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The history of Chinese literature begins with the Shih Ching or Book of Songs, an anthology of 305 lyrics of various types, compiled ca. 600 B. C. Most of the songs probably were composed and sung between 1000 and 700 B. C., mostly at Chou court ceremonies (and thus provide a cross-section of early-Chou culture). Some Sinologists have suggested, however, that certain lyrics from the Book of Songs may represent much earlier work, dating from the Shang dynasty (as early as ca. 1700 B. C.). Written Chinese emerged in its embryonic form of carved symbols approximately 6,000 years ago. The Chinese characters used today evolved from those used in bone and tortoise shell inscriptions more than 3,000 years ago and the bronze inscriptions produced soon after. Chinese literature extends back thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novel that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. The introduction of widespread woodblock printing during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the invention of movable type printing by Bi Sheng (990-1051) during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) rapidly spread written knowledge throughout China like never before. In more modern times, the author Lu Xun (1881-1936) would be considered the founder of modern baihua literature in China.

China has a wealth of classical literature, dating from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BCE) and including the Classics, whose compilation is attributed to Confucius. Among the most important classics in Chinese literature is the book of changes (易經，易经), a manual of divination based on eight trigrams attributed to the mythical emperor Fu Xi. The I Ching is still used by adherents of folk religion. The Classic of Poetry (詩經，诗经) is made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs; 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities; 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies; and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house. The Classic of History (書經，书经) is a collection of documents and speeches alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early Zhou period and before. It contains the best examples of early Chinese prose. The "Record of Rites" (禮記，礼记), a restoration of the original Classic of Rites (禮記), lost in the 3rd century BC, describes ancient rites and court ceremonies. The Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋) is a historical record of the principality of Lu, Confucius' native state, from 722 to 479 B.C.. It is a log of concise entries probably compiled by Confucius himself. The Analects of Confucius (論語，论语) is a book of pithy sayings attributed to Confucius and recorded by his disciples. There were also important Daoist classics that were written in later periods, such as the Huainanzi （淮南子）written by Liu An in the 2nd century BC, during the Han Dynasty. The Huainanzi was also one of the earliest Chinese texts to cover topics of Chinese geography and topography. Chinese historiography  refers to the study of methods and assumptions made in studying Chinese history.