Buying your first home Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Buying your first home - Assignment Example Buying your very first home may be intense but worthwhile. Though you may consider it an investment, you may decide, however, if it would be a lifestyle investment or a financial investment. Whatever it is, homeownership is a worthwhile venture.First time home buyers need to consider many things before finally buying. These things are embodied in a handbook: Guide to First Time Home Purchases. A comprehensive guide consisting of step-by step instructions and recommendations, you cannot help but take note and appreciate its contents. For instance, you will find reminders such as setting your goals in order to have a focus on your single project - your home; controlling your debts so that there will be no problem during the payments of monthly amortization; working your money so you have to withdraw your savings from a low-interest bank and deposit in a high interest yielding bank for fast growth; checking your credit rating for a good credit history; doing your homework by comparing i nterest rates of lending companies, if you opt to make a home loan; and last but not the least, getting your entitlements which means that in some countries, there are bonuses for first time home buyer through a loan. These features make the 'Guide to First Time Home Purchases' worthwhile.The competence statement, "Can understand the broader context of first time home purchases" is a moving statement that inspires first time home buyers to carry out the project. ... Goal setting means aiming for something. When you aim for something, it includes affordability. Affordability does not only refer to budget related conditions, it could also be related to strength. If you are healthy and strong, you can afford to work continuously and earn income. For budget conditions, affordability can work for you "keep in mind that any existing or current debt will reduce the amount that you can loan for your home" (Money Magazine, 2006). To carry the project, ask yourself if you can afford to spend that much and if not, you should be willing to live in a house which is cheaper and within your personal budget. II. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES For this research work, the researcher used the descriptive method to gather data about the present conditions and to interpret these data through contrast, comparison, and relationships. A questionnaire which is designed by the researcher was utilized as an instrument to collect some data relevant to the research. Informal interviews with home buyers during the distribution and retrieval of the questionnaires were conducted. Printed books and internet articles related to the study were also read. III. RESEARCH FINDINGS Related literature and studies for this particular study were reviewed. The review provided necessary information in formulating the method and procedure used in undertaking the research. A. Literature Review Sheller (2008) commented that in buying a house the buyer must know that housing rates may remain steady for a year, goes up next year, and higher next year; it never go down. It is different from stocks whose prices are not fixed - it could be high

Fair Trade Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Fair Trade Principles - Essay Example Scarce commodities are considered much more important than commodities available in abundance hence there is a significant difference between the prices of scarce commodities and the commodities which are available in abundance. Let us now consider the demand aspect of the price theory, the demand aspect of the price theory is driven by an important factor which is how desperately a consumer is in need of that commodity or service. If a consumer is urgently in need of the service or commodity, he/she wouldn't mind spending even double the amount of money which they would have spent in normal circumstances. So the demand aspect of the price theory is all about the desire of the consumer to have that particular commodity or service at his/her disposal. Another important aspect which is very important is the demand curve; demand curve gives a good enough indication of the will of consumers to buy the commodity or the service at that particular price. Demand curve and supply curves are studied by an organization to arrive at an equilibrium price. Equilibrium cost is the fixed cost and this changes only when the demand and supply is changed and it does not change unless the demand and supply changes. Let us now take into consideration the difference between luxury goods and necessities, the ... he level of income of an individual goes on to decide what luxury is and what is necessity For instance a rich person can stop buying bikes and as a replacement start collecting cars, this purely depends on the level of income of people. The word luxury has more meanings than one, one often mistakes luxury as a status symbol, for instance a person can buy a Nike shoe considering as a luxury knowing very little about how good the shoe is, so it depends on individuals on how they define luxury. Euro Star and its Price Theory Euro star is a high speed train which covers areas in London, Brussels and Paris. The price theory of the high speed train will be highlighted in the remaining of the paper. There are three different classes namely, the standard class, the Leisure select and the last one is Business Premier. The rates vary depending upon the class, for a journey from London to Paris it would roughly cost about 178 if one chooses to travel in Standard class, on the other hand the fare is higher if one chooses to travel by Leisure select, it would cost roughly about 325 if one chooses a two way journey from London to Paris and back. The third and the most expensive class is the Business Premier which would cost a person roughly about 328.50 for a one way journey from London to Paris. The demand factor of the price theory comes into effect here; people opt to travel by Euro star because they have the willingness to pay for the service offered by the train. This is a very essential concept in price theor y, if the people don't feel the willingness to travel by the train they will stop travelling by the train. This goes to show that the prices of the services offered by the train are quite reasonable and this is exactly why the people feel willing to travel

The Culture And Practices In Islam Theology

