The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel

The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel Ssu Ta Ch'i-Shu

Hardback (11 Mar 2025)

  • $279.14
Pre-order

Includes delivery to the United States

Publisher's Synopsis

A new interpretation of some of the great works of Chinese fiction of the late Ming dynasty

In this book, Andrew Plaks reinterprets the great texts of Chinese fiction known as the "Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel" (ssu ta ch'i-shu). Arguing that these are far more than collections of popular narratives, Plaks shows that their fullest critical revisions represent a sophisticated new genre of Chinese prose fiction arising in the late Ming dynasty, especially in the sixteenth century. He then analyzes these radical transformations of prior source materials, which reflect the values and intellectual concerns of the literati of the period.

Book information

ISBN: 9780691273525
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Pub date:
Language: English
Number of pages: 612
Weight: -1g
Height: 254mm
Width: 178mm