Preface

Part I: Introduction

The Concept of Literature

The modern Western concept of literature. Oral literature and written texts. The language of texts. The development of the traditional Chinese concept of literature. The introduction of the Western concept of literature into China

Language and Writing, Paper and Printing, Education, and Literacy

Language and Writing. The Chinese language. The Chinese writing system. The reproduction of texts. Writing brush and ink. The invention of paper. The invention of book printing. Education and literacy. Education and literacy before A.D. 1000. Education and literacy from 1000 to 1900. Education and literacy in the twentieth century

Traditional Chinese Society, Especially in the Period from the Han to the Qing

Great Tradition and Little Traditions. The development of the Central Tradition. The representatives of the Central Tradition: gently and literati. Central and peripheral cultures. Literati and literature: writer and bureaucrat. The uniformity of Chinese literature

The Central Tradition in Traditional Society

The Way. The ruler and his virtue. The bureaucratic career. The study of literature. The practice of literature. The state examinations. Literature and gender in China

The Way and the Government Truth and Literature

Literature and government. Literature as a reflection and criticism of government. The state as patron of the arts. The state as censor. The classification of texts. High literature. The Five Classics and the Four Books. The art of writing and literary criticism. Trivial literature. The language and functions. of trivial literature. Trivial literature and popular literature

The Study and Translation of Chinese Literature in the West Before 1800

The nineteenth century. The first half of the twentieth century. The situation since the 1950s

Part II: From the Earliest Times to the Invention of Paper

Chinese Political History before A.D. 100

Historical Prose

The Shujing. The Chunqiu and Zuo Zhuan. The Zhanguo ce. Sima Qian and the Shiji. The Han shu and other dynastic histories. Other forms of historical writing in later periods. Biography and autobiography. Historical fiction and historical romance. The place of the Histories in Chinese literature

The Philosophers

The philosophical schools. Forms of philosophical writing. The Confucianists. The Mohists and the Logicians. The Legalists. The Taoists. The Eclectics. Philosophical writings from the second century on. Professional literatures. The place of the Philosophers in Chinese literature

Poetry

The Shijing. The Chuci. The fu of Sima Xiangru and others

Part III: From the Invention of Paper to the Spread of Book Printing

Chinese Political History 100-700

Fu, Prose, and Literary Criticism

The invention of paper and the growing corpus of literature. The short prose genres. The rise of parallel prose. The fu in the late second century and after. Texts on texts. Lu Ji's Wen fu. The Wenxin diaolong and the Wenxuan. Stories and supernatural anecdotes. North Chinese writers of the fifth and sixth centuries

Poetry: Shi and Yuefu

The rise of Shi poetry. The themes of Shi poetry. The marginal role of religious and love poetry. Yuefu poetry and the Gushi Shijiu shou. Shi poets of the third century. Shi poets of the period 350-450. Palace-style poetry. Tone contrast

Chinese Political History, 700-1000

Poetry: Shi

Ancient-style poetry and modern-style poetry. The forms of modern-style poetry. The themes of Tang poetry. The periodization of Tang poetry. The Early Tang. The High Tang. Wang Wei Li Bai (Li Po, Li Tai-p'e). Du Fu. Other poets. The Middle Tang. Bai Juyi (Po Chu-i) and Yuan Zhen. Han Yu and others. The Late Tang. Poetry criticism. Poetry of Buddhist inspiration

Tang Prose: Ancient-Style Prose and Short Stories

Ancient-style prose. Han Yu. Liu Zongyuan. The short story in the classical language. The form and content of chuanqi. The best-known chuanqi. Collections of short stories. Ancient-style prose and chuanqi. The preservation of chuanqi

Popular Literature: Ci and Bianwen

The Dunhuang manuscripts. Ci poetry. Ci poets of the ninth and tenth centuries. Vernacular narratives from Dunhuang

Part IV: From the Spread of Book Printing to the Introduction of Western Printing Methods

Chinese Political History, 1000-1450

Poetry: Shi, Shihua and Ci

Shi poetry. Shi poetry of the Northern Song dynasty. Shi poetry of the Southern Song dynasty. Shi poetry of the Jin and Yuan dynasties. Poetry criticism Ci poetry

