Top 10 Literature in Ancient China

Chinese classics are profound, profound and have a long history. They are a shining wonder of world culture. Which classics have you read? What do you know about the famous works of Chinese classical literature? The editor has compiled the top ten Chinese classical literary masterpieces for everyone, including: Dream of Red Mansions, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West, The Analects of Confucius, Sun Tzu’s Art of War, etc. I believe that these Chinese literary masterpieces are familiar to everyone. Which ones have you read? ?

1. “A Dream of Red Mansions”红楼梦

“Dream of Red Mansions” is a world-influential human romance novel, universally recognized as the pinnacle of Chinese classical novels, an encyclopedia of Chinese feudal society, and a master of traditional culture. The novel insists on “the main theme talks about love and records the actual events”. It only follows its own circumstances and circumstances, follows the traces, gets rid of the old stereotypes, is fresh and unique, and achieves extraordinary artistic achievements. The special writing style of “the true story is concealed and lies are told” opened the minds of later generations of readers and led to more speculations over time. Around the study of reading and reading of “Dream of Red Mansions”, a prominent science – Redology has been formed. The book has sold more than 100 million copies, which is also an estimate.

2. “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”三国演义

“The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” is one of the four classic Chinese classics. It is China’s first chapter-length historical romance novel. Its full name is “The Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. The author is Luo Guanzhong, a famous novelist in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. It describes the historical events of nearly a hundred years from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the early years of the Western Jin Dynasty. It mainly describes wars and tells the story of the war between the heroes in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the political and military struggles among the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu, and the final unification of Sima Yan. The Three Kingdoms, the story of the establishment of the Jin Dynasty. It reflects the transformation of various social struggles and contradictions in the Three Kingdoms era, summarizes the great historical changes of this era, and creates a group of all-powerful heroes of the Three Kingdoms.

3. “Water Margin”水浒传

“Water Margin” is one of the earliest chapter novels written in vernacular Chinese in Chinese history, and it is also one of the most epic works in Chinese literature. Early versions are divided into “traditional version” and “simplified version”, and the “traditional version” is divided into three systems: 70-chapter version, 100-chapter version and 120-chapter version. Among them, the 100-chapter version is the oldest. The 100-volume version of Rong Yutang’s “Water Margin Criticized by Mr. Li Zhuowu on Loyalty and Righteousness” has a detailed narrative and complete content. It is the earliest extant traditional version among the 100-chapter editions. The preface by Yang Dingjian and the engraving of “Water Margin” by Yuan Wuya are the books. The most complete 120-chapter edition among many editions. “Water Margin” has been widely circulated and popular, and has had a profound impact on narrative literature in China and even East Asia.

4. “Journey to the West”西游记

“Journey to the West” is the first romantic chapter-length novel about gods and demons in ancient China. None of the 100-chapter editions of “Journey to the West” published in the Ming Dynasty are signed by the author. Qing Dynasty scholar Wu Yuqi and others first proposed that the author of “Journey to the West” was Wu Cheng’en of the Ming Dynasty. This novel is based on the historical event of “Tang Monk’s Study for Buddhist Scriptures”. Through the author’s artistic processing, it profoundly depicts the social reality at that time. The whole book mainly describes that after Sun Wukong was born and caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, he met Tang Monk, Zhu Bajie and Sha Monk, traveled to the west to obtain Buddhist scriptures, and subdued demons along the way. After experiencing ninety-nine and eighty-one difficulties, he finally reached the Western Heaven and met the Tathagata Buddha. The story of the saint’s coming true.

5. “The Analects”论语

The Analects of Confucius was compiled by Confucius’s disciples and his disciples, and was completed in the early Warring States period. It mainly records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples, which reflects Confucius’s thoughts more concentratedly. It is one of the classic works of the Confucian school. It is mainly composed of quotations and supplemented by narratives, which embodies Confucius’ political opinions, ethical thoughts, moral concepts and educational principles. The book has a total of 20 chapters and 492 articles, the first of its kind in the “quotation style”. It is one of the ancient works spread and studied in China. “The Analects” had three versions in ancient times, including “Gu Lun”, “Lun of Lu” and “Lun of Qi”. The current Analects of Confucius is a version compiled from Lu Lun and Gu Lun, while Qi Lun was lost during the Han and Wei dynasties.

