1. Three Emperors and Five Emperors: (26th-22nd century BC)
The legendary five emperors of Huang San (Emperor, Huangdi and Ren Huang) (Huangdi, Zhuan Xu, Di Ku, Tang Yao and Yu Shun). In this period, the means of production are public, labor is a collective behavior, and people are equal, which is also the "Datong era" praised by Confucian classics. "Book of Rites, Liu Yun" records:
Avenue industry, the world is fair, choose talents and be able to repair them, so the old man is not only a close relative, but also an only child, so that the old man can finally be strong and useful, the young man has his own strengths, and the widowed and disabled are supported. Men get points and women get rewards. If the goods are abandoned on the ground, there is no need to hide them on yourself; You don't have to do it for yourself. Therefore, it is called "Datong" to seek closure but not prosperity, and thieves do not do it, so leaving the house is not sealed.
The abdication system has no words, only literature. The literature of primitive society in China is mainly some primitive ballads and myths and legends, with short sentences, lively rhythm, trinity of song, music and dance, and collective oral creation.
2. Slavery society in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties (about 2 1 ~ about 77 1): It is said that Yu Xia established the Xia Dynasty around 2 1 century BC.
① Xia dynasty (21~16th century BC): the beginning of slavery. The main reason is the development of productive forces, which leads to class differentiation. Yu's "passing on children but not sages" and "being at home all over the world" are the reflection of this change.
It is not known whether there were any characters in the Xia Dynasty. The history of Xia Dynasty recorded in the literature is mostly legends, and there are few reliable poems, proverbs and essays. Tang Shi quoted a prime minister as saying that this is a folk song of Xia Jie: "Mourning Day? Here you are! " It reflects the class struggle at that time, expresses the people's dissatisfaction and resistance to the tyrant, appreciates the agitation and has a loud voice.
(2) the development period of slavery in Shang dynasty (about BC 16 ~ 1 1 century).
After the soup boiled in summer, the second unified slavery country in China's history was established. * * * The first17th generation, the third1was the king, and the last king was called Zhou Wang, which made a certain contribution to the development of southeast China, but it was also "good wine and lust" and "taking wine as a pool and county meat as a forest", which made the people complain, and all the governors had troubles "(historical records? Yin Benji was overthrown by Ji Fa, Zhou Wuwang in BC 1027.
The invention of Chinese characters in BC14th century played a milestone role in the history of Chinese characters. From then on, there were initially formed Chinese characters (Oracle Bone Inscriptions), as well as historical documents recorded in Chinese characters. The Book of History, which consists of five articles, such as Pan Geng, is a relatively reliable historical material of Shang Dynasty (the language is ancient and difficult, reflecting the early prose style).
Oracle Bone Inscriptions is the simplest form of prose, with a slight literary embryonic form. The appearance of Oracle Bone Inscriptions represents the germination of written literature, carved with a knife, with long and thin characters and many strokes at the corners.
③ The heyday of the Bronze Age in the Western Zhou Dynasty (about 1 1 ~ 77 1).
After the abolition of commerce in Zhou Wuwang, the third unified slavery regime in Chinese history was established. His brother Zhou Gongdan assisted his son to become king, which made great contributions to the consolidation of slavery. In Kang Wang and Zhao Wang, a relatively stable situation appeared.
The Western Zhou Dynasty was a period of highly developed slave society and economy in China. Jing Tian system developed rapidly, and bronze tools gradually increased. The inscriptions on the artifacts have a wide range of contents, the longest of which is nearly 500 words, which provides us with direct historical materials for studying the history of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
Now, when the Chinese people rioted, Li Wang was exiled, and there was a situation of "* * * and politics". There is an exact record of the history of our country, which began in * * * and the first year (before 84 1). Zhou Youwang, the last king of the Western Zhou Dynasty, was fatuous and tyrannical, with boiling public resentment and disloyalty to nobles. Finally, it was killed by the allied forces of the Empress Shen and Rong Da, and the Western Zhou Dynasty perished.
The Book of Changes: It is the transition between Oracle Bone Inscriptions and The Book of Songs.
Poetry and prose are the main styles of pre-Qin literature.
