Chinese Literature Flashcards
(10 cards)
dates back to 1000BCE
Early Chinese literature
After the 1800’s
European missionaries and traders traveled to China and the Chinese were gradually exposed to Western culture.
In 1966-1976
Cultural Revolution, political and social themes dominated the published works.
In 1989
Chinese university students and other citizens demanded greater democracy and led demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
Writers who supported pro-democracy were arrested and other writers were prohibited to publish works that criticize the government.
Writers who have more artistic freedom
live in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore or the United States
Chinese literature in the 90’s and onwards
reflect China’s past and their nationalism.
Chinese language
- most ancient spoken (and probably the oldest) written language used by humans
- monosyllabic meaning words have only one syllable
- tonal language which means a word could have a different meanings when it is said upward or downward intonation, or with a high or low pitch.
- spoken language has fewer words than the written vocabulary
- made up of ideographs and not alphabets, it consists of 50,000 characters and each represent an idea
Poetry
- Four famous poets lived during the Tang dynasty (A.D. 678-907).
- They were in order of birth, Wang Wei, Li-Po, To-Fu, and Po-Chu-I.
Chinese literature recognizes the Five Classics
- form the foundation of their cultural and traditional life
- The Book of Changes,
- The Book of History,
- The Book of Rites,
- The Book of Odes, and
- The Spring and Autumn Annals
During the 1200’s
drama and fiction developed. Chinese plays resemble European opera, combining signing and dancing with dialogue
