Chinese Literature Flashcards
for 3500 years, the Chinese have woven a variety of genres and forms encompassing poetry, essays, fiction and drama; each in its own way reflecting the social climate of its day through the high spirit of art.
CHINESE LITERATURE
What is the main disadvantage of written Chinese?
number of characters (it contains more than 1,000)
- The earliest artifact of Chinese writing appears on oracle bones, animal bones used for sacred divination.
- The writing on these bones are pictographs, which use pictures in place of letters.
- This type of writing is known as jiaguwen, and is believed to have been barely changed from the rules of writing still used today.
Shang Dynasty (1600 BC-1050 BC)
- Around 105 BC, paper was invented, helping maintain writing and literature.
- Many works of Chinese poetry, literature, religion, and medicine survived this period due to the use of paper.
- However, it was still expensive due to the time-consuming nature of hand-writing each piece.
- During this time most written poetry used a folklore song style, emulating the oral storytelling that came before. Due to the popularity of Confucius, philosophical works became more widespread as well.
Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220)
- The invention of woodblock printing, similar to a wood stamp, allowed printing to become quick, accessible, and widespread, leading to higher levels of writing and reading literacy among the lower classes.
- Its popularity led to new styles, specifically the rise in what is now considered classical Chinese poetry.
- Classical Chinese poetry moves away from the folklore song style, and looks at everyday topics and utilizes more modern techniques like imagery and persona.
Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907)
- Prose around this time began to utilize more novels using vernacular writing and mirroring more closely to the type of novels read today.
- Novels began to move away from the philosophical works that emerged from the Han Dynasty, and focused less on philosophical teachings.
Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644)
- also known as Tu fu.
- the greatest Chinese poet of all time.
- He wrote the poem “The Ballad of the Army Cats” which is about conscription—and with hidden satire that speaks of the noticeable luxury of the court.
- The Recruiting Officers of Shi- Hao
Du Fu
- known as Li Bai
- a Chinese poet who is a competitor of Du Fu as China’s greatest poet.
- He was romantic in his personal life and his poetry.
- His works are known for its conversational tone and vivid imagery.
- He wrote the poem “Alone and Drinking under the Moon” that deals with the ancient social custom of drinking.
Li Po
- He was a poet, painter, musician, and statesman during the Tang dynasty (the golden ages of the Chinese cultural history).
- He was the founder of the respected Southern school of painter-poets.
- Many of his best poems were inspired by the local landscape just like the Bamboo Woods.
Wang Wei
- He was a fictionist who won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature.
- His first novel was “Red Sorghum”, and still his best-known work. It tells the story of the Chinese battling Japanese intruders as well as each other during the 1930s. It relates the story of a family in rural area in Shandong Province during the turbulent time.
Mo Yan
- He was a world-acclaimed short story writer and considered as a champion for Chinese meta-fictional or postmodernist writing.
- His widely acclaimed novel “To Live” describes the struggles endured by the son of a wealthy land-owner while historical events caused and extended by the Chinese Revolution are fundamentally altering the nature of Chinese society.
YU HUA
moves away from the folklore song style, and looks at everyday topics and utilizes more modern techniques like imagery and persona.
Classical Chinese Poetry/Tang dynast
The writing on these bones are pictographs, which use pictures in place of letters.
This type of writing is known as ____, and is believed to have been barely changed from the rules of writing still used today
jiaguwen
Novels began to move away from the philosophical works that emerged from the ____, and focused less on philosophical teachings.
Han Dynasty
What dynasty is the golden ages of Chinese cultural history?
Tang Dynasty
