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An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History and Literature
You can browse by the traditional four categories (sibu 四部) or use the search function above. In addition to these features, the reader can browse through the chronological overview on the history of literature (navigation bar to the right), consult the section on literary genres (different from those in the four categories) or get information on important terms and themes in literature on the present page.
Transcription: Pinyin, syllables separated for alphabetical purposes.
| A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P Q R S T W X Y Z |
(E)=Edwards 1948, (F)=Fairbank 1940. |
|
| A [top] | |
|---|---|
| ai 哀 | lament for a deceased person |
| aice 哀冊 (哀策) | lament for a dead emperor or empress (E) |
| aici 哀詞 | lament, funeral ode (E) |
| aiji 哀祭 | elegies and orations for funerals and sacrifices (E) |
| ailei 哀誄 | obituary for an emperor, a member of the imperial family, or a minister of state |
| apocryphal texts | |
| B [top] | |
| ba 跋 | colophon (E), afterword |
| baguwen 八股文 | "eight-legged essay", used in state examinations |
| baiben 白本 | unendorsed, i.e. unanswered, memorial (F) |
| baihua 白話 | "plain language", 1) a movement during late Qing/Republic (baihua yundong 白話運動) to use everyday language instead of classical language wenyan 文言, 2) modern everyday language |
| baijia 百家 | the "hundred schools [of thought]" of the Eastern Zhou period |
| bang 榜 (牓) | proclamation, public notification (E) |
| baoxiaoce 報銷冊 | report appended to a memorial (F) |
| bashi 霸史 | history of "hegemons" or independent rulers/states in China |
| bei 碑 | tablet, inscription on or for a tablet (E) |
| beiji 碑記, beiwen 碑文 | inscription on the back of a tablet, not including a poem (E) |
| beiming 碑銘 | inscriptions on stone tablets or stelae |
| beiyin 碑陰 | text on the reverse of a tablet (E) |
| beizhi 碑誌 | inscription on an epitaph (E) |
| benzhang 本章 | general term for routine memorials (F) |
| bi 比 | metapher, parable |
| bian 辨 (辯) | argument, apodictic tract (E) |
| biannianti 編年體 | chronological or annalistic type of historiography |
| bianwen 變文 | "transformation texts" from Dunhuang, prosimetric narrative genre flourishing during the Tang period |
| biao 表 | memorial, manifesto (E) |
| biaoxu 表序 | introduction (E) |
| biaozhang 表章 | tributary memorial sent from a tributary state (F) |
| bibliography | see mulu 目錄 |
| biezhuan 別傳 | unofficial supplementary biography (E) |
| bieshi 別史 | unofficial history, often written as an alternative to official history |
| biji 筆記 | "brush record" essays, a literary prose style popular from Song time on |
| bing 稟 (禀) | report, petition, submitted by a commoner or a minor official (F) |
| bingcheng 稟呈, bingming 稟明 | representation, form of document sent by a Chinese or foreign merchant or commoner to an official of the other country (F) |
| bizha 筆札 (筆劄) | letter (E) |
| bo 駁, bolun 駁論 | polemic essay (E) |
| boyi 駁議 | memorial expressing a conflicting view, advising against a proposed course of action (E) |
| bronze inscriptions | see jinwen 金文 |
| buben 部本 | routine memorial compiled in one of the Six Ministries (F) |
| bugao 佈告 | edict |
| bulu 簿錄 | catalogue, register |
| buzhuan 補傳 | revised or emendatory, supplementary biography (E) |
| C [top] | |
| canping 參評 | adverse report on an inferior, accusation of inefficiency, venality, etc. (E) |
| cao 操 | lute-song (E) |
| ce 策 | treatise (E); memorial (E) |
| cewen 策問, ceshi 策試 | questions for use in the official examinations |
| ce 冊, cewen 冊文 | memorial presented on a special occasion (E); letter of patent, conferring a title of nobility or announcing an appointment (E) |
| cheng 呈, chengwen 呈文 | petition, request, of ordinary persons and government institutions, submitted to higher authorities; report, petition used by minor district officials to prefects (F) |
| chengwen 程文 | "dissertation", essay on a prescribes theme at the juren examination, introduced during the Song period (E) |
| chi 敕 (勅, 勑) | edict (E); imperial command (F) |
| chiming 敕命, chishu 敕書 | patent by command conferring titles of honour of officials below rank 5 (F) |
| chiyu 敕諭 | command-edict used for special purposes, e.g. to depute officials (F) |
| chuanqi 傳奇 | "transmission of strange things", stories of supernatural events and ghosts |
