Classics stop

Author: Zhong Lei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: During the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, two literary anthologies that had a wide influence and were widely circulated in later generations emerged: one was Ancient Poems Source compiled by Shen Deqian, and the other was Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose compiled by Wu Chucai and Wu Dihou. These two books can be considered the twin treasures of classical Chinese poetry and prose anthologies of that era. They had clear divisions of labor: Ancient Poems Source selected poems from ancient times to the Sui Dynasty, while Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose selected prose from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the late Ming Dynasty, totaling 220 pieces. It is often said that China has always been a land of poetry since ancient times, and this statement is not entirely unfounded. Compared to poetry, ancient Chinese prose was no less outstanding and had equally glorious history. Ancient Chinese prose emerged very early and has always held a pivotal position in literary history from the very beginning. The reason why ancient prose could dominate the literary scene so early was its strong practicality, widely used in various fields of social life. The earliest prose collection that has survived to this day is the Book of Documents, which records nothing but military and state affairs. Later, the scope of prose application expanded further, and almost every field of social life was involved in prose. For this reason, ancient prose was extremely diverse in types. Among the various literary forms listed by Liu Xie in The Heart of the Art of Writing, except for a limited number of forms such as sao, poetry, yuefu, and fu, the rest prose. It can be said that prose was a large family of ancient literary forms, and its prosperity stemmed from its practicality, adapting to the multifaceted needs of society. The form of prose has great inclusiveness, as it can narrate, debate, and express emotions, thus dividing into narrative prose, argumentative prose, and lyrical prose. These three can also be combined, melting narration, debate, and expression into one. Poetry, however, is different. Pure narration or expression can be poetry, but pure debate is often dull. The inclusiveness of the prose form is also reflected in its acceptance of poetry, as poetry can be interwoven within prose, while inserting prose into poetry seems awkward. The diversity of prose's functions stems from this inclusiveness of its form, which also made it a thriving literary genre in ancient China. The development of ancient Chinese prose followed a path from unity to differentiation. Initially, prose was a harmonious blend of literature, history, and philosophy, with no strictly defined literary prose. It was only from the later period of the Warring States that literary prose began to break free from its primitive state and differentiate itself from the unified mother body, becoming a relatively pure literary work. As time passed, the literary consciousness of the creators gradually improved, and the literary quality of prose also strengthened, making it more valuable for aesthetic appreciation. Reading Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose, one can see the evolution of ancient prose mentioned above. The selections in Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose are primarily prose, interspersed with parallel prose and rhyming poetry, basically all renowned masterpieces passed down through generations, possessing "eternal artistic charm." The compilers named it "Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose," perhaps truly reflecting the heartfelt admiration that Wu Jiji had when he watched dances and music. From this perspective, Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose is an image of the great panorama of classical Chinese prose throughout the dynasties and a living history of the development of prose. On the other hand, although Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose was compiled for young learners and general lovers of classical Chinese prose at the time, it has no tendency to cater to the masses. These immortal classics contain rich historical knowledge, mature life experience, profound aesthetics of writing, and even vast philosophical insights of the universe. In the vast ocean of prose in China, there are too many excellent works, and the selections in Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose truly achieve the goal of being neither too high for beginners to read nor too low for scholars to appreciate, much like the widely known Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty. These two anthologies can be considered the twin treasures of popular literary readers in traditional Chinese literature.