied, but they are often obscure and difficult to decipher." Secondly, the term "rare books" refers to good books with abundant content and rare circulation. As recorded in Volume 89 of the Book of Wei, "Dao Yuan was eager to learn and read extraordinary books. He wrote and annotated forty volumes of the Water Classic, all of which have been passed down in the world." In the history of ancient novels, the name "Four Great Extraordinary Books" was first seen in Li Yu's preface to "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in the 18th year of Kangxi's reign. In the past, Mr. Yanzhou had the eyes of the Four Great Extraordinary Books of the Universe, which were called "Records of the Grand Historian", "Nanhua", "Water Margin", and "Western Chamber". Feng Youlong also has four extraordinary books, namely "Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", "Journey to the West", and "Plum in the Golden Vase". The two have different opinions. Fool calls books extraordinary, let's follow their category. "The Water Margin" is a novelist, unlike classics and history; "The Western Chamber" is a genre of lyrics and music, but it is different from novels. If we match their uniqueness based on their category, then Feng said it is close.

In fact, while being crowned as the "Four Wonderful Books", these four works have gradually established their position in the history of novel dissemination and become four iconic works in the evaluation system of popular novels. For example, Zhu Zhifan of the Ming Dynasty pointed out: "There are many biographies of Gu Shizhi's Romance, such as the wisdom of" The Three Kingdoms ", the chivalry of" The Water Margin ", and the fantasy of" Journey to the West ", all of which are enough to awaken demons and broaden his wisdom." Tian Xuzhai's "Inscription to Ancient and Modern Novels" also said: "Novels like" The Records of the Three Kingdoms "and" The Water Margin "are called great works." Manting's "Inscription to Journey to the West" said: "Journey to the West" and "The Water Margin" actually run parallel to the Central Plains. "The protagonist of Zheng Xiao's" Wei Zhongxian's Novels on the Elimination of Traitory "also used the themes and artistic characteristics of these four works as examples. Looking at the four representative genres of popular novels, it is believed that" Wei Zhongxian's Fiction on Blasphemy "is related to government affairs, and the affairs are related to chapters and regulations. Therefore, it does not learn from the organizational world of" Water Margin ", does not follow the illusions of" Journey to the West ", does not learn from the boudoir of" The Plum in the Golden Vase ", and does not inherit the cunning of the various records of" The Three Kingdoms ". It can be seen that whether praised or criticized, these four works have indeed become a benchmark for comparison and evaluation. Feng Menglong used the "Four Wonderful Books" to refer to "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", "Journey to the West", and "Plum in the Golden Vase", which actually represented the common understanding at that time.

After Li Yu, the name "Four Wonderful Books" gradually became popular in the novel industry, becoming a specialized title for the four novels "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", "Journey to the West", and "Plum in the Golden Vase". So, why could popular novels become classics in ancient China? This is closely related to the fine editing and partial transformation of the evaluation system of literary critics on novel texts since the late Ming Dynasty. Therefore, "revision and evaluation" are two important factors for the "Four Wonderful Books" to become classic novels. Below, I will further elaborate on "revision" and "evaluation" respectively.

Literati revise and achieve the classic status of the "Four Wonderful Books"

In the history of the dissemination of the "Four Wonderful Books", the revision of novel texts has become a tradition. For example, in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the bookstore owner Zhou, who published "Popular Romance of the Records of the Three Kingdoms", said that "we should purchase ancient texts, urge famous scholars, refer to them, and repeatedly proofread them." Although we focus on textual research, there have already been revisions to the texts. Mao's father and son commented on "The Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and felt that the work was "corrupted by village scholars", so they pretended to "strictly follow the ancient version" to correct and delete the "popular version". In the view of Mao's father and son, there are many problems with the "vulgar version" in terms of writing, plot, recollection, poetry, etc. Therefore, they "strictly follow the ancient version for correction.". Mao's so-called "ancient version" is actually a false representation, so its deletion and modification are purely independent rewriting, with high textual value, reflecting their thoughts, emotions, and artistic interests.

Since Yu Xiangdou's "Commentary on the Water Margin", "Water Margin" has clearly expressed the revision of the content of the novel text, especially the "Rong and Tang Edition" and "Water Margin". While appreciating the text, they have made many modifications to the plot of the work, but they are not directly deleted in the main text, only marked with deletion symbols and appropriate comments. Jin Shengtan's comprehensive revision of "Water Margin" has taken the work to a higher level in art and reflected unique connotations in thought.

