| 文辞 | wén cí | language / use of words / phraseology / articles / essays / writing |  |
| 笔谈 | bǐ tán | to communicate by means of written notes (instead of speaking) / to publish one's opinion (e.g. as part of a scholarly dialogue) / (in book titles) essays / sketches |  |
| 征文 | zhēng wén | to solicit articles, essays or pieces of literature (on a subject or in commemoration of an event) | |
| 朝花夕拾 | Zhāo huā xī shī | "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk", a collection of autobiographical essays by Lu Xun 魯迅|鲁迅[Lu3 Xun4] | |
| 沈括 | Shěn Kuò | Shen Kuo (1031-1095), Chinese polymath, scientist and statesman of Song dynasty, author of Dream Pool Essays 夢溪筆談|梦溪笔谈[Meng4 Xi1 Bi3 tan2] | |
| 杂说 | zá shuō | scattered essays / various opinions / different manners of speaking | |
| 梦溪笔谈 | Mèng Xī Bǐ tán | Dream Pool Essays by Shen Kuo 沈括[Shen3 Kuo4], book on various fields of knowledge, the first to describe the magnetic needle compass | |
| 老三篇 | lǎo sān piān | Lao San Pian, three short essays written by Mao Zedong before the PRC was established | |
| 册府元龟 | Cè fǔ yuán guī | Prime tortoise of the record bureau, Song dynasty historical encyclopedia of political essays, autobiography, memorials and decrees, compiled 1005-1013 under Wang Qinruo 王欽若|王钦若 / and Yang Yi 楊億|杨亿, 1000 scrolls | |
| 古文观止 | Gǔ wén Guān zhǐ | Guwen Guanzhi, an anthology of essays written in Literary Chinese, compiled and edited by Wu Chucai and Wu Diaohou of Qing dynasty | |
| 抱朴子 | Bào pǔ zǐ | Baopuzi, collection of essays by Ge Hong 葛洪[Ge3 Hong2] on alchemy, immortality, legalism, society etc | |
| 朝花夕拾 | Zhāo huā Xī shí | "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk", a collection of autobiographical essays by Lu Xun 魯迅|鲁迅[Lu3 Xun4] | |
