Chinese Literature
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 Han Yu ( 韩愈; pinyin: Hán Yù, 768—824), born in Nanyang, Henan, China, was a precursor of Neo-Confucianism as well as an essayist and poet, during the Tang dynasty. The Indiana Companion calls him "comparable in stature to Dante, Shakespeare or Goethe" for his influence on the Chinese literary tradition (p. 397). He stood for strong central authority in politics and orthodoxy in cultural matters.
An orphan, he went to Chang'an in 786, but needed four attempts to pass the jinshi exam, finally succeeding in 792. In the last few years of the 8th century, he began to form the literary circle which spread his influence so widely.
He gained his first central government position in 802, but was soon exiled; seemingly for failing to support the heir apparent's faction (other possible reasons are because of his criticism |
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The proponents of the Hundred Schools of Thought in the Warring States Period and Spring and Autumn periods made important contributions to Chinese prose style. The writings of Mo Zi (墨子) (Mo Di, 470-390 B.C.), Mencius (孟子) (Meng Zi; 372-289 B.C.), and Zhuang Zi (庄子) (369-286 B.C.) contain well-reasoned, carefully developed discourses and show a marked improvement in organization and style over what went before.
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Among the earliest and most influential poetic anthologies was the Chuci (楚辞) (Songs of Chu), made up primarily of poems ascribed to the semi-legendary Qu Yuan (屈原) (ca. 340-278 B.C.) and his follower Song Yu (宋玉) (fourth century B.C.). The songs in this collection are more lyrical and romantic and represent a different tradition from the earlier Shijing. During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), this form evolved into the fu (赋) , a poem usually in rhymed verse except for introductory and concluding passages that are in prose, often in the |
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The Chinese wrote consistent and accurate records at court after the year 841 BC, with the beginning of the Gonghe regency of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The earliest known narrative history of China was the Zuo Zhuan（左传）, which was compiled no later than 389 BC, and attributed to the blind 5th century BC historian Zuo Qiuming（左丘明）.
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Chinese literature extends back thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novel that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. The introduction of widespread woodblock printing during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the invention of movable type printing by Bi Sheng (990-1051) during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) rapidly spread written knowledge throughout China like never before. In more modern times, the author Lu Xun (1881-1936) would be considered the founder of modern baihua literature in China.
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