ABSTRACT
The Chinese novel can be divided into the two categories of classical and colloquial. In the material they deal with the two have much in common, but in the aspects of concept, origin, language, thought, fields of interest and author and reader, they represent two different novel traditions. Structural aspects such as the division into short story, medium-length story and full-length story, which are integral parts of the Western concept of the novel, had little meaning for the classical Chinese novel. Ghost novels appeared in an unbroken line from the Wei and Jin dynasties to the Qing Dynasty. Hero novels appeared from the Southern Dynasties right down to the Qing Dynasty. The mystery novel was a new genre which emerged in the Tang Dynasty, and had its imitators in the following Song Dynasty. The huaben are short. They can be recited at one sitting. Compared with Western literature, Chinese literature has tended to be weighted toward the lyrical.
