Poetry Synopsis Chinese poetry sprang up long before written Language was devised, and its poetics were formed and developed through people's everyday labor, their songs and their dances. The Book of Poetryis the first anthology of verse in China. It compiles 305 poems created between the 11th century BC and the 6th century BC. The poems are divided into three sections: feng (songs), ya (odes and epics) and song(hymns). Song was used by the ruling class during their sacrifices to the gods and ancestors. ya has two parts-odes and hymns-both Sung at courts or banquets. ya includes odes to former heroes and satire on the Current politics of the day. Feng is the most important part of the anthology, and includes folksongs collected from 15 city states. of the great poets living in the 4th century BC, the most famous is Qu Yuan, born in the Kingdom of Chu (one of the seven states during the Warring States Period).Qu Yuan and his follower Song Yu established a new style of poetry-chu ci (literally, poetry of the south). Qu Yuan's major work was Li-Sao(Sorrow after Departure). Chu ci developed more varied forms of poetry, freeing itself from four-character poetry, the form adopted in The Book of Poetry ,and developed three-character, four-character,five-character and seven-character poetry. In terms of artistic technique, chu ci absorbed the romantic attributes of myth and established the romantic style of Chinese literary creation. In the wake of The Book ot Poetry and chu ci rose a new form of poetry extant in the Han Dynasty-the yuefu folksongs (poetic genre of folk songs and ballads in the Han Dynasty). The yuetu folksongs of the Han Dynasty contained more than 100 pieces, which were mostly written in five-character lines, and later became the major form of poetry during the Wei and jin dynasties. The more famous yuefu folksongs of the Han Dynasty included: joining the Army at Fitteen, divulging the agonies of the common people caused by war; Luo Fu and Gentleman of the Palace Guard singing of women who were not enamored of wealth and power; and the long narrative poem Flight ot the PhoeniX to thc Southesst, telling of a tragic love story between jiao Zhongqing and Liu Lanzhi who, under the pressure from Jiao's mother and Liu's family, separated. Narrative is the most distinct feature of the Wefu folksongs, and Flight of the Phoenix to the Southeast represents the best of these songs. The language used in yuefu folksongs is simple and colloquial, replete with unforgettable characters. Although most representations in yuefu folksongs are realist, many are tinted, to some degree, with romanticism, as in the last stanza of Flight of the Phoenix to the Southeast where both are artistically blended. Five-character verse is the major form of Chinese classical poetry. The form took a long time developing from folksongs into formal literary works created by scholars. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, scholarly five-character poetry matured, and is marked by the accomplishment of Nineteen Ancient Poems. Poems in this anthology were not written by a single poet, nor were they created during the same period. They mainly express sorrows at parting and lovesickness, or lament the fleetingness of life. Artistically Nineteen Ancient Poems were distinguished by their lyricism and use of expressive techniques like simile, metaphor and "evocation" (beginning a song by evoking images quite apart from the central subject). During the Jian-an period at the end of the Han Dynasty, the "Three Caos" (Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi) and the "Seven Jian'an Masters" (Kong Rong, Chen Lin, Wang Can, Xu Gan, Ruan Yu, Ying Xi, Liu Zhen) Sustained the realism of yuefu folksongs and wrote five-character poems, unleashing an upsurge in scholarly poetry. Their poems spoke to the spirit of the times and invoked an ambience of heroism and sadness, molding a style later referred to as Jian-an. Among the seven Jian'an masters Wang Can is the most acknowledged, his Poem of Seven Sorrows mirroring the chaos caused by the war at the end of the Han Dynasty. The three Caos were very well-known in the literary circles of the Jian-an Period. The work of the eminent poet Cao Zhi (AD 192-232) was exacting and robust with exquisite description, flowery language and elegant metaphors, as in his Presented to Biao, King of Baima. Greatly influenced by yuefu folksongs but more lyrical, Cao Zhi's poems mark the transition in poetry from yuefu folksongs to five-character poetry. Ruan ji (AD 210-263) was an Outstanding poet who, with Ji Kang, carried on the tradition of Jian-an style after the Jian-an Period was over.Ruan ji's Thoughts underscore the further development of lyrical five-character poetry. His poems expressed fears about the country's fate, misfortunes and the evading of reality. Ji Kang (AD 224-263), a contemporary of Ruan ji, wrote poems that waxed cynical as they relentlessly satirized the sleazier sides of reality. In the jin Dynasty, poetry became more and more formalistic and vacuous, yet poets like Zuo Si (AD 250-305) still wrote in the jian-an style. His Thoughts on History(eight pieces) satirizes reality using episodes from bygone days. However, this kind of poetry was not typical of the times. It was not until the end of the period of the Eastern Jin that Tao Yuanming influenced poetry circles by bringing about works closer to reality. Tao Yuanming, who led a reclusive life after rejecting the life of an official, made rural life the major subject of his creation and was thereby called a pastoral poet. At a time when poems written in excessively ornate language and strictly imitated forms, yet empty of content, achieved dominance in poetry circles, Tao Yuanming carried on the tradition of yuefu folksongs and formed his own simple and natural style, opening up a new vista for classical poetry. Moreover, he further refined the forms of the five-character poem. Xie Lingyun (AD 385-433), who ived around the same time as Tao Yuanming, was the founder of landscape poetry. He was a master at infusing personal feelings into his poems. Yet some of his poems were verbose and affected, adopting too many literary quotations and parallel sentences. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Chinese poetry attained a new level of artistry. Another series of yuefu folksongs were created, which were not only imbued with social reality but also invented new art forms and styles. Folksongs during this period can be briefly characterized as short in length nd more lyrical than narrative. The yuefu folksongs of the day in the Southern Dynasty included more than 480 pieces, which were mostly love songs written in a five-character quatrain. The number of yuefu folksongs created in the Northern Dynasty was less than that of the Southern Dynasty, but their diverse content, plain and honest language and forceful style were unmatched by works of the Southern Dynasty. If the yuefu poems of the Southern Dynasty were called "love songs," those of the Northern Dynasty were more aptly named "military songs." Beyond the five-character quatrain, the Northern Dynasty also created the seven- character quatrain and developed seven-character classic poetry and miscellaneous poetry. The most famous of the Nothern Dynasty yuefu folksongs was Ballad of Mulan, which was a long narrative poem and together with Flight of the Phoenix to the Southeast, were designated the "two jades" in the history of Chinese poetry. The greatest poet of the Northern and Southern dynasties was Bao Zhao (c. AD 410-466), who carried on and developed the tradition of yuefu folksongs of the Han and Wei dynasties. He composed a large number of excellent five-character and seven-character yuefu poems. His representative works were 18 poems under the title of Renditions of "Hard Goes the Wap" Bao Zhao's poems expressed his own misfortunes and protest against social injustice. During Emperor Yongming's reign in the period of the Southern Qi, poetics stressed the harmony of tonality, which led to the formation of a new yongming style. The yngming style was the source of rhyming poetry. of this period who was good at writing landscape poetry, had a certain impact on the formation of lushi (a poem of eight lines, each containing five or seven characters, with a strict tonal pattern and rhyme scheme) and jueju (a poem of four lines, each containing five or seven characters, with a strict tonal pattern and rhyme scheme) in the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty was the golden age of Chinese poetry. In a period of almost 300 years, about 50,000 poems were composed and handed down. More than 50 poets are distinguished for their own works and style. wang Bo (AD 649-676), Yang jiong (c.AD 65O-693), Lu Zhaolin (c.AD 637 -689) and Luo Binwang (c. AD 640-684) were major poets of the early Tang Dynasty. Although they inherited the affected poetry style of the period of the Qi and Liang, they broke through the narrow confines of subject matter for poetry and helped to establish the poetic form which had eight lines with each containing five characters. After that Chen Zi'ang (AD 661 -702) launched