Traditional historical fiction in the Victorian era tries to reflect history faithfully,and plays the role of supplementing history and spreading historical knowledge.It respects verified historical evidence,depicts historical events and figures as truthfully as possible,and is usually written in the historically chronological order.Modern historical fiction explores the nature of historical knowledge,questions the authenticity of historical truth,and internalizes historical events according to the writer's understanding and interpretation of history.It assumes that history,like fiction,is inevitably subjective to the historian's personal inclination as well as to the limitation of historical data.Postmodern historical fiction fictionalizes and distorts history,and puts history in a subordinate position.It subverts established history by inventing other possibilities of historical development,and by digging out the buried histories of the historically suppressed or silenced masses,to reveal the hidden power struggle in the establishment of historical knowledge.