The Culture And Practices In Islam Theology The origins of Islam are from Saudi Arabia, it is a religious tradition that is monotheistic. The literal meaning of the word Islam is submission to God Julie Williams, 2008 This complete code of life is based on the divine revelations preached by Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) it addresses all aspects of life: spiritual, social, moral, intellectual, political, economical etc. Its teachings show us how to surrender to Allahs will in every area of life, Who is the supreme creator and sustainer of this world. The sacred scripture of Islam is the Quran, which is the compilation of all the divine revelations sent to Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) and were taught by him. The underlying principle which is the foundation of Islam is that there is only one God, Allah. He has no equal or any partner. Five Pillars of Islam are its unifying characteristic; they are the primary aspect of religion. These five pillars include Tauhid, which is the first and most important; it is faith in one true God, Allah. The second is Salah or Namaz, which is the ritual prayer Muslims are required to perform five times a day. Fasting is the third pillar of Islam where Muslims fast for a whole month. Zakat, the charity compulsory on certain wealth is the fourth pillar, the fifth pillar is Hajj, which is a pilgrimage a Muslim with enough wealth is required to take at least once in his lifetime. Apart from the five pillars of Islam, there are also six articles of faith. These include: Belief in One God Belief in all the prophets Belief in the four original Holy scriptures Belief in the angels Belief in the Hereafter and day of judgement Belief in Divine verdict Muslims are usually distinguished by their devotion to the obligation of praying fives times to Allah in a day. Another defining characteristic of Islam is pre-eminence of the sacred places, which are Makah, Medina and Jerusalem. A ritual of Muslims is to gather in a congregation at mosque to pray and worship Allah, also study the divine scripture, Quran. The distinction as to who is better in the Muslim community is based on solely the individual Muslims devotion to serving in the path of Allah. The universal aspect of Islam caused it to expand almost instantly after it evolved in Arabian Peninsula, in the present world it has spread across Africa, Europe, Asia and rest of the world. Although most of the Muslims are born into faith but Islam always welcomes the coverts too (Julie Williams, 2008). Even though Islam originated from Arab region, the Muslims are not necessarily Arab; it is a universal religion which is for everyone across the globe. There are Muslims from almost every n ationality in the world, now the Arabs are only 20% of the Muslim population across the world. The influence of Arab culture on Islam has had effects on those who belonged to other cultures but adopted Islam too. This has created a cultural bond due to similarities that they share among their societies, although these different societies do still have characteristics that clearly distinguish them. The culture of Islam inherited an Arab culture that was originated in desert, which although is simple yet not in any way unsophisticated. It has a verbal tradition founded on the broadcast of culture by means of narrative as well as poetry. Although, the largest impact on Islamic civilization is that of the written scripture, the whole civilization is based on the teachings written down and compiled in form of Holy Quran and taught by the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h). A ts of animate beings. The focus of Islamic art is on Allahs omnipresence, which cannot be illustrate ts of animate beings. The focus of Islamic art is on Allahs omnipresence, which cannot be illustrated in any imagery. The calligraphy in Arabic is a famous art form to beautifully write Quranic verses. The Islamic art with its artistry as well as grandeur has not failed to inspire awe over the centuries.d in any imagery. The calligraphy in Arabic is a famous art form to beautifully write Quranic verses. The Islamic art with its artistry as well as grandeur has not failed to inspire awe over the centuries.n important part of the Islamic culture is its signature art and architecture (Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter, Edwin R. McDaniel, 2009) which is marked by floral decorative patterns and abstract art. The fundamental aspect of Islamic art is that it is devoid of illustrations of living beings, especially humans according to the teachings of Islam, since it is forbidden in religi on to paint or draw portraits of animate beings. The focus of Islamic art is on Allahs omnipresence, which cannot be illustrated in any imagery. The calligraphy in Arabic is a famous art form to beautifully write Quranic verses. The Islamic art with its artistry as well as grandeur has not failed to inspire awe over the centuries. Critically outlines how the history and practices of Islam shape the lives of Muslims today in a short paragraph Most of the practices which are prevailing in Muslim world of today are not mentioned in The Quran. Although, the saying of Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) and his conduct of every day life provide the Muslims of today the basis for traditions and the practices of today in form of Sunnah. The Sunnah and Hadith of holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) provides a guiding path for all the Muslims of today from every day rituals like eating with the right hand, growing beard for men and hijab to cover the head for women, greeting another Muslim with salaam etc to major issues like marriage and legal problems. In the troubled world of today however, it is crucial to be able to differentiate as to what is true to Islamic nature and what only a part of culture. Many of the customs that prevail in todays Muslim world have no roots in either Quran or Sunnah. Compare Islamic culture with other cultures Islam is one of the three Divine religions, other two being Judaism and Christianity which preceded Islam but were annulled when Allah sent the message of Islam through Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h), which was to be the last and universal religion for the entire mankind. The preceding cultures have various similarities but major differences in comparison to Islam. Lets take Judaism for instance, there are many differences among these two religions yet they all originate from one basic difference. Although they both believe in One God, they have difference in the belief of Prophet, Islam is based on the teachings that Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) came with and believes him to be the Last Prophet. Where as Jews believe only in the prophet hood of Moses. According to Islamic belief any who denies that Holy Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) was the last prophet would be doomed to an eternity in hell. There are other contrasting beliefs in both the religions too, for example Jews believe prophet Ismail to be an idolater where as Muslims respect him as prophet of Allah. Christianity and Islam have a lot of similarities. Both of them hold the belief in Prophets, Divine scriptures, day of judgement/resurrection, importance of religion. Many of the teachings in their scriptures are similar too, although the Original transcript of Bible has now been tampered with. Regardless of these similarities there are a lot of crucial differences too. Their Understanding of Allah is very different, in Islam God is one and only with no equals where as in Christianity they deem Jesus to be the son of God. In Christian culture, the belief of divine revelation is that God himself appeared to preach and provide redemption. Islam on the other hand looks upon revelation as a form of guidance. Aside from difference of islam with these two major religion cultures, since islam has spread across the world, its true culture has taken various changes depending on the region it exists in, for example in subcontinent, Malaysia and Indonesia. The influence of hindu culture is dominant on muslim practices too, since the people that converted to islam and formed muslim communities there were originally hindus. Practices like lighting candles on the last seven Ramadan nights has been adopted from a Hindu festival, so are many of the customs involved in marriage that require bride and groom to sit centre stage and get appraised and blessed by the crowd. These practices are contrasting to what is truly Islamic and have no origins in islam whatsoever.

Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald Essay -- Great Gatsby Scott Fitzgeral

Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald The 1920s is the decade in American history known as the â€Å"roaring twenties.† Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a reflection of life in the 1920s. Booming parties, prominence, fresh fashion trends, and the excess of alcohol are all aspects of life in the â€Å"roaring twenties.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The booming parties in Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby reflect life in America during the 1920s. Gatsby displays his prominent fortune by throwing grand parties. From next door, Nick Carraway witnesses the scene of Gatsby’s fabulous summer parties: There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and women came and went like moths among the whisperings of champagne and the stars†¦On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all the trains (Fitzgerald 43). Gatsby’s house illuminates, the jazz music blares for the entire town to hear, the bubbly is served, and the guests dance until one A.M. The parties are â€Å"roaring.† Gatsby’s parties display the way Americans socialized and the lifestyle they lived during the 1920s when â€Å"Americans danced to the decades joyous music at a frantic and accelerating pace†¦Americans began to improvise leisure time activities that had no purpose other than having fun. People roared through the decade intent on enjoying every exciting moment of it†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Nash 370). Life in the twenties consisted of fun, fun, and fun. Americans partied like there was no tomorrow. Gatsby’s parties reflect the way society partied in the 1920s. Americans threw expensive never-ending galas. One result from the grand parties and riches was the gain in fame.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prominence in The Great Gatsby is imperative for life in Long Island and also reflects 1920s America. Gatsby throws magnificent parties, boasts about his car, and flaunts his costly materials. Gatsby’s materials and riches result in his vast popularity. During one of Gatsby’s parties, Nick becomes intrigued when he overhears a group gossiping about Gatsby. The gossip â€Å"was a testimony to the romantic speculation he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that it was necessary to whisper about in this world†(Fitzgerald 48). Gatsby’s fo... ...gerald 55). Nick’s perspective on the evening has changed in an instant. In 1920s America, alcohol was just as important as it is in the novel The Great Gatsby. In America everyone was rebelling to Prohibition. Despite the law, â€Å"women who had not been allowed to drink in saloons went to the new speakeasies, where men and women gulped down Prohibition’s new drink, the cocktail†(Nash 398). Americans drank liquor when they and where they could. The consumption of alcohol in the 1920s was significant just as it was in The Great Gatsby. The amount of alcohol served at Gatsby’s parties and in general is an illustration of the overindulgence of alcohol during the 1920s. The drinking, the parties, the rich and famous, and the fashion elite make up not only Gatsby’s life but the 1920s as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lavish parties, prominence, stylish clothing, and the surplus of alcohol are aspects that frame 1920s America. The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a direct reflection of the lives of American during the time. American history will always know the 1920s as the â€Å"roaring twenties† due to the spontaneity and rebellion that existed. It is no reason the decade is known as â€Å"roaring.†

Culture of Hybrid Stripped Bass in Cages

The hybrid striped bass (Morone crysops saxatilis) is a cross between the striped bass and the white bass. The two species were successfully hybridized for commercial farming in 1967 in California. The aqua culture of this fish can be conducted in either net pens or in open ponds. A drawback to open pond culture is that ponds must be designed specifically for aquaculture, and in most cases they are not. Usually ponds are designed with irrigation, watershed conservation, livestock watering, or recreational purposes in mind. These ponds usually cannot be adequately drained or they have natural structures on their bottoms, which make harvesting difficult. However, with cage culture many of these ponds can still be used for aquaculture. Cages or net pens are structures that enclose a number of fish in a confined area keeping them from ranging freely. This makes harvest extremely easy. The fish are dipped out of the cages or the cage itself is simply removed. Although the cage makes for a easier harvest the nature of the fish being in confined space calls for close management. Pond size is very important when considering cage culture for commercial purposes. Five acres is the recommended size for commercial culture (due to oxygen demand) although, smaller ponds can be used is mechanical aeration is used to offset the problem of oxygen depletion. Fish need oxygen to survive the oxygen they breathe is dissolved in the water. The amount of dissolved oxygen in the water is inversely proportional to the water temperature. Warmer water means lower levels of oxygen saturation, which is where problems arise. As the water temperature increases so does the metabolism of the fish. This higher metabolism causes the fish! to consume more oxygen. If oxygen levels are low this stresses the fish, which in turn causes the fish to consume more oxygen and further reducing levels in the pond. So for a cage culture operation to be successful a high lever of oxygen saturation must be maintained. This can be done in two ways using a small number of fish on a large pond, or enhancing the ponds oxygen levels by mechanical means. The latter is what works best in intensive commercial situations. Mechanical methods such as paddlewheels, airlift pumps, or diffusers are artificial means of introducing oxygen into a pond. They simply expose more water surface to the atmosphere allowing a greater rate of oxygen transfer. Oxygen is one of the major limiting factors in determining how many pounds of fish can be produced in a given body of water. That is why in serious commercial cage culture a good oxygen meter is a valued piece of equipment. Keeping oxygen in mind, cages can be placed any where in the pond so long as there is enough open water around and under the cage to allow water to circulate. Cages should not be set side by side so water movement is not restricted. The ideal situation is to have two cage lengths between cages. A minimum of two feet should be maintained between the bottom of the cage and the pond bottom to ensure an adequate buffer zone between the caged fish and the pond bottom, where organic waste is broken down by bacteria causing low levels of oxygen. For greatest ease in feeding and harvesting it is suggested the cages be placed along a floating dock. Pond depth is another factor in cage culture. The pond should be at least six