Die chinesische Dichtkunst. Von den Anfängen bis zum Ende der Kaiserzeit

Volume 1 focuses on Chinese poetry. Reaching back into the first millennium before Christ, it ranks among the greatest achievements of human intellect and has made an impact in all other cultures. Especially to be noted are the “Buch der Lieder” (Book of Songs), “Lieder des Südens” (Songs of the South), the classical poetry of the Tang Age with Li Bai (701-762) as its best-known representative, as well as the classical song of the Song Age (10th to 13th ct.). Wolfgang Kubin not only presents China’s literary history, but the history of its ideas and culture as well. Besides the eminent importance of religious issues for the beginnings of this literary genre, the symbolic content of Chinese script is emphased, guaranteeing its readability regardless time and place. The author depicts the development of poetry from religious to secular text as well as from collective authorship in ancestor worship via collective creation in courtly poetry to the works by individual poets. Although the main focus is on the great works of ancient times and Middle Ages, the modern development up to the year 1911, i.e. the end of the Empire, has been given adequate scope. The index facilitates searching for individual authors and works both in international Pinyin-transliteration and Chinese script.