Zhang Longxi, an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese and comparative literature, is your guide to the three-millennia-long history of Chinese literature from the remote antiquity of oracle bones to contemporary works.
Professor Zhang charts the development of the major literary forms in Chinese, including poetry, prose, song lyrics, and plays, and introduces the most famous poets and writers and their representative texts. Taking a period-based approach through the major dynasties, he places these forms, texts, and authors within their historical contexts and tells the fascinating story of Chinese literature with copious examples in English translation. He writes in a clear and accessible style and assumes no prior knowledge of Chinese history or Chinese literature.
This book is an ideal introduction for students and the general readers who want to get a broad but thorough overview of Chinese literature in all its richness and diversity.
Author(s): Zhang Longxi
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 439
City: London
Cover
Endorsement Page
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Preface
Chronology of Chinese Dynasties and Periods
Chapter 1 Pre-Qin Antiquity and Foundational Texts of the Chinese Cultural Tradition
From Myth to Recorded History
The Chinese Concept of Poetry
Pre-Qin Foundational Texts: The Confucians
Pre-Qin Foundational Texts: The Daoists
Notes
Chapter 2 The Book of Poetry and the Songs of Chu
Shi jing or the Book of Poetry
Confucian Allegorical Commentaries
Love, Disappointment, and Social Critique
Chu ci or the Songs of Chu
Qu Yuan the Man and the Poet
Note
Chapter 3 The First Great Empire: The Han Dynasty
From the “Sound of Chu” to fu or Rhyme-prose of Han
Literary Prose: Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian
“Music Bureau” Poetry
Literati Poetry and the 19 Ancient Poems
Early Translation of Buddhist Texts
Chapter 4 Another Wave of Intellectual Excitement: The Wei-Jin Period
Political Disunion and Intellectual Diversity
Leaders of the Jian’an Period: The Three Caos
Seven Masters of Jian’an and the Other Poets
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
Literature of the Jin Dynasty
Tao Qian, the Poet of Nature and Country Life
Chapter 5 The Rise of Wen or Literature: The Southern and the Northern Dynasties
Folksongs from the South and the North
Xie Lingyun, Bao Zhao, and Innovations in Poetry
The Luxurious Qi-Liang Style
The Xiao Brothers and the “Palace Style” Poetry
Integration of the North and the South
The Rise of Narrative Fiction
The Thriving of Literary Criticism
Chapter 6 The Splendor of Poetry: From the Early to the High Tang Period
From Sui to the Early Tang
The Four Distinguished Poets of the Early Tang
Out of the Shadow of the Southern Dynasties
The Advent of the High Tang: Poetry of the Frontiers
Nature and Landscape: Wang Wei and Meng Haoran
Chapter 7 The Twin Stars of Tang Poetry: Li Bo and Du Fu
The Banished Immortal
Li Bo’s “Music Bureau” Poetry and Songs
Li Bo’s Jue Ju or Quatrains
Li and Du: In Friendship and in Comparison
Change of the Times and the Sage of Poets
Du Fu’s Achievement and Influence
Chapter 8 Different Orientations in Mid-Tang Poetry
In the Interim
The Han-Meng School
Pushing Further toward the Unusual: Jia Dao and Li Ho
Bo Juyi, Yuan Zhen, and the “New Music Bureau” Poetry
Bo Juyi’s Narrative Poems and Poems of Leisure
Poets in Exile: Liu Yuxi and Liu Zongyuan
Chapter 9 Literary Prose, Fiction, and Late Tang Poetry
Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and the “Archaic Prose Movement”
Romance, Transformation Texts, and Performance
Two Major Poets: Du Mu and Li Shangyin