| ci 詞 | a musical poetry style, contrafactury to an already existing melody, adapting its lyric metre, lyric-metre-style poetry, very popular during Song dynasty |
| ci 辭 | irregular metrical composition (E); words of a text |
| ci 刺 | name card used in lateral communction of high functionaries between the Jin and the Tang period |
| cifu 辭賦 | prose-poety (rhythmic prose) (E) |
| cihua 詞話 | critique and theory of ci poems |
| Confucian Classics | canonized collection of ancient writings, in earlier times believed to have been edited by Confucius; known as Five Classics (wujing 五經) and Four Books (sishu 四書), or the Thirteen Classics (shisanjing 十三經) |
| congshu 叢書 | series or collectanea, collections of books, often, but not necessarily, such on a particular theme, or outstanding editions in private libraries |
| D [top] | |
| deyin 德音 | edict composed by a minister and issued in the name of the emperor (E) |
| dian 典 | canon, statutes, collection of rules, regulations |
| diangu 典故 | literary quotation, literary allusion, classical allusion |
| diaowen 吊文, diaoci 吊辭 (弔文, 弔辭) | dirge burnt at the grave of a friend or a celebrity (E); condolences |
| dibao 邸報, dichao 邸抄 | Beijing gazette (F) |
| die 牒 | adverse reports, issued by censors accusing officials of inefficiency etc. (E); order (F) |
| diecheng 牒呈 | report to superior officials (F) |
| difangzhi 地方誌 (地方志) | so-called gazetteers, geographical histories of particular areas which were recompiled in irregular intervals. Precursor of newspapers. |
| du 讀 | "on reading..." (E) |
| duandaishi 斷代史 | history covering just one dynasty or a short series of dynasties |
| dui 對 | reply to the throne, memorial submitted in reply to an edict received for promulgation (E) |
| duiwen 對問 | answer to a question (E), response text |
| Dunhuang manuscripts 敦煌 | |
| E [top] | |
| edition, types of | |
| F [top] | |
| fanglüe 方略 (Manchu: bodogon-i bithe) | military annals of the Qing period |
| fanli 凡例 | introductory summary explaining the theme of a book, the manner of its compilation, etc. (E) |
| feng 風 | air, ode, with local taste, of the Shijing 詩經 |
| fengshan 封禪 | sacrifices to Heaven and Earth |
| fengshi 封事, fengzhang 封章, fengzou 封奏 | memorial wrapped in an envelope (E); secret memorial (F) |
| fu 符 | edict, commission, authorization, tallies, contract (E) |
| fu 賦 | rhapsody, a kind of prose-poetry flourishing during the Han period (E) |
| fuben 副本 | copy, duplicate of a routine memorial (F) |
| fuming 符命 | laudatory ode with introduction, about mandates through prophetic signs (E) |
| fupian 附片, fuzou 附奏 | supplementary memorial (F) |
| G [top] | |
| gao 稿, gaoben 稿本 | rough draft, preliminary copy of published documents |
| gao 誥 | announcement, order, patent, injunction, ordinance (E) |
| gaochi 誥敕 | patent, credential, letter patent (F) |
| gaoci 告詞 | order, injunction (E) |
| gaomiao wen 告廟文, gaozu wen 告祖文 | announcement in the ancestral temple (E) |
| gaoming 誥命 | patent by ordinance used to confer a title of honour of rank 5 and above (F) |
| gaotian wen 告天文 | announcement to Heaven (E) |
| gaowen 告文 | announcement to the spirits (E) |
| gexing 歌行 | type of songs and verses of the music-bureau style |
| gongbiao 貢表 | tributary memorial, submitted with tributary gifts (F) |
| gonghan 公函 | official dispatch between institutions of the same jurisdictional level but under different authorities (F) |
| gongjie 公揭 | dispatch (E) |
| gongtishi 宮體詩 | palace-style poetry, flourishing during the Liang and Chen periods |
| guaiji 怪記 | also called zhiguai 志怪 "reports of strange events", a kind of story or proto-novel very popular in each type of literature and through the ages |
| guan 關 | letter used for lateral communication on lower levels of local administration |
| guanci 冠辭 | ode for use at the capping ceremony in the age of 20 sui (E) |
| guanglun 廣論 | amplified essay, excursus (E) |
| guan 關, guanwen 關文 | order (F) |
| gudie 故牒 | order (F) |
| gui 規 | warning, lesson (E) |
| guoshi 國史 | history of the then-reigning dynasty |
| guoshu 國書 | national letter, credentials, letter to a foreign ruler (F) |
| gushi 古史 | "old", unofficial history books (as seen from the Tang period) |
| gushi 故事 | old stories, unofficial history books on miscellaneous matters; later "story" in the general sense |
