Short Essays of the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Short Essays of the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Author: Wang Hong
Publisher: Paths International Ltd
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1844642348

The late Ming Dynasty (1572-1644) and the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1722) saw the true splendour of short essays in China. No other period in the history of short essays in ancient China can match them in the quality and number of works, literary schools, or the variety of styles. Compared with those written before or after, the short essays in these periods were richer in the choice of topics, and freer in form, focusing not only on real social life, but also on worldly experience and life's little delights. They are a rich and vital part of China's literary and cultural heritage.The 127 short essays in this wonderful book are considered to be the very best examples from an era of China's history that's synonymous with beautifully crafted short essays. 82 essays are from the Ming Dynasty and 45 essays are from the Qing Dynasty, written by more than a hundred different Chinese authors from both dynasties. These are arranged in the order of the authors' birth dates and tenderly translated into English by leading Chinese translators Wang Hong and Zhang Shunsheng, who have faithfully represented the styles and literary achievements made by the featured essayists. It's a wonderful book that will delight fans of classic Chinese short essays, as well as providing the perfect introduction to readers new to the genre.Professor Wang Hong is a prolific and accomplished translator of ancient Chinese classics. Many of his translations have been included in the Library of Chinese Classics, such as Mozi, Brush Talks from Dream Brook (also publishing by Paths International), The Discourses of the States and The Classic of Mountains of Seas.This is the first ever English language version of The Short Essays of the Ming and Qing Dynasties to be published either inside or outside of China.

The Literature and Cultural Ecology of Imperial Examinations in the Ming Dynasty

The Literature and Cultural Ecology of Imperial Examinations in the Ming Dynasty
Author: Wenxin Chen
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 437
Release: 2023-10-03
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 981994709X

The book examines the relationship between imperial examinations and literature from the perspective of restoring the cultural ecology of imperial examinations in Ming China, breaking through the paradigm of pure literature research. This book presents an important practice in adjusting the pattern of literary research. The contents of this book include five mutually independent but supportive parts: 1) the living conditions and careers of the literary attendants; 2) the educational background and school’s consciousness of the Ming literati; 3) top candidates and Ming literature; 4) genres of imperial examination and the Ming society; 5) exam cheating cases from the perspective of politics and literature. This book will appeal to readers interested in Chinese literature and culture and the imperial examination system in ancient China.

Narrating China

Narrating China
Author: Yiyan Wang
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2006
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9780415326759

Jia Pingwa's novels have caused both fame and controversy throughout the Chinese speaking world. This pioneering study examines the corpus of Pingwa's writings, emphasizing his importance, prominence and relevance to modern Chinese society.

Civil Examinations and Meritocracy in Late Imperial China

Civil Examinations and Meritocracy in Late Imperial China
Author: Benjamin A. Elman
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2013-11-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674726936

During China's late imperial period (roughly 1400-1900 CE), men would gather by the millions every two or three years outside official examination compounds sprinkled across China. Only one percent of candidates would complete the academic regimen that would earn them a post in the administrative bureaucracy. Civil Examinations assesses the role of education, examination, and China's civil service in fostering the world's first professional class based on demonstrated knowledge and skill. While millions of men dreamed of the worldly advancement an imperial education promised, many more wondered what went on inside the prestigious walled-off examination compounds. As Benjamin A. Elman reveals, what occurred was the weaving of a complex social web. Civil examinations had been instituted in China as early as the seventh century CE, but in the Ming and Qing eras they were the nexus linking the intellectual, political, and economic life of imperial China. Local elites and members of the court sought to influence how the government regulated the classical curriculum and selected civil officials. As a guarantor of educational merit, civil examinations served to tie the dynasty to the privileged gentry and literati classes--both ideologically and institutionally. China did away with its classical examination system in 1905. But this carefully balanced and constantly contested piece of social engineering, worked out over the course of centuries, was an early harbinger of the meritocratic regime of college boards and other entrance exams that undergirds higher education in much of the world today.

Lu Xun and Russia

Lu Xun and Russia
Author: Sun Yu
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2024-10-23
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1040126065

Based on Lu Xun's works and book collections, this book explores the significant influence of Russian literature, art, and thinking on Lu Xun's thoughts and works. Through the analysis of rich historical materials and literary texts, this book shows the profound influence of Russian literary and artistic resources on Chinese writers, especially on Lu Xun. It delves into Lu Xun's literary and translation concepts, as well as his intellectual and aesthetic views, all of which bear the imprint of Russian culture. The author closely examines notable themes in his works, including nationality, class, the avant-garde, and cosmopolitanism, which offer insight into his overarching historical vision and provide a glimpse into the era. Unlike previous studies of the influence of Russian literature, this book delves deeper into literary history by examining intellectual history without adhering to a pan-ideological point of view. Through the lens of cultural history, it also illuminates the cultural landscape of modern China, unraveling the intellectual ideas and debates of the twentieth century and the emergence of Chinese left-wing literature. The title will appeal to scholars, students, and general readers interested in Lu Xun studies, modern Chinese literature, and Chinese culture.