As for the novel text, it is generally believed that the New Embroidery Criticism of the Golden Lotus, published during the Ming Chongzhen period, made comprehensive modifications and deletions to the Golden Lotus Ci Hua. Compared with the Ci Hua version, this book is more in line with the genre characteristics of the novel and has become a popular text in later generations.

In the history of the dissemination of Journey to the West, the primary value of Journey to the West lies in the addition, deletion, and revision of the novel text, such as the repair of plot omissions, the revision and deletion of poetry, and the partial cleaning of narration, all of which demonstrate the revision of the novel text. In particular, the merger of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters of the Ming edition into the tenth and eleventh chapters, and the addition of the section on Xuanzang's background as the ninth chapter, have become the final version of Journey to the West, and also have an important position in the dissemination history of Journey to the West.

In short, the revision of the "Four Wonderful Books" in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties reflected the literati's "intervention" in the novel text, and highlighted the thoughts, interests, and personal style of the revisioners themselves in the revision of the text. Overall, the revision of novels by literati is mainly reflected in two aspects:

Firstly, modifications have been made to the plot content of the novel with strong literary subjectivity.

This is particularly evident in Jin Shengtan's revision of "Water Margin" and Mao's father son's revision of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Jin Shengtan's correction of "Water Margin" reflects three levels of emotional connotations: first, the realistic complex of worrying about the chaos of the world and the constant rise and fall of those who lift poles and cut wood; The second is a political analysis of identifying the loyalty and treachery of the characters in the work; The third is the moral judgment of distinguishing the true and false personalities of characters. These three clearly constitute the main characteristics of Jin's correction of "Water Margin" and stand out among numerous "Water Margin" publications. In the evaluation of characters, Jin separated the political value judgment of character behavior from the moral value judgment of character personality. Therefore, starting from political value, Jin Shengtan opposed the behavior of "Water Margin", and starting from moral value, the "truth" of characters became his criterion for judging their superiority. Therefore, in Jin Shengtan's commentary on "Water Margin", although there is a negation of the overall connotation of the work, as soon as we enter the specific commentary, we can clearly feel a sincere praise and abundant emotions running through his commentary.

The most obvious characteristic of Mao's father and son's criticism of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is to strengthen the orthodox concept of "supporting Liu and opposing Cao". Based on this concept, Mao's father and son made many additions and deletions to "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". From the setting of the plot, the use of historical materials, the shaping of characters, and even individual vocabulary, Mao's father and son all followed this concept and spirit to reform. The most typical example is the rewriting of the images of Liu Bei and Cao Cao in the first chapter. For example, the description of Liu Bei. The evaluation of Li Zhuowu in the Ming Dynasty was written as follows: that person was not very fond of reading throughout his life, liked dogs and horses, loved music, had beautiful clothes, spoke few words, was polite to servants, and did not show his joy or anger in appearance. The Mao father son commentary is rewritten as follows: That person is not very good at reading, has a gentle nature, is quiet, likes and dislikes are not visible, has great ambitions, and is dedicated to making friends with heroes from all over the world. For example, the description of Cao Cao. The evaluation of Li Zhuowu in the Ming Dynasty was written as follows: He led the way and flashed out a good hero, who was seven feet long, with thin eyes and long beard, extraordinary courage, and outstanding cunning. Laughing at Qi Huan and Jin Wenwu's lack of talent in supporting others, discussing the strategies of Zhao Gao and Wang Mangshao in their respective fields. The use of force is like that of Sun and Wu, who are familiar with strategic strategies. The Mao father son commentary was rewritten as follows: "The leader flashed a sword, seven feet long, with thin eyes and long beard.".

Secondly, the overall processing and cleaning of the form system of the novel text have made the "Four Wonderful Books" tend to be fixed and perfect in artistic form.

Ancient popular novels originated from vernacular Chinese, so in the evolution from vernacular Chinese to novel readers, their formal system must go through a gradual process of change, and the "Four Wonderful Books" are no exception. The literati of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties selected the "Four Wonderful Books" that had exemplary significance in the development of popular novels as their objects. Their revision of the form of their works can be seen to some extent as improving and fixing the form system of popular novels, and played a demonstrative role in the creation of later novels.

