GOOD DAY!!!

CHINESE LITERATURE ( 中國文學 )

 The History of Chinese Literature

• Writing in China dates back to the hieroglyphs that were used in the Shang
Dynasty of 1700 – 1050 BC. Chinese literature is a vast subject that spans
thousands of years. One of the interesting things about Chinese literature is
that much of the serious literature was composed using a formal written
language that is called Classical Chinese. Chinese literary works
include fiction, philosophical and religious works, poetry, and scientific
writings.
 Chinese literary fiction
• The earliest written works in China are ghost stories and myths. Ebrey
writes how early Han literature is "rich in references to spirits, portents,
myths, the strange and powerful, the death-defying and the dazzling ".
The Chinese were especially concerned with ghosts because the
appearance of someone who had died meant that the living had
somehow failed them, usually by improper honor in burial, and the dead
would haunt the living until the wrong was righted. If the dead could not
find their family, they would find anyone nearby.
 Jiangshi
The Jiangshi ( 僵屍 or 殭屍 ) is a Chinese vampire/zombie that's name
translates to 'stiff corpse'. It is a horrific creature that usually hops along, and
when it comes across a victim it will suck the life force out of them.
 CHINESE MYTHOLOGY
Chinese mythology or Zhōngguó shénhuà) is mythology that has been passed
down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known
as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional
and cultural traditions.
What is Chinese literature famous for?
 The Five Classics ( Wujing)

The Five Classics can be

described in terms of five visions:
• Metaphysical
• Political
• Poetic
• Social
• Historical.
 The Five Classics ( Wujing)

•  Shujing (“Classic of History”)
•  Shijing (“Classic of Poetry”)
•  Yijing (“Classic of Changes”)
• Liji (“Record of Rites”)
• Chunqiu (“Spring and Autumn’’)
 Shujing (“Classic of History”)

• Wade-Giles romanization Shu-ching, also called Shangshu (“Official History”)

• The Shujing is a compilation of documentary records related to events
in China’s ancient history.
• The Shujing consists of 58 chapters.(Some Chapters are divided and called ‘’Modern
Script’’)
• The first five chapters of the Shujing purport to preserve the sayings and recall the
deeds of such illustrious emperors as Yao and Shun, who reigned during China’s
legendary golden age.
• Chapters 6 to 9 are devoted to the Xia dynasty (c. 2205–c. 1766 BC), the historicity of
which has not been definitively established. 
• The next 17 chapters deal with the Shang dynasty and its collapse in 1122 BC.
• The final 32 chapters cover the Xizhou (Western Zhou) dynasty that ruled China until
771 BC.
 Shijing (“Classic of Poetry”)
• Translated variously as the Book of Songs, Book of Odes, or simply
known as the Odes or Poetry ( 詩 ; Shī), is the oldest existing
collection of Chinese poetry.
• It is one of the "Five Classics" traditionally said to have been compiled
by Confucius, and has been studied and memorized by scholars in
China and neighbouring countries over two millennia.
• It is also a rich source of chengyu (four-character classical idioms) that
are still a part of learned discourse and even everyday language in
modern Chinese.
 The Shijing Contains:

•“Name” Early references refer to the anthology as the 300

Poems (shi). The Odes first became known as a jīng, or a "classic
book", in the canonical sense, as part of the Han Dynasty official
adoption of Confucianism as the guiding principles of Chinese society.
•“Content” The Classic of Poetry contains the oldest chronologically
authenticated Chinese poems. The majority of the Odes date to
the Western Zhou period (1046–771 BCE), and were drawn from
around provinces and cities in the Zhongyuan area.
 Part Number and meaning Date (BCE)[6][7]

國風  Guó fēng 160 "Airs of the States" 8th & 7th century

小雅  Xiǎo yǎ 74 "Lesser Court Hymns" 9th & 8th century

大雅  Dà yǎ 31 "Major Court Hymns" 10th & 9th century

周頌  Zhōu sòng 31 "Eulogies of Zhou" 11th & 10th century

魯頌  Lǔ sòng 4 "Eulogies of Lu" 7th century

商頌  Shāng sòng 5 "Eulogies of Shang" 7th century

•“Authorship” Although the Shijing does not specify the names of authors in association with the contained works, both
traditional commentaries and modern scholarship have put forth hypotheses on authorship. The "Golden Coffer" chapter of
the Book of Documents says that the poem "Owl" (鴟鴞) in the "Odes of Bin" was written by the Duke of Zhou. Many of the
songs appear to be folk songs and other compositions used in the court ceremonies of the aristocracy”
•“Textual history”
Compilation
Confucius
Han dynasty
•“Legacy”
Confucian allegory
Political influence
Modern scholarship
 Yijing (“Classic of Changes”)

• As a divination text, the I Ching is used for a traditional Chinese form of

cleromancy known as I Ching divination, in which bundles of yarrow
stalks are manipulated to produce sets of six apparently random
numbers ranging from 6 to 9.
• The Yijing is about an acceptance of change and a willingness to
act in the best way possible. Unlike Western thought, where things
are supposed to have a cause, Chinese people often believe in
synchronicity.
 Liji (“Record of Rites”)

• The Book of Rites, also known as the Liji, is a collection of texts describing
the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as
they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods.
• The Book of Rites described the social norms, governmental organization,
and the ritual conduct during the Zhou dynasty. Believed to have been
compiled by Kongzi, the Book of Rites is the foundation of many ritual
principles that arise in later imperial China.
 “Confucius”
• Was a philosopher and teacher who lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E. His
thoughts on ethics, good behavior, and moral character were written
down by his disciples in several books, the most important being the
Lunyu. Confucianism believes in ancestor worship and human-
centered virtues for living a peaceful life.
 Chunqiu (“Spring and Autumn’’)

• The Spring and Autumn Annals (Chūnqiū  春秋 ) is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has

been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The Annals is the official
chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 BC. It is the
earliest surviving Chinese historical text to be arranged in annals form.
• The term Chinese classic texts may be broadly used in reference to texts which were
written in vernacular Chinese or it may be narrowly used in reference to texts which were
written in the classical Chinese which was current until the fall of the last imperial dynasty,
the Qing, in 1912.
• These texts can include shi ( 史 , historical works), zi ( 子 , philosophical works belonging
to schools of thought other than the Confucian but also including works on
agriculture, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, divination, art criticism, and other
miscellaneous writings) and ji ( 集 , literary works) as well as jing (Chinese medicine).
SHUJING Liji Chunqiu

Shijing Yijing