Pre-Qin Classical Essays
6 min readThe Early and Middle Zhou Dynasty was powerful enough to be able to control the vassal states，preventing them from fighting each other for more lands.After the capital was frequently sacked by barbarians from the west in its late years，the Zhou Dynasty was forced to move its capital east to Luoyang.As might be expected，the imperial house’s authority soon diminished as vassal states competed with each other for power.The Spring and Autumn and Warring StatesPeriods involved constant wars between several major contenders struggling for supremacy.
During this turbulent period of time，great social changes took place.To expand their forces andterritories，several major overlords carried out reforms to strengthen themselves，which broke upthe monopoly of culture and literature held by members of the nobility.Private schools became a developing trend，in turn sparking a sudden increase of new ideas and philosophies.Many schools of thought with varied political views were flourishing，arguing and contending with one another.This period is known as the Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought in the history of China.When poetry could not fulfill its mission to convey active thoughts in such a social context，essays of different schools rose to prominence.
According to their content and form，these essays can be classified into two major types，namely，narrative essay and argumentative essay.
·Narrative Essays
Narrative essays are mainly about history.The style developed from the tradition of officialhistoriography in ancient China.Some important works of this kind are The Book of History，The Spring and Autumn Annals，Zuo’s Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals，The Discourses of the States and Strategies of the Warring States.
The Book of History is the first compilation of documentary records of events in ancient Chinese history.It preserves in simple sentences the history of ancient Chinese rulers such as Yao and Shun during the legendary age and the Xia，Shang and Zhou Dynasties，covering a wideof range of items including official orders，notices，speeches，dialogues and deeds，and more.
The Spring and Autumn Annals is the first court dynastic history of the Zhou Dynasty，arranged on annalistic principles，covering the official chronicle of the State of Lu from 722 to 481BC.It recounts the happenings in the State of Lu，including various feudal states’diplomatic relations，alliances and military actions，and natural disasters，as well as births and deaths among the ruling families.The style is impersonal and less informative.A typical entry might read， “August，locusts.”
Zuo’s Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals was traditionally attributed to Zuo Qiuming（c.502-c.422 BC），a citizen of the State of Lu.Different from its rough source，The Spring and Autumn Annals，it provides both a vivid and comprehensive account of the important political，military，and diplomatic events of the vassal states，as well as background materials concerning events in the Spring and Autumn Period，covering a period of 269 years from 722 BC to 453 BC.What makes it prominent is the vivid description of hundreds of battles both major and minor，focusing on both the process of a battle and its causes and results.As for character description，many words are devoted to the acts and dialogues of the characters while few to their appearances and psychologies.
The Discourses of the States was compiled in the Warring States Period，recording the events of the Zhou Dynasty and its several vassal kingdoms.It gives priority to the conversations between officials and kings，court banquets，arguments and private admonishments.It，together with Zuo’s Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals，marks a new period of historical writings.
Strategies of the Warring States got its source material from the written works of some strategists and negotiators in the Warring States Period.It displays the strategies and political views of the negotiators and reveals the society of the day.Not only a brilliant historical work，itis also an excellent historical novel and literature.Major events and historical information of the period are recounted in objective and vivid descriptions.Detailed records of speeches and deeds of the strategists and negotiators reveal their mental makeup and intellectual expertise.It alsodemonstrates clear literary quality in its character description，language usage and metaphorical stories，ushering in a new era in the development of ancient Chinese literature.
·Argumentative Essays
The Chinese traditional argumentative essay went through roughly three periods:that of quotation style，displayed in The Analects of Confucius；of dialogue style，represented by The Book of Mencius；and finally of monograph style，manifested by The Book of Master Han Fei.As far as language is concerned，The Analects of Confucius and The Book of Lao Zi are terse and philosophical，The Book of Mencius and The Book of Master Zhuang are vivid and smart，and The Book of Master Xun and The Book of Master Han Fei are argumentative and logical.Many lines in these famous essays have become mottos and proverbs still popular today.
The Analects of Confucius was said to be compiled by the disciples of Confucius in the early Warring States Period，recording the words and acts of Confucius and his disciples as wellas the discussions they held.Most chapters of The Analects of Confucius are very short.Strictly speaking，it fails to appear as a good argumentative essay.Its chapters are grouped by individual themes unrelated to each other.Furthermore，they are arranged to be completely random so as not to carry a continuous stream of thought or idea.However，it bears some basic argumentative quality which lies in the comparative and analogical way of argumentation，using simple language to explain profound theory.More important is its primary literary value displayed in the depiction of the image of Confucius and his disciples.
The Book of Lao Zi，also known as Dao De Jing，was written by Lao Zi，whose original name is Li Er .It discusses abstract metaphysics.In some chapters，metaphors are applied to explain abstract philosophical concepts and theories.Though lacking full logical development，it，together with The Analects of Confucius，laid the foundation for later Pre Qin Essays.
The Book of Mencius，compiled by the famous Chinese wandering sage Mencius and his disciples，is a collection of Mencius’sayings and his debates and discussions with his disciples，rulers and other philosophers.It contains an assertion that all humans are basically good，and when properly cultivated，will develop into individuals with the four cardinal virtues of benevolence，righteousness，decorum，and wisdom.In some chapters，usually about an encounter and a conversation with a king or a nobleman，Mencius employs both the parable and the Socratic method to great effect.Take one of the chapters in King Hui of Liang（400-319BC）for example：
Mencius said to King Xuan of Qi（“Suppose that one of your Majesty’s ministers were to entrust his wife and children to the care of his friend，while he himself traveled to the State of Chu，and that，on his return，he found that his friend had left his wife and children unattended，suffering from cold and hunger.How ought he to deal with him？”
The king said，“He should cast him of.”
Mencius proceeded，“Suppose that the chief criminal judge could not regulate the officers under him，how would you deal with him？”
The king said，“Dismiss him.”
Mencius again said，“If there is no good government within the four borders of your kingdom，what is to be done？”
The king looked to the right and left，and spoke of other matters.
The Book of Master Zhuang by Zhuang Zi or Zhuang Zhou（c.369-286BC）is ranked among the greatest of literary and philosophical works that China has ever produced.His style is narrative，poetic，humorous，complex，mythical，indirect and ambiguous.It，together with The Book of Mencius，shows the transition from essay in dialogue style to that in monograph style in Chinese classical literature.
The Book of Master Han Fei is a work written at the end of the Warring States Period by Han Fei，the greatest of China’s legalist philosophers，detailing his political philosophy.In Han Fei’s philosophy，the ruler could firmly control a state with the help of three concepts:power，political techniques and strict laws.Xun Zi argued with good logic in a monograph style in The Book of Master Xun，covering a wide range of subjects such as philosophy，logic，politics and ethics，and others.It，together with The Book of Master Han Fei，manifested the final maturation of Pre-Qin Essays in argumentative style.