Poetry: According to the Book of Rites? Wang Zhipian, Han Shu? According to the records in Shihuozhi and He Xiu's Biography of the Ram, there was a system of poetry collection in the Zhou Dynasty, with the purpose of "observing customs and knowing gains and losses", as well as seeking happiness and respecting ancestors. Since then, large-scale sacrificial hymns in The Book of Songs have been produced, praising the merits and demerits of ancestors, such as Zhou Song, Ya, Ya and other works. Although it is not grand in form, the meteorological scale in the whole Book of Songs is indeed relatively large, which is a great progress compared with the Book of Changes.
Prose: With the gradual development, represented by Zhou Shu in Shangshu. It is an essay published in the simplified books from the early Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period.
The style of bronze inscriptions is also similar to that of Zhou Shu, and judging from a large number of inscriptions on easy wares in the Western Zhou Dynasty, prose was widely used at that time.
In a word, myths, poems and essays have begun to take shape in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which opened the way for the development of China literature after the Spring and Autumn Period.
3. The watershed of the decline of slavery in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC)
The first 476 years was a transitional period between slavery and feudalism. Zhou Ping and Dong Wang moved to Luoyi (Luoyang, Henan), which was called "Eastern Zhou Dynasty" in history. Since then, history has entered a period of great turmoil and great differentiation. This is an era of fighting while fighting, with the decline of kingship, frequent wars, mutual resentment among small countries, and dynastic wars in which big countries devour neighboring small countries and change dynasties. As a result of the competition, it merged with the "eight hundred princes" in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty to form more than 170 princes, and the "five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period" (Qi Huangong, Jin Wengong, Chu Zhuangwang and the prince of Wu) really dominated this era. Guan Zhong, Zi Chan, Cao Gui and Sun Wu were all famous politicians and strategists in this period. Because this period of history was recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals, a historical book of Lu, it was later called the Spring and Autumn Period. According to legend, The Spring and Autumn Annals was compiled by Confucius. As the founder of the Confucian school, he strongly advocated kingship and vindication, but "the conquest of rites and music came from the emperor" came from princes and princes. In 48 1 year BC, Confucius saw the unicorn (god beast, symbolizing kingship and auspicious spirit) being hunted and killed, and sighed: "I am so poor!" So he never edited Chunqiu again. He really didn't expect that a "Spring and Autumn Annals" became a sad history of the fall of kingship.
Poetry: In the Spring and Autumn Period, the ceremony collapsed and the music broke down. During this period, the princes fought for hegemony and wars continued. Therefore, the "national style" that reflects the strong voice of the people in the Book of Songs mostly came into being in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period. In addition, there were four poems praising Lu Xigong and five poems praising ancestors in Song Dynasty. At this point, The Book of Songs, the first collection of poems in the history of China literature, came into being completely.
Prose Works: Historical Prose: Historians stand on the historical standpoint and record the historical relics of the rise and fall of mankind. The so-called "left historical records, right historical records; Things for the spring and autumn annals, words for history (hanshu? Art Yearbook).
Proclamation-style prose: Shangshu: The Book of Ancient Times, formerly known as Classic Book, is an ancient history of memorizing words. The existing Shangshu, including the Yu, Xia, Shang and Thursday Dynasties, has a rough language, but it is only a declaration of memorizing words and lacks literary talent.
Chronological historical prose: Chunqiu is a very simple chronicle of historical events, similar to the news headlines of later generations, with only fragmentary records.
Documentary Prose: The Analects of Confucius recorded short words, with only 30 words in each chapter, which is a step further than the annotations in the Spring and Autumn Annals.
4. Warring States Period (475 ~ 22 1): In the early days of the establishment of the feudal system, fierce political, diplomatic and military struggles escalated.
In 403 BC, Han, Zhao and Wei were divided into Jin (one of the five tyrants), and in 386 BC, Tian replaced Qi, forming a situation in which Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin were "dominant". Gu's "Rizhilu" describes the complex class of the Warring States.