| guwen 古文 | 1) versions of the Confucian Classics claimed to be compiled in pre-Qin times, see old-text/new-text debate, 2) simple, "old-fashioned" prose style revived during the Tang period in order to end the manieristic parallelism of the pianwen "paired-word" style |
| gushi 古詩 | old poems from before the Tang period; old-style poems imitating old poems |
| H [top] | |
| han 函 | letter (F) |
| haofang ci 豪放詞 | "heroic abandon", a subgenre of lyric-metre-style poetry (ci 詞) |
| hebiao 賀表 | expression of felicitation (E) |
| hezhuan 合傳 | combined biographies of more than one person (E) |
| hezhuang 合狀 | combined biographical notice to more than one person (E) |
| historiography | |
| hongben 紅本 | endorsed memorial (F) |
| houji 後記 | revised or later record (E) |
| houxu 後序 | colophon, with details regarding place and date of publication, as well as comments on the book itself (E) |
| huaben 話本 | "narrative version", an early form of novels, based on a lengthy story that was told to the auditory in day-to-day sequences. Some of the huaben stories are direct precursors of the great novels. |
| huangce 黃冊 | tax account, constructions report, examination result, documents submitted to the emperor along with memorials, bound in yellow paper or silk (F) |
| huapin 畫品 | books of qualitative ranking of paintings |
| huji 笏記 | brief commemorative record written on a jade, ivory, or bamboo tablet held with both hands before the breast during audiences (E) |
| hujie 互揭 | dispatch |
| J [top] | |
| jiaguwen 甲骨文 | oracle bone inscriptions |
| ji 集 | 1) collection of writings of one person, one theme, or one genre 2) literary category of Belles-Lettres |
| ji 偈 | gāthā, a Buddhist hymn or chant (E) |
| ji 紀 | record of real persons and events (E) |
| ji 記, jixu 記序 | record of events and affairs (E) |
| jian 箋 (jian 牋) | memorandum (E); letter, address, written document, less formal than memorials, letter to a prince or an official of very high rank (E) |
| jian 簡 | short letter, note (E) |
| jian 柬, jianshu 柬書 | letter, slip of paper, note (F) |
| jian 諫 | admonition, critique; remonstration against a verdict or legal decision; rejection of a document because of formal or factual deficits |
| jiangyi 講義 | exegesis, interpretation of the teaching of the sages submitted for guidance to the emperor (E) |
| jianmian zhe 見面摺 | audicence memorial prepared in advance (F) |
| jiao 教 | order, instruction or a prince or noble (E) |
| jiaoci 醮辭 | composition or ode for use at sacrifice or libation, particularly for Daoist invocations (E) |
| jiaokanji 校勘記 | critical apparatus to ancient texts |
| jiaozhi 交旨, jiaopian 交片 | despatch from ministers to subordinate departments, jiaopian being a shorter form (F) |
| jiapian 夾片 | supplementary memorial (F) |
| jiapu 家譜 | family trees, family chronicles, genealogies |
| jiaxun 家訓 | family instructions |
| jiazhuan 家傳 | unofficial biography by a member of the family of the deceased (E) |
| jiazhuan 假傳 | fictional biography (E) |
| jie 揭, jietie 揭帖 | dispatch (E); placard, duplicate copy of a memorial (F) |
| jie 碣, jiewen 碣文 | epitaph of an official (E) |
| jie 解 | explanation, interpretation, exegesis, like in jingjie 經解 (E) |
| jie 戒 (誡) | warning, expostulation, interdiction (E) |
| jiwen 祭文 | oration for use at worship and sacrifices written in prose, in antithetical style (E) |
| jingbao 京報 | Beijing gazette (F) |
| jing 經 | 1) literary category of the Confucian Classics and commentaries on them, 2) an important book, treatise, monograph, classical work (E) 3) Chinese word for sūtra (see Buddhist writings) |
| jinshenlu 縉紳錄 | rosters of government personnel |
| jinwen 今文 | "new-script [texts]" or "new-text [writings]", versions of Confucian Classics written down in the early Han period, see old-text/new-text debate |
| jinwen 金文 | "inscriptions in metal", inscriptions in Shang and Zhou period ritual bronze vessels and on various metal objects of the Warring States, Qin and Han periods |
| jishi benmo 紀事本末 | history book arranged thematically instead of chronologically, historical events "from their beginning to the end" (in their entirety) |
| jiushi 舊事 | old stories, unofficial history books on miscellaneous matters |
| jiuxi wen 九錫文 | communication relating to an imperial gift (E) |
| jiwei zhao 即位詔 | edict issued on ascending the throne (E) |
| jizhuanti 紀傳體 | biographical-thematical type of historiography |
