Foreword
Overview of the Development of Chinese Ancient Literature
Historical Course of Chinese Ancient Literature
Main Characteristics of Chinese Ancient Literature
Model Essays
Prose of Various Pre-Qin Schools of Thought
Sima Qian and Records of the Grand Historian
Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties
Splendid Poetry
The Book of Songs: The First Collection of Poems
Qu Yuan: Romantic Lyric Poems
Tao Yuanming: A Hermit’s Pastoral Poems
Poet Immortal Li Bai
Poet Sage Du Fu
Bai Juyi and “New Yuefu”
Beautiful Ci Poetry
Su Shi: Creating a New State of Ci Poetry
Li Qingzhao and Graceful and Restrained Ci Poetry
Xin Qiji and Bold and Unconstrained Ci Poetry
Late Maturity of Drama
Great Yuan Drama Writer Guan Hanqing
Romance of the West Chamber, a Never-failing Drama
Tang Xianzu’s Drama Legends
Peak of Novels
Historical Novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Heroic Legend Water Margin
Gods and Demons Novel Journey to the West
Ghost Novel Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio
Masterpiece Dream of the Red Chamber
Overview of the Development of Chinese Modern and Contemporary Literature
Historical Course of Chinese Modern and Contemporary Literature
Main Characteristics of Chinese Modern and Contemporary Literature
Modern Novels: Echoes of the Times
Lu Xun: Founder of New Literature
Ba Jin and His “Torrents Trilogy”
Lao She and His Beijing Civil Society
Shen Congwen’s World of West Hunan
Eileen Chang’s Life Legends
Modern Poetry: Looking for Its Own Voice
Guo Moruo: Destruction and Creation
Xu Zhimo: Crescent Moon Poetry
Ai Qing: A Modern Poem Rooted in Earth
Mu Dan: Abundance and the Pain of Abundance
Modern Stage Plays: Transplantation and Development
Cao Yu: Born for Drama
Tian Han: Drama like Life
New Period – New Trends of Poetry
The Rise of “Obscure Poetry”
Bei Dao: A Rational Poet
Gu Cheng: A Fairy Tale Poet
Hai Zi: The Catcher in the Rye
New Period – Diversified Novels
Jia Pingwa and Root-seeking Novels
Yu Hua and Vanguard Novels
Su Tong and New Historical Novels
Mo Yan and Hallucinatory Realism
Concluding Remarks: New Trends of Literature in the New Century