The maturity of ancient Chinese novels was marked by the appearance of Dream of the Red Chamber. 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was considered the pinnacle of ancient Chinese novels in the Qing Dynasty. Its maturity was mainly manifested in the following aspects: 1. Rich character images and story plots: In Dream of the Red Chamber, there are a large number of characters, such as noble gentlemen, eunuchs, maids, servants, etc. There are also civilians, knight-errant, scholars, etc. These characters have their own characteristics, full and real. At the same time," Dream of the Red Chamber " also depicted a rich storyline, including the rise and fall of the family, the entanglements of marriage, the emotional entanglements between the characters, and so on. The plot was complicated and full of drama and mystery. 2. Unique narrative style: "Dream of the Red Chamber" adopted the narrative technique of "simulating the world", which reflected the various shortcomings of feudal society by simulating the description of real society. This unique narrative style not only shows the author's deep thinking about the feudal society, but also leaves a deep impression on the readers. 3. Profound ideology: Dream of the Red Chamber contains profound ideology such as "feelings","righteousness","etiquette" and other values, as well as deep thinking about human nature, life, society and other aspects. These ideology have played an important role in the development and enlightenment of ancient Chinese novels. Therefore, the publication of Dream of the Red Chamber marked the maturity of ancient Chinese novels, which not only laid the foundation for the development of ancient Chinese novels, but also had a profound impact on the development of modern literature and thought.
One of the signs of the maturity of Chinese classical novels was the emergence of the concept of "Four Great Masterpieces". These four novels were Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, Water Margins, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. They had a very high status and influence in Chinese classical novels and were regarded as the milestone works of Chinese classical novels. These four novels all depicted rich characters and plots, showing the essence of Chinese traditional culture and thought. Their plots were full of thrills and suspense, but they also showed deep human thinking and moral values. These novels had unique styles and characteristics such as delicate emotional descriptions, vivid characters, magnificent language, etc. The emergence of the four masterpieces marked the golden age of Chinese classical novels, which provided important reference and enlightenment for later literary creation. At the same time, they also created a lot of Chinese classical novels, such as the method of describing characters, the skill of plot design, the variety of narrative methods, etc. They played an important role in promoting the development and prosperity of Chinese literature.
The classic classic Chinese novel was " Dream of the Red Chamber ". 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was considered a classic novel in the Qing Dynasty. The novel depicted the rise and fall of a wealthy family with the rise and fall of the four families of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue as the main line. Through the description of the main characters such as Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai, it showed the richness of human nature and the complexity of society. It was hailed as a classic in the history of Chinese literature.
The modern Chinese novel began in the early 20th century and matured in the 1930s to 1950s. At the beginning of the 20th century, modern Chinese novels began to sprout. The representative figures were Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Lao She, etc. Their works reflected the political, economic, and cultural reality of the society at that time. They explored human nature, society, history, and other issues, creating a precedent for modern Chinese novels. The 1930s was the period when Chinese novels matured. Many outstanding novelists such as Yang Jiang, Qian Zhongshu, Shen Congwen, etc. appeared during this period. Their works focused on the characters, deeply revealed the complexity and contradiction of human nature, and demonstrated the artistic charm and depth of modern Chinese novels. Among them, Qian Zhongshu's Fortress Besieged was considered a classic of modern Chinese novels, and Yang Jiang's Bathing was also one of the representative works of this period. These works not only reflected the social reality at that time, but also demonstrated the achievements and level of modern Chinese novels.
The maturity of modern Chinese novels was marked by a series of new literary movements formed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the works of Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Lao She, Ba Jin, Ernest, Mo Yan and others. The common feature of these works was that they emphasized social criticism, human nature exploration, and realism, reflecting the development of modern Chinese literature. From the 1920s, modern Chinese novels entered a prosperous period, with many outstanding writers such as Lao She, Cao Yu, Zhao Shuli, Shen Congwen, etc. These works reflected the real life as the theme, focusing on realism and the spirit of humanity, showing the prosperity of modern Chinese literature. From the 1930s to the 1950s, modern Chinese novels experienced another important development. A group of influential and important people appeared, such as Zhang Ailing, Yang Jiang, Qian Zhongshu, Su Manshu, etc. These works used women as the theme to show the awareness of gender equality in modern Chinese literature, and also reflected the political, economic, and cultural conditions of the society at that time. After the 1960s, the development of modern Chinese novels entered a new stage, and a new group of people appeared, such as Jia Pingwa, Mo Yan, Yu Hua, Wang Xiaobo, etc. These works focused on personal experience and spiritual exploration, reflecting the new development of modern Chinese culture and thought with modern thoughts and realism as the theme. Generally speaking, the development of modern Chinese novels has experienced many ups and downs and changes, but it has always adhered to the realism and humanist literary creation concept, showing the unique charm and style of modern Chinese literature.