| juan 卷 | "scroll" or "fascicle", a chapter-like unit in traditional books |
| juti 具題 | headline, indicating the topic of a routine memorial (F) |
| jue 訣 | art, mystery, secret (E); in Daoist writings: formula |
| jueju 絕句 | short poems of the regular style (lüshi 律詩), quatrains |
| K [top] | |
| kao 考 | examination, inquiry into, "investigating the facts and weighing the evidence" (E) |
| kaoyu 考語, kaoci 考詞 | testimonial, character, triennial report on the quality of the administration of individual officials, made after inquiry (kaoji 考績) (E) |
| keshi wen 刻石文 | inscription on a stone, composition for use on a memorial-stone |
| kouxuan 口宣 | order to write an edict (E) |
| kuanzhi 款識 | inscription on a vessel or an artwork |
| L [top] | |
| lei 誄 | dirge, obituary for an emperor, a member of the imperial family, or a minister of state (E) |
| leishu 類書 | encyclopaedias |
| lianzhu 連珠 | verses "linked like pearls", epigrammatic sayings, didactic maxims (E) |
| ling 令, lingzhi 令旨 | command, order (in early times ming 命) (E); instruction (E) |
| lingzhi 另旨 | separate rescript (F) |
| lingbiao 靈表, lingchuang 靈牀 | obituary read before the bier of a deceased person (E) |
| liuyi 六藝 | the "six arts" or "six skills" |
| liyan 例言 | introductory summary explaining the theme of a book, the manner of its compilation, etc. |
| lu 錄 | collected jottings, trivial notes, lists, collections (E) |
| lubu 露布 | report, dispatch, in particular a report on the conduct and progress of a military operation (E) |
| lufu 錄副, lufuben 錄副本, lufu zouzhe 錄副奏折 | copy, duplicate of a routine or confidential memorial |
| lüshi 律詩 | regular poems, poems with regular length of verses (wuyan 五言, qiyan 七言) |
| lüe 略 | sketch of..., abstract, precis, summary; epitome |
| lun 論 | essay, disquisition (E), treatise |
| lunbian 論辨 | essay (E) |
| lushu 錄書 | copied materials kept at the Censorate (F) |
| lunyin 綸音 | imperial utterances (F) |
| M [top] | |
| manci 慢詞 | long form of lyric-metre-style poetry (ci 詞) |
| memorial to the throne | |
| mengwen 盟文 | covenant, oath of agreement (E) |
| ming 銘 | inscription, composed in prose or in verse, often with lines of irregular length (E); admonitory inscription (E) |
| ming 命 | command, order, charge; instruction |
| mingfa 明發 | secret court letter, secret decree |
| mizhao 密詔 | last edict issued by an emperor before his death or abdication (E) |
| mo 謨 | memorial containing sugggestions regarding the course of action (E); counsel in the Shangshu 尚書 |
| muban wen 墓版文 | epitaph, written on a tablet of wood (E) |
| mubiao 墓表 | eulogistic composition burnt at the grave of a friend or celebrity (E), tomb inscriptions |
| mujie ming 墓碣銘 | epitaph with a poem |
| mulu 目錄 | bibliography, catalogue or index |
| muzhi 墓誌 | epitaph, inscription or biographical notice on a tomb-stone of a private person (E) |
| muzhiming 墓誌銘 | epitaph consisting of a biographical notice and a poem engraved on a stone monument at a grave (E) |
| N [top] | |
| nan 難 | refutation, rebuttal (E) |
| nianpu 年譜 | biographies written in an annalistic style |
| nongyan 農諺 | farmer's proverbs |
| O [top] | |
| oracle bone inscriptions | see jiaguwen 甲骨文 |
| P [top] | |
| pai 牌, paipiao 牌票, paiwen 牌文 | order (F) |
| pailü 排律 | sequential couplets of regular poetry (lüshi 律詩) |
| pan 判 | judgment, reply to a petition, decision on a case (E) |
| pi 批, pida 批答 | rescript, answer of the authorities to petition, plaint, etc. from ordinary persons (E); simple endorsement, the emperor's answer to a memorial, called pihong 批紅 if written by clerks, and zhupi 硃批 (朱批) or yupi 御批 if written by the emperor in person (F) |
| piandan 片單 | memorandum; short note (F) |
| piao 票 | slip notes; drafts for imperial rescripts to memorials |
| piben 批本 | endorsed memorial (F) |
| pihong 批紅 | compilation of an endorsement on a memorial (F) |
| pianwen 駢文 | "couplet texts", rhythmic prose-poetry in a very subtle and even manieristic style popular during period of the Southern and Northern dynasties (see Yutai xinyong) |
| ping 評 | appraisement, critique (E) |
| pinghua 平話 | see huaben 話本 |
| pu 譜 | list, register, catalogue, raisonné (E); musical notes |
| publication, history of | |
| pudie 譜牒, puxi 譜系, puzhuang 譜狀 | family trees, family chronicles, genealogies |
| Q [top] | |
| qi 七 | composition divided into seven parts, like Qifa 七發 (E) |
