COLORING BOOK THE FOUR MASTERWORKS

INTRODUCTION It may be surprising for those of us in the West to learn that in China, with its long and rich cultural heritage, ,there are only four works of narrative fiction considered to be masterworks.  ,Three ,Kingdoms, ,The ,Journey ,to ,the ,West, ,All ,Men ,Are ,Brothers, ,and ,The ,Dream ,of ,the ,Red ,Chamber. ,In China, the ,great love was given to works of history, philosophy and the wonderful lyric poetry so well suited to the Chinese ,language. The word for &ldquo,novel&rdquo, in fact could best be translated as &ldquo,small talk.&rdquo, So the inclusion of these four works ,as masterpieces is high praise indeed, and deservedly so. Three Kingdoms Three ,Kingdoms ,is ,to ,Chinese ,civilization ,what ,the ,tales ,of ,King ,Arthur ,are ,to ,the ,English. , These are the tales of brave and sometimes villainous warriors who tried to carve a civilization out of chaos, ,traveling the countryside to fight for their lords. The Journey to the West The Journey to the West undoubtedly is the most beloved work of Chinese prose ,fiction. A long and involved story, it is more a series of legends and folk tales than a fully fledged novel. All Men Are Brothers If Three Kingdoms is the King Arthur stories of China, All Men Are Brothers represents ,the Chinese ,Robin ,Hood. ,The ,novel, ,which ,is ,really ,more ,a ,collection ,of ,heroic ,folk ,tales, ,takes ,place ,in ,China&rsquo,s ,great ,Northern ,Song ,Dynasty ,(960 ,1127 ,CE). ,The ,basic ,story ,is ,of ,a ,group ,of ,social misfits who gather at the edge ,of a swamp