Unit 4 - Chinese Literature

UNIT 4: CHINESE LITERATURE
General Background
I.
Basic Characteristics
a. world’s oldest surviving civilization
b. government organized into pyramid-shaped hierarchy
i. all-powerful emperor
1. hereditary ruler
2. eldest son of imperial family
ii. national officials
iii. regional officials
iv. local officials
c. believed that heaven granted each dynastic ruler a mandate, or right to rule
d. service in government considered the highest career
e. civil service exams…
i. test knowledge of philosophy and poetry
ii. require the composition of verse
Philosophical Schools
II.
Taoism
a. founded during the Chou dynasty (1122-256 B.C.)
b. represented by Lao Tzu
i. name means “Old Master” or “Ancient One”
ii. probably lived during the 6th century B.C.
c. primary text > Tao Te Ching (The Way and its Power)
i. consists of 5000 words
ii. partly in verse and partly in prose
iii. ideas frequently contradict logic
d. early Taoists believed that…
i. the Tao was the force that controlled the universe
ii. people could see the workings of the Tao by observing nature
iii. life is a mystery that cannot be understood by conventional means
e. primary concern > understanding the way of the universe and using this for self-preservation
f. basic characteristics
i. stresses freedom from desires
ii. stresses simplicity in all aspects of life
iii. stresses mystical contemplation of nature
III.
Confucianism
a. founded during the Chou dynasty (1122-256 B.C.)
b. represented by Confucius (551-479 B.C.)
i. considered himself a transmitter of ancient truths
c. primary text > The Analects
i. collected sayings of Confucius
ii. compiled by his disciples, primarily Meng-tzu and Hsun Tzu, after his death
d. primary concern > the moral nature of social relationships
e. all people must be governed by the concept of benevolence (ren)
f. basic characteristics
i. concerned with moral behavior, duty, and education
ii. social relations based on a system of subordination
iii. stresses discipline
iv. stresses respect for authority
v. stresses self-improvement
vi. teaches that people should strive to serve society
vii. teaches that people should honor people of worth
viii. do not believe in reincarnation
IV.
Buddhism
a. introduced from India during the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220)
b. represented by Siddhartha Gautama (circa 563-483 B.C.)
i. regarded at the Supreme Buddha (“Awakened One” or “Enlightened One”)
c. basic characteristics
i. teaches that life on earth is filled with suffering and is characterized by emptiness and
illusion
ii. stresses the need to eliminate desires through self-discipline, meditation, and moral
conduct in order to overcome suffering
iii. believe in reincarnation
V.
Neo-Confucianism
a. founded during the Sung dynasty (960-1279)
b. blending of Confucian and Buddhist ideas
c. reaction against Buddhist ideas creeping into Chinese culture
d. seek enlightenment through combination of meditation and moral action
Chinese Poetry
VI.
The Book of Songs (Shih Ching)
a. compiled during the 6th century B.C.
b. contains 305 poems (see pages 280-281 in text for examples)
c. many of the poems were originally folk songs
d. various themes > love, war, farming, fishing
e. associated with Confucius
VII.
The Shih Form
a. dominant poetic form from the 2nd through the 12th centuries
b. in classical Chinese, each line has the same number of syllables, words, and characters
c. lines generally have 5 or 7 words
d. rhymes occur at the ends of even-numbered lines
e. frequently uses parallelism (couplets that are similar in structure and meaning)
i. enhances the rhythm
ii. emphasizes key ideas
VIII.
T’ao Ch’ien (365-427)
a. lived and wrote after the collapse of the Han dynasty
b. early master of the shih form
c. inspired by life in the countryside
d. favorite activities > farming, spending time with family, writing poetry
e. language > simple, direct, unpretentious
f. very few literary and historical allusions
g. poetry partly reflects the influence of Taoism
i. advocacy of seclusion and quiet reflection
ii. deep appreciation for nature
h. poetry partly reflects the influence of Confucianism
i. emphasis on duty
ii. emphasis on devotion to family
IX.
