Lecture Notes (Chinese Literature)
Brief history of China
Xia Dynasty (2100–1600 BC) - The first
dynasty in traditional Chinese
historiography.
Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BC) - First
dynasty to have historical records
remaining. Dynasty developed a system of
writing
Zhou Dynasty (1046–221 BC) - and Poetry.
Confucianism emerged. The Basic
Philosophical and religious Literature.
Longest Dynasty. Zhou dynasty claimed
Mandate of Heaven principle gave them the
right to rule.
Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC) - First to unite
China as a country under an emperor. The
literary disaster includes burning of books
and Confucian Scholars. The construction
of the Great Wall of China begun during this
dynasty. Irrigation systems that are still in
use today watered the fields and made
more land good for farming. Set up a
uniform system of law. Rules and
punishment, writing styles, and money were
consistent across China.
Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) - The
same period as the Roman Empire. Made
paper by grinding plant fibers into a paste
and then setting the paste out to dry in
sheets. Acupuncture is the practice of
inserting needles into the skin to cure
disease or relieve pain. This practice is still
widely used today. Confucianism became
the social government philosophy. A device
for telling time, the sundial uses the position
of the shadows cast by the sun to tell the
time of day. The seismograph is a device
that device measures the strength of an
earthquake. Chinese scientists believed that
the movement of the earth was a sign of evil
times. Well-liked by both warriors and
peasants, the emperor released the country
from strict Legalistic practices and focused
on people’s immediate needs.
Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern
Dynasties (220–581) - Frequent regime
changes.
Sui Dynasty (581–618) - A system was
established to select talents by examination.
Tang Dynasty (618–907) - It had the only
female emperor. Early Woodblock Printing
Song Dynasty (960–1279) - Printing, the
compass, and gunpowder were invented.
The dynasty when paper money was
invented.
Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) - The first
foreign regime to unite China. The richest
Dynasty ever recorded in China.
Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) - Most
of the Great Wall today was built or repaired
during the Ming Dynasty.
Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) - The
last dynasty of China.
Background of Chinese Literature
o Chinese Literature - is one of the major
literary heritages of the world, with an
uninterrupted history of more than 3,000
years, dating back at least to the 14th
century BCE.
o Since the Chinese graphs were
inherently nonphonetic, they were at
best unsatisfactory tools for the
transcription of a non-Chinese language,
and attempts at creating a new
alphabetic-phonetic written language for
empire building proved unsuccessful on
three separate occasions.
 Chinese literary works include
fiction, philosophical and
religious works, poetry, and
scientific writings.
Lecture Notes (Chinese Literature)
 Chinese literature often features
moral lessons.
 Many stories are about
mythological beings
o Ancient Chinese literature was influenced
by Confucianism, an ethical system from
Confucius, a revered philosopher.
o The diversity in literary formats and
genres is notable. This encompasses
poetry and prose, philosophical texts,
historical records, and drama.
o Literary format and Genres Literature is
deeply linked to Chinese art and culture.
Art often features literary themes or texts.
Literature also depicts cultural elements
like rituals and festivals.
o Chinese literature has very ancient
beginnings. Chinese literature was first
recorded about 5000 years ago.
o The origins of the Chinese language are
lost, but there is no doubt that it is the
most ancient spoken and written
language. he majors literary and
intellectual fashions of today's China
have grown out of the "Cultural Fever".
Authors and Their Works:
 Lu Xun considered the greatest
Chinese writer of the 20th century.
 The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival
originated as a search for which
poet’s body Qu Yuan.
 Gao Xingjian the first writer in
Chinese to win the Nobel Prize for
Literature.
Confucius (One of China's greatest
philosophers) is known as the first teacher
in China who wanted to make education
broadly available and who was instrumental
in establishing the art of teaching as a
vocation. He also established ethical, moral,
and social standards that formed the basis
of a way of life known as Confucianism
(Respect for elders, good government and
social order represent the basic beliefs of).
Confucius thought that the rites, or ritual (li)
—encompassing and expressing proper
human conduct in all spheres of life—could
steady a man and anchor a government and
that their practice should begin at home.
“Give your parents no cause for worry other
than your illness,” he said. “When your
parents are alive, do not travel to distant
places, and if you have to travel, you must
tell them exactly where you are going”
(Analects, 2:6, 4:19).
 Book of Rites
 Confucius Says
 The Teachings of Confucius
 The Analects (Lun Yü)
 The Art of War & Other Classics of
Eastern Philosophy
 The Teachings of Confucius - Large
Print Edition
 Worte des Konfuzius
 DOCTRINE OF THE MEAN (The
Confucian Way to Achieve
Equilibrium)
 The Book of Odes
 The Wisdom of Confucius
 600 Quotes of Ancient Philosophy:
Confucius, Epictetus, Marcus
Aurelius, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle
 The philosophy of Confucius
Confucius like Jesus or Nazareth taught
"The Golden Rule" and often referred to as
"The Silver Rule" which is recorded in the
Lunyu (The Analects) as "What you do not
wish for yourself, do not do to others"
Confucius taught that all people could
succeed if they worked hard and developed
Character.
Confucius thought that the most important
relationship one could have was one
between a father and son.
Laozi, also romanized as Lao Tzu and
various other ways, was a semi-legendary
ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher, credited
Lecture Notes (Chinese Literature)

with writing the Tao Te Ching. Laozi is a  Tao Te Ching: The Book of The Way
Chinese honorific, generally translated as and Virtue
"the Old Master".
The text Laozi wrote was said to be the Tao
Te Ching, although the present version of
the text includes additions from later
periods.
Laozi is venerated as a philosopher by
Confucians and as a saint or God in popular
religion and was worshipped as an imperial
ancestor during the Tang dynasty (618–
907). (See also Daoism.)
Taoism has been connected to the
philosopher Lao Tzu, who around 500
B.C.E. wrote the main book of Taoism, the
Tao Te Ching. Taoism holds that humans
and animals should live in balance with the
Tao, or the universe. Taoists believe in
spiritual immortality, where the spirit of the
body joins the universe after death.
Taoism refers to a way of looking at life and
a way of thinking about things.

 Tao Te Ching
 The Art of War & Other Classics of
Eastern Philosophy
 Dao De Jing: The Book of the Way
 Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way
and the Power of the Way
 Tao - The Way - Special Edition
 The Ancient Classics Collection: The
Art of War and Tao Te Ching
 Tao Te Ching: On the Art of
Harmony: The New Illustrated
Edition of the Chinese Philosophical
Masterpiece
 Tao Te Ching (Warbler Classics
Annotated Edition)
 Hua Hu Ching: Teachings of Lao Tzu
 The Tao of Christ: A Christian
Version of the Tao Te Ching
 The Dao de Jing: A Qigong
Interpretation