The Chinese literary tradition is remarkable both for its length and for its profuseness. The earliest evidence of Chinese writing on ORACLE BONES dates from approximately 3,500 years ago. Although the shape of the characters used has altered considerably over the centuries, there has been a remarkable continuity in the written language.
Literacy was an essential qualification for a position in government service. A Confucian official was expected to compose poems and essays with the same facility that he displayed in drawing up a document. An enormous outpouring of literature was the result; more than half of the books published in the world prior to the middle of the Qing period were written in Chinese. Before woodblock printing became common during the SONG (Sung) period most of these literary texts were written with a brush on silk or paper in scroll form. Texts were also inscribed in bronze and stone or recorded on paintings, fans, and screens.
Training in the literary language was a long and arduous education that few could afford and in which fewer still succeeded. A sharp divergence developed between the spoken and literary languages, and only a small but powerful elite was able to master the latter. This situation is reflected in the traditional bibliographical classification scheme that comprises the Confucian canon (Jing), historical and geographical writings (Shi), philosophy and expository prose (Zi), and verse and essay collections (Ji). Two important branches of literature, fiction and drama, were excluded from this scheme.
The Confucian Canon
Thirteen works constitute the core of Confucian ideology: Book of Changes (I jing); Book of Documents, or History (Shu jing or Shang shu); Book of Songs (Shi jing); three collections of ritual (Zhi li, I li, and Li ji); the Spring and Autumn Annals together with three commentaries (Chun qiu, Zuo Zhan, Gong yang zhuan, and Gu liang zhuan); Classic of Filial Piety (Xiao qing); Analects (Lun yu); Mencius (Mengzi); and the earliest dictionary (Er ya). All of these works are believed to have originated during the late ZHOU (Chou) period, but they present scholars with enormous textual problems of reconstruction caused by the Burning of the Books carried out at the command of the first QIN (Ch'in) emperor.
Historical Writing
One of the finest works of Chinese historiography is Intrigues of the Warring States. Records of the Grand Historian, by SIMA QIAN (Ssu-ma ch'ien), the outstanding prose work of the Former Han period, is especially noted for its vivid portrayals of important historical personages. It established the pattern of all subsequent dynastic chronicles. Among its successors, History of the Han, by Bangu (Pan Ku) (AD 32-92), is distinguished for its literary qualities. By the latter part of the Period of Disunion (AD 220-589), the writing of history had become a largely routine bureaucratic enterprise. This led to the search for new and creative approaches to the composition of historiography. The magnificent outcome of this labor was the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, by SIMA GUANG (Ssu-ma kuang), peerless for its objective presentation and critical attitudes toward its sources.
Philosophy and Expository Prose
Many works belonging to this seemingly arid category contain passages that have considerable literary merit. The Daode jing (Tao-te ching), attributed to LAOZI (Lao-tze), is well known in the West for its concise, mystical, and poetic statement of Taoist ideals (see TAOISM). More important for students of literature is the ZHUANGZI (Chuang-tzu), a Taoist anthology that represents the height of imaginative writing before the Tang period. Other works that have a significant place in literary history include the Xunzi, the Huainanzi, the Hanfeizi, and the Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu Buwei. All of the works mentioned above date either from the militarily unstable but intellectually fruitful late Zhou period or the Former Han period and make liberal use of allegory and parable to press philosophical and political points.
Verse and Essay Collections
Poetry was the supreme literary accomplishment of the Chinese scholar. Apart from the classic Book of Songs (c.1000-600 BC), a collection of popular songs and ritual odes, the most important early anthology is The Songs of the South, comprising the poetry of QU YUAN (Ch'u Yuan) and his followers. During the Han period elaborate rhyming prose (fu) dominated the world of poetry, and Sima Xianru (Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju; 179-117 BC) was its most able practitioner. Another important type of poetry was the ballad (yuefu), which poignantly reflected the lives and thoughts of the common people and had a strong impact on such Three Kingdoms poets as Cao Cao (Ts'ao Ts'ao; AD 155-220) and his son, CAO ZHI (Ts'ao Chih). Two great nature poets, TAO YUNMING (T'ao Yuan-Ming) and Xie Lingyun (Hsieh Ling-yun; AD 385-433), lived during the Period of Disunion.
Fiction
Before the Tang period, fiction was largely restricted to brief anecdotes about famous people, the elaboration of historical events, and accounts of strange creatures and happenings. Under the influence of Buddhist scriptures known as "transformation texts" (bianwen), extended fictional narratives were composed. These formed the basis of such superb novels as the anonymous Jin Pingmei (c.1582-96; translated as The Golden Lotus, 1939) and Honglou Meng (1791; translated as DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER, 1929), by CAO XUEQIN (Ts'ao Hsueh-Ch'in).
During the Qing period the short story also flourished and is well represented in the collections of vernacular tales by Feng Menglong (1574-1646). All of these works were vernacular, but fiction in the literary language was also refined. Among the most distinguished examples are the Tang classical tales (quanqi) and the intriguing Liaozhai zhiyi (Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio), by Pu Songling (P'u Sung-ling; (1640-1716). During the Ming and Qing eras fictional writing came to enjoy the recognition of the well-educated classes. The most famous novels at the time are Hong Lou Meng (Dream of The Red Chamber), Xi You Ji (Pilgramage To The West) and Shuihu Zhuan (All Brothers Within Four Seas).