The maturity of ancient Chinese drama was marked by the rise and development of Yuan drama. Yuan opera was the pinnacle of ancient Chinese opera art and also an important milestone in the development of traditional Chinese opera art. It originated in the Yuan Dynasty, developed in the Ming Dynasty, and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. It was one of the important schools in the history of Chinese opera. The main characteristics of the Yuan Dynasty's Zaju included the rigorous structure of the script, the easy to understand language, the beautiful music, the exquisite performance, and the rich plot. It used a conversational performance form, and the actors used dialogue to express the character's personality and plot development, which had a distinct oral feature. In addition, the forms of Yuan opera were also very rich, including southern opera, northern opera and Kunqu opera, each of which had its own unique performance style and musical characteristics. The achievements and influence of the Yuan Dynasty opera were not only unique in Chinese history, but also had a profound impact on the development of the world's opera art. It not only provides an important cultural heritage for traditional Chinese opera art, but also becomes a treasure in the world's cultural and artistic treasure house.
Ancient Chinese novels matured in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). In the Tang Dynasty, the creation of novels was widely developed and flourished. Many famous novelists such as Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin, Luo Binwang, Han Yu, Bai Juyi, Liu Yuxi, etc. all wrote novels. The novels of the Tang Dynasty were not only numerous, but also of high quality. Many of them had profound ideology and rich artistic expression, becoming the classics of Chinese classical novels. Among them, Song of Everlasting Sorrow, Song of Pipa, Collection of Flowers and other works were regarded as masterpieces of ancient Chinese novels, which had a profound impact on the creation of later novels.
The "New Realism" movement from the late 1980s to the early 1990s marked the maturity of Chinese novels. New realism is a genre of Chinese novels that advocates realistic reflection of real life while adding literary elements and fictional plots to emphasize the social significance and human nature of the novel. The rise of this movement stemmed from the rapid development of society and economy after China's reform and opening up. The representative works of the new realism included Alive, Brothers, Ordinary World, etc. These novels not only truly reflected the reality of Chinese society at that time, but also explored the problems of human nature, family, society and so on. They had high literary value and ideology. The rise of the new realism had a profound impact on the development of Chinese novels, pushing Chinese novels to develop in a more realistic, profound and diverse direction.
The emergence of the Yuan Dynasty drama symbolized the maturity of ancient Chinese drama.
The emergence of folk songs in the Han Dynasty symbolized the maturity of ancient Chinese narrative poetry.
The maturity of ancient Chinese novels was marked by the emergence of legendary novels in the Tang Dynasty, because the legendary novels in the Tang Dynasty were the milestone of ancient Chinese novels, which opened a new chapter in the development of ancient Chinese novels. The legendary novels of the Tang Dynasty referred to a series of novels that appeared after the Tang Dynasty. They were usually called legends, legendary novels, or story novels. The content of these novels was rich and varied. There were narrative novels, narrative novels, and argumentative novels. Among them, the most representative ones were the legendary novels of the Tang Dynasty, Song of Everlasting Regret, Song of the Pipa, and Tang Bohu's Autumn Fragrance. The emergence of legendary novels in the Tang Dynasty symbolized the maturity of ancient Chinese novels. First of all, it created the narrative mode of ancient Chinese novels, combining the plot and the character to form a complete story world. Secondly, the legendary novels of the Tang Dynasty also created the description mode of ancient Chinese novels. Through rich description techniques, they portrayed the delicate psychology and personality characteristics of the characters, making the characters more plump and real. In addition, Tang Dynasty legendary novels also had important cultural significance. It showed the social style and cultural tradition of the Tang Dynasty, reflected the characteristics and problems of the society, politics and culture at that time, and had important historical and cultural value. To sum up, the emergence of legendary novels in the Tang Dynasty symbolized the maturity of ancient Chinese novels, and it opened a new chapter for the development of ancient Chinese novels, which had a far-reaching impact on ancient Chinese literature and modern literature.