| qi 啟 | memorial (identical with shu 書) (E); letter, without referring to the distinction of rank, later used for communication to superiors (E) |
| qiben 啟本 | routine memorial on civilian matters, same as tiben 題本 (F) |
| qianbiao 阡表 | eulogistic composition burnt at the grave of a friend or celebrity |
| qijuzhu 起居注 | "imperial diaries", daily unofficial court protocols; chronicle of the emperor's activities (F) |
| qingce 青冊 (清冊) | green-bound account, list, report, appended to a memorial, copy of the yellow-bound original (F) |
| qingci 青詞 | green or black Daoist invocation (E) |
| qingdan 清單 | list, inventory (F) |
| qinshu 親書 | domestic letter relating to betrothal, marriage arrangements, etc. (E) |
| qinzhao 親詔 | last edict issued by an emperor before his death or abdication |
| qiwen 祈文, qidao wen 祈禱文, daowen 禱文 | petition, composition for use at sacrifices (E) |
| qu 曲 | "airs" a musical poetry style, often also translated as "aria", aria-style poetry, as part of Yuan dramas (juqu 劇曲), but also written separately as san qu 散曲 "concert arias" |
| quanji 全集 | "collected works" of one person, in contrast to xuanji 選集 "selected works" |
| quannong wen 勸農文 | composition relating to the encouragement of agriculture (E) |
| R [top] | |
| renming zhuang 任命狀 | letter of appointment |
| rhapsody | see fu 賦 |
| S [top] | |
| saiwen 賽文 | thanksgiving (E) |
| sanqu 散曲 | "loose arias", poems (originally songs) not being part of dramas |
| sanwen 散文 | "loose literature (not bound to a verse pattern or rhyme)", is prose literature |
| saoti 騷體 | "elegiac style" of early prose-poetry (E) |
| shangliang wen 上梁文 | laudatory composition for use at the setting up of the main cross-beam of a new building (E) |
| shangshu 上書 | letter or dispatch presented to the emperor or a superior (E); letter of submission |
| shangyan 上言 | statement (E) |
| shangyu 上諭 | imperial injunction, proclamation, might be issued by a minister; imperial edict, sometimes including the rescript (F) |
| shelun 設論 | essay on a hypothetical theme, hypothetical discourse (E) |
| shen 申, shencheng 申稱, shenwen 申文, shenzhuang 申狀 | report to superior officials (F), letter of objection |
| shendan 審單 | decision promulgated after investigation of a case (E) |
| shendao bei 神道碑 | monument or tablet in an avenue leading to a grave (E) |
| shendao biao 神道表 | eulogistic composition burnt at the grave of a friend or celebrity |
| shengzhi 聖旨 | sacred instruction, imperial edict |
| shewen 赦文, sheshu 赦書 | pardon, general amnesty (E) |
| shi 詩 | 1) abbreviation for Shijing 詩經 "Book of Songs" 2) very popular poetry style with equally long verses and with rhymes, in use from oldest times (Shijing, Shigu shi 石鼓詩), and the Han period (as gushi 古詩 "old-style poems": see Gushi shijiu shou 古詩十九首), and revived during the Tang period as lüshi 律詩 "regular poems" (see Tang shi poems 唐詩), and the shorter style jieju 絕句 "abridged sentences" |
| shi 史 | literary category of "Historiography and Statecraft" |
| shi 示 | manifesto, public notification by a minister of state or other official of a matter which concerns the people generally (E) |
| shi 誓 | speech to the army in the Shangshu 尚書 |
| shi 釋 | explanation, interpretation (E) |
| shice 諡冊 | document relating to the conferring of a posthumous title (E) |
| shichao 史鈔 | excerpts from history books |
| shijia 世家 | genealogy of princes (E) |
| shihua 詩話 | critique and theory of shi poems |
| shijing 石經 | "Stone Classics", text of Confucian Classics incised into stone slabs |
| shilu 實錄 | "veritable records", official imperial chronicles (E) |
| shilüe 事略 | sketch of events of a man's life (E) |
| shidian wen 釋奠文, shicai wen 釋菜文 | composition for use when offering libations or sacrifices (E) |
| shiji 詩集 | collected poems |
| shiling 時令 | edicts concerned with the seasons and related agricultural work |
| shisanjing 十三經 | The Thirteen Confucian Classics: Yijing 易經, Shangshu 尚書, Shijing 詩經, Zhouli 周禮, Yili 儀禮, Liji 禮記, Chunqiu-Zuozhuan 春秋左傳, Xiaojing 孝經, Mengzi 孟子, Lunyu 論語 , Zhongyong 中庸, Daxue 大學, Erya 爾雅 |
| shiping 史評 | historical critique |
| shishu 史書 | "historical materials", copies of the summaries of endorsed memorials (F) |
| shiwen 誓文 | oath (E) |
| shixuan 詩選 | selected poems |
| shiyi 諡議 | citation in relation to posthumous honours to be conferred upon a person of high rank or exceptional merit (E) |
