THREE MILLENNIA OF CHINESE POETRY

Abstract

Poetry has a history of thousands of years in China and can be said to be the shining jewel in the crown of Chinese literature, occupying a major proportion in her history. Having originated from folk songs, the Chinese poetry has produced a large number of brilliant examples from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC) to the Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn) Period (770-476 BC). China has, since ancient times, maintained a tradition of education in poetry, which is used to educate the people and arouse their intelligence. Through the reading, studying and writing of poetry, it is possible to instruct and cultivate the character of young pupils, as well as to promote children’s creative thinking, logical dialectics and humanistic consciousness. In addition, reciting, learning and writing poetry has the ability to cultivate one’s temperament, allowing people of all social strata, professional occupation and age to cleanse and purify their minds. The realm of poetry has the same effect of calming the soul as religious belief. This article shows the highlights of three millennia of Chinese poetry to the readers or scholars whose native language is not Chinese.