What are the differences and connections between the novels of the early Ming Dynasty and the later Ming Dynasty?
There were several differences and connections between the novels of the early Ming Dynasty and the middle and late Ming Dynasty: 1. Literature style and content: The novels in the early Ming Dynasty mainly described the characters with narration as the supplement. The content mainly involved history, legends, strange things, novels, etc. The literary style was relatively simple and natural. The language was concise and focused on the plot and character creation. The novels in the middle and late Ming Dynasty paid more attention to the innovation of literary forms and the improvement of expression skills, including novels, operas, literary theories and other forms of literary works. 2. Direction of literary creation: The novels in the early Ming Dynasty mainly reflected the social reality and described folk life. The literary theme of reflecting the sufferings of the people mainly included character description, plot description, social criticism, etc., while the novels in the middle and late Ming Dynasty paid more attention to exploring the deep-seated problems of human nature, including character psychological description, philosophical thinking, historical inheritance, etc. 3. Literature achievements: The novels in the early Ming Dynasty were mainly represented by Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu and other works, which had an important influence on the development of ancient Chinese novels; while the novels in the middle and late Ming Dynasty paid more attention to the innovation of literary forms and the improvement of expression skills. The works of Lao She, Mo Yan and other people had a profound influence on the development of modern Chinese literature. 4. Literature influence: The novels in the early Ming Dynasty had a profound influence on the development of ancient Chinese novels and literature, and also had a certain influence on the world literature; while the novels in the middle and late Ming Dynasty had an important influence on the development of modern Chinese literature and literary theory.