This book examines the Chinese fictions (xiaoshuo) published between 1898 and 1927 – three pivotal decades, during which China underwent significant social changes. It applies Narratology and Sociology of the Novel methods to analyze both the texts themselves and the social-cultural factors that triggered the transformation of the narrative mode in Chinese fiction. Based on empirical data, the author argues that this transformation was not only inspired by translated Western fiction, but was also the result of a creative transformation in tradition Chinese literature.