The category of "masters and philosophers" (zibu 子部) is the third of the four traditional categories (sibu 四部) into which Chinese literature was divided. The writings assembled in this category are quite heterogenous. Some are philosophical, others scientific, and a third part is a loose aggregation of descriptive notes. The term zi 子 is therefore not very easy to translate. The "masters and philosophers" were, during the Han period汉 (206 BCE-220 CE), divided into Confucians (rujia 儒家), Mohists (mojia墨家), sophists (mingjia 名家), legalists (fajia 法家), Yin-Yang thinkers(yinyangjia 阴阳家), theoreticians of the Five Progresses (wuxingjia 五行家),Daoists (daojia 道家), coalition advisors (zonghengjia 纵横家), miscellaneous thinkers (zajia 杂家), agriculturalists (nongjia 农家) and novelists orstorytellers (xiaoshuojia 小说家). Military theoreticians (bingjia 兵家) were in the beginning seen as a different group. With the growing amount of books written, the categories of astronomy and astrology (tianwen 天文),mathematics and calendar (lishu 历数), as well as medical treatises (yifang医方) had to be incorporated into the literary categories. Technical skills were from the Tang period 唐 (618-907) on also part of the masters category. Later on, Buddhism was not any more a foreign religion, but Chinese monks started compiling Chinese treatises on Buddhism. At the same time the corpus of religious Daoist writings grew abundantly. The writings of the two religions had therefore also to be considered. Under the dominance of Confucian scholars, the two were always put at the end of the masters category and included only the most important writings. Thecollectaneum Siku quanshu 四库全书 includes 2,984 books in this category.
Category: Chinese Classics
Song Ci: to the tune “Magnolia flowers”晏几道：木兰花
晏几道：木兰花Yan Jidao: to the tune "Magnolia flowers" II
秋千院落重帘暮，彩笔闲来题绣户。Double curtains fall in the swing yard at dusk, and color brushes cease to work in her boudoir.
墙头丹杏雨余花，门外绿杨风后絮。Inside the walls, the rain has left over some red apricot flowers, outside the door, the poplar fluffs fly after the wind.
朝云信断知何处？应作襄王春梦去。If faith in dawn clouds (a girl named Xiaoyun) is lost, where to go? I have to make me free from king Xiangwang's springtime dream.
紫骝认得旧游踪，嘶过画桥东畔路。Purple Steed, you know the old paths; neighing you cross a painted bridge on the way across the eastern banks.
Historiographical category 四库全书 shibu 史部
The historiographic category (shibu 史部) is the second of the four categories (sibu 四部) in the traditional system of the Chinese literary categories established during the Southern Dynasties period 南朝 (420~589). In the collectaneum Siku quanshu 四库全书 the category is divided into 15 sub-categories, including various types of proper histories (official biographic-thematic style zhengshi 正史, annalist style biannian 编年, theme-related histories jishi benmo 纪事本末, alternative histories bieshi别史, miscellaneous histories zashi 杂史, extracts shichao 史钞, regional histories zaiji 载记), collections of edicts and memorials (zhaoling zouyi 诏令奏议, shiling 时令), biographies of eminent persons (zhuanji 传记), administrative and descriptive geography (dili 地理), state offices (zhiguan职官) and regulations on such, regulations for all aspects of statecraft (zhengshu 政书), historical critique (shiping 史评), as well as the category of bibliographies (mulu 目录), often based on palace libraries.
Song Ci: “Magnolia flowers” I晏几道：木兰花1
晏几道：木兰花Yan Jidao (1040-1112): to the tune "Magnolia flowers" I
东风又作无情计，艳粉娇红吹满地。Once again the eastwind makes heartless plots, rouge and powder blown down and covering the ground.
碧楼帘影不遮愁，还似去年今日意。The curtain of the green balcony is not able to cover my sadness, just like the year before.
谁知错管春残事，到处登临曾费泪。Who knows what damage such wrong pipes do to spring; climbing every hill, I once shed useless tears.
此时金盏直须深，看尽落花能几醉。In such times we cannot but fill the golden cups, stare at the falling flowers and make us drunk.
TOP 10 novels about Modern China
Peter from China Whisper has made his list of the Top 10 Coolest Novels about Modern China. Some of them have shaped popular culture and some will become classics, but all depict China in its modern times.
Classics category (jingbu经部)
The section of Confucian Classics (jingbu 经部) is the first of the four traditional categories (sibu 四部) into which Chinese literature was divided. The term jing 经 "warp" designates a book with canonical claim, often written by representants of philosophical traditions or religious groups, like the Mojing 墨经 "Mohist canon”, Daodejing 道德经 "Classic of the way and the virtue". Some other books with the title "classic" were called so in order to underline its importance and to attract a wider readership, like theShanhaijing 山海经, or the Chajing 茶经.
Song Ci: Plucking mulberry leafs欧阳修：采桑子
欧阳修：采桑子Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072): to the tune "Plucking mulberry leafs"
群芳过后西湖好，狼藉残红，When the many scents are gone, the West Lake (of Yichuan) is charming, all over a little red is left.
飞絮蒙蒙，垂柳阑干尽日风。Floating fluffs blur the air, fencelike willow twigs catch the wind and rain.
笙歌散尽游人去，始觉春空，The airs of a panpipe accompany traveling people, reminding them that spring is gone.
垂下帘栊，双燕归来细雨中。The window curtains hanging down, while swallow pairs turn back in drizzling rain.
The Four Categories (四库全书)
The four categories (sibu 四部) is an old system of categorizing literature in China.In this encyclopedia I will follow the complex Siku quanshu system but I do not treat every book contained in this vast collection.
Song Ci: to the tune “Lady Yu” 李煜：虞美人
李煜：虞美人Li Yu: to the tune "Lady Yu" (transl. Hans Frankel)
春花秋月何時了？往事知多少？Spring blossoms and autumn moon – when will they end? How much has happened in the past!
小樓昨夜又東風。故國不堪回首明月中。On the balcony last night, again an east wind, the moon was so bright, I couldn't bear to look toward my old kingdom.
雕欄玉砌應猶在。只是朱顏改。 The carved galleries and jade steps must still be there, only the rosy cheeks have changed.
問君能有幾多愁。恰似一江春水向東流。I ask you, how much sorrow can there be? It's just like a whole river full of eastward flow in spring.
Chinese Literature: Chinese Classical Poetry 中国文学之中国古典诗词
Among the earliest and most influential poetic anthologies was the Chuci (Songs of Chu) , made up primarily of poems ascribed to the semi-legendary Qu Yuan (屈原) (ca. 340-278 B.C.) and his follower Song Yu (宋玉) (fourth century B.C.). The songs in this collection are more lyrical and romantic and represent a different tradition from the earlier Shijing. During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), this form evolved into the fu, a poem usually in rhymed verse except for introductory and concluding passages that are in prose, often in the form of questions and answers. The era of disunity that followed the Han period saw the rise of romantic nature poetry heavily influenced by Taoism. The Han Chinese astronomer, mathematician, and inventor Zhang Heng (张衡)(78-139 AD) was also largely responsible for the early development of Shi poetry.
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