《三国演义》----《TheRomanceoftheThreeKindoms》

　　《水浒传》----《TheStorybytheWaterMargin》

　　《红楼梦》----《TheDreamoftheRedChamber》

　　《西游记》----《JourneytotheWest》

　　中国四大名著英文简介2009-06-07

　　ChineseLiterature-Novelsandfiction

　　Hongloumeng红楼梦"TheDreamoftheRedChamber"

　　Alsocalled"ThestoryoftheStone(Shitouji石头记)",thisnovelwrittenbyCaoXueqin曹雪芹(d.1763)issaidtobethegreatestmasterpieceofChinesefiction.Awidebranchedscholarshipdoesnotconsentaboutthemainthemeofthisnovel,shoulditbeanovelofsentiment,ofDaoist-Buddhistenlightenment,ofsocialobservation,ofthedecayofanaristocraticfamiliy,orevenaveiledattackonManchurule.TheframeofthenovelisthecontestofaBuddhistandaDaoistpriestwhomakebebornayoungnobleboycalledJiaBaoyu贾宝玉andhisgirlcousinLinDaiyu林黛玉.Withalovingdetaildescribingthelifeofthetwocousinsinahugenoblemansion,betweengardensandpalaces,theredthreadisthetriangularlovebetweenBaoyu,DaiyuandasecondgirlcousincalledXueBaochai薛宝钗thatisofmoreplumpercharacterthantheeversickDaiyu.Switchingbetweentheirlife,thedivineworldanddreams,Baoyubecomesderangedafterthedisappearanceofastone(theoriginofthesecondtitle)hehadinhismouthwhenhewasborn.Notknowing,hisloveDaiyudied,heistrickedtomarryingBaochai.Becomingawareofbeingtricked,Baoyuleavestheworldofthe"reddust"andbecomesamonk.Withhundredsofpersonsandtheirstories,parallelingthelifeandfeelingsofservantstothelifeofthemainpersons,thestoryisverycomplexandfullofsymbolisms,butveryinterestingandconvincingforitsencyclopediccharacter,depictingthelifeofanoblefamiliyinthe18thcenturyQingChina清.

　　三国演义RomanceofTheThreeKingdoms

　　RomanceofTheThreeKingdomsisoneofthegreatchineseclassicsandiscompiledintoasemi-fictionalliterarymasterpieceduringtheMingDynastybyLuoGuanzhong.Thenovelcomprisesaround70+%factand20+%fiction.SomeissuessuchasGuanYu'sweaponweighingaround40+kilograms,thecapabiltiesofLuBu,LiuBei'shorsesaswellastheexistenceoftheHilloftheFallenPhoenixandsomeothersareprobablyfictional.

　　Thatperiodinhistorycanbesaidasthegoldenageofchivalryandalthoughithappenedmorethan1700yearsago,characterssuchasLiuBei,CaoCao,GuanYu,ZhangFeiandZhugeLianghavebecomehouseholdnamesamongthechinese.Talesoftheirexploits,courage,adventuresandmanymorearetoldinthenovel"RomanceofTheThreeKingdoms".

　　ItisoneofthemostturbulentperiodsinChina'shistorytakingplacetowardtheendoftheHanDynastywherecorruptionisrampantintheimperialcourtduetoeunuchesholdingpower.Coupledwithnaturaldisasterssuchasfloods,plagueandlocustswarmsdevouringthecropsgrownbythepeasants,hungeranddisatisfactionamongthepeasantssoonescalatedrapidlyuntilamajorrebellionknownasthe"YellowScarvesRebellion"ledbyZhangJiaobrokeout.(Itwasdubbed"YellowScarves"becausetherebelstiedayellowscarfontheirhead).Initiallyjustasmallbandofrebels,duetowidespreadhungerandill-sentimentamongthepopulace,swarmsofcommonfolksjoinedintherebellionacrossmanypartsofthecountry.

　　三国演义人物介绍

　　刘备

　　LiuBei(161–223AD),styledXuándé(玄徳),wasageneral,warlord,andlaterthefoundingemp