The social and economic development of the Ming Dynasty fostered a boom in novel writing. The Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Journey to the West, three of the four best-known classics of Chinese literature, were created during this period.

Outlaws of the Marsh, by Shi Naian, has enjoyed equal fame to The Three Kingdoms. It presents a full view ofthe rise and fall of the peasant revolts led by Song Jiang in the late Northem Song Dynasty (960-1127). The novel molded a large number of archetypal characters, such as the upright, outspoken and intrepid Li Kui and righteous, unconstrained and unyielding Lu Zhishen, each displaying a distinctive and impressive personality. Outlaws of the Marsh was very popular among the common people due to its vivid, easy-to-understand language.
Journey to the West, a combination of popular and scholarly literature, appeared after the earlier two novels in the mid- to late Ming Dynasty. Journey to the West is a great work of imagination, telling stories of combat between deities and evil spirits. It focuses around the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, who escorted the Tang monk Xuanzang to fetch the Buddhist scriptures in India, overcoming 81 challenges along the way. Journey to the West became a much-loved romantic novel for its grand structure and miraculous tales full of rich imagination.
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