Attributed to Han Gan, Huiyebai (Night-Shining White Steed), about 750 CE (Tang Dynasty).

Classical Chinese poetry is traditional Chinese poetry written in Classical Chinese: typified by certain traditional forms, or modes, and certain traditional genres, as well as being considered in terms associations with particular historical periods, such as the poetry of the Tang Dynasty. Its existence is documented at least as early as the publication of the Classic of Poetry. Various combinations of forms and genres exist. Many or most of these were developed by the end of the Tang Dynasty, in CE 907. Use and development of Classical Chinese poetry actively continued up to until the May Fourth Movement, in 1919, and is not totally extinct even today in the 21st century. During this over two-and-a-half thousand years of more-or-less continuous historical development, much diversity is displayed –– both between the poetry typical of major historical periods, or, as by the traditional Chinese historical method, by dynastic periods. Another aspect of Classical Chinese poetry worthy of mention is its intense inter-relationship with other forms of Chinese art, such as Chinese painting and Chinese calligraphy. Eventually, Classical Chinese poetry has proven to be of immense influence upon poetry worldwide.

History and development[link]

The character which more-or-less means "poetry", in the ancient Chinese Great Seal script style. The modern character is shi (詩/诗).

The stylistic development of Classical Chinese poetry consists of both literary and oral cultural processes, which may be and usually are divided into certain standard periods or eras, in terms both of specific poems as well as styles characteristic of those eras, generally corresponding with Chinese Dynastic Eras, which were the traditional chronological process for Chinese historical events. The poems preserved in written form form the poetic literature. Furthermore, there is or were parallel traditions of oral and traditional poetry also known as popular or folk poems or ballads. Some of these poems seem to have been preserved in written form. Generally, the folk type of poems they are anonymous, and may show signs of having been edited or polished in the process of fixing them in written characters. The main source sources for the earliest preserved poems are the Classic of Poetry, or Shijing and the Songs of the South, (or Chuci, although some individual pieces or fragments survive in other forms, for example embedded in classical histories or other literature.

[edit] Classic of Poetry (Shijing)

Shijing first verse by Qing Qianlong Emperor. Qing Dynasty.

The literary tradition of Classical Chinese poetry begins with the Classic of Poetry, or Shijing, dated to early 1st millennium BC. According to tradition, Confucius (551 BCE – 479 BCE) was the final editor of the collection in its present form, although the individual poems would accordingly all be more-or-less older than this. Burton Watson dates the anthology's main compilation date to about 600 BCE, with the poems having been collected over the previous four to five centuries before.^[1] This, among other factors, indicates a rather sustained cross-class popularity for this type or these types of poetry, including for instance their characteristic four-character per line meter.^[2] The Shijing tends to be associated with northern Chinese vocabulary and culture, and in particular with the great sage and philosopher Confucius: this helped to eventuate the development of this type of poetry into the classic shi style, the literal meaning of Shijing. The remarkable thing is that despite their commendation by Confucius, no extant samples of any poetry of this style are known for the next three hundred years.^[3]

[edit] Songs of the South (Chu Ci)

Map of the Chu area, in one of its reconstructed historical configurations.

Another early poetry collection/genre is the Chu Ci (dated to the Warring States period about 475-221 BCE), which is typified by various line lengths and the imagery and influence of the vernacular associated with the state of Chu, in southern China. One important part of this is the Li Sao, attributed to Qu Yuan. These poems from the State of Chu are among the most important of all Classical Chinese poetry, however, these poems and their style seem to have had less impact on Classical Chinese poetry, at least at first, than did the Shijing collection and style.

Han dynasty[link]

A Han Dynasty terracotta horse head (1st-2nd century C.E.).

The classic shi poetry, with its four-character lines, was revived by Han and Three Kingdoms poets, to some extent.^[4] However, among other poetic developments during the Han epoch was the development of a new form of shi poetry, dating from about the first century BCE, initially consisting of five-character lines, and later seven-character lines.^[5] The development of this form of shi poetry would occur in conjunction with various other phenomena related to Han poetry. It is indeed ironic that the new form of shi developed during the Han and the Jian'an period would become known as "gushi", or "ancient style poetry".

Music Bureau and folk ballads[link]

The Han dynasty witnessed major developments in Classical Chinese poems, including both the active role of the imperial government in encouraging poetry through the Music Bureau, an official agency, and through the collection of Han dynasty folk ballads (although some of these seem to have perhaps been subject to a post-folk literary polishing, as in the case of the Shijing, the amount of editing is not certain). In Chinese, Yuefu, "Music Bureau", is synonymous with Yuefu the poetry style, thus the term Yuefu^[6] has come to refer both to the Music Bureau's collected lyrics, but also to the genre of which they are representative and a source of inspiration.^[7] Another important Han dynasty poetry collection is the Nineteen Old Poems.

[edit] Han Fu

The Han Dynasty poetry is particularly associated with the fu, as opposed to the shi style of poetry or literature: note, however, that this fu is a different word than the fu meaning government bureau in the term yuefu (sometimes spelled Yüeh Fu, or similarly).^[8] One exponent of this style was Sima Xiangru.

Jian'an poetry[link]

A Ming Dynasty portrayal of Cao Cao.

Jian'an poetry refers to those poetic movements occurring during the final years of the failing Han Dynasty and continuing their development into the beginning of the Six Dynasties period. The reason why Jian'an is considered as a separate period is because this is one case where the poetic developments fail to correspond with the neat categories aligned to chronology by dynasty. Typical poets of this period are Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Zhi, and Xu Gan. One of the more important poetic developments of this period is toward the odd number, fixed length, verse styles also typical of the Tang poetry period. Thus, some of the poetic forms especially associated with Tang poetry can be traced back developmentally to some of the new forms which seem to have developed during the Jian'an period.

Six Dynasties poetry[link]

Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove from a picture from the brick wall of a tomb located near the Eastern Jin capital (modern Nanjing, China).

The Six Dynasties (220 -589) also witnessed major developments in Classical Chinese poetry, especially emphasizing romantic love, gender roles, and human relationships, and including the important collection New Songs from the Jade Terrace. The Six Dynasties era covers three main periods: the Three Kingdoms (220–280), Jin Dynasty (265–420), and Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589). The Three Kingdoms was a period with much violence, which was sometimes reflected in the poetry, or sometimes highlighted by the poets' seeking refuge from the social and political turmoil be retreating into more natural settings, as in the case of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. The Jin Dynasty era was typified poetically by, for example, the Orchid Pavilion Gathering of 42 literati; the romantic Midnight Songs poetry; and, Tao Yuanming, the great and highly personal poet who was note for speaking in his own voice rather than a persona or anonymously. Some of the highlights of the poetry of the Northern and Southern Dynasties include the Yongming poets and the anthology collection New Songs from the Jade Terrace.

