Chinese Literature

Presented by: Ms. Camille A. Alferez

 China
Chinese civilization is one of the few
ancient civilization to have its
individual writing concept.
The Chinese language has over 20,000
characters. The average Chinese only
learns about 5,000 of these in his
lifetime
 China
Flag of China was originally adopted on
October 1, 1949
The red of the Chinese flag symbolizes the
Communist Revolution, and also the tradition
color of the people.
The large star represent Communism and
Communism means a way of organizing a
society in which a government own.
The four smaller stars represent the social
classes of the people
Social Classes of the People
 China
The republic of China has an area of 9,597 million sq. km.
and the capital city of China is Beijing.
The famous landmark in China is the Great Wall of China
(also known as the “Ten Thousand Li Wall”. One Li is
equals to 500 meters, the walls is over 1,500 miles in
length. 
The administration of China has 23 provinces, 5
autonomous region, 4 municipalities and 2 special
administrative regions.
 China
The Chinese has 7 dialects and these are:
1. Mandarin
2. Gan
3. Kejia (Hakka)
4. Min
5. Wu
6. Xiang
7. Yue (Cantonese)
RELIGION
 Taoism : Lao Tzu
It can be roughly translated into English as
“path”, or “the way” •
It is basically indefinable. • It has to be
experienced. •
It refers to a power which envelops, surrounds
and flows through all things, living and non-
living. •
The Tao regulates natural processes and
nourishes balance in the Universe.
Buddhism: Siddhartha Gautama
“Teaching of the awakened one” •
Buddhism traveled from India during
the Han dynasty •
It is estimated that there are between
280 million to 350 million Buddhists. It
is the world’s fifth largest religion. •
20-25% of China’s population is
Buddhist
Confucianism : Confucius
Developed from the teaching of
Confucius •
System of moral, social, political and
religious thought •
Greatly influenced China up until the 21st
century •
It is an ethical belief system rather than a
religion, and is based upon the concept
of relationships
 Chinese
Literature
 Chinese Literature
It is one of the most major literacy with
an interrupted history and more that
30,000 years, dating back at least to the
14th century.
4 Classes of Literature
1. Classical Literature
2. Modern Literature
3. Contemporary Literature
4. Present Age Literature
 Chinese ClassicalLiterature
(1644-1911)
refers to the earliest period and covers works
from 3,000 yeas ago to the late Qing dynasty
and is virtually unbroken strands enduring
dynastic changes. Written in ancient form of
language that is very different from present day
Chinese, it needs to be carefully studied to be
understand
 Five Classics
Shu Ching (Classic of History) - collection of documents and
speeches dating from the Later Han Dynasty (23-220 CE)
Shih Ching (Classic of Odes) - collection of 300 poems and
songs from the early Chou Dynasty (1027-402 BC)
I Ching (Classic of Changes) - collection of texts on divination
based on a set of 64 hexagrams that reflect the relationship
between Yin and Yang in nature and society
Ch'un Ching (Spring and Autumn Annals) - extracts from the
history of the state of Lu 722-484, said to be compiled by
Confucius
Li Ching (Classic of Rites) - consists of three books on the Li
(Rites of Propriety)
 Modern Literature
refers to the period from the Opium
War in 1840 to the may fourth
movement in 1919.
 Modern Literature
Opium War- this is the war between two wars in
the mid 19th century involving Anglo Chinese
dispute over the British.
People observed the impact of Western thought
as foreigners poured China and established their
colonies, novels, poetry and other works begun to
appear with the theme o patriotism and
revelation of social literature.
Contemporary Literature (1919-1949)
spanned period from 1919 to the
foundation of modern in 1949 and took
on a new vigor despite the fact that
Chinese was in the checkered and
complicated times.
Present Age Literature (1949- present)
evolved since the establishments of the
People’s Republic in 1949 during this time. -
there was a Logjam as a consequence of the
cultural resolution that lasted for near 10 years
that era is now long past and we now have a
favorable turn events and a great number of
responsible written works
Forms of Literature
1. Poetry
2. Prose
3. Fictions and Novels
4. Drama and Opera
Poetry
 Poetry
Poetry became China’s major literary
achievement.
The Chinese poets celebrated the
delights of nature and pleasures
 Li Po or Li Tai-Po
China’s most popular master
He did not live long enough because he
was drowned while attempting to finish
“The Moon in the Yellow River”
Shi Ching (Shi Jing) 诗经
The most important poetic work
produced during the classical period
was the Shih Ching(Book of Poetry), an
anthology of ancient poems written in
four-word verses and composed mostly
between the 10th and the 7th centuries
BC.
Prose
 Prose
 From the 6th to the 3d century BC, the
first great works of Chinese philosophy
appeared. Philosophical writings, e.g.
Confucius Analects  Historical writings:
(Records of History
145-90
史记
one of the representative works is Shi Ji
司马迁（ ), by Sima Qian
Shi Ji (Records of History)
Shi Ji has 103 articles with
more than 50,000
Chinese characters.
Drama
and
Opera
 Drama
Drama was established during
the T’ang dynasty but it
reached its climax of
popularity during the Mongol
dynasty.
 Peking Opera
This opera was extremely
popular in the Qing Dynasty
court
It uses a combination of stylized
actions like singing, dancing,
dialogue and acrobatic fighting
to tell a story or present
different characters and their
happiness, anger, sorrow,
surprise, fear and sadness
Fiction
and
Novels
 Novels
The Chinese novel flourished from
thirteenth century to present.
 Fiction and Novels
Four great classical novels:
Journey to the West
Dream on Red Chamber
Romance of Three Kingdoms
Water Margin