[简答题]中国文学的四大名著——《水浒传》、《三国演义》、《红楼梦》和《西游记》，通常被认为是中国最杰出、最有影响力的古代小说。人们普遍认为前两个名著创作于元代(the Yuan Dynasty)。从明清开始，它们便被大多数中国人所熟知。它们居世界上最长和最古老的小说之列，被认为是中国古典小说的巅峰之作，影响了包括中国、日本、韩国和越南(Vietnam)在内的整个东亚地区的许多故事、戏剧、电影、游戏和其他娱乐形式的创作。

参考答案: The Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature—Water Margin, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dream of the Red Chamber and Journey to the West, are commonly regarded to be the greatest and most influential among ancient Chinese fictions. The first two of the four classic novels are traditionally and commonly thought to be written during the Yuan Dynasty. They were known to most Chinese since Ming and Qing Dynasties. They are among the world’s longest and oldest novels and are considered to be the pinnacle of China’s achievement in classical novels, influencing the creation of many stories, plays, movies, games, and other forms of entertainment throughout East Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.