1. Pre-Qin
1. The first collection of prose in the pre-Qin period is "Shang Shu". "Shangshu" is a symbol of the formation of ancient Chinese prose. The structure of the articles in the book is gradually becoming more complete and has a certain level. Attention has been paid to the chapter on destiny and planning. Later, the rise of prose in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was its inheritance and development. The Spring and Autumn Period produced the prose of various scholars. The turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was an era of great social change. Various academic schools wrote books and debated endlessly, forming a situation where a hundred schools of thought contended. The works of thinkers representing different classes or strata promoted the development of reasoning prose. These thinkers include Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, Legalism, etc.
2. Writer, works and style characteristics
1) "Zuo Zhuan" was written by Zuo Qiuming, a historian of the State of Lu. The narrative of this book is dramatic and the plot is compact. The description of the war is particularly outstanding, with concise language and rich imagery.
2) The current version of "Warring States Policy" was compiled by Liu Xiang of the Western Han Dynasty. The characteristics of the article are that it is good at telling stories, good at using metaphors, and has extremely vivid character creation.
3), "The Analects" and "Mencius" are Confucian works that interpret "benevolence". The Analects records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples, most of which are short conversations and questions and answers. "Mencius" records Meng Ke's remarks. Meng Ke was good at debating, so the language in the book is bright and inspiring.
4), "Mozi" represents Mo Zhai's proposition of "universal love", with simple language, clear reasoning and strong logic.
5), "Zhuangzi" represents the Taoist Zhuang Zhou's idea of ??"governing by doing nothing". Zhuangzi's prose is uniquely charming among other scholars. This is reflected in the fact that the author has fantastic imagination and keen observation, is good at using folk fables, and is good at metaphors, making the article full of literary interest.
6), "Han Feizi" represents the Legalist proposition of "adapting measures to the times". Han Fei's prose has a rigorous structure, sharp edge and profound reasoning.
7) "Xunzi" represents Xun Kuang's teachings. There are currently 32 chapters, many of which are long. Characteristics of Xunzi's prose: clear arguments, clear levels, concise syntax, and rich vocabulary.
8), "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" is a collective creation of Qin Prime Minister Lu Buwei's followers. It includes the Eight Readings, Six Treatises, and Twelve Chronicles, and includes Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Legalism, and Agriculture. The book retains a large number of documents and anecdotes from the pre-Qin era. It is a kind of systematic reasoning essay that collects many single articles, with in-depth layers and the most coherent one. Like the prose of Zhuzi, it often uses fables as metaphors, so the article is full of imagery. ,
9) "Book of Remonstrance and Expulsion" by Li Si. His reasoning is thorough, his discussion is thorough, and he is rich in literary talent.
2. The Two Han Dynasties
1. In the early Han Dynasty, the literati inherited the legacy of the strategists of the Warring States Period, and at the beginning of the founding of the country, they wrote many political essays and essays. From the late Western Han Dynasty to the Eastern Han Dynasty, prose developed like parallel couplets.
2. Writer, works and style characteristics
1), "Historical Records" Sima Qian. "Historical Records" represents the highest achievement of prose in the Han Dynasty. The book "Historical Records" uses people as the sutra and events as the latitude, creating a character-centered historical writing style such as biographies.
2), "Hanshu" Ban Gu. "Hanshu" has a relatively obvious orthodox color and records events in detail.
3. Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
1. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the articles in this issue focused more on the rhythm and rhythm, forming the parallel-li style. "Li picks up a hundred words of oddities, and competes for a single sentence of wonders" was the main literary trend of this period. Although the content is relatively sparse, it paved the way for the maturity and shaping of modern poetry in the Tang Dynasty.
2. Writers, works and style characteristics
1) Li Daoyuan's "Shui Jing Zhu" writes about landscape geography
2) Yan Zhitui's "Shui Jing Zhu" "Yan Family Instructions"
IV. Tang and Song Dynasties
1. The early Tang Dynasty was a period when prose was advocated to be simple and ancient, and to be practical and practical. There were not many major achievements. By the time of Han Yu in the mid-Tang Dynasty, Liu Zongyuan used the theory of restoration as the pillar and the parallel prose with empty content as the target of struggle. He devoted himself to restoring the guiding position of prose and led an ancient prose movement that was essentially a literary innovation. The prose creations of this period either denounced the separatist regimes of feudal vassals, criticized the rampant Buddhas and elders, or supported the officials' monopolization of power. They had real emotions and new language, and were more perfect and mature in both content and form. In the Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu once again launched the ancient prose movement. Since then, Wang Anshi, Zeng Gong, Su Shi, Su Xun, Su Che and others have all achieved their own achievements under the influence of the ancient prose innovation movement. Under the influence of the great masters of the Northern Song Dynasty, the essayists of the Southern Song Dynasty produced some political essays that addressed matters, expressing the author's distinct political attitude. The success of the ancient prose movement made prose more relevant and practical, as evidenced by the large number of notes and essays that appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty.
2. Writer, works and style characteristics
1) Han Yu's "Yuan Rui" and "Shi Shuo" etc. have thorough discussions, powerful momentum and strong logical power.
2) Liu Zongyuan's "Biography from Tongqu" and "Zhongshu Guo Lituo Biography" are all based on life, which is less orthodox and more democratic than Han Yu's.
3) Du Mu's "Apang Gong Fu" is fresh and lively, and it is the first to create a style of literary fu.
4) Ouyang Xiu's "The Drunkard's Pavilion" has a strong artistic appeal. "The Preface to the Biography of Officials in the History of the Five Dynasties" is full of unique features.
5) Wang Anshi's "Reply to Sima's Remonstrance" has clear views and sharp words.
6) Su Shi's "Previous Red Cliff Ode" and "Later Red Cliff Ode" are free and flowing, full of gestures.
Fifth, the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties
1. During this period, prose basically inherited and developed the spirit of the ancient prose movement of the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, there appeared the seven-year-old Restoration School, the Tang and Song School who opposed the Restoration, the Gong'an School who advocated spirituality, and the emergence of prose masters such as Gui Youguang. In the Qing Dynasty, the Tongcheng School had the greatest influence.
2. Writer, works and style characteristics
1) Song Lian's "Qin Shi Lu", "Wang Mian Biography" and "Li Yi Biography" are all of practical significance.
2) Yuan Zongdao, Yuan Hongdao, and Yuan Zhongdao of the Gong'an School advocated breaking through the stereotypes of traditional ancient Chinese writing and expressing their individuality naturally without polishing their language.
3) Zhang Dai of the Jingling School, "West Lake Half July" and "Looking at the Snow in the Pavilion in the Heart of the Lake" have fresh and lively language, vivid images, and are easy to read.
4), Hou Fangyu's "The Biography of Li Ji", "The Biography of Ma Ling", and "The Biography of Ren Yuansui".
5), Tongcheng sent Fang Bao, Liu Dakui, and Yao Nai. Fang Bao inherited Gui Youguang's tradition and put forward the idea of ??"righteousness and law", which became the basic theory of Tongcheng School's ancient prose. The selection of materials and terms in Tongcheng School's ancient prose works only focused on clarifying the idea rather than piling up materials. Therefore, the articles were generally concise and natural, but lacked vitality. His works are "Miscellaneous Notes from Prison" and "Anecdotes of Zuo Zhongyi".