a more conscious attempt to reform the poetry style of Qi and Liang and advocated the styles of the Han and Wei dynasties. His representative works Thoughts (including 38 poems) explicitly manifest his spirit of renewal. Chinese poetry reached its efflorescence in the rising Tang Dynasty. Apart from the most famous Li Bai and Du Fu, many other poets also made enduring contributions in this period. These poets fall roughly into two categories: the landscape poets represented by Meng Haoran and Wang Wei and the frontier poets represented by Gao Shi and Cen Shen. Wang Changling, Li Qi and Wang Zhihuan are the other famous frontier poets. Wang Changling's frontier poems expressed soldiers' longing for their hometowns and their desire to make a contribution to the country as in his joning the Armyand Beyond the Border Pass Li Qi's frontier poems were small in number but superb, with works like Ancient Feelings and Ancient Warror Wang Zhihuan's classic works included Songs of Liangzhou and on Stork Tower. Poetry of the mid-Tang Dynasty built on the creative output of the height of the Tang Dynasty. Works of this period mainly spoke of social turbulence and people's sufferingS. Baijuyi is eminent as a realist poet of this period. He carried on and developed the realist tradition of The Book of P0etIy and the Wefu folksongs of the Han Dynasty, and inspired an Outpouring of realist poetry in terms of literary theory and practices-the new yuetu movement. Yuan Zhen, Zhang Ji and WangJian were important poets of this movement. Yuan Zhen's (AD 779-831 ) major works inciude: om Thcmes of Yuefu Songs (19poems) and new Yuefu Songs (12 poems). Yuan Zhen and Bai juyi held similar views on literature, and their poems are very close in content and in form, written in free and easy language. Although Zhang ji and Wang Jian didn't have distinctive artistic claims, they became the backbone of the new yuefu movement by composing a large number of works. Zhang ji's poems expressed his sympathy towards peasants, as represented by Song of an old Peasant Li Shen's poems were of a similar style as the aforementioned poets. He didn't write many poems but his twathy tor Pedsant (two poems) gained him great renown. Besides the new yuefu movement, a group of poets formed another style of their own' these poets included Han Yu, Mengjiao and Li He. Han Yu (AD 768-824), a famous prose writer, broadened poetry's scope of expression by incorporating a new language style and the art of composition into his poetry. But his poetry overemphasized litcrary talent and pursued a styIe of singularity. MengJiao (AD 751 -814) and jia Dao (AD779-843) were both known for being extremely deliberate about wording. They both pursued a style of fantasticism and put great efforts toward refining vocabulary and phrasing in their poems. Liu Yuxi (AD 772-842) was a creative folksong poet. His Song of Bamboo, including many separate poems, were very popular Liu was also good at writing lushi and jueju. Liu Zongyuan (AD 773-819), expressed in his poetry, as in his prose, his indignant and mournful feelings. His landscape poetry was gentle and beautiful, reflecting his noble and unsullied character, as in The Snowbound River. Li He's (AD 790-816) poetry originated an independent school with a strange, flowery and sentimental romantic style, evident in works like Su Xiaoxiao's Tomb and Heaven in A Dream. Poetry of the late Tang Dynasty exudes a strong sentimentality, observed in poets such as Du Mu (AD 803-852) and Li Shangyin (AD 813-858). Du Mu was good at writing seven-character quatrains, as in his works Spring in the South, Walking in Mountains, Berthed at the Qinhuai River and Passing the Huaqing Palace Li Shangyin was good at writing love poems. His seven-character octaves were imitations of Du Fu's poems and adopted exquisite literary quotations and neat antithetical parallelisms, as seen in Ma Wei He also wrote very good seven-character quatrains, apparent in his A Poem to My Home in the North on a Rainy Night and Chang-er, the Lady in the Moon. The late Tang Dynasty also witnessed the rise of a group of realist poets who carried on the spirit of the new yucfu movement. Adherents of this school included Pi Rixiu, Nie Yizhong and Du Xunhe, and their poems criticized social injustices. Although poetry was not as effervescent in the Song as in the Tang Dynasty, it nevertheless carved out its own style. Poetry of the song dynasty was less lyrical but more narrative, with more commentary. It paid great attention to description and adoptcd a lot of sentence structure of prose. The poetry of Su Shi and Huang Tingjian (1045-1105) best embody the essence of Song poetry. Huang Tingjian's strange and powerful poetry was more popular than Su Shi's poetry. Huang Tingiian and Chen Shidao (1053-1102) jointly founded theJiangXi poetry School, the most influentiaI literary school of the Song Dynasty. Mei Yaochen (1002-1060) and Su Shunqin (1OO8-1048) of the early Song Dynasty were both initiators of song poetry style. Ouyang Xiu and Wang Anshi's poetry played an impoftant role in sweeping aside the affected poetic influences of the Xi Kun style. The prevaiIing (1021 -1086) poetry of the Southern Song Dynasty was ofoten fuIl of feeIings of gloominess and indignation, evident in the poet Lu You. Other prominent poets included Fan Chengda (1126-1193), famous for his pastoral poetry; Yang Wanli (1124-1206), famous for landscape and philosophical poetry; and Wen Tianxiang (1236-1282), the last great poet of the southern song dynasty,whose representative poem was Passing Lingdingyang. Lyric poetry sprung up in the Tang Dynasty and bloomed in the Song Dynasty. Wen Tingyun (c.AD 812-866) of the late T8ng Dynasty devoted himself to the creation of lyrics. His works describe women's sorrows and lovesickness and were written in flowery language. Wen's poetry was labeled the "Flower School" by later generations. Li Yu (AD 937-978), an emperor during the Southern T8ng Dynasty, wrote an important chapter in the history of lyric poetry. The lyrics created in his later period achieved great artistic accolades, as in tunes The Beautiful Lady of yu and Sand-sifting Waves. In the early Song Dynasty, Yan Shu (AD 991 -1055) and Ouyang Xiu both composed excellent lyric poetry, but they were unable to shake themselves from the influence of the Flower School. Liu Yong began to write longer lyrics or slower tunes, and from then on lyrics changed dramatically. Su Shi later widened still further the subject matter for lyrics. Qin Guan (1O49-110O) and Zhou Bangyan (1056-1121), both contemporaries of Su Shi, were also brilliant lyrical Poets. Qin Guan's solid writing is seen in works like tunes Silk-Washing Stream, Treading on Grasss and Immortals at the Magpie Bridge, which expressed the poet's sentimental emotions through describing scenery. Zhou Bangyan not only wrote lyrics but was also good at musical composition. He wrote many new tunes and had a powerful influence on the development of lyric poetry. Zhou Bangyan's representative works include the tunes Passing the Qin Tower, Courtyard Full of Fragrance, Sovereign of Wine. Zhou's lyrics were, in turn, greatly influenced by Liu Yong's works and were elaborate in wording, phrasing and description. Li QingZhao, a famous woman poet, had a very significant standing with her unique style in the lyric poetry circles of both the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. Poetry and lyrics created in the early Southern Song Dynasty were imbued with a strong patriotism. The muchpraised patriotic lyric poetry of Xin Qiji influenced the largest Patriotic Lyrics School formed by Chen Liang, Liu Guo, Liu Kezhuang, Liu Chenweng and other poets, after the middle of the Southern Song Dynasty. The lyrics of the most famous lyric poet of the late Southern Song Dynasty, jiang Ku (c.1155-1235), record his travels and chants, reflecting on his vagabond life and the rejectionsof love. This is evident in his tune Complaint of the Pavilion of Adieu. His lyrics inherited Zhou Bangyan's style of emphasizing rhetoric and rhymes but lacking content. Lyric poetry reached its zenith in the Southern Song Dynasty, after which it gave way to the san qu songs of the Yuan Dynasty. The poetry of the Ming Dynasty sharpened the conflict between the "imitation of classics" and the "anti-imitation of classics." No great poets and works were highlighted in the Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty witnessed a variety of literary schools. But most writers still could not free themselves from the shackles of formalism and the forms of the classics, therefore they were hard put to go beyond their predecessors. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Gong Zizhen (1792- 1841) broke the silence in poetry circles and took the lead in establishing the style of modern literature. His poems were useful weapons in criticizing social reality. Later, Huang Zunxian (1848-1905), Kang Youwei (1858-1927) and Liang Qichao (1873-1929) went on to induct poetry to propagate the reform movement. Modern Chinese literature was born with the May 4th Movement. In 1917 Hu Shi (1879-1942) took the lead in publishing eight poems incorporating the rhythms and vocabulary of common speech in New Youth, and claimed to reform the style of the poem. He upheld that poetry should not confine itself to ge lu (rules and forms of classical poetic composition with respect to tonal pattern, rhyme, etc.) as well as level, oblique tones and length, and called this kind of poetry "Hu Shi style." Liu Bannong, Liu Dabai, Kang Baiqing and Yu Pingbo made enormous contributions to the formation of a new poetry Through these poets' efforts, modern poetry established its characteristics: no fixed ge lu, no confining rhythm, no particularities about wording and phrasing, and written in simple common speech. The earliest anthology of new poetry included Hu Shi's Tentitive Poems, Yu Pingbo's Winter Night,Kang Baiqing-s Grass and Guo Moruo's Goddess. Guo Moruo's Goddess, imbued with the spirit of the May 4th Movement and other artistic qualities, laid the foundation for romantic new poetry. Goddess marked the juncture when new poetry finally replaced old poetry. The poem successfulty created and used free-style verse and elevated new poetry to another level. After the initial stage of development, new poetry developed a relatively perfected form: giving first place to free style and adopting the techniques of new metrical patterns and symbolism. Writers of the Society of Literary Research wrote a large number of free-style verse, which mostly expressed, in a lyrical tone, the pursuits and anguish of an awakened bourgeoisie. The Poems of Zhu Ziqing, an exemplary proponent of this view, reflected on the enterprising spirit.For example, Light expressed the poet's wish to seek the truth independently, while Haste Since and Destruction revealed the poet's indomitable spirit despite frustration and disillusionment. Bing Xin was another unique stylist. Influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's Stray Birds, she published two anthologies, Stars and Spring Water. Poems collected in the two anthologies were called the "star style," and her poems embodied the spirit of motherhood as well as natural and pure emotions. "Roaring poetry" refers to political lyric verse created by Communist writers such as Qu Qiubai and jiang Guangchi. A most prolific poet, jiang Guangchi's (1901 -1931 ) works had a distinct socialist hue, as in Omen in the Pacific Ocean, Songs of Chinese Labor and Cry Over Lenin's Death. jiang Guangchi's poems were powerful but some of his pofitical lyric verses were empty in content. In creating new poetry, the Lakeside Poetry Society made a great contribution to the composition of love poems. Poets in this category include Wang Jingzhi (1902- ), Ying Xiuren (190O-1933), Pan Mohua (1902-1934) and Feng Xuefeng (1903-1976). The description of love was bold in their poems, but the simple and honest feelings reflected were deeply touching. Feng Zhi (1 9O5-1 994), a poet of free-style verse, also made much advances in writing modern poems. His subject matter was mostly love, kinship and friendship, and anthologies include Songs of Yesterday North Tour and Others. The Crescent Moon School advocated metrical poetry, and Wen Yiduo (1899-1946) is a well-known theorist of this form. He called for endowing poetry with the beauty of music, painting and architecture, and made great strides in practicing the theory himself. Wen Yiduo published two anthologies Red Candle and Dead Water His works were infused with a strong patriotism and the active and uplifting spirit of the May 4th era. He utilized the romantic style of expression in his poems and was good at expressing feelings through a description of other objects in a setting. The appropriate trope used in his poetry further enhanced the works' imagery and artistic appeal. His poems exhibited the beauty of music, painting and architecture as he had advocated, and exerted a great influence on the Metrical Poetry School.Xu Zhimo (1896-1931) was another important poet of the Crescent Moon School. His poetry reveals his pursuit of light and ideals and his discontent with reality. Poems expressing the liberation of individuality and the pursuit of love take an important place in Xu's works. His style, gentle and restrained, expressed deep and passionate emotions, and the language in his poetry is lucid and expressive. Xu Zhimo's collections include Zhimo's Poems, A Night in Florence, Tiger and Roaming The Symbolist School existed about the same time as the Crescent Moon School. Symbolic poetry neither describes things verifiable nor expresses feelings directly, instead it tries to create an obscure and cryptic atmosphere by using techniques of association, metaphor, and implication. The representative symbolist poet was Li jinfa (1900-1976), whose collections include Light Rain and Singing for Happiness. Li jinfa's poems reflect the pessimism of some intellectuals after the May 4th Movement. Due to the queer and obscure meaning of his poetry, Li was called the "poetic wack," but his poetry also had its own merits. For example, the depth of his distinctive metaphors, figurative fanguage and subtly expressed feelings are unmatched by many poets. Other famous symbolist poets include Wang Duqing, Mu Tian and Feng Naichao. The "Left-wing" Poetry School was famous for its intense militancy in the 1930s. Yin Fu (1909-1931 ) is important among these political lyric poets. His works passionately praise the proletarian revolution and vividly describe the workers' movement. Owing to his actual experiences in struggle, his poem are full of vigorous and sincere feelings and at the same time devoid of vacuity. His representative works include Bloody Worda, May 1stin 1959, and our Poems. The Society of Chinese Poetry was an important component of the "Left-wing" Poetry School, advocated the popularization of poetry and also that poetry should serve people at the bottom of the society and sing the praises of the anti-Japanese resistance. The most representative poet of this society was Pu Feng (1911-1942). On the heels of the Crescent Moon School, the Modern Poetry School spoke of the new emotions felt by modern people in modern times. The major poet of Modern Poetry School was Dai Wangshu (1905- 1950). He was also called the " Yu Xiang poet" for publishing an superb poem titled Yu Xiang(Alley in the Rain) in 1928. His anthologies included My Memory and Wangshu Grass. These works reflected the illusion and loneliness felt by intellectuals after the failure of the great revolution of 1927. Dai Wangshu's poetry used a lot of symbolic images, but the meaning, although tortuous and shadowy, was not obscure. His poems also adopted many fresh and apt metaphors and were written in elegant rhyme. The july School was the most important poetry school after the outbreak of the anti-Japanese War. Important poets of this school include Hu Feng, Ai Qing, Tian Jian, Yi Men, Lu Li and Zou Difan. They wrote many political lyric poems full of intense patriotism rousing people's consciousness to fight the invading enemy. Poetry of the July School placed the emphasis on imbuing readers with fervent zeal instead of deliberating on wording and rhetoric. Simplicity, straightfotwardness and boldness were common characteristics of July School poetry. In the latter half of the 194os, new poetry in the style of folksongs flourished in the liberated areas of the countryside. The most exemplary were the narrative poems written by Li ji and Ruan Zhangiing. Ma Fantuo was the pen name of Yuan Shuipai (1907-1983), who published satirical poems in the mid-1940s. His poems written in this period were later collected in a book entitled Ma Fantuo's Folk Songs, which was the most influential satirical collection in Kuomintang-dominated areas. The poems were written in the form of the ballad and madrigal with a sharp, acerbic and humorous touch. Poetry entered a new stage of development after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. New subject matter and material ensued as required of a new iife. A fresh group of poets growing up after liberation created a variety of new works including Shao Yanxiang's Singing Beijing and Going to RCmotC Areas; the forest poet Fu Chou's The Woodchopper; Yan Zhen'S Lao Zhng's Hands; Wei Yang's I've Come Back,Motherland; Li Ying's Eyes under the Army CaP; Gong Liu's Short Songs of Remote City and City at Dawn; and Gu Gong's At the Foot of the Himalayas As well, new forms of poetry also were written under the influence of folksongs and poetry from other countries. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a new folksong movement sprang up in poetry circles and developed traditional folksongs. Pofitical lyric poetry emeopd as an independent art form in the 1960s. Guo Xiaochuan and He jingZhi were both excellent political lyric poets. Another marked achievement during this period was the long narrative poem. Guo Xiaochuan's Deep, Deep Valley and Trilogy of a General enjoyed high renown in poetry circles with their innovative form and profound ideological views. Li ji's The Story of Yang Gao, Wen jie's Fismes of Revenge, Han Qixiang's The Stoly of Liberation, Wang Zhiyuan's The Hutao slope, Zang Kejia's Li Dazhao and Tian jian's Biography of Cart Driver were all excellent poems. Despite these accomplishments, poetry produced in this period had some drawbacks. For example, literary materials, subject matter, the forms and the styles of poetry were rather narrow. Having remained silent for ten years, Chinese poetry circfes flourished again in the period after the Cultural Revolution. Forms of poetry became freer and less rigid, with diverse styles. At the beginning of this new period, poetry ruminating on history built on the tradition of realism. At the same time, in the fast-changing late 1970s and early 1980s, a group of young poets came of age including Shu Ting, Gu Cheng and jiang He. Their poems expressed unusual and often obscure emotions, and were therefore called "Misty Poetry." In the mid and late 1980s, a new poetry school called the "Third Generation" appeared among Chinese poetry circles. = Major Poets & Their Works The Book of Poetry is the first anthology of Chinese poems. It compiled 305 poems written over a period of 500 years spanning from the beginning of Western Zhou Dynasty to the mid-Spring and Autumn Period. The Book of Poctly has three parts: Feng(Songs), Ya (Odes and Epics) and Song(Hymns). Feng includes 160 songs sung by people in 15 city states. Ya includes 105 poems in two parts: "The Book of Odes" and "The Book of Epics." Song includes 4o poems in three parts: "The Hymns of Zhou," "The Hymns of Lu," and "The Hymns of Shang." "The Book of Songs" (feng) is the most significant segment of The Book of Poetry The folksongs of the Zhou Dynasty collected into "The Book of Songs" recount the real life of common people, and express people's indignation about oppression and their yearning for a happy life. "The Book of Songs" is the wellspring of Chinese realist poetry. "The Life of Peasants" faithfully captures the wretched lives led by enslaved people. The "Woodcutter's Song" rouses the slave class to awareness. The angry slaves call the slave owners to account: "How can those who neither reap nor sow have three millions sheaves on their plate? How can those who neither hunt nor chase have in their courtyard the game of each race?" Some poems even describe the direct resistance of slaves to the ruling class, Such as "The Large Rat". Some poems in "The Book of Songs" capture the trauma caused by forced military service and conscripted labor, for example, "My Lord, My Man is Away, " and "Returned." Some love poems in "The Book of Songs" reflect women's anguish at being forced into marriage and recall young people's longing and search for happy marriage, as in "A Faithless Man" and "A Rejected Wife." "Depression," another love poem, even discloses a deep awareness of resistance. "A Shepherdess" and "Gifts" wish good cheer and call for optimism. All of the poems in "The Book of Songs" are honest expressions of laboring people's thoughts and feelings. Many folksongs in "The Book of Songs" criticize and satirize the ruling class's decadent and promiscuous lifestyles, for example, "Incest", "The Duke's Mistress" and "Complaint of a Duchess." The most distinctive artistry in "The Book of Songs" lies in its realistic depiction of objects in simple language, mirroring social reality with glimpses of ordinary life. Characterization in "The Book of Songs" is also realistic: authors voice character's joys and sorrows through the direct expression of their inner feelings. Most poems in "The Book of Songs" were written in three-character lines, rhyming every other line, but there were also five- and seven-character lines as well as lines of irregular length. For example, "The Woodcutter's Song" was written in the form of irregular lines, that change along with the rising emotions and have distinct rhymes and musical quality. The language used in "The Book of Songs" is focused, elegant and lively. The skilled application of double-adjectives, rhyming words and alliterations enhance the songs' artistic appeal. The adoption of the expressive techniques of fu (descriptive prose interspersed with verse), bi (metaphor) and Xing (evocation) greatly reinforce its illustrative power. Poems in Ya (ode and epics) and Song (hymns) were used by the ruling class for specific occasions. Although they could not match the poems in "The Book of Songs" in their ideological content, they reflected some aspects of social life and therefore also had certain social meaning. The Book of Poetry splendidly signals the onset of Chinese literature. Its spirit of realism has exerted great influence on the literature of later times. The Book of Poetry enjoys a high reputation in both China's and the world's cultural history. Quyuan Qu Yuan (34O-278 BC) was the first great patriotic poet in the history of Chinese literature ...... Tao Yuanming Tao Yuanming (AD 365-427), also known as Tao Qian, is a famous landscape poet. He had been a minor official for several years during his youth ...... Libai Li Bai (AD 7O1 -762), the most outstanding poet at the height of the Tang Dynasty, is one of the great romantic poets after Qu Yuan. He was later called the "poetic genius." ...... Du Fu The poems of Du Fu (AD 712-77o), the exemplary realist poet inthe history of Chinese literature, mirror the social outlook of the onceprosperous Tang Dynasty in decline ...... Bai Juyi Bai Juyi(AD 772-846) was another outstanding realist poet after DuFu. He was the most prolific poet among Tang Dynasty poets ...... Wang Wei and Meg Haoran's Landscape Poetry Wang Wei and Meng Haoran were both skilled at depicting naturalscenery in five-character lines ...... Gao Shi and Cen Shen Gao Shi and Cen Shen, both veterans of military service, excelled atwriting seven-character line verse ...... Li Shangyin The poems of Li Shangyin (AD 813-858) further build on the artistictraditions of Chinese classical poetry ....... Su Shi The poems and lyrics of Su Shi (1037-1101) were of a virile timbreand an unrestrained spirit ...... Liu Yong Liu Yong (c. 987-1053) was the first poet to devote himself totallyto the writing of lyrics in the Northern Song Dynasty ...... Li Qingzhao A remarkable woman poet of the Song Dynasty, Li Qingzhao (1084-1155) made great achievements in prose as well as poetry, but most ofall in the field of lyrics ...... Lu You The extant works of Lu You (1125-1210) include more than 9,300 poems, covering almost all aspects of sociallife in the early Southern Song Dynasty ...... Xin Qiji Xin Qiji (1140-1207) wrote more than 600 lyrics, which werecollected in jiaxuan's Lyrics ...... = Fiction Synopsis Fiction Synopsis (a) After long years of development, Chinese fiction began to take shapeduring the period of the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties.Fiction created during this period falls into two categories: "Supernaturalfiction" and "anecdotal fiction." During the periods of Wei and Jin, religious and superstitious thoughtprevailed in society, leading to the emergence of stories about spirits. Alarge number of works about strange and mysterious events were writtenat the time. The extant supernatural fiction includes more than 30 works,of which, Records of Spirits by Gan Bao represents the highestachievement of the genre at that time. Most earlier supernatural fiction consisted of only sketchy outlines.The purpose of writing supernatural fiction was to argue for the certainexistence of heaven and hell. Some fiction of this period had alreadytaken on the shape of short stories, for example "The Sword-Maker" inRecords of Spirits told a thrilling story in short length. During the period of Wei Jin and the Northern and SouthernDynasties, social commentary became common, leading to the rise of"anecdotal fiction," which were literary works telling interesting storiesabout people. New Anecdotes of Social Talk compiled by Liu Yiqing (AD403-444) belonged to this category and has been well preserved. Itepitomized the achievements that "anecdotal fiction" made in its earlystages". New Anecdotes of Social Talk devoted most of its pages to describingthe "unconventional" ways of scholars at the time. Some stories in thebook recorded the Sima family's despotism and other rich and powerfulfamilies' decadent indulgences in the Jin period. Other stories eulogizedcharitable persons and their beneficence. The novel was very successful.its artistic achievements could be summarized as: skillful portrayal ofcharacters' personalities through distinctive details, flawless blending ofdialogue with storytelling, and concise and subtle language. NewAnecdotes of Social Talk became the rudimentary text for Chinese literarysketches and had a far-reaching influence on later developments inChinese literature. Many stories in the book were used as sourcematerial by later writers. Chinese fiction went through marked transformations in the Tang Dynasty. Although the subject matter was still about spirits and social anecdotes ,compared with fiction created in the period of the Wei,Jin and the Northern and SouthernDynasties, the plots became more intricate and complex, the characters more distinctive, the language more ornate, and the structure more expanded. Fiction of the Tang Dynasty was called "prose romances."The emergence of "prose romances" in Tang Dynasty marked the maturity of the Chinese short story, because they went beyond merely recording anecdotes and became consciously creative literary works by scholars. "Prose romances" of the Tang Dynasty fell into three categories: First, supernatural stories, which drew their subject matter fromliterary sketches. Famous works include "The Story of the Pillow" byshen Jiji, and "The Governor of the Southern Tributary State" by LiGongzuo. The two stories ridiculed feudal scholars obsessed with fameand riches. Second, love stories, which were the most valuable of the "proseromances" of the Tang Dynasty. Famous works include "The Story of ASingsong Girl," "The Story of Yingying," "Prince Huo's Daughter," "Ren,the Fox Fairy," and "The Story of Liu Yi." These stories praised faithfullove and criticized the oppression of women by feudal ethics andcustoms. As well, they successfully portrayed a series of womencharacters who fought bravely for happy marriage. "The Story of A Singsong Girl" describes the love between theprostitute Li Wa and Gongzi zhi, a nobleman from Xingyang. By givingthe story of the two lovers a happy ending, the novel condemned theidea of "two families must match in social status" and expressedappreciation for true love between men and women. The plot of thenovel was complex and the characters well rounded in their portrayal. "The Story of Liu Yi" tells of a romance between Liu Yi, a failedscholar, and Dragon Girl of Dongting Lake. Liu Yi helps Dragon Girlextricate herself from an unhappy marriage, and after a series ofcomplications, the two end up getting married. Wonderful characterizations are the most successful part of this novel. Liu Yi's honesty, Dragon Girl's deep feelings and the explosive character of Qiantangjun are vividly depicted. The novel's adept way of contrasting reality with illusion exerted great influence on literature in later periods. Third, heroic fiction, describes the courageous deeds of swordsmenin punishing villains. The representative works include "The Red ThreadMaid" and "The Story of Xie Xiao'e." "Prose romances" of the Tang Dynasty surpassed the fictioncreated by predecessors not only in its subject matter and ideas butalso in artistic achievement. Many "prose romances" described aperiod or the whole life experience of a character in order to revealhis or her personality and development of thought. The "prose romance"of the Tang Dynasty was the beginning of the Chinese-style novel. Thoughrelatively short in length, it began to take on the profile of a full-lengthnovel. "Storytelling scripts," which first appeared during the Song and Yuandynasties, brought the Chinese novel to a new stage. Storytelling was akind of folk art during the Song Dynasty. It had four forms: "small talk"(xiao shuo i.e. what novels and short stories are now called), "history-telling', (tales from history), "scripture-telling" (tales from Buddhistscriptures), and hesheng or shuo hunhua (improptu verse). "History-telling" narrated the rise and fall of successive dynastiesand famous wars. Historical romances which emerged later originatedfrom this form. "Scripture-telling" described Buddhist stories. "Small talk" was the most influential form of storytelling, and mainlywere myths, and love and heroic stories. They were usually short inlength, with animated plots, and therefore were very popular with readers. The extant scripts of "small talk" are mostly love stories and legalcases. "The Jade Worker" and "Zhou ShengXian's Romance at Fanlou"are representative love stories, which reflected the lives of commonpeople, especially women's resistance to feudal morality Fiction on legalcases are represented by "Killing Cui Ning by Mistake" and "Song SigongMakes Troubles with Councilor Zhang." The two works disclosed thedark inside stories of feudal government while praising people's fightingspirit. "Storytelling scripts" of the Song and Yuan dynasties were furtherdeveloped compared with previous works. First, in order to attractaudiences, storytellers introduced much use of suspense in the story'splot and structure. Second, storytellers began to depict characters withtypical details, for example - character's mental activity, dialogue andbehavior would be in accord with the specific situation. And the dialoguein scripts became more dramatic and better revealed a character'spersonality. Vernacular and lively language began to be used extensively in literaryworks starting from "storytelling scripts" of the Song and Yuan dynasties,bringing the development of Chinese literary language to a new stage. The realistic techniques used in plot and characterization in scripts alsoachieved much progress compared with earlier fiction. In the Ming Dynasty, with developments in politics, society, economyand philosophy, and the growth of printing, fiction was further developedon the foundation of its past achievements. A wealth of short storiesand novels thus emerged. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the MingDynasty, a batch of full-length "Zhanghui (chaptered) novels"(a type of traditional Chinese novel with each chapterheaded by a couplet giving the gist of its contents) were created based on "history- telling" from the Song and Yuan dynasties, as represented by The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Romance of the Five Dynasties, Sorcerer's Revolt and its Suppression, and Outlaws of the Marsh. The Zhanghui novel was the only full-length-novel form of Chineseclassical fiction. Although its characters and plots were derived fromhistory, it did not restrict itself to historical facts. It was longer in length than most history books and covered more in its contents, which wasdivided into different volumes, with each volume again divided intodifferent chapters with introductory couplets. The Romance of the ThreeKingdoms was the earliest Zhanghui novel. From then on a large numberof historical novels were created, including The Romance of Genesisand The Romance of the Qing Palace. The development of the Chinese novel was even greater after themiddle of the Ming Dynasty. Journey to the West and Jin Ping Mei (TheGolden Lotus) represented the pinnacle of novels created during thisperiod. Historic romances and sagas were also created in large numbersduring this period, including The New Fictionalized History of the States,The Romance of the Northern Song Dynasty The Romance of Ming Dynasty Heroes and The Surviving Writings of the Sui Dynasty. After Journey to the West was published, mythological novelsbecame the rage, of which Canonization of the Gods was one of themost successful. The novel was based on the historic story of King Wu'sCampaign against Zhou, with the author also incorporating a great dealof folk tales along with aspects of his own imagination. The main purposeof the novel was to make barbed allusions satirizing social reality. The publication of "storytelling scripts" in large numbers attractedgreat attention from scholars, who turned from merely editing andpolishing the scripts to themselves writing them through imitation -thus emerged the so-called "imitation scripts." Feng Menglong's Wordst Instruct, Words to Warn and Words to Awaken ("Three Words"),written based on Song and Yuan dynasties scripts and Ming Dynasty"imitation scripts," and Ling Mengchu's Amazing Tales 1 & 11 are "imitationscripts" representing the finest of the short stories of the Ming Dynasty. Each of Feng Menglong's (1574-1646) "Three Words" contained40 short stories with subject matter falling into three categories: (1) Women's pursuit of true love and happiness: including "TheCourtesan's Jewel Box," "The Oil Vendor and the Courtesan," and"Yutangchun Find Her Love in Adversity" These stories praise true love,denounce fickleness and call for mutual respect between men and women. (2) The internal struggles of the ruling class: including "Shen XiaoxiaRedresses His Father's injustice," which describes the conflict betweenShen Lian and the Yan Song family; and "old Scholar Meets FlowerGoddess in the Evening," which tells a story about a bullied peasantpunishing his tormentors with the help of a flower goddess. (3) Extolling true friendship while condemning perfidious behavior.Representative works include "Shi Runze Makes True Friends inDifficulty" and "Gui, the Supernumerary official Makes a Confessionat the End of His Rope." Compared with storytelling scripts, the subjectmatter in "Three Words" was more concentrated, the plot more intricateand the description of character's psychological workings more detailedand exquisite. But the conflicts in Feng's stories were not very sharp andthe language not dramatic. Ling Mengchu's (1580-1644) two volumes of Amazing Tales contained78 stories. Most of these tales were based on previously published works.The development of trade and the seeds of capitalism, which emergedduring the middle and late period of the Ming Dynasty, were reflected inhis stories. For example, "Lucky Man Makes A Fortune Out of 'Dongtinghong' Oranges" and "Cheng's Salvation by the Goddess of the Sea" described the moneymaking adventures of some Chinese merchants overseas. The love story "Beautiful Women Play