General Introduction 1
0.Historical Outline of Classical Chinese Literature 4
Ⅰ.The Book of Odes——China's Oldest Poetry Anthology 15
Ⅱ.Confucianism——The Orthodox Doctrine of Old China 43
Ⅲ.Qu Yuan——China's First Great Poet Known By Name 63
Ⅳ.Records of the Historian——China's First Comprehensive History in the Form of Biographical Records 93
Ⅴ.Tao Yuanming——The Originator of the Poetry of the Garden and Field 112
Ⅵ.Tang Poetry——The Golden Age of Chinese Poetry 139
Wang Wei 147
Li Bai 150
Du Fu 157
Bai Juyi 165
Masterpieces of Tang Poetry 173
Ⅶ.Ci Poetry——Song Ci:The Golden Age of Chinese Ci Poetry 204
Li Yu 208
Liu Yong 211
Li Qingzhao 215
Su Shi 223
Xin Qiji 231
Masterpieces of Ci Poetry 240
Ⅷ.Yuan Zaju——The Golden Age of Chinese Drama 265
Courtroom 275
Love 277
History 280
Ethics 283
Guan Hanqing 286
Excerpts from Masterpieces 295
Ⅸ.Ming and Qing Fiction——The Golden Age of Chinese Novel 316
A General Picture 316
Ming Fiction 319
Qing Fiction 328
Three Greatest Novels: 340
Romance of the Three Kingdoms 341
Water Margin 346
A Dream of Red Mansions 353
Excerpts from Masterpieces 365
Index of Authors and Their Works 439
Books Consulted and Used 454