The history of ancient Chinese literature comprises of eight periods and each period has its own major literature style.
(1) Ancient times: fables and legends
(2) Early Qin Dynasty: prose on history or masters
(3) Eastern and Western Dynasties: verses, ditties, odes, Yuefu songs, and historical prose
(4) Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties: poetry and others
(5) Tang Dynasty: poetry
(6) Song Dynasty: lyrics
(7) Yuan Dynasty: poetic drama
(8) Ming and Qing Dynasties: fiction
Han, Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties:Fu, known as descriptive prose with interspersed verse, is a unique form of Chinese literature. Originated from Han Dynasty, a state during which was the first unified and prosperous country in Chinese history, fu is an artistic form achieved outstanding development in that period. This kind of literary style is the combination of poetry with prose, and is therefore very forceful in expression with tailored language. The most influential representative of this literary style is Sima Xiangru, and his great works are Zeus fu and Shanglin fu.
Sui and Tang Dynasties:China is a country of poetry, and Tang poetry is the brightest pearl which stands for the highest achievement in the history of classic poetry. In early Tang Dynasty, poets like Shangguan Yi, Shen Quanqi, and Song Wenzhi established the form of lshi (eight lines, five to seven characters, a strict tonal and rhyme scheme). There were four outstanding poets, namely, Wang Bo, Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin, and Luo Binwang, who made efforts to get rid of the restrictions on style by poems popular in Qi and Liang States, and expanded materials for poetry making. The reform on poetry both theoretically and practically created a new style of poetry in Tang Dynasty. Therefore, this period was characterized by various styles and genres of poetry. Idyll represented by Wang Wei and Meng Haoran, focused on the depiction of natural landscapes. Its style features freshness and smoothness, presenting a world of quietness and sweetness; Frontier Fortress poetry represented by Cen Shen and Gao Shi expressed the life of the writer on the frontier. The poetry usually delivered the great aspiration of the writer to help rule the state and bring peace to the world, as well as his strong perseverance and enterprising spirit.
Poetry in the booming stage of Tang Dynasty signified the prosperity of culture. Romantic Poet Li Bai and realistic poet Du Fu were two eminent poets with contrary styles in that period. The poetry of Li Bai tended to describe the contradictions between ideal and real life. It challenged and attacked the dark force in society and at the same time espressed his pursuit for freedom and personality. The poetry of Li Bai were remembered by distinctive characters, rich images, brave exaggeration, fantastic imagination, fresh language, and bold forms against rules of classic poems. However, the poems of Du Fu emphasized the fact and real life. Their sarcastic expressions acutely exposed the real and ugly nature of the then rulers. Through such poems, the writer delivered his care and attention on the working class, his enthusiasm on life, and expectation for a bright future. The artistic effect or achievement of his poetry lay in that, on the one hand, it presented a higher summarization of real life in an artistic way, and on the other hand, created a unique style of expression featuring both broadness and subtleness. In a word, his poetry expressed strong feeling and emotion through clear-cut, bold, and neat language.
On poetry in Tang Dynasty, the most attractive and eye-catching events included (1) the creation of New yuefu School represented by realistic poet Bai Juyi. (2) Poetry reform for the creation of New yuefu Style poems. Bai Juyi proposed that 'Articles should be written for the reflection of times while poetry for exposition of specific life'. During mid Tang Dynasty, there appeared another genre called Hanmeng Poetry School, and poets of this school were represented by Li He, who was honored 'Eidolon of Poetry' or 'Monster of Poetry'. The Tang Dynasty witnessed the rising of Li Shangyin and Du Mu, who were collectively called 'Little Lidu'.
Poetry in Tang Dynasty boasted a variety of styles. Especially, the five-character lshi and jueju as well as Seven-character lshi and jueju were the creation of people in Tang Dynasty and developed by poets in that period.
Prose in Tang Dynasty was another summit of the development of Chinese prose. During mid Tang Dynasty, the 'Old Style Movement' initiated by Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan highly advocated the replacement of parallel style with prose popular in early Qin and Han Dynasties. Prose created by Han Yu was famous for rich content and various formats; the proses by Liu Zongyuan were mainly created in the form of satirical essay and travel, widely favored by the society. Prose with unique features in late Tang Dynasty was represented by essays of Pi Rixiu, Lu Guimeng, and Luo Yin.
Tang Dynasty also witnessed the development of novel. Zaotang Biography stood for the mature of classic novel writing. Excellent works included Profile of Liwa by Bai Xingjian and Huo Xiaoyu Biography by Jiang Fang, etc.
Besides, another new artistic form of poetry came into being in this period and it was Ci or lyrics. Poets of this style were represented by Wen Tingjun and Wei Zhuang in late Tang Dynasty. When the period of Five Dynasties began, lyrics reached new development by Feng Tingyi, Li Jing, and Li Yu, laying a solid foundation for the future prosperity of lyrics in Song Dynasty.
Jin and Yuan Dynasties:Achievement on literature in Yuan Dynasty signified another new stage of development of Chinese literature.
Drama and novel became the main stream of artistic creation, while poetry and prose, which were recognized as the orthodox form of literature, gradually declined. Poetic Drama Set to Music developed to be the form of literature with the highest achievement. Yuan Dynasty was the golden stage on the history of Chinese Drama. Local Classical Opera in South China also reached further development at the same time.
San Qu, a poetic drama, was a new life in this period. It took the format of poetry but was more forceful in expression.
Poetry, lyrics, and prose in the history of literature not only drew nutrition form previous artistic forms but introduce the creation of many new ones. In early Tang Dynasty, poetry in the north mainly inherited the traditional forms of poetry in Jin Dynasty, while in the south, the forms of that in Southern Song Dynasty. It was not until Emperor Ren Zong that poetry in Tang Dynasty developed its own characteristics.
Ming and Qing Dynasties:During Ming and Qing dynasties, the development of novel in China experienced three stages: Xiantang Note Novel, Legend Novel in Tang Dynasty, and Huaben Novel in Song and Yuan Dynasties. After that, novel, as an artistic form, entered its booming stage in Ming and Qing Dynasty. The six most famous novels in this period were Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, Outlaws of the Marsh by Shi Nai\'an, Pilgrims to the West by Wu Cheng\'en, Plum in the Golden Vase by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng, Scholars by Wu Jingzi, and A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin. Among them, the former four were honored the 'Four wonders of Books' in Ming Dynasty and the 'Four Classics Novels of China'. And the later two were the most representative creations of saga novel in Qing Dynasty.