During Egypt’s ancient period and the Old Kingdom period (3200 BC to 2280 BC), songs, poems, stories and proverbs had already been produced. Literary works from this period include prayers engraved on the walls of pyramid tombs and inscriptions on the tombs of ministers.
During the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom (2280 BC to 1778 BC), literature developed greatly, and Middle Egyptian became the language of Egyptian classical literature.
The Middle Kingdom was a prosperous period for ancient Egyptian literature, and its literary works were models for literary works of all subsequent periods in terms of rhetoric, meaning, and depiction.
The most prominent literary genre during the New Kingdom (1570 BC to 1090 BC) was realistic travel narratives. This period also left many odes to gods and pharaohs. Egypt is located in northeast Africa and southwest Asia, and is a transportation hub between Asia, Africa and Europe. As early as ancient times, Egyptians worked productively and multiplied on both sides of the Nile River. They created the glorious ancient Egyptian culture with their own intelligence. Ancient Egyptian literature is an important part of ancient Egyptian culture and a precious heritage in the history of human art. Ancient Egypt went through a long prehistoric period. After the primitive commune system gradually disintegrated, slavery began to dominate. The emergence of early slave-holding countries occurred more than 3,000 years ago and lasted for a long time. The ancient Egyptian literary works that have been handed down to this day are all products of the slave society.
About 3300 BC, the Egyptians invented writing. The earliest writing in Egypt was hieroglyphics, or graphic writing. After continuous development and improvement, it gradually formed a composite text composed of letters, musical notes, and phrases. With writing, it was possible to record and preserve a large number of oral literary works. Ancient Egyptians used papyrus to write (Note: Papyrus is a specialty of the Nile River in Lower Egypt. The reed-like papyrus stems were first cut into long strips, then aligned and connected into pieces, and finally flattened and dried into paper.) . The written papyrus was rolled up and tied with a string for preservation. Such papyrus rolls can be long or short, and some manuscripts are as long as ten to tens of meters. This is how many ancient literary works have been preserved. During Egypt's ancient period and the Old Kingdom period (3200 BC - 2280 BC), songs, poems, stories and proverbs were produced. There are two types of outstanding literary relics handed down from this period: one is the Pyramid Prayer, which is a poem written immediately on the pyramid tomb wall to pray for the Pharaoh to ascend to heaven and gain blessings after his death; the other is the inscriptions on the tombs of ministers. In addition, there are also a few folk literature materials that have been preserved. These are mainly folk songs sung during the labor process, such as songs by farmers, threshers, and porters. They are generally relatively simple and sincere. The original texts of these songs were found on tomb walls in the Old Kingdom. During the Middle Kingdom (2280 BC - 1778 BC), literature and other art categories such as architecture, painting, and sculpture developed greatly. The works used the Egyptian classical literary language refined from Middle Egyptian. During this period, there was further development of oral creation stories of the people in literary works. Egyptian literary historians believe that the literary works of the Middle Kingdom are the most exciting. They are models for literature in all subsequent periods in terms of expression, description, and rhetoric. This was the heyday of ancient Egyptian literature. The most prominent literary genre during the New Kingdom (1570 BC - 1090 BC) was realistic travel narratives, while many odes to gods and rulers were also left behind.