Chinese Literature

* Chinese literature can be divided into two major groups.

Literature written before 1912, the last year that China was ruled
by an emperor, is known as classical literature. After 1912, most
writers no longer used the forms and themes of classical
literature. These later works are known as modern literature.
* Classical period is divided into 4 categories:
Jing - refers to a collection of ancient texts known as the 13 texts
or classics. Five these texts or classics have been especially
treated by the Chinese because they were said to be written by
the Chinese philosopher Confucius.
These 5 classics are:
1) The Book of Songs an anthology of poems, mostly of folk
origin.
2) The Book of Documents a collection of historical writings.
3) The Book of Changes a book on the ancient system of
predicting the future.
4) The Book of Rites
5) Spring and Autumn Annals
Shi refers to writings of historical significance. The most
important work in this collection is The Historical Records.
Zi refers mainly to works on Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism.
*Modern Literature they write for and about ordinary people
rather than the nobility, and they strive for a realistic style.
> The most important writer of modern Chinese fiction is Lu Xun,
the author of two outstanding novels, The Diary of a Madman and
The True Story of Ah Q. He also wrote A Little Incident.

*Confucius/ Confucianism
Confucius was born in the state of Lu (now the Shantung
province) in 551 BC. Legend has it that dragons guarded his
mother when he was born.
His father died when he was 3 years old.
He received a good education and studied a number of
subjects, including archery, music and rites.
The name Confucius is the Latinized form of the Chinese
name Kung fu-tzu.
Confucianism is a substance of learning, a source of values
and the social code for the Chinese.
He believed that an orderly world began with the individual
and that each person should be honest, courteous and
compassionate.
Learning to be human was the goal of Confucianism.
According to Confucius, each one should act with virtue in all
social matters to ensure order and unity.
Confucius also stressed the importance of certain virtues.
One of the most significant was a version of the Golden Rule:
Do not do unto others what you would not have them do to
you.
This is also one of his important sayings: To say you know
when you know, and to say you do not when you do not
know, that is the true meaning of knowledge.
He spent his last years writing and teaching and has been
credited with writing and editing the Five Classics, a group of
ancient texts. However, most of what is known about
Confucius comes from the Analects, a collection of notes and
other writings of his sayings and activities put together by
his pupils after his death.
*Taoism/Lao Tzu

 The founder/author of Taoism is Lao Tzu.

According to myth, Lao-tzu came from the womb as an old
man, white-haired and full of wisdom.
According to Taoism:
The entire universe and everything in it flows with a
mysterious, unknowable force called the Tao (translated
literally as The Way).
Taoists believe that everything is one despite its
appearances.
Religious practices included the cultivation of the of bodily
energy called chi, the creation of a system of morals, and
the use of alchemy in attempts to attain immortality.
Goal of religion: to be one with nature.
Taoists believe that the soul survives after death and has
the ability to travel through space.
Taoists believe that life is good. Taoism lays emphasis on
the body.

Japanese Literature
*The Japanese were greatly influenced by China. The Japanese
used Chinese as their written language for centuries.
*The Japanese were influenced by Chinese literature until the
modern age (or beginning in 1868 with the period known as the
Meiji Restoration).
*Japans first poetry collection was the Manyoshu (Ten Thousand
Leaves) consisting of 4,500 poems.
*Tanka was one of the major forms of poetry in the earlier times.
It is composed of only five lines and thirty-one syllables.
*Court poets used the tanka to mainly express their feelings
about love and nature.

*When the warrior or the samurai class ruled Japan, linked

verse replaced the tanka. Linked verse was created by dividing
the five lines of the tanka into units,or links. These jointly written
poems often extended to 100 or even 1,000 links.
*In pre-modern Japan, haiku became popular. Haiku was a product
of the merchant culture. It consists of only three lines and a total
of 17 syllables.
*The major forms of theater in Japan are:
> The No or ability theater
> Bunraku or puppet theater
> Kabuki flourished during the Tokugawa period