World Literature (LIT 2)

CHINESE
LITERATURE

Group 2

Cueto, Neon Mico

Deleon, Denisse Kim
Noble, Rexam
Ocampo, Princess Nicole

Math 2A
CHINA
 one of the countries with oldest and richest civilizations..
 has a population of over 1.4 billion people and a wide range of dialects and
languages spoken throughout the country.
 China is responsible for many technological innovations including the
invention of printing, gunpowder and paper money.

LANGUAGE

Mandarin dialects are spoken by 71.5% of the population, followed by WU

(8.5%), YUE (ALSO CALLED CANTONESE, 5%), XIANG (4.8%), MIN (4.1%),
HAKKA (3.7%) and gan (2.4%). The offical national language of china is putonghua,
a type of mandarin spoken in the capital beijing.

CHINESE PEOPLE:

1. GENEROUS - chinese people are renowned for their extraordinary

generosity, always eager to lend a helping hand to those in need.
2. FAMILY- ORIENTED- in Chinese culture the concept of family take
precedence above all else. Chinese individuals deeply value the family
bondings showcasing their immense respect and care for the elders.
3. FLEXIBLE- Chinese people exhibit remarkable adaptability, embracing
change and challenges with grace and resilience. Their flexibility allows them
to navigate diverse situations effortlessly and also this trait is instrumental in
fostering a dynamic and progressive society that welcomes innovations and
growth.
4. BLUNT- honesty and straightforwardness are highly regard in Chinese culture
resulting in a direct and unambiguous communication style. Chinese people
express their opinions candidly, reflecting their sincerity and no-nonsense
approach to interpersonal interaction.
5. ENTREPRENEURIAL- entrepreneurial spirit runs deep in Chinese culture, as
Chinese people are known for their ambitions, resourcefulness, and
determination to seize new opportunities and create new ventures. Their
enterprising mindset has significantly contributed to Chinese economic growth
and global influence.

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

 family planning is implemented since the early 1980s.
 college students are forbidden to marry until after graduations. The right age
for male to get married is 22 while for female is 20.
 those who chose to marry before the right age are not eligible for some of the
same benefits as for those who will wait.
EATING
 noodles are also common and man tou (steam bread) is a staple in
Northern China
 dishes with potatoes, tofu, maize meal, rice, and other grains are staple meals
 dishes with pork, beef, chicken, or fish are popular but expensive.

CHOPSTICK
 are used for all meals in China. Food is placed at the center of the table
and may include more than one type of main dish to be eaten with rice. Some
food is taken to be place in the bowl, which is then held close to the mouth for
eating.

SOCIALIZING
 Chinese nod politely or bow slightly when greeting another person.
 A handshake is also acceptable.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE FESTIVALS

1. CHINESE NEW YEAR (or Spring Festival)

 held in January or February, according to lunar calendar.
 includes banquets, family gatherings, carnivals, and dragon dances.
2. JING-ZHE -(Ching Che)
change of seasons from winter to spring, occurs on or around March 5.
also called The Feast of Excited Insects
the Chinese regard this as the day "the dragon raises his head" and
stirs the insects from their hibernation. Rituals are carried out to help
revive the Earth's fertility.
3. LABOR DAY
 May 01
 time to celebrate improved condition for the general workforce
4. INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY
 September 8
6. TEACHER'S DAY (birthday of Confucius)
 September 28

CHINESE BELIEFS

1. TAOISM
 has been connected to the philosopher Lao Tzu, who around 500
B.C.E. wrote the main book of Taoism, the Tao Te Ching. Taoism
 holds that humans and animals should live in balance with the Tao, or
the universe.

2. CONFUCIANISM
 is an ancient Chinese belief system, which focuses on the
importance of personal ethics and morality.

3. BUDDHISM
 Buddhists believe that human life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, but
that if one achieves a state of enlightenment (nirvana), it is possible to
escape this cycle forever. Siddhartha Gautama was the first person to
reach this state of enlightenment and was, and is still today, known as
the Buddha.

