Awareness: Confucius said: "Students, why don't you learn poetry? Learning poetry can stimulate enthusiasm, improve observation, unite the masses, and express dissatisfaction. You can serve your parents if you are near, and you can do things if you are far away. I wish you could learn more about the names of birds, animals, and trees."
Original text: Master said, "Boy, why don't you learn from your husband's poetry? Poetry can be used to inspire, to observe, to group, and to complain. . What is near is for the father, what is far away is for the king; one knows more about the names of birds, animals, and trees. "
From: "The Analects of Confucius: Yanghuo Chapter" is selected from Chapter 17 of "The Analects of Confucius". Extended information
Literary Appreciation:
The social role of literature. Before Confucius’s theory of “Xing, Guan, Qun, Yu” came into being, some writers tried to use it in different contexts. explained in the work.
But they are all fragmented and scattered in some works. They are fragmented and relatively simple, without systematicity or profoundness. Confucius gathered the achievements of his predecessors and carefully summarized them on the basis of their predecessors, forming a more systematic, comprehensive and profound view of the function of literature.
It should be pointed out that Confucius’s theory of “Xing, Guan, Qun, Yu” also has its limitations. The social role of literature he expounded was completely subject to the thoughts and requirements of the ruling class at that time. , that is to say, serving the ruling class.
The theory of "Xing, Guan, Qun, Yu" was put forward based on the ethics and morals of the Zhou Dynasty. Men are superior to women, etiquette and filial piety are valued. The king is the guide for the ministers, and the father is the guide for the sons. "Those who are close to you should serve your father, and those who are far away should serve your king." This is the embodiment of this kind of ethics and morality.
This is a negative factor in the development of literature. Literary creation must comply with the moral standards stipulated at that time, literature must bear political tasks, and during the creation process of literary works, the author's expression of emotions must be restricted by ethical and moral norms.
This is detrimental to the development of literature, but it is definitely not the mainstream, but extremely secondary. It is caused by the limitations of the era and class at that time. It will not cover "Xing, Guan, Group, The theory of "resentment" had a huge impact on what happened later.
Confucius' "Xing, Guan, Group, and Resentment" had a huge impact on the social role of poetry. Later generations of literati often expressed many important opinions from different perspectives.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia - The Analects of Confucius·Yang Huo Chapter