Randomness, originality, comprehensiveness, practicality and randomness are related to each other and complement each other, and together constitute the basic characteristics of pre-Qin literature.
Pre-Qin literature is the glorious starting point of Chinese literature. It spans three social forms: primitive society, slave society and early feudal society. It has gone through a long process from embryonic germination to growth and maturity, until it became a grand phenomenon in the Zhou Dynasty. "The Book of Songs" and "Chu Ci" stand at the two towering peaks of realism and romanticism, and historical biographies and scholars established the fine tradition of ancient Chinese prose. All previous poetry innovation movements in the history of Chinese literature have taken Pre-Qin poetry as a model for learning and as a standard for evaluation, which is due to the characteristics of Pre-Qin literature itself.
The first is originality. Pre-Qin literature is the glorious first page in the history of Chinese literature. Literature was produced along with people's daily life in primitive society such as labor, sacrifices, marriages, etc., and developed with the development of society, and became a phenomenon in the Zhou Dynasty. Poetry, prose, poetry and other literary forms are all available. Among the prose, there is a clear division between historical prose, scholarly prose and applied prose. The description of words and events in historical prose prose has evolved from separation to integration, resulting in various styles such as imperial edicts, chronology, country classification, and genealogy. Zhuzi's prose developed from short quotations to argumentative essays, and then formed monographs, completing the system of argumentative essays. Practical texts include various literary styles such as dian, mo, xun, edict, oath, and life, as well as letters, oaths, blessings, greetings, proverbs, edicts, and inscriptions. The diversified thoughts of the pre-Qin scholars formed their own systems and penetrated each other, forming the characteristic that ancient Chinese intellectual history began with the contention of a hundred schools of thought, and radiated into various other literary forms. Pre-Qin prose's techniques of recording, narrating, writing about people, discussing, and expressing emotions have evolved from natural to conscious, and their techniques have gradually matured. Poems were the beginning of Chinese lyric poetry. The Book of Songs and The Songs of Chu created the two main schools of realism and romanticism in Chinese literature respectively, which had a profound influence. From the perspective of Confucian classics, the pre-Qin era was the era when the "Yuan Canon" was produced. The original classics of Confucianism, Taoism and other schools of thought all came from this era; from the origin of literature and art, the emergence of literary genres, and the formation of ideological systems From various aspects, such as the exploration of artistic techniques and the creation of literary schools, pre-Qin literature has creative significance. This kind of originality fully embodies the unique pioneering spirit and rich imagination of writers in the pre-Qin era. They pay attention to independent thinking and have the courage to be new and innovative, which is in sharp contrast with the imitation and imitation of others in later generations.
The second is comprehensiveness. In the pre-Qin era, literature, history and philosophy were not separated, and poetry, music and dance were integrated. Literature broadly refers to all academic disciplines including politics, philosophy, history, literature, etc. "The Analects of Confucius? 6? 1 Advanced" says that Confucian disciples Ziyou and Zixia were good at literature, and "literature" generally refers to ancient documents. "Historical Records? 6? 1 Biography of Mencius and Xunqing" said: "King Xuan liked literary lobbyists." Among them, literary scholars wrote books and established opinions, while lobbyists clapped their lips and talked loudly. In the pre-Qin literature, historical biographies and prose records historical interpretations, but there is no lack of philosophical speculation, with twists and turns in the story plots and vivid characters; the prose preaching and sermons of various scholars objectively reflect the history of that time, and the arguments and reasoning are mostly concrete, using fables, metaphors, Various literary techniques such as line drawing, exaggeration, layout, etc.; "The Book of Songs" and "Chu Ci" are literary creations, but they have a certain degree of historical value and speculative color. These documents are of equal value to the study of politics, military, economy, culture and literature in the pre-Qin era. Poetry, music and dance in the pre-Qin era are inseparable, from primitive ballads to the Book of Songs and Songs of Chu. "Ge Tianshi's Music" recorded in "Lü's Spring and Autumn Period 6.1 Ancient Music" has descriptions of dance props and movements. The title of the movement summarizes the content of the poem, which is obviously a comprehensive performance of poetry, music and dance. Most of the works in "The Book of Songs" have multiple chapters and refrains, which were originally adapted to the needs of repeated performances of music and dance. "Mozi 6.1 Gongmeng" also said: "Confucian scholars sang "Poem Three Hundred", danced "Poetry Three Hundred", played "Poetry Three Hundred", recited "Poetry Three Hundred"", you can sing, dance, The string playing and chanting prove that the Book of Songs has the characteristics of comprehensive art. The last stanza of "Chu Ci? 6.1 Li Sao", the "She Jiang", "Ai Ying", "Taosi", "Huaisha" and other chapters in "Nine Chapters" and the last stanza of "Zhaohun" all have "Luanyue" , "Chaos" is not only a summary of the content, but also the final chapter of the logo music. "Nine Songs" is Qu Yuan's creation based on folk witch songs for worshiping gods. Wu Songs for worshiping gods are songs sung during witchcraft dances. There is no "Luanyue" in each chapter, but the last chapter "Li Hun" is "Nine Songs". The first ten generic gibberish articles. It can be seen that Chu Ci also has the characteristics of integrating poetry, music and dance. To clarify the characteristics of comprehensiveness, the study of literature must be closely integrated with the cultural background of the times, and strive to avoid blind people and elephants.
