Traditional Chinese Literature - Research Paper Example

Traditional Chinese Literature The growth of literature has undergone several transformations since the Greek period of Plato and Aristotle. It is an interesting phenomenon replicated in the history of literature in Asian countries, especially China, with its early philosophers and poets. As the essay will demonstrate, traditional Chinese literature thrived because it was supported by various emperors, particularly the Ch’ing/Qing Dynasty that ruled between 1644 and 1912. Another contributing factor was the multicultural set-up of the entire empire that permitted authors of different cultural and political backgrounds to write ground-breaking poetry and novels. Among the notable philosophers and writers are Tao and Confucius with his Analects of Confucius that was full of philosophy and ideas about life (Eifring 190). The paper will, therefore, specifically discuss the cultural themes of traditional Chinese literature and their overall impact on the people. . Chinese literature has existed and thrived for more than a thousand years as a result of several literary productions. For instance, there are vernacular fiction novels and dynastic court archives that prospered during the Ming Dynasty era. The aforementioned works were meant to achieve cultural unity for the literate members of Chinese society. Additionally, the literary texts have certain similarities to classical novels such as Dream of the Red Chamber and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. However, before delving into the cultural aspects of some of the novels, it is critical to acknowledge the tools that facilitated traditional Chinese literature in regards to explaining the cultural themes (Knight 156). The use of woodblock printing, for example, during the Tang Dynasty between 618 and 907 including the Bi Sheng’s invention of the movable type printing assisted in the rapid distribution of written knowledge. Pre-classical period, on the other hand, was influenced by professional provenance and cultural realities anchored on Chinese oral traditions. Among the cultural themes involved practices or Shijing, cult, divination or Yi jing, exorcism, and astronomy. Another prominent writer, Liu Shipei, assisted in the exploration of the culture as depicted in Chinese literature and its relationship in terms of incantations and religious spells. On the above account, the emergence of Hundred Schools of Thought can be justified as the defining moment of early Chinese literature toward demystifying life and existence in 770 and 256 BC (Eifring 197). Overall, there was a mark of increased literary output that were both didactic and philosophical, but still used the theme of culture to communicate its ideas. The theme of culture is equally illuminated in the Hundred Schools of Thought comprising of Classics of Daoism, of Mohism, of Confucianism, and of Legalism science. It a period described as an era of momentous intellectual and cultural expansion in most parts of China. Other critics have called it the Golden Age that defined Chinese Philosophy because it permitted the free discussion of emerging cultural ideas and thoughts. As a result, citizens gained refinement and social consciousness in lifestyles. The consequences of the cultural thoughts and ideas are still felt in East Asian nations and even globally. Contrastingly, unlike other schools, the Confucian works have played a major role in influencing Chinese history, but mostly culture through its subdivision of Four Books and Five Classics. Carefully chosen in the 12th century AD, the literary works examine issues of cultural governance while the other nine books concentrate on the educational system through a cultural prism (Knight 167). The Confucian texts are reflected in the Dream of the Red Chamber and Romance of the Three Kingdoms through the use of written vernacular (baihua) instead of the acceptable Classical Chinese (wenyan). According to literary critics, the modern Chinese novel embodies a semblance of cultural thematic concerns in terms of plot summary and language usage. Plot, in that case, is subdivided into The I Ching or Book of Changes and it deals with divination majorly associated with mythical emperor Fu Xi. Next is The Classic of Poetry that is composed of hymns, eulogies, ceremonial and festival songs including a collection of poems and folk songs. These cultural sub-genres defined the lives of most Chinese. The Classic of History, however, entails speeches by officials and rules of the early Zhou period and other collection of documents. Lastly, there is The Spring and Autumn Annals, an oeuvre of historical records by Confucius in his native state of Lu between 722 and 479 BC. Confucius’s historical records were demonstrated the richness of Chinese way of existence. Alternatively, The Four Books comprise of the most fundamental Classical Chinese literature called Analects of Confucius. A ground-breaking literary gem, it was largely penned by Confucius with the assistance of his disciples (Eifring 103). They are fragmented into the Doctrine of the Mean, a text that espouses Confucian virtues, Mencius, a collection with political dialogues; and the Great Learning, a collection championing self-cultivation and education. Together, they also shape the cultural traditions and values that explained Asian life. Therefore, during Ch’ing/Qing dynasty, the