Three Ancient Periods and Seven Periods: Nine Aspects of the Development and Change of Ancient, Medieval and Modern Literature
If the history of China literature is compared to a long river, it can be traced back from the lower reaches, and the source is a cloudy sky, which cannot be distinguished in detail. We can't find the sign of origin, and we can't determine the age of origin. The literature of that oral era should be a long time ago, and the later written records are only memories of that beautiful dream. The most conservative view is that the outline of this long river has been clear since some poems appeared in the Book of Songs in 1 1 century BC, and then gradually merged into tributaries, becoming wider and wider. There are high tides and low tides, but they never stop. If literature has a long history, only ancient Greek literature and ancient Indian literature can be compared with China literature; If the literary tradition continues, the literature of any other country or nation will be inferior to that of China.
Rivers have upper reaches, middle reaches and lower reaches, and the history of China literature can also be divided into upper reaches, middle reaches and lower reaches, which are ancient, medieval and modern. The distinction between the Three Classics and the Ancient Classics is a major time limit in the history of China literature. Within the three ancient times, it can be subdivided into seven sections.
The specific division of the three sections and the seven sections is as follows:
Ancient times: Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties (before the 3rd century AD)
The first paragraph: Pre-Qin Dynasty
The second paragraph: Qin and Han Dynasties
Medieval period: Wei and Jin Dynasties to the middle of Ming Dynasty (3rd century to16th century).
The third paragraph: Wei and Jin Dynasties to the middle of Tang Dynasty (the last years of Tianbao)
The fourth paragraph: from the middle of Tang Dynasty to the end of Southern Song Dynasty.
The fifth paragraph: from the early Yuan Dynasty to the middle Ming Dynasty (the last year of Zheng De)
Paleogene: from the middle of Ming Dynasty to the May 4th Movement (16th century to the beginning of 20th century).
Paragraph 6: From Jiajing in Ming Dynasty to Opium War (1840)
Paragraph 7: From the Opium War to the May 4th Movement (19 19)
The theories of "three considerations" and "seven paragraphs" mainly focus on the development and changes of literature itself, reflecting the stages of its own development and changes, while taking the changes of social system and dynasties as the background of literary development and changes. The development and change of literature itself is the basis of the boundary, and other conditions are the reference of the boundary. One basis and many references may be the most suitable to describe the historical process of China literature. The stage of literary development and change can be consistent with the change of social system and dynasty, but the change of social system or dynasty is only an important reason for literary change, not the fact itself.
The so-called development and change of literature itself can be divided into the following nine aspects: first, the development and change of the creative subject; Second, the development and change of the ideological content of the work; Third, the development and change of literary genre; Fourth, the development and change of literary language; Five, the development and change of artistic expression; Sixth, the development and changes of literary schools; Seven, the development and change of literary thoughts; Eight, the development and change of literary media; Nine, the development and changes of the recipient. Three ancient and seven paragraphs comprehensively investigate the nine factors of literature itself and refer to social conditions, and draw a conclusion that the study of literary history pays little attention to literary media and recipients, which is not enough to make a comprehensive investigation of the development and changes of literature. Literary media and recipients have a profound influence on literary creation.
First, in ancient times,
Ancient times included pre-Qin, Qin and Han dynasties.
We first noticed that almost all China literary schools were born in this period. Prose can be traced back to Oracle Bone Inscriptions; Poetry can be traced back to The Book of Songs, Songs of the South and the Han Yuefu. Novels can be traced back to legends of gods, historical essays such as Zuo Zhuan and Historical Records, and fables in hundred schools of thought's essays. Cifu can be traced back to Chuci. The double rhetoric in parallel prose also appeared in this period; Even the elements of China's traditional opera have sprouted in Jiuge. Secondly, the ideological basis of China literature was also conceived in ancient times. In particular, Confucianism and Taoism have influenced writers' world outlook, outlook on life and values for thousands of years. Thirdly, China's literary thoughts are mainly Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism pays attention to the social function of literature, while Taoism pays attention to the aesthetic value of literature, which has also been formed in ancient times. Some concepts that have influenced the whole China literature, such as "expressing ambition through poetry", "respecting nature", "being naive in thinking" and "being gentle and sincere", were all put forward during this period. Fourthly, judging from the creation, dissemination and acceptance of literature, literati are the subject of creation and the object of acceptance, and writing is the main media. This basic pattern of China literature was also laid in ancient times. It was not until the emergence of citizen literature in Song Dynasty that this pattern changed.