Sui and Tang dynasties poetry[link]

Sui poetry[link]

Sui Dynasty Pilgrim Flask

Although poetry continued to be written, and individual poets were born or died, the brief Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE), in terms of the development of Chinese poetry, lacks distinction, representing a continuity between the Six Dynasties and the poetry of Tang.^[9] Sui dynasty poets include Yang Guang (580-618), who was the last Sui emperor (and a sort of poetry critic); and also, the Lady Hou, one of his consorts.

Tang poetry[link]

A Map showing the approximate extent of the Tang Dynasty in the beginning of the eight century.

The Tang dynasty (618 - 907) was particularly noted for its poetry, especially the shi forms.^[10] This poetry was both a pervasive social phenomenon throughout the Tang literate classes, which the ability to compose poems on demand part of the Imperial examination system, but also a social grace necessary for polite conduct on social occasions, such as seeing a friend off on a long assignment to a distant post or as part of the interaction at banquets or social gatherings. Some 50,000 poems survive, mostly represented in the Ming Dynasty collection the Quantangshi. Their popularity in the historical Chinese cultural area has varied over time, with certain authors coming in and out of favor, others permanently obscure, and some, such as Wang Wei, Du Fu, and Bai Juyi (also, known as "Po Chü-i") maintaining consistent popularity. Tang poetry has since developed an on-going influence on world literature and modern and quasi-modern poetry; for instance, as in the case of Li Bai (also known as Li Po) whose modern influence extends as far as Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, Beat poetry, and the name of a crater on the planet Mercury. Furthermore, in part because of the prevalence of rhymed and parallel structures within Tang poetry, it has a role in linguistics studies, such as in the reconstruction of Middle Chinese pronunciation.

Song dynasty poetry[link]

Calligraphy detail of one of Su Shi (Dongpo)'s poems.

The Song dynasty (960 - 1279) was noted for its poetry, perhaps especially the development of the Ci form; indeed, the ci as a poetic form perhaps reached a high point during the Song Dynasty. Although, the poets of the Song Dynasty drew on a long tradition of poetry, perhaps especially those forms which were prevalent in the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty is known for its achievements in terms of combining poetry, painting, and calligraphy into a shared art form. Prominent examples of Song poets include Su Shi (Dongpo), Ouyang Xiu, Lu You and Yang Wanli. The ci is a kind of lyric poetry using a poetic meter based upon certain patterns of fixed-rhythm formal types, of which there were about 800 of these set patterns, each associated with a particular title. Originally ci were written to be sung to a specific tune of that title, with set rhythm, rhyme, and tempo. However, over time the actual tunes seem to have disappeared (similarly to the case of the English ballads). Thus, the title of a certain ci may have nothing to do with its contents, although the poetic meter is the same. It is common for several ci to share the same title. As developed during the Song poetic period, the ci was a versatile verse form.

The Southern Song Dynasty which ruled southern China from 1127 to 1279 was largely co-existent with the Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234), which had established control over northern China and its largely Chinese population. The Chinese poets of the Jin Dynasty produced poetry which shared the characteristics of the Song Dynasty poetry; and, towards the end of the Jin, which occurred earlier than the end of the Song, the poetry begins to similarly show the affects of the Mongol invasions, which eventually led to the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty and its characteristic poetry.

Yuan Dynasty poetry[link]

Yuan Dynasty theater, a reconstruction based on a contemporary temple mural.

Poetry during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) continued the Classical Chinese poetry tradition and is especially noted for the burgeoning of the Chinese opera verse tradition. Yuan drama's notable qu form was set to music, restricting each individual poem to one of nine modal key selections and one of over two hundred tune patterns.^[11] Depending on the pattern, this imposed fixed rhythmic and tonal requirements that remained in place for future poets even if its musical component was later lost. Noteworthy Yuan dramatist-poets include Bai Pu, Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan, and Qiao Ji.^[12]

A painter-poet tradition also thrived during the Yuan period, including masterful calligraphy, for example Ni Zan and Wu Zhen.^[13] Another exemplar was Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322), a former official of the Song Dynasty who served under the Mongol administration of the Yuan and whose wife Guan Daosheng (1262–1319) was also a painter-poet and calligrapher.

Ming Dynasty poetry[link]

Classical Chinese poetry continued to thrive during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Ming prosperity was accompanied by a tremendous increase in population, commerce, and poetry composition. Thanks to educational opportunities made possible by commercial printing and the reinvigorated examination system, a massively larger literate population emerged who relied on poetry to express personal emotion and to engage with each other socially.^[14] A contemporaneous debate as to whether the Tang or Song poets had achieved the highest heights of excellence solidified a collective consensus that past heights could not be surpassed. With over one million surviving Ming poems, modern critics and researchers have been unable to sufficiently sift through it all to definitively answer whether that conviction of past greatest glories is a prejudice or a fact.^[15]

Leading Ming poets include Gao Qi, Li Dongyang, and the publisher-poet Yuan Hongdao. Representatives of the dramatist-poet tradition include Tang Xianzu^[16] and Li Yu. Li Yu is also a prime example of the Ming-Qing transition's emotional outpouring when disorder swept away Ming stability as the incoming dynasty's Manchu warriors conquered from North to South.^[17] Ming representatives of the painter-poet tradition include Shen Zhou, Tang Yin, and Wen Zhengming.^[18]

Qing Dynasty poetry[link]

Classical Chinese poetry continued to be the major poetic form of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). This was also a time of related literary developments, such as the collection of Tang poetry, under the Kangxi Emperor. The debates, trends and widespread literacy of the Ming period began to flourish once again after the Qing Dynasty had established its dominance. The fresh poetic voice of Yuan Mei has won wide appeal, as have the long narrative poems by Wu Jiaji.^[19] Kunqu opera matured and led toward the later Chinese opera tradition of drama, poetry and music combined. The painter-poet tradition thrived with exemplars such as Yun Shouping.^[20] The challenge for researchers grew as even more people became poets and even more poems were preserved, including (with Yuan Mei's encouragement) more poetry by women.^[21] In 1980 fine shi poems by the famed Qing novelist Liu E were published for the first time, illustrating the potential to continue finding sunken treasure in the vast body of surviving Qing poetry.^[22]

Post-Qing Classical Chinese poetry[link]

Although Qing is the last Chinese Dynasty, this did not mean that Classical Chinese poetry ended co-terminously with the end of the imperial period, indeed Mao Zedong of the Communist Party of China was a major exponent and practitioner of Classical Chinese poetry well into the Twentieth Century. However, the development and great expansion of Modern Chinese poetry is something to consider, beginning at this point, or shortly after.

Oral versus written[link]

Oral nature of poetry[link]

One important aspect of Classical Chinese poetry is that it was generally designed to be chanted or sung, with or without musical accompaniment. In fact, folk poetry, almost by definition, was orally composed and orally transmitted. This is because the "folk" were for the most part illiterate, as opposed to the scholarly classes who were generally literate; however, even the poems of the scholarly classes were intended to be sung or chanted.

