Chinese Classical Literature

Analects

It is the most important work of the Confucian literary heritage. Complied by Confucius'diciples, it recorded the master's activities and conversations, the only reliable source about the life and teachings of this great teacher. The book contains 20 chapters and 497 verses. From the time when Confucianism became widely accepted, the laconic and provocative sentences of this work have exercised a profound impact upon the thought and language of Chinese intellectuals. For the last 800 years, it has become a basic textbook in the schools.

Flight of the Phoenix to the Southeast

In the Han Dynasty there appeared a new kind of poetry called Yuefu. Originally it was am official constitution for collecting folk songs and composing music for them. Later it became the general term for the folk songs collected. According to the Book of Han there were 138 folk songs of Han Yufu. Yufu is another peak of Chinese classical poetry after Book of Songs and Chuci, Qu Yuan's poems. Among them the most famous one is a long narrative poem called Flight of the Phoenix to the Southeast, telling a tragic romance of a young girl.

The Tang Dynasty was of both economical and cultural prosperity. Its poetry reached a zenith in history. The Complete Collection of Tang Poems, edited in the early Qing Dynasty, comprises 48,977 poems by 2,208 poets, of which the most well-known two are Li Po and Du Fu.

Drinking Alone with the Moon

From a pot of wine among the flowers
I drank alone.There was no one with me --
Till raising my cup, I ask the bright moon
To bring me my shadow and make us three.
Alas, the moon was unable to drink
And my shadow tagged me vacantly;
But still for a while I had these friends
To cheer me through the end of spring...
I sang. The moon encouraged me
I danced. My shadow tumbled after.
As long as I knew, we were born companions.
And then I was drunk, and we lost one another.
...Shall goodwill ever be secure?
I watch the long road of the River of Stars .

Du Fu

Du was the greatest poet of realism in ancient China . As a mirror of the times, his poems faithfully and profoundly reflect the social realities of the Tang Dynasty in decline, thus they are called ‘history in poems'. In 759, Du gave up his official post and went to Sichuan Province , making his abode in a thatched hut on the outskirts of Chengdu . More than 1,400 of his poems are retained to the present-day, covering various aspects of the society of his time. many if them are penetrating exposures of the iniquities of the ruling class and the sufferings of the people.

Wine and meat stink behind vermilion gates, while at the roadside, people freeze to death.

The literature of this period is renowned for Ci. Ci is a form of portry consisting of lines of different lengths. In its early period, Ci described mainly the sentiments and sorrow between a gentleman and his beloved. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty there appeared writers who used Ci to describe natural scenery and expressed emotions of grief and indignation.

Spring Morning

Last night the rain was scattered,

The gust strong

Deep slumber did not ease my hangover long.

I queried the one rolling up the blinds,

And was told the flowering crabapples have kept their prime.

Do you not know?

Do you not know?

Now is the time when green should be corpulent

And red should be gaunt.

Lu You

Written more than 9,300 poems, Lu is an outstanding patriotic poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. Among his poems, those that express the poet's love for the country are just more than outstanding. His poems not only reflect the wishes of the people for a united but also criticize the surrender and submissiveness of the rulers. In the following poem, Lu expressed his firm determination to join the army and sacrifice for the country as well as his unfulfilled ambitions.

The Storm on November 4 th

In desolate village I lie still but not sad,

Still thinking about defending the nation instead.

The Rain soaks the wind that blows the dead of the night,

And armored horses and frozen rivers enter my dream meanwhile.

Zaju or drama, was the greatest achievement in the literature of the Yuan Dynasty, and had a far-reaching influence on the later development of play writing and acting as well as in the rise of various forms of operas.

Collected Works of Guan Hanqing

Romance of the Western Chamber

Written by Wang Shifu, Romance of the Western Chamber is the best ancient love play in China . It eulogizes the true love between Cui Yingying and Zhang Sheng. Wang fighted against the feudal marriage system and sat out to reveal the deep-rooted conflicts in China 's feudal society. In characterization, the play reveals the delicate and complicated inner activities of the characters in meticulous and subtle way to figure out their personality. Linguistically, it's resplendent and natural.

Zaju or drama, was the greatest achievement in the literature of the Yuan Dynasty, and had a far-reaching influence on the later development of play writing and acting as well as in the rise of various forms of operas.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong

It is a 120-chapter historical novel with its subject drawing from the history between the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period. Special emphasis is laid on Liu Bei and Cao Cao , two antagonistic figures in the ruling class. Liu was portrayed as an ideal ruler, while Cao was a famous statesman and strategic. Taking the conflicts and struggles as a major clue and wars as plots, writer stringed hundreds of tales together with distinct cause and effect, and combined facts with imagination, details with sketches, creating a masterpiece that is surpassed by few in Chinese history.

Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en

Unlike other ancient Chinese novels, this novel incorporates both myths and fairy tales. However, it is still based on folk tales and stories that had long been popular among the people. Religion is an object of mockery in the novel. Pig Bajie pokes fun at the three Gods, and Monkey King jeers at Buddha Rulai to his face. The rebellious spirit of the hero Monkey King is eulogized through account of his storming the heavenly peace and ravaging the nether regions.

A Dream of Red Mansion by Cao Xueqin

Being one of the four famous Chinese classics, the novel was first written by Cao and completed by Gao E in the mid-eighteenth century. To some extend, it is an autobiography of Cao, in which the author narrates the decline of the four clans of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Wue, with a key thread of the love between Jia Baoyu , Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. The language of the novel marks a summit in the art of language in Chinese classic novels. Cao used only couple of words to sketch each of the character who are so vividly created that they leave the readers with deep impressions. Besides, the narration boasts a high artistic quality, the verse, ditties, odes and songs not only fuse together with narration, but also help to create typical characteristics.