Classical Chinese (文言文) is the written language of pre-modern China, and it features heavily on the gaokao Chinese paper. Besides the classical reading passage, candidates face a short dictation section (名篇名句默写) where they must write out lines from a prescribed list of poems and prose texts from memory, character by character. The national curriculum lists several dozen required recitation pieces for senior high school.
For native speakers this is hard. For non-native learners it can seem impossible: the grammar is compressed, many characters carry meanings that differ from modern Chinese, and the texts are long. But memorisation is a skill, and a few techniques make it far more manageable.
Understand before you memorise. Read a modern Chinese or English translation first, then go through the original line by line with notes. Pay attention to the most common function words — 之, 其, 而, 以, 于, 为, 者, 也 and a handful of others — because they recur in every text. Memorising sounds without meaning is slow and fragile.
Read aloud, many times. Classical texts were written to be recited, and their rhythm and parallel structure are memory aids. Read with pinyin at first, then without. Break each text into sense units following its punctuation (句读), and learn one unit at a time before chaining them together.
Write from memory, not from the page. Copying a text feels productive but tests nothing. Cover the text, write the next line, then check. The dictation section is marked character by character, and a single wrong or missing character usually loses the mark, so practise the characters you tend to miswrite.
Use spaced repetition. Put each line, or each pair of lines, on a card with the previous line as the prompt. Review at increasing intervals. Start with famous senior-high texts such as Xunzi's 劝学 (Encouraging Learning), Han Yu's 师说 (On Teachers) and Su Shi's 赤壁赋 (Red Cliff), which are frequently quoted and repay the effort.
Finally, enjoy the payoff. Once a few texts are in your head, you will start recognising their phrases in modern Chinese writing, idioms and speeches. Memorising classical Chinese is not just an exam skill; it is a shortcut into the cultural vocabulary educated Chinese readers share.