A Brief History of Chinese Literature

"A Brief History of Chinese Literature" was published by Zheng Zhenduo in 1932. The original title was "Illustrated History of Chinese Literature". The book is divided into three parts: ancient literature, medieval literature and modern literature. From a bird's-eye view of ancient literature to Ruan Dacheng and Li Yu in the late Ming Dynasty, there are sixty-four chapters in total. Describes the origin and development of Chinese literature. There are many types of genres involved, and more than one-third of the collected materials are not mentioned in other books of the same period, such as Bianwen, drama, Zhugongdiao, Sanqu, folk songs, Baojuan, Tanci, Drum Ci, etc. The book is rich in pictures and texts (about 180 pictures), rich in historical materials, and has a broad vision. It fully affirms the status of folk literature in the history of literature and is an introductory book for understanding the history of Chinese literature.