The third is practicality. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, society experienced great turbulence, great changes, and great reorganizations. Literature was generally practical, or was published for specific social issues, such as the folk song in the Book of Songs, "The hungry sing about their food, and the laborers sing about their work"; or Summarize the experience and lessons of history, judge the rights and wrongs of historical figures, and provide reference for the real society, such as historical biographies and prose to determine right and wrong and resolve suspicion; or aim to reveal and solve practical social problems, such as hundreds of scholars and hundreds of schools of thought to save society. Chen Jijian; or born out of self-pity and criticizing real politics, such as Qu Yuan's "Li Sao".
The fourth is arbitrariness. Randomness means that the writer is not restricted and can speak freely. He can say whatever he wants and how he wants to say it. The primitive songs and myths and legends before the emergence of writing are naturally as many as the human brain can imagine and the human population can express.
The Yin and Shang era, when writing was born, had no restrictions. Although they worshiped the gods infinitely, there were still people like Wu Yi who dared to shoot into the sky. The Zhou Dynasty advocated etiquette and had limited thoughts. However, the folk songs in the Book of Songs use simple language to express true emotions. The hungry sing about food and the laborers sing about affairs. They make ruthless mockery of adults and gentlemen and candidly express love between men and women. confession. The "Book of Songs" that has been screened and polished still has a sense of authenticity, and it is conceivable that the poems that were not selected are more truthful. No one in the pre-Qin Dynasty imitated the "Book of Songs". After two or three hundred years, Chu Ci entered the poetry world with a completely new look. Later generations used "The Book of Songs" as a comparison to comment on "Li Sao", or thought that "Li Sao" had the advantages of both Chinese style and Xiaoyao, or thought that Qu Yuan showed off his talent and promoted himself, complained about others, and forced others who were not his, which is different from "The Book of Songs". "; or it may be thought that Qu Yuan relied solely on the poet's meaning and relied on the Five Classics to establish his meaning; Liu Xie's "Wen Xin Diao Long 6.1 Bian Sao" analyzed that the four things are the same as Fengya, and the four things are different from the classics, which can be regarded as an eclectic summary. . To use the same as the "Book of Songs" as a compliment and to use the difference from the "Book of Songs" as a criticism is because of the strange circle of writers in the Han Dynasty who respected the classics and emphasized imitation, while ignoring the arbitrariness of the pre-Qin writers. Qu Yuan is the most unique poet, and "Li Sao" is the most unique poem. He vents his anger and vents his anger quickly. He does not have or need to "conquer the holy scriptures". During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the emperor's authority gradually declined and gradually existed in name only. The feudal princes had different political opinions and hundreds of schools of thought. The divided political situation created objective conditions for active thought and freedom of speech. Confucians have the freedom to spread benevolence, righteousness and morality, Taoists have the freedom to despise benevolence, righteousness and morality, and politicians also have the freedom to replace benevolence, righteousness and morality with interests. Faced with the increasing decline of the old system, the increasing destruction of the old order, and the increasing frequency of annexation wars, various independent ideological systems have formed various independent ideological systems based on the best methods of governing the world. In order to spread their ideas more effectively, people compete to find the most appropriate way of expression and the most beautiful language skills, thus forming their own unique aesthetic taste.