The Four Great Novels of Exposure
四大谴责小说
Exposure of the Official World，Strange Events of the Last Twenty Years，Travels of Mr. Derelict Clod Flower in. an. Ocean of Sin are the four masterpieces of the novels of exposure in the late Qing Dynasty.
四大谴责小说是指清末谴责小说的4部代表作《官场现形记》、《二十年目睹之怪现状》、《老残游记》和《孽海花》。
Exposure of the Official World was written by LI Boyuan，styled Bao Jia and also known by his literary name Owner of the South Pavilion. He was a native of Wujin County of Jiangsu Province. Focusing on satirizing the corrupt officialdom，the book,of which 60 chapters are extant, exposes the shameless conducts of the bribery-taking and power-abusing officials who curried favor with their seniors for personal gains and toadied foreign powers at the sacrifice of their own country. It lays bare the filth of the late Qing officialdom and mercilessly attacks the bureaucratic system of that time. By means of its description of the bureaucrats of every hue，it portrays the ugly faces of the bureaucrats and petty officials of the late Qing Dynasty and revealed the inevitable doom of the reign of the Qing Dynasty.
《官场现形记》，李伯元(1867-1906)著，共五编六十回。李伯元，字宝嘉，号南亭亭长，江苏武进人。小说揭露出官场行贿，受贿，滥用职权，逢迎上司，崇洋媚外，为一己之私利，不惜牺牲天下之公利的丑行。暴露了晚清官场的丑恶，无情地鞭挞官僚制度的腐败。通过对官场形形色色的人物的描写，显示晚清官吏的丑恶嘴脸，也预示了清王朝败落的命运。
Strange Events of the Last Twenty Years was Written by WU Yanren，a native of Foshan of Guangdong Province，whose courtesy name was Wuo Yao and who was also known as the Hermit of Foshan. The book contains 120 charpters，using the first person narrator as the thread to link what he had heard and witnessed for the last 20 years，the writer made his narration far more focused and comprehensive than that of Exposure of the Official World. The book unfolds a social picture scroll of the imminent disintegration of feudalism. Contained in it is a vivid and lively description of people of all sorts，including not only politicians in the official circles and talented intellectuals in the metropolises，but also physicians and astrologers .However，the emphasis of the book is kept on exposing the darkness of the official-dom.
《二十年目睹之怪现状》，吴跻人(1866-1910 )著，计一百零八回。吴研人，广东佛山人、原名沃尧，又名佛山居士。这是一部带有自传色彩的长篇小说。它通过主人公九死一生从奔父丧开始，至其经商失败为止所耳闻目睹的近200个小故事，勾画出中法战争后至20世纪初的20多年间晚清社会出现的种种怪现状，所反映的社会生活范围比《官场现形记》更为广阔，除官场外，还涉及商场、洋场、科场，兼及医卜星相，三教九流，揭露日益殖民地化的中国封建社会的政治状况、道德面貌、社会风尚以及世态人情都颇为深刻，具有较高的认识价值，可以帮助读者透视晚清社会和封建制度行将灭亡、无可挽救的历史命运。
In contrast，Liu E's Travels of Mr. Derelict focuses on revealing the detestation of the so-called honest and upright officials via its characterization of two such people.Liu E，styled Tie Yun and also known by his literary name Tempered Man of Hong-du，was a native of Dantu of Jiangsu Province. In terms of artistry，the book out-stands conspicuously as it changes，with Lao Can，the traveler，as an interlink of the events，from the previous omniscient first-person narration to the limited omniscient third-person narration，thus bringing about a breakthrough in the traditional narrative mode of Chinese fiction.
《老残游记》，刘鹗( 1857-1909)著，共二十回。刘鹊字铁云，又名鸿都百炼生。祖籍江苏丹徒人。这部小说是他晚年所写的带有自传性质的未竟作品。《老残游记》艺术成果显著，通过老残，全书的叙述视角由第一人称全知视角向第三人称全知视角转换，可谓是中国小说传统叙述模式的一大突破。
The author of lower in an Ocean of Sin Zeng Pu，also styled Meng Pu，was a native of Changshu of Jiangsu Province. Structuring its plot as a coiling and twisting string of beads and using the story of Wen Qing and Fu Caiyun as the thread，Flower in an Ocean of Sin portrays a panorama of the late Qing Dynasty in such aspects as politics and diplomacy. It depicts vividly the ideology and life of the bureaucrats，celebrities and feudal literati both in and outside Beijing，the capital. It also brings to light the social atmosphere of the time. In addition，it exposes the corruption and incompetence of the ruling class and denounces the aggressive ambition of the imperialists. Among the late Qing novels，Flower is an Ocean of Sin ranks as the greatest masterpiece with highest artistic achievements.
《孽海花》曾朴(1872-1935)著，35回。字孟朴，江苏常熟人。《孽海花》以金雯青和傅彩云的故事为主线，生动地描写了从同治至光绪30多年间的历史文化的推移和政治社会的变迁，暴露了统治者的腐朽没落，批判了封建的科举制度，讽刺了那些达官名士，真实地反映了他们的精神生活和文化心态。《孽海花》代表了中国晚清文学创作的最高成就。
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