论明代神魔小说的发展历程

明代神魔小说是中国古典小说发展的一个重要阶段，明朝相对较为宽松的政治文化环境、市民阶层的扩大和个性思潮张扬给明代神魔小说的创作提供了良好的氛围，明代神魔小说以《西游记》为代表作，在整体上达到了神魔小说创作的最高峰，对后代的小说创作产生了深远的影响。神魔小说的发展过程大致可以分为酝酿期、繁荣期和衰退期三个阶段。

The Development of the Mythical Novel in the Ming Dynasty

The mythical novel in the Ming Dynasty was an important stage in the development of classical Chinese novels. At that time, the relatively loose political and cultural environment, the expansion of the citizen class, and the assertion of personal thought all provided a good atmosphere for the mythical novels. With Journey to the West being the representative work, mythical novels of the Ming Dynasty reached the peak of creation and they had a profound influence on the novel later. The mythical novel had gone through three stages of emergence, prosperity and recession.