This supplemental volume continues the rigorous standard set forth in
the main, three-volume Classical Chinese: A Basic Reader while
reinforcing its linguistic lessons from carefully chosen representative
works. Comprised of three parts--"Poetry," "Lyrics," and "Prose"--it
presents texts, chronologically, that represent the artistic embodiment
of China's Confucian and Taoist thought. Two introductions separately
describe the structural and formal features of regulated verse and
parallel prose; each genre is unique to Chinese literature yet both
share common characteristics tempered by the Chinese language.
The main text and its four supplementary volumes together represent the
most comprehensive and authoritative textbook on the language,
literature, philosophy, history, and religion of premodern China.
Field-tested and fine-tuned for years in classroom settings by three
members of the Chinese Linguistics Project at Princeton University, it
is the definitive new resource for students and instructors of classical
Chinese language or culture.