Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.55

v2.c10.55

There were many classical Chinese novels in Ming Dynasty, represented by *New Stories Told while Trimming the Wick* by Qu You (1341-1427) , *Stories Told While Trimming the Wick* by Li Changqi (1376-1451) , and *Stories Told While Searching for the Wick* by Shao Jingzhan (16th century). The above-mentioned three stories were obviously influenced by Buddhism as seen in the commonly used Buddhist words and literary quotations. The Buddhist temple was always the location of story or hero or heroine; the Buddhist monks and nuns, believers and those against Buddhism were leading characters in stories, and the doctrine of Buddhism was the main idea of the novel.