For example, "speaking" is one of the most important factors affecting the form of episodic novels, and the "remnants" of "speaking" are ubiquitous in the texts of popular novels. However, throughout the history of the development of episodic novels, "de verbalization" is an important phenomenon that cannot be ignored. It can be said that the maturation process of the form of episodic novels coincides with the process of "de verbalization". Therefore, since the late Ming Dynasty, literati have mostly focused on removing the speech "relics" of chapter novels as their primary work and purpose in the transformation of them. The Chongzhen version of "The Plum in the Golden Vase" deleted a large number of lyrics and songs from the "Ci Hua Ben", making the "Jin Ping Mei" with obvious "speaking" nature change from a "rap" version to a "spoken and scattered" version. The Book of Journey to the West also deleted and revised a large number of lines in the character's "self reporting family style" from the hundred chapter version of Journey to the West, thereby transforming the text of Journey to the West from a "script" format to a reading format. With the rise of novels such as "Dream of the Red Chamber" and "Scholars", "speaking" is no longer the mainstream feature of novel form.

In addition, the revision of the retrospective is also an important aspect of novel revision during this period. As Mao's review of the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" stated, "The outline of the popular version is uneven and disorderly, without any chapters; it is also divided into two sections in one chapter. It is now connected by understanding the author's intention, and each chapter must be titled with second language duality, with precision and attention to readers." From then on, looking back at the couplets, language refinement, and literary talent became a major feature of the chapter novel system, and "Dream of the Red Chamber" reached its peak.

The evaluation of literati promotes the canonization process of the "Four Wonderful Books"

After finishing the "revision", let's talk about "evaluation". The evaluation system of ancient Chinese novels can be expressed in four words: "The small path is considerable.". "Xiaodao" refers to the unorthodox nature of the novel, while "considerable" acknowledges the value and function of the novel to a certain extent. As the saying goes, "a narrow path can be seen" deeply restricts the development process and value positioning of ancient novels. Ancient novels have always been in an awkward and pitiful position, which is related to this. This basic term for evaluating the literary style of novels has remained unchanged for thousands of years and can be regarded as the core connotation of the evaluation system of ancient Chinese novels. In the Ming Dynasty, the creation and dissemination of novels flourished unprecedentedly. Although the core connotation of "considerable small paths" could not be completely changed, the evaluation system of "considerable small paths" gradually shifted when it came to the evaluation of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", "Journey to the West", and "Golden Lotus". This transformation promoted the canonization process of the "Four Great Wonderful Books".

Since the mid to late Ming Dynasty, with the prevalence of popular novels, literati and scholars have evaluated popular novels by reading, appreciating, selecting, and placing them in the long river of Chinese literary history for examination. In this examination, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", "Journey to the West", and "Plum in the Golden Vase" stand out, becoming rare masterpieces in literary history and providing a model for the development of later novels. For example, Volume 1 of Zhou Hui's "Jinling trivial matters" records Li Zhi's "good is strange" theory, stating that since the Han Dynasty, "there have been five major articles in the universe." The Han Dynasty is the "Records of the Grand Historian," the Tang Dynasty is the collection of Du Fu, the Song Dynasty is the collection of Su Dongpo, the Yuan Dynasty is the collection of Shi Nai'an's "Water Margin," and Ming Dynasty is the collection of Li Mengyang, the first of the famous "First Seven Sons" at that time. Li Zhuowu combined "Water Margin" with "Records of the Grand Historian" and "Du Fuji", which actually changed the traditional definition of refined and popular literary style, treating "Water Margin" equally with so-called refined literature. Similarly, Jin Shengtan chose the essence of various literary genres in history and named them "Six Talented Scholars", namely "Zhuangzi", "Li Sao", "Records of the Grand Historian", "Du Shi", "Water Margin", and "Records of the Western Chamber". In the above evaluation, the so-called "humble and humble" popular novels have won the same treatment and evaluation as works such as "Zhuangzi", "Li Sao", "Records of the Grand Historian", and "Du Shi". This is a new transformation of the evaluation system for popular novels and an important factor for the "Four Wonderful Books" to become a classic novel.

From the perspective of novel history, the transformation of this evaluation system has laid the foundation for the "Four Wonderful Books" to become classic novels in at least three aspects:

One is to strengthen the originality as a classic novel. The continuous publication of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," "Water Margin," "Journey to the West," and "The Plum Blossom in the Golden Vase" in the mid to late Ming Dynasty is indeed a wonder in the development of Chinese novels. In people's eyes, although these works are based on humble novel genres, they tend to believe that they are the original works of literati in terms of ideological transcendence and artistic maturity. It is a consensus among literati in the mid to late Ming Dynasty that Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong were the authors of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin". Although "The Plum in the Golden Vase" is labeled as an unknown "Lanling Laughing Student", it has been praised by literati as an "excellent" work. Jin Shengtan, along with Qu Yuan, Zhuangzi, Sima Qian, Du Fu, and others, praised Shi Nai'an as a talented scholar, which also strengthened the author's sense of originality in his works. Strengthening the originality of writers is actually acknowledging the intervention of literati in this humble genre, and the intervention of literati is an important connotation of popular novels moving towards classics.

