Chinese Essay

In ancient China, the "essay" was one of the most important literary styles and the most widely used and practical literary genre. Compared with poems, novels, dramas, etc., essays pursue trueness of contents to a larger extent. In terms of linguistic forms, "essays" can be classified into parallel verse, rhymed verse and prose. These three forms developed alternately in the history of literature. Parallel verse is a literary genre that emerged after the Wei and Jin dynasties, mostly adopting the four-line and six-line patterns. It is strictly antithetical, using flowery language, excessively emphasizing forms and restricting most content expressions. Rhymed verse refers to rhymed articles written according to rhyme formats, including literary genres such as eulogies, odes, admonitions, inscriptions, laments and funeral prayers. The concept of Chinese ancient prose is very extensive. Articles other than parallel verse and rhymed verse can also be called "prose." According to different modes of expression and written contents, prose can be classified into lyric prose, narrative prose, argumentative prose, landscape and travel prose, etc.

Prose of Pre-Qin Schools of Thought

In the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, because wars caused a lot of chaos and China was not unified, private studies thrived and various schools' writings emerged one after another. This was the first large-scale ideological debate and academic contention in China's history called "contention of a hundred schools of thought" in later generations. Read more

Sima Qian and Records of the Grand Historian

Sima Qian (c. 145 BC-87 BC), with the courtesy name of Zichang, lived in the Sima Qian and Records of the Grand HistorianWestern Han Dynasty. He began to read classics in his childhood, travelled around China at the age of 20, toured with Emperor Wu many times, was ordered to serve as an envoy in the southwest, and succeeded his father as the Court Astrologer at the age of 38. Sima Qian's completion of Records of the Grand Historian was closely related to these spot surveys, his life experiences, his thorough understanding of ancient and current history, his familiarity with cultural classics and customs, his knowledge about astronomy, geography and ethnic customs, etc. Read more

Eight Great Prose Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties

Following the prose of a hundred schools of thought and Records of the Grand Historian, Chinese ancient prose reached another peak of development in the Tang and Song dynasties. Particularly, under the influence and push of the Classical Prose Movement in the Tang and Song dynasties, numerous writers showed their talents and brought about a new scene of prose in Tang and Song dynasties. Among them, Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan who lived in the Tang Dynasty and Ouyang Xiu, Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Wang Anshi and Zeng Gong who lived in the Song Dynasty were quite influential for their unique styles and were historically called "Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties". The Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties were all important representatives of the Classical Prose Movement. They opposed parallel verse, advocated prose, emphasized the novel and natural writing style, and supported the plain and fluent literary style. Their theoretical concepts and creative practices exerted important and far-reaching influence on the development of literature, especially the change of prose, after the Tang and Song dynasties. Read more