Literature

Chinese literature has a long and rich history. China has the longest-surviving written language in the world and it’s been in use for thousands of years. A vast collection of writings, including novels, poems, histories and philosophical works exist and have exerted influence on China’s growth.


Ancient Chinese Classics

Some of the oldest written works are known as the Classics. This refers to a group of literary works that form the basis of Confucianism. Written throughout the 1st millennium BC, the Classics include the Book of Changes, the Classic of History, the Record of Rites and the Spring and Autumn Annals. These books variously describe folk rituals and rites, divination practices, songs and poems. Some of them also include history ranging from that of Confucius’ home kingdom of Lu to ancient Chinese dynasties that reach into pre-history, and give a look into what life was life in ancient China.

Another ancient text, the Analects of Confucius, is a compilation of sayings and recorded discussions between Confucius and his students. Written over a period of decades after Confucius’ death in 479 BC, most likely by his students, it explains many of the basic ideas in Confucian thought. It focuses on respect for parents and rulers, the importance of ritual in human life, loyalty and humaneness.

Another book that influenced China written during this classical period was The Art of War, written in the 6th century BC. Written by a general for one of China’s feudal kingdoms, it is a treatise on waging effective war and explores many modern issues such as international diplomacy, public administration and has influenced Chinese warfare ever since.

The Chinese kept careful and meticulous historical records starting from around 800 BC onward. The most famous of these historical words is known as Records of the Grand Historian, written by the historian Sima Qian in around 100 BC. Sima Qian accurately recounts events that occurred a millennium before his time and his work is considered to be groundbreaking for its objective style and neutral point of view.


Chinese Poetry

The earliest Chinese poetry took the form of lyrical songs and chants, such as the Chuci collection. After the Han Dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) a period of disunity reigned over China and various schools of naturalist poetry grew; the link between Chinese natural science and poetry was strong during this period.

The Tang Dynasty (AD 618 – 907) is considered to be one of the best periods of Chinese classical poetry. Tang poems were elegant and displayed the ideas of the time, ranging from strict Confucian moralist ideas to romantic naturalism. Poems were complex and had particular structures, rhymes and rhythms.

Later poets were constantly striving to achieve the mastery that the Tang masters did. However it is widely accepted that later poets did not achieve the same level of skill that Tang poets reached.

Modern poetry takes several forms. A typical poem, called a shi, is organized into series of parallel couplets with a large emphasis on rhythm. This type is based on the popular Tang Dynasty poems. Another variety is known as gu shi, which predates the Tang dynasty model and places less emphasis on rhythm.

A jue ju poem, unlike a shi and a gu shi, is not about story-telling but rather setting a particular mood. A rarely seen form is the fu, which neither tells a story nor sets a mood but is a pure description of a place, person or object. Most fascinating is the ci, which takes advantage of the Chinese language's tonal nature and arranges tones in a very complex, song-like pattern.


China’s Classical Fiction

China has a rich history of fiction. The four most highly praised novels of the imperial era are known as the “Four Great Classical Novels”. One of these works is known as Journey to the West. Published in the late 1500s and said to be written by the scholar Wu Cheng’en, Journey to the West is the story of a Chinese Buddhist monk that goes on a pilgrimage to find a holy text in India. Along the way he is accompanied by three friends (including a mythical monkey-spirit, Sun Wukong). The book is an adventure story as well as an allegory about personal enlightenment.

Another one of China’s great novels is known as Outlaws of the Marsh (also known as Water Margin and All Men Are Brothers). Water Margin is set in the Song Dynasty and tells the story of over 100 bandits that fight the imperial government and is said to be a subtle critique of the ruling dynasty that it was written under.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a massive book about a war between three of China’s ancient feudal kingdoms. The events described in the book took place over one thousand years before it was written and there are many historical inaccuracies. The book has over 1000 characters and has an intricate and complex plot.

The last of China’s great novels is Dream of the Red Chamber. It details the life of an aristocratic family in Qing Dynasty China (AD 1644 – 1911). It offers a detailed psychological profile of its characters; most of the characters are female, which was unprecedented in pre-modern China. It is also significant because it is one of the first novels to be written in the way people spoke rather than ancient, formal literary Chinese.