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Introduction to Ancient Chinese Literature

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Chinese Literature can be divided into three historical period:

Ancient Chinese literature

Begin from 14 century BC to 2^nd century AD

Written in Ancient Chinese language that is very different from present day Chinese, it needs to be carefully studied to be understood

Here is a picture of Ancient Chinese literature written on a bamboo book

Major achievement in this period

Philosophy

Great philosophers and scholars in this period

It culminated in the compilation of the Five Classics, or Confucian Classics, and other philosophical treatises. In the following centuries of the classical period, the Confucian canon was fixed, and Confucianism became the orthodox teaching, establishing a classical tradition that was to last until the present century.

Confucius September 28, 551BC – 479 BC was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher.

Mencius

Laozi

Zhuangzi

Poetry

The most important poetic work produced during the classical period was the Shi Jing (Shih Ching, Book of Poetry), an anthology of ancient poems written in four-word verses and composed mostly between the 10th and the 7th centuries BC.

These poems mark the beginning of the vernacular tradition in Chinese poetry and are characterized by simplicity of language and emotion. They make up about one-half of the book.

The other half of the Shi Jing is made up of dynastic songs and court poems. These songs and poems give a colorful picture of the life and manners of the Chinese feudal nobility, just as the folk poems depict the simple and yet bountiful life of the peasantry. The court poems were originally sung to music and accompanied by dance; Chinese poetry and music were closely linked from earliest times.

Shi Jing

Conclusion

Ancient China is a period with abundant literature products
Ancient Chinese literature formulate the basement of Chinese literature
Ancient Chinese literature’s most important achievements are philosophy and poetry.