A History of Chinese Literature is a history of Chinese literature written by Herbert Giles and published in 1901. Although there had been surveys of Chinese literature in Japanese, it was the first such survey to appear in English. In his preface, Giles claims that such a work of history was not already available, even in Chinese, since Chinese scholars realized the "utter hopelessness" of "achieving even comparative success in a general historical survey of the subject". But he adds that "It may be said without offence that a work which would be inadequate to the requirements of a native public, may properly be submitted to English readers as an introduction into the great field which lies beyond". A large part of the book is devoted to translations, "enabling the Chinese author, so far as is possible, to speak for himself".

Reception and influence

The scholar and writer Lin Yutang commented that "'History of Chinese Literature' was a misnomer; it was a series of attempted essays on certain Chinese works, and was not even an outline covering the successive periods.” Qian Zhongshu noted what he called an "amusing mistake" in Giles' "very readable book." Giles: Ezra Pound used Giles' translations as the basis for what have been called his English "translations of translations".

Editions

References and further reading

Reviews