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Cited by 48Chinese history and philosophyClassical Studies and PhilologyHistorical and Literary Analyses

Early Chinese literature, beginnings through Western Han

Kern, Martin·2010·The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature
DOI 10.1017/chol9780521855587.003
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Abstract

The Chinese language and writing system The earliest evidence for the Chinese language, and for the Chinese script as its writing system, is found in oracle bone and bronze inscriptions from the site of the Late Shang (ca 1250–ca 1046 bc ) royal capital near modern Anyang, located in the northernmost part of modern Henan Province. From there to the present day, a continuous line of development can be drawn for both language and script that has served the expression of Chinese literature over the last three millennia. The Chinese script is one of only a handful of instances in human history where writing was invented independently, and it is the only originally invented writing system still in use today. Over time, it was adopted to write not just Chinese but also other East and Southeast Asian languages such as Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese, thereby extending the reach of the Chinese literary tradition significantly beyond the boundaries of its spoken language. The Late Shang oracle inscriptions ( jiaguwen ) scratched into bovine shoulder bones and turtle plastrons were records of communications with the royal ancestral spirits. Since their initial discovery in 1899, more than 150,000 fragments of such inscriptions have been found. They range in length from just a few to several dozen characters and preserve accounts of royal divinations on a wide range of topics – the well-being of the king, military success, the timeliness of sacrifices, the weather, and so on – that affected both the person of the ruler and the prosperity of his state.

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Authors
Kern, M.
Corresponding author
Kern, Martin
Venue
The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Published
2010-04-01
Pages
1-115
DOI
10.1017/chol9780521855587.003
OpenAlex
W2487603478
Semantic Scholar
b0892c0f3ea33e01d96ccdf0492b0fcefd530305
Cited by
48
References
134
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
FWCI
4.45
Type
book chapter
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 422 d)
Locations
Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Chinese history and philosophy
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Classical Studies and Philology
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Historical and Literary Analyses
Keywords
early Chinese literature, Chinese writing system, oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, divination, invention of writing, Chinese literary tradition, Western Han dynasty

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