Wen Tingyun and Late Tang Poetry
A New Poetic Genre: Ci Lyrics of Mid- and Late Tang
The Among Flowers Collection: Ci Lyrics of the Western Shu
Li Yu and Ci Lyrics of the Southern Tang
Chapter 10 Towards the Height of a Refined Culture: The Northern Song Dynasty
Society and Culture in the Song Dynasty
Wang Yucheng and Early Song Poetry
Development of Ci Lyrics in the Northern Song
Liu Yong and the Transformation of Ci Lyrics in the Northern Song
Chapter 11 From Ouyang Xiu to Su Shi: The Splendor of Northern Song Literature
Ouyang Xiu as Leader on the Literary Scene
Mei Yaochen, Su Shunqin, Ouyang Xiu, and the Shaping of Song Dynasty Poetry
Wang Anshi: A Major Poet and Writer
Su Shi: The Great Literary Genius
Su Shi’s Literary Prose
Su Shi’s Poetry
Su Shi’s Ci Lyrics
Chapter 12 Literature from the Late Northern to the Early Southern Song Dynasty
Poetry of Su Shi’s Associates
Huang Tingjian and the Jiangxi School of Poetry
Ci Lyrics in the Late Northern Song Dynasty
Poetry of the Early Southern Song Dynasty
Zhang Yuan’gan and Others: Ci Lyrics in the Early Southern Song
Li Qingzhao: A Great Female Poet of Ci Lyrics in the Early Southern Song
Chapter 13 From Lu You to Xin Qiji: Poetry and Ci Lyric in the Southern Song
Fan Chengda, Yang Wanli, and Mid-Southern Song Poetry
Lu You: The Major Poet of the Southern Song
Xin Qiji and the Height of Ci Lyrics in the Southern Song
Chapter 14 Literature of the Late Southern Song and the Jin
Jiang Kui, Wu Wenying, and Ci Lyrics in the Late Southern Song
The “Four Spirits of Yongjia” and the “Jianghu School of Poetry”
Wen Tianxiang and the Swan Songs of the Southern Song
Yuan Haowen and Poetry of the Jin Dynasty
Storytelling and Theatrical Performance in the Song and the Jin
Chapter 15 Literature of the Yuan Dynasty
Society and Literature of the Yuan Dynasty
Guan Hanqing and Yuan Drama
Wang Shifu and Romance of the West Chamber
The Orphan of Zhao and Other Plays
Sanqu or Song Lyrics
Poetry of the Yuan Dynasty
Narrative Fiction: Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin
Chapter 16 Poetry of the Ming Dynasty
Early Ming: Gao Qi, the Victim of a Dark Era
The Four Talented Poets of the Central Wu Area
The Former and the Latter Seven Masters
Xu Wei and Li Zhi: Calling for a Free Spirit
The Gong’an School and the Jingling School of Poetry
Chen Zilong and Other Late Ming Poets
Chapter 17 Mid- and Late Ming Literature: Songs, Fiction, Drama, and Essays
Urban Development and Popular Literature: Song Lyrics and Folksongs
Journey to the West and Mid-Ming Novels and Plays
The Plum in the Golden Vase and Late Ming Narrative Fiction
Tang Xianzu and the Peony Pavilion
Short Essays: A Late Ming Literary Genre
Chapter 18 Poetry and Prose of the Qing: From Early to the Middle Period
Qing Empire and Its Cultural Policies
Poetry and Ci Lyrics in the Early Qing
Wang Shizhen’s “Spirited Resonance” and Other Poetic Tendencies
The “Tongcheng School,” Parallel Prose, and Other Writings
Yuan Mei, Zhang Wentao, and the “Xing Ling School of Poetry”
Gong Zizhen and Literature with Social Consciousness
Chapter 19 Drama, Fiction, and Late Qing Literature
The Last Two Great Works in Classical Chinese Drama
Stories of the Fantastic and the Heroic
Wu Jingzi and The Scholars
Cao Xueqin and Dream of the Red Mansion
Late Qing Novels
Late Qing Poetry
Chapter 20 Modern Chinese Literature
The May Fourth New Culture Movement
Lu Xun: Modern China’s Great Writer and Thinker
The 1920s: New Poetry’s Golden Days
The Pluralistic 1930s: Essays, Novels, and Plays
Literature of the 1940s: A Kaleidoscopic View
Literature in Different Locations
Contemporary Chinese Literature
Index
