CHINESE LITERATURE. In this artide we propose to sketch the history and treat of the influence of the literature of China in molding not only the thought and character of the Chinese people, but also those of the neighbor and vassal nations included in the circle of Chinese culture, rather than to cata logue the books or to upon them. Only the great landmarks in the literary field of the centuries, and what in the present are rooted in antiquity and are true outgrowths of the same, will come under our view. The mental attitude of the Chinese author is ever upon the past, as the sure dwelling-place of perfected ideals. The typical man of China looks not upon "the judgment of posterity,' but hopes ever for the approval of the ancients. *How can I face my ancestors'? is his ques tion. Hence the two great systems of phi losophy, the first founded upon the authority of the fathers of Chinese order, and the second upon that in which knowledge is discoverable by intuition, and resting upon reason and science. The first has had vastly greater vogue in China proper, the second in Japan. A history of the literature of China to date still awaits the pen of a native author, but the Chinese classify their literary production under four heads: (1) The Classics of Confucius and Mencius, with the general cultural apparatus of education, such as commentaries, diction aries and works that treat of language, and its contents, as the vehicles of thought; (2) his tory, including biography; (3) ethics and phi losophy; (4) poetry. Other literary matter, such as fiction, romance, drama, modern news papers, works of science and books of infor mation are hardly recognized as literature, in the true sense of the term, or as worthy of no tice by the literary critic as such. The charac teristics of Chinese literature are terseness and absence of anything like obscenity or low forms of language; while in poetry the general themes relate to the sadness of things, as shown in the abounding sorrows of life, the brevity of human existence and the beauty of nature. There is little personification, nor is there much that is infused with the idea of the personality of Deity, or the individuality of man. The Unser Power is rather conceived of as Abstract Right, or a bundle of laws and forces; while toward man the outlook is that of brotherhood and mutual duties. The whole literature is instinct with the spirit of freedom and the necessity of the individual's to the laws of the great impersonality and the folly of disobeying or flying in the face of heaven's decrees. China's history has repeat edly verified the thesis that so long as her deathless literature animates her people, des potism cannot permanently exist. The litera ture of China is the key to her history. Her social system is based on her literary inherit ances,.and has remained intact during the 25 centuries of her recorded history, during which time over 30 dynasties have risen, ruled and been overthrown. When the scholars of China and Japan first heard of American democracy and the revolt from the tyranny of Great Brit aia then ruled by a German king, they as cribed their thought and action to the knowl edge which the °barbarians') had, in some way, gamed from the writings of Mencius! By the native orators, in 1911, who preached and agitated for a republic, justification was sought and impassioned appeals were made to the writings of this famous commentator, Men cius, who expounded the writings of the sage and gave to the text of Confucius that political significance which they have never lost. So vast and powerful in its influence is this classic literature that it has had the threefold effect of furnishing the norm and philosophy of gov ernment, besides serving as basis of train ingfor office, through a 'series of competitive ex aminations over 1,000 years old and only recently in form abolished. This exaggerated veneration and devotion to the ancient classics have checked the development of intellect, of thought and literary expression; putting all originality more or less under ban, while act ing as an invincible force in creating models of style. A modern essay, state paper or ar gument is effective, in so far as it is a mosaic of quotations, references or allusions to the classics, or to the ancient or mediaeval standard literature; nor is any written language or col loquial speech richer in literary memorabilia, than that of China. So widely disseminated is this feeling of veneration and appreciation, any missionary, or other alien, can always gather a crowd, upon the streets, in a Chinese city by quoting from the classics and asking • attention to their exposition. Hence, therefore, the two great streams of thought, or rather the river and the rill; the one, which is wholly Confucian and based on authority of the an cients; the other, that which is intuitional, or based on science; though each is like the other in literary method and form. Both history and literature were shaped and unfolded in the feudal period, when China was a state of small area. The legendary and semi-historical ages had passed and a relatively high state of civil ization had been reached. Letters and writing, songs and annals, wise maxims and a consid erable mass of products of the pen were al ready in existence, when Confucius was born (551 s.c.). His work was almost wholly that of an editor. He invented or taught nothing new, but rather made the teachings handed down from the ancients the norm of his own thought and expression, while setting in order the rich inheritances of the past. From the first utter ances of the Chinese soul, which were in poetry, he selected, from over 3,000 odes, rhymed and in four-word lines, 311 pieces, testing their merits also with the lute. Poetry has ever been the delight and occupation of Chinese lit erary men, though in later ages when the pro nunciation changed, the rhyming assonance has suffered, and in many of the odes the primitive sound-forms cannot be recovered. The seven word stanza, with the °surprise line" in the last verse, has also been in use. Modern collections abound, but the standard thesaurus, issued in 1707, is in 900 chapters or books, containing 48,900 pieces. The eras of the Tang (618-905) and Sung (960-1278) dynasties were especially rich in poetry. Some attempts have been made in recent times, but so far without striking suc cess, to frame poetical thought on Occidental models. Love of nature, the spirit of fraternity and sympathy with humanity mark the Chinese poet. In his lines there is little about roman tic love, but much in praise of wine, and of the glories and beauties of the external world; yet with frequent touches of tender sentiment and with bursts of sublime admiration and awe, in view of creation's wonders. Briefly stated, the five classics, or king, of Confucius, and the basis of every Chinese gentleman's education, are: (1) History; (2) the Book of Changes; (3) The Odes; (4) Rites and (5) His own An nals. History begins with the canon, Confucius found to his hand and he added, as his own work, the annals of spring and au tumn. The result of his however, has been that the sage shines more brilliantly as a moralist than a historian; and, except for the style, the annals are not highly valued. In deed, it cannot be said that history, in its mod ern sense, existed, until there arose the father of Chinese history, Szu Ma Chien, who was born 145 s.c. He compiled and reduced into books containing nearly half a million char acters, the story of the nation's life; though neither he, nor his predecessors, attempt to ex plain the origin of the Chinese people. It is only fabulists, or myth makers, later than Con fucius, who attempt to bridge the gulf of ig norance on this point. Often edited and reis
