China

• Mature fictional novel arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese.
• Introduction of widespread woodblock printing during the Tang Dynasty. Invention of movable type printing by Bi Sheng.
• China has a wealth of classical literature whose compilation is attributed to Confucius.
• Two forms of literature in China:

  1. Poetry - It is the most highly regarded literary genre in China; divided into shi, ci and qu. There is also a kind of prose-poem.
  2. Prose - Neo-classical style of prose influenced prose writing for the next 800 years.