First, the emphasis on literature and the development of literary view. The emphasis on literature was first manifested in the fact that the upper classes of society, including many emperors, were generally keen on literary creation during this period, which affected the whole society and led to a large increase in literary works. With the prosperity of literary creation, literary criticism has also made unprecedented achievements, and literary criticism and literary theoretical works have appeared constantly.
Second, the activities of literary groups. During the Jian 'an period, a group of people gathered around Cao Shi and his son, forming the first important literary group in history. Since then, there have been "seven sages of bamboo forest", "twenty-four friends" and "eight friends of Jingling". The activities of literary groups further stimulated the prosperity of literature.
Third, the important development of literary themes. During this period, Tao Yuanming founded pastoral poetry, and Xie Lingyun and Xie Tiao completed the transformation from metaphysical poetry to landscape poetry. Poems with frontier life as an important theme consciously also began in the Southern Dynasties. "Palace-style Poetry" in the Liang Dynasty, centered on Xiao Gang Literature Group, established the proposition that palace-style poetry cannot be simply denied in the history of China literature. In a word, all the natural and social phenomena that can "linger" and "sway the soul" were incorporated into the literary expression by the literati in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Fourth, the continuous evolution of literary forms. The prosperity of five-character poems in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the emergence of seven-character poems, the peak of lyrical fu, the maturity of parallel prose, and the initial period of novels and metrical poems. It can be said that this is a crucial period for the development of several basic forms of China ancient literature.
Fifth, the combination of literature and philosophy. Literature in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties pays attention to inner experience and thinking about the value of life, which shows the author's deeper psychological activities. This makes literature get rid of the tradition of simply reflecting real life and social phenomena, and the connotation of literature becomes richer and deeper.
In a word, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is the first time in China's literary history with literary consciousness and all-round innovation spirit. The all-round prosperity of literature in the Tang Dynasty and the sustained development of literature in later generations made indelible contributions to the literature in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.