Editing Classical Chinese (section)

== Definition ==
[[File:Shi Jing.jpg|alt=Pages of a copy of the {{zhi|c=詩經|p=Shījīng|tr=Classic of Poetry}}|thumb|The ''[[Classic of Poetry]]'', a collection of 305 literary works authored between the 11th and 7th centuries&nbsp;BCE in what is generally termed "pre-Classical Chinese"]]
There is no universal agreement on the definition of "Classical Chinese". At its core, the term refers to the language used by the [[Chinese classics|classics of Chinese literature]] roughly from the 5th century&nbsp;BCE to the end of the [[Han dynasty]] (202&nbsp;BCE{{snd}}220&nbsp;CE). The form of Chinese used in works written before the 4th century&nbsp;BCE, like the [[Five Classics]], is distinct from that found in later works. The term "pre-Classical Chinese" is used to distinguish this earlier form from Classical Chinese proper, as it did not inspire later imitation to a comparable degree despite the works' equal importance in the canon.{{sfn|Norman|1988|pp=xi, 83}}

After the Han dynasty, the divergence of spoken language from the literary form became increasingly apparent. The term "Literary Chinese" has been coined to refer to the later forms of written Chinese in conscious imitation of the classics, with [[sinologists]] generally emphasizing distinctions such as the gradual addition of new vocabulary and the erosion of certain points of Classical grammar as their functions were forgotten. Literary Chinese was used in almost all formal and personal writing in China from the end of the Han dynasty until the early 20th century, when it was largely replaced by [[written vernacular Chinese]].{{sfn|Li|2020|pp=40–41}} A distinct, narrower definition of the Classical period begins with the life of [[Confucius]] (551–479&nbsp;BCE) and ends with the founding of the Qin dynasty in 221&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Peyraube|2008|loc="The Classical period proper begins with Confucius (551–479 BC), and ends around the founding of the Qin Empire in 221 BC. The attested language of the period was probably not very different from cultured speech. The gap between the written and the spoken language began to develop in the Han dynasty (206 BC―AD 220) and increased naturally with time."}}{{sfn|Pulleyblank|1995|p=3|loc="The classical period proper begins with Confucius {{zhi|c=孔子}} (−551 to −479) and continues through the Warring States period to the unification and founding of the empire by Qin {{zhi|c=秦}} in −221. This was the period of the major philosophers and also of the first works of narrative history."}}{{sfn|Norman|1988|pp=83–84, 108–109}}