Huang Hua just celebrated his 96th birthday. A graduate of Yenching University, he is a typical Chinese progressive intellectual of his time. In old China the suffering of the mon people and the pressing danger of losing the sovereignty of the entire nation led Huang Hua and millions of young people to join the struggle for China’s liberation. Huang Hua’s memoir is a book describing his more than 70 years of activities as a revolutionary and a diplomat. It reflects also many significant aspects of China’s modern political history. In his posts as ambassador and foreign minister he witnessed a great range of events in international relations and participated in the realization of the foreign policy of New China. As to the book’s style of writing, it is just like the character of the author-clear and straightforward, so it is easy to read and prehend.

本书从《列异传》、《搜神记》、《幽明录》、《世说新语》等汉魏六朝(公元前206—公元589年)小说中遴选90篇，展示了中国古代小说童年期的大致面貌。 汉魏六朝小说大致可分为三种，类是记叙神、仙、鬼、怪的志怪书，如《列异传》、《搜神记》等等，第二类记叙历史人物事件但掺杂了较多怪诞无稽的内容，有人称它们为杂史杂传，如《燕丹子》、《汉武故事》等等，第三类是记叙当时名士的卓然不群的举止言行的志人书，如《世说新语》等等。这些古小说除杂史杂传的篇幅较长之外，大都是丛残小语，故事粗陈梗概，有的还谈不上是故事。它们文字简古，但文约而事丰，用极简练的文字就可以叙说极复杂的事物。 汉魏六朝小说很早就流传到国外。本书选用的英文译本，系中国著名的文学翻译家杨宪益、戴乃迭夫妇所译。这是当今众多英译本中的一种。