Tang and Song Eight Masters' Literary Selections with Annotations and Critical Appraisals - Complete 9 Volumes

Author: Gao Haifu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-09-01
Features: Poetry in China has a long history and is renowned for its brilliance, earning the country the title of a "poetic nation." However, this does not mean that Chinese prose is inferior or unworthy of mention. On the contrary, over two thousand years of literary history, prose has also been vibrant and diverse, reaching heights of brilliance that are dazzling to behold. The prose discussed here is based on the actual works of ancient China, encompassing essays, historical accounts, various types of miscellaneous writings, and parallel prose, not limited to what is today called literary prose or the "classical prose" referred to by later dynasties like the Tang and Song. The prose of the Tang and Song dynasties, inheriting the legacy of the pre-Qin, Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties periods and paving the way for the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, represents a crucial period in the history of Chinese prose. During this time, numerous writers emerged, each with unique styles, and the literary forms were rich and varied. This greatly expanded the realm of prose, with many masterpieces from various genres passing down through the ages, marking a period of unprecedented prosperity that shook the past and inspired the future. The Collected Works of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties was originally published in 144 volumes, including 16 volumes of Han Yu's works, 12 volumes of Liu Zongyuan's works, 32 volumes of Ouyang Xiu's works, 16 volumes of Wang Anshi's works, 10 volumes of Zeng Gong's works, 10 volumes of Su Xun's works, 28 volumes of Su Shi's works, and 20 volumes of Su Zhe's works. During the Ming Wanli era, Mao Kun's grandson re-edited and added 20 volumes of Mao Kun's annotated History of the Five Dynasties to Ouyang Xiu's works, resulting in the 164-volume edition now in common circulation. For this annotation, the 20 volumes of Luling History Anthology were extracted to restore the original structure and avoid the imbalance of uneven emphasis.