Swing atXuanhuiyuan" and legal case story "Pilgrim Reads Vajracchedika-Sutra" were also very well written. However, some tales were filled wit pornographic and superstitious description, and even falsified a peasant uprising, which greatly impaired his works' value. In the Qing Dynasty, The Strange Tales of Liaozhai pushed classicalChinese fiction to new heights. The writing of full-length novels writtenin vernacular Chinese also made great strides during this period, asrepresented by A Dream of Red Mansions and Outlaws of the Marsh. In the early Qing Dynasty, saga novels prevailed. Chen Chen's Sequelto Outlaws of the Marsh described stories of the 32 surviving heroesfrom Liangshan. They rose up again to defend the country againstoverseas invaders and then went out to start doing business in a foreigncountry. The characters in this novel were drawn from Outlaws of theMarsh, further developed in new settings. The novel, while successful in capturing the spirit of rebellion against the government, still revolved around the subject of patriotism. The Complete Story of Yue Fei was written by Qian Cai and Jin Feng based on all kinds of legends about Yue Fei. Yue Fei was the major character in the novel. He was a national hero and patriotic general, but he was, at the same time, stubbornly loyal to the incompetent government. Negative characters such as Wu Zhu and the Qin Hui couple were also vividly portrayed. Feudal society was in a gradual decline in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Discussions about love, marriage and codes of ethics were the major subjects in fiction of this period. The Marriage that Awakes the Worldbelonged to this category. It described the entanglement of marriages between two families engaged in a blood feud. The novel vividly portrayed a host of characters from different social classes, profoundly revealing the seamyside of social reality and acutely reflecting the rise of mercantile forcesat the end of feudal society. This was a long novel of more than 1 millionChinese characters. Flowers in the Mirror was a marvelous, illuminating Qing-Dynastynovel. The classic is a fairy tale of a hundred chapters. The goddess offlowers committed a blunder and was exiled to the earthly world in theincarnation of Tang Ao's daughter, Xiaoshan. Tang Ao failed the imperialexamination and went traveling across the seas. After having visited manystrange lands and encountered many bizarre experiences, he made uphis mind to retire in seclusion. Xiaoshan went in search of her fatherand found the "Book of Heaven" by accident. Guided by the book shewas able to regain her fairy form. The author projected his own idea of aperfect society into the vividly described imaginary world in the novel. Classical novels began to decline at the end of the Qing Dynasty.Main works of this period included Three Heroes and Five Gallants, TheFive Younger Gallants, A Dream of the Green Chamber and Lives ofShanghai Singsong Girls. The Suppression of the Rebels was a reactionarynovel of that time. With the strong development of Reform Movements, the voices ofreforming literature grew louder. Exposure novels, represented by LiBoyuan's (1867-1906) The Bureaucrat: A Revelation and Wu Yanren's(1866-1910) Strange Events for the Last Twenty Years, deliberately choseo focus on reformism and expose the corruption of the governmentand the crimes committed by capitalist countries. Liu E's (1857-1909)The Travels of Lao Can, another exposure novel appearing in this period,also uncovered social reality in the late Qing Dynasty through describingthe experiences of a doctor. A Flower in an Ocean of Sin, by Zeng Pu(1871 -1935) was one of the more valuable of the novels created in thelate Qing Dynasty. The novel satirized the corrupt way of life of the"highbrow" scholars. The literary revolution during the May 4th Movement turned on anew page in the development of Chinese literature. Both the form andcontent of the novel made great breakthroughs during this ideologicalrevolution. Lu Xun's short story "A Madman's Diary" broke the traditional styleof narration adopted by classical literary sketches, creating a new literaryform characterized by an economic, flexible and varied structure. But itsexpressive methods and style still followed those of the traditional novel.The new type of novel written during this period was inclined to reflectthe true colors of life. Lu Xun's Call to Arms and Wandering, both shortstory collections, were regarded as the cornerstone of new fiction andmodern Chinese literature. Members of the Literary Research Society, established in 1921,created a large amount of issue-oriented fiction guided by the dictum"literature for life's sake." "Two Families," "I Alone so Pale and Wan" and"The Superman" by Bing Xin, "The Old Companions on the Seashore"by Lu Yin (1898-1934), "The Diligent Spider Weaving lts Web" and"Spring Peach" by Xu Dishan (1893-1941), "Deep Meditation"and"Smile" by Wang Tongzhao (1897-1957), and "Mr. Pan in the Mire" byYe Shengtao (1894-1988) were all masterpieces. These novels discussedthe problems of family and marriage and solutions from only an individualpoint of view of existence, instead of analyzing them from a political orsocial perspective. Another common aspect of these novels was thatthey all reflected the ideal of "universal love" and criticized the destruction of love and beauty. In the mid-1920s writings reminiscing about hometown life beganto spring up, labeled "Native" fiction, which influenced the "For Life"School. "Native" fiction reflected the peasants' lives of suffering, theirawakening, and the decline of the landlord and small-propertied classes.Major works and writers included: "Exhausted Man" by Wang Renshu(1901 -1972); short story anthologies Instigation and Storm in the Cupby Peng jiahuang (1898-1933); Son of the Earth and Tower Builder byTai Jingnong (1903- ); "Mad Woman" and "The Death of Yuanzheng" byXu Qinwen (1897-1984); and "Independence" and "Gold" by Lu Yan(1901 -1944). These works exhibited intense local color and promptedthe deepening tendencies of new literature towards realism. Existing side by side with the "For Life" School was the "For Art"School. Yu Dafu (1896-1945) made the greatest strides towards creatingthis genre of fiction. Yu Dafu's representative work, written early on,was the collection of short stories Sinking, which described the lives ofChinese students in Japan and reflected on the spiritual injury to thesestudents caused by national oppression. Yu Dafu's writings include"Intoxicating Spring Nights," "She is a Weak Woman," and "Chi Guihua." Another important writer of the "For Art" School was Zhang Ziping(1893-1959), whose representative works include "Fossils of the Alluvial Period" and "Tree-Planting Day." At the end of the 1920s, inspired by proletarian revolution, Chinese "Left" writers created a large number of works. Mao Dun's Trilogy of Shi reflected the disillusionment of Chinese scholars after the failure of the revolution. Rou Shi's (1902-1931 ) representative novel February and Ye Shengtao's Ni Huanzhi also belonged to this category of disillusionment novel. Ding Ling's Diary of Miss Sophie, created out of deep despair towards life after the failure of the revolution, brought her great fame overnight. In contrast to "disillusionment" fiction was "outrage" fiction, whichwas best represented by jiang Guangchi's "Li Sha's Bitterness,""Memorial Ceremony" and "The Last Smile." In the early stages of revolutionary literature, many "Left-wing"writers' novels were idealistic, but this did not restrict the works of ZhangTianyi, Sha Ting and Ai Wu. The novels of Zhang Tianyi (1906-1985)touched upon the lives of various classes and social strata. His novelsreflecting the "gray lives" of the bourgeoisie best revealed his artistry -for example, "The Leather Belt," "From Emptiness to Fullness ,"Fatalismand Fortune-telling." Sha Ting's (1904-1992) novel exposed thecorruption of local government in Sichuan's countryside and the evilsof the local warlords. His representative works included" Ding, A CrippledMan," "The Acting County Magistrate," "The Way of Beasts," "Murderer,"and "In the Ancestral Temple." Sha Ting was adept at telling cruel storiesdispassionately and hiding his own feelings behind the stories. The majorcontribution of Ai Wu (1904- ) lay in his development of the novel'sSubject matter. His The First Lesson of Life, In the Valley and Seeing offa Guest in Mountains all describe the roving and disappointments ofdrifters in the border areas. These novels were filled with powerfullyromantic and legendary color. In the 1930s a series of excellent novels were created by Mao Dun,Lao She, Ba Jin and other writers. The success achieved by these novelsmarked a new breakthrough in Chinese literature. The novels written byLi Jiren (1891-1962), a novelist from Sichuan Province, such as Rippleson Dead Water, At the Eve of Storm and The Great Wave, describedimportant events taking place in Sichuan between the Opium War andthe Revolution of 1911, and shaped the important "Changhe (long river)"novel. Ripples on Dead Water, the most successful novel written by LiJiren, vividly portrayed