Li Po (701-762)
a. lived during the T’ang dynasty
b. style > free-spirited, graceful, lyrical
c. themes > love of freedom, harmony with nature
X.
Tu Fu (712-770)
a. lived during the T’ang Dynasty
b. regarded as a craftsman > his poems are admired for their form as much as for their content
c. employs the new style shih > stricter rules about length and form
d. topics > personal experiences and social issues
Vocabulary List
1. manifestations (265, 266)
2. contention (265, 266)
3. calamity (265, 267)
4. submissive (265, 267)
5. homage (265, 269)
6. chastisements (265, 269)
7. ritual (265, 269)
8. squander (275)
9. fasting (275)
10. meter (276)
11. alliteration (277)
12. consonance (277)
13. assonance (277)
14. onomatopoeia (277)
15. oxymoron (277)
16. eddies (279, 286)
17. scurry (279, 289)
18. pathos (279, 289)
19. imperceptibly (279, 289)
20. tone (291)
Study Questions
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Section I
1. To what do the “nameless” and the “named” refer (lines 5-6)?
2. How does Lao Tzu propose that one can understand cause and effect in the universe?
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Section III
3. What type of government does Lao Tzu support?
4. What does Lao Tzu suggest about desire in this section?
5. Where does Lao Tzu stand on education? Why?
6. What exactly does Lao Tzu mean by “taking no action”?
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Section IX
7. What kind of behavior does Lao Tzu advocate in this section?
8. What does Lao Tzu say about wealth? How does this message relate to his earlier statements about
desire?
9. What kind of behavior does Lao Tzu discourage when he says that one should “retire” when “the task is
accomplished” (lines 9-10)?
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Section XLIII
10. What kind of behavior does Lao Tzu advocate in this section?
Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, General Questions
11. How does Lao Tzu manage to capture the elusive and mysterious nature of the Tao?
12. How might Lao Tzu view the current Chinese government?
13. How would Lao Tzu’s values contrast with the dominant values of American society?
14. Summarize the three main beliefs, or themes, expressed in these four sections of the Tao.
Confucius, The Analects
1. Explain: “In the presence of a bad man, turn your gaze within.”
2. Explain: “A gentleman is ashamed to let his words outrun his deeds.”
3. Explain: “He who will not worry about what is far off will soon find something worse than worry close
at hand.”
4. What do the passages suggest about Confucian beliefs concerning rulers?
5. What do these passages suggest about how young people should treat their parents?
6. What do these passages suggest about the Confucian attitude concerning education?
T’ao Ch’ien, “Form, Shadow, Spirit”
1. How would a person who chose to stress Form live his life?
2. How would a person who chose to stress Shadow live his life?
3. How would a person who chose to stress Spirit live his life?
4. What does the opening stanza reveal about the poet’s attitude concerning Form, Shadow, and Spirit?
5. What advice does Spirit offer to Form and Shadow?
6. What is the theme of the poem?
7. What is the purpose of structuring the poem as a conversation between three people?
T’ao Ch’ien, “I Built My House Near Where Others Dwell”
1. How is it that the speaker lives near people but does not hear the “clamor of carriages and horses”?
2. If the speaker wanted to be away from the “clamor of carriages and horses,” then why did he build his
house “near where others dwell”?
3. Explain the meaning of the final two lines.
Li Po, “The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter”
1. What evidence is there in the poem that the marriage had been arranged?
2. What is the speaker’s attitude toward the river merchant when she first marries him?
3. How do her feelings about him change as she grows old?
4. How do the natural images in the fourth stanza echo the speaker’s feelings?
5. Why do the butterflies “hurt” the speaker?
6. Why are neither of the characters in the poem given specific names?
Tu Fu, “Jade Flower Palace”
1. How would you describe the overall mood, or atmosphere, of the poem?
2. How does the image of the storm scattering leaves relate to the description of the decaying palace?
3. How do the last six lines relate to the rest of the poem?
4. What is the theme of the poem? How is it conveyed?

Download Report