Chinese Literature

I

Introduction

Chinese Literature, writings of the Chinese people, with a continuous history of more than 3,000 years. It is the literature of a large multicultural area that became an empire in the 3rd century bc. This empire lasted until 1911, when the Republic of China was formed. Most of the literature prior to the 20th century was written or collected by officials who were part of the imperial system or by men educated as a part of this system. Chinese literature therefore has many connections with the history of China and with the major philosophical and religious beliefs of the society.

Poetry and essays were the major forms of Chinese literature prior to the 20th century. Yet over the centuries the Chinese also developed traditions of fiction and drama. While Chinese literature has adopted many literary forms from its wide contact with other cultures, all forms of Chinese literature, in turn, have had a major influence on the writings of Korea, Japan, and neighboring countries of Central and Southeast Asia.

II

The Classics

Most of the writing attributed to the first 1,000 years of Chinese literature is contained in a set of texts endorsed in the 6th century bc by the philosopher Confucius in a record of his conversations entitled Lunyu (The Analects). From the founding of the Han dynasty at the end of the 3rd century bc until the 20th century, these texts formed the pinnacle of a literary hierarchy that was maintained by an officially sponsored educational system. This system served as an important avenue to government position and membership in the cultural elite, who were known as the wenren (literati or educated class).

Confucius was one of a diverse group of philosophers who offered their services as advisers on good government to the rulers of several feudal states within the ruling house of Zhou, a dynasty that held power from about 1045 to 256 bc. Dismayed by the immorality of his times, Confucius called for governments to uphold the official rituals and etiquette of earlier generations of the Zhou dynasty. The ancient texts, he claimed, recorded the success of the early Zhou dynasty in regulating behavior, and their success underscored the importance of proper ritual and etiquette, which demonstrated respect for the order of the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. Music and verse, Confucius said, were important elements inspiring rulers and subjects to proper feelings and conduct. The texts promoted by Confucius became known in later centuries as Jing (Classics), taking their final form after the Han empire adopted them as a state orthodoxy in the last two centuries bc. Brief descriptions of the six Confucian Classics follow.

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(1) The I Ching (Yi jing, or Book of Changes) presents the universe and human society as constantly changing but having a definable order. This order can be described through 64 six-line diagrams known as hexagrams, which were originally used for fortune-telling. Later scholars enlarged upon the hidden meanings of the diagrams and interpreted the I Ching as a philosophical text that comments on moral truths. The text remains popular today.

(2) The Shu jing (Book of History) purports to be a collection of speeches, discussions, and other matter from the 3rd millennium bc to the 6th century bc, but much of it is clearly more recent. The Shu jing concerns itself primarily with the practices of good government.

(3) The Shi jing (Book of Songs) is a collection of folk songs, love poems, and ceremonial odes composed between 1200 and 600 bc, presumably near the Yellow (Huang) River basin region in the north. The verses are in lines of four characters (or syllables) and use rhyme and alliteration (repetition of the initial letter). Confucius quoted them in his works. Because he described them as “without depraved thoughts,” all the verses in the Shi jing have been treated as moral allegories.

(4) The Li ji (Book of Ritual) contains detailed discussions of the principles of conduct at court and in private ceremonies. Although the Han dynasty and later rulers altered actual ritual and etiquette, allusions to this text remain common.

(5) The Chun qiu (Spring and Autumn Annals) is a simple chronicle of the state of Lu, where Confucius was born, in the years from 722 to 481 bc (known as the Spring and Autumn period). With it are associated two interpretative commentaries, and a longer one, the Zuo Zhuan, which is a collection of narratives concerning all the Chinese feudal states during this period. The Zuo Zhuan (Tso Chuan) is the first great historical text of Chinese literature.

(6) The Yue jing (The Book of Music) is believed to have been lost before the founding of the Han dynasty, and there is no known copy in existence. However, a very large set of orchestral instruments inscribed with texts of music theory was unearthed in the late 20th century in the central Chinese province of Hubei. These instruments yielded an unprecedented amount of information on early Chinese music. See also Confucianism.

Confucian discourse may have been the dominant early philosophy of China, but the literati also introduced numerous alternatives during this period, some of which challenged the hierarchy dominated by the Classics. The most celebrated alternatives are the Daoist (Taoist) texts, the Daodejing (The Way and Its Power) and the Zhuangzi. The Daodejing is attributed to the philosopher Laozi (Lao-tzu) who lived in the 6th century bc. The Zhuangzi is named after its author, Zhuangzi, who wrote in the 4th century bc. In these texts the authors ridicule the rules of the cosmos, society, and the moral order advocated by Confucius and speak in favor of sensuous experience and imagination. Displacing the Confucian emphasis on social rules and moral teaching, the clever rhetoric of the Daodejing and the irreverence and fantasy of the Zhuangzi helped ensure the popularity of these texts among the cultural elite, even among those whose careers were dedicated to Confucian education. See also Daoism.

III

Literature of the Han Dynasty

The writings and teachings of Confucius reached the height of their popularity during the Han dynasty. Han rulers elevated Confucianism to the official state philosophy, promoting the study of the Classics. At the same time, other forms of literature began to appear and develop in Chinese society.

A

Poetry

Poetry during the Han empire encompassed not only the verse forms inherited from the Book of Songs, but also verses inspired by shamanistic spiritual practices—practices that involved communication with the spirit world—along the semitropical Yangtze River basin. These verses were collected as the Chu ci (Songs of the South). The most famous poem of this collection, the “Li Sao” (“Encountering Sorrow”), is attributed to Qu Yuan, an adviser to the state of Chu in the 4th century bc. This long verse presents the adviser’s loss of favor with the king of Chu and subsequent exile as an allegory of a man whose loved one is unfaithful, prompting him to set out on an imaginary journey through the world and beyond.

Chu ci inspired and influenced a form of prose-poetry known as fu, which was developed by poets in the Han court. Fu rose to prominence as court literature that featured elaborate descriptions in praise of the greatness of Han capitals and palaces, the magnificence of their parks, the beauty of the imperial flora and fauna, and the pleasures of court entertainments. The early genius of fu verse was poet Sima Xiangru, who wrote in the 2nd century bc. He is most remembered for employing his talent with verse and lute to entice the daughter of a Sichuan iron-master to elope with him.

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