Zhang Longxi, an internationally renowned scholar of Chinese and comparative literature, is your guide to the three-millennia-long history of Chinese literature from the remote antiquity of oracle bones to contemporary works.

Professor Zhang charts the development of the major literary forms in Chinese, including poetry, prose, song lyrics, and plays, and introduces the most famous poets and writers and their representative texts. Taking a period-based approach through the major dynasties, he places these forms, texts, and authors within their historical contexts and tells the fascinating story of Chinese literature with copious examples in English translation. He writes in a clear and accessible style and assumes no prior knowledge of Chinese history or Chinese literature.

This book is an ideal introduction for students and the general readers who want to get a broad but thorough overview of Chinese literature in all its richness and diversity.

About the Author

Zhang Longxi, PhD Harvard, is Chair Professor of Comparative Literature and Translation at the City University of Hong Kong. He is a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities and of Academia Europaea, and was President of the International Comparative Literature Association for 2016-2019. He serves as an Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of World Literature and an Advisory Editor of New Literary History. He is the author of more than 20 books in English and Chinese and numerous articles on Chinese literature and East-West comparative literature.

Reviews

"In this game-changing tome, Professor Zhang traces those topics that mattered most to poets, writers, and readers in China from ancient through modern times, including love, social justice, the challenges of life and "the natural," among others. In lucid prose he furnishes easy access to the masters, schools, and debates that every literary scholar of China needs to know, so not only students, but specialists alike will find themselves perusing this book again and again."---Professor Martin Powers, Professor Emeritus in the History of Art, formerly Sally Michelson Davidson Professor of Chinese Arts and Culture at the University of Michigan

Book Information
ISBN 9780367758288
Author Zhang Longxi
Format Paperback
Page Count 422
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 640g