A Concise History of Chinese Literature consists of ten chapters, each of which represents a historical period from the origins of writing in the Pre-Qin era to the present day, from "Guan Ju" of the three-thousand-year-old C/assic of Poetry to the author Mo Yan, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2012. Taking on the vastness of Chinese literature in this one short volume, we have had no choice but to overlook many excellent works of literature in favor of the most representative authors and works. We hope that from these carefully chosen texts you will be able to discover the brevity, elegance, and charm of literature in Chinese, and that these short writings will help you take the first steps to understanding how Chinese people express their emotions and thoughts through literature.
"Meet China" is a set of books designed to introduce basic topics in Chinese culture to young people from home and abroad. The first set contains nine volumes, touching on Chinese geography, history, art, literature, science, government, thought, and other areas. The topics of this first set are all largescale, and have been written with the cognitive perspective of a young person as a starting point. Short, concise texts outline the main ideas of large cultural topics in a logical order, and the principles that can be deduced therefrom are explained in detail. Emphasis is put on detailed description, texts have been repeatedly polished so that they are of practical substance, and effort has been made to show the value of learning through pictures. We hope that our painstakingly crafted world of letters and pictures will open a door to understanding Chinese-culture for young people.
Pre-Qin-The Origin of Chinese Literature
Without Poetry, One Cannot Converse
The Logic of Zhuangzi
The Romantic Elegy of Qu Yuan
Han Dynasty-the Vigor of a Great Age
The Masterpiece of History by Sima Qian
The Rich Writings of Sima Xiangru
Wei-Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties-Literary Freedom in a World of Unrest
Jian'an Poetry and the Three Caos
Mysterious Ghost Stories
The Utopia of Tao Yuanming
Tang Dynsaty-Poetry at its Finest
The Talent and Romance of Li Bai
The Epic Life of Du Fu
Reclaiming Tradition with the Classical Prose Movement
Song Dynasty-Bold and Graceful Veres
Liu Yong Writing Lyrics by Imperial Order
Leader of the Literati Su Dongpo
The Immortal Female Scholar Li Qingzhao
Yuan Dynasty-The Rise of Popular Literature
Touching Heaven and Earth - The Injustice to Dou E
Twists and Turns in The Story of the Western Wing
Ming Dynasty-Novels and Plays
An Outpouring of Heroes in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Journey to the West and the World of Fantasy
Life, Love, and Death in The Peony Pavilion
Qing Dynasty-The End of Classical Literature
Rise and Fall in The Peach Blossom Fan
Ten Years of Toil for The Dream of the Red Chamber
The Republic of China-The Era of the Vernacular
The Combative Pen of Lu Xun
Resplendent Desolation and Eileen Chang
Contemporary Literature in Development
The World of Martial Arts and Louis Cha
The Expression of Misty Poetry
The Magic and Reality of Mo Yan
Index of Major Works