Why are "Journey to the West","Dream of the Red Chamber","Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margins" listed as the four masterpieces?
Journey to the West, Dream of the Red Chamber, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Water Margins were considered the four great masterpieces in the history of Chinese literature because they had received widespread attention and influence in their respective eras. They were widely praised, adapted, and influenced later literary works. Journey to the West tells the story of Xuanzang, a monk of the Tang Dynasty, bringing his three disciples to the Western Heaven to learn Buddhist scriptures. It is one of the most representative novels in ancient Chinese literature, describing ancient Chinese Buddhist culture, myths and legends, Taoist culture and many other aspects. "Dream of the Red Chamber" described the life of the Qing Dynasty aristocratic society, showing the rise and fall of the family, the good and evil of human nature, the entanglement of love, etc. It was a classic work that described social life and reflected the depth of human nature. Romance of the Three Kingdoms was one of the most representative novels in ancient Chinese literature. It described the history of the Three Kingdoms period, showing the political struggles, military wars, and the image of historical figures. Water Margins was a classic of ancient Chinese literature, which described the peasant uprising in the Song Dynasty and portrayed the image of many heroes, reflecting the dark side of society. Each of these four novels had its own unique charm and characteristics, and they became the classics in the history of Chinese literature, which had a profound impact on the fields of literature, art, culture and so on.
