阅读理解

　　China has a wealth of classical literature dating from as far back as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and including the Classics, whose compilation(收集，选编)is attributed to Confucius．Among these, the most important classics in Chinese literature include the Yijing, the Shijing, the Shujing, the Liji, the Chunqiu and the Lunyu．

　　The earliest and most influential poetic collection was the Chuci, made up mainly of poems by Qu Yuan and his follower Song Yu．The songs in this collection are more lyrical and romantic and represent a different tradition from the earlier written Shijing．During the Han Dynasty, this form developed into the fu, a poem usually composed in rhymed verse except for the introductory and concluding passages, which are often in the form of questions and answers．

　　Classical poetry in China reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty．The early Tang period was best known for a number of poetic styles including the lushi, an eight-line poem with five or seven words in each line; and the jueju, a four-line poem with five or seven words in each line．The two best-known poets of this period were Li Bai and Du Fu．Li Bai was known for the romanticism in his poetry, while Du Fu was seen as a Confucian moralist with a strict sense of duty toward society．

　　Later Tang poets developed greater realism and social criticism within their work and improved the art of narration．One of the best known of the later Tang poets was Bai Juyi, whose poems were an inspired yet critical comment of the society of his time．

　　As the classical style of poetry became redundant(多余的), a more flexible poetic medium, the ci, arrived on the scene．The ci, a poetic form of Central Asian origin based on the tunes of popular songs, was developed to its fullest by the poets of the Song Dynasty．

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阅读理解

　　The Chongyang Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, so it is also known as the Double Ninth Festival．

　　The festival is held in the golden season of autumn, at harvest-time．The bright clear weather and the joy of bringing in the harvest make for a festival happy atmosphere．The Chongyang Festival is usually perfect for outdoor activities．Climbing a mountain, carrying a spray of dogwood(茱萸)and drinking chrysanthemum(菊花)wine have become the traditional activities of the festival．

　　The dogwood is a plant with a strong fragrance(香气)，and is often used as a Chinese herbal medicine．People in ancient times believed it could drive away evil spirits and prevent one from getting a chill(寒意)in late autumn．So its history as a medicine goes back many centuries．But the custom of carrying a spray of dogwood during the Double Ninth Festival is slowly dying out and many people in the cities, do not even know what a dogwood spray looks like．

　　Early in Han Dynasty, about 2000 years ago, people used to climb a high platform outside the capital city of Chang’an on the occasion of the Chongyang Festival．For many, it was the last outing of the year before the onset of winter．The custom evolved(发展成)into present form, when people go climbing to get some exercises as well as enjoy the autumn scenery．

　　But what about those people who live in plains far from any mountain?The problem is solved by going for a picnic and eating cakes．The Chinese word for“cake”is“Gao”, a homony of the Chinese word for“high”．Mountains are high, so eating cakes can, by a stretch of the imagination, take the place of going for a climb．

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