to seven feet deep but no deeper than fifteen feet. Deeper ponds should be avoided due to water stratification. The cool water at the bottom will establish a density gradient so that normal wind action will only circulate the upper level of warm water. In deali! ng with water temperature hybrid stripped bass require water in the range of 72 to 78oF for optimal growth. With hybrid stripped bass it takes sixteen to twenty-four months to reach market size. The first year is devoted to fingerling production and the second to market grow out. With hybrid striped bass there are two options with respect to size when stocking. You can stock phase I fingerlings or phase II yearlings. The phase I fish are 2 to 3 inches long and about two months old. There are several advantages to stocking phase I fish. They are cheaper and there fore can be stocked in high densities. Once they reach the age the excess phase II fish can be sold off keeping the grow out density near the ponds carrying capacity. The disadvantages of phase I fish are the use of small mesh cages restricting water flow, higher mortalities, and the need to train them to take feed. Phase II fish are 6 to 8 inches long and weigh about 1/3 of a pound. These fish are healthy accept feed and are unlikely to experience significant mortalities if oxygen levels are maintained. The draw back to th! ese fish is that they are expensive. In an intensive commercial situation phase I fish prove to be the most profitable. The caged hybrid stripped bass are completely dependent on the farmer for food due to them being confined in cages. There fore they must be feed daily with a high quality diet. The caged fish should be fed y hand to best manage them. Feeding by hand gives instant feedback on the health of the fish. Fish should be fed twice a day once in the morning and once in the evening. Do not feed the fish after dark for this is when oxygen levels are at their lowest. Be consistent in your feeding patterns for seclude changes can disrupt the behavior patterns of the fish. The feed should be of good quality the protein amount and food size depend on the fish size. The smaller the fish the smaller the feed and the higher protein content needed. There is not a complete diet food for hybrid striped bass instead you must use trout and salmon diets. Due to this the feed rate stays between 2 to 3 percent body weight per day for  ¼ pound fish decreasing as the fish reaches harvest size. Fish less ! than  ¼ pound are feed 5 percent body weight per day. For Hybrid striped bass the food conversion efficiency ranges from 1.8 to2.5:1. Hybrid stripped bass are fast attracting consumer interest in seafood markets around the country. The inland culture of Hybrid stripped bass is best undertaken in cages or net pens since it enables the use of most farm ponds with were previously thought useless foe aquaculture purposes. The cages enable the farmer to keep tight control over his fish and allow for easy feeding and harvest. With this type of culture market size fish  ¾ pound to 2 pound and up fish can be achieved by the end of the second year.

Chinese Literature Essay

2000 by Andre Levy All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in. writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39. 48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Levy, Andre, date [La litterature chinoise ancienne et classique. English] Chinese literature, ancient and classical / by Andre Levy ; translated by William H. Nienhauser, Jr. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-253-33656-2 (alk. paper) 1. Chinese literature—History and criticism. I. Nienhauser, William H. II. Title. PL2266. L48 2000 895. 1’09—dc21 99-34024 1 2 3 4 5 05 04 03 02 01 00. For my own early translators of French, Daniel and Susan Contents ix Preface 1 Introduction Chapter 1: Antiquity 5 I. Origins II. â€Å"Let a hundred flowers bloom, Let a hundred schools of thought contend! † 1. Mo zi and the Logicians 2. Legalism 3. The Fathers of Taoism III. The Confucian Classics 31 Chapter 2: Prose I. Narrative Art and Historical Records II. The Return of the â€Å"Ancient Style† III. The Golden Age of Trivial Literature IV. Literary Criticism Chapter 3: Poetry 61 I. The Two Sources of Ancient Poetry 1. The Songs of Chu 2. Poetry of the Han Court II. The Golden Age of Chinese Poetry 1. From Aesthetic Emotion to Metaphysical Flights 2. The Age of Maturity 3. The Late Tang III. The Triumph of Genres in Song Chapter 4: Literature of Entertainment: The Novel and Theater 105 I. Narrative Literature Written in Classical Chinese II. The Theater 1. The Opera-theater of the North 2. The Opera-theater of the South III. The Novel 1. Oral Literature 2. Stories and Novellas 3. The â€Å"Long Novel† or Saga Index 151 Translator’s Preface. I first became- interested in translating Andre Levy’s history of Chinese literature, La litterature chinoise ancienne et classique (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1991), in 1996, after finding it in a bookshop in Paris. I read sections and was intrigued by Professor Levy’s approach, which was modeled on literary genres rather than political eras. I immediately thought about translating parts of the book for my graduate History of Chinese Literature class at the University of Wisconsin, a class in which the importance of dynastic change was also downplayed. Like many plans, this one was set aside. Last spring, however, when the panel on our field’s desiderata headed by David Rolston at the 1998 Association for Asian Studies Meeting pronounced that one of the major needs was for a concise history of Chinese literature in about 125 pages (the exact length of Professor Levy’s original text), I revived my interest in this translation. I proposed the book to John Gallman, Director of Indiana University Press, and John approved it almost immediately-but, not before warning me that this kind of project can take much more time than the translator originally envisions. Although I respect John’s experience and knowledge in publishing, I was sure I would prove the exception. After all, what kind of trouble could a little book of 125 pages cause? I soon found out. Professor Levy had originally written a much longer manuscript, which was to be published as a supplementary volume to Odile Kaltenmark-Ghequier’s La Litterature chinoise (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1948)’ in the Que sais-je? (What Do I Know? ) series. This concept, however, was soon abandoned, and it ‘Several decades ago Anne-Marie Geoghegan translated this volume as Chinese Literature (New York: Walker, 1964). x Translator’s Preface was decided to publish the Levy â€Å"appendix† as a separate volume-in 125 pages. Professor Levy was then asked to cut his manuscript by one-third. As a result, he was sometimes forced to presume in his audience certain knowledge that some readers of this book-for example, undergraduate students or interested parties with little background in Chinese literature-may not have. For this reason, working carefully with Professor Levy, I have added (or revived) a number of contextual sentences