1 Ballad Myth 2 Historical Prose 3 Prose 4 Chu Ci
Folk myth
1) Ballads and myths and legends before writing.
Songs, myths and legends of the ancient Han nationality are recorded in ancient books. It is said to have appeared in the Shennong era.
"La Ci" said: "The soil is against its home! Water belongs to its valley! Insect, don't do it Vegetation, return to its jersey! " This is a farming sacrifice song. In addition, there is another sentence in Volume 9 of Wu Yue Chun Qiu: "Break bamboo, continue bamboo, fly soil, and kill them one by one." This poem reflects the process of primitive people making slingshots and hunting. The language is simple but rhythmic. Obviously, this is a very old ballad.
Myth is the collective oral creation of Han ancestors in ancient times to explain and describe the natural and social phenomena they came into contact with. Most of China's myths are preserved in ancient books such as Shan Hai Jing, Chu Ci, Zhuangzi, Liezi, Huainanzi, etc. Among all the ancient documents, Shan Hai Jing has the most theological value, and it is the book with the most preserved mythological materials in ancient China. These myths can be roughly divided into creation myths, flood myths, war myths, hero myths and so on. Among them, the famous ones are Pangu Tiankai, Goddess of mending Heaven, Huangdi's capture of Chiyou, Dayu's flood control, Houyi's shooting at the sun, Kuafu's chasing after the sun, Jingwei's reclamation and so on.
2) The germination of written literature after the appearance of characters.
After the writing came into being, China literature broke away from the legendary period. The inscriptions on Oracle Bone Inscriptions and some bronzes are the oldest known characters. The appearance of Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jin Wen provided conditions for the development of oral literature to written literature, and marked the germination of written literature in China.
The Book of Songs
There are 305 existing books in The Book of Songs, which are divided into three parts: Feng, Ya and Ode.
Wind, a folk song all over the country, is the essence of the Book of Songs. It sang beautiful things such as love and labor, and also sang the regret and anger of homesickness and anti-oppression and anti-bullying. Repeated chanting is often used, and each chapter in a poem is often only a few words different, which shows the characteristics of folk songs.
Elegance and vulgarity are divided into elegance and vulgarity and Xiaoya, and most of them are poems that offer sacrifices to noble people, pray for a good harvest and praise their ancestors. The author of Daya is an aristocratic scholar, but he is dissatisfied with the real politics. In addition to banquet songs, sacrificial songs and epics, he also wrote some reflections.
A poem satirizing people's wishes. Xiaoya also has some folk songs.
Ode is a poem dedicated to the ancestral temple. The poems in Ya and Ode are of great value to the study of early history, religion and society.
Confucius once summarized the purpose of the Book of Songs as "innocence" and educated his disciples to read the Book of Songs as their standard of speech and action. Among the pre-Qin philosophers, many people quoted The Book of Songs, such as Mencius, Xunzi, Mozi, Zhuangzi and Han Feizi. Quote the sentences in the Book of Songs to enhance your persuasiveness. Later, The Book of Songs was regarded as a classic by Confucianism and became one of the Six Classics and Five Classics.
In the above three parts, 40 articles were assigned, including Ya 105 (6 articles without poems, not counting), with the largest number, * * * 160, totaling 305 articles. The ancients took its integer and often said "poetry is 300".
Historical prose
Historical prose is gradually produced and matured on the basis of the cultural tradition of historians. The development of historical prose can be roughly divided into three stages:
The first stage is represented by Shangshu and Chunqiu. Shangshu is the earliest compilation of historical documents in China, which is of fundamental significance in the history of ancient Chinese prose. The Spring and Autumn Annals compiled by Confucius is the first chronological history book in China, and it is the originator of chronological history books. Its style and "brushwork" had a classic influence on later prose.
The second stage is represented by Zuo Zhuan and Guoyu. Zuo Zhuan is the first chronicle work with detailed records in China, and it is also the most outstanding ideological and artistic work in pre-Qin historical prose. Guoyu is the earliest national history book in China, which is a collection of historical materials from various countries.
The third stage is represented by the Warring States policy. The Warring States Policy is also a national history book, which mainly describes the words and deeds of counselors and strategists during the Warring States period.
Philosopher's prose
Hundred schools of thought's essays were formed and flourished in the academic atmosphere of the awakening of rational spirit and the contention of a hundred schools of thought in the pre-Qin period. The development of hundred schools of thought's prose has roughly experienced three stages:
At the turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period: The Analects of Confucius, Mozi and Laozi are the representatives. The Analects of Confucius recorded the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples in the form of quotations, which reflected the thoughts and activities of early Confucianism. Mozi is a compilation of works of Mozi and his later studies, which reflects the thought of small producers represented by Mohism. Its artistic characteristics are obvious literariness and logic. Laozi is basically the work of Laozi, the founder of Taoism. It combines profound philosophical thoughts and exquisite poetic language, showing a unique artistic style.
Mid-Warring States Period: represented by Mencius and Zhuangzi. "Mencius" The works of Mencius and his disciples reflect the face of Confucianism in the mid-Warring States period. The prose of Mencius embodies the transition from bibliography to monograph, and its outstanding literary achievement lies in its superb art of argument. Zhuangzi is a work of Zhuang Zhou and his later studies, and it is also another classic of Taoism. His articles are famous among the pre-Qin philosophers for their unique artistic attainments. His brilliant thoughts, Wang Yang's wanton language and romantic style all reflect his unique position and brilliant literary achievements in various schools of thought.
The end of the Warring States Period: represented by Xunzi, Han Feizi and Lu Chunqiu. Xunzi is mostly written by Xunzi, and its ideological system is broad and profound, which is the further development of Confucianism. Most of his articles are well-structured and thoroughly discussed monographs, which indicates that the pre-Qin reasoning prose has entered a fully mature stage. Everything is done wrong is a masterpiece of legalist thought. The article is sharp and simple, which embodies the basic characteristics of legalist articles. Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals is a collective creation, a large-scale summary of pre-Qin academic thoughts, and has a strong literariness.
The Songs of Chu
Chuci, which originated in the Warring States Period, has special significance in the history of China literature. "Songs of the Chu Dynasty" refers to the poems and fu created with the local characteristics of Chu State, such as music, language and famous things. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xiang collected the works of Qu Yuan, Song Yu and others and compiled a book "Songs of the South". Together with The Book of Songs, it constitutes the source of China's poetry history. The unique aesthetic characteristics of Chu culture, coupled with Qu Yuan's unusual political experience and unique personality quality, created the brilliance of Chu Ci literature and made Qu Yuan the first great poet in the history of China literature.