THE ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS

Confucius (551 or 552 – 479 BC)

 A Chinese philosopher and educator
 One of the most important individual in Chinese history
 One of the most influential figures in World history
 Chinese name: “Kongzi”
 The author of The Analects

The Analects
 All about wisdom concerning man and his relation to others.
 It became the bases of the Chinese’s social relationships and behavior.
 Confucius sayings were handed down through several generations
from mouth to mouth.
 The word “analects” means “miscellaneous exerpts”

Six Principles of Confucianism

 JEN. The golden rule. It has the idea of humaneness, goodness,
benevolence, or man-to-manness. This is the highest virtue according
to the Confucian way of life.
 CHUN-TZU. The gentleman. It has the idea of true manhood, the
superior man, and man-at-his-best. If one can practice five things may
 indeed be considered man-at-his-best. Those are humility,
magnanimity, sincerity, diligence, and graciousness.
 CHENG-MING. The roleplayer. For the society to be properly ordered,
everyone must act his proper part.
 TE. The power. The power needed to rule consists of more than mere
physical might. It is necessary that the leaders be men of virtue who
can inspire their subjects to be obedience through example.
 LI. The standard of conduct. It emphasizes purity, sincerity, and
harmony. If people were all virtuous and conducted themselves
properly, Heaven will give good fortune upon everyone.
 WEN. The arts of peace. This include music, poetry and art. Confucius
felt that these art of peace were symbols of virtue that should be
manifest throughout the society.

LI PO (706 – 62)
Li Bo or Li Po(701-62),Chinese poet, one of the greatest figures of Chinese literature
.Li Bo was born into the minor nobility in what is now Sichuan (Szechwan) Province.
After an apprenticeship with a Daoist (Taoist ) hermit and a time of wandering, he
lived briefly as a poet at the Tang (t’ ang) court in Chang’ an but left as the result of
intrigue. Then he returned to a life of Daoist study and carefree reflective wandering,
writing poems and enjoying nature and the pleasure of wine, supplied free by the
emperor’s orders. According to legends, Li Bo was drowned while drunkenly learning
from a boat to embrace the moon’s reflection on the water. Most of Li Bo’s vast
output is lost ,but about 2000 poems collected in 1080 are remarkable for their
musical quality, rich and exact imagery, and beauty of language. Their themes are
the sorrows of those separated by the demands of duty, the reliefs found in wine,
and a Daoist appreciation for the awesome tranquillity of mountain and a sense of
the mysteries of life.

Drinking Alone in Moonlight

If heaven had no love for wine,

There would be no wines star in Heaven;
If earth had no love for wine
There would be no city called wine springs.
Since heaven and earth love wine
I can love wine without shaming Heaven.
 They say that clear wine is a saint,
Thick wine follows the way of the sage.
I have drunk deep of saint and sage;
What need then to study the spirits and fairies?
With three cups I penetrate that Great Tao
Take a whole jugful- I and the word are one,
Such things as I have dreamed in wine
Shall never be told to the sober

DU FU OR TU FU (1712-770)
 Du Fu was raised according to Confucian tradition in a family known for
its scholarly interests.
 He was influence by Daoist (Taoist) philosophy and by the poet Li Bo (Li
Po).
 Widely regarded as one of the greatest Chinese poets, Tu Fu is known
for his contemplative verse that chronicled the political and social
upheaval of mid-eighth-century China.

The Empty Purse

The bitter pine cone may be eaten
The mist on high give nourishment
The whole world takes to go-and-getting;
May alone is difficult:

My oven is cold as the well at morning

And the bed wants warmth from coverlets;
My purse ashamed to be found empty,
Still keeps on hand a single coin.

