Selected Works of Ancient Chinese Literature - (Volume 1 and Volume 2)

Author: Zhang Yanjin, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-08-01
Features: This book includes a total of 711 works, consisting of 557 poems, 93 essays, 37 novels, and 24 theatrical pieces. These works were written by each contributor. The term "teaching" refers to the four-year undergraduate program in Chinese Language and Literature at general universities. Today's Chinese Language and Literature departments have undergone significant changes compared to those before the 1980s. The most notable change is the addition of new courses, which has reduced the teaching hours for ancient Chinese literature. This is normal. With the development of the times, new disciplines have emerged, which are closely related to people's work and life, such as computer science. It is only natural to include them in the curriculum. Even within the internal structure of Chinese language, literature, and their theoretical systems, the knowledge framework has evolved. The teaching of ancient Chinese literature should adapt to these changes. Ancient Chinese literature has a long history and profound heritage, serving as an inexhaustible treasure trove for scholars across generations to explore. From the perspective of the discipline itself, the more works one reads and the more knowledge one acquires, the better. However, undergraduates have limited class hours and limited energy and spare time. Pouring too much knowledge on them may leave their minds overwhelmed, ultimately hindering their ability to understand and think creatively. Therefore, completeness and systematicity are not our primary goals. Instead, we focus more on the representativeness and uniqueness of the works, using them to help students recognize the qualities and characteristics of literature and literary styles, and to cultivate and inspire their aesthetic, interpretive, and critical thinking abilities, as well as to enhance their creative and associative thinking. They do not yet have a fixed income and cannot afford large-scale teaching materials. Due to various constraints, we believe that as a textbook, its length should be around one million words. Approximately half or two-thirds of the chapters are intended for classroom instruction, while the remaining one-third or even half are reserved for student self-study and as examples for teaching literary history. Without cultivating and training students' self-study abilities, educational objectives cannot be achieved. We hope to strengthen students' close reading of classic works in undergraduate teaching, not just to understand them superficially, but to delve deeper into their essence, rather than merely skimming or reading them generally.