Fiction Based on Facts: On Zhang Cao's Fiction And Cultural Resources

据实的虚构——论张草小说及其文化资源

Abstract

Abstract

This article discusses the limitations and constraints of Malaysian Chinese novelists in terms of source material through the history of Zhang Cao's creation of genre fiction and the documentary sources from which he draws his material. Zhang is an anomaly in the Mahua fiction world in that he has devoted almost all his efforts to writing genre fiction rather than purely literary fiction. In order to conquer the mass audience, genre fiction requires a great deal of surprising and original literary material (to demonstrate the author's true talent), and it is not easy to write. Zhang Cao's genre fiction is a blend of Chinese martial arts, Ming Dynasty history, Buddhist classics and
Borneo folk beliefs, with the use of authentic historical materials and evidence to create a fictionalised legendary world, which is a testament to the difficult path of growth for a Mahua write.

Keywords: science fiction, martial arts, novels, Zhang Cao