The periodization of Chinese literary history
Nine aspects of the development and change of literature in the Three Ancients and Seven Periods: The Ancient Period, the Middle Ancient Period, and the Modern Period
If we compare the history of Chinese literature As a long river, we trace it from the lower reaches upwards. Its source is a vast cloudy sky, which cannot be identified in detail. We cannot find a single sign of origin, nor can we date its origin. The literature of the oral era must have been very long ago, and the later written records are just memories of that beautiful dream. The most conservative statement is that the outline of this long river has been clear since the 11th century BC, when some poems in the "Book of Songs" appeared. Later, it gradually merged with tributaries and became wider and wider. There were highs and lows, but there was no interruption. In terms of the longevity of literature, only ancient Greek literature and ancient Indian literature can be compared with Chinese literature; in terms of the continuity of literary tradition, the literature of any other country or nation cannot be compared with Chinese literature.
A river has an upper reaches, a middle reaches, and a lower reaches. The history of Chinese literature can also be divided into the upper reaches, the middle reaches, and the lower reaches. These are the ancient times, the middle reaches, and the modern times. The distinction between the Three Ancients is a major era break in the history of Chinese literature. Within the Three Ancients, it can be subdivided into seven sections.
The specific divisions of the Three Ancients and Seven Sections are as follows:
Ancient Period: Pre-Qin and Han Dynasty (before the 3rd century AD)
The First Section: Pre-Qin
Second paragraph: Qin and Han
Medieval period: Wei and Jin to the middle of Ming Dynasty (3rd century to 16th century AD)
Third paragraph: Wei and Jin to the middle of Tang Dynasty (Tianbao end)
The fourth paragraph: the middle period of Tang Dynasty to the end of Southern Song Dynasty
The fifth paragraph: the beginning of Yuan Dynasty to the middle period of Ming Dynasty (the end of Zhengde period)
The modern period: the middle period of Ming Dynasty to the "May 4th" Movement (16th century AD to the early 20th century)
The sixth paragraph: the beginning of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty to the Opium War (1840)
The seventh paragraph: the Opium War to " The May 4th Movement (1919)
The Three Ancients and Seven Paragraphs theory mainly focuses on the development and changes of literature itself, reflecting the stages of the development and changes of literature itself, while considering other conditions such as the social system. Changes, the replacement of dynasties, etc. are regarded as the background of literary development and changes. Treat the development and changes of literature itself as the basis for breaking the limit, and regard other conditions as the reference for breaking the limit. One basis and multiple references may be most suitable for describing the entire historical process of Chinese literature. The stages of literary development and changes can coincide with changes in social systems and changes in dynasties, but changes in social systems or changes in dynasties are only important causes of changes in literature, not the fact of the change itself.
The so-called development and changes of literature itself can be broken down into the following nine aspects: 1. The development and changes of the creative subject; 2. The development and changes of the ideological content of the works; 3. The development and changes of literary genres; 4. Literature The development and changes of language; 5. The development and changes of artistic expression; 6. The development and changes of literary schools; 7. The development and changes of literary trends of thought; 8. The development and changes of literary media; 9. The development and changes of recipients. Three Ancients and Seven Paragraphs comprehensively examines the nine factors of literature itself, and draws a conclusion with reference to social conditions. In the past, when studying the history of literature, little attention was paid to the two aspects of literary media and recipients, which is not enough to understand literature. Make a comprehensive investigation of the development and changes. Literary media and recipients profoundly affect literary creation, which cannot be ignored.
1. The ancient period
The ancient period includes the pre-Qin, Qin and Han dynasties.
The first thing we notice is that almost all genres of Chinese literature were born during this period. Prose can be traced back to oracle bone inscriptions; poetry can be traced back to the Book of Songs, Songs of Chu and Han Yuefu; novels can be traced back to myths and legends, historical prose such as Zuozhuan and Shiji, as well as fables in the prose of various scholars. ; Ci Fu can be traced back to "Chu Ci". The rhetorical technique of parallelism in parallel prose has also appeared in this period; even elements of opera have also sprouted in "Nine Songs". Secondly, the ideological foundation of Chinese literature was also conceived in ancient times. In particular, the thoughts of Confucianism and Taoism have influenced the world outlook, outlook on life and values ??of writers for thousands of years. Third, China’s literary trends are dominated by Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism pays attention to the social function of literature, and Taoism pays attention to the aesthetic value of literature. This has also been formed in ancient times. Some concepts that influenced the entire Chinese literature, such as "poetry expresses ambition", "following nature", "innocence of thought", "gentleness and sincerity", etc., were all put forward during this period. Fourth, from the perspective of literary creation, dissemination, and acceptance, scholar-officials serve as the subject and recipient of creation, and words serve as the main medium of dissemination. This basic pattern of Chinese literature was also established in ancient times. It was not until the emergence of citizen literature in the Song Dynasty that this pattern changed.
The first section of the ancient period is Pre-Qin literature. At this stage, the subject of literary creation experienced an evolution from groups to individuals. Most of the poems in the Book of Songs were group singing. From then until the emergence of Qu Yuan, the first poet in the history of Chinese literature, hundreds of years passed. . In ancient times, there was no distinction between witchcraft and history. History was separated from witchcraft and specialized in recording human affairs. This was a great progress.
The rise and activity of scholars played a key role in the development of literature. The form of pre-Qin literature was a combination of literature, history and philosophy on the one hand, and a combination of poetry, music and dance on the other. This chaotic state became a major landscape of the pre-Qin period. The so-called distinction between literature, history and philosophy refers to the field of prose. When talking about pre-Qin prose, we cannot exclude historical works such as "Shangshu", "Zuo Zhuan", "Guoyu", and "Warring States Policy", nor can we exclude "Book of Changes", Philosophical works such as "Laozi", "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius" and "Zhuangzi" did not yet have purely literary prose. As for poetry, it was initially combined with music and dance. The music of Ge Tianshi recorded in "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" and "Striking stones to pull out rocks, and hundreds of animals leading the dance" recorded in "Shang Shu Yao Qu", All are examples. Many poems in "The Book of Songs" and "Chu Ci" are also closely related to music and dance. The important difference between Feng and Yasong is the difference in music. According to "Historical Records: The Family of Confucius", all 350 poems in "Poetry" can be sung with music. The "Nine Songs" in "The Songs of Chu" are songs used in conjunction with music and dance for She's sacrifice.
Qin and Han literature belongs to the second period of the ancient period. Qin and Han literature has some new characteristics that are different from pre-Qin literature. First of all, the situation of the creative subject has changed. During the Warring States Period, scholars who lobbied among various countries gathered around the emperor or princes who unified the empire, forming several groups of writers. They took it as their duty to sing praises of virtues or to satirize and admonish. Such as Sima Xiangru and Dongfang Shuo during the reign of Emperor Wu, and Meicheng and Zou Yang who were under the command of Wu King Liu Xu. These "speech attendants" happened to be the authors of Dafu, a new literary style in the Han Dynasty. In line with the unified political situation of the Han Dynasty, the literature of the Han Dynasty regarded largeness as beauty, and exaggeration became a fashion. In line with the policy of "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", the literature of the Han Dynasty lost the liveliness and variety of pre-Qin literature, and formed a formatted, dignified and rigid style. However, for Chinese poetry, the Han Dynasty was an extremely important dynasty. The four-character body of "The Book of Songs" had become rigid by the Han Dynasty, and the form of Chu Ci was transformed into Fu. However, Yuefu folk songs in the Han Dynasty showed an irresistible influence with a new attitude and new vitality, first among the people and then among the literati. Power, and thus brewing