"There's a problem in studying vernacular literature, I feel, whether it's hua-pen stories or chang-hui novels," Professor Idema continues. "Many people say that traditional Chinese fiction is no good and has no plot to speak of.
伊維德的博士論文「早期中國白話小說研究（Chinese Vernacular Fiction--The Formative Period）」就在這個基礎上提出了他的看法。「我研究白話文學，話本小說也好，章回小說也好，我覺得有一個問題：很多人說中國古代小說不好，沒什麼 plot（情節）。