Characteristics of written poetry[link]

The particular characteristics of the Chinese writing system certainly had an important role in Chinese poetry. In fact, one of the factors which enabled a continuous poetic tradition in China for more than two millenia has to do with the fact that Chinese words can be represented by their corresponding Chinese characters semi-independently of their pronunciation (and, in fact, this extends even to their use in classical versions of Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese).^[23] The pronunciations of spoken Chinese changed quite a bit over the course of time from the oldest surviving written Chinese poetry, during the period of Old Chinese, through the Middle Chinese period (which included the Tang Dynasty), and up into the Modern Chinese period. During this course of development, Classical Chinese evolved as a distinct literary language, distinct from the spoken vernacular. The tension between a spoken vernacular and a literary form of the language worked both ways, the poetry of literature can be seen to have "various degrees of vernacular overlay"^[24] and also the oral folk poetry sometimes were "filled with literary phrases and constructions", perhaps due to the prestigious nature of the written language.^[25][26]

Influence of Chinese writing system[link]

A depiction of the evolution of writing shān, meaning "mountain".

To what degree has the pictorial element latent in Chinese characters informed Classical Chinese poetry? The etymology of Chinese characters must be considered to be related but distinct from the evolution of the language itself. As is the case with many ancient writing systems, such as the Phoenician alphabet, many of the earliest characters seem to have begun as pictograms, with a picture representing an idea which corresponded with the word for that idea.

Evolution of the character corresponding to rì, meaning "sun".

By the times of Classical Chinese, a complex system of writing had evolved with many characters being composed of combinations of other characters, chosen for similarities of meaning and/or sound. The resulting strong graphical aspect, versus a weaker phonetic element (at least, say, compared to standard written English) cannot be ignored. However, different translators of Classical Chinese poetry have emphasized these elements to differing degrees. Sinologist and translator A. C. Graham cautions against over-emphasizing this visual effect, which he says can "...act on the imagination like blobs in the Rorschach test. It is rather difficult to estimate this effect since a habitual reader of Chinese is hardly conscious of it without deliberately analysing his [sic] reactions....Certainly one can give too much weight to the visual aspect of Chinese writing. Poems in China, as elsewhere, are firstly patterns of sound...."^[27] However, Graham is in no way suggesting that the Chinese poet is unaware of the background considerations stemming from character construction.^[28]

Forms[link]

There are various typical forms in which Classical Chinese poetry was written. These include the shi, the ci, and qu. The fu literary is also often considered to be within the category of poetry.

Genres[link]

Various genres of Classical Chinese poems have been discerned, either by the composing poet or through literary criticism. The genres of Classical Chinese poetry include the landscape style poetry genres of Shanshui poetry, and Fields and Gardens poetry, which are associated with poets such as Tao Qian and Wang Wei.

Features[link]

Besides various formal modes and genres, Classical Chinese poetry has various other typical features.

Persona[link]

The use of a poetic persona is often encountered in Classical Chinese poetry, in which the author writes a poem from the viewpoint of some other person or type of person. Often these persona types were quite conventional, such as the lonely wife left behind at home, the junior concubine ignored and sequestered in the imperial harem, or the soldier sent off to fight and die beyond the remote frontier.

Sociopolitical criticism[link]

Many Classical Chinese poems can be read as a commentary upon current events and society. Sometimes these are somewhat disguised through the use of symbolic imagery. One popular author in this regard was Tang poet Bai Juyi.

Imagery and symbolism[link]

Certain images and symbolism became quite conventional, and are key to understanding many of the Classical Chinese poems. For example, the falling autumn leaf can refer to personal or dynastic decline.

Exile[link]

Imaginary tour through Xiao-xiang

Many Classical Chinese poems were written as more-or-less subtle or implied complaints for the treatment of the author by the government. This is in part due to the nature of the imperial examination system as a way of recruiting talented persons into high political office, and the expectations of the talented poet of finding a suitable position within such a society. One example of this is the poetry written to accompany of to follow the eight-fold settings of the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang which were popularized during the Song Dynasty; although, the theme can certainly be traced back as far as the Chuci.

Allusions[link]

Many Classical Chinese poems involve allusions or references to previous literature or well-known folk material.

Optional precision[link]

In part due to the possibilities inherent in the Classical Chinese language and in part as an esthetic principle, many Classical Chinese poems are imprecise when it comes to gender, number, case, or other logically-informative elements of speech which tend to be grammatically obligatory or difficult to avoid in various inflected languages, such as certain Indo-European languages.

Reader participation[link]

Many Classical Chinese poems appear simple on the surface, but contain deeper, more profound ideas. In order to realize what these are, the reader is expected to meet the poet half-way—not just to be told something, but to actively think and feel in sympathy with the poet or the poet's persona.

Parallelism and antithesis[link]

Parallelism[link]

The arrangement of poems into couplets encouraged the use of parallelism: where for two lines of a poem it would be expected that the reader would compare and contrast the meaning of two lines, which would be specifically marked by the poet by using the same parts of speech in each position, or in certain key positions in each line, or else within one line.

Antithesis[link]

Antithesis refers to the often latent contradiction between two statements which when sufficiently considered can lead to the understanding of a third, unstated opinion. It often plays a part in relationship to parallelism: the reader has to consider whether what seem to be parallel constructions and ideas really are so.

Autobiographic occasionalism[link]

Many of the Classical Chinese poems were written on the occasion of a certain event. This was generally expected to be a fairly spontaneous creation made just for that particular period of time, and sometimes with a fairly limited intended audience in mind. Examples include occasions of parting from a close friend for an extended period of time, expression of gratitude for a gift or act of someone, lamentations about current event, or even as a sort of game at social gatherings.

Collections[link]

Major collections of Classical Chinese poetry include the Shijing, the Chuci, the Collected Tang Poems, the New Songs from the Jade Terrace, the Three Hundred Tang Poems, the Tang era Wangchuan ji, and the poems collected from the Orchid Pavilion Gathering and the Midnight Songs poems from the Six Dynasties period .

Influence of Classical Chinese poetry[link]

Classical Chinese poetry has been an influence both on modern Chinese poetry but also on the poetry of other languages. One group of languages on which Classical Chinese poetry had an early influence was on the poetry of the neighboring linguistic groups (that is, the local sprachbund), for example certain early forms of Vietnamese poetry, Korean poetry, as well as Japanese poetry forms such as kanshi. A more global influence has developed in modern times, including Beat poetry, exponents of which even produced translations of Classical Chinese poetry into English, such as Kenneth Rexroth (One Hundred Poems From the Chinese, 1956) and Gary Snyder (Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems, 1959, which includes translations of Hanshan).

