Chinese literature

Chinese literature is the body of literary works written in Chinese, encompassing classical and modern traditions across China and Chinese-speaking communities.

Classical Chinese: The written language used in China for literary and official texts from antiquity into the twentieth century. Its compact written style shaped classical prose and poetry across centuries.
Classic of Poetry: The earliest surviving anthology of Chinese poetry, containing songs and poems from the Zhou period. Its verse established themes and forms repeatedly reworked by later poets.
Oracle bone script: The earliest known systematic Chinese writing, inscribed on bones and shells during the late Shang dynasty. Early writing provides the material background for China’s long textual tradition.
Confucius: A Chinese teacher and thinker whose sayings and teachings became foundational to Confucian traditions. His attributed dialogues became a lasting model of terse, reflective prose.
Classical Chinese poetry: Poetry composed in classical Chinese forms, including regulated verse and older lyric traditions. Its formal conventions contrast with the freer language and structures of modern poetry.
Literary Chinese: A literary written register modeled on classical texts and used across East Asia. It carried Chinese works across regions and remained influential after vernacular writing grew.
The Analects: A collection of sayings and dialogues associated with Confucius and his disciples. Its concise exchanges became models of influential classical prose.
Han dynasty: A Chinese imperial dynasty lasting from 206 BCE to 220 CE, with a brief interruption. Han institutions helped establish classical learning and official historical writing.
Sima Qian: A Han dynasty historian who wrote Records of the Grand Historian. His narrative biographies shaped Chinese historical writing and literary practice.
Modern Chinese poetry: Poetry written in modern Chinese, often using vernacular language and forms influenced by global modernism. It breaks from classical meters and conventions while negotiating their inherited authority.

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