success of art and culture as themes was pegged on Classical Chinese literature that embraced different forms of literary presentation ranging from poetry to prose. For a period spanning between 1644 and 1912, the Manchu emperors had to identify literary mediums of expressing their cultural messages. Consequently, literature emerged during this Qing period with poetry making a significant mark in the life of citizens. In spite of poetry being synonymous with gentlemen, women equally made larger contributions through intensive and extensive research that had links with Chinese opera (Mair 132). The research also led to developmental trends that influenced cultural poetry through successful transition of playing the role of vernacular language to help interpret the Chinese lifestyle. A lot of the aforementioned poetry reflected Chinese beliefs pertaining to their pride in high artistic culture and spiritual power imposed on the written word. In other words, the conviction of culture as a theme helped people in their reverence to classics. Sleeping with classics or reading them would keep evil spirits away and also protect them from other supernatural disasters. It a belief reinforced by Confucius’s teachings that only philosophy, calligraphy, poetry, and history are the most serious works of art dispensed through the written word (Eifring 145). Unfortunately, the approval of Confucius was selective based on one’s social class and that was abolished during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Culture, thus, as a theme was highly valued over other things. The periods were marked by a large output of epic novels such as Dream of the Red Chamber and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. These novels championed the cultural interests and aspirations of the ordinary citizens through simple language. Additionally, the novels adopted the use of vernacular language as a medium of expression to increasing accessibility and evoke literary entertainment among the local people. The Journey to the West, for example, is a popular text that originated during the Ch’ing/Qing dynasty. It narrates the story of the Monkey King ejected from heaven for being a nuisance and accorded the role of protecting Xuan Zang, a Buddhist monk who is traveling to India. Later, the monk and Monkey King are joined by a Pigsy, a River God possessing the features of half pig and half man (Knight 130). Overall, the storyline is hinged on cultural, moral and philosophical teachings that were initially advocated by Confucius in his books. Another significant literary text that contributed to cultural exploration and understanding of Classical Chinese literature is The Golden Lotus. Written during the Ming dynasty, it narrated the tale of local dictator whose addiction to women and gambling resulting to death occasioned by too much sex. The I Ching also called Yijing elaborated on ritual casting to enable readers arrive on judgment. It is a judgment that could either be vague or subjective as observed by Lao Tzu, a famous Chinese thinker. Basing his literary themes on the Taoist theory to explain values and traditions of the Chinese culture, the writer adopted a moral stand concerning the recension of Qing dynasty (Eifring 141). Alternatively, the dynasty witnessed the production of literary criticisms and collections that included anthologies that include Quantangshi. Another significant artwork was Three Hundred Tang Poems that attempted to gain psychological insight and social commentary of occurrences in most Chinese states. Culture as dominant thematic concern for most traditional Chinese writers persisted with more the release of more works. Other novels included Flowers in the Mirror by Li Ruzhen published in 1827 and The Scholars published in 1750 by Wu Jingzi that espoused the virtues of proper living. Literary critics aver that the aforementioned epic novels also taught the masses on issues related to good governance and management according to their cultures. Drama equally became popular in the development of Classical Chinese literature that encompassed The Peach Blossom, a Kunqu opera by Kong Shangren in 1699. It hugely exposed the unfortunate failure of the Ming Dynasty through the use of romantic terms. In modern culture, the Peking Opera received critical attention because of its honest presentation of local and folk life of peasants (Knight 107). However, while urbanization and monetary economy helped professionalized classing drama and fiction, the major factor was the rise of education and literacy. As result, literary writings became the ideal tools of exploring moral, social, political, and philosophical ills afflicting the society. Additionally, within the Ching/Qing Dynasty, the writings disrupted cultural life that dominated the 19th century resulting to explosion of romanticism and revolution. Among the notable highlights of short fiction encompassed Cases of Judge Bao, Slapping the Table in Amazement, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and Jingshi Tongyan. Dramatic works further interrogated the cultural complexity of Chine life in form of literary output. These include The Injustice to Dou E, The Story of the Western Wing, and The Palace of Eternal Life. Highly motivated by world culture even as the world embraced various forms of modern technology, the Chinese literature maintained its elements of describing the cultural