sued, the standard edition of Szu Ma Chien's work was published in 1747. Outstanding, among all other historical works of a later date, is the colossal 'Mirror of • History' of Szu Ma Kwang (1019-86). China's most orig inal thinker, Lao Tsze, taught a philosophy re sembling in its main features that of India, though without leaving behind him authentic writings. Nor can he be held responsible for the system of "Taoism* that is associated with his name. The (Tao Te King,' traditionally from his pen, has been translated into English. Men cius (372-289 ac.) expounded Confucius, and made his writings popular and the accepted criteria of China's thought. After his era, the chief literary events are, the burning of the books by Shi Wang Ti, who had abolished feudalism, built the Great Wall, put many lit erary men to death and destroyed much litera ture, in order to prevent, as he pretended, reac tion to the old order of things; the coming of the Buddhists and the diffusion of Chinese cul ture through their efforts, not only in conti nental countries of Asia, but by their mission aries in neighbor lands and islands, from Japan to Java. Without disturbing or intermingling with the purely national product of letters, the stream of Buddhist literature, both original and in translation, has flowed on, instructing the masses of the people, whose thoughts, hopes and fears are saturated or colored by Buddhist conceptions. On the other hand, the Chinese scholars have held generally to the Confucian ethics, doctrines and philosophy, finding in the classics the basis of both erudition and culture and also of statecraft, ethics, sociology and re ligion. Nevertheless Buddhism has powerfully modified the thought and methods of Chinese thinkers. In the 12th century, after a prolonged outbreak of populism, the two systems, Con fucianism and Buddhism, came to their final dash. A century of intellectual activity and profound thinking followed, during which China's foundations of ethical and intellectual concepts were re-examined, along with the claims of the rival religious systems. The re sult was a restatement of philosophy, which became the creed of educated men in all the countries of Chinese Asia. While claiming to be orthdox Confucianism, this representation of the old faith and traditions showed that the Chinese and Hindu cultures had combined. The two views of the universe were harmonized in the system of Chu-Hi, which, until recent years, in China and Japan, remained the accepted standard of intellectual orthodoxy. Another renaissance of philosophy in a more original form took place in the 15th century, when Wang Yang-Ming (Japanese Oyomei) promulgated a system of idealistic inttutional ism. In this, the seat of authority was declared to be, not in the dicta of the ancients, nor in the sacred texts or inspired utterances of Con fucius, but in the vision of truth, as dissolved through reason and tested by science and ex periment. Man, by looking within, must find re.lity. Then, seeing the truth, he must act upon it. Discernment prompts duty. A clear vision of righteousness is a revelation from heaven. Thus, what begins in intuition be comes pragmatism in its noblest form. Though his system was at first branded as heresy and the author sent into exile among savages, Wang's doctrines became a cult, enthusiastically propagated by his followers, and, under later emperors, Wang Yang-Ming was canonized. About 1600 A.D. this philosophy, introduced into Japan and there developed and applied, was the efficient cause and instrument, excelling all others, in making modern Japan possible. Thence, reacting to China and kindling anew the older mass of thought, it has been power ful in making the Chinese Republic. A new in fusion of thought and a fresh direction of the imagination were given, by the advent of the Mongols (1200-1368), who brought in the drama and the novel, which before had existed only in rudimentary forms. From this time, the theatre, whether permanent or itinerant, has existed in nearly every village, or is utilized for private amusement. The people go to see the actors more than the plays, each of which is usually less than an hour in length; though in public theatres many of these comedies and dramas —'tragedy being non-existent — are linked together so as to make a day's perform ance. The manuscripts of the popular plays are in the possession of the families of the actors. The novel, coming through Mongol conquests from the homeland of stones, Central Asia, was in China gradually developed; until, from the 16th century, the people of China have been fed with fiction almost as generously as in Western lands. The Chinese romancer usually treats his themes under four or more heads: (1) Plots and Court Politics; (2) Love and Intrigue; (3) Popular Beliefs and Superstitions; (4) Violent Actions and Law less Characters — the latter in great variety. In all the repertoire of Chinese fiction, the most popular one, in both China and the sur rounding pupil nations, because of its easy fas cinating style and multitude of constantly thrilling actions, is that of (The Three King doms,' describing their wars in the 3d century B.c. Other novels, which quite equal our most sensational and blood-stirring stories, rich in incident and action, are based on historical events, journeys to strange lands, real or im aginary, or legends illustrating or exaggerating wonders in nature and human history. Among the greatest literary events, of far-reaching im portance to China, have been the journeys of passionate pilgrims to India, from which coun try after many years' stay and bibliographical collection, they brought back, from this Treas tire Land in the West, books that mightily in fluenced the popular life of the Chinese. As in the similar case, of the Aryan and Semitic languages, in which, for example, are the drama of
Henry Cordier's mon umental work, (Bibliotheca Sinica' (2d ed., 1904-08); Legge, James, 'The Chinese Class ics" (8 vols., Oxford 1895); Giles, H. A., 'A History of Chinese Wylie, A., 'Notes on Chinese Literature' (Shanghai 1867); and Griffis, W. E., (China's Story.