Editing History of literature (section)

==== Song and Jin dynasties ====
Printing first became widespread in the [[Northern Song (960–1127)|Northern Song]]. Northern Song lyric poetry was developed by [[Yan Shu]], [[Liu Yong (Song dynasty)|Liu Yong]], and [[Zhang Xian (poet)|Zhang Xian]], and it became a popular pastime among the lower class.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=428–429}} [[Ouyang Xiu]] developed the popular style of lyric poetry while [[Yan Jidao]] developed the refined style.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=439}} Lyric poetry contrasted with the more formal [[Shi (poetry)|''shi'']] poetry that followed canonical literary forms and was used by scholars.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=428–429}} Political pressures heavily influenced the poetry of scholars in the Northern Song, as proficiency in older styles was a requirement for scholars to enter into civil service.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=461}} Politics and Confucianism in particular increasingly influenced poetry in Northern Song. Poets such as [[Mei Yaochen]] and [[Su Shunquin]] developed the style of poetry used in the Middle Northern Song.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=474}} [[Ouyang Xiu]] was a prominent literary scholar in Northern Song that refined the mainstream literary style of the time,{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=480}} and [[Su Shi]] is said to have perfected it.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=490}}

[[Chen Yuyi]] defined the style of Early Southern Song poetry.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=508}} [[Lu You]] was a poet in the Middle Southern Song that wrote extensively about political life in civil service and frustration with the dynasty's weakened position in the [[Jin–Song Wars]], while [[Xin Qiji]] was a Middle Southern Song poet that wrote on similar topics from a military perspective.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=525–533}} Poetic style did not advance significantly in the Late Southern Song, though [[Yan Yu (poetry theorist)|Yan Yu]]'s ''[[Canglang Shihua]]'' was influential in poetic theory.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=539}} Classical poetry in the Early Jin emphasized emotion, while elegance was emphasized later in the Jin dynasty.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=563–564}}

Popular fiction was typically performed in the Song dynasty, made up primarily of small talk fiction and historical tales. Classical prose fiction in the Song dynasty often sacrificed linguistic quality and imagination for plain language and moral teaching. ''[[Zaju]]'' variety plays developed during the Song dynasty as a predecessor to drama.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|pp=557–562}} The scientist, statesman, and general [[Shen Kuo]] (1031–1095 AD) was the author of the ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'' (1088), a large book of scientific literature that included the oldest description of the magnetized [[compass]]. During the Song dynasty, there was also the enormous historical work of the ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'', compiled into 294 volumes of 3 million written [[Chinese characters]] by the year 1084 AD.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} The [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] saw advances in popular literature, including ''[[Romance of the Western Chamber]]''.{{Sfn|Luo|2011|p=507}}