A Quick Guide to Chinese Culture (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Feng Guochao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This book aims to deeply explore the rich connotations of Chinese culture through concise formats, refined text, innovative layouts, and exquisite illustrations. By integrating various elements, it presents Chinese culture's profound depth in a comprehensive and three-dimensional manner across sixteen aspects, including philosophy and culture, literature, religion, Chinese characters, architecture, science and technology, painting, sculpture, calligraphy and seal carving, clothing, arts and crafts, music and dance, sports and games, drama and quyi, food culture, and folk customs. This allows readers to acquire knowledge effortlessly within a limited time while broadening their cultural perspectives, aesthetic experiences, imaginative insights, and joyful engagement.
1. Yuan Dynasty Ci Poetry
Yuan Dynasty Ci poetry inherited the legacy of the Southern and Northern Song dynasties, though it could not continue its prosperity, it still produced many talented poets. Yuan Dynasty Ci poetry can be divided into two periods: The first period includes the works of poets born before the unification of the Yuan Dynasty under Mongol rule; the second period includes the works of poets born after the unification until the fall of the Yuan Dynasty. The poets of the first period mainly consist of three groups: those who moved from the Southern Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, those who moved from the Jin Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, and those who lived in northern China under Mongol rule. Most of these poets had experienced the fall of their homeland and wars, so the most valuable part of their works is the Ci poetry that expresses the sorrow of missing their homeland, as in the "Sorrow of the Barley Fields." Poets from the Southern Song Dynasty who moved to the Yuan Dynasty, such as Zhao Mengfu, Cao Boyiqi, Yao Yunwen, and Liu Hao, Lu Wengui, all expressed their longing for their homeland and the pain of family disintegration. Poets who moved from the Jin Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, such as Yuan Haowen, Duan Keli, Bai Pu, etc., generally fell into the category of "Lamenting the Passage of Time." Among them, the most accomplished poets of this period were Yuan Haowen, Zhao Mengfu, and Lu Wengui. The main writers of the second period of Yuan Dynasty Ci poetry include Yu Ji, Wang Xu, Zhang Yu, and Zhang Zhu. Their works mainly discuss the choices of action or retreat, admiring a semi-reclusive and semi-material life, and expressing dissatisfaction with reality. Among them, the most renowned poet is Zhang Zhu, whose works like "Rui Long Yin," "Shui Long Yin," and "Jie Lian" are characterized by subtle imagery and delicate descriptions.
2. Yuan Dynasty Drama, Quyi, and Nanxi
A new genre emerged in Yuan Dynasty literature—drama, which is generally divided into zaju (Yuan Dynasty opera) and quyi (quyi songs). Yuan Dynasty quyi developed from northern folk songs during the Jin Dynasty, with most being northern quyi. Early quyi writers included Guan Hanqing, Ma Zhiyuan, Bai Pu, Lu Zhi, and Guan Yunshi, with a simple style; later writers included Qiao Ji, Zhang Kexiu, Ju Jingchen, and Zhang Yanghao, whose works showed more talent and elegant wording. Quyi included many lyrical songs for banquets and courtesans, as well as many short pieces depicting landscapes, emotions, nostalgia, and reflections on the world, as well as a few satirical quyi, such as Ma Zhiyuan's "Borrowing a Horse" and Ju Jingchen's "The Emperor Returning to His Homeland." Yuan zaju was developed based on earlier theatrical forms such as Song Dynasty zaju, Jin Dynasty yuanben, and zhuguantiao. Zaju had a novel artistic form and reflected the characteristics of the era, mainly including themes of merchants and courtesans, upright officials and legal dramas, historical stories, Water Margin tales, and recluses. Among them, the images of merchants and courtesans are particularly striking. The Yuan Empire spanned Europe and Asia, with highly developed commerce, and merchants often made their fortunes through trade. Courtesans were a byproduct of urban societal abnormalities in the Yuan Dynasty and were often portrayed as having strong struggles in plays. Famous zaju include Guan Hanqing's "The Injustice of Dou E," "Saving the Windblown Dust," and "The Pavilion by the River." Guan Hanqing, Bai Pu, Ma Zhiyuan, and Zheng Guangzu were later called the "Four Great Masters of Yuan Quyi." In addition to zaju, there were also Nanxi (southern drama) in southern China, also known as Nanxi. The four great masterpieces of Nanxi are "The Jade Hairpin," "The Moon Worshiping Pavilion," "The White Rabbit," and "The Dog Killing." Gao Ming's "The Pipa" during the reign of Yuan Shundi marked the peak of Nanxi development.
3. Great Seal Script
Great Seal Script, also known as Zhu Wen, is said to have been created by Zhu Zhu, the Grand Historian of King Xuan of Zhou. It became popular in the Qin Dynasty and other regions during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Great Seal Script was mainly written on wooden tablets, bamboo slips, or silk, and was fixed