明代政治生態惡化,各種政治勢力和利益集團之間存在尖銳的矛盾沖突,且由于出版技術和邸報等傳播手段發達,政治生活下移,在政治斗爭中,社會各階層都有不同程度的卷入,并影響了相關作家的小說創作及其傳播,小說在不同程度上成為政治斗爭的輔助工具。特別是一些重大歷史事件題材小說,作者通過對歷史材料的選擇、釋讀和處理等,表達自己的政治觀點與訴求,企圖影響當時的政治運作和歷史敘事。這些小說的創作與黨派、地域、鄉誼、文武之爭等多種因素糾纏在一起,有的甚至形成文學暴力,引發血案。這一文學現象,突破了以往小說作為教化、娛樂工具的傳統,形成了中國小說史上獨特的文學景觀。

The deterioration of political ecology during the Ming dynasty led to intense conflicts among various political powers and interest groups. Due to the development of publishing technology and Dibao Gazette, lower classes of the society were increasingly involved in political activities. The varying degrees of involvement of different social classes in political struggles influenced related writers’ fiction writing and dissemination. In this sense, fiction, especially those based on major political events and historical figures, gradually became an auxiliary vehicle for political struggle. Through the selection and(re)interpretation of historical materials, authors expressed their political views and appeals, attempting to influence the political operation and historical narrative. The creation of these fictions was entangled with various factors, such as disputes and conflicts of political parties, regions, civil and military officials, and some even led to literary violence and bloody incidents. Political writing broke the tradition of fictions as a simple vehicle for education and entertainment, forming a unique literary phenomenon in the history of Chinese fiction.