| shizhuan 史傳 | official biography included in a comprehensive history book (E); historiographical writings, lit. "histories and biographies" |
| shouxu 壽序 | composition embodying birthday congratulations (E) |
| shouzhao 手詔 | last edict issued by an emperor before his death or abdication |
| shu 書 | essay (E); memorial (E); letter, dispatch (E); imperial letter, or written by a minister on behalf of the emperor (E) |
| shu...shi 書…事 | account on a particular event or incident (E) |
| shu 疏 | comments on a book, added at the end (E); memorial, itemized report (E) |
| shu 述, shuyi 述義, shuwen 述聞 | introduction to a book (written by another hand) (E); comments on a book, added at the end; biographical notes (E); narration (E) |
| shudu 書牘 | letters (E) |
| shuhou 書後 | comments on a book, added as a colophon (E) |
| shuo 說 | essay, monograph (E), "persuasion"; composition presented on a special occasion (E) |
| shupin 書品 | books of qualitative ranking of calligraphies |
| shuping 書評 | appraisement, critique |
| shuyi 疏議 | memorial |
| shuzan 述贊 | evaluation, appreciation |
| shuzha 書札 (書劄) | letter (E) |
| silun 絲綸 | imperial utterances (F) |
| sibu 四部 | the Four Categories of traditional literature |
| sishu 四書 | The Four Books, part of the Confucian Classics: Mengzi 孟子, Lunyu 論語 , Zhongyong 中庸, Daxue 大學 |
| song 頌 | tribute, eulogy, congratulatory composition (E); hymn or ode of the Shijing 詩經 |
| songzan 頌贊 | eulogies (E) |
| suishi 歲時 | edicts concerned with the seasons and related agricultural work |
| suwen 俗文 | inscription or text at least partially written in vernacular language, in mixed prose-poetry style (E) |
| T [top] | |
| taige ti 臺閣體 | ministerial style of Ming period prose |
| tahuang 搨黃 | printed copies of imperial utterances (F) |
| taitou 抬頭 (檯頭) | elevation of characters above the headline of the page face, for expressions related to the emperor (F) |
| tandao wen 歎道文 | Daoist lament on the death of an emperor (E) |
| tangbao 塘報 | Beijing gazette (F) |
| tanshi 彈事, tanwen 彈文, tanzhang 彈章 | accusation (E) |
| tenghuang 謄黃 | copies of imperial utterances (F) |
| ti 題 | record, inscription or address used by way of dedication (E) |
| ti-ba 題跋 | record, inscription or address used by way of dedication (E); preface and postface, foreword and afterword |
| tiben 題本 | routine memorial on civilian affairs, with seal of the memorialist; submitted to the Transmission Office (tongzhengsi 通政司) or the Grand Secretariat (neige 內閣), which also considers and proposes action, and answered by an imperial rescript, endorsement, or an edict (F) |
| tici 題詞 | summary of the theme of a book, critique written as an introduction (E) |
| tie 帖 (貼) | letter, note (E); copy of the writing of famous calligraphists |
| tiehuang 貼黃 | summary attached to a memorial (F) |
| tiejuan wen 鐵券文 | a writing on a metal token (E), iron certificates |
| tihou 題後 | outline of the main theme of a book (E) |
| timing 題名 | names and other information engraved on the reverse of a tablet or monument (E) |
| tingji 廷寄 | (secret) court letter (F), secret decree |
| tizou 題奏 | general term for memorials (F) |
| tongben 通本 | routine memorial compiled by the provincial administration and forwarded by the Transmission Office (tongzengsi 通政司) (F) |
| tongshi 通史 | universal history covering several or "all" dynasties, or all reigns of one dynasty |
| W [top] | |
| waizhe 外摺 | memorial from the provinces (F) |
| waizhuan 外傳 | unofficial biography (E) |
| wanyue ci 婉約詞 | "delicate restraint", a subgenre of lyric-metre-style poetry (ci 詞) |
| wei 緯 | heterodox writings, apocryphal text |
| wenji 文集 | collected prose writings |
| weishi 偽史 | history of "illegal" states in China |
| wen 文 | prose writings; literature in general |
| wenping 文評 | appraisement, critique |
| wenxuan 文選 | selected prose writings; the anthology Wenxuan 文選 |
| wenyan 文言 | classical language basing on pre-Han and Han time Chinese, official language for documents until early Republican period, and to a certain extant also for modern written Chinese |
| wenyi 文移 | official letter or dispatch between equals |
| wujing 五經 | The Five Confucian Classics: Yijing 易經, Shangshu 尚書, Shijing 詩經, Liji 禮記, Chunqiu-Zuozhuan 春秋左傳 |
| X [top] | |
| xi 檄, xiwen 檄文 | dispatch, summons, warning proclamation, call-to-arms (E) |
| xiangbiao 降表 | memorial offering obedience or submission (E) |
