Among the four famous novels, which one describes the life of the aristocracy more?

Dream. The first of the four classical Chinese masterpieces, the Qing Dynasty writer Cao Xueqin's chapter hui style is a long story **[1], also known as "The Stone Record" and "Golden Jade Yuan". The book is divided into two editions: 120 "Cheng Ben" and 80 "Fat Ben".

The first 80 chapters of the new edition are based on the fat book and the last 40 times are based on the Cheng Ben school, signed "by Cao Xueqin, continued by Anonymous, compiled by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E"[2]. The author of the last 40 episodes is still controversial, but we should also be vigilant against the extreme tendency to dwarf or even cut the last 40 episodes in half.

Dream of Red Mansions is a world-influential work of human feelings[3], the pinnacle of Chinese classics, an encyclopedia of Chinese feudal society, and a collection of traditional culture. **With the rise and fall of the four major families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue as the background, with the family trivia of Jiafu and the leisure of the boudoir as the context, and the love and marriage stories of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai as the main line, it depicts the human beauty and tragic beauty of the lovers of good and evil centered on Jia Baoyu and the twelve hairpins of Jinling. Through the tragedy of the family, the tragedy of the daughter, and the tragedy of the protagonist's life, the crisis of the last days of feudalism is revealed[4] .

The author of Dream of Red Chambers has a preliminary democratic ideology, and he has made profound criticisms of the real society, including the darkness of the court and officialdom, the decay of the feudal aristocratic class and its families, the feudal imperial examination system, the marriage system, the slave and maid system, and the hierarchical system, as well as the corresponding social ruling ideas, that is, the Tao of Confucius and Mencius, Cheng Zhu Lixue, and social morality, and put forward vague ideals and propositions with the nature of preliminary democracy. [5]

Dream of Red Mansions is self-exhorting to "talk about love with the main purpose and record its events", only according to its own reasoning, follow the traces, get rid of the clichés, fresh and chic[1], and has achieved extraordinary artistic achievements. The special penmanship of "the real thing is hidden, and the fake village dialect" has opened the minds of later readers, and there have been many speculations over time[3] . Around the reading and research of "Dream of Red Mansions", a prominent science has been formed-Red Studies.

Encyclopedia web page.

The four masterpieces are representative works of classical Chinese Henghe old literature, including "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Journey to the West", "Water Margin" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". These works depict the history and culture of Chinese feudal society, and are of great significance for understanding the prosperity and decline of Chinese feudal society. As for whether the four masterpieces all reflect the prosperity of feudal society, it is necessary to analyze.

First of all, "Dream of Red Mansions" does not fully reflect the prosperity of feudal society. Although it depicts the life and traditional culture of scholars in the feudal society of the Qing Dynasty, its main content is a picture of the decline of large families, showing the collapse and regression of feudal society.

Secondly, "Journey to the West" describes the lifestyle of the Tang Dynasty, which depicts the belief culture, political system, and social life of Buddhism and Taoism, showing the prosperity of the feudal society in the Tang Dynasty, but also revealing many problems such as feudal thinking, the disadvantages of centralization, and the differentiation between the rich and the poor in society.

Third, "Water Margin" reflects the social conditions in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty and the rebellion of the northern nomads. Although it recounts some historical events of the Song Dynasty, it tells more about the uprising of the nomads, the rebellion of the people, and the phenomenon of robbing the rich and helping the poor with the bureaucracy, showing the social turmoil and the contradictions of the feudal society at that time.

Finally, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" also describes the struggle for power between Cao Cao and Liu Bei and others during the Three Kingdoms period, showing the history and culture of the last years of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, but also revealing the political corruption and war in feudal society.

To sum up, although the four masterpieces are classic literary works that describe Chinese feudal society, they do not all fully reflect the prosperity of feudal society. They play an important role in understanding the prosperity and decline of feudal society, its myths, values, political systems, and life customs.