引言 1
一、涓涓始流——上古至秦汉小说 4
1．神秘浪漫的上古神话 4
2．妙趣横生的先秦寓言 7
3．精彩绝伦的秦汉散文 8
4．光怪陆离的迷信异事 11
5．虚幻怪诞的志怪臆想 12
二、欣欣向荣——魏晋南北朝小说 15
1．博富庞杂的志怪小说 16
2．简约传神的志人小说 20
3．“文言双璧”的艺术成就 22
4．六朝小说对后世的影响 25
三、石破天惊——唐代小说 27
1．唐代小说概述 27
2．步入成熟的文言短篇小说 31
3．唐传奇的风格和艺术特色 34
4．唐人小说的分类 38
四、遍地开花——宋元小说 40
1．绝妙传神的“说话”艺术 40
2．俚俗浅白的话本文学 42
3．文言小说的难得补缀 44
五、分湍瀑流——明代小说 47
1．明代小说的发展概况 47
2．《三国演义》和《水浒传》 51
3．白话短篇小说的辉煌篇章 54
4．文言短篇小说的星火不熄 57
六、千帆竞秀——清代小说 60
1．清代小说掠影 60
2．千古奇书《红楼梦》 64
3．文言小说的登峰造极 67
4．另辟蹊径的白话短篇小说 69
结束语 72
Introduction 75
Ⅰ．Fiction's Development from Remote Antiquity to the Qin and Han Dynasties 79
1．Romantic Myths of Remote Antiquity 80
2．Interesting Fables of the Pre-Qin Dynasty 84
3．Splendid Prose of the Qin and Han Dynasties 86
4．Bizarre Superstitious Legends 90
5．Weird and Uncanny Zhiguai Fabrications 91
Ⅱ．Fictions Prosperous in the Wei, Jin and Southern & Northern Dynasties 94
1．Rich and Varied Zhiguai Fictions 95
2．Concise and Vivid Zhiren Fictions 100
3．Artistic Achievement of the "Two Precious Jades of Wenyan" 103
4．Impact of Fictions in the Six Dynasties upon Later Ages 107
Ⅲ．Fictions Amazing in the Tang Dynasty 110
1．Brief Account of the Tang Fictions 110
2．Mature Wenyan Short Stories 115
3．Styles and Artistic Features of the Tang Romance 119
4．Classification of the Tang Fictions 123
Ⅳ．Fictions Flourishing in the Song and Yuan Dynasties 127
1．Fantastic and Vivid Shuohua 128
2．Rustic and Popular Huaben Literature 131
3．A Valuable Complement to the Wenyan Fictions 133
Ⅴ．Fiction Genres of the Ming Dynasty 137
1．Brief Account of the Ming Fictions 137
2．Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin 144
3．A Brilliant Chapter of the Vernacular Short Stories 149
4．Sparkle of the Wenyan Short Stories 153
Ⅵ．Fictions Blossoming in the Qing Dynasty 157
1．Brief Account of the Qing Fictions 157
2．Unique Masterpiece—Dream of Red Mansion 163
3．Peak of the Wenyan Fictions 168
4．Vernacular Short Stories with New Writing Techniques 171
Closing 174
附录 Appendix 175