Prolegomenon
Preface
Map of China
Introduction: The Origins and Impact of Literati Culture
1. Foundations
Language and Script, by Victor H. Mair
Myth, by Anne Birrell
Philosophy and Literature in Early China, by Michael Puett
The Thirteen Classics, by Paul Rakita Goldin
Shih-ching Poetry and Didacticism in Ancient Chinese Literature, by Jeffrey Riegel
The Supernatural, by Rania Huntington
Wit and Humor, by Karin Myhre
Proverbs, by John S. Rohsenow
Buddhist Literature, by Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer and Victor H. Mair
Taoist Heritage, by Judith Boltz
Women in Literature, by Anne Birrell
2. Poetry
Sao, fu, Parallel Prose, and Related Genres, by Christopher Leigh Connery
Poetry from 200 b.c.e. to 600 c.e., by Robert Joe Cutter
Poetry of the T'ang Dynasty, by Paul W. Kroll
Tz'u, by Stuart Sargent
Sung Dynasty shih Poetry, by Michael A. Fuller
Yan san-ch, by Wayne Schlepp
Mongol-Yuan Classical Verse (shih), by Richard John Lynn
Poetry of the Fourteenth Century, by John Timothy Wixted
Poetry of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, by Daniel Bryant
Poetry of the Seventeenth Century, by Richard John Lynn
Poetry of the Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries, by Daniel Bryant
Ch'ing Lyric, by David McCraw
Modern Poetry, by Michelle Yeh
Poetry and Painting, by Charles Hartman
3. Prose
The Literary Features of Historical Writing, by Stephen Durrant
Early Biography, by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.
Expository Prose, by Ronald Egan
Records of Anomalies, by Ying Hu
Travel Literature, by James Hargett
Sketches, by James Hargett
Twentieth-Century Prose, by Philip F. C. Williams
4. Fiction
T-ang Tales, by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.
Vernacular Stories, by Yenna Wu
Full-Length Vernacular Fiction, by Wai-yee Li
Traditional Vernacular Novels: Some Lesser-Known Works, by Daria Berg
The Later Classical Tale, by Allan H. Barr
End of the Empire to the Beginning of the Republic (1897-1916), by Milena Doleelov-Velingerov
Twentieth-Century Fiction, by Philip F. C. Williams
China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan during the 1980s and 1990s, by Helmut Martin
5. Drama
Traditional Dramatic Literature, by Wilt L. Idema
Twentieth-Century Spoken Drama, by Xiaomei Chen
6. Commentary, Criticism, and Interpretation
The Rhetoric of Premodern Prose Style, by Christoph Harbsmeier
Classical Exegesis, by Haun Saussy
Literary Theory and Criticism, by Dore J. Levy
Traditional Fiction Commentary, by David L. Rolston
7. Popular and Peripheral Manifestations
Balladry and Popular Song, by Anne Birrell
Tun-huang Literature, by Neil Schmid
The Oral-Formulaic Tradition, by Anne E. McLaren
Regional Literatures, by Mark Bender
Ethnic Minority Literature, by Mark Bender
The Translator's Turn: The Birth of Modern Chinese Language and Fiction, by Lydia H. Liu
The Reception of Chinese Literature in Korea, by Emanuel Pastreich
The Reception of Chinese Literature in Japan, by Emanuel Pastreich
The Reception of Chinese Literature in Vietnam, by Emanuel Pastreich
Chart of the Chinese Dynasties
Romanization Conversion Chart from Wade-Giles to Pinyin
Glossary

The Columbia History of Chinese Literature is a comprehensive yet portable guide to China's vast literary traditions. Stretching from earliest times to the present, the text features original contributions by leading specialists working in all genres and periods. Chapters cover poetry, prose, fiction, and drama, and consider such contextual subjects as popular culture, the impact of religion, the role of women, and China's relationship with non-Sinitic languages and peoples. Opening with a major section on the linguistic and intellectual foundations of Chinese literature, the anthology traces the development of forms and movements over time, along with critical trends, and pays particular attention to the premodern canon.