with these readers in mind. More information on many of the authors and works discussed in this history can be found in the entries in The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature (volumes 1 and 2; Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986 and 1998). Detailed references to these entries and other relevant studies can be found in the â€Å"Suggested Further Reading† sections at the end of each chapter (where the abbreviated reference Indiana Companion refers to these two volumes). I also discovered that re-translating Professor Levy’s French translations of Chinese texts sometimes resulted in renditions that were too far from the original, even in this age of â€Å"distance education. † So I have translated almost all of the more than 120 excerpts of original works directly from the original Chinese, using Professor Levy’s French versions as a guide wherever possible. All this was done with the blessing and cooperation of the author. Indeed, among the many people who helped with this translation, I would like to especially thank Professor Andre Levy for his unflinching interest in and support of this translation. Professor Levy has read much of the English version, including all passages that I knew were problematic (there are no doubt others! ), and offered comments in a long series of letters over the past few months. Without his assistance the translation would never have been completed. Here in Madison, a trio of graduate students have helped me with questions Translator’s Preface xi about the Chinese texts: Mr. Cao Weiguo riftlal, Ms. Huang Shu—yuang MV and Mr. Shang Cheng I*. They saved me E, from innumerable errors and did their work with interest and high spirits. Mr. Cao also helped by pointing out problems in my interpretation of the original French. Mr. Scott W. Galer of Ricks College read the entire manuscript and offered a number of invaluable comments. My wife, Judith, was unrelenting in her demands on behalf of the general reader. The most careful reader was, however, Jane Lyle of Indiana University Press, who painstakingly copy-edited the text. If there is a literary style to this translation, it is due to her efforts. My thanks, too, to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation which supported me in Berlin through the summer of 1997 when I first read Professor Levy’s text, and especially to John Gallman, who stood behind this project from the beginning. Madison, Wisconsin, 16 February 1999 (Lunar New Year’s Day) Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical Introduction Could one still write, as Odile Kaltenmark-Ghequier did in 1948 in the What Do I Know series Number 296, which preceded this book, that â€Å"the study of Chinese literature, long neglected by the Occident, is still in its  infancy? â€Å"‘ Yes and no. There has been some spectacular progress and some foundering. At any rate, beginning at the start of the twentieth century, it was Westerners who were the first-followed by the Japanese, before the Chinese themselves-to produce histories of Chinese literature. Not that the Chinese tradition had not taken note of an evolution in literary genres, but the prestige of wen 5 signifying both â€Å"literature† and â€Å"civilization,† placed it above history-anthologies, compilations, and catalogues were preferred. Moreover, the popular side of literature-fiction, drama, and oral verse-because of its lack of â€Å"seriousness† or its â€Å"vulgarity,† was not judged dignified enough to be considered wen. Our goal is not to add a new work to an already lengthy list of histories of Chinese literature, nor to supplant the excellent summary by Odile Kaltenmark-Ghequier which had the impossible task of presenting a history of Chinese literature in about a hundred pages. Our desire would be rather to complement the list by presenting the reader with a different approach, one more concrete, less dependent on the dynastic chronology. Rather than a history, it is a picture-inevitably incompleteof Chinese literature of the past that this little book offers. Chinese â€Å"high† literature is based on a â€Å"hard core† of classical training consisting of the memorization of texts, nearly a half-million characters for every candidate who reaches the highest competitive examinations. We might see the classical art of writing as the arranging, in an appropriate and astute fashion, of lines recalled by memory, something ,’Odile Kaltenmark-Ghequier, â€Å"Introduction,† La litterature chinoise (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1948), p. 5; â€Å"Que sais—je,† no. 296. 2 Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical that came almost automatically to traditional Chinese intellectuals. The goal of these writers was not solely literary. They hoped through their writings to earn a reputation that would help them find support for their efforts to pass the imperial civil-service examinations and thereby eventually win a position at court. Although there were earlier tests leading to political advancement, the system that existed nearly until the end of the imperial period in 1911 was known as the jinshi A ± or â€Å"presented scholar† examination (because successful candidates were â€Å"presented† to the emperor), and was developed during the late seventh and early eighth centuries A. D. It required the writing of poetry and essays on themes set by the examiners. Successful candidates were then given minor positions in the bureaucracy. Thus the memorization of a huge corpus of earlier literature and the ability to compose on the spot became the major qualifications for political office through most of the period from the eighth until the early twentieth centuries. These examinations, and literature in general, were composed in a classical, standard language comparable to Latin in the West. This â€Å"classical† language persisted by opposing writing to speech through a sort of partial bilingualism. The strict proscription of vulgarisms, of elements of the spoken language, from the examinations has helped to maintain the purity of classical Chinese. The spoken language, also labeled â€Å"vulgar,† has produced some literary monuments of its own, which were recognized as such and qualified as â€Å"classics† only a few decades ago. The unity of the two languages, classical and vernacular, which share the same fundamental structure, is undermined by grammars that are appreciably different, and by the fact that these languages hold to diametrically opposed stylistic ideals: lapidary concision on the one hand, and eloquent vigor on the other. We conclude by pointing out that educated Chinese add to their surnames, which are always given first, a great variety of personal names, which can be disconcerting at times. The standard given name (ming Introduction 3 is often avoided out of decorum; thus Tao Qian Miff is often referred to En We will retain only the by his zi (stylename) as Tao Yuanming best known of these names, avoiding hao at (literary name or nickname), bie hao ZIJM (special or particular literary name), and shi ming (residential name) whenever possible: When other