The Columbia History of Chinese Literature

The Columbia History of Chinese Literature is a comprehensive yet portable guide to China's vast literary traditions. Stretching from earliest times to the present, the text features original contributions by leading specialists working in all genres and periods. Chapters cover poetry, prose, fiction, and drama, and consider such contextual subjects as popular culture, the impact of religion, the role of women, and China's relationship with non-Sinitic languages and peoples. Opening with a major section on the linguistic and intellectual foundations of Chinese literature, the anthology traces the development of forms and movements over time, along with critical trends, and pays particular attention to the premodern canon. Begins With The Linguistic And Intellectual Foundations Of Chinese Literature And Moves Successively Through Verse, Prose, Fiction, Drama, And Commentary And Criticism; It Then Closes With Popular And Peripheral Manifestations. A Special Feature Is The Focus On Such Contextual Subjects As The History Of Popular Culture,the Effect Of Religion Upon Literature, The Role Of Women, And Relationships With Non-sinitic Languages And Peoples. Introduction : The Origins And Impact Of Literati Culture -- Pt. 1. Foundations. Language And Script / Victor H. Mair -- Myth / Anne Birrell -- Philosophy And Literature In Early China / Michael Puett -- The Thirteen Classics / Paul Rakita Goldin -- Shih-ching Poetry And Didacticism In Ancient Chinese Literature / Jeffrey Riegel -- The Supernatural / Rania Huntington -- Wit And Humor / Karin Myhre -- Proverbs / John S. Rohsenow -- Buddhist Literature / Helwig Schmidt-glintzer And Victor H. Mair -- Taoist Heritage / Judith Magee Boltz -- Women In Literature / Anne Birrell -- Pt. 2. Poetry. Sao, Fu, Parallel Prose, And Related Genres / Christopher Leigh Connery -- Poetry From 200 B.c.e. To 600 C.e. / Robert Joe Cutter -- Poetry Of The Táng Dynasty / Paul W. Kroll -- Tzú / Stuart Sargent -- Sung Dynasty Shih Poetry / Michael A. Fuller -- Yüan San-chǘ / Wayne Schlepp -- Mongol-yüan Classical Verse (shih) / Richard John Lynn --^ Poetry Of The Fourteenth Century / John Timothy Wixted -- Poetry Of The Fifteenth And Sixteenth Centuries / Daniel Bryant -- Poetry Of The Seventeenth Century / Richard John Lynn -- Poetry Of The Eighteenth To Early Twentieth Centuries / Daniel Bryant -- Chíng Lyric / David Mccraw -- Modern Poetry / Michelle Yeh -- Poetry And Painting / Charles Hartman -- Pt. 3. Prose. The Literary Features Of Historical Writing / Stephen Durrant -- Early Biography / William H. Nienhauser, Jr. -- Expository Prose / Ronald Egan -- Records Of Anomalies / Hu Ying -- Travel Literature / James M. Hargett -- Sketches / James M. Hargett -- Twentieth-century Prose / Philip F.c. Williams -- Pt. 4. Fiction. Táng Tales / William H. Nienhauser, Jr. -- Vernacular Stories / Yenna Wu -- Full-length Vernacular Fiction / Wai-yee Li -- Traditional Vernacular Novels : Some Lesser-known Works / Daria Berg -- The Later Classical Tale / Allan H. Barr --^ Fiction From The End Of The Empire To The Beginning Of The Republic, 1897-1916 / Milena Dolez̆elová-velingerová -- Twentieth-century Fiction / Philip F.c. Williams -- China, Hong Kong, And Taiwan During The 1980s And 1990s / Helmut Martin -- Pt. 5. Drama. Traditional Dramatic Literature / Wilt L. Idema -- Twentieth-century Spoken Drama / Xiaomei Chen -- Pt. 6. Commentary Criticism, And Interpretation. The Rhetoric Of Premodern Prose Style / Christoph Harbsmeier -- Classical Exegesis / Haun Saussy -- Literary Theory And Criticism / Dore J. Levy -- Traditional Fiction Commentary / David L. Rolston -- Pt. 7. Popular And Peripheral Manifestations. Balladry And Popular Song / Anne Birrell -- Tun-huang Literature / Niel Schmid -- The Oral-formulaic Tradition / Anne E. Mclaren -- Regional Literatures / Mark Bender -- Ethnic Minority Literature / Mark Bender -- The Translator's Turn: The Birth Of Modern Chinese Language And Fiction / Lydia H. Liu --^ The Reception Of Chinese Literature In Korea / Emanuel Pastreich -- The Reception Of Chinese Literature In Japan / Emanuel Pastreich -- The Reception Of Chinese Literature In Vietnam / Emanuel Pastreich. Victor H. Mair, Editor. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [1105]-1152) And Indexes. Comprehensive yet portable, this account of the development of Chinese literature from the very beginning up to the present brings the riches of this august literary tradition into focus for the general reader. Organized chronologically with thematic chapters interspersed, the fifty-five original chapters by leading specialists cover all genres and periods of poetry, prose, fiction, and drama, with a special focus on such subjects as popular culture, the impact of religion upon literature, the role of women, and relationships with non-Sinitic languages and peoples.