Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical

André Lévy provides a "picture of Chinese literature of the past" that brilliantly illustrates the four great literary genres of China: the classics, prose, poetry, and the literature of entertainment. His discussion of approximately 120 vivid translations combines personal insights with innovative historical accounts in a genre-based approach that moves beyond the typical chronology of dynasties. Renowned scholar William H. Nienhauser, Jr., translated Lévy's work from the French and returned to the original Chinese for the texts. This informative, engaging, and eminently readable introduction to the three millennia of traditional Chinese literature is highly recommended for students and general readers.

"[P]rovides an insightful overview of traditional Chinese literature, and is especially recommended for general readers and beginning students." --China Quarterly Indiana University Press

"As a general introduction for the lay reader... Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical works well, with the fast-pace and engaging short extracts providing excellent motivation." --dannyreviews.com, 11/23/2010 Indiana University Press

"Eminent sinologist Lévy attempts an almost impossible task: to provide a general picture of ancient Chinese literature... Lévy's book is unique among the numerous published histories... because it is organized according to genres rather than according to the customary dynastic-political divisions." --Choice

"[A] concise and elegant account of pre--modern Chinese literature.... The translations... are fresh, uncluttered, and vivid." --Journal of the American Oriental Society Indiana University Press

Eminent sinologist Lévy (Levy) attempts an almost impossible task: to provide a general picture of ancient Chinese literature within the confines of a small book. First published in French (La littérature (litterature) chinoise ancienne et classique, Paris, 1991), Lévy's (Levy's) book is unique among the numerous published histories (in Western languages) of traditional Chinese literature because it is organized according to genres (classics, prose, poetry, drama, narrative literature, and so on) rather than according to the customary dynastic-political divisions. By following this approach Lévy (Levy) (Univ. of Bordeaux, France) is able to provide greater insight into how and why various types of literary forms developed in old China. At the same time, the author shows how and why literature was an essential part of ancient Chinese culture and civilization. Lévy (Levy) includes more than 100 translations, each of which is accompanied by commentary. His observations deserve close attention because they reveal numerous insights. This superb English translation by Nienhauser (Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison; ed. of the two-volume The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, CH, Jul'87, Apr'99), one of the US's most accomplished China scholars, will make an ideal core text for undergraduate courses on traditional Chinese literature and culture as well as an excellent addition to all undergraduate and graduate library collections.J. M. Hargett, SUNY at Albany, Choice, December 2000

A brilliant, concise introduction to the key genres of Chinese literature

André Lévy is Emeritus Professor at the University of Bordeaux.

William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.