(1) One of the social ideologies, all books and documents written in words have been collectively referred to as literature in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad. Modern art specifically refers to the art of using language and words to create images to reflect social life and express thoughts and feelings, so it is also a type of language art. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties in China, literature was once divided into two categories: verse and prose. In modern times, it is usually divided into poetry, prose, novels, drama, film and television literature and other genres. There are many styles in various genres.
(2) Literature is a category of art and belongs to social ideology. In China's pre-Qin period, it had two meanings: literature and erudition. Modern refers specifically to an art form that uses language to shape images to reflect social life and act on social life. Chinese literature is generally divided into four categories: poetry, prose, novels, and drama literature.
(3) Literature has the characteristics of all mankind, society, nation, people, class and authenticity.
The development of literature is a complex process affected by various factors both internal and external to literature. Generally speaking, literature develops with the development of social life. The social role of literature mainly has three aspects: first, the cognitive role, second, the educational role, and the third, the aesthetic role. Three functions occur simultaneously, constituting the social function of literature.
(4) Literature is a product of consciousness and a reflection of life. Literature is an objective thing that enters people’s minds, and people reorganize and compile things that are expressed in words.
(5) Literature exists both in China and abroad, but foreign literature is different from Chinese literature. For example: foreign novel classifications are different from Chinese ones.
(6) After the Renaissance, the world’s definition of literature gradually evolved into: literature is an art with written language as the carrier. Because its carrier is language, it is different from art forms such as music and art.
In the pre-Qin period of China, works written in words were collectively called literature. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, literary works were gradually listed separately. The traditional European literary theory classification divides literature into three categories: poetry, prose, and drama. Modern literature is usually divided into four categories: poetry, novels, prose, and drama.