| xiangwen 詳文 | detailed report addressed to a superior (F) |
| xiaoling 小令 | short form of lyric-metre-style poetry (ci 詞) |
| xiaoshuo 小說 | "novel" or "romance". Chinese scholars discern the two types of short novels (duanpian xiaoshuo 短篇小説) and the classical long novel books (changpian xiaoshuo 長篇小説) |
| xiaozhuan 小傳 | minor, unofficial biography (E) |
| xie 諧 | humour, joke |
| xie 謝 | thanksgiving for blessings received (E) |
| xiebiao 謝表 | dispatch to a superior, offering thanks (E) |
| xing 興 | allegory, atmospherical introduction |
| xingshu 行述 | "descriptions of conduct", biographical notes (E) |
| xingzhuang 行狀 | biographical notice, appreciation, conduct descriptions (E) |
| xishu 璽書 | imperial letter (xi 璽 = imperial seal) (E) |
| xu 序 (敘, 敍) | 1) preface, foreword, explaining the reason for writing the book, excuses to its defects or praise of its merits, setting forth the writer's view on the theme (E); 2) composition presented at parting (E); 3) detailed record (E) |
| xuba 序跋 | prefaces and colophons (E) |
| xue'an 學案, xue'anti 學案體 | philosophical genealogies |
| xulu 序錄 (敘錄, 敍錄) | abstract of a book or comments added after reading (E) |
| xulüe 序略 | preface (E) |
| xulun 續論 | supplementary essay (E) |
| xun 訓 | exhortation, precept, instruction, counsel (E) |
| xun 訓, xunling 訓令 | exhortation, precept, instruction, counsel, order, directive |
| xun 訓諭 | instructions and edicts (F) |
| Y [top] | |
| ya 雅 | congratulatory composition (E); ode (of the Shijing 詩經) |
| yan 言 | allegory, parable (E) |
| yanwen 驗文 | detailed appendixes attached to documents submitted to a superior |
| yaoyan 謠諺 | ballads and sayings |
| yi 移, yihui 移會, yishu 移書, yiwen 移文, yizi 移咨 | official letter or dispatch between equals (E); communication including documents and information (F) |
| yi 義 | interpretation of a theme, "the meaning of..." (E); discussion, critical exposition, "considered opinion on..." |
| yi 議 | discussion, critical exposition (E); deliberations, "examining the rightness of things" (E) |
| yibiao 遺表, yiben 遺本, yishu 遺疏, yizhe 遺摺 | valedictory memorial from a high official (E) |
| yiling 遺令, yiming 遺命 | valedictory charge (E) |
| yin 引 | introduction, preface (E); composition presented at parting (E) |
| yin 隱 | enigma, riddle |
| yinpu 印譜 | seal catalogue |
| yishi 遺詩 | posthumously published poems |
| yiwen 移文 | dispatch, summons, warning proclamation, call-to-arms |
| yiwen 遺文 | posthumously published writings |
| yiwen 佚文, 遺文 | fragments of lost books |
| yiwen 逸文 | lost books, lost writings |
| yizhao 遺詔 | valedictory edict (E) |
| Yongming ti 永明體 | poetry style of the Yongming reign-period |
| yongwu ci 詠物詞 | symbolistic subgenre of lyric-metre-style poetry (ci 詞) |
| youzhao 優詔 | last edict issued by an emperor before his death or abdication (E) |
| yu 諭, yuzhi 諭旨 | injunction, proclamation, might be issued by a minister (E); edict, written in answer to a memorial (F) |
| yu 語 | narrative, allegory, tale (E) |
| yu 喻 | parable, lesson from... (E) |
| yudie 玉牒, yudie wen 玉牒文 | jade-table composition communicating the emperor's desires to Heaven (E); imperial genealogy (F) |
| yue 約 | agreement, contract, bond, treaty, like xiangyue 鄉約 (E) |
| yuji wen 諭祭文 | composition for use at a sacrifice ordered by the emperor for a deceased minister (E) |
| yuan 原 | analysis of..., like in Yuandao 原道 (E) |
| yuanwen 願文 | petition with a vow for conditional on the granting of the petition (E) |
| yuefu 樂府 | allegedly poems from among the people, colleted by the Han period Bureau of Music, written in an elegic style and popular into the Tang period |
| yueyu 樂語 | composition for use at a banquet (E) |
| yupi 御批 | imperial endorsement on a memorial (F) |
| yuyan 寓言 | allegory, parable |
| yuzha 御札 (御劄) | imperial letter, orders to officials (E) |
| Z [top] | |
| zaiji 載記 | regional history or history of autonomous states (inside China) |
| zaji 雜記 | miscellaneous records (E) |
| zaming 雜銘 | miscellaneous private inscriptions, often dedicated to persons not holding an official position (E) |
| zan 贊 | panegyric, eulogy, encomion (E); pronouncement |
| zanxiang wen 贊饗文 | eulogy for use at a sacrifice (E) |
| zashi 雜史 | "miscellaneous" private records of historical events (E), often focusing on one theme instead of a full age |
