Liu Xiang:the Writer of Xinxu,Shuoyuan and Biography of Women——the Value of Liu's Three Books in the History of Chinese Novels

Since Southern Song Dynasty there has been an argument among many scholars that Liu Xiang was not the author of Xinxu,Shuoyuan and Biography of Women,but the editor,which is not correct.Studying the material recorded in the Xulu of Shuoyuan,Hanshu and Hanzhi,we can draw a conclusion that the three works were written by Liu Xiang.Material in Chaoqi of Lunheng and some stories in the three works also make it clear the author is Liu Xiang.Liu's three works are the largest collection of short stories before the Tang Dynasty,and the beginning of fiction about the historical figures in Wei,Jin and Six Dynasties and the first endeavor in editing and writing fiction according to different categories in Wei,Jin and Six Dynasties.Thus,Liu exerts important influence on the novels in Han,Wei and Six Dynasties and deserves his position in Chinese classical novel history as a major writer of fiction.