The first paragraph in ancient times is pre-Qin literature. At this stage, the subject of literary creation experienced the evolution from group to individual, and most of the poems in The Book of Songs were sung by groups. From then on, it took hundreds of years for Qu Yuan, the first poet in the history of China literature, to appear. In ancient times, witchcraft and history were inseparable, and history was separated from witchcraft and specifically recorded affairs and personnel, which was a great progress. The rise and activity of literati played a key role in the development of literature. The form of pre-Qin literature, on the one hand, is the distinction between literature, history and philosophy, on the other hand, it is the combination of poetry, music and dance. This chaotic state has become a major landscape of pre-Qin. The so-called distinction between literature, history and philosophy means that in the field of prose, we can't exclude historical works such as Shangshu, Zuozhuan, Guoyu and Warring States Policy, nor can we exclude philosophical works such as Zhouyi, Laozi, The Analects of Confucius, Mencius and Zhuangzi. There was no pure literary prose at that time. As for poetry, it was originally combined with music and dance. The joy of "Ge" recorded in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals, and "Beating the Stone and Dancing the Beast" recorded in Shangshu Yaoqu are all examples. Many poems in The Book of Songs and Songs of the South are also closely related to music and dance. The important difference between style and elegance lies in the difference of music. According to the historical records of Confucius, 350 poems can be sung harmoniously. Nine Songs of Chu is a sacrificial song, accompanied by music and dance.
The literature of Qin and Han dynasties belongs to the second period of ancient times, and some new features have appeared in the literature of Qin and Han dynasties, which are different from the literature of pre-Qin. First of all, the situation of the creative subject has changed. During the Warring States period, taxis lobbied in countries gathered around the emperor or prince of the unified empire, forming many writers' groups, and they took it as their duty to praise or satirize. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Mei Chenghe held it under his eyes. These "speech ministers" just became the authors of the new style of Da Fu in Han Dynasty. Adapting to the unified political bureau of the Han Dynasty, the literature of the Han Dynasty became a fashion, great beauty and great publicity. In line with the policy of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", the literature of the Han Dynasty lost its vividness and diversity and formed a formatted and dignified style. However, for China's poetry, the Han Dynasty is an extremely important dynasty. By the Han Dynasty, the four-character style of The Book of Songs had become rigid, and the form of Chu Ci was transformed into Fu. However, with a new posture and vitality, the folk songs of Han Yuefu show irresistible power first among the people and then among the literati, thus brewing a new rhythm and new form of China's poetry, which is the enduring May 7th style.
Second, the Middle Ages.
The Middle Ages began in Wei and Jin Dynasties, went through the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties, and ended in the middle of Ming Dynasty.
Why should Wei and Jin Dynasties be regarded as the beginning of a new period, and such a long period from Wei and Jin Dynasties to the middle of Ming Dynasty should be divided into a middle age? This is based on the following facts: First, the conscious era of China literature began at this time, and this conscious process was completed in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Second, the literary language has undergone epoch-making changes, from ancient Austria to simple. Thirdly, this is the heyday of three important literary genres: poetry, ci and qu, which reached its peak in the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties in the Middle Ages. Fourthly, China's classical novels had begun to take shape in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and reached maturity in the Tang Dynasty. Vernacular short stories flourished in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and vernacular novels appeared in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin. Fifth, various new forms of literary media, such as printing and publishing, rap and stage performance, have emerged. Sixth, the subject and object of literary creation include court, literati, countryside, market and so on. In a word, all the elements of China literature were possessed and matured in this period.
The first period of the Middle Ages was from Wei Jin to the middle of Tang Dynasty. This is the stage of the prosperity and development of ancient poems with May 7th words, and it is also the stage of the rise, finalization and prosperity of modern poems with May 7th words. Poetry occupies a dominant position in the literary world. Prose is close to poetry, and poetic parallel prose appears; Fu is close to poetry, and parallel prose appears. From "Three Cao" and "Seven Zi", through Tao Yuanming, Xie Lingyun, Yu Xin, "Four Masters" and Chen Ziang, to Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, Gao Shi, Cen Can, Li Bai and Du Fu, the flow of poetry is clear and complete. Du Fu is not only the last poet at this stage, but also the earliest poet at the beginning of the next stage, standing like a milestone in the history of literature. Two poetic paradigms, Jian 'an Style and Prosperous Tang Dynasty Meteorology, were established at the beginning and end of this stage, and became the ultimate admiration of later poets as an excellent tradition. This is another stage in which literary creation tends to be personalized, and the writer's unique personality and style can be fully displayed. Tao Yuanming, Li Bai and Du Fu all have distinctive personalities in their achievements. In addition, in this stage of literary creation, the imperial court played a central role, and a number of literary groups were formed with the imperial court as the center. The members of the literary groups learned from each other and improved their literary skills. The role of Ye Group, which is based on Cao Cao, in the development of five-character ancient poems, and the role of Qi Liang and court poets in the early Tang Dynasty in the establishment of modern poetic metrical forms are all powerful proofs. At this stage, metaphysics and Buddhism infiltrated into literature, which made literature take on a colorful new look. In addition to the literary and political enlightenment advocated by Confucianism, the truth and nature advocated by metaphysical scholars have become the aesthetic pursuit of writers; Buddhism's concept of reality, mind and realm also promotes the diversification of literary concepts.
