ABSTRACT
Wenzhang can be traced back to the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty. This inscription can be seen as an interesting piece of prose. Besides the oracle bone inscriptions, the inscriptions on bronze vessels of both the Shang and Zhou dynasties can also be regarded as early examples of prose, and indeed mature prose writing can be traced back to a collection of documents known as the Book of History. The Intrigues of the States is a historical work compiled and covering the closing years of the Warring States Period and the Qin and Han dynasties. The thought of the writers of the Wei and Jin dynasties was not confined within the boundaries of the Confucian classics; their works were marked by an unrestrained directness and a free and lively spirit. The literary influence of the Southern Dynasties lingered on into the Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty, including parallel prose.
