| TEXTS |
CONTEXTS |
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220–280 The Three Kingdoms period, when China is divided into
three regional states
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280 China is briefly reunified under the Chin Dynasty
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316 North China falls into the hands of non-Chinese invaders and
the court moves to the south; the following period is known as the
northern and southern dynasties
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365–427 T'ao Ch'ien, poet and farmer
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350–550 Flourishing of Buddhism and translation of Buddhist
scriptures
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400–450 The flourishing of landscape poetry
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| 500–550
Development of literary criticism, literary history, and
anthology-making in the south |
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589 A northern dynasty, the Sui, reunifies China
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618 The T'ang Dynasty supplants the Sui
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629 The journey of the Buddhist monk Tripitaka, the hero of
Monkey
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ca. 690 Composition of poetry included as part of the
chin-shih examination, which young men take to qualify for the
best posts in the government
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ca. 699–761 Wang Wei, poet
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701–762 Li Po, poet
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712–770 Tu Fu, poet
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713–755
The "High T'ang" and the reign of Hsüan-tsung;
the capital, Ch'ang-an, is a cosmopolitan center
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755 The rebellion of the northeastern armies under their general
An Lu-shan drives the emperor from the capital
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| 768-824
Han Yü, poet and prose writer, advocate of "old-style"
prose |
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| 772-846
Po Chü-i, poet |
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| 779-831
Yüan Chen, poet and author of the Story
of Ying-ying |
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791-817 Li Ho, poet
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803-852 Tu Mu, poet
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800 Revival of Confucianism under Han Yu
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813-858 Li Shang-yin, poet
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907 Final collapse of the T'ang into numerous regional kingdoms
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960 Founding of the Sung Dynasty and the reunification of China
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| 981
Completion of the T'ai-p'ing kuang-chi,
a vast compendium in which is preserved almost all the
prose fiction from the T'ang and earlier dynasties |
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1000-1100 Rise in popularity of song lyrics or tz'u, sung
at parties and by courtesans from the Entertainment Quarters • Rapid
expansion of commercial and state-supported printing
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1000–1100 Development of Neo-Confucianism, which used the
Confucian classics as a ground for philosophical reflection on human
nature
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1084-ca. 1151 Li Ch'ing-chao, lyricist and author of Afterword
to Records on Metal and Stone
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| 1127-1279
Rise of drama and professional storytelling in vernacular
Chinese, especially in Hang-chou, the capital of the Southern
Sung Dynasty |
1127
North China falls to non-Chinese invaders from the northeast;
the dynasty is reestablished south of the Yangtse River.
This period, lasting until the Mongol conquest, is known
as the Southern Sung Dynasty |
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1279 Mongols conquer south China
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1299 Marco Polo's account of his visit to China
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