CHINESE LITERATURE | WORLD LITERATURE

I'm Gemma Atendido, the first presenter of Group 1. So today I'm going to discuss Chinese Literature. Chinese literary works include fiction, philosophical and religious works, poetry and scientific writings. The dynamic eras frame the history of Chinese literature and are examined one by one. The grammar of the written classical language is different from the spoken languages of the past 2,000 years. The history of Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature vernacular fiction novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. So there are four classes of literature. The classical literature, modern literature, contemporary literature and the present age literature. So first is the Chinese classical literature. It refers to the earliest period and covers works from 3,000 years ago to the late Qing Dynasty and its virtually unbroken strands enduring dynastic changes. So The Water Margin, Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Dream of the Red Chamber. These four novels form the core of Chinese classical literature and still inform modern culture. The second is Chinese modern literature. It refers to the period from the Opium War in 1840 to the May Fourth Movement in 1919. Being in agreement with the great transformation of modern Chinese literature, modern Chinese literary theory is formed against the background of changing modern cultural values in modern China. The multi-role it has played in modern Chinese society include cultural intervention, social act and construction of anesthetic experience and literary appreciation. It does so through a dynamic dialogue between authoritative Western literary theory and traditional Chinese literary theory manifesting distinct features of modernity, vernacular written language, academic institutionalization, cultural explicitness, revolutionary radicalism, westernization of the internal system and implicit Chinese traditions. It also developed to a new stage where the localization of western literary theory in China needs to be constructed and addressed. So the third one is contemporary literature. It spans the period from 1919 to the foundation of the modern in 1949 and took on a new vigor. Contemporary literature is a vast group of written works produced from a specific time in history through the current age. This literary era defines a period of time but it also describes a particular style and quality of writing. Then the last one is the present-age literature. It evolved since the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949 during this time. China's modern political arena, thriving economy and culture provide more freedom and an open atmosphere in which contemporary literature takes on greater brilliance. Poems, essays, fiction and drama in a wide range of themes and in any form are quite popular. Newspapers, magazines, radio and the Internet all give writers of literature much scope for their efforts. Consequently, for their encouragement, there are literary prizes such as the Lushun Prize, Maodun Prize, Spring Prize, Fengmu Prize and Laoshi Prize are more besides. Literary genre can be considered as the cultural reflection of a certain historical stage. The evolution of a literary genre is roughly based on the rise and fall of a dynasty. China's pre-Qin pros, Tang poetry, Songxi song, poems and so on all have their unique characteristics. Chang Dynasty Development of Chinese writing The first dynasty for which there is historical record and archaeological evidence is the Chang Dynasty. Hieroglyphics writing on bronzeware and oracle bones it evolved into an ideographic and partly phonetic Chinese characters. The Zhou Dynasty Basic philosophical and religious literature The great literary works of philosophy and religion that became the basis for Chinese religion and social belief stem from what is called the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Taoism, Confucian literature and other prominent religion and philosophical school are all emerged during these two periods. The main contribution of this period to Chinese literature was the prose work of the Confucian, Classic and Taoist writings and preserved poems and songs. The Qin Dynasty Literary disaster and legalism In this period, prose was prevalent. Writing was characterized by pre-used expression of true feelings and flexibility of formats and patterns. It facilitated the need to record the different ideas and thoughts of different schools. Therefore, it is no surprise that essays and writings tangled with strong political colors such as the Analects of Confucius, Muzi and Mencius are all presented in this style. Muism is a large philosophical and religious school founded by Muzi. Muzi is a Qin emperor who introduced a writing system and developed into modern Chinese writing. Legalism is a philosophical school. It is that philosophical belief that human beings are more inclined to do wrong than right because they are motivated entirely by self-interest and require strict law to control their impulses. Han