6. “The Art of War”孙子兵法

“Sun Tzu’s Art of War”, also known as “Sun Tzu’s Art of War”, “Wu Sun Tzu’s Art of War”, “Sun Tzu’s Art of War”, “Sun Tzu’s Art of War”, etc., is the earliest extant military book in China and the earliest military work in the world. It is known as the “Holy Book of Military Science” “. There are about 6,000 words in total, and there are thirteen articles in total. “The Art of War” is a brilliant treasure in ancient China’s military cultural heritage and an important part of excellent traditional culture. Its content is extensive and profound, its thoughts are profound and rich, and its logic is meticulous and rigorous. It is a concentrated expression of the essence of ancient military thought. The author is Sun Wu, a general of Wu State whose ancestral home is Le’an, Qi State in the Spring and Autumn Period. It has a history of 2,500 years since its birth, and has been studied throughout the ages. Li Shimin said, “Looking at all the military books, there is no one like Sun Wu.” The bamboo slips of “Sun Tzu’s Art of War” were unearthed in Linyi in 1972.

7. “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio”聊斋志异

“Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio”, referred to as “Liao Zhai” and commonly known as “The Legend of the Ghost Fox”, is a collection of classical Chinese short stories written by Pu Songling, a famous novelist in the Qing Dynasty of China. “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio” means recording strange stories in the study. “Liao Zhai” is the name of his study, “Zhi” means recording, and “Yi” means strange stories. There are 491 short stories in the book. They either expose the darkness of feudal rule, criticize the corruption of the imperial examination system, or resist the shackles of feudal ethics. They have rich and profound ideological content. There are the largest number of works describing the theme of love in the whole book, and they express a strong anti-feudal etiquette spirit. Some of these works express the author’s ideal love through the love between flower demons and foxes.

8. “The Appearance of Officialdom”官场现形记

“The Appearance of Officialdom” is a novel written by Li Boyuan, a writer in the late Qing Dynasty. The novel was first serialized in the “World Prosperity News” published by Chen, with a total of 60 chapters in five volumes. It is the first long chapter novel serialized in a newspaper in modern China and achieved social sensation. It is connected by more than 30 relatively independent officialdom stories, involving the Qing government from the emperor down to miscellaneous minor officials, etc., creating a trend of modern novels criticizing reality. In 1998, Hong Kong’s “Asia Weekly” selected the 100 outstanding literary works of the 20th century, and “The Revelation of Officialdom” ranked among the top 10. In 1999, the People’s Literature Publishing House selected the 100 outstanding novels of the 20th century, and “The Appearance of Officialdom” was ranked first on the list.

9. “Notes of Yuewei Cottage”阅微草堂笔记

“Yuewei Caotang Notes”, formerly known as “Yuewei Notes”, was compiled in the form of notes between the fifty-fourth year of Qianlong (1789) and the third year of Jiaqing (1798) by Ji Yun, who was a scholar in the Hanlin Academy of the Qing Dynasty. Short stories in classical Chinese. In terms of time, “Yuewei Thatched Cottage Notes” mainly collects and compiles various folk tales about foxes, ghosts and gods, karma and retribution, admonishing good and punishing evil, etc. that were circulated around the time, or strange anecdotes heard personally; in space Geographically, it covers the whole of China, as far away as Urumqi, Yining, Yunnan and Guizhou.

10. “Three Kingdoms”三国志

“Three Kingdoms” was written by Chen Shou, a historian in the Western Jin Dynasty. It records the chronological history of China’s Three Kingdoms period. It is also one of the most highly rated “first four histories” among the Twenty-Four Histories. At that time, Wei and Wu had already had histories, such as Wang Shen’s “Wei Shu” compiled by the official, Yu Guan’s “Wei Lue” privately written by Yu Guan, and Wei Zhao’s “Wu Shu” compiled by the official. These three books should be the basic basis for Chen Shou’s basis. Material. There was no official historian in Shu State, so they collected it on their own and only got fifteen volumes. The final book, however, included elements of the historian’s position. Therefore, “Three Kingdoms” is the product of cultural reintegration after the separation of the Three Kingdoms. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms was first circulated separately in three books: “Book of Wei”, “Book of Shu” and “Book of Wu”. It was not until the sixth year of Xianping in the Northern Song Dynasty (1003) that the three books were combined into one book.