Chinese Civilization
China during the Tang dynasty was a period of beauty and regality among the Chinese citizenry. One of the art forms which took on new importance during the era was in writing. Literature both in the form of stories and poetry became artistic and beautiful. Those who could write best were elevated themselves to the pantheon of artists. This attitude about the importance of writing is visible in some of the stories of the ear. In the tale "Yingying's Story," the main character of Zhang finds himself completely enamored of a young seventeen-year-old girl. The only way that he is able to woo her is through his writing and in turn she is unwilling to show him her own writings for fear of how he will perceive her.
Zhang declares that he is physically unable to stand the three-month long wait it would take for a proper engagement and a marriage ceremony between the two to take poetry which she at first decries as lecherous and encouraging molestation rather than love. Her initial poem back is a trick which was designed to get him to her home so she could berate his language. However, the words of love finally breach her sense of purity and she comes to Zhang. The two become lovers for a series of months and he continues to keep her interest through his writings, but she never shows him any of her own. The only time the reader sees Yingying's writing is when she sends a letter to Zhang thanking him for his gifts and telling him how she misses him and how she wants him with her.
Zhang, rather than keep such private papers to himself, shows all his friends the letter of love which Yingying had sent him. In turn, the friends composed various poems which were about the affair and about the beauty of this young girl. Yuan Zhen writes, "Zhang showed her letter to his friends,…
Chinese Civilization Prompt 1: Pick two passages about education and explain what makes them "Confucian" or "Neo-Confucian." Zhu Xia's Neo-Confucianism Program which is labeled "Preface to the Family Rituals" both exhibit the qualities that are found in the writings and teachings of Confucius. Confucianism is the philosophical and ethical system of belief based upon the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius which is then applied to daily life, including education and religion.
Chinese Religious & Philosophical Leaders Confucius Confucius sought for himself and his disciples to become a superior man. This perhaps his most outstanding attribute -- a continuous striving for a perpetually unattainable perfection. Although this construct refers to superiority as measured against a man's peers, it is more focused on becoming superior to one's own self both in the present and in measure of the past. Striving for perfection, or a "perfect
Poetry and Politics in 1079: The Crow Terrace Poetry Case of SU Shih Charles Hartman in his article on the political fallout of the poetry of SU Shih acknowledges that all societies practice censorship in some degree and in some form. Western society has a history of confiscating, banning, destroying, controlling the distribution and punishing authors and individuals for the creation and possession of written texts that are deemed morally or
Chinese History The Shang dynasty marked one of the earliest recorded periods of history in ancient China, for which substantial archeological evidence exists. Although Chinese culture did not necessarily flourish during the Shang, a system of writing was first developed, its characters etched on the so-called oracle bones. The Shang dynasty was a bronze-based society that extended from 1700 to 1027 BCE. The form of government practiced during the Shang was
Chinese as the native language and culture to research. Include such information as the need to communicate, social organisation (tribes, cities, etc.) contacts with other cultures, development of a written language, nonverbal aspects of language (such as inflection and body language), changes over the centuries, etc. Chinese culture and language Chinese cultural values play an important role in shaping the community's social norms, with the majority of individuals in China being
Chinese Art By the fifth millennium BCE, China had developed the basic elements that were to identify it as a civilization, such as social structure, agricultural skills and the domestication of animals (Schmidt pp). It was also developing concepts related to the order of the natural environment, to life, death, and life after death (Schmidt pp). China's cultural identity, as it is known today, can be traced to the endeavors of
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now