Translation into English[link]

Various translators have worked to translate Classical Chinese poetry into English, with greater or less accuracy. Included among the more accurate are A. C. Graham, Arthur Waley and Archie Barnes.

See also[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Birrell, Anne (1988). Popular Songs and Ballads of Han China. (London: Unwin Hyman). ISBN 0-04-440037-8
• Cai, Zong-qi, ed. (2008). How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13941-1
• Chang, H. C. (1977). Chinese Literature 2: Nature Poetry. (New York: Columbia University Press). ISBN 0-231-04288-4
• Chaves, Jonathan, ed. (1986). The Columbia Book of Later Chinese Poetry: Yüan, Ming, and Ch'ing Dynasties (1279-1911). New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-06149-8
• Davis, A. R. (Albert Richard), Editor and Introduction,(1970), The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse. (Baltimore: Penguin Books).
• Frankel, Hans H. (1978). The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press) ISBN 0-300-02242-5
• Graham, A. C. (1977). Poems of the Late T'ang. New York, New York: The New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-59017-257-5
• Hinton, David (2008). Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-10536-7 / ISBN 978-0-374-10536-5.
• Norman, Jerry (1991). Chinese. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). ISBN 0-521-29653-6
• Watson, Burton (1971). CHINESE LYRICISM: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century. (New York: Columbia University Press). ISBN 0-231-03464-4
• Watson, Burton, ed. (1984). The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-05683-4
• Yip, Wai-lim (1997). Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres . (Durham and London: Duke University Press). ISBN 0-8223-1946-2

External links[link]

• zh:詩 Chinese Wikipedia article on Shi (詩)
• Chinese Poems, a collection of Chinese poems in the original Chinese, pinyin and English translations
• Understand the basic forms of jintishi (regulated verse)

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

"Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain" by Emperor Gaozong

Chinese poetry is poetry written, spoken, or chanted in the Chinese language, which includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese, as well as many other historical and vernacular varieties of the Chinese language. In other words Chinese poetry refers to poetry written or spoken in the Chinese language. The various versions of this type of poetry, as known historically and to the general knowledge of the modern world, include two primary types, Classical Chinese poetry and Modern Chinese poetry.

Chinese poetry has consistently been held in extremely high regard in China, incorporating wonderfully expressive folk influences filtered through the minds of Chinese literati. Within Chinese culture, poetry provides an exceptional platform for both public and private expressions of deep emotion, offering a rare vantage point for students and observers to view the inner life of Chinese writers across more than two millennia. The essential contrasts between the Western world and the independent path struck by Chinese civilization are exemplified in the rich variety of the Chinese poetic tradition, making it an interesting and pleasurable object of study for Westerners.^[1]

Classical Chinese poetry[link]

Hand-painted Chinese New Year's duilian (对联 "couplet"), a by-product of Chinese poetry, pasted on the sides of doors leading to people's homes, at Lijiang City, Yunnan

Classical Chinese poetry includes, perhaps first and foremost shi (詩/诗), and also other major types such as ci (詞/词) and qu (曲). There is also a traditional Chinese literary form called fu (賦/赋), which defies categorization into English more than the other terms, but perhaps can best be described as a kind of prose-poem. During the modern period, there also has developed free verse in Western style. Traditional forms of Chinese poetry are rhymed, however the mere rhyming of text may not qualify literature as being poetry; and, as well, the lack of rhyme would not necessarily disqualify a modern work from being considered poetry, in the sense of modern Chinese poetry. For example, lines from I Ching are often rhymed, but may not be considered to be poetry, whereas modern verse may be considered to be poetry even without rhyme. A cross-cultural comparison to this might be the Pre-Socratic philosophical works in ancient Greece which were often written in verse versus free verse.

[edit] Beginnings of the tradition: Shijing and Chuci

The earliest extant anthologies are the Shi Jing and Chu Ci. Both of these have had a great impact on the subsequent poetic tradition. Earlier examples of ancient Chinese poetry may have been lost because of the vicissitudes of history, such as the burning of books by Qin Shihuang, although one of the targets of this last event was the Shi Jing, which has nevertheless survived .

[edit] Shijing

The elder of these two works, the Shi Jing (also familiarly known, in English, as the Classic of Poetry and as the Book of Songs or transliterated as the Sheh Ching) is a preserved collection of Classical Chinese poetry from over two millennia ago. This anthology received its final compilation sometime after 600 BCE.^[2] The collection contains both aristocratic poems regarding life at the royal court ("Odes") and also more rustic poetry and images of natural settings, derived at least to some extent from folk songs ("Songs"). The Shijing poems are predominantly composed of four-character lines( 四言), rather than the five and seven character lines typical of later Classical Chinese poetry.

[edit] Chuci

In contrast to the classic Shijing, the Chu Ci anthology (also familiarly known, in English, as the Songs of Chu or the Songs of the South or transliterated as the Ch' Tz'u) consists of verses more emphasizing lyric and romantic features, as well as irregular line-lengths and other influences from the poetry typical of the state of Chu. The Chuci collection consists primarily of poems ascribed to Qu Yuan (329-299 BCE) and his follower Song Yu, although in its present form the anthology dates to Wang I's 158 CE compilation and notes, which are the only historically reliable source of both the text and information regarding its composition.^[3] During the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220AD), the Chu Ci style of poetry contributed to the evolution of the fu ("descriptive poem") style, typified by a mixture of verse and prose passages (often used as a virtuoso display the poet's skills and knowledge rather than to convey intimate emotional experiences). The fu form remained popular during the subsequent Six Dynasties period, although it became shorter and more personal. The fu form of poetry remains as one of the generic pillars of Chinese poetry; although, in the Tang Dynasty, five-character and seven-character shi poetry, begins to dominate.

Han poetry[link]

Also during the Han Dynasty, a folk-song style of poetry became popular, known as yuefu (樂府/乐府) "Music Bureau" poems, so named because of the government's role in collecting such poems, although in time some poets began composing original works in yuefu style. Many yuefu poems are composed of five-character (五言) or seven-character (七言) lines, in contrast to the four-character lines of earlier times. A characteristic form of Han Dynasty literature is the fu. The poetic period of the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Six Dynasties era is known as Jian'an poetry. An important collection of Han poetry is the "Nineteen Old Poems".

Jian'an poetry[link]

Between and over-lapping the poetry of the latter days of the Han and the beginning period of the Six Dynasties was Jian'an poetry. Examples of surviving poetry from this period include the works of the "Three Caos": Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Zhi.

Six Dynasties poetry[link]

The Six Dynasties era (220CE -589CE) was one of various developments in poetry, both continuing and building on the traditions developed and handed down from previous poetic development and also leading up to further developments of poetry in the future. Major examples of poetry surviving from this dynamic era include the works of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, the poems of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, the Midnight Songs poetry of the four seasons, the great "fields and garden" poet "Tao Yuanming", the Yongming epoch poets, and the poems collected in the anthology New Songs from the Jade Terrace, compiled by Xu Ling (507-83).

