随着小说界革命的势力减弱,清末至五四之前出现了中国文学史上空前绝后的文言小说大繁荣。宏观上看,这批小说仍在继承着古典文言小说的艺术规范,沿袭着文言书面语的传统修辞。但同时,在各种因素的影响下出现了新变:文言翻译小说、变异骈体小说、文言章回体小说增多。与古典文言小说表现个人情怀及神怪、传奇不同,此期的文言小说包容更加广阔的社会时事内容,语言也呈现浅白化、驳杂化、新词汇涌现等新特性。
With the weakening of Novel Reform,the unprecedented boom of classical Chinese novels appeared before late Qing Dynasty to May 4th.Macrocosmically,these novels still inherit artistic criterion and follow traditional rhetoric.Meanwhile,new changes appeared.For example,classical translation novels,parallel novels,and classical serial novels have increased.Different from the expressions of personal feelings and legends in the past,this period of novels contain much broader social affairs,and languages present new features including superficiality,intricacy and new words.