of one volume, "medium" works of about 10 volumes, and long works of more than 10 volumes. Third, there are works of yangban writers and those of common writers. In respect to the last classification, however, there is also a group of fictional works in which the viewpoints of the yangban and the commoner are combined. Most of this fiction was based on the narratives mentioned above, the author adding incidents and characters to the original story. It is not possible to assign definite dates or authors to most of these works. The stories are generally didactic, emphasizing correct moral conduct, and almost always have happy endings. Another general characteristic is that the narratives written by yangban authors are set in China, whereas those written by commoners are set in Korea. The literary miscellany consists of random jottings by the yangban on four broad topics: history, biography, autobiography, and poetic criticism. Like fiction, these jottings were considered to be outside of the realm of officially sanctioned Chinese prose (e.g., memorials, eulogies, and records), but they provided the yangban with an outlet for personal expression. Thus, their portrayal of the customs, manners, and spirit of the times in which they were composed make these writings an essential part of Korean prose. The first known classical work of Korean fiction is Geumo Sinhwa (金鰲新話 금오신화 New stories from Mount Geumo) by Kim Si-seup (김시습). It was written in Chinese. From the 17th century onwards, fiction became increasingly popular and more readily available through book rental schemes. Pansori-based fiction was a particularly popular form of fiction, appearing in the late 17th and early 18th century, based on the five orally transmitted pansori (Chunhyangga, Simcheongga, Heungbuga, Jeokbyeokga and Sugungga). Although based on older traditional songs, it was composed in its present form in the 1870s by the pansori writer, and characterized by human stereotypes of ordinary people of the time. In the mid-Joseon period, parable-like stories were published. By the end of the Joseon period, many writers had started to deviate from the orthodox conventions of classical Chinese literature, and literature about common people such as merchants, thieves, or gisaeng was commonplace. Kim Manjung (1637–1692) wrote The Cloud Dream of the Nine (구운몽). Tale of Hong Gildong (홍길동전) Chunhyangjeon is a kodae sosol (고대 소설) novel based on the pansori Chunhyangga. Several lives of the poet Choe Chiwon have come down: In hanmun the