The corpus of pre-modern Chinese literature is vast, spanning many thousand years and many different eras and social contexts. Here, a selection of important works will be introduced. Note that the exact era when some of these books are written is disputed, so this list will not be completely accurate, but it nonetheless works as an overview of pre-modern literature.
The corpus of pre-modern Chinese literature is vast, spanning many thousand years and many different eras and social contexts. Here, a selection of important works will be introduced. Note that the exact era when some of these books are written is disputed, so this list will not be completely accurate, but it nonetheless works as an overview of pre-modern literature.
This period started once the Zhou dynasty ascended to power. It is called the western Zhou because back then, the capital was located in Changan (modern day Xian). This period saw the Zhou power gradually devolving into a series of hereditary fiefs. It ended once the Zhou court was forced to relocate eastwards.
Yijing - 易經: The Book of Changes constitutes a divination manual still in use to this day, both in Western and Eastern circles. Link.
Shijing - 詩經: The Book of Poetry is the oldest recorded compilation of Chinese poetry. Its rhyming schemes have been used to reconstruct Old Chinese phonology. Link.
This period is named after the Spring and Autumn annals. It is categorized by the authority of the king being completely disregarded by many states, who waged war against themselves. Confucius lived during this time period.
Shujing - 書經: The Book of Documents is traditionally attributed to Confucius, although this fact is disputed. It contains texts and speeches from different Zhou era rulers and officials. An extended copy of this text allegedly dug out from the wall in Confucius house was discovered and spread around for more than a millenia, until it was proven a forgery. Link.
This period saw seven warring states consolidate their hold over the country, and fight amongst themselves, the seven states being Qin (秦), Qi (齊/齐), Chu (楚), Yan (燕), Han (韓/韩), Zhao (趙/赵) and Wei (魏). Qin would come to unify the country, and establish the title of emperor, thus ending the Ancient history of China and starting the Imperial history.
Zhouli - 周禮: The rites of Zhou is one of the three ritual classics. It describes how to organize the bureaucracy of an state as well as organizational theory. Its first editor, Liu Xin, claimed the book was written by the duke of Zhou, however modern scholars do not believe this. Link.