names are used, the standard ming will be  given in parentheses. The goal here is to enable the reader to form an idea of traditional Chinese literature, not to establish a history of it, which might result in a lengthy catalogue of works largely unknown today. We are compelled to sacrifice quantity to present a limited number of literary â€Å"stars,† and to reduce the listing of their works to allow the citation of a number of previously unpublished translations, inevitably abridged but sufficient, we hope, to evoke the content of the original. The chronological approach will be handled somewhat roughly because of the need to follow the development of the great literary genres: after the presentation of antiquity, the period in which the common culture of the educated elite was established, comes an examination of the prose genres of â€Å"high† classical literature, then the description of the art most esteemed by the literati, poetry. The final section treats the literature of diversion, the most discredited but nonetheless highly prized, which brings together the novel and the theater. Chapter 1. Antiquity Ancient literature, recorded by the scribes of a rapidly evolving warlike and aristocratic society, has been carefully preserved since earliest times and has become the basis of Chinese lettered culture. It is with this in mind that one must approach the evolution of literature and its role over the course of the two-thousand-year-old imperial government, which collapsed in 1911, and attempt to understand the importance (albeit increasingly limited) that ancient literature retains today. The term â€Å"antiquity† applied to China posed no problems until certain Marxist historians went so far as to suggest that it ended only in 1919. The indigenous tradition had placed the break around 211 B. C. , when political unification brought about the establishment of a centralized but â€Å"prefectural† government under the Legalists, as well as the famous burning of books opposed to the Legalist state ideology. Yet to suggest that antiquity ended so early is to minimize the contribution of Buddhism and the transformation of thought that took place between the third and seventh centuries. The hypothesis that modernity began early, in the eleventh or perhaps twelfth century in China, was developed by Naito Konan NAM 1 (1866-1934). This idea has no want of critics or of supporters. It is opposed to the accepted idea in the West, conveyed by Marxism, that China, a â€Å"living fossil,† has neither entered modern times nor participated in â€Å"the global civilization† that started with the Opium War of 1840. Nor is there unanimity concerning the periodization proposed in historical linguistics, a periodization which distinguishes Archaic Chinese of High Antiquity (from the origins of language to the third century) from Ancient Chinese of Mid-Antiquity (sixth to twelfth centuries), then Middle Chinese of the Middle Ages (thirteenth-sixteenth centuries) from Modern Chinese (seventeenth-nineteenth centuries), and Recent Chinese (18401919) from Contemporary Chinese (1920 to the present). 6 Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical. In the area of literature, the beginning of the end of antiquity could perhaps be placed in the second century A. D. Archaeology has elevated our knowledge of more ancient writings toward the beginning of the second millennium B. C. , but this archaic period, discovered recently, cannot be considered part of literary patrimony in the strictest sense. Accounts of this archaic period are traditionally divided into six eras,2 but to honor them would be to fall into the servitude of a purely chronological approach. I. Origins Since the last year of the last century, when Wang Yirong . 1. 6M (1845-1900) compiled the first collection of inscriptions written on bones and shells, the increasing number of archaeological discoveries has allowed the establishment of a corpus of nearly 50,000 inscriptions extending over the period from the fourteenth to the tenth centuries before our era. Dong Zuobin (1895-1963) proposed a periodization for them and distinguished within them the styles of different schools of scribes. Scholars have managed to decipher a third of the total of some 6,000 distinct signs, which are clearly related to the system of writing used by the Chinese today-these were certainly not primitive forms of characters. The oracular inscriptions are necessarily short-the longest known text, of a hundred or so characters, covers the scapula of an ox and extends even over the supporting bones; the shell of a southern species of the great tortoise, also used to record divination, did not offer a more extensive surface. Whether a literature existed at this ancient time seems rather doubtful, but this scriptural evidence causes one to consider whether eras are the early Chou dynasty (eleventh century-722 B. C. ), the Spring and Autumn era (722-481 B. C. ), the Warring States (481-256 B. C. ), the Ch’in dynasty (256-206 B. C. ), the Western or Early Han dynasty (206 B. C. -A. D. 6), and the Eastern or Latter Han dynasty (25-A. D. 220). 2These Chapter 1. Antiquity 7 the Shu jing Efg (Classic of Documents), supposedly â€Å"revised† by Confucius but often criticized as a spurious text, was based in part on authentic texts. The presence of an early sign representing a bundle of slips of wood or bamboo confirms the existence of a primitive form of book in a very ancient era-texts were written on these slips, which were then bound together to form a â€Å"fascicle. † The purpose of these ancient archives, which record the motivation for the diviner’s speech, his identity, and sometimes the result, has been ignored. Of another nature are the inscriptions on bronze that appeared in about the eleventh century B. C. and went out of fashion in the second century B.C. They attracted the attention of amateur scholars from the eleventh century until modern times. Many collections of inscriptions on â€Å"stone and bronze† have been published in the intervening eras. The longest texts extend to as much as five-hundred signs, the forms of which often seem to be more archaic than those of the inscriptions on bones and shells. The most ancient inscriptions indicate nothing more than the person to whom the bronze was consecrated or a commemoration of the name of the sponsor. Toward the tenth century B. C. the texts evolved from several dozen to as many as a hundred signs and took on a commemorative character. The inspiration for these simple, solemn texts is not always easily discernible because of the obscurities of the archaisms in the language. An echo of certain pieces transmitted by the Confucian school can be seen in some texts, but their opacity has disheartened many generations of literati. II. â€Å"Let a hundred flowers bloom, Let a hundred schools of thought contend! † This statement by Mao Zedong, made to launch a liberalization movement that was cut short in 1957, was inspired by an exceptional period in Chinese cultural history (from the fifth to the third centuries 8 Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical B. C. ) in which there was a proliferation of schools-the â€Å"hundred schools. † The various masters of these schools offered philosophical, often political, discussion. The growth of these schools paralleled the rise of rival states from the time of Confucius (the Latinized version of the Chinese original, Kong Fuzi TL-T- or Master Kong, ca. 551-479 B.C. ) to the end of the Warring States period (221 B. C. ). The â€Å"hundred schools† came to an end with the unification of China late in the third century B. C. under the Legalist rule of the Qin dynasty (221-206 B. C. ). This era of freedom of thought and intellectual exchange never completely ceased to offer a model, albeit an unattainable model, in the search for an alternative to the oppressive ideology imposed by the centralized state. Much of what has reached us from this lost world was saved in the wake of the reconstruction of Confucian writings (a subject to which we will turn shortly). The texts of the masters of the hundred schools, on the periphery of orthodox literati culture, are of uneven quality, regardless of the philosophy they offer. Even the best, however, have not come close to dethroning the â€Å"Chinese Socrates,† Confucius, the first of the great thinkers, in both chronology and importance. 1. Mo Zi and the Logicians. The work known as Mo Zi (Master Mo) is a collection of the writings of a sect founded by Mo Di g, an obscure personage whom scholars have wanted to make a contemporary of Confucius. It has been hypothesized that the name Mo, â€Å"ink,† referred to the tattooing of  a convict in antiquity, and the given name, Di, indicates the pheasant feathers that decorated the hats of the common people. Although we can only speculate about whether Mo Zi was a convict or a commoner, he argued for a kind of bellicose pacifism toward aggressors, doing his best to promote, through a utilitarian process of reasoning, the necessity of believing in the gods and of practicing universal love without discrimination. Condemning the extravagant expense of funerals as well as the uselessness of art and music, Mo Zi Chapter 1. Antiquity 9 wrote in a style of discouraging weight. The work that has come down to us under his name (which appears to be about two-thirds of the original text) represents a direction which Chinese civilization explored without ever prizing. Mo Zi’s mode of argument has influenced many generations of logicians and sophists, who are known to us only in fragments, the main contribution of which has been to demonstrate in their curious way of argumentation peculiar features of the Chinese language. Hui Shi Ea is known only by the thirty-some paradoxes which the incomparable Zhuang Zi cites, without attempting to solve, as in: There is nothing beyond the Great Infinity.. . and the Small Infinity is not inside. The antinomies of reason have nourished Taoist thought, if not the other way around, as Zhuang Zi attests after the death of his friend Hui Shi: Zhuang Zi was accompanying a funeral procession. When he passed by the grave of Master Hui he turned around to say to those who were following him: â€Å"A fellow from Ying had spattered the tip of his nose with a bit of plaster, like the wing of a fly. He had it removed by [his crony] the carpenter Shi, who took his ax and twirled it around. He cut it off, then heard a wind: the plaster was entirely removed without scratching his nose. The man from Ying had remained standing, impassive. When he learned of this, Yuan, the sovereign of the country of Song, summoned the carpenter Shih and said to him, â€Å"Try then to do it again for Us. † The carpenter responded, â€Å"Your servant is capable of doing it; however, the material that he made use of died long ago. † After the death of the Master, I too no longer can find the material: I no longer have anyone to talk to. (Zhuang Zi 24) Sons of the logicians and the sophists, the rhetoricians shared with the Taoists a taste for apologues. They opposed the Taoist solution of a 10 Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical detached â€Å"non-action,† involved as they were in diplomatic combat. Held in contempt by the Confucians for their â€Å"Machiavellianism,† the Zhanguo ce Vg (Intrigues of the Warring States) remains the most representative work of the genre. It was reconstructed several centuries later by Liu Xiang gj 1-(4] (77-6 B. C. ), but the authenticity of these reassembled materials seems to have been confirmed by the discovery of parallel texts in a tomb at Mawang Dui gUttg in 1973. A great variety animates these accounts, both speeches and chronicles; they are rich in dialogue, which cannot be represented by this single, although characteristic, anecdote—it is inserted without commentary into the â€Å"intrigues† (or â€Å"slips†) of the state of Chu: The King of Wei offered the King of Chu a beautiful girl who gave him great satisfaction. Knowing how much the new woman pleased him, his wife, the queen, showed her the most intense affection. She chose clothes and baubles which would please her and gave them to her; it was the same for her with rooms in the palace and bed clothes. In short, she gratified her with more attention than the king himself accorded her. He congratulated her for it: a woman serves her husband through her carnal appeal, and jealousy is her nature. Now, understanding how I love the new woman, my wife shows her more love than I—it is thus that the filial son serves his parents, that the loyal servant fulfills his duties toward his prince. As she knew that the king did not consider her jealous, the queen suggested to her rival: â€Å"The king appreciates your beauty. However, he is not that fond of your nose. You would do better to hide it when he receives you. † Therefore, the new one did so when she saw His Majesty. The king asked his wife why his favorite hid her nose in his presence. She responded, â€Å"I know. † â€Å"Even if it is unpleasant, tell me! † insisted the king. â€Å"She does not like your odor. † â€Å"The brazen hussy! † cried the sovereign. â€Å"Her nose is to be cut off, and let no one question my order! † Chapter 1. Antiquity 11 The Yan Zi chunqiu *T-*V( (Springs and Autumns of Master Yen) is another reconstruction by Liu Xiang, a collection of anecdotes about Yan Ying RV, a man of small stature but great ability who was prime minister to Duke Jing of Qi (547-490 B.C. )-the state that occupies what is now Shandong. Without cynicism, but full of shrewdness, these anecdotes do not lack appeal; some have often been selected as anthology pieces, of which this one is representative: When Master Yan was sent as an ambassador to Chu, the people of the country constructed a little gate next to the great one and invited him to enter. Yan Zi refused, declaring that it was suitable for an envoy to a country of dogs, but that it was to Chu that he had come on assignment. The chamberlain had him enter by the great gate. The King of Chu received him and said to him: â€Å"Was there then no one in Qi, for them to have sent you? † â€Å"How can you say there is no one in Qi, when there would be darkness in our capital of Linzi if the people of the three hundred quarters spread out their sleeves, and it would rain if they shook off their perspiration-so dense is the population. † â€Å"But then why have you been sent? † â€Å"The practice in Qi is to dispatch a worthy envoy to a worthy sovereign; I am the most unworthy. . . .