Tang poetry[link]

A high point of classical Chinese poetry occurred during the Tang period (618 - 907): not only was this period prolific in poets; but, also in poems (perhaps around 50,000 poems survive, many of them collected in the Collected Tang Poems). During the time of Tang, in China, poetry was integrated into almost every aspect of the professional and social life of the literate class, including becoming part of the Imperial examinations taken by anyone wanting a government post. By this point, poetry was being composed according to regulated tone patterns. Regulated and unregulated poetry were distinguished as "ancient-style" gushi poetry and regulated, "recent-style" jintishi poetry. Jintishi (meaning "new style poetry"), or regulated verse, is a stricter form developed in the early Tang Dynasty with rules governing the structure of a poem, in terms of line-length, number of lines, tonal patterns within the lines, the use of rhyme, and a certain level of mandatory parallelism. Good examples of the gushi and jintishi forms can be found in, respectively, the works of the poets Li Bai and Du Fu. Tang poetic forms include: lushi, a type of regulated verse with an eight-line form having five, six, or seven characters per line; ci (verse following set rhythmic patterns); and jueju (truncated verse), a four-line poem with five, six, or seven characters per line. Good examples of the jueju verse form can be found in the poems of Wang Wei. Over time, some Tang poetry became more realistic, more narrative and more critical of social norms; for example, these traits can be seen in the works of Bai Juyi. The poetry of the Tang Dynasty remains influential today. Other Late Tang poetry developed a more allusive and surreal character, as can be seen, for example, in the works of Li He and Li Shangyin.

Song poetry[link]

By the Song Dynasty (960-1279), another form had proven it could provide the flexibility that new poets needed: the ci (词/詞) lyric—new lyrics written according to the set rhythms of existing tunes. Each of the tunes had music that has often been lost, but having its own meter. Thus, each ci poem is labeled "To the tune of [Tune Name]" (调寄[词牌]/調寄[詞牌]) and fits the meter and rhyme of the tune (much in the same way that Christian hymn writers set new lyrics to pre-existing tunes). The titles of ci poems are not necessarily related to their subject matter, and many poems may share a title. In terms of their content, ci poetry most often expressed feelings of desire, often in an adopted persona. However, great exponents of the form, such as the Southern Tang poet Li Houzhu and the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi, used the ci form to address a wide range of topics.

Yuan poetry[link]

Major developments of poetry during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) included the development of types of poetry written to fixed-tone patterns, such as for the Yuan opera librettos. After the Song Dynasty, the set rhythms of the ci came to be reflected in the set-rhythm pieces of Chinese Sanqu poetry (散曲), a freer form based on new popular songs and dramatic arias, that developed and lasted into the Ming Dynasty (14th-17th centuries). Examples can be seen in the work of playwrights Ma Zhiyuan 馬致遠 (c. 1270-1330) and Guan Hanqing 關漢卿 (c. 1300).

Ming poetry[link]

The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) poets include Gao Qi (1336–1374), Li Dongyang (1447–1516), and Yuan Hongdao (1568–1610).

Ming-Qing Transition[link]

Ming-Qing Transition includes the interluding/overlapping periods of the brief so-called Shun Dynasty (1644–1645) and the Southern Ming Dynasty (1644 to 1662).

Qing poetry[link]

The Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912) is notable in terms of development of the criticism of poetry and the development of important poetry collections, such as the Qing era collections of Tang Dynasty poetry known as the Quantangshi and the Three Hundred Tang Poems. Both shi and ci continued to be composed beyond the end of the imperial period.

Post-imperial Classical Chinese poetry[link]

Both shi and ci continued to be composed past the end of the imperial period; one example being Mao Zedong, former Chairman of the Communist Party of China, who wrote Classical Chinese poetry in his own calligraphic style.

Modern (postclassical) poetry[link]

This section requires expansion.

Modern Chinese poetry (新诗/新詞 "new poetry") refers to the modern vernacular style of poetry, as opposed to the traditional poetry written in Classical Chinese language. Usually Modern Chinese poetry does not follow prescribed patterns. Poetry was revolutionized after 1919's May Fourth Movement, when writers (like Hu Shih) tried to use vernacular styles closer to what was being spoken (baihua) rather than previously prescribed forms. Early 20th-century poets like Xu Zhimo, Guo Moruo and Wen Yiduo sought to break Chinese poetry from past conventions by adopting Western models. For example, Xu consciously follows the style of the Romantic poets with end-rhymes.

In the post-revolutionary Communist era, poets like Ai Qing used more liberal running lines and direct diction, which were vastly popular and widely imitated.

In the contemporary poetic scene, the most important and influential poets are in the group known as Misty Poets, who use oblique allusions and hermetic references. The most important Misty Poets include Shu Ting, Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Duo Duo, and Yang Lian, most of whom were exiled after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. A special case is the mystic poet Hai Zi, who became very famous after his suicide.

However, even today, modern poetry is still not widely accepted. There are arguments and contradiction as to whether modern poetry counts as poetry. Due to the special structure of Chinese writing and Chinese grammar, modern poetry, or five verse poetry, may seem like a simple short vernacular essay since they lack some of the structure traditionally used to define poetry.

Influence[link]

Chinese poetry early on influenced poets in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. For example, the Kanshi and Shichigon-zekku poetry of Japan. Later on, it would be a big influence in the rest of the world, ranging from the poetic movement known as Beat poetry to the pop song "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".

See also[link]

	China portal
	Poetry portal

General[link]

• Classical Chinese poetry
• Chinese art
• Shi (poetry) (the Chinese term for poetry)
• Chinese literature
• Chinese classic texts
• List of national poetries
• Modern Chinese poetry
• Category:Chinese translators

Poetry of particular (dynastic) periods[link]

• Han poetry
• Jian'an poetry
• Six Dynasties poetry
• Tang poetry
• Song poetry

Poetry works and collections[link]

• Li Sao
• Classic of Poetry
• New Songs from the Jade Terrace
• Orchid Pavilion Gathering
• Quantangshi
• 300 Tang poems
• List of Three Hundred Tang Poems poets
• Wangchuan ji
• Sun Zhu

Individual poets, poems, and translators[link]

• List of Chinese language poets
• Du Fu
• Li Bai
• Poetry of Mao Zedong
• Qu Yuan
• Su Shi
• Wang Wei
• Xu Zhimo

Lists of poets[link]

• List of Chinese-language poets
• List of Three Hundred Tang Poems poets

Translators of poetry[link]

• Arthur Waley
• Archie Barnes
• Burton Watson
• David Hinton

Poetic modes, genres, and forms[link]