several distinctive characters as well as the folkcustoms and lifestyles of Sichuan Province. In the 1930s the most popular novel was Zhang Henshui's Fate in Tears andLaughter. Zhang Henshui is the representative writer of the Yuanyang hudie (mandarin duck and butterfly) school, and his novels also include TheAnecdotes of Beijing and The Celebrated Family. During the anti- Japanese war, he took a patriotic stand and published satirical novels such as Eighty-one Dreams. The achievements of Chinese literature in the 1930s were many-sided.In addition to the writers mentioned above, other authors also madegreat contributions to enriching fiction in this period. Shen Congwen,whose works are characterized by moral criticism, was the most prolificwriter during this period. His most outstanding works are those describingthe folk customs of his hometown in western Hubei Province. Hisrepresentative works include "A Remote City," "Xiao Xiao," "LongZhu,"and "Scenery in Moonlight." Shen Congwen tried to construct a worldof kindness and beauty in his stories. After the September 18 Incidence (the seizure of Shenyang in 1931by the japanese invaders, as a step towards their occupation of the entireNortheast), writers in northeastern China, represented by Xiao Jun andXiao Hong, created a large number of stories taking resistance to theJapanese invasion as their central subject matter .Village in August byXiao Jun (1907-1988) and Field of Life and Death by Xiao Hong (1911 -1942) were thought of as masterpieces by Left writers, and took Chineseliterature into a new phase. Fiction Synopsis (b) The intensification of the anti Japanese War was the basis for this new stage of development of the fiction and wartime literature as a whole,and a throng of literary works emerged reflecting people's feelings aboutthe war. Novels praising heroism and new movements which emergedduring the war included: Qiu Dongping's short story "A Stormy Day,"Xiao Qian's "The Death of Liu Cuigang," Ai Wu's "Autumn Harvest," andYao Xueyin's "Half-cart of Wheat Straw Short." Works exposing thereactionary forces which impeded the anti-Japanese resistance includedZhang Tianyi's "Mr. Hua Wei" and Sha Ting's "In the Qixiangju Teahouse." During this period some "reminiscence" novels also came out,including Xiao Hong's The Story of the Hulan River, Duanmu Hongliang'sThe Korchin Banner Plains, Qi Tong's The New Generation, and LuoBinji's The Chaos. With the ongoing war, literary development in Japanese-occupiedareas was difficult. Therefore, literary creation in liberated areas andKuomintang-dominated areas became the most important componentof wartime literature. After the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, people's art gatheredgreat momentum in the liberated areas under the guiding principle that"art serves workers, peasants and soldiers," and there emerged a series ofnovels on rural life. Zhao Shuli made the greatest achievement in this respect. His The Marriage of Young Blacky, Rhymes of Li Youcai and The Changes in Li Village were successful in giving strong images of liberated peasants and profoundly reflecting the changes taking place in the countryside in the 194Os. Kang Zhuo's novel used similar language with similar subject matter to Zhao's. This is evident in works like My Two Host Families, In laws and Winter Plum Blossom. Kang's novels are sincere without being stiff, eloquent without being wordy, and come across as very vivid and innovative. Sun Li and Liu Baiyu made distinctive advances in the short story.Sun Li was adept at portraying peasant women and their lives, while LiuBaiyu focused particularly on military topics, such as in "Three invincibleFighters." Foregrounding a typical setting was the greatest achievementof Liu Baiyu's fiction. Most novels emerging in the liberated areas recounted importantevents. Ouyang Shan's (1908- ) Uncle Gao, written in 1946, and LiuQing's first novel, Sowing, written in 1949, both described thedevelopment of production in the countryside, while Cao Ming's novellaThe Moving Force took industry as its focus. Ding Ling's The Sun Shinesover the Sanggan River and Zhou Libo's The Hurricane described thestruggle to abolish feudal land-ownership. The many heroic and inspiring acts in the liberated area providedrich literary material for the creation of epic novels. The Story oflronbucket, written by Ke Lan, and Heroes of the Luliang Mountains, co-authored by Ma Feng and Xi Rong, were deeply appreciated by readers.Yuan Jing and KongJue's New Story of Daughters and Sons is an excellentheroic legendary novel, which described the brave battles of peasantsin Baiyangdian against Japanese invaders. After the New Fourth Army incident (1941 ), medium-and full-lengthnovels mushroomed in Kuomintang-dominated areas. These works,instead of describing the war superficially, probed deeply into people'slives under conditions of war. Famous works created during this periodinclude: Mao Dun's Decay; Sha Ting's three novels reflecting rural life inSichuan represented by Gold Digging; Ai Wu's "Fertile Land,""Hometown" and "In the Mountains;" Lao She's Four Generations underOne Roof; Ba Jin's Cold Nights; and Qian Zhongshu's (1910- ) The CityBesieged, which was likened as The Scholars of modern times. The best fiction created during the period of developing socialistliterature (1949-1956) were those recounting revolutionary war and rurallife. Liu Baiyu's "Flames Ahead," Xu Guangyao's Fires in the Plain, LiuQing's Wall of Bronze, Du Pengcheng's Defend yan'an, Liu Zhixia's TheRaiway Guerrillas, Gao Yunlan's Annals of a Provincial Town, WangYuanjian's "Membership Dues," Jun Qing's "Dawn on the River," YangShuo's A Thousand Miles of Lovely Land, and Lu Zhuguo's The Battle ofSangkumryung, were all very popular with the people. More and more fiction was written about rural life during this period.Famous works include Zhao Shuli's "Registration," Sanliwan ap, MaFeng's "Marriage," Gao Xiaosheng's "Liberation," Li Zhun's "Not ThatWay," Qin Zhaoyang's In the Fisld, March!, Sun Li's The Story ofTiemuqian, Kang Zhuo's "Spring Sowing, Autumn Harvest," LiuShaotang's "Green Leaves," and Li Mantian's The Water Flows East. Characterization made great progress during this period, especiallythe portrayal of negative characters. Novelists of this period no longerdepicted their characters simplistically and their works placed a greatemphasis on revealing conflict and describing a character's inner world. During the period between 1957 and just before the CulturalRevolution, the creation of fiction entered its first turning point since thefounding of new China. Novels of this period were not only created inlarge number, their content also reflected greater depth and breadth ofsocial life. For example, Yao Xueyin's Li Zicheng(volumel), Li Ziren's TheGreat wave, Ouyang Shan's Three Family Lane, and the first volume ofAi Mingzhi's Seeds of Flame, one of his "Trilogy of Flames," recountedChina's glorious tradition in resisting oppression; Liang Bin's Keep theRed Flag Chen Jing's On the Banks of the Jinshajiang River, WuQing's The Red Sun, Feng Deying's Bitter Herb, Liu Liu's Heroes in theFlames of War, Qu Bo's Tracks in the Snow Forest, Yang Mo's The Songof youth, Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan's Red Crag, and Li Yingru's In anold city recalled the struggle led by the Chinese communist Party todestroy the old world; Liu Qing's Builders of a New Life, Zhou Libo'sGreat Changes in a Mountain Village, and Kang Zhuo's dripping waterWears through a Stone described socialist reconstruction in rural areas;while Zhou Erfu's Morning in Shanghai told of the socialist transformationof capitalist industry and commerce. Many stories, which took workers, soldiers and intellectuals as theirsubjects, were also excellent works which greatly enriched the literatureof this period. These works created a galaxy of distinctive characters,such as Li Zicheng, Jiang Zhujun, Zhu Laozhong, Liang Shengbao, LinDaojing, Yang Zirong and Zhou Bing, who were strongly representativeof a historic period, and were real and lifelike to readers. Artistically, fiction of this period both absorbed the best of Chinesetraditions and borrowed useful expressive techniques from foreignliterature. Writers made many new experiments in this respect. Short stories of this period were sensitive in encompassing newissues and perspectives. Writers looked squarely at the conflicts in reallife and offered answers to questions of universal concern to people.Works typifying this included Li Zhun's "The Story of Li Shuangshuang,"Ai Wu's "More Southern Journeys," Zhao Shuli's "Exercise," Ma Feng's"I Knew All Along", Xi Rong's "Sister Lai"; Hu Wanchun's "Man of SpecialCut," and Lu Wenfu's "Master Worker Ge" which described a worker'slife, Wang Yuanjian's "Seven Matches," Jun Qing's "The Story of A TrafficStation," Han Zi's "Wan Niu," Ru Zhijuan's "The Lilies," and Liu Zhen's "TheMovement of Heroes" which looked back on the period of war. After the turbulent Cultural Revolution, a slew of literary workscharging the disaster and harms to Chinese people caused by the ten yearsof turmoil were created. These works were called "wound literature." The mainform of "wound literature" were short stories, including Liu Xinwu's "The Class Teacher," Lu Xinhua's "The Wound," Chen Guokai's "What Shail I Do," Wang Meng's "The Most Precious." "Wound literature" also included a few excellent novels such as Ye Xin's The Years Drift By and Zhou Keqin's Xu Mao and His Daughters. One trend in "wound literature," seen in Cong Weixi's The Red Yulan under High Walls, praised revolutionary fighters' persistence in pursuing the truth and their exemplary conduct and nobility of character in times of frustration. Cong Weixi's novels described life in prison and was labeled "daqiang wenxue" (literaliy, the "literature of high walls"). ZhangJie's "Children in the Forest," Zhang Xianliang's "Whispers in Dungeion," and Ye Weilin's "on the River without Beacon Light" were importantcomponents of "wound literature," which praised common people'sexalted sentiments. "Wound Literature" revealed the trauma in many people's memories.In the wake of "wound" stories some writers sought to trace the roots ofthe historic tragedy. Ru Zhijuan's "A Story out of Sequence" reflectedon the perils of "ultra-left" thought. Other works Such as Gao Xiaosheng's"Li Shunda Builds A House," Liu Zhen's "Black Flag," Zhang Xuan's"Memory," Lu Yanzhou's A Tale of Tianyunshan Mountain, Wang Meng'sButterfly and Gu Hua's Hibiscus Town seriously pondered on historicreality. These novels were called "reflection literature. " In 1979 while "reflection literature" was still ascendant, Jiang Zilong established a new kind of fiction "reform literature" with his short story "Manager Qiao Assumes office."Soon a large number of writers gathered together under the banner of "reform literature" and created a series of excellent works. Besides "Manager Qiao Assumes office," Jiang Zilong also published The Developer, iridescence, and Heroic Songs of Yan and Zhao. Other writers and their representative works include Ke Yunlu's "Thirty Million Yuan," New Star, Night and Day; Shui Yunxian's lnside Strife; ZhangXianliang's "The Seed of the Dragon," "Man's Style;" Zhang Jie's HeavyWings; Li Guowen's "No. 5 Garden Street"; Chen Chong's "Fast Trackingwithout Reaction"; Zhang Qi's "The Reformer"; Jia Pingwa's People inJiwowa and Flighty. These works revealed the determination of peoplefrom all walks of life to move society forward. The first group of young writers who had grown up after the founding of new China, overcoming the frustration brought about by the Cultural Revolution, vigorously devoted themselves again to literary creativity. Deng Youmei's "Our Army Commander" and Women Soldiers Rejoin Their Unit, praised as the "pioneer of the novella" in the new period, provided a good beginning.After the mid-198os, he turned to write about urban life and created"Looking for Hua'er Han," Na Wu Tobacco Flask and so on. These novelswere full of local color and descriptions of folk customs and practices,which arose entirely out of the author's unique aesthetic pursuits. Wang Zengqi's short stories "Records of Danao" and "Initiation,"which described the uplifting sentiments of people in bygone years,reveal his keen understanding of historic Culture. Liu Shaotang made a great contribution to the formation of the novelin the new period by initiating and creating "regional literature." Hisrepresentative works include Catkin Willow Flats, Lights on Fishing Boats,"Pretty Eyebrow," Melon Patch Willow Lane, and Scenery in Yuling.Lu Wenfu's "hutong or alley literature" reveals the essence of the life by describing daily life happenings in Suzhou's laneways, Feng Jicai's culture literature" Whip and Three-inch Golden Lotus'conveyed the modern sensibility through popular ways of expression. He Shiguang's novel depicted on ordinary intellectuals' psychologywith lucid and exquisite insights in works like Green Grass and YearsPass Quickly. Since reform and opening up, the conflict between traditionalChinese Culture and Western culture has driven many writers to lookback on their cultural origins. In the mid-198Os, a craze of "seekingroots" sprouted in Chinese literary world and resulted in "root-seekingliterature". Representative writers here include Jia Pingwa, Han Shaogong,Li Hangyu and Zheng Wanlong. Though "root-seeking literature" hadturned out some marvelous novels like Zheng Yi's Old Well many ofthese works were considered obscure. Fiction reflecting on army life continued developing and even madesome breakthroughs during this period. In the mid-1980s, Xu Huaizhong's "Anecdote from the Western Line'. broke the tradition ofdescribing wars in a simplistic way by focusing the story on the majorcharacter Liu Maomei's ambivalent and depressive psychology. The storyrevealed the unity of opposites between historical grudges and a modernsoldier's responsibility. Major military fiction of this period include ZhuSujin's Shooting Heavenly Wolf, Zhu Chunyu's Oasis in Desert and TheYaxiya Waterfall, Li Binkui's "A Soldier in Tianshan Mountains," LiuZhaolin's "A Noisy Town in a Snowy World," Li Cunbao" "Wreath underthe Mountain," and Han Jingting's "Triumphant Return at Midnight."Compared to traditional military literature, modern military literature hasmade great progress in that ideological content is more varied,characterizations are more complex and intricate, and the expressivestyles are more esoteric and unique. Young writers stepping into the literary world during the new periodformed another vital new force in the creation of fiction. Representativewriters include Tie Ning , Zhang Kangkang, Liang Xiaosheng, Wang Anyi,Kong Jiesheng, Shi Tiesheng and Zhang ChengZhi. Wang Anyi caused asensation in the literary world with "And the Rain Patters On". The storywas written in beautifully lyrical language expressing the human desirefor communication and understanding. Zhang Kangkang's "Summer"and Aurora Polaris touched young people in their pursuit of ideals andindividuality in modern times. Zhang Chengzhi's Black Horse and Riverin the Norha carry a deep sense of historical responsibility. Shi Tiesheng's"My Far Away Qingping Bay" tells the reader that the past years werenot blank. Liang Xiaosheng's "This ls a Piece of Miraculous Land" ledpeople to consider the real values in life. Kong Jiesheng's The Riverbankin the South despised the vacuity of urban life and expressed a desire toseek true values. Modern literature, initiated by Gao Xingjian and Li Tuo and enunciatedmainly by Liu Suola and Xu Xing, developed rapidly. Liu Suola's YouHave No Other Choice, Blue Sky and Green Sea, Xu Xing's "VariationsWithout Motif," Liu Xihong's Yuu Cannot Change Me, revealed, fromdifferent perspectives, young people's alienation and confusion whenthe old values are discarded and the new ones are still to be found. MoYan's Transparent Red Turip tries to unveil a unique and distinctiveartistic perception. Ma Yuan and other writers made painstakingexperiments in way of narratives. Literary theory also has a long history in China. Many theorists havemade invaluable contributions in this discipline, with more than 2O0being very famous. These theorists have bequeathed a rich culturalheritage for China. Intent and Ornament (literally, Carving a Dragon onLiterature's Heart) by Liu Xie (c.AD 465-532) and The Classification ofPoets by Zhong Rong (AD 466-518) were both written in the Liang periodof the Southern Dynasty, while The Twenty-tour Moves of Poetry bySikong Tu (AD 837-908) was created in the Tang Dynasty, and WangGuowei's (1877-1927) Studies on Dramas of the Song and YuanDynasties and Talks on Lyric Meters in the Human Wold were writtenin the late Qing Dynasty - these were the most systematic and strictclassics among the thousands of writings on literary theory. There werealso many excellent scholars on the history of modern literature, andtheir works have provided a precious resource for the fertile study ofliterary theory in China. = Major Fiction Writers & Their Works Luo Guanzhong And The Romance of the Three Kingdoms The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was written in the early MingDynasty It was based on folk legends, storytelling scripts and dramas ...... Shi Nai'an And Outlaws of the Marsh Outlaws of the Marsh was written in the early Ming Dynasty ...... Wu Cheng'en And Journey To The West Journey to the West, the most brilliant Chinese mythological novel,came out in the middle of the Ming Dynasty ...... Jin Ping Mei (The Golden Lotus) Jin Ping Mei is the first novel composed entirely by a scholar It isthought to have been completed during Wan Li's reign of the MingDynasty ...... Cao Xueqin And A Dream of Red Mansions A Dream of Red Mansions was written in the latter half of the 18thcentury. It is not only a great Chinese novel but also a gem of worldliterature ...... Wu Jingzi And The Scholars Wu JingZi (1701 -1754), author of The Scholars and The CompleteCollection of Wenmu was a native of Quanjiao County in Anhui Province ...... Pu Songling And Strange Tales of LiaoZhai Pu Songling (164o-1715) was a native of Zichuan County, ShandongProvince. He lived during a time of unprecedented sharp classconfrontation ...... |
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