The second period of Middle Ages began in the middle of Tang Dynasty, specifically, it began with the outbreak of "An Shi Rebellion" at the end of Tianbao and ended with the demise of Southern Song Dynasty. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, some noteworthy changes have taken place in literature: the ancient prose movement advocated by Han and Liu caused changes in literary language and style, and Ouyang Xiu and others continued the path of Han and Liu in the Song Dynasty and completed this change. The reform realized by the Eight Masters in Tang and Song Dynasties decided the literary language and style pattern from then on, and it was not broken until the May 4th Movement. After the climax of the Tang Dynasty, poetry faced an extremely difficult situation, and poets found another way. Through the efforts of poets in the middle and late Tang Dynasty such as Bai Juyi, Han Yu, Li He and Li Shangyin, they finally found another way in the Song Dynasty. As far as the continuity between the Song Dynasty and the poems after the middle Tang Dynasty is concerned, there are two points: from the poets in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, they paid attention to the description of daily life, and the humanistic images related to daily life increased obviously, which became a general trend in the Song Dynasty; The tradition of active participation in politics and deep sense of hardship initiated by Du Fu and Bai Juyi were weakened in the late Tang Dynasty and generally strengthened in the Song Dynasty. As far as the new fashion in Song Dynasty is concerned, the identity of poets and literati is unified, the discussion elements are increased, and the aesthetic pursuit of turning vulgarity into elegance is also worthy of attention. As representatives of the Song Dynasty, Huang Tingjian and Jiangxi Poetry School have distinct creative ideas and artistic characteristics. Su Shi, Yang Wanli, Fan Chengda and Lu You. They also have their own characteristics, and together with Jiangxi poetry school, they have formed a melody different from Tang Yin. In the middle Tang Dynasty, the post-Qu Zi Ci developed rapidly. The hand of five pronouns, such as Jing Wen and Li Yu, became a great landscape in the Song Dynasty and became the representative of the literature in the Song Dynasty. The names of Liu Yong, Su Shi, Zhou Bangyan, Li Qingzhao, Xin Qiji and Jiang Kui will be forever engraved in the history of Ci. The prosperity of legends after the middle Tang Dynasty marked the maturity of China's novels. Under the background of urban culture, the rise of "citizen novels" in Tang Dynasty and the prosperity of "storytelling" in Song Dynasty are the new development of literature at this stage.
The third period of the Middle Ages began in the Yuan Dynasty and lasted until the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Narrative literature has been occupying the leading position in the literary world since the Yuan Dynasty, which is of great significance. Since then, the object of literature has shifted more from desk readers to the audience and listeners of Goulan Vashery. The media of literature is not only books written or engraved on paper, but also the art form of rap. Confucian scholars' social status declined and they went to the lower classes to engage in popular literature creation. They first adapted to popular literary forms, and then improved these literary forms, so a large number of writers, such as Guan Hanqing, Wang Shifu, Ma Zhiyuan, Gao Ming and so on, emerged. The literature of Yuan Dynasty is represented by traditional operas and Sanqu, and the zaju centered on the city and the Southern Opera centered on Wenzhou created the glory of Yuan Dynasty literature, while the folklore of Ming Dynasty is the inheritance and development of Yuan Qu. At the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, two vernacular novels appeared, which became another symbol of this stage, and their appearance heralded the arrival of a novel era.
Three. Early tertiary. Comparative NEOGENE
Since Jiajing in Ming Dynasty, literature has undergone epoch-making changes. This change is mainly manifested in the following aspects: first, with the prosperity of commercial economy, the growth of citizens and the popularization of printing, the citizenization of literati and the commercialization of literary creation have become a new trend; The content, theme and interest of literary works have undergone a series of changes to meet the needs of the new love group of citizens. At the same time, in addition to the scholar-bureaucrat literature that expresses orthodox ideas, literature that reflects citizens' life and ideological interests occupies an important position. The appearance of Jin Ping Mei is a comprehensive reflection of this phenomenon. Secondly, under the influence of Wang Xue's left wing, the personality of the creative subject is soaring, which shows stronger colors in his works; There are many positive descriptions of human lust in literary works; It had a strong impact on the asceticism of Neo-Confucianism, thus opening a window for the imprisoned life. The love that "the living can die and the dead can live" written by Tang Xianzu in The Peony Pavilion is a new sound. The tendency of attaching importance to personal temperament, pursuing life interest and imitating the secular in late Ming poetry also revealed a new atmosphere. Third, although traditional styles such as poetry and prose are still developing, there are not many new tricks. Popular style is full of vitality, among which novels are the most vital. With the help of increasingly cheap printing and publishing media, these popular literatures have penetrated into all levels of society and produced a wide range of influences. From the above aspects, the mid-Ming Dynasty was indeed the beginning of a new era of literature.
