Ancient Chinese literature
Ancient Chinese literature is a very important part of ancient Chinese civilization and captures the thoughts of many ancient Chinese philosophers. Chinese literature was first developed during the Shang Dynasty.[1]
History[edit]
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The history of Chinese literature begins during the last three centuries of the Shang dynasty with the development of the Oracle Bone script. While these texts were generally very brief and factual to be considered literature, their vocabulary of 3,400 characters were effective at forming the basis of modern Chinese scripts.[1] During the Zhou dynasty, philosophical and religious texts flourished, while legal texts emerged during the Qin dynasty under the rule of Li Si, as well scientific texts during the Han dynasty, although they were widely unknown because the texts could not be widely produced.[2] However, during the late Tang dynasty, woodblock printing and movable type were introduced in China, allowing information and books be produced more rapidly and in greater quantities. This also stimulated growth in size and technology of paper in the country.[3]
Genres of Writing[edit]
Template:Contains Chinese text
Prose[edit]
While ancient Chinese prose was not as formal or structured as Classical Chinese poetry, but was much more formal than English prose. Ancient Chinese Prose was almost always written in literary Classical Chinese rather than the writer's local dialect. Classical Chinese was a common language among intellectuals based on systems pioneered in the Warring States Period. Ancient Chinese prose is based on prose used in religious books such as Mencius and Zhuang Zi.[4]
Poetry[edit]
Chinese poetry is very different from Western poetry, as poetry is generally regarded as more important in the Chinese culture as compared to Western cultures. Ancient Chinese poetry often regards topics like romance and nature, and the most popular Ancient Chinese poets lived during the Tang, Song and Han Dynasties; such as Du Fu, Li Bai and Su Shi. There are five main types of Classical Chinese poetry.
- Shi (詩), Couplets, usually rhyming and/or having complimenting tones. Due to Mandarin's 4 tones compared to Classical Chinese's 6, Shi poems are best read in Classical Chinese or Cantonese.
- Ci (詞), Poems with a rigid structure or pattern. These patterns may have once been part of a song, but if so, the music has been lost. Certain patterns can reflect a certain mood or atmosphere.
- Ge (歌), Songs, similar to Ci poems, Ge poems have rigid patterns, but can and usually are sung rather than simply read.
- Qu (曲), Yuan-Dynasty era poems that can either be sung or read. If sung, it is usually in a more free, opera-like style. This is thought to historically accompany Mongol shadow puppet performances.
- Fu (賦), descriptive poems that use a poetry/prose hybrid format. These may also include obscure variant characters.
Four Great Classical Novels[edit]
Outlaws of the Marsh (水滸傳)[edit]
The Outlaws of the Marsh, also translated as "Water Margin" is set in the Song Dynasty in the 14th century. It follows the story of 108 outlaws who were eventually pardoned and sent on missions to battle invading forces. The novel introduces classic characters such as Wu Song, a martial artist.
There is a story about Wu Song in which he stops at a tavern and notices a sign which reads, "After three bowls (of wine), do not cross the (Jingyang) ridge." Wu did not heed the advice and drank fifteen bowls of wine and drunkenly stumbled into the forest towards the ridge. Wu soon realized why it was not advisable to cross the ridge, as a massive tiger sprung out on him. Miraculously, even in a drunken state, he managed to kick the tiger to death. When news of his achievement spread, Wu was given a high government post in Yanggu County.[5]
= Romance of the Three Kingdoms[edit]
(三國演義)[6] Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a story set in the Three Kingdoms period, the unstable times at the end of the Han Dynasty, when the country split into three warring kingdoms; Wei, Shu, and Wu. This period, while chaotic, is responsible for some of the most clever examples of Chinese military strategy.
In one story, The Battle of the Red Cliffs, armies are prepared to attack on opposite sides of the river. Lacking ammunition, Shu Han military strategist Zhuge Liang generated an idea to steal the enemies' arrows. He sends a fleet of ships with scarecrows on the deck across the river, as in the fog, the enemies could not distinguish the scarecrows from living soldiers, and so ordered the archers to launch. Arrows rained from the sky and struck the scarecrows and the deck. The boats reversed course and the Shu were able to collect almost 100,000 arrows to bring back to their camp, sufficient to attack the invading state and secure the battle.
This novel has been the topic of various video games and movies, such as Dynasty Warriors and The Red Cliff.
Journey to the West[edit]
(西遊記)[7]
Journey to the West is the story of an immortal monkey who was born out of a rock and protects a Buddhist monk on his journey to India to obtain copies of the Buddhist scriptures. The story is best known to westerners through the 1970s Japanese Television Drama adaption "Monkey". The monkey in the story is very mischievous and is punished by Buddha, but eventually redeems himself by Buddhist conversion and his protection of the Monk. Each chapter contains many moral lessons and insights into Chinese buddhist ideology. The book is very lengthy- a 1993 English version by William John Francis Jenner contains four volumes.[7]
Dream of the Red Chamber[edit]
(紅樓夢) [8] Dream of the Red Chamber is a novel that follows the rise and fall of a Qing-dynasty aristocratic family. It is hypothesized that the story is based around the events of the family of Qing-era novelist Cao Xueqin. The novel is the most recent of all the novels and is written in Qing Dynasty Beijing dialect, although modern Beijing Dialect and Standard Chinese Speakers would likely feel that the text is relatively classical. The text is very long- 120 Chapters; 80 of which are attributed to the original author and 40 of which are believed to have been added later.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Chinese literature". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ↑ "Chinese Literature". ancient.eu. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ↑ "The Invention of Woodblock Printing in the Tang (618–906) and Song (960–1279) Dynasties". Asian Art Museum | Education. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ↑ "Traditional Prose". Oxford Bibliographies. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ↑ "Wu Song Beats the Tiger and Outlaws of the Marsh - Stories from Chinese Literature | Shen Yun - Shen Yun Performing Arts". www.shenyunperformingarts.org. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- ↑ Luo, Laoshu (2002). Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Zhengzhou: Tuttle. ISBN 978-0804834674. Search this book on
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wu, Cheng'en (1993) [1592]. Journey To The West. Translated by Jenner, William John Francis. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. ISBN 9787119016634. Search this book on
- ↑ Cao, Xueqin (1996). Dream of the Red Chamber. Translated by Hawkes, David. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0146001765. Search this book on
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