Prose: Guwen, Biji, Chuanqi, Pinghua

Ancient-style prose. Ouyang Xiu. Other eleventh-century prose writers. Ancient-style prose in later centuries. The short story and biji. Pinghua

Qu: Zhugongdiao, Zaju and Sanqu, and Xiwen

Qu. The ``in all keys and modes''. The northern drama. General characteristics of traditional Chinese theater. The musical organization of zaju. Zaju: texts and themes. The most important zaju authors. The performance of zaju. Sanqu. The most important sanqu authors. The southern drama. Xiwen and chuanqi. The three xiwen in the Yongle dadian. Gao Ming's Pipaji and other early chuanqi

Chinese Political History, 1450-1915

Classical-language Poetry and Prose

Shi and ci poetry. Essays in the classical written language. The Liaozhai zhiyi and other collections of supernatural stories. Major compilations

Drama: Zaju, Chuanqi, and Regional Drama

Zaju. Famous zaju authors. Li Kaixian. Chuanqi. Tang Xianzu. Li Yu. Hong Sheng and Kong Shangren. Regional drama. Kunqu. Peking opera. Puppet shows and shadow plays

The Novel (1450-1650)

The earliest novels. The novel in China and in Europe. The Chinese novel before 1550. The Sanguo zhi yanyi. The Shuihu zhuan. Historical novels of the mid-sixteenth century. Novels from the last century of the Ming. The Xiyou ji and other fantastic novels. The Jin Ping Mei and other social novels. Chapbooks

The Novella (Huaben)

The earliest editions. The San yan and the periodization of huaben. Feng Menglong. Ling Meagchu and the Liang pai. Later huaben collections. Crime stories

The Novel (1650-1875)

Literati fiction from 1650 to 1875. Novels of some length. Sui Tang yanyi and Nuxian waishi. The Rulin waishi. The Honglou meng. Other eighteenth-century novels. Nineteenth-century novels. Short novels. ``Talent and beauty'' novels. Reductionistic novels. Military romances and other chapbook fiction

Performance Texts and Oral Literature

Performance texts. Professional storytellers. Forms of shuochang wenxue. Oral literature. Fairy tales. Jokes. Proverbs and sayings. Folk songs

Part V: The Transition to Modern Literature (1875-1915)

The Transitional Period

Lithography and wuxia xiaoshuo. Machine printing and the modern press. The first journalists. Novels on modern life in Shanghai. Intellectual developments after 1895. Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. Yan Fu and Lin Shu. Huang Zunxian. Novels of the period 1900-1920. Wu Woyao. Li Baojia. Liu E's Lao Can youji. Zeng Pu's Nie hai hua. Other works. Some memorable figures. Su Manshu. Wang Guowei

Part VI: Modern Literature (1915-1990)

Chinese Political History, 1915-1990

Modern Literature: An Introduction

The Literary Revolution and the May Fourth Movement. Chen Duxiu. Hu Shi. Literature and Politics. Reform and tradition

Modern Literature 1917-1942: The Short Story and the Novel

The short story. Lu Xun. Yu Dafu. Ye Shengtao. Shen Congwen. Bing Xin. Ding Ling. The Novel. Mao Dun. Ba Jin. Lao She. Other writers of the thirties and forties

Modern Literature 1917-1942: Poetry, Drama and Essay

Modern Poetry. Guo Moruo. Wen Yiduo. Xu Zhimo. Feng Zhi. Poets of the thirties and forties. The ``Talking Drama''. Tian Han and Ouyang Yuqian. Cao Yu. The Essay. Zhou Zuoren. Other essayists

Modern Literature: 1942-1990

Literary life in the ``liberated areas''. Literary life in the People's Republic of China before 1978. Official policy. Persecution of writers. New novelists. Modern and traditional drama. Literary life in the People's Republic of China since 1978. Chinese literature in Taiwan since 1949. Fictional prose in Taiwan. Poetry in Taiwan. Conclusion

Bibliography

Glossary-Index