Chinese Classics: Timeless Literary Selections: Collected Ancient Chinese Prose (Full Two Volumes)

Author: Tan Guoqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-03-01
Features: This book is divided into two volumes, with its compilation originating from the Wen Xuan, a collection not seen before the Liang Dynasty. Emperor Xiaoming established a rigorous and precise system. By the time the Wen Yuan Ying Hua emerged during the Song Dynasty, it began to prioritize quantity over refinement, becoming disorganized and losing coherence. The works of Liu Zongyuan, Bai Juyi, Quan Deyou, Li Shangyin, Gu Yun, Luo Yin, and others were included in the entire collection. Yao Xian's Tang Wen Cu began to trim the excess, following the school of Mu Xiu and Liu Kai, while placing the works of Du Gu and Changzhou as the orthodox tradition. However, Gu Heng still had a gap in understanding Tuotuo. The Han and Xu clans, as well as the Four Masters of the Jin and Tang dynasties, still favored parallel prose, placing Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Li Shangyin, and Sun Chu in the Complete Tang Anthology, which clearly did not fit. Those who were not deeply versed in literature could not distinguish it.