Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical

186 Pages·2000·2.31 MB·English

by  Andre Levy

INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS
ISBN 17-253-3313Sb-2
11 1 111
9 90000
ol
336 69
2

Chinese Literature,
Ancient and Classical
by
Andre Levy
translated by
William H. Nienhauser, Jr.
Indiana University Press
Bloomington and Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
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Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA
www.indiana.edu/–iupress
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2000 by Andre Levy
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in.writing from the publisher. The Association
of American University Presses' Resolution on Permissions
constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Levy, Andre, date
[La litterature chinoise ancienne et classique. English]
Chinese literature, ancient and classical / by Andre Levy ;
translated by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-253-33656-2 (alk. paper)
1. Chinese literature—History and criticism. I. Nienhauser,
William H. II. Title.
PL2266.L48 2000
895.1'09—dc21(cid:9) 99-34024
1 2 3 4 5 05 04 03 02 01 00
For my own early translators of French,
Daniel and Susan

Contents
Preface(cid:9) ix
Introduction(cid:9) 1
Chapter 1: Antiquity(cid:9) 5
I. Origins
II. "Let a hundred flowers bloom, Let a hundred schools of thought
contend!"
1. Mo zi and the Logicians
2. Legalism
3. The Fathers of Taoism
III. The Confucian Classics
Chapter 2: Prose(cid:9) 31
I. Narrative Art and Historical Records
II. The Return of the "Ancient Style"
III. The Golden Age of Trivial Literature
IV. Literary Criticism
Chapter 3: Poetry(cid:9) 61
I. The Two Sources of Ancient Poetry
1. The Songs of Chu
2. Poetry of the Han Court
II. The Golden Age of Chinese Poetry
1. From Aesthetic Emotion to Metaphysical Flights
2. The Age of Maturity
3. The Late Tang
III. The Triumph of Genres in Song
Chapter 4: Literature of Entertainment: The Novel and Theater(cid:9) 105
I. Narrative Literature Written in Classical Chinese
II. The Theater
1. The Opera-theater of the North
2. The Opera-theater of the South
III. The Novel
1. Oral Literature
2. Stories and Novellas
3. The "Long Novel" or Saga
Index(cid:9) 151