Legends of Past and Present: The World of Novels of Gods, Demons and the Mundane

The style of storytelling has its roots in historical records, with elements of the strange and the human originating from the Six Dynasties. As Tang legends and Song storybooks excelled in their respective ways, the divergence between classical Chinese and vernacular Chinese laid the foundation for the modern meaning of novels. The Ming and Qing dynasties marked the heyday of long chapters and episodes, with the Four Great Strange Books, particularly "Dream of the Red Chamber," reaching the pinnacle of literary appreciation. Concurrently, short stories like "Three Words" and "Two Beats" were published in the streets and circulated in the market, offering satirical commentary on the times, narratives of ghosts and gods, tales of infatuation, solutions to public cases, historical interpretations, and praises of loyalty, all woven into the legends of past and present.