The Revolution in the Literati Circle, which took place in early modern China, was a cultural movement aimed at transforming classical Chinese language and literature. In 1899, Liang Qichao (1873-1929), frustrated by the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898, saw an urgent need to reform and uplift the national character of the Chinese people. He u…

This was a literary school represented by three brothers, namely Yuan Zongdao (1560-1600), Yuan Hongdao (1568-1610) and Yuan Zhongdao (1570-1626), who lived in Gong’an, Hubei Province, in late Ming times. Of the trio, Yuan Hongdao was the most accomplished and renowned. Next was Yuan Zhongdao, who in turn outshined his brother Yuan Zongdao. They a…

The Jiangxi School of Poetry was the first school of poetry and prose with a formal name in Chinese literary history. It took as its core tenets the notions of “turning a crude poem or essay into a literary gem” and “squeezing new life out of an old sponge,” as proposed by Huang Tingjian (1045-1105), a Southern Song Dynasty poet from Jiangxi Pro…

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