Were the Four Great Chinese Classics all fictional?
The four great masterpieces of China are Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, Water Margins, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. They are all classics in the history of Chinese literature, but their origins and plots are not completely fictional. They are supported by historical and cultural backgrounds. Dream of the Red Chamber was a love story depicting Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and others in the Qing Dynasty. It reflected the various ills of feudal society and profoundly revealed human nature. Although the characters and plots of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' were somewhat exaggerated, it also reflected the social style and people's way of life at that time. Journey to the West was written by Wu Chengen, a novelist of the Ming Dynasty. It told the story of Sun Wukong and the others protecting the Tang Monk to go to the West to obtain scriptures. There were many mythological and legendary elements in this story, such as the journey of Master Sanzang, the mischievous behavior of Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, etc. However, there were also many real historical events and characters as the background. The Water Margins depicted the heroic deeds of 108 righteous men in the Yuan Dynasty. There were many real historical figures in this story, such as Song Jiang, Lin Chong, etc. However, their characters were more vivid and vivid after artistic processing and adaptation. Romance of the Three Kingdoms was written by Luo Guanzhong, a novelist of the Ming Dynasty. It narrated the historical story of the Three Kingdoms period. There were many historical events and characters in this story, such as Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan and other historical figures. There were also many elements of myths and legends, such as Zhuge Liang's resourcefulness, Guan Yu's loyalty, and so on. Therefore, although the Four Great Chinese Classics have some fictional elements, they also reflect the history and culture of the time and are an important part of Chinese literature.