When it comes to the four great masterpieces on the mainland, it can be said that they are well known to all, and they are not only widely circulated in China, but also have a very high influence abroad! In the era of scarcity of resources, the literati and scholars were incomparably rich in their thinking and wrote one masterpiece after another.
Later, according to the degree of love for these literary works, the "Four Great Masterpieces" were selected, that is, they were not officially selected, but "conventional".
In the beginning, there were six literary works that people selected, which means that there were originally "six famous works". However, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, two of them were deleted for various reasons, which became the "Four Great Masterpieces" we see today.
Guys, do you know what the two deleted books are called, and why they were deleted?
Image: See stills from literary works
1. Six great works
1. The four famous books that you are familiar with
We have already memorized the four famous books, which refers to the title of the book, not the content, and I believe that there are few people who can memorize the content of the four famous books.
Most of the four famous novels are not interested in "Dream of Red Mansions", because this book is more about "love and love", and even the end of the plot has regrets, which makes readers feel sad, so not many people like to read Red Mansions. Most people like to watch the enthusiastic "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", as well as "Water Margin" and "Journey to the West", which has many demons and monsters.
The picture comes from the Internet: Four famous books
2. Two famous books that have been deleted
The original six famous works, in addition to the four introduced above, also include "The History of Confucianism" and "Strange Tales from Liaozhai".
Among them, "The History of Confucianism" is mainly written to expose the ugliness of feudal society, generally speaking, exposing the truth of the article is more likely to resonate with people, so once this famous book spread, it immediately won the praise of the majority of readers. Of course, in addition to revealing society, this book also has humorous plots and some detailed portrayals, which have won the love of many literati.
The other book "Strange Tales from Liaozhai" is a story about demons, monsters and mortals, because the content is wonderful and full of mythology, which is quite popular with readers. You must know that human beings are always full of curiosity about the unknown world, and this kind of book is dedicated to writing fantasy stories such as "fox fairies", which can stimulate people's interest in reading, so this book was also widely circulated at that time and is still full of unique charm.
The picture comes from the Internet: "The Outer History of Confucianism" and "Strange Tales from Liaozhai"
2. Reasons for deletion
Since they are very popular with readers, why did they remove those two books from the six famous books after the founding of the People's Republic of China? I believe that you are very interested in this issue.
1. Conditions are limited
This reason, although not the main one, is indeed one of the more realistic reasons. As everyone knows, New China was established under conditions of suffering. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the government wanted to vigorously promote the excellent traditional culture in order to improve the cultural quality of the Chinese people.
At that time, the publishing house planned to select from the "six famous works", but due to limited conditions, the People's Literature Publishing House thought of a way to print four of them first to see the effect, and after some discussion, four books were selected, which are today's "four famous works".
After the printing and distribution, the praise was overwhelming, and other publishing houses saw the vane of interests and followed the printing of these four copies. So the more popular books on the market are these four, and the other two famous books have sat on the cold bench and have not been favored by the publishing house, so naturally they cannot be recognized by the public.
The picture comes from the Internet: print books
2. Value orientation
This is a very important issue, and the government at that time was vigorously promoting "cultural construction", and it was necessary to promote excellent and positive culture, and establish correct ideological concepts for young people. And the gods and ghosts depicted in "Strange Tales from Liaozhai" are full of feudal superstition.
Although the story is wonderful, it is contrary to human ethics, and there are even some thoughts of revenge, which is very detrimental to the physical and mental health development of teenagers. Although it has a certain literary value, it is not suitable for young students to read.
In addition, at that time, the state vigorously promoted science and dispelled superstitions, and if a large number of "Strange Tales from Liao Zhai" were published, it would be worth it? What kind of system would this be? Based on this concern, the publishing house finally crossed out "Strange Tales from Liao Zhai".
Seeing this, some people may ask, "Journey to the West" is also full of gods and Buddhas, isn't this a feudal superstition? Why can it still be published?
Journey to the West does have feudal superstition, but after reading this work, I found that it is full of "positive energy", and the spirit of master and apprentice is not afraid of all difficulties and is worth Xi learning from us! Moreover, the Tang monk in the book is full of compassion, purifying all sentient beings, and also preaching the idea of saving the country and saving the people. So it's no surprise that Journey to the West was published.
Image: Stills from "Strange Tales".
Let's take a look at "The Outer History of Confucianism", although this novel does not involve feudal superstition, but also discloses various ugliness of feudal society. But this work is too satirical! The corruption of the imperial examination and the darkness in the officialdom make people see that sad and sad era.
As everyone knows, the ancients have always advocated the idea of "moderation," which to put it bluntly is "don't do too much in everything." Obviously, Wu Jingzi, the author of "The Outer History of Confucianism," did not realize this, and wrote down all the thoughts in his mind, without considering the question of whether it was "excessive."
Criticizing a country and a dynasty to the point of being incomplete, this is really not on the table for young people to read, and it will only aggravate their "country-weariness" thinking. We have been cultivated patriotic thoughts and consciousness since childhood, but this book does the opposite, naturally it is out of step with the social times, and can only be used as a literary work on the shelf, and it is difficult for the public to see.
The picture comes from the Internet: The story in "The Outer History of Confucianism".
Similarly, "Water Margin" is also anti-court and anti-officialdom, but this book ultimately promotes the idea of "protecting the family and defending the country", and has the consciousness of "sacrificing oneself for righteousness". is also an anti-court and anti-officialdom work, Water Margin can be on the stage, but "The History of Confucianism" is not, the difference between the two is here.
It is precisely because of the problem of value orientation that "Strange Tales from Liaozhai" and "The History of Confucianism" were tragically "abandoned" in that era, and it was difficult for them to flow into ordinary people's homes and become required reading.
The picture comes from the Internet: "Strange Tales from Liaozhai" and "The History of Confucianism" were tragically "abandoned"
3. Length issues
The ones selected for the "Four Great Novels" are all novels, and the two books that have been deleted are "short story collections". In terms of volume, there is still a big difference between long and short stories. A long story is to tell a story with a single book, while a short story is to tell multiple stories with a single book.
Of course, this is not to say that novels are necessarily superior to short story collections, but it is only that the selection of the four great masterpieces has something to do with this, because the four famous novels were originally selected for young students to read.
Image: A still from a short story
3. Summary
Nowadays, the Four Great Classics have become a must-read book for primary and secondary school students, which is desirable, on the one hand, allowing students to learn Xi traditional classics, and on the other hand, it can also cultivate reading ability and deepen their love for reading.
However, the two books that were deleted are not bad, and there are still many people who regard them as treasures, and the benevolent see the benevolent, and the wise see the wise, some say that the two deleted books have higher literary value, and some people say that they are not nutritious.
Therefore, everyone's vision is different, just take your favorite reading, there is no need to follow the trend of reading, in the end it will make you lose the interest in reading.