From the early years of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty to the Opium War, it was the first period of modern ancient times. The change of dynasty between Ming and Qing dynasties is a great change, especially for those Han scholars. However, the literary creation in the middle and early Qing dynasty basically followed the trend since the middle of Ming dynasty, and there was no big change. In the first stage of Neoproterozoic, a large number of literary groups and schools appeared, and the dispute between them is a noteworthy phenomenon. In terms of poetry and prose, there are the thoughts and creative practices of Gong 'an School, Jingling School, Verve School, Style School, Soul School and Tongcheng School. In terms of ci, there are ideas and creative practices of Yangxian School, Zhexi School and Changzhou School. Even in traditional Chinese opera, there is a dispute between Linchuan School and Wujiang School. In the mutual agitation of different schools, some excellent writers emerged, and the achievements of Qing poetry and ci can not be ignored. What deserves special attention is the gains in drama and novels. Tang Xianzu's Peony Pavilion, Hong Sheng's Palace of Eternal Life and Kong's Peach Blossom Fan all reached the peak of legend. The first period of modern times is the harvest period of vernacular novels, and Wu Cheng'en's The Journey to the West, Lan Ling's novel Jin Ping Mei, Wu's Scholars and Cao Xueqin's Dream of Red Mansions are the peak works of this period. Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio is a peak of China's classical novels.
The second Paleogene began with the Opium War. Compared with the change of dynasties in Ming and Qing Dynasties, the sound of the Opium War was even more shocking. The Opium War brought about unprecedented changes. Since then, China has been reduced from a feudal society to a semi-closed and semi-colonial society. Western culture began to flood into China, an ancient land. Many people of insight in China sought new literary inspiration and became a new generation of writers while seeking the road of Qiang Bing's new prosperity from the west. Gong Zizhen, Huang Zunxian and Liang Qichao are the representatives of these newcomers. Adapting to social changes, literary creation has also changed. The consciousness of saving the nation and the idea of seeking novelty and changing the world have become the keynote of literature. The concept of literature has also changed. Literature is regarded as a tool for social improvement, and the most influential position of novels among the people has been fully affirmed. With the gradual increase of foreign translations, the narrative skills of literature are also updated. Newspapers, a new media, came into being. A group of new journalists have the identity of writers. They spread their works through newspapers and periodicals, and their writing methods have also changed to meet the needs of this newspaper form. In the field of ancient literature in China, a popular newspaper style appeared, and in the field of poetry, the slogan "I write my mouth by hand" was put forward.
The end of modern times, that is, the end of China's ancient literature, is still defined as 19 19 when the May 4th Movement broke out. This is because the May 4th Movement, as a new cultural movement, opened a new era not only in social history, but also in literary history. Although some writers with new ideas and styles appeared before the May 4th Movement, they still belong to the category of classical literature. Only those writers who emerged in the May 4th Movement have undergone qualitative changes. We not only pay attention to the gradual change of the literary world since the end of 19, but also pay attention to the opening and closing of the May 4th Movement. The May 4th Movement closed the door to thousands of years of classical literature in China, and at the same time opened a brand-new literary world.
Finally, it needs to be explained that although the theory of "three ancient and seven paragraphs" broke the division of dynasties, we still believe that the division of dynasties conforms to the long-standing habit and is more convenient to operate in the current teaching and research of literary history. In addition, the change of dynasties sometimes does bring the rise and fall of literature. As mentioned above, Han Sheng is in Fu, Tang Sheng is in Poetry, Song Sheng is in Ci, and Yuan Sheng is in Qu. As far as Tang and Song poetry creation is concerned, with the passage of this dynasty, there is a development process from gradual prosperity to extreme prosperity and then to gradual decline. It seems that there are some reasons related to the rise and fall of dynasties, which deserve our attention. Therefore, the stages of the dynasty have their own reasons that cannot be completely replaced. The three ancient and seven sections are a new perspective for us to deal with the issue of the staging of China's literary history. We are still willing to keep the division of dynasties (such as the division of four volumes and nine volumes in this book) as another perspective, and combine the two to make them complement each other. In other words, we advocate a dual perspective to deal with the staging of China's literary history. Therefore, the more comprehensive expression of the theory of three ancient and seven sections is that the three ancient and seven sections have dual perspectives.