CHINESE LITERATURE

OBJECTIVES:

1. Discuss facts and figures about China.2. Trace the history of Chinese civilization.3. Analyze the life and teachings of Confucius.4. Enumerate and explain Confucius’ Five Books and Six Principles.

Facts about CHINA CAPITAL : Peking (OLD) Beijing (NEW) Located in East Asia. 3rd largest country in the world in terms of area (after Russia and Canada) and

total of population.

OFFICIAL NAME: People’s Republic of China (Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo) 1949

- used by the Chinese which originated with the early Chinese concept that china was in the middle of the world.

Qin (Ch’in) dynasty (221 – 206 B.C) – the first unified nation and the word “China” was derived from.

COASTLINE: bordering the Yellow East China, and South China Seas about 12,000 km. (7,500 mi.) long.

LAND BORDER: 21,260 km. (13,210 mi) shares with other countries:

- North Korea,Russia,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan,Mongolia,Afghanistan,India,Pakistan,Nepal,Bhutan,Burma,Laos and Vietnam.

China disputes the ownership of the Spartly Islands and the Paracel Islands.

CHINA PROPER: Mongolia, Manchuria and Sinkiang North China has cold winters and South China has a very hot summers. Way of living: Cultivation of rice, corn, wheat, millet, barley, soybeans and

peanuts.

2 Largest River:

A.)Yangtze – longest river in all Asia

B.)Hwang ho – later called YELLOW RIVER (CHINAS SORROW).

Largest cities: - Tientsin (the biggest seaport in North China)- Shanghai (the Largest City)- Canton ( the trading center)

PEOPLE :- The population of China in 2009 is 1,338,612,968

- Multiracial state whose population includes about 92% Han Chinese and about 8% of some 60 other ethnic groups.

- The Largest Beings are: Huis, Mongols, Uighurs, Zhuangs(Chuangs), Yis, Tibetans, Miasos,

Manchu’s, Buyis (Puyis), and Koreans. LANGUAGES:

- Classified into FOUR major linguistic Families:1. Indo-European- represented only by Tajik Speakers.2. Sino-Tibetan3. Ural-Altaic- includes the Turkic Linguistic groups (Kazakh,

Kirghiz, Uzbek, Salar, and Uighur), Mongolic Groups, and Tungusic Group.

4. Mon-Khmer- family of Southeast Asia is represented in Yunnam Province by the Wa, Puland, and the Penglung.

- The Mandarin Beijing dialect is now China’s National spoken language. RELIGION:

- The Major Religions of China:1. Buddhism2. Taoism

- believed in ancestor worship and Confucianism, a system of social and political values.TIBETAN BUDDHISM- was the religion of the Mongols and the Tibetans.

1949 – under Communist government, the practice of religion was discouraged. EDUCATION:

- During 1950’s and early 1960 educational policy was directed toward producing college and secondary school graduates who were politically reliable and technically qualified.

- Cultural Revolution the emphasis was on political indoctrination in revolutionary ideology. Workers, peasants, and soldiers were invited to lecture in universities.

- 1977 (the educational policies of the Cultural Revolution were abandoned.- 1985 (Entrance Examination were reintroduce)- 1989 (prodemocracy demonstration students were required to complete a

year of political education before entering college) GOVERNMENT:

- China is a Communist State, with all authority resting in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Nationalist Party is led by Chiang Kai-shek Communist Party is led by Mao Zedong

CONTRIBUTION IN MODERN ERA:

Important Chinese festival: a festival day that falls between 21 January and 19 February and introduces two weeks of celebrations marking the New Year

Bastille Day, Chanukah, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Diwali, Easter, Eid-ul-Adha, Eid-ul-Fitr, Epiphany, Independence Day, Kwanzaa, Mardi Gras, New Year, Passover, Thanksgiving

Extremely intricate and difficult puzzle: a puzzle, either in the form of a game or a problem that is extremely intricate, ingenious, and difficult to solve

Paper covering for light: a collapsible covering for a light, made of thin brightly colored paper supported by thin wires “Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.”

I N T R O D U C T I O N TO C H I N E S E L I T E R A T U R E

Chinese language is the most ancient still spoken and probably the oldest written.

