A Review of A Brief History of China Literature

This holiday, I was lucky enough to borrow A Brief History of China Literature written by Mr. Lin Geng from the Capital Library. This book is nearly 600 pages, from prehistoric poetry to the dawn of modern new literature. With the change of dynasties and wars for 5,000 years, China literature has also experienced various literary genres, from the initial folk songs to poems, essays, novels and plays. In the process of literature development, it is full of thorns, very tortuous and even chaotic. However, I seem to have found an implicit rule: whenever there is a national disaster or the officialdom is uneven, literary creation will often usher in a climax, and excellent works will appear in batches; When I am stable, I tend to pursue stylized writing without innovation. Adversity makes people want to be strong, and prosperity makes people fall. In the literature of poor scholars, Qu Yuan set an example for later scholars to resolutely struggle between patriotism and feudal nobility. Sima Qian, Tao Yuanming, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Zuo Si, Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Gu, etc ... Most happy people are similar, but unfortunate people have their own misfortunes. They have suffered all kinds of hardships in their lives. These poor people wail, sigh, express their feelings and cry because they can't realize their ideals in their literary works. Li Bai is the most rebellious and optimistic one. "Since god gave talent, let it be hired! , spin one thousand silver, all back! Li Bai's romantic belief is embodied in his free poems liberated from feudal ethics. I'm afraid only Li Bai can imagine the scene of "until, holding up my cup, I ask the bright moon, bring me my shadow and let the three of us"! For example, in Du Fu's gloomy poems, we can feel his regret for the late Tang Dynasty. "Although a country is divided, mountains and rivers still exist, and trees and grass turn green again in spring. Petals fall like tears, and lonely birds sing their sadness. " For example, Cao Xueqin, a descendant of a declining aristocratic family, wrote a wonderful essay through the ages, which brought the resistance to the feudal system into a profound literary work and became four classic works, which were read by the world. These excellent works are all hatched in adversity, and in the silent and suffocating political air, a thunder broke out. On the other hand, with the improvement of the political environment, good articles are rare when a poet should guard against prosperity. The most typical example is the Song Dynasty. In order to restrain the growth of warlord power, the Song Dynasty widely absorbed scholars to participate in politics, which was the most valued by scholars in previous dynasties, and the political ambitions of poor scholars were realized. The whole feudal society is increasingly manifested in the decline of life, the conservative tendency of the cultural class, the ethos of muddling along in the whole state affairs, and the artistic interest advocating the withered old environment. As a result, Liu Han's ancient prose movement came naturally, paying more attention to comprehensive listing and layout, making the article retro and the style of prose reappear. Prosperity makes people pursue comfort and depravity. China has always had a story of being prepared for danger in times of peace. In Mencius, the story of Gou Jian's destruction of Wu became a classic. "Where there is a will, there is a way, cross the rubicon, 120 Qin Guan will eventually return to Chu; Hard-working people, heaven rewards diligence, and the salary is not enough. Three thousand Yue families can swallow Wu! " Throughout the literary world of 3,000 years, it has been repeatedly proved that adversity makes people strong and prosperity makes people degenerate. The stability of modern society now also makes it easy for us to die peacefully in the fast-growing GDP. Only by maintaining a sense of crisis at all times and being able to find out the crisis and shortcomings by yourself can we maintain sustainable development.