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Spanning a 2,000-year period, this anthology of Chinese literature draws together the finest existing translations of selections from all major genres.
Internationally renowned Chinese literature scholar Cyril Birch was the first to assemble the finest translations of these seminal pieces in his now classic and still definitive introductory anthologies. The selections in this first volume span a two-thousand-year period: from the Chou Dynasty (1122–221 B.C.) to the Y’an Dynasty (A.D. 1280–1367), from the ancient Songs to the dramas of the fourteenth century, every major genre of Chinese literature is represented by a crucial work.
Highlights include, in addition to the great poems of the T’ang, outstanding examples of Han poetry, Six Dynasties satire, T’ang-sung prose essays and fiction, and the form of lyric known as “tz’u.”
“The first true anthology in English of Chinese literature.” —Library Journal
Cyril Birch is Agassiz Professor Emeritus in the Department of East Asian Languages at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author, editor, or translator of numerous books, including Scenes for Mandarins and The Peony Pavilion.