• Ci (poetry)
• Classical Chinese poetry forms
• Classical Chinese poetry genres
• Fu (poetry)
• Jueju
• Pailu
• Qu (poetry)
• Shi
• Yue fu

Technical factors of poetry[link]

• Classical Chinese poetry
• Classical Chinese poetry forms
• Rime dictionary
• Tone pattern
• Rime table

Influence outside of China[link]

• Japanese poetry
• Korean poetry
• Vietnamese poetry
• Ernest Fenellosa
• Shigin Shiyin (詩吟)

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Cai, Zong-qi, ed. (2008). How to Read Chinese Poetry: A Guided Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13941-1
• Davis, A. R. (Albert Richard), Editor and Introduction, The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse. (Baltimore: Penguin Books (1970).
• Holland, Gill (1986). Keep an Eye on South Mountain: Translations of Chinese Poetry.
• Liu, James J.Y. (1966). The Art of Chinese Poetry. ISBN 0-226-48687-7
• Lupke, Christopher (2008). New Perspectives on Contemporary Chinese Poetry.
• Owen, Stephen (1996). An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911.
• Yip, Wai-lim (1997). Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres . Durham and London: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-1946-2

External links[link]

• The Red Brush - Writing Women of Imperial China
• Chinese Poetry in English at Poems Found in Translation

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese (古文 (gǔ wén = "ancient text") or 文言文 (wényán wén = "text of written language")) is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese. Classical Chinese was used for almost all formal correspondence in China until the early 20th century, and also, during various periods, in Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Among Chinese speakers, Classical Chinese has been largely replaced by written vernacular Chinese (白話; pinyin: báihuà, "plain speech"), a style of writing that is similar to modern spoken Mandarin Chinese, while speakers of non-Chinese languages have largely abandoned Classical Chinese in favor of local vernaculars.

Literary Chinese is known as kanbun in Japanese, hanmun in Korean, and Hán Văn in Vietnamese (From 漢文 in all three cases; pinyin: hànwén, "Han writing").

Definitions[link]

While the terms Classical Chinese and Literary Chinese are often used interchangeably, Sinologists generally agree that they are in fact different.^[1] "Classical" Chinese (古文; pinyin: gǔ wén, "ancient writing") refers to the written language of China from the Zhou Dynasty, and especially the Spring and Autumn Period, through to the end of the Han Dynasty (AD 220). Classical Chinese is therefore the language used in many of China's most influential books, such as the Analects of Confucius, the Mencius and the Tao Te Ching. (The language of even older texts, such as the Classic of Poetry, is sometimes called Old Chinese, or pre-Classical.)

Literary Chinese (文言, pinyin: wényán, "written language"; in modern Chinese it additionally got a suffix 文, pinyin: wén means "text", "writting": 文言文) is the form of written Chinese used from the end of the Han Dynasty to the early 20th century when it was replaced by vernacular written Chinese. During this period the dialects of China became more and more disparate and thus the Classical written language became less and less representative of the spoken language. Although authors sought to write in the style of the Classics, the similarity decreased over the centuries due to their imperfect understanding of the older language, the influence of their own speech, and the addition of new words.

Literary Chinese is also known as Wen-li (Chinese: 文理; pinyin: wén lǐ; Wade–Giles: wen-li.^[2] Christian missionaries appropriated the word "wenli", which the Chinese used to define as "principles of literature", to refer to literary Chinese. Only missionaries used "wenli" to refer to literary Chinese; the Chinese and non missionary Sinologues did not use the term "wenli", and viewed as incorrect.^[3]

This situation, the usage of Literary Chinese throughout the Chinese cultural sphere despite the existence of disparate regional vernaculars, is called diglossia. It can be compared to the position of Classical Arabic relative to the various regional vernaculars in Arab lands, or of Latin in medieval Europe. The Romance languages continued to evolve, influencing Latin texts of the same period, so that by the Middle Ages, Medieval Latin included many usages that would have baffled the Romans. The coexistence of Classical Chinese and the native languages of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam can be compared to the use of Latin in countries that natively speak non-Latin-derived Germanic languages or Slavic languages, to the position of Arabic in Persia or the position of the Indian language, Sanskrit, in Southeast Asia, Tibet, China and Indonesia.

Pronunciation[link]

The shape of the Oracle bone script character for "person" may have influenced that for "harvest" (which later came to mean "year"). Today, they are pronounced rén and nián in Northern dialects, such as Mandarin. A hypothesized pronunciation for each character may explain the resemblance.

Chinese characters are not alphabetic and only palely reflect sound changes. The tentative reconstruction of Old Chinese is an endeavor only a few centuries old. As a result, Classical Chinese is not read with a reconstruction of Old Chinese pronunciation; instead, it is always read with the pronunciations of characters categorized and listed in the Phonology Dictionary (韻書; pinyin: yùnshū, "rhyme book") officially published by the Governments, originally based upon the Middle Chinese prounciation of Luoyang in the 2nd to 4th centuries. With the progress of time, every dynasty has updated and modified the official Phonology Dictionary. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty, the Phonology Dictionary was based on early Mandarin. But since the Imperial Examination required the composition of Shi genre, in non-Mandarin speaking parts of China such as Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian, pronunciation is either based on everyday speech as in Cantonese; or, in some varieties of Chinese (e.g. Southern Min), with a special set of pronunciations used for Classical Chinese or "formal" vocabulary and usage borrowed from Classical Chinese usage. In practice, all varieties of Chinese combine these two extremes. Mandarin and Cantonese, for example, also have words that are pronounced one way in colloquial usage and another way when used in Classical Chinese or in specialized terms coming from Classical Chinese, though the system is not as extensive as that of Southern Min or Wu. (See Literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters)

Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese readers of Classical Chinese use systems of pronunciation specific to their own languages. For example, Japanese speakers use On'yomi pronunciation when reading the kanji of words of Chinese origin, but use Kun'yomi when the kanji represents a native word.^{[clarification needed]} Kunten, a system that aids Japanese speakers with Classical Chinese word order, was also used.

Since the pronunciation of all modern varieties of Chinese are different from Old Chinese or other forms of historical Chinese (such as Middle Chinese), characters that once rhymed in poetry may not rhyme any longer, or vice versa, which may still rhyme in Min or Cantonese. Poetry and other rhyme-based writing thus becomes less coherent than the original reading must have been. However, some modern Chinese languages have certain phonological characteristics that are closer to the older pronunciations than others, as shown by the preservation of certain rhyme structures. Some believe Classical Chinese literature, especially poetry, sounds better when read in certain languages believed to be closer to older pronunciations, such as Cantonese or Southern Min, because the rhyming is often lost due to sound shifts in Mandarin.

