晚清之际,华文小说开始在南洋华人族群间流播,并在中国“小说界革命”影响之下自旧趋新、日渐繁盛。其衍进轨迹,既颇多波折,又独具特点。首先,小说观念的更新上,一度出现理论先行实践落后的局面,直到中国文化精英南来之后,才使之有了根本性改观。其次,晚清革命派和保皇派在南洋的论战,无意间推动了南洋华文小说创作的繁荣,并与本土作家既博弈又共生共荣。其三,南洋华文小说艺术上的最大看点是本土化因子的萌蘖,这既是南洋华文小说独立品格形成的开端,亦为南洋华文作家本土身份及意识的确立奠定了基础。
In the late Qing Dynasty, Chinese novel began to spread in the Southeast Asia Chinese group. Under the influence of China's "Novel Revolution", the style of the increasingly prosperous Chinese novel changed from the old to a new one. The evolution process of Chinese novel, which experienced quite a lot of twists and turns, is quite unique. First of all, in updating novel concept, practice had lagged behind theory, until Chinese cultural elite joined in. Secondly, polemic between revolutionaries and royalists in Southeast Asia promoted inadvertently the prosperity of Chinese novel in the Southeast Asia. Writers of Chinese novel in the Southeast Asia compete and co--prosper with writers at home. Thirdly, the most splendid art highlight of Southeast Asia Chinese novel is the appearance of localized characters, which marked the beginning of its independent character formation, as well as the foundation of establishing writers' identity and consciousness.