Who are the authors of the Four Great Classics? Why are they called the Four Great Classics?
The Four Great Classics referred to the four classic works of Chinese classical novels: Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, Water Margins, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. These four works all had high literary value and influence, and were regarded as classics in the history of Chinese literature. The author of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was from the Qing Dynasty. He used the love story of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and others as the main line to describe the rise and fall of a feudal family. The author of Journey to the West was the Ming Dynasty novelist Wu Chengen. He used the adventures of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Monk Sand as the main line to describe a mythical world. The author of " Water Margins " was from the Yuan Dynasty. He used Song Jiang, Lin Chong, and the others 'struggles as the main line to describe a dark and cruel social reality. The author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was from the Yuan Dynasty. He used the history of the Three Kingdoms period as the main line to describe a historical period where heroes came forth in large numbers and wars were frequent. These four works were called the Four Great Classics mainly because of their complicated plots, rich characters, profound cultural heritage, high artistic value and influence, and were widely read and studied. At the same time, these four works also represented the four aspects of ancient Chinese literature: novels, operas, poems, and essays.