Another phenomenon that is common in reading Classical Chinese is homophony (words that sound the same). More than 2,500 years of sound change separates Classical Chinese from any modern language or dialect, so when reading Classical Chinese in any modern variety of Chinese (especially Mandarin) or in Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese, many characters which originally had different pronunciations have become homonyms. There is a famous Classical Chinese poem written in the early 20th-century by the linguist Chao Yuen Ren called the Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den, which contains only words that are now pronounced [ʂɨ́], [ʂɨ̌], [ʂɨ̀], and [ʂɨ̂] in Mandarin. It was written to show how Classical Chinese has become an impractical language for speakers of modern Chinese because Classical Chinese when spoken aloud is largely incomprehensible. However the poem is perfectly comprehensible when read silently because literary Chinese, by its very nature as a written language using a logographic writing system, can often get away with using homophones that even in spoken Old Chinese would not have been distinguishable in any way.

The situation is analogous to that of some English words that are spelled differently but sound the same, such as "meet" and "meat", which were pronounced [meːt] and [mɛːt] respectively during the time of Chaucer, as shown by their spelling. However, such homophones are far more common in Literary Chinese than in English. For example, the following distinct Old Chinese words are now all pronounced yì in Mandarin: *ŋjajs 議 "discuss", *ŋjət 仡 "powerful", *ʔjup 邑 "city", *ʔjək 億 "100000", *ʔjəks 意 "thought", *ʔjek 益 "increase", *ʔjik 抑 "press down", *jak 弈 "Chinese chess", *ljit 逸 "flee", *ljək 翼 "wing", *ljek 易 "change", *ljeks 易 "easy" and *slek 蜴 "lizard".^[4]

Romanizations have been devised giving distinct spellings for the words of Classical Chinese, together with rules for pronunciation in various modern varieties. The earliest was the Romanisation Interdialectique (1931–2) of French Jesuit missionaries Henri Lamasse and Ernest Jasmin, based on Middle Chinese, followed by linguist Wang Li's wényán luómǎzì (1940) based on Old Chinese, and Chao's General Chinese Romanization (1975). However none of these systems has seen extensive use.^[5][6]

Grammar and lexicon[link]

Classical Chinese is distinguished from written vernacular Chinese in its style, which appears extremely concise and compact to modern Chinese speakers, and to some extent in the use of different lexical items (vocabulary). An essay in Classical Chinese, for example, might use half as many Chinese characters as in vernacular Chinese to relate the same content.

In terms of conciseness and compactness, Classical Chinese rarely uses words composed of two Chinese characters; nearly all words are of one syllable only. This stands directly in contrast with modern Chinese dialects, in which two-syllable words are extremely common. This phenomenon exists, in part, because polysyllabic words evolved in Chinese to disambiguate homophones that result from sound changes. This is similar to such phenomena in English as the pen–pin merger of many dialects in the American south: because the words "pin" and "pen" sound alike in such dialects of English, a certain degree of confusion can occur unless one adds qualifiers like "ink pen" and "stick pin." Similarly, Chinese has acquired many polysyllabic words in order to disambiguate monosyllabic words that sounded different in earlier forms of Chinese but identical in one region or another during later periods. Because Classical Chinese is based on the literary examples of ancient Chinese literature, it has almost none of the two-syllable words present in modern Chinese languages.

Classical Chinese has more pronouns compared to the modern vernacular. In particular, whereas Mandarin has one general character to refer to the first-person pronoun ("I"/"me"), Literary Chinese has several, many of which are used as part of honorific language (see Chinese honorifics), and several of which have different grammatical uses (first-person collective, first-person possessive, etc.).^{[citation needed]}

In syntax, Classical Chinese is always ready to drop subjects, verbs, objects, etc. when their meaning is understood (pragmatically inferable). Also, words are not restrictively categorized into parts of speech: nouns used as verbs, adjectives used as nouns, and so on. There is no copula in Classical Chinese, "是" (pinyin: shì) is a copula in modern Chinese but in old Chinese it was originally a near demonstrative ("this"); the modern Chinese for "this" is "這" (pinyin: zhè).

Beyond grammar and vocabulary differences, Classical Chinese can be distinguished by literary and cultural differences: an effort to maintain parallelism and rhythm, even in prose works, and extensive use of literary and cultural allusions, thereby also contributing to brevity.

The Muslim Hui people developed Jingtang Jiaoyu for representing Arabic sounds with Chinese characters. Classical Chinese has had influence of Jingtang Jiaoyu.^{[clarification needed]} Rather than using Standard Chinese grammar, they use the grammar of their dialect and Classical Chinese to read the Arabic sounds out loud.^{[clarification needed]} The Classical Chinese word order is often the reverse of Mandarin; for example, Mandarin 饒恕 (pinyin: ráoshù, "forgive") is Classical 恕饒 (pinyin: shùráo).^[7]

Many final particles (歇語字 xiēyǔzì) and interrogative particles are found in Literary Chinese.^[8][9]

Teaching and use[link]

Classical Chinese was used in international communication between the Mongol Empire and Japan. This letter, dated 1266, was sent from Khubilai Khan to the "King of Japan" (日本國王) before the Mongol invasions of Japan; it was written in Classical Chinese. Now stored in Todai-ji, Nara, Japan.

Classical Chinese was the main form used in Chinese literary works until the May Fourth Movement, and was also used extensively in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Classical Chinese was used to write the Hunmin Jeongeum proclamation in which the modern Korean alphabet (hangul) was promulgated and the essay by Hu Shi in which he argued against using Classical Chinese and in favor of written vernacular Chinese. (The latter parallels the essay written by Dante in Latin in which he expounded the virtues of the vernacular Italian.) Exceptions to the use of Classical Chinese were vernacular novels such as Dream of the Red Chamber, which was considered "vulgar" at the time.

Most government documents in the Republic of China were written in Classical Chinese until reforms in the 1970s, in a reform movement spearheaded by President Yen Chia-kan to shift the written style to vernacular Chinese.^[10][11]

Today, pure Classical Chinese is occasionally used in formal or ceremonial occasions. Buddhist texts, or sutras, are still preserved in Classical Chinese from the time they were composed or translated from Sanskrit sources. In practice there is a socially accepted continuum between vernacular Chinese and Classical Chinese. For example, most notices and formal letters are written with a number of stock Classical Chinese expressions (e.g. salutation, closing). Personal letters, on the other hand, are mostly written in vernacular, but with some Classical phrases, depending on the subject matter, the writer's level of education, etc. Letters or essays written completely in Classical Chinese today may be considered quaint, old-fashioned or even pretentious by some, but may seem impressive to others.^{[citation needed]}

Most Chinese people with at least a middle school education are able to read basic Classical Chinese, because the ability to read (but not write) Classical Chinese is part of the Chinese middle school and high school curricula and is part of the college entrance examination. Classical Chinese is taught primarily by presenting a classical Chinese work and including a vernacular gloss that explains the meaning of phrases. Tests on classical Chinese usually ask the student to express the meaning of a paragraph in vernacular Chinese, using multiple choice. They often take the form of comprehension questions.

