The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel

Andrew H. Plaks

The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel
Format
Hardback
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Country
United States
Published
11 March 2025
Pages
612
ISBN
9780691273525

The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel

Andrew H. Plaks

A reinterpretation of some of the great works of Chinese fiction of the late Ming dynasty

In this book, Andrew Plaks reinterprets the great texts of Chinese fiction known as the "Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel" (ssu ta ch'i-shu). Arguing that these are far more than collections of popular narratives, Plaks shows that their fullest critical revisions represent a sophisticated new genre of Chinese prose fiction arising in the late Ming dynasty, especially in the sixteenth century. He then analyzes these radical transformations of prior source materials, which reflect the values and intellectual concerns of the literati of the period.

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