International Conference on Classical Literature: East and West
Karaikudi: Department of English and Foreign Languages, Alagappa University,
26-27 March 2008.
Classification of Classical Literature: Chinese and the West
Tee Boon-Chuan, PhD.,
Malaysian Centre for Ethnic Studies, New Era College-MALAYSIA.
The classical literature in China
Refers broadly to the literature in Pre-Qin dynasties consisting of Xia, Shan and Zhou from ca. 2070 BCE to 256 BCE; But narrowly refers to the literature of two late periods in Zhou dynasty, that is, The Spring and Autumn Period (770 BCE-476 BCE) and Warring States Period (475 BCE-221 BCE). The classical literature comprises 1,033 books in 13,029 volumes which makes up about 0.82% of the 126,649 books with 1,700,000 volumes on traditional literature.
Fourfold division of classification
The classical literature has been classified into four divisions, classical, historical, specialised professional and literary: i. classical (jing) consists of Confucian Six Classics and finally Thirteen Classics in history ii. historical (shi) iii. specialised professional (zi, often translated by others as philosophy) includes Confucianism, Daoism, Legalists, Agriculturalists, Military Strategists, Novelists (later, Buddhism, Islam , etc). iv. literary (ji) -
The dual status of Confucianism
Confucian literature is made up of two categories: i. specialised professional literature as well as Daoism, Legalists , etc.; ii. classical literature; It means that Confucian rather than Daoist or other literatures being considered as a repository of truth for the Chinese.
The nature of Confucian literature(1)
According to Aristotle (384 BCE-322 BCE), the Pre-Roman classical literature in the West could be divided into three divisions: i. theoretical science, writings related to the subjects on beings exist by nature, including theology, philosophy, mathematics and natural sciences; ii. practical science, writings on various human behaviours, including ethics, economics, political science; iii. productive science, writings on man-made crafts and arts, include medicine, building, rhetoric, poem , etc.
The nature of Confucian literature(2)
Confucian literature related neither to theoretical nor productive interest, but its primary concern was mainly practical: i. The Collection of the Texts and The Spring and Autumn Annals are historical classics because it views history as a set of didactic ideas that could be provided by a study on the virtuous or evil conduct from the early kings; ii. The same practical function could be found in other Confucian non-historical classics on lexicology, literature, politics, ethics, rites and metaphysics.
In comparison with the West
The Chinese classical literature was under the lead of Confucian practical literature, in comparison with the West which stresses on theoretical science literature. This means that: Under Confucian influence all serious literature was bound to be didactic, and it was literature which provided the models of behaviour which Confucian education taught men to imitate. Apart from the Classics the other three branches of literature also had a didactic function.