In addition, many works of literature in Classical Chinese (such as Tang poetry) have been major cultural influences. However, even with knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, Classical Chinese can be difficult to understand by native speakers of modern Chinese, because of its heavy use of literary references and allusions as well as its extremely abbreviated style.

See also[link]

	China portal
	Languages portal

Classical Chinese edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• Chinese language
• Classical Chinese grammar
• Classical Chinese poetry
• Classical Chinese Wikipedia
• Classical Chinese writers
• Sino-Japanese vocabulary
• Sino-Korean vocabulary
• Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Frederick William Baller (1912). Lessons in elementary Wen-li. China Inland Mission. http://books.google.com/books?id=7bNDAAAAIAAJ&dq=zung+kuh++soo+kyi+tok&q=mandarin. Retrieved 2011-05-15. 
• J. J. Brandt (1936). Introduction to literary Chinese (2nd ed.). H. Vetch. http://books.google.com/books?id=kGFkAAAAMAAJ. 
• J. J. Brandt (1973). Wenli particles. Vetch and Lee. http://books.google.com/books?id=VrgPAAAAYAAJ. 
• Herrlee Glessner Creel, ed. (1952). Literary Chinese by the inductive method, Volume 2. University of Chicago Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=Eq9hAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2011-05-15. 
• Raymond Stanley Dawson (1984). A new introduction to classical Chinese (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-815460-0. 
• Evan Morgan (1931). A guide to Wenli styles and Chinese ideals: essays, edicts, proclamations, memorials, letters, documents, inscriptions, commercial papers, Chinese text with English translation and notes (2nd ed.). Christian Literature Society of China. http://books.google.com/books?id=ogAmAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 1 March 2012. 
• Abel Rémusat (1822). Élémens de la grammaire chinoise, ou, Principes généraux du kou-wen ou style antique: et du kouan-hoa c'est-à-dire, de la langue commune généralement usitée dans l'Empire chinois. PARIS: Imprimerie Royale. http://books.google.com/books?id=rJAUAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-05-15. 

External links[link]

Wikibooks has more on the topic of Classical Chinese

• Chinese Text Project Classical Chinese texts with English translations and classical Chinese dictionary
• headpage Classical Chinese Wikipedia

David Hinton is an American poet, and translator.

Life[link]

He studied Chinese at Cornell University, and in Taiwan.^[1] He lives in East Calais, Vermont.^[2]

Awards[link]

• 1997 Academy of American Poets Harold Morton Landon Translation Award
• fellowship from the Witter Bynner Foundation
• fellowship the Ingram Merrill Foundation
• fellowship National Endowment for the Arts
• fellowship National Endowment for the Humanities.
• 2003 Guggenheim Fellowship
• 2007 PEN Award for translation^[3]

Works[link]

Translations[link]

• David Hinton (April 19, 2009). "Poet's Choice 'Drinking Wine' by T'ao Ch'ien". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041701369.html. 
• "Overnight at Stone-gate Cliffs". Smith College. http://www.smith.edu/poetrycenter/poets/overnight.html. 

• Mountain home: the wilderness poetry of ancient China. New Directions Publishing. 2005. ISBN 978-0-8112-1624-1. http://books.google.com/?id=R7m_LPWnSEkC&dq=David+Hinton&printsec=frontcover. 
• The Mountain Poems of Hsieh Ling-yun. New Directions. 2001. ISBN 978-0-8112-1489-6. http://books.google.com/?id=yd8NurNS-zkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=David+Hinton. 
• Laozi, Lao zi, Lao-tzu (2000). Tao Te Ching. Counterpoint. ISBN 978-1-58243-047-8. 
• The selected poems of Po Chü-I. New Directions Publishing. 1999. ISBN 978-0-8112-1412-4. http://books.google.com/?id=cMY-UIJyCvgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=David+Hinton. 
• Mencius. Basic Books. 1999. ISBN 978-1-58243-020-1. http://books.google.com/?id=yPbWAiQKQAQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=David+Hinton. 
• The Analects of Confucius. Counterpoint. 1998. ISBN 978-1-58243-038-6. 
• Chuang Tzu: Inner Chapters. Publishers Group West. 1997. ISBN 978-1-887178-34-1. 
• The Selected Poems of Lí Po. New Directions. 1996. ISBN 978-0-8112-1323-3. http://books.google.com/?id=HSVgjUueodcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=David+Hinton. 
• Bei Dao (1996). Landscape Over Zero. New Directions. ISBN 978-0-8112-1334-9. 
• The Late Poems of Meng Chiao. Princeton University Press. 1996. ISBN 978-0-691-01236-0. http://books.google.com/?id=4jb31MbYaGwC&dq=David+Hinton&printsec=frontcover. 
• Forms of Distance by Bei Dao (1994)
• The Selected Poems of T'ao Ch'ien. Copper Canyon Press. 1993. ISBN 978-1-55659-056-6. 
• The Selected Poems of Tu Fu. New Directions Publishing. 1989. ISBN 978-0-8112-1100-0. http://books.google.com/?id=AjrCB3w0YCwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=David+Hinton. 

Editor[link]

• Classical Chinese Poetry. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. October 2008. ISBN 978-0-374-10536-5. 

Reviews[link]

We are all of us indebted to David Hinton for his eloquent and, more importantly, philosophical translations of Chinese poetry. I point this out because while there have been many translations of Chinese poetry over the last century, few have acknowledged and brought to life the philosophical context of the poetry. David Hinton and Bill Porter are important in this respect. This is not to say, however, that there is not room for quibbling....^[4]

With David Hinton as our guide, Classical Chinese Poetry: An Anthology comes across as something akin to a magical artifact, full of potential energies and untapped motes of poetic inspiration. Anyone, especially poets looking outside the western canon for transformative verse and fresh inspiration, should include this book in their library.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Author's website"
• "Author's blog at FSG poets"

Li Bai
Li Bai chanting a poem, by Liang K'ai (13th century)
Born	701 Sui Ye, Tang dynasty, China.
Died	762 Dangtu
Occupation	Poet
Nationality	Chinese
Period	Tang dynasty, Shanxi Province, China

Li Bai (Chinese: 李白; pinyin: Lǐ Bái and/or Lǐ Bó, 701 – 762, also well known as Li Po, among other transliterations) was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. Regarded as one of the greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty, often called China's "golden age" of poetry, Li Bai was both a prolific and a profound poet, as well as one who stretched the rules of versification of his time. Around a thousand yet existing poems are attributed to him.^[1] Thirty-four of his poems are included in the popular anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems.

In the area of Chinese cultural influence, Li Bai's poetry has been much esteemed from his lifetime through the present day. His influence also extends to the West through many translations, adaptations, and much inspiration.