† 2. Legalism. The diplomatic manipulations and other little anecdotes we have seen in the Yan Zi chunqiu were of little interest to the Legalists, who took their name from the idea that the hegemonic power of the state is founded on a system of implacable laws supposing the abolition of hereditary privileges-indeed a tabula rasa that rejects morals and traditions. In fact, historians associate them with all thought that privileges efficacy. From this point of view, the most ancient â€Å"Legalist† would be the artisan of Qi’s hegemony in the seventh century B. C. , Guan Zi (Master Guan). The work that was handed down under his name is a composite text and in reality contains no material prior to the third century B. C. Whether or not he should be considered a Legalist, Guan Zi 12 Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical embodies the idea that the power of the state lies in its prosperity, and this in turn depends on the circulation of goods. In sum, Guan Zi stands for a proto-mercantilism diametrically opposed to the primitive physiocraticism of Gongsun Yang (altV (also known as Shang Yang ), minister of Qin in the fourth century. Shang jun shu 1 (The 2 Book of Lord Shang), which is attributed to Gongsun Yang, gives the Legalist ideas a particularly brutal form: It is the nature of people to measure that which is advantageous to them, to seize the best, and to draw to themselves that which is profitable. The enlightened lord must take care if he wants to establish order in his country and to be able to turn the population to his advantage, for the population has at its disposal a great number of means to avoid the strictness that it fears. Within the country he must cause the people to consecrate themselves to farming; without he must cause them to be singly devoted to warfare. This is why the order of a sage sovereign consists of multiplying interdictions in order to prevent infractions and relying on force to put an end to fraud. (Shang jun shu, â€Å"Suan di†) Shang Yang’s prose is laden with archaisms, which hardly lighten the weight of his doctrine. It is in the work of Han Fei Zi 4-T- (ca. 280-233) that Legalism found its most accomplished formulation. The book Han Fei Zi contains a commentary on the Classic of the Way and of Power of Lao Zi in which the ideal of Taoist non-action is realized by the automatism of laws. The â€Å"artifice† of the latter may go back to the Confucianism of Xun Zi (Master Xun, also known as Xun Qing ,Ajja, ca. 300-230 B. C. ), a school rejected by orthodox Confucianism. Xun Zi, who happens to have been the teacher of Han Fei Zi, developed the brilliant theory that human nature inclines individuals to satisfy their egoistic appetites: it was therefore bad for advanced societies of the time. The â€Å"rites†-culture-are necessary for socialization. Xun Zi’s Chapter 1. Antiquity 13 argumentation was unprecedentedly elaborate, examining every facet of a question while avoiding repetition. In a scintillating style peppered with apologues, Han Fei Zi argues that the art of governing requires techniques other than the simple manipulation of rewards and punishments. The prince is the cornerstone of a system that is supposed to ensure him of a protective impenetrableness. The state must devote itself to eliminating the useless, noxious five â€Å"parasites† or â€Å"vermin:† the scholars, rhetoricians, knights-errant, deserters, and merchants (perhaps even artisans). 3. The Fathers of Taoism. A philosophy of evasion, this school was opposed to social and political engagement. From the outset Taoism was either a means to flee society and politics or a form of consolation for those who encountered reversals in politics and society. The poetic power of its writings, which denounced limits and aphorisms of reason, explains the fascination that it continues to hold for intellectuals educated through the rationalism of the Confucians. These works, like most of the others from antiquity that were attributed to a master, in fact seem to be rather disparate texts of a school. The Dao de jing ittitg (Classic of the Way and of Power) remains the most often translated Chinese work—and the first translated, if one counts the lost translation into Sanskrit by the monk Xuanzang WM in the seventh century A. D. This series of aphorisms is attributed to Lao Zi (Master. Lao or â€Å"The Old Master†), whom tradition considers a contemporary of Confucius. He is said to have left this â€Å"testament† as he departed the Chinese world via the Xian’gu Pass for the West. In their polemics against the Buddhists, the Taoists of the following millennium used this story as the basis on which to affirm that the Buddha was none other than their Chinese Lao Zi, who had been converting the barbarians of the West since his departure from China. Modern scholarship estimates that the Lao Zi could not date earlier than the third century B. C. The 1973 discoveries at Mawang Dui in Hunan confirmed what scholars had suspected for centuries: the primitive Lao Zi is reversed in respect to 14 Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical  ours: a De dao jing â€Å"1,M1# § (Classic of Power and the Way). Its style, which is greatly admired for its obscure concision, seems to owe much to the repair work of the commentator Wang Bi . T3 (226-249). Thus it is tenable that the primitive Lao Zi was a work of military strategy. Whatever it was, the text that is preferred today runs a little over 5,000 characters and is divided into 81 sections (9 x 9). The Taoist attitude toward life is expressed here in admirably striking formulae, which lend themselves to many esoteric interpretations: He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know (#56). Govern a great state as you would fry small fish! (#60). Practice non-action, attend to the useless, taste the flavorless. (#63) The Zhuang Zi ate, written by Zhuang Zhou 4. -B1 or Zhuang Zi (Master Zhuang), was apparently abridged at about the same time as the Lao Zi, but at the hands of the commentator Guo Xiang # -IM (d. 312), who cut it from fifty-two to thirty-three sections. Scholars cannot agree whether the seven initial sections, called â€Å"the inner chapters,† are from the same hand of Zhuang Zhou as the sixteen following, called â€Å"the outer chapters,† and the final ten â€Å"miscellaneous chapters. † It is in the final ten that we find a characteristic arrangement of reconstructions from the first century, works of one school attributed to one master. In fact, it is the first part which gives the most lively impression of an encounter with an animated personality whose mind is strangely vigorous and disillusioned: Our life is limited, but knowledge is without limit. To follow the limitless with that which is limited will exhaust one. To go unrelentingly after knowledge is exhausting and c.