1st Edition
Routledge Handbook of Traditional Chinese Literature
This Handbook presents a comprehensive overview of 3,000 years of Chinese literature from its earliest beginnings to the end of the Qing (1644–1911), the last empire of China.
With a focus on well-known authors and masterpieces in each important genre, this volume covers verses, prose, drama, and fiction arranged in the following thematic groupings:
- Pre-Qin and Han poetry, poetry of the Six Dynasties, poetry of the Tang, poetry of the Song, and lyrics of the Song
- Prose of historians, prose of philosophers, and literati prose
- Tragedy and romance in Yuan drama, southern plays of ethics, and chuanqi plays of the Ming and the Qing
- Classical-language tales, vernacular short stories, heroic romances, novels of spirits and devils, novels of manners and satire, and novels of social exposure and prostitution
Featuring both introductions and in-depth analyses, this Handbook incorporates the most recent scholarly works for each entry and also facilitates future research by providing further readings.
Authored by a stellar line-up of experts in the field of Chinese literature, this is an essential reference guide for all students and scholars in the fields of Chinese literature and culture.
Part 1: Poetry
Section 1: Pre-Qin and Han Poetry
1. The Classic of Poetry
Zhi Chen and Qianmeng Guo
2. Qu Yuan and the Songs of Chu
Trever McKay
3. Poetry of the Han
Robert Cutter
Section 2: Poetry of the Six Dynasties
4. Poetry of the Wei and Jin
Robert Cutter
5. Tao Yuanming
Pauline Lin
6. Xie Lingyun and Xie Tiao
Cynthia Chennault
Section 3: Poetry of High Tang: A
7. Landscape Poets: Meng Haoran and Wang Wei
Thomas Donnelly Noel
8. Frontier Poets: Gao Shi, Cen Shen, and Others
Lucas Bender
9. Chan Poetry of Hanshan
Chi-Chiang Huang
Section 4: Poetry of High Tang: B
10. Li Bai: The Poet-Transcendent
Timothy W. K. Chan
11. Du Fu: The Poet-Historian
Lucas Bender
12. Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen
Mei Ah Tan
Section 5: Poetry of Late Tang
13. Li He
Lucas Klein and Kexin Tang
14. Du Mu
Ji Hao
15. Li Shangyin
Zhenjun Zhang
16. Wen Tingyun
Thomas Mazanec
Section 6: Poetry of the Song
17. Lu You
Wanmeng Li
18. Yang Wanli’s “Zhengzhai Style” Poetry
Li E
19. Li and Chan in Zhu Xi’s Poetry
Wenli Zhang
Section 7: Lyrics of the Song
20. Liu Yong, Qin Guan and Zhou Bangyan
Amelia Ying Qin
21. Li Qingzhao
Xiaorong Li
22. Su Shi
Alice W. Cheang
23. Xin Qiji
Chi-chiang Huang
Part 2: Prose
Section 8: Prose of Historians
24. Zuo Commentary
Trever McKay
25. Discourse of States and Stratagems of the Warring States
Weiguo Cao
26. The Grand Scribe’s Records
William H. Nienhauser
Section 9: Prose of Philosophers
27. Analects and Mencius
Trever McKay
28. Laozi and Zhuangzi
Richard Lynn
29. Mozi and Han Feizi
Eirik Harris
Section 10: Prose of Literati
30. Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan
Xin Zou
31. Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi
Ronald Egan
32. Yuan Hongdao and Zhang Dai
Yang Ye
Part 3: Drama
Section 11: Tragedy and Romance in Yuan Drama
33. Guan Hanqing and His Injustice to Dou E
Hongchu Fu
34. Autumn of the Han Palace and Rain on the Wutong Trees
Li-ling Hsiao
35. The Orphan of Zhao
Maria Sibau
36. Romance of the Western Chamber
Ying Wang
Section 12: Southern Plays of Ethics
37. Top Graduate Zhang Xie
Regina Llamas
38. The Thorn Hairpin
Patricia Sieber
39. The Lute
Patricia Sieber
Section 13: Chuanqi Plays of the Ming and Qing
40. The Peony Pavilion
Liana Chen
41. The Palace of Lasting Life
Jessica Moyer & Guojun Wang
42. The Peach Blossom Fan
Jing Shen
Part 4: Fiction
Section 14: Classical-Language Tales
43. Strange Tales and Anecdotal Stories of the Six Dynasties
Zhenjun Zhang and Nanxiu Qian
44. Tales of the Tang, Song, and Ming
Jing Wang and Zhenjun Zhang
45. Strange Tales from Liaozhai
Rania Huntington
Section 15: Vernacular Stories
46. Storytelling of the Song and the Yuan
Xiaosu Sun
47. Feng Menglong and His “Three Words”
Maria Sibau
48. Ling Mengchu and His “Two Slappings”
Zhenjun Zhang
Section 16: The Heroic Romance
49. Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Kimberly Besio
50. The Water Margin
Scott Gregory
51. Romance of the Sui and the Tang
Robert Hegel
Section 17: Novels of Spirits and Devils
52. Journey to the West
Richard G. Wang
53. Canonization of the Gods
Mark Meulenbeld
Section 18: Novels of Manners and Social Satire
54. The Plum in the Golden Vase
Andrew Schonebaum
55. The Story of the Stone
Martin Huang
56. The Scholars
David Rolston
Section 19: Novels of Social Exposure and Prostitution
57. The Travels of Lao Can and Exposure of the World of Officials
Ying Zou
58. A Precious Mirror for Judging Flowers
Ying Wang
Biography
Victor H. Mair is Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Zhenjun Zhang is Professor of Chinese and Coordinator of Asian Studies at St. Lawrence University, USA.
