This volume introduces readers to classical Chinese literature from its beginnings (ca. 10th century BCE) to the tenth century CE. It asks basic questions such as: How did reading and writing practices change over these two millennia? How did concepts of literature evolve? What were the factors that shaped literary production and textual transmission? How do traditional bibliographic categories, modern conceptions of genre, and literary theories shape our understanding of classical Chinese literature? What are the recurrent and evolving concerns of writings within the period under purview? What are the dimensions of human experience they address? Why is classical Chinese literature important for our understanding of pre-modern East Asia? How does the transmission of this literature in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam define cultural boundaries? And what, in turn, can we learn from the Chinese-style literatures of Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, about Chinese literature? In addressing these questions, the Oxford Handbook of Classical Chinese Literature departs from standard literary histories and sourcebooks. It does not simply categorize literary works according to periods, authors, or texts. Its goal is to offer a new conceptual framework for thinking about classical Chinese literature by defining a four-part structure. The first section discusses the basics of literacy and includes topics such as writing systems, manuscript culture, education, and loss and preservation in textual transmission. It is followed by a second section devoted to conceptions of genre, textual organization, and literary signification throughout Chinese history. A third section surveys literary tropes and themes. The final section takes us beyond China to the surrounding cultures that adopted Chinese culture and produced Chinese style writing adapted to their own historical circumstances. The volume is sustained by a dual foci: the recuperation of historical perspectives for the period it surveys and the attempt to draw connections between past and present, demonstrating how the viewpoints and information in this volume yield insights into modern China and east Asia.

本书是对中国古代文体及文体形态的系列个案研究。作者从先秦至明清一些具有重要文体史意义而在文学史研究中未受到足够重视的文体与形态入手，对文体形态的语言形式、体制、渊源、流变及文体形态之间相互影响与融合等问题作历史的考察，在此基础上研究文体形态所反映出来的人类的感受方式、审美心理以及文化心态和文学史意义。本书为考察中国古代文学的发展演变提供了独特的视角，是新世纪以来中国古代文体学研究的代表性著作之一。

《中国古代文体学研究》稿对中国古代文体学进行了较完整和系统的梳理，是对中国传统文体学的回归性研究，在西方文体学研究的影响之下，坚守中国文化本位立场，根据相关史料和文本系统考察了中国文体学的历史发展和特征，是一部结构合理、论证严谨、征引翔实的学术著作。《中国古代文体学研究 》稿分为上下两编，共24章，分别从学科论纲、文体学考察、文体功能、人品与文品、地域对文体的影响、文体形态，以及中国古代各时期学者对文体学的研究著作等方面出发，论述了中国传统文体学研究的各项基本问题，宏观地再现了中国古代文体学的发展轨迹，凸显了文体学在中国文化体系中的重用，是一部文体学研究的优秀作品。
本书入选首批“国家哲学社会科学成果文库”，并获得教育部高等学校科学研究优秀成果奖（人文社会科学）一等奖、第四届全球华人国学成果奖。

编辑推荐：本书是一本关于中国古代文体研究的著作，是以古代一些文体个案为研究对象的，选题非常具体，而且多是学术界不甚重视的问题，本书作者力图在学术界现有古代文体学研究的基础上，对中国古代一些文体，包括文学文体和实用性文体的文体、体制、渊源、流变及各种文体之间相互影响等问题作了历史的描述和思考。全书共四十七章组成。第一章至第十二章选择先秦盟誓、诗题与诗序、晚明清言等文体进行个案式的清理与研讨。第十三章