China is the only country in the world with a literature written in one language for more than 3,000 consecutive years. China has a very old and rich tradition in literature and the dramatic and visual arts.

The proponents of the Hundred Schools of Thought in the Warring States Period and the Spring and Autumn periods made important contributions to Chinese prose style. Early writings generally derived from philosophical or religious essays such as the works of Confucius (551-479 BC) and Lao-tzu (probably 4th century BC). Mo Zi is known for excellently using methodological reasoning in his polemic prose. Mencius is known for his use of comparisons, anecdotes, and allegories. During 3rd century B.C., these writers had made an origin of Chinese essay, developed a simple, concise prose noted for its economy of words, which served as a model of literary form for over 2,000 years.

With the rapidly development of poetry, the improvement of the essay seemed to come to a standstill. Before Tang dynasty, essays were written in the ornate, artificial style. However, the style changed in the Tang dynasty to be simple, direct, and forceful based on Han and pre-Han writing. The changing movement was named Classical Prose Movement.

The literary category of 'travel record literature' became popular during the Song Dynasty, which employed the use of prose as well as diary and narrative format. Moreover, some seasoned veterans of travel experience as Fan Chengda and Xu Xiake came out. Su Shi's Record of Stone Bell Mountain provides another literary example of the form.

Many short essays were created in late Ming Dynasty. Wang Youding and Wei Xi stood a mong the famous prose writers in the Mid-Qing Dynasty School. Kang Youri was one of the representative traditional literary forms and expressing views frankly. His essays were actually effective weapons in political struggles.

Sima Qian and Records of the History

Records of the History plays an important role in linking the past and the future in the Chinese history, also in the development of Chinese prose. It has 103 articles with more than 50,000 Chinese characters. He intended to find out the patterns and principles of the development of human history by writing Records of the History as well as to find out the relationship between heavenly law and men.

Ban Guand Chronicles of the Han Dynasty

Chronicles of the Han Dynasty has 100 articles recounting a history of 229 years. Its language is formal and groomed, adopting lavish parallelism and ancient words. He took over the task of writing a history of the Former Han dynasty from his father Ban Biao. After his death, his sister completed this book.

Han Yu’s (768-824) Prose
Han Yu whose prose is rich in content and varied in form became known as the "Prince of Letters". His novel and language made a fine model for revival of classical prose. His style is powerful, unrestrained and flexible. He created many new words and sayings, which became widely circulated and are still used by people today. His own works were written in a simple prose style unlike the elaborate manner popular at the time, and he became known as

Liu Zongyuan’s (773-819) Prose
Liu Zongyuan’s prose was natural and fluent. As a prolific writer, he created many biographies, fables and travel notes. Among his works, travelogues have been the most popular ones. It was from Liu Zongyuan’s writings that travelogues were developed into an independent literary genre. Using a lot of short sentences makes his writing read rhymed and full of variation. He was a founder of the Classical Prose Movement, and came to be traditionally classed as one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties.

Ouyang Xiu’s (1007-1072) Prose
Ouyang Xiu’s works contain both narrative and lyrical qualities that best illustrate his achievements in prose creation. Most of his works described the daily scenery of the four seasons.
Late in life Ouyang Xiu gave himself the title "The Old Drunkard." He was an individualist, both in his approach to writing and in his interpretations of the classics.