life of its people through philosophical literary styles. On the other hand, the sudden eruption of the New Culture Movement between 1917 until 1923 in the late Qing dynasty marked the beginning of intellectual dissent (Mair 133). A majority questioned China’s outdated methods of resolving her problems and, instead, offered radical solutions borrowed from translated Western expository literature and writing. Translations also allowed readers to interact with the sophistication of Western culture resulting to exotic tastes and enlightenment. Writers who benefited during the translation campaigns entailed Lin Shu (1852-1924) and Yan Fu (1864-1921). Another fundamental contribution of writing Classical Chinese literature was the abolition of examinations within the civil service that failed to accommodate members of the lower class. The literati were also making vain attempts to represent the cultural and social roles of their immediate society while developing the novelistic tradition and narrative modes (Mair 190). Conversely, the Western narrative mode inspired a contemporary outlook of analysing historical upheavals, social problems, and transformation of ethical values in the Ching/Qing Dynasty. Therefore, it implies that Qing fiction released after Chinese intellectuals had embraced foreign literary techniques used the modernist motif. The period, thus, witnessed massive literary production by authors who included Li Boyuan, Wu Woyao, Zeng Pu, and Liu E with their attempts to interlink traditional and modern culture. Emergence of revolution in poetry in the Ching/Qing Dynasty is another vital aspect of cultural representation that succeeded in the success of Classical Chinese literature. Revolution in poetry championed socio-economic and political turbulence of the times through protest lines and a majority of its adherents of Tongguang School. It signified the end of praise and sycophantic poems that now criticised its leaders on critical subject matters affecting ordinary citizens. Unfortunately, in the era of Ching/Qing Dynasty, the propagation of revolutionary art was discouraged and deemed as betrayal and demagoguery. New Culturalists such as Hu Shi mocked such protest literature as allusive, aloof from contemporary life, and artificial in achieving artistic beauty expected of art (Knight 111). Civilized drama also raised a furore among literary critics because of their integration of Western-style spoken drama techniques that question Chinese culture. Innovations have also been cited as great aspects of enabling the prosperity of publishing and cultivation of literary tastes in varying cultural fields. The outcome led to Manchu emperors embracing poetry to demonstrate their patronage and devotion to Confucian culture. It was also act of proclaiming and reinforcing their own legitimacy. That was through sponsorship of a rhyme dictionary called Peiwen Yunfu published in 1711. There was also publishing of Kangxi Dictionary in 1716 that largely assisted epic novelists in shaping thematic developments of culture to trigger sophisticated literary tastes (Mair 98). Depiction of happy and prosperous royal families thus gained dominance in most Classical Chinese novels with the intention of strengthening the Qing dynasty. By design, the theme of culture dominated the body of Hundred Schools of Thought on Classical Chinese literature before and during the Ch’ing/Qing Dynasty. The schools were segmented into Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, Logicians, Legalism, and School of Yin-Yang. Each of these schools had distinct philosophies and ideas it propagated in accordance with Chinese culture and traditional nuances. Legalism, for instance, concerned itself with law it followed doctrines started by Li Kui. Confucianism focussed on exploring an ideal socio-political order borrowed from the Zhou dynasty that was later embraced by Ch’ing/Qing dynasty (Mair 178). There was also analysis of human nature through investigate its diametric desires and conduct during interaction with nature. On the other hand, Mohism dealt with human cognition with the assistance of perceptions, but did not survive the Qin Dynasty. Understanding of logic and definition became the domain of Logicians with imitations from Greek dialecticians and sophists. It, therefore, is fundamental to note that traditional Chinese literature covered diverse themes mostly notably culture. The novels of note include Dream of the Red Chamber and Romance of the Three Kingdoms that tackle the ramifications of culture in average society their literary representations. Literary critics compare the relationship in terms of cultural and social influence on the leadership and people in their daily struggles. Production of poetry and drama were equally a momentous period in the propagation of social and cultural ideas because it allowed the masses to reflect on their lives and take decisive actions (Knight 117). Traditional Chinese literature has hence inspired contemporary Chinese artworks and others across the globe by exporting their cultural beauty. Works Cited Eifring, Halvor. Love and Emotions in Traditional Chinese Literature. New York, NY: BRILL. 2004. Print. Knight, Sabina. Chinese Literature: A Very Short Introduction. New Jersey, NJ: Oxford University Press. 2012. Print. Mair, Victor. The Shorter Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. 2013. Print. Read More