Chinese Literature

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Hsueh-chin (1723-1763 A.D.) ; both masterpieces among the classical novels. The former recounts traditional tales from the history of the Three Kingdoms (220-280 A.D.), while the latter, telling of the rise and fall of a great feudal family in the 18th century, through the theme of a tragedy of frustrated love

exposes the decadence of the feudal aristocracy. Last year, too,- the Writers’ Press

published the Pilgrimage to the West, which is a great fairy tale and allegory, by Wu Cheng-en of the Ming Dynasty. The author collected and embodied in one story various versions of legends about the trip of the Tang monk, Hsuan Chuang, to India in search of Buddhist scriptures. These legends were very popular among the people from the Tang to the Ming Dynasty. This is the wellloved fairy tale of Sun Wu-kung, the monkey who dared to challenge the powerful realm of the gods and manifested such undaunted courage, ingenuity and optimism. It is pervaded by the rich imagination, the earthy wisdom and dreams of the working people, besides being a satire on the absurdities of the society in which they lived.

Another publication was a Selection of Ballads and Poems compiled and edited by Professor Yu Kuan-ying. It is mainly composed of folk songs of the Han Dynasty to the epoch of division between North and South (covering the period

Writing for

On their holidays the children of Peking, besides going to parks and recreational centres, love to visit the libraries and bookshops, because there they always find reading material written specially for them. In the children’s department of the Hsinhua Bookshop on a Sunday or any other holiday one can always find-at least fifty to sixty school children and students poring over the books and magazines. Among all the crowded shelves the most popular corner is the shelf of prize winning children’s

from 206 B.C. to 581 A.D). The book of the well-known opera, The Western Chamber, by Wang Shih-fu, a writer of the Ming Dynasty, was also published after some re-editing. Other reprints were The Lives of the Scholars, by Wu Ching-tze, and Tales from a Chinese tudio, by Pu Sung-ling, both writers of the Ching Dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.), and the selected works of our great poets of old, Li Po and Tu Fu. These new editions of famous classics were all published with detailed annotations and brief notes on the authors. ,

Since these new editions of the classics were printed, the publishing houses have received many letters from readers asking them to publish special works of yesearch on these classics as well as biographies of famous writers throughout the ages. Those engaged in literature and publishing are now striving to meet this request. Works already in preparation are an annotated selection from

. The Book of Songs, A Study of the

“Water Margin,’ The Evolution of the “Water Margin,’ A Study of Li Po, Biography of Hsin Chi-chi, a well-known poet of the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.), and other works. The editing, annotation, research into and publication of the best of China’s classical literature is an arduous, detailed, and complex task, but it has already been given a flying start in New China.

the Children

books years.

Here are displayed works which won prizes in the recent contest for the best children’s. literature. Their subjectmatter, language, illustrations, and layout are all designed to one end—to please and educate young readers. As a result, they have become the best loved of all children’s books. How Lo Wen-ying Became a Young Pioneer, winner of a first prize, is one of the latest works of veteran writer Chang Tien-yi. Its hero, Lo Wen-ying, is a schoolboy who, as is

written during the past four

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