C hina

Like the novel in many other cultural traditions, the Chinese novel has humble origins and a long history of evolution. Its current name, changpian xiaoshuo , has two components: changpian means long, full‐length, and xiaoshuo is the term for fiction, which, if taken literally, means small talk. Hence, short stories are duanpian xiaoshuo (short‐length stories) and novellas are zhongpian xiaoshuo (medium‐length stories). Alternatively, both changpian and xiaoshuo can also be a shorthand expression for the full‐length novel. An earlier name for the novel is zhanghui xiaoshuo , with the word zhanghui meaning chapters, emphasizing the regular structure of chapters that typically center on the plot to entice the reader to continue.