Foreword Cyril Birch p. xli
Editors' Introduction: "Music from Two Rooms" p. xliii
Part 1 Before the Han Dynasty (to 206 B.C.)
Chapter 1. Pattern and Sign: The Chinese Language p. 3
Script p. 4
Oracle Bones p. 10
Bronze Inscriptions p. 18
Calligraphy p. 24
Outlines, Characters, Signs p. 31
Further Reading p. 34
Editors' Note p. 35
Chapter 2. Heavenly Questions: Early Myths and Legends p. 37
Further Reading p. 66
Editors' Note p. 66
Chapter 3. The Book of Songs: The Earliest Anthology of Chinese Poetry p. 69
Introduction C. H. Wang p. 71
Sixty Songs in versions spanning two and a half centuries p. 72
Further Reading p. 151
Editors' Note p. 153
Chapter 4. The Source: Prose of the Ancients: Early Narrative and Philosophy p. 155
Narrative p. 156
Philosophy p. 183
Further Reading p. 234
Editors' Note p. 235
Chapter 5. The Songs of the South: Shamanism and Poetry p. 237
Introduction David Hawkes p. 238
Further Reading p. 264
Part 2 The Han Dynasty and the Period of Disunion (206 B.C.-A.D. 589)
Chapter 6. Red and Purple Threads: Rhapsodies from the Han and Six Dynasties p. 267
Introduction Burton Watson p. 269
Further Reading p. 327
Chapter 7. Mortals and Immortals: Historical and Pseudo-Historical Writings from the Han and Six Dynasties p. 329
Mortals p. 330
Doctors, Diviners and Magicians p. 359
Immortals p. 371
Further Reading p. 381
Chapter 8. We Fought South of the City Wall: Ballads and Folksongs of the Han and Six Dynasties p. 383
Introduction: Ballads from the Music Bureau Burton Watson p. 384
Han Dynasty p. 385
The Six Dynasties
Further Reading p. 412
Chapter 9. Tigers Setting the Wind Astir: Poets of the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties p. 413
Introduction Burton Watson p. 414
Further Reading p. 440
Chapter 10. Bamboo Grove, Golden Valley, Orchid Pavilion: Coteries of the Third and Fourth Centuries p. 443
Introduction Jacques Gernet p. 444
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove p. 445
Golden Valley p. 474
Orchid Pavilion p. 479
Further Reading p. 488
Editors' Note p. 489
Chapter 11. Tao Yuanming (365-427): The Gentleman of the Five Willow Trees p. 491
Introduction Burton Watson p. 493
Further Reading p. 520
Chapter 12. The Murmuring Stream and the Weary Road: Xie Lingyun and Bao Zhao p. 523
Further Reading p. 540
Chapter 13. New Songs from a Jade Terrace: Court Poetry of the Southern Dynasties p. 541
Introduction Anne Birrell and David Hawkes p. 542
Further Reading p. 562
Chapter 14. Green Bag and Yellow Covers: A Miscellany of Prose from the Han and Six Dynasties p. 563
Further Reading p. 623
Chapter 15. The Carving of Dragons: Early Literary Criticism p. 625
Introduction Craig Fisk p. 626
Further Reading p. 649
Editors' Note p. 650
Chapter 16. Spirits and Humors: Strange Tales from the Six Dynasties p. 651
Further Reading p. 673
Part 3 The Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties (589-960)
Chapter 17. The Great River: Poets of the Early Tang p. 677
Introduction Stephen Owen p. 678
Further Reading p. 697
Chapter 18. Wang Wei (701-761): Poet and Painter p. 699
Introduction H. C. Chang p. 701
Further Reading p. 719
Chapter 19. Li Bo (701-762): The Banished Immortal p. 721
Introduction Burton Watson p. 722
Further Reading p. 763
Chapter 20. Du Fu (712-770): The Sage of Poetry p. 765
Introduction Burton Watson p. 766
Further Reading p. 815
Editors' Note p. 816
Chapter 21. Spring, River, Flowers, Moon, Night: Poets of the High Tang p. 817
Introduction Stephen Owen p. 818
Further Reading p. 846
Chapter 22. Stones Where the Haft Rotted: Poets of the Mid Tang p. 847
Introduction Stephen Owen p. 848
Further Reading p. 869
Chapter 23. Bo Juyi (772-846): Madly Singing in the Mountains p. 871
Introduction Arthur Waley p. 872
Further Reading p. 902
Editors' Note p. 902
Chapter 24. The Patterned Lute: Poets of the Late Tang p. 903
Introduction James J. Y. Liu p. 904
Further Reading p. 954
Editors' Note p. 954
Chapter 25. Red Leaf: Women Poets from the First Century B.C. to the Tenth Century A.D. p. 955
Introduction Ling Chung p. 956
Further Reading p. 974
Chapter 26. Cold Mountain: Poetry of Zen and the Tao p. 975
Further Reading p. 988
Chapter 27. Return to the Source: Essays of the Tang Dynasty p. 989
Introduction J. R. Hightower p. 990
Further Reading p. 1017
Chapter 28. The World in a Pillow: Classical Tales of the Tang Dynasty p. 1019
Introduction J. R. Hightower p. 1020
Further Reading p. 1076
Chapter 29. Turning the Scrolls: Ballads and Stories from Dunhuang p. 1077
Introduction Arthur Waley and Victor Mair and Maxime Weinstein p. 1078
Further Reading p. 1110
Chapter 30. Among the Flowers: Lyrics of the Tang and Five Dynasties p. 1111
Introduction Kang-i Sun Chang p. 1112
Further Reading p. 1131
Note on Pronunciation p. 1133
Conversion Tables: Hanyu Pinyin to Wade-Giles; Wade Giles to Hanyu Pinyin p. 1135
Further Reading p. 1147
Major Chinese Dynasties and Periods p. 1155
List of Permissions p. 1157
Index of Authors p. 1165
Index of Translators and Commentators p. 1173