Assessing the English Language Writing of Chinese Learners of English

Assessing the English Language Writing of Chinese Learners of English
Author: Liz Hamp-Lyons
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2022-05-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030927628

This book focuses on the assessment of English language writing in China mainland, the territories of Hong Kong and Macau, and Taiwan. The first part of the book describes how writing in English has been assessed in Chinese contexts in the past 25 years, and how it continues to be assessed at present. The second part of the book presents reports of work such as formative classroom-based assessment, feedback-based or feedback-led approaches, learning-oriented assessment, portfolios, as well as the important issue of teacher professional development in writing assessment. This two-part division relates to and reflects what has been happening in writing assessment internationally, in the UK from the 1940s, and in the US in the past 25 years. The use of English for international business communication, for international political negotiations and its rapidly increasing use as a medium of instruction in some subject areas has led to a rapid increase in the numbers of Chinese L1 speakers who are learning and being assessed in English. This is often done with an emphasis on reading and writing. The vast majority of assessments of English language writing are done through large-scale direct testing that uses simple prompts/tasks and short writing samples. This book explores best practices in assessing the writing in English of native speakers of Chinese. Assessing the English Language Writing of Chinese Learners of English edited by long-time experts Liz Hamp-Lyons and Yan Jin clearly demonstrates the authors’ collective years of writing and teaching about writing assessment. The book’s 13 chapters, written by recognized experts in assessment of Chinese speakers learning English, represent a wide array of important topics written in reader friendly language and offering evidence for pedagogical practices as well as high-stakes testing of writing. Teachers, researchers, administrators of writing programs in China, and test developers who seek counsel about this population need look no further than to add Assessing the English Language Writing of Chinese Learners of English to their reading list. Deborah Crusan, Wright State University, USA

Recent Japanese Studies of Modern Chinese History: v. 2

Recent Japanese Studies of Modern Chinese History: v. 2
Author: Joshua A. Fogel
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 146
Release: 2019-07-25
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1315491710

Translations from Shigaku zassh (the oldest historical journal in Japan), 1983-86. Published simultaneously as v.22, no.1-2 of Chinese studies in history. No index. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

How to Read Chinese Prose in Chinese

How to Read Chinese Prose in Chinese
Author: Zong-qi Cai
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 415
Release: 2022-01-18
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 0231554788

This book is at once a guided introduction to Chinese nonfictional prose and an innovative textbook for the study of classical Chinese. It is a companion volume to How to Read Chinese Prose: A Guided Anthology, designed for Chinese-language learners. How to Read Chinese Prose in Chinese presents more than forty prose works, either excerpts or in full, from antiquity through the Qing dynasty. While teaching readers how to appreciate the rich tradition of Chinese prose in its original form, the book uses these texts to introduce classical Chinese to advanced learners, helping them develop reading comprehension and vocabulary. It offers a systematic guide to classical Chinese grammar and abundant notes on vocabulary, and features an extensive network of notes, exercises, and cross-references. The book includes modern translations of the forty prose works in simplified Chinese, presented alongside the original texts in traditional Chinese. It also includes expert commentaries on each text’s distinctive aesthetic qualities as well as historical and cultural contexts. The book comprises thirty-eight lessons within eight units, organized chronologically to reflect the emergence of major prose genres. It is a major contribution to the teaching and study of classical Chinese language and literature. Audio recordings of all forty texts are available online free of charge.

The Confusions of Pleasure

The Confusions of Pleasure
Author: Timothy Brook
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 348
Release: 1998-05-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 052092407X

The Ming dynasty was the last great Chinese dynasty before the Manchu conquest in 1644. During that time, China, not Europe, was the center of the world: the European voyages of exploration were searching not just for new lands but also for new trade routes to the Far East. In this book, Timothy Brook eloquently narrates the changing landscape of life over the three centuries of the Ming (1368-1644), when China was transformed from a closely administered agrarian realm into a place of commercial profits and intense competition for status. The Confusions of Pleasure marks a significant departure from the conventional ways in which Chinese history has been written. Rather than recounting the Ming dynasty in a series of political events and philosophical achievements, it narrates this longue durée in terms of the habits and strains of everyday life. Peppered with stories of real people and their negotiations of a rapidly changing world, this book provides a new way of seeing the Ming dynasty that not only contributes to the scholarly understanding of the period but also provides an entertaining and accessible introduction to Chinese history for anyone.

Fragmenting Modernisms

Fragmenting Modernisms
Author: Carolyn FitzGerald
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2013-07-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9004250999

In Fragmenting Modernisms, Carolyn FitzGerald traces the evolution of Chinese modernism during the War of Resistance against Japan (1937-45) and Chinese Civil War (1945-49) through a series of close readings of works of fiction, poetry, film, and visual art, produced in various locations throughout wartime China. Showing that the culture of this period was characterized by a high degree of formal looseness, she argues that such aesthetic fluidity was created in response to historical conditions of violence and widespread displacement. Moreover, she illustrates how the innovative formal experiments of uprooted writers and artists expanded the geographic and aesthetic boundaries of Chinese modernism far beyond the coastal cities of Shanghai and Beijing.