The second is to strengthen the allegorical nature as a classic novel. Based on Sima Qian's theory of "writing with anger", Li Zhuowu's "Zhongyi Shuihu Zhuanxu" evaluates "Shuihu Zhuan" as a work of "venting anger". Xie Zhaozhi's "Wu Za Zu" Volume 15 "Shi Bu" commented that "Journey to the West" is not a work of waves. When speculating on the creative theme of "The Plum in the Golden Vase", Ming people generally believe that the work has a different purpose and contains satire. The "Preface to the Plum Blossom in the Golden Vase" by the Dongwu Nongzhiuke believes that the "Plum Blossom in the Golden Vase" refers to the use of Ximen Qing to depict the great purity of the world, the use of Count Ying to depict the clowns of the world, and the use of various lewd women to depict the ugly and pure women of the world, which makes people sweat and write it as a warning to the world but not as a warning to the world. He further believes that those who develop compassion through reading the "Plum in the Golden Vase" are also bodhisattvas; Those who fear their hearts are gentlemen; Those who have a joyful heart are petty people; The one who takes effect is the ears of birds and beasts.

The third is to strengthen the literary value as a classic novel. Jin Shengtan decomposes the "talent" of a writer into two ends: "material" and "style", and his intention is self-evident. What he strengthens is precisely the qualities and talents that are essential for an excellent novelist. Let's see how he analyzes the expression of "talents" in literary creation: according to the world, talents are those who have achieved literary success through change, and talents are also; According to the ancients, talent must be achieved through hard work, and talented individuals are also capable. According to the saying of Yi, those who quickly sweep and display their spirit are also talented; According to the saying of difficulty in writing, one's heart must be drained of energy, and those who face death are also talented. Therefore, the books of Zhuangzhou, Qu Ping, Ma Qian, Du Fu, Shi Nai'an, and Dong Jieyuan all refer to the book where the heart is exhausted and the face is still lifeless, and then it is shrouded before and after, forming a book.

Jin Shengtan listed Shi Nai'an as a "genius", which actually affirmed that "Water Margin" is also a work of great effort by writers, and further affirmed that popular novel creation is also a literary career that can be hidden. Li Yu's evaluation of this is very accurate: "Shi Nai'an's" Water Margin "and Wang Shifu's" Western Chamber "are all works of drama and literature that people have read. Jin Shengtan specifically labeled them as" Five Talented Scholars Book "and" Six Talented Scholars Book ". What does their meaning mean? They criticize the world and underestimate their ways, not knowing that they are the greatest articles of all time, so they make such astonishing statements to mark their purpose. From this, it can be seen that the ideological concepts represented by" Strange Books "and" Talented Scholars Book "have promoted the transformation of the evaluation system for popular novels, and also revealed that the" Four Great Talented Books "have become the main connotations of classic novels.". The key lies in two aspects: one is the sudden change in thought, and the other is related to the writer's talent. The transcendence of thought and the burst of talent are important prerequisites for popular novels to become classics.

In summary, there are various factors that contribute to the emergence of the "Four Wonderful Books" as literary classics. The extensive editing and revision by literati have gradually improved the textual connotations of these four works, and the enhancement of their ideological and artistic qualities is an inherent condition for the "Four Wonderful Books" to become literary classics. The external condition for these four works to become classic works in the history of Chinese literature is for literati to observe and evaluate the "Four Wonderful Books" from a new perspective. As a result, the "Four Wonderful Books" transcended the concept of "low literary style" in popular novels and had a profound impact on the history of novels as a model of novel texts.

Biography of Thinkers

Tan Fan is a lifelong professor at East China Normal University and a specially appointed professor at the "Changjiang Scholars" program of the Ministry of Education. He also serves as a member of the Discipline Evaluation Group of the State Council, President of the National University Chinese Language Research Association, President of the Shanghai Classical Literature Research Association, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Social Federation, and Editor in Chief of the Research on Literary Theory. Mainly engaged in teaching and research on the history of Chinese literary criticism, Chinese novel history, and Chinese opera history. His main works include "History of Chinese Classical Drama Theory", "Research on Chinese Novel Criticism", "Explanation of Grammar and Terminology in Ancient Chinese Novels", "History of Literary Styles in Ancient Chinese Novels", and so on.

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