| zazhi 雜誌 | miscellaneous private obituary compositions, often dedicated to females or inferior household members (E); today: journal, magazine |
| zazi 雜字 | "mixed words", terms for primers or textbooks of primary education |
| zengxu 贈序 | compositions presented at parting (E) |
| zha 札 (扎 , 劄) | letter (E); order from a superior to a subordinate (F) |
| zhafu 劄付 | order from provincial administration commissioners to prefects and magistrates (F) |
| zhaici 齋詞, zhaiwen 齋文 | composition appropriate to Buddhist abstentions (E) |
| zhang 章 | 1) memorial, one of the four types of address to the throne in use during the Han period (章, 奏, 表, and 駁議) (E) 2) paragraph |
| zhangju 章句 | paragraph-and-sentence [commentary] |
| zhangzou 章奏 | routine memorial submitted by one of the Six Ministries (F) |
| zhao 詔 | edict, decree, emanating from the throne, authorship not indicated (E); proclamation, mandate, announcement to the people (F) |
| zhaofu 照覆 (照復) | communication in reply, answer to zhaohui (F) |
| zhaogao 詔誥 | proclamations and ordinances (F) |
| zhaohuang 詔黃 | copy of an imperial utterance written on yellow paper, yellow bill bearing a proclamation (F) |
| zhaohui 照會 | communication addressed to an official slightly inferior in rank (F) |
| zhaoling 詔令 | edicts and orders (E) |
| zhazi 札子 (劄子) | memorial, detailed report to the throne (E); official letter (E) |
| zhe 摺, zhezou 摺奏 | memorial (E) |
| zheben 折本 | memorial (F) |
| zhen 箴, zhenming 箴銘 | (inscribed) admonition, warning, precept, exhortation (E) |
| zhengshi 正史 | official dynastic history |
| zhi 旨 (指) | outline, essentials of, the gist of, like in yaozhi 要旨 or 要指 (E); rescript, lengthier answer to a memorial, imperial decree in answer to a specific memorial, and written in red on the original, unlike yu 諭, which is a separate document (F) |
| zhi 制, zhici 制辭, zhishu 制書 | edict (E); imperial decree (F) |
| zhi 志, 誌 | anecdote, chronicle, accounts of particular incidents of a trivial character (E) |
| zhiguai 志怪 | "reports of strange events", a kind of story or proto-novel very popular in each type of literature and through the ages |
| zhihui 知會 | communication, information in correspondence between government offices (F) |
| zhihui 指揮 | (military) order (F) |
| zhiling 指令 | order, directive decreed upon request of subordinated institutions |
| zhiyu 致語, zhici 致詞 | songs of felicitation (E) |
| zhu 祝, zhuwen 祝文, zhuban wen 祝版文, zhuxiang wen 祝香文 | invocation, praise, sacrificial prayer (E) |
| zhu 註, 注 | commentary |
| zhuan 傳 | biography (E) |
| zhuanzhuang 傳狀 | biographies and biographical notices (E) |
| zhuang 狀 | statement submitted to the throne, memorial, with indictments, protest against extravagance, or address of congratulation, etc. (E); official dispatch (E) |
| zhuanzhuang 傳狀 | biographies and biographical notices |
| zhujian 竹簡 | texts written on bamboo slips |
| zhupi 硃批 (朱批), zhubi 硃筆 | vermillion endorsement, vermillion rescript (F) by central-government clerks or by the emperor |
| zhuxia wen 祝碬辭 | prayer for use in the imperial temple |
| zhuyu 硃諭 | copies of imperial utterances, written in vermillion on yellow paper (F) |
| zhuzhi ci 竹枝詞 | a lyric-metre poetry pattern |
| zhuzi 諸子 | see baijia 百家 |
| zi 咨, zihui 咨會, ziwen 咨文, zixing 咨行 | notice exchanged between institutions of the same jurisdictional level and under the same authority; communication, despatch (F) |
| zi 子 | literary category of "Masters and Philosophers" |
| zibao 咨報 | report from a minister to the Foreign Office (F) |
| zicheng 咨呈 | communication to an official slightly superior in rank (F) |
| ziji 字寄 | court letter, despatch, sent from the Grand Council to the provincial authorities (F) |
| ziyu 字諭 | order to inferiors or commoners; general term for letters (F) |
| zou 奏, zoushu 奏書, zoushu 奏疏, zouben 奏本, zouzhe 奏摺 | memorial (E); zoushu is a general term; zouben were memorials to the throne; zouzhe were confidential memorials on important state matters or personal matters, not bearing the memorialist's seal, submitted to the Chancery of Memorials (zoushichu 奏事處), considered by the emperor, action proposed by the Grand Council, and answered in the shape of a rescript, an endorsement, or edict (F) |
| zouji 奏記 | official letter to a superior in rank, note of presentation (E) |
| zoupian 奏片 | minute, short memorial (F) |
| zouyi 奏議 | memorials (E) |
| zouzha 奏劄 | memorial, detailed report to the throne |