The emergence of "scholar" class: the collapse of slavery impacted the patriarchal clan system of Shi Qing Shi Lu, and the nobles of various countries were divided and some of them became "scholars". At the same time, due to the relaxation of personal attachment, a large number of slaves became free civilians, among which outstanding talents stood out and showed a high degree of intelligence, which constituted the mainstream of "scholars". They are intellectuals with different status, often have some special knowledge and expertise, actively participate in political and diplomatic activities, lobby governors everywhere, make suggestions, and some even write books and publicize their own opinions. They have an extraordinary influence on the political stage.
Judging from the ideological standpoint and academic atmosphere, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is an era of great liberation and relaxation. Academic shackles were broken, the atmosphere was relatively free, and ideological and theoretical discussions were not suppressed. People's subjective consciousness has progressed with the changes of the times, and gradually adopted a different value orientation from Yin, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties. From the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, culture gradually moved down, and education gradually opened to the common people. Confucius was the first to open a private school with 3,000 disciples. Mozi followed suit, and first called it "outstanding learning" with Confucianism. "The disciples of Confucius and Mohism are all over the world, and they all teach the world with the skill of benevolence and righteousness." (Lu's "Spring and Autumn Reading") After the mid-Warring States period, the wind of giving lectures and writing books became more prosperous. Mencius, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Yan Yan, Shen Dao and Gong Sunlong all gave lectures and wrote books. There have been ten schools of thought, namely Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, France, Ming, Yin and Yang, vertical and horizontal, miscellaneous, agriculture, novelists, and other military strategists are not among them. Every family has a large number of disciples. As time goes by, each family is constantly dividing and merging into different factions and groups. For example, Confucianism is divided into eight, Mohism into three and Legalism into one. Various philosophical, political and academic thoughts representing various factions are extremely active and vigorous, showing the grand occasion of the so-called "a hundred schools of thought contend". They refute each other's difficulties, argue fiercely and express their opinions freely, which constitutes the most enviable golden age in China's academic history and the first peak in China's philosophical history. Various academic factions express their thoughts and opinions, a large number of articles and works emerge, and prose works of different genres and styles flourish in this soil.
In the history of literary development, there is an obvious fact, that is, the decline of early poetry and the prosperity of prose. Three hundred years after The Book of Songs, hundred schools of thought's prose and historical prose won, and the voice of poetry was suppressed and the poetry circle was left out in the cold. It was not until the middle and late Warring States that Chu Ci, represented by Qu Yuan, appeared in the southern Chu State. Before Qu Yuan, China's poems were mainly folk songs, which were oral collective creations. No poet has devoted all his energy and talent to poetry creation. Qu Yuan's Chu Ci also came into being under the needs and possible conditions of private writing, so Qu Yuan is the first writer in the history of China literature, and his poetry creation marks a new era from collective singing to individual writing.
(C) literary standards: the development of China's ancient literature can be divided into four stages:
1. Primary stage: ancient times-Wu Wang destroyed Shang Dynasty, original songs, myths and legends, and religious sacrificial poems.
Features: oral English, comprehensive, collective, no class.
Without independent writers, all works are closely related to survival (survival → safety → friendship, affection → dignity, reputation → full realization of personal value).
2. Political education period: early Zhou Dynasty-late Han Dynasty.
Utilitarian, literature has become a vassal of politics, and it has been shaped with the knife and pencil of history. Literary creation and scholarship are mixed together, which has certain aesthetics, but it is not strong enough. The Warring States Policy and Qu Yuan's Lisao both tend to be literary.
3. Lyric literature period: Jian 'an-Southern Song Dynasty
A. Literature began to be conscious (Wei and Jin Dynasties ...), and its self-awareness was enhanced, and it got rid of utilitarianism and paid attention to life and life.
B. strengthen the awareness of skills (parallel prose and Tang poetry in the southern dynasties).
(Song people) Speak cautiously and write dissolutely.
4. Popular literature period: Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, urban economic development, "diaosi" and the development of civilian culture.
(1) Script: spoken language (vernacular novels, history, lectures)
School-based: a drama style, including performance, dance, objects and lyrics.
(3) Zhugongdiao: Rap literature, mainly singing, is a combination of songs of various Gongdiao.
④ Novel: Folk → Combination of Folk and Literati Creation → Literati's Independent Creation. Three Kingdoms, Water Margin (Combination) → Journey to the West (Folk Art but Literati Independence) → A Dream of Red Mansions (Independence)