Stories to Enlighten the World，Stories to Warn the World，Stories to Admonish the World，Amazing Stories Vol. I and Amazing Stories Vol. Ⅱ
《三言二拍》
San Yan refers to the three short story collections of the Ming Dynasty: Stories to Enlighten Men .Stories to Warn Men，and Stories to Admonish Men .Its author was Feng Menglong，styled You Long and also known by his literary name Master of Mohan Study .He was a native of Changzhou of Jiangsu province(now Suzhou city ).The three books consist altogether of 120 pieces with each composed of 40 including not only the versions of the Song，Yuan and Ming Dynasties but also the simulated versions of the Ming Dynasty literati and Feng Men-glong's own creations. Rich in content，San Yan deals with almost every aspect of the social life of the time and reflects the characteristics of the era which witnessed the decline of the feudal lord class and the gradual rise of the townsfolk stratum. In terms of artistry，San Yan is more exquisite and meticulous as it not only inherits the tradition of popularity of the Song and Yuan versions but also makes further improvement on them through the polishing and processing by the writers. Compared with the vernacular short stories of the previous age，San Yan features a wider range of subject matter with a stronger realistic flavor. There appears in the book an obvious change of tendency towards praising in a positive way the townsfolk stratum and finding "saints" among ordinary people and towards focusing on the expression of emotion rather than on the pursuit for the oddity of the stories. There also comes a shift of focus from advocating social rationality to extolling the private and instinctive desires of individual people. However，San Yan displays a stronger sense of moralization，resulting from the fact that the pieces were created and compiled by scholars. Son Yan represents the summit of ancient short story writing in vernacular Chinese.
“三言”是指明代短篇小说集《喻世明言》、《警世通言》、《醒世恒言》3部书。编撰者冯梦龙(15"14-1646 )，字犹龙，别号墨憨斋主人，江苏长洲(今苏州)人。三部书各收小说40篇，共120篇。其中包括宋、元、明话本，明代文人拟话本和冯梦龙自己的创作。“三言”的内容十分丰富，涉及当时社会生活的各个方面，反映了封建地主阶级的衰落和市民阶层逐渐兴起的时代特征。“三言”继承了宋元话本通俗易懂的传统，但又经过了文人的加工润色，因而艺术上更加精致绵密。与前代白话短篇小说相比，“三言”的题材扩展，现实主义特色增强;将市民作为正面形象来歌颂，在平民中发现“圣人”;创作倾向也发生了明显的变化，由追逐奇异故事转向重视“情”的表现，从张扬社会理性转向肯定人的私欲与血肉之躯。但是，“三言”中的说教倾向却进一步强化了，这是文人参与创作与编辑的结果。“三言”是古代白话短篇小说的高峰。
Er Pai refers to two collections of short stories，each containing 40 pieces. Its writer was Ling Mengchu，(1580-1644)styled Xuan Fang and also known by his literary name Chu Cheng and his alias Owner of the Jikong Temple .He was a native of Wu Cheng(now Wuxing county).The stories of the book came from various sources and were refined and polished by the writer. In subject matter, the book sets its attack against the social evils and malpractices in the background of the social customs. It spares no efforts in its denunciation of the feudal officials ,well displaying people's in dign a Lion at the worsening bureaucratic system during the last stage of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore，it relays a sharp and strong sense of social criticism. Many of the pieces of the book display brilliant characteristics of the time. Some of the stories about love and marriage advocate the concept of equality between men and women ;some depicting，from a positive point of view, the commercial activities of the townspeople of the Ming Dynasty reflect the merchants' desire for profit making and building up wealth. The language of the stories is simple and natural，its narration lively and moving. On the whole，however，it is not as successful as San Yan in terms of artistic achievement.
“二拍”是指《初刻拍案惊奇》和《二刻拍案惊奇》两部拟话本小说集，各收作品40篇。作者凌蒙初(1580-1644 )，字玄房，号初成，别号即空观主人，浙江乌程(今吴兴)人二“二拍”中的故事来源有多种版本，又经过了作者的加工。在内容[，它往往于世情中突出对社会弊病的抨击，尤其是对封建官吏的批判，更是不遗余力，反映了明末吏治日趋腐败的社会背景中人们对贪官污吏的嫉愤，具有鲜明的社会批判特色。“二拍”中的许多作品具有时代气息，有些婚姻爱情小说表现出了男女平等的观念，有些正面描写明代市民商业活动的作品反映了商人们追求利润发财致富的愿望。二拍的语言通俗自然，叙事娓娓动听，但就总体艺术水平来说，“二拍”不如“三言”。
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