Chinese ancient poetry was the heart and soul of Chinese anient literature. Poems and songs have been the means of entertainment of men from the earliest times onwards Records of Chinese ancient poetry have largely been found, from which a large amount of knowledge of ancient poetry of China can be obtained. Chinese ancient poetry was primarily written to be chanted or sung.
The poetic persona (表面形象) is a feature of classical Chinese poetry. The persona appears when the poem is written from the viewpoint of some other person. Some poems are comments on the then contemporary society and life. Images and symbolism are deeply associated with Chinese ancient poetry. Chinese ancient poems, although apparently simple in the first reading, have deeper and greater meanings when read intensively.
The earliest Chinese ancient poetry begins with The Book of Songs which is a collection of 305 poems. It was the first comprehensive compilation (辑) of Chinese ancient poems. Each poem in The Book of Songs was set to music and could be sung. Folk songs made up the most part of the book!Confucius, the great ancient philosopher, was fond of this book. It was also the accepted textbook of the Confucian school.
Chinese poetic history is extremely long and colorful. The Tang dynasty, the golden age of Chinese ancient poetry, produced many famous poems. Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty, was compiled by Heng Tang Tui Shi of the Qing dynasty. This was used for very many years to teach primary students.
Almost everything is the subject of Chinese ancient poetry including marriage, agriculture, courtship(求爱), sorrow and joys, romance, heroic deeds and so on. Generally, each poem is usually composed of lines of four, five or seven syllables. Translations of Chinese ancient poems are available in books and also online. Now these beautiful poems have attracted readers all over the world.
【小题1】What’s the earliest Chinese poetry intended to do?| A．To record history. | B．To entertain people. |
| C．To spread knowledge. | D．To state people’s thoughts. |
| A．Modern and symbolic. | B．Imaginative but unreal. |
| C．Difficult and figurative. | D．Simple but meaningful. |
| A．It is compiled by Heng Tang Tui Shi. |
| B．It was the textbook for kids during Confucius’s childhood. |
| C．It was produced during the golden age of Chinese ancient poetry. |
| D．It includes more folk songs than other kinds of poems. |
| A．Chinese ancient poetry has limited subjects. |
| B．Every Chinese ancient poem is made up of four lines. |
| C．Chinese ancient poems win popularity overseas. |
| D．Something in Chinese ancient poems is lost in translation. |
