Term Definition

Confucianism -pervasive in Chinese literature, centerpiece of which are the Classics,

contained in the two sets of books referred to as the Five Classics and the Four
Books

Poetry -the heart of Chinese literature because the rhythm (harmony of sound), is the
innate to Chinese temperament

Buddhism -created a momentum for literary creativity

Drama -a literary form that had become established by the time of the Golden Age of
Poetry in the T’ang dynasty.

-in the Mongol dynasty, it reached its climax of popularity

Chinese novel -developed gradually and has flourished from the 13th century to the present.

Confucius -the Latin form of the Chinese Kung-fu-tze, Kung being the family name, fu
being the given name, and tze for Master.

-born in the province of Lu (now Shantung); at an early age he mastered the

learning of his day

-by putting together the materials which make up the Five Classics, he became
the founder of Chinese Literature

Proverbs -popular sayings that express some general truth or contain some practical
advice or wisdom generally accepted as true by a number of people

Maxims -proverbs that express a general rule of behavior or conduct

Imagery -the use of words that evoke mental pictures that appeal to the senses

Simile and metaphor -refer to the use of direct or indirect comparison

Personification -the attribution of a human quality to an inanimate object

Alliteration -the use of a word or phrase more than once in a passage

Parallelism -the use of similar structure in the use of words, phrases, or clauses

Lao-tzu or Lao-tse or -widely believed to be the author of the Taoist classic Tao Te Ching and the
Master Lao founder of Taoism

Book of Tao (Tao Te -the essential teaching of which is the Tao or Way to ultimate reality
Ching or the Scripture of
the Way and Its Power)

Epigram -a thought-provoking saying; these are short, witty, and satiric

Mei Sheng -father of modern poetry

The wonderful Pear Tree -shows the love of magic which permeated Chinese life in antiquity
 Folktales - stories about legendary traditions of common people about themselves, their
original beliefs and practices which have been handed down by work of mouth
from generation to generation

-a simple story using either human or animal characters

Stress -a syllable given a louder sound, a higher pitch, and a greater duration

Significant ideas -those that are relevant to the topic you are working on; either give support
main ideas or support main ideas

Sentence -a group of words with a subject and a predicate which expresses a complete
thought

Sentence fragment -a group of words that does not express a complete idea; may not have a
subject or a predicate or both

Enumeration

Three greatest Chinese poets in the middle of the Literary devices:

eighth century:
 Imagery
 Li Po  Simile and Metaphor
 Tu Fu  Personification
 Po Chu-i  Alliteration
 Repetition
 Parallelism

Elements of Stress:

 Loudness or force or intensity

 Pitch
 Duration