Translate the following paragraph into English. 中国的四大名著是指《三国演义》 ( Romance of the Three Kingdoms ) 、《水浒传》 ( Outlaws of the Marsh ) 、《西游记》 ( Journey to the West ) 和《红楼梦》 ( A Dream of Red Mansions ) 四部著名小说。它们的创作时间均处于元末明初至清代期间,其内容反映了中国古代的政治和军事斗争、社会矛盾、文化信仰等各个方面。四大名著具有很高的艺术水平,代表了中国古典小说的高峰。书中的许多人物和场景在中国家喻户晓,并且已经深深地影响了整个民族的思想观念和价值取向。四本著作在中国古代民俗、封建制度、社会生活等多个领域皆有巨大的研究价值,是中国乃至全人类的宝贵文化遗产。 Reference: 2. T he four great classic Chinese novels are Romance of the Three Kingdoms, outlaws of the Marsh, Journey to the West and A Dream of Red Mansions. All the four novels were written during the period from the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties to the Qing Dynasty. They all reflect various aspects of ancient China, including political and military strife, social conflicts and cultural beliefs. The four novels are of supreme artistic standards, representing the peak of China’s classic novels. Lots of the characters and scenes in the books are well-known in China and have exerted profound influences on the ideology and values of the entire nation. Highly valuable for the research of China’s ancient customs, feudal system, and social life, the four classic novels are precious cultural relics of China as well as the human society as a whole.