CHARACTERISTIC OF CHINESE LANGUAGE:

MONOSYLLABIC – each word has only one syllable.- Does not have any polysyllable words.

TONAL LANGUAGE – the same word changes in meaning when it is said with an upward or a downward tone or with a high or low tone.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AS SPOKEN AND AS WRITTEN:

A.) Spoken Vocabulary is considerably less than the written vocabulary.B.) Chinese Writing does not represent the sounds of words.

IDEOGRAPHIC- based on ideas and not by Phonetics

-Chinese writing has the great number of characters. (214 signs)

-it is written from top to bottom.

CONFUCIUS (551-479 B.C)- one of the truly great men that China has produced.

- The word Confucius is the Westernized form of his name which is Kung Fu-tze.

Kung- proper name

Fu- signifying revered

Tze- signifying teacher

- Was the Chinese sage who founded Confucianism.- Held several minor government posts- He advanced to become minister of justice in his home state.- He was best known as a teacher.- He had taught a total of 3,000 disciples who carried on his teachings.- His disciples looked upon their Great Teacher as an educator and a

statesman, a philosopher, a traditionalist, the founder of Chinese Literature.- He was also called as “The Superior Man” because he taught his disciples that

“He who does not recognize the existence of a Divine Law cannot be a superior man.”

- He refused to discuss Heaven or the Life Hereafter and religion instead he taught them ethics.

F I V E B O O K S OF C O N F U C I US

1. Book of Changes (Yi King) – ascribed to Wan Wang, it is made up of a geometrical combination of six lines plus sixty four explanatory essays. This book was used by the

Chinese for divination, and it was supposed by some to present a secret and profound philosophy but no key has been found.

2. Book Of ceremonies (Li King) – This voluminous work on etiquette was re-edited about 100 B.C the two Tai cousins, based on documents allegedly written by Confucius.

3. Book of Historical Documents (Shu King) – this is a formulation of the political ideals and the fundamentals of good government.

4. Book of Poetry ( Shi King) – a selection of 305 best poems, the book stresses the cherishing of thoughts and sentiments of forebears. Some of the poems are odes written for various occasions; some are lyric. The book is valuable for insight into the manners and customs of the ancient Chinese.

5. Book of Spring and Autumn (Ch’ un ch’ ui)- so called because, according to its admirers, it’s praises were as stimulating as spring, while its censures were as withering as autumn. It has little philosophical content, but it is noteworthy for history of Confucius’ native province of Lu from 722 to 484 B.C.

MANG- the child who was born on the same province where Confucius was born.

MENCIUS- was a good organizer and proselytizer.

- Best known for his Book of Analects.

SIX PRINCIPLES:1. Human nature is good and evil is essentially unnatural.2. Man is free to conduct himself as he wills, and he is master of his choice.3. Virtue is it own reward. If one does good for a reward or avoids evil for fear of

punishment – that is not a virtue.4. The rule for individual behavior is: what you do not want others to do to you,

do not do to them.5. A man has five duties : to his ruler; to his father; his wife (and she to him); to

his elder brother; to his friends; and the most important of these is the filial duty.

6. Man should strive to become a superior man.

CONFUCIUS – the first sage of China.

MENCIUS - the second sage of China.

CONFUCIANISM – a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teaching of the Chinese Philosopher Confucius.

Chinese Poets

Wang Wei (699-759), Chinese painter and poet, a figure of legendary stature is considered the founder of the pure landscape style of painting and was one of the masters of lyric verse in the T’ang dynasty.

-admired for their Sensitivity to nature

- known for inadequate rubbings taken from stone engravings of his famous Wang--chuan hand scroll and in paraphrases of his paintings by later artists. -The first painter to treat landscape as an evocation of nature rather than as a vehicle for colorful, artificial decorations, which was the accepted manner of his day.- founder southern school of Chinese art and became the models for the later literati (wen- jen) artist, or unworldly poet painter.

POEMS:A.) The Cold MountainB.) DepartureC.) Walking at Leisure

LI PO (701 – 62) – one of the greatest figures of Chinese Literature.- Li T’ai Po was born into the minor nobility in what is now

Sichuan province.- His writings deal with the good things of life and with pathos of

human destiny. With a striking vividness they treat of love, friendship, wine, nature, and simple village living.

- 2000 poems collected in 1080 are remarkable for their musical quality, rich and exact imagery, and beauty of language.

- themes are the sorrows of those separated by demands of duty, the relief found in wine, and a Taoist appreciation for the awesome tranquility of mountains and rivers and a sense of the mysteries of life.

POEMS:- Conversation in the Mountains- The moon over the Mountains Pass- Saying Farewell to a Friend- Drinking Along in the Moonlight

TU FU (710 – 70 ) - is regarded by many as the greatest Chinese Poet.- was raise according to Confucian tradition in a family known for scholarly

interests.

- Early poetry is marked by lyrical praise of the beauties of natural world, but as his own life became more difficult, elements of satire and expression of somber, feeling about the suffering of human kind enter his verse.

POEMS:- The Empty Purse- Summer Night- Seeing Hsia Chan Off By River- To the Distant One- Looking in the Lake

PO- CHU- I (722 – 846 )- was a well-known Chinese poet who represented the classical Tradition in Chinese Literature, Politics, and Morality.

POEMS:- Those who Speak- Buying Flowers

Early writings generally derived from Philosophical or Religious Essay such as work of:- Confucius (551 – 479 B.C)- Lao Tzu ( 4th century B.C)- How people should act and how the society and political system should be

organized and operated.

THEMES OF WRITINGS1. Philosophical2. Religious3. Historical

This themes produced Poetry, Novel, and Dramatic Writings

POETRY – well established as a literary form during the T’ang Dynasty from 618 to 907 A.D

DRAMA – another old and important literary form.- Combines vernacular language with music and song and thus has been

popular with the common people.

Peking Opera – a variety of popular and standard themes are presented here.

Chinese Opera - is a favorite artistic and cultural medium.

NOVELS – often stressed character development and usually centered on an adventure or supernatural happening.

HISTORICAL THEMES – Romance of the Three Kingdoms- written in the late Yuan Period.

Love Stories – “Dream of the Popular Chamber”- China’s most popular novel.

Lu Xun – Most famous 20th century writer; a poet, essayist, and novelist whose work focused on the need to modernized through revolution. DYNASTIES:

Ch'in Dynasty (221 to 206 BC)- the singular feature in literary matters was what is called the "Burning of the Books.“

Shih Huang Ti was determined to be an absolutist ruler and opposed to writings on good government such as those in the Classics. In 213, it is believed; he ordered the burning of all texts that appeared threatening to him.

Han Dynasty (206 BC to AD 220)- actively promoted the restoration and teaching of the Classics. In 124 BC a national university was opened for the purpose of teaching Confucianism.

- Civil Services Exam Sui Dynasty (AD 221 to 618) - The major poet of this era was T'ao Ch'ien (365-427).

His verse was in a plain style that was imitated by poets long after. He was a master of the five-word line and has been called the first of China's great nature poets because most of his writings deal with rural activities.

Tang Dynasty - Li Po (701-762) and Tu Fu (712-770) were the well known poets of this dynasty.

SUNG DYNASTY (960-1279) Li Ch'ing- Chao (1081-1141) - China's best woman poet.

She produced six volumes of poetry and seven volumes of essays, all of which have been lost except for some poetry fragments. Her early poems dealt with the joys of love and were intensely personal.

YUAN, OR MONGOL, DYNASTY (1279-1368) - Kublai Khan The best-known ruler of the Yuan, or Mongol, Dynasty

- In literature Chinese drama came to the fore for the first time, and vernacular fiction was firmly established; Puppet shows, skits, vaudeville acts, and shadow plays of previous ages had laid the foundation for a full-fledged drama.

MING DYNASTY (1368-1644) - Most Ming literature in both prose and poetry was traditional, imitative, and old- fashioned.

CH'ING, OR MANCHU, DYNASTY (1644-1911) - During its reign most Chinese literature tended to be old- fashioned and imitative; genuine creativity was rare.

POLITICAL AND LITERARY REVOLUTIONS - the success of the Communist revolution in 1949.- Literary revolution. In 1915 Youth Magazine (later, New Youth) was founded

by Ch'en Tu-hsiu (1879-1942), who soon became a founder of the Chinese Communist party.