The approach

In research paper writing the early sixteenth century, the scholar Yu Hŭi-ch'un (1513–1577) presented the following texts, among others from China, as essential to mastering written Chinese: the Sung anthology Wen-chang kuei-fan (Models for Literary Composition), Ku-wen chen-pao (Reliable Treasures of Archaic Prose), and Chien-teng hsin-hua (New Stories for Trimming the Lampwick) from the early Ming dynasty. Guidelines and Requirements for Writing a Research Paper? Yu's inclusion of Ch'ü Yu's (1347–1433) Chien-teng hsin-hua, a popular collection of romantic tales, is unusual in that such tales were often considered corrupting. Yet it still served as a model for literary composition. The publication in Korea of the early archaist poet Li Tung-yang's (1447– 1516) anthology Ni-ku yüeh-fu (Archaistic Ballads) during the reign of King Myŏng-jong (1545–1567) and the later publication in 1580 of a selection of his poems for a Korean readership by Yun Kŭn-su made Ming dynasty theories of archaism accessible to Korean writers. Ming archaism, as put forth by the influential literary critics Wang Shih-chen (1526–1590) and Li P'an-lung (1514– 1570), distinguished itself from Sung dynasty archaism in its emphasis on kuwen-tz'u (ancient prose style). The approach suggested that the key to literary composition was the perfect internalization of the deep structure of archaic writing (Han prose and T'ang poetry) in the writer. The archaist movement (see chapters 20 and 21) severely restricted the canon of what could be considered literature, but presented how-to manuals that rendered any man capable of composing the highest literature merely by connecting the dots. The major advocate in Korea of the Ming version of archaic prose was Ch'oe Rip (1539– 1612), a scholar who established himself primarily through his literary ability. Ch'oe Rip's annotations of Han Yü and his translations into Korean of Chinese classical poetry earned him fame. Ch'oe's conception of literature as rooted firmly in prose style (munjang chimun) was best expressed in his annotated anthology of model selections from Han shu (History of the Han Dynasty) entitled Hansa yŏljŏnch'o. Emphasis fell on the sophisticated command of archaic language and the resulting laconic, spare style.