The Chinese literature is a good example of ancient human wisdom because it was

written in one single language without any alterations or changes. In fact, China is the
only nation that has been having the same writing system for almost 3,000 years. The
singular characters, graphics and signs that they employ in its writing make a big
difference when compared with other western languages and countries.
Each Chinese character or graphic means a different thought or idea and everybody in
China can understand every single character in spite of what local dialects people use.
The development of the Chinese writing language during past centuries has relevant
effects nowadays.
In the western world a piece of Chinese literature is really appealing. That is why the
Chinese literature is highly respected and considered as one of the most complex and
interesting literatures in the world.
Taking into that nothing is perfect, the Chinese language has a large number of
characters which for some, it is a disadvantage. In order to read and write a normal
standard Chinese mandarin, a person has to know at least more than 1,000 graphics or
characters. Nevertheless, that disadvantage has been an effective factor in maintaining
and shaping the language. The Chinese language has avoided doing drastic changes as
opposed to several romance languages in Europe.
The literature in China has a huge historical background and a rich tradition like the
visual arts. The first writings of the millenary Chinese literature derived from the
idealistic and spiritual essays of the wise and worldwide recognized Chinese philosophers
Confucius (551-479 BC) and Lao-tzu (4th century BC.)
The essays talked about how the society should be prepared for new challenges that
could rise in the future. Since the discovery of these essays the Chinese literature has
evolved drastically and many writers appeared in the literary scene and began to write
about religion, history, philosophy, poetry, novels and dramatic writings.
For example, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), there was a brilliant writer of poetry
called Li Po. Many historians believe that the poetry was consolidated and became
popular in this period. Essentially, the Chinese poetry talks about the strong relationship
of human beings with the nature environment.
Even also Drama was another old but significant literary form. This type of literary form
combines the local language with audiovisual elements such as Chinese songs and
vernacular music. Currently, China has developed this artistic expression and a big
variety of themes are performed in the famous Peking Opera.
People in China love buying books as a cultural tradition. There are an incalculable
number of Chinese books: adventure, history and science-fiction books are the most
popular ones. There is a classic adaptation of the Water Margin (Shui-hu-chuan) and the
Romance of the three Kingdoms that people can find in any Chinese library. The love
stories are other interesting way to see the world in China because it is a mixture of
tragedy, eroticism and happy endings. The most popular Chinese writer now is Lu Xun
and the most famous novel is The Dream of the Red Chamber.

In these modern times, the Chinese literature is focused on enlarging the culture to
future generations.
Chinese Poetry
The poetry is the most favorite literary genre in China because of its extraordinary
elements. In fact, the Chinese poetry is quite popular since the ancient Han dynasty. The
Chinese poetry is separated into several subgenres that combine perfectly with the big
variety of new and old poems. As an example of the subgenres that belong to the
Chinese poetry we can mention the qu () and ci ( / ). The majority of Chinese
poems have a perfect rhyme. However, there is type of prose-poem named fu ( / ).
Nowadays the Chinese poetry uses western elements to its structure.
Bai Juyi is considered as the most representative poetry writer in China during the MidTang period; even also the writer is very recognized for elaborating verses in a simple
language. Here is a list of the most representative poems of Bai Juyi.

() Song of the palace.

() A visit to Qiantang Lake in spring.

() Reading Laozi.

() Song of sunset on the river.

() On the lake (1).

() On the lake (2).

Ancient literature is a precious cultural heritage of China's several thousand years

of civilization. The Book of Songs, a collection of 305 folk ballads of the Western
Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period, compiled in the sixth century
B.C., is China's earliest anthology of poetry. Qu Yuan of the Warring States Period,
China's first great poet, write Li Sao (The Lament), and extended lyric poem. The
Book of Songs and Li Sao are regarded as classics in Chinese literary history. Later,
different literary styles developed in subsequent dynasties. There were pre-Qin
prose, magnificent Han fu (rhymed prose), and the yuefu folk songs of the end of
the Han Dynasty. Records of the Historian, written by Sima Qian of the Han
Dynasty, is respected as a model of biographical literature, and The Peacock Flies
to the Southeast represents the magnificent yuefu folk songs. These are all well
known among the Chinese people. The Wei and Jin Dynasties (220-420) were a
great period for the production of poetry. The poems written by Cao Cao, a
statesman and man of letters of that time, and by his sons Cao Pi and Cai Zhi, are
fervent and vigorous. They are outstanding forerunners of the progressive
literature of later generations. The Tang Dynasty gave birth to a great number of
men of letters. The Complete Tang Poems is an anthology of more than 50,000
poems. Representative poets include Li Bai, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi, who are the pride
of the Chinese people. The Song Dynasty is well known for its ci (lyric). Song
lyricists may be divided into two groups. The first, best represented by Liu Yong
and Li Qingzhao, is known as the "gentle school"; the second, the "bold and
unconstrained school," is best represented by Su Shi and Xin Qiji. The most notable