Dynasty Scientific and historical texts Prose was further developed. The essay, combining prose writing and rhymes, became more popular and a new format Fu emerged and developed into a mainstream format of literature. The major contribution of the era were historical texts and scientific works. Simei Qian wrote historical records. Historical records mean major history concerning the overall history of China from the Qiang Dynasty to the Han Dynasty. Xiaolong is the first person in the world to create writing paper. Tang Dynasty Early woodblock printing and poetry The Tang Dynasty is one of the most prosperous in ancient Chinese culture. Poetry originated in the pre-Qin period and became popular in the Tang Dynasty. Known for its conciseness, magnificent words and phrasing, poetry has certain rhythms and rhymes that can better express one's thoughts and emotions. To name just a few, famous poets of the Tang Dynasty are Li Bai, poet immortal, one of the greatest romantic poets. Du Fu, poet saint, one of the greatest realist poets. Bai Jovee, the poet and magician. Hey, Li, the poet wizard. To continue the report, Song Dynasty, 960-1279. Early woodblock printing in travel literature, poetry, scientific texts, and the Neo-Confucian classics. In the Song Dynasty, poetry evolved into a genre called Su, which was essentially song poems composed for banquets and such events. There were strict rules about the number of sentences and words and about the intonation of each word. As it once said, sound is one of the basic forms of conveying aesthetic information. Song Su is considered a kind of music literature whose musicality is of high aesthetic value. According to different writing styles, Song Su is composed of two schools, bold and unconstrained and graceful and restrained. The former was led by representatives such as Su Shi and Qin Shi Ji, while the latter included poets such as Liu Yong and Li Xingxiong. Five classics and four books. The five classics include the Book of Changes, the Classic of Poetry and the Record of Rights, the Classic of History, and the Spring of Autumn Annals. The four books include the Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Doctrine of the Mean, and The Great Learning. Shen Gu and Su Song both work in scientific treatises. Shen Gu discovered the concept of the North and magnetic declination, while Su Song, famous for his hydraulic-powered astronomical clock tower. Wuwan Dynasty 1279-1368 Drama and great fictional novels The Wuwan Dynasty is known for its drama literature. The Yongchun, literally Song, including poetic dramas and various songs. The dramas and plays of the Wuwan Dynasty are rich in subjects and characters and are flexible and diverse in creation as well. The most popular ones include The Autumn in the Han Palace by Ma Jiwon, also referred to as The Appearance of the Lonely Goose and A Dark Dream in the Autumnal Han Palace, which describes the tragic love story between Emperor Wuwan of Han and his concubine Wang Zhaozhen. Next is The Romance of the Western Chamber by Wang Shifu, also translated as The Story of the Western Wing. It tells the story of a gifted scholar and a beautiful lady who fall in love at first sight but have to overcome many obstacles to finally get married. One of the best romantic dramas ever written in China. Guan Hanqing, one of the best playwrights of all time, created Midsummer Snow, one of the most popular drama pieces. This story was about Du Pao, about a young woman who was wrongfully convicted of crimes she didn't commit because of a corrupt official and was sentenced to death and only got her justice after her death. The last two dynasties are the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty where the four greatest Chinese classical novels were written. Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 Novels In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with the development of the economy, there were increasing cultural needs and demands. Novel during a death time focuses on the description of characters and reflects social life through a complete storyline and environmental description. The four great classical novels of ancient China were all created in this period. Journey to the West by Wu Xing'en based on the historical journey of a Buddhist to India. Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Lu Guangzhong An epic tale of war and heroes, loyalty, betrayal, and cunning plans of morality versus cruel political reality and of what men are capable of doing in pursuit of power. Water margin by Shi Nian Stories of a group of outlaws gathered at Mount Liang to rebel against the corrupt government. Qing Dynasty 1644-1911 Novels and pre-modern literature In the 19th century, foreign literature became better known in the West. In this dynasty, the last of China's classic novels was created, which is The Dream of the Red Chamber or The Story of the Stone by Xiao Shuxian, the last of China's four great classic novels. In the near end of the era, modernist literature was developed. That's all, thank you.