Most of China's ancient myths are preserved in ancient books such as Shan Hai Jing, Chu Ci, Zhuangzi, Liezi and Huainanzi. Shan Hai Jing is a book with the most preserved mythological materials in ancient China.
1, the main content of ancient myths in China.
(1), the myth of the relationship between man and nature.
Generally speaking, myths include two kinds of consciousness: worship and conquest, but the ancient myths in China mostly show the consciousness of conquering nature.
(2) Myths that explain the origin of the world and mankind.
For example, Pangu created heaven and earth, Nu Wa created man, Xuanniao gave birth to business, and Jiang Yuan gave birth to Hou Ji. These myths contain the worship and exploration of nature, as well as the consciousness of totem worship and ancestor worship.
(3) Reflect the myth of war
Such as "The Yellow Emperor captured Chiyou", "The Battle of the Yellow Emperor", "Workers' anger can't touch the surrounding mountains" and "Xing Tian and the Emperor compete for immortality". , twists and turns reflect the war and integration between ancient nations or tribes.
(1), the myth of invention and creation
For example, Sui people drilled fire, Shennong tasted a hundred herbs, Houyi made bows, Cangjie made characters, Hou Ji planted grains, Fuxi invented gossip and so on. These myths reflect the material and cultural creation activities of ancient people.
2. The artistic features of ancient myths in China.
(1), the creation of myth is collective and oral, and it is the embodiment of collective consciousness.
(2) The image of God is mostly the unity of man and beast, which is the result of humanization of nature's and man's naturalization, and is often permeated with consciousness concepts such as nature worship, totem worship and ancestor worship.
(3) Artistic images are often shaped by artistic techniques of fantasy, exaggeration, idealization and centralization, with unconscious romantic characteristics.
(4) The plots of ancient myths in China are generally very simple, with few complete stories, mostly scattered and fragmented narratives and descriptions.
(5) The mythical way of thinking is mysterious, symbolic, metaphorical, concrete and vivid.
As one of the sources of folk literature, myths and legends strongly prove that working people are always creators of spiritual civilization, and also reveal that folk literature has a close relationship with people's life and history from the beginning.
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