achievement of Yuan Dynasty literature was the zaju, poetic drama set of music.
Snow in Midsummer by celebrated playwright Guan Hanqing and The Western
Chamber written by another zaju master, Wang Shipu, are masterpieces of the
ancient drama. The Ming and Qing dynasties saw the development of the novel.
The Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, Outlaws of the Mars by Shi Nai'an, Journey
to the West by Wu Cheng'en, and A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin are the
four masterpieces produced in this form during this period. They have been
celebrated for centuries for their rich historical and cultural connotations and
unique style. The new cultural movement that emerged in the 1920s was an antiimperialist and anti-feudal movement. Progressive writers, represented by Lu Xun,
gave birth to modern Chinese literature. The most outstanding representative
works of this era are the novels The Diary of a Madman and The True Story of Ah Q
by Lu Xun, the poetry anthology The Goddesses by Guo Moruo, the novel Midnight
by Mao Dun, the trilogy novels Family, Spring and Autumn by Ba Jin, the novel
Camel Xiangzi by Lao She, and the plays Thunderstorm and Sunrise by Cao Yu.
The founding of New China in 1949 serves as a signpost for the beginning of
contemporary Chinese literature. Works of this period reflect the hard struggle and
tremendous sacrifices during the long War of Liberation, and eulogize the selflessness
displayed in the building of socialist New China.
The representative works are the novels Red Crag by Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan, Song
of Youth by Yang Mo, The Hurricane by Zhou Libo and Builders of a New Life by Liu Qing.
During the 10-year "cultural revolution" (1966-1976), literature was deliberately
hamstrung, leaving a desolate literary wasteland.
But since the reform and opening to the outside world started in 1978, literary creation
has entered a new period. Some works of the early period of the new era mainly
described the emotional wounds the people suffered during the "cultural revolution." The
main works include The Wound by Lu Xinhua, The Blood-stained Magnolia by Cong Weizi,
Mimosa by Zhang Xianliang, A Small Town Called Hibiscus by Gu Hua and The Snowstorm
Tonight by Liang Xiansheng.
Some works are called works "seeking the roots," for example, Red Sorghum by Mo Yan,
Black Steed by Zhang Chengzhi and Troubled Life by ChiLi. In recent years, a diversifying
tendency has appeared in literary works. Those with historical themes include The Young
Son of Heaven by Lin Li, Zeng Guofan by Tang Haoming, Emperor Yongzheng by Eryue He
and Mending the Crack in the Sky by Huo Da. Making a Decision by Zhang Ping and
Farewell to the Bitter Winter by Zou Yuezhao reflect current real life.
When talking about Literature in the world, China has a unique distinction of being the
only country that has had literature written consecutively for three thousand years in just
one language. The Chinese language is said to be one of the most meaningful of
languages, and the fact that its history in literature is so intriguing, comes to no surprise.
Every letter in the Chinese alphabets stands for an idea or a symbol that has been
engrossed in the wonderful literature of the infamous Chinese writers, artists and
philosophers who graced the great land over the years (Larson, 1998). This paper will
talk about the beauty of Chinese literature and the people who made it beautiful.
Chinese lay a lot of importance on their literature. Literatures from countries around the
world are fast being forgotten with time but Chinese literature is a different story
altogether (de Bary, Theodore et al., 1999). Their literature has only one language that

has not evolved in all these years. Every letter of the language symbolizes a piece of
their illustrious history and tradition
With the theme and main idea of the novel being never giving up even at time of
adversities, it became a model of inspiration for several Chinese generations to follow
(Owen, 1996). To understand the literature of China, it is essential to understand the
dynasties the country saw over these thousands of years. Every dynasty saw writers
establish themselves and their works were then celebrated by the following dynasties.
Each dynasty represented a different theme to the literature and those themes will be
further discussed in this paper. The Han Dynasty (206 BC to AD 220) This was the period
when China was going through a never-seen-before political reformation. The idea of
politics was being instilled and people were only learning new ways of administration.
This was evident in the literature that was produced during this era. Literature from the
Han Dynasty talks about the changing ways of life and how people coped with it. It was
also during this era that poetry was introduced as part of literature in China. The most
popular poets of that time were Liu An, Ssu-ma Ch'ien, and Pan Ku (Woesler, 2008). .
Leaders of the following dynasties used to read his work in order to get inspired and to
get answers to their queries about life and leadership. Lu Xun had the best interpretation
of the Chinese history. Culture and the tradition of China have been best encapsulated in
his work. The other writer who deserves a worthy mention here is, Li Yu-tang. His most
famous works include My Country and My People', `The Importance of Living', `On the
Wisdom of America' and `The Importance of Understanding. Just by reading the titles of
these pieces of literature, one can guess the content and how it could have helped the
people back then who read it (Owen, 1996). Chinas literature continues to shine even to
date. Most of the writings post the 20th century has aimed to bring reforms to the
traditional China. It has aimed to modernize the country. Even Lu Xuns literature
eventually focused on changing the mind-sets of people (Link, 1983). He wanted people
to look forward to the modern China and take China to new and greater heights. Such
was the beauty of Chinese literature that it not just guided people with the help of
Chinese tradition and culture; it still is the major source of inspiration for people of the
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