Tao Te Ching (Do nothing and everything is done)

By: LAO TZU
Laozi (604-531 BC) is traditionally considered the founder of the
naturalistic, Quietistic philosophy called Taoism.
He has exerted great influence on Far Eastern philosophy ,art, and literature.
His book Tao Te Ching is often called the 5,000 character classic.
By the WAY is meant the natural order of things.
By VIRTUE is meant naturalness and simplicity.
Scholars believe that no one except Confucius has exerted greater influence over
Chinese minds throughout history than Laozi.
 “The Book of the Way and the Virtue”. “Classic of the Way and its
Virtue” ”Classic of the Way of Power”
 The book was complied, according to scholars, two or three centuries after
Lao Tzu’s time in the 4th and 3rd century BC
 The book presents a way of life that was intended to restore harmony and
tranquility to a kingdom racked by disorder

The Life of Lao Tzu

 Born in the Chinese province of Henan around 570 BC
 One of the earliest Chinese librarians, he was appointed keeper of sacred
books for the Zhou rulers in the 6th century BC
 He also worked at the court of the emperor as a scholar, presumably in
astrology and divination
 Lao Tzu left China during the decline of the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC) and
on his way west, he was asked by a gatekeeper to write Tao-te Ching, after
which he disappeared
 Lao Tzu has never ceased to be generally respected in all circles of the
China. To the Confucians he was a venerated philosopher; to the people he
was saint or god; and to the Taoists he was an emanation of the Dao and of
their greatest divinities.
 May be he has lived 150 years, some say mare than 200 years
 To explain why the life of Lao Tzu is so shrouded in obscurity, why he left no
trace of his life, Sima Qian says that he was a gentleman recluse whose
doctrine consisted in nonaction, the cultivation of the state of inner calm, and
purity of the mind (Throughout the whole history of China, there have always
been recluses who shunned worldly life)

Tao
 “The path of life”, “the way of nature”, “the natural of the universe”, “the
way of heaven”: the way of everything that is ;insofar as it sustain
everything, nothing exists outside the Tao
 The way of being and non being, of appearance and disappearance; the
essential unifying element of all that is. Everything is basically one despite
 the appearance of difference. Because all in one, matters of good and evil
and of true or false, as well as differing opinions, can only arise when people
lose sight of the oneness and think that their private beliefs are absolutely
true.
 The “incomprehensive”, “unknowable”, “Nameless”, “Nonbeing”,
“Nothing”: It is not a mere concept or idea. All things can be named, and
because Tao is not a thing, it cannot be named. It is greater than all the things
that can be named.

Tao Vis-à-vis God

 The theist’s God demands obedience, love and worship from men. The Tao
doesn’t. In spite the fact that the Tao sustain all the ten thousand things, it
does not demand anything from them; it does not ask them to make itself
master or lord.
 The Tao does not give orders or commands, nor does it make any request or
favor from anyone. The Tao simply operates; hence, it prevails but does not
rule.
 The Tao is reality itself. It is the path of the universe, although this path is not
mandatory or compulsory; it is not a matter of following anything else. Tao is “
the current, float, order, or the process of nature”.
The Goal of Life for a Taoist
 To cultivate a mystical relationship to the Tao. Adherents avoids
dispersing their energies though the pursuits of wealth, power, or knowledge,
By shunning every earthly distraction, the Taoist is able to concentrate on life
itself. The longer the adherent’s life, the more saintly the person is presumed
to have become .Eventually, the hope is to become immortal. Thus, a Taoist’s
goals is the becomes a sage, who is a man of virtue who knows and follows
the principles and ways of Tao.

TAO-TE CHING AND ITS DOCTRINE OF “ACTIONLESS ACTION”

1. Never overdo things and never to act against nature.
2. Never to be bewildered or perplexed.
3. Never to meddle or interfere with other people’s affairs and never to violate
and encroach upon the rights of others.
4. Never to act in excess and never to desire too much.
5. Never to begin one’s work at the wrong time and never to stop one’s activity
beyond the appropriate time.
6. Never to rush things, decisions and actions.
7. Never to discriminate against anybody and never to play favorites.
8. Never to be boastful and self-conceited.
9. Never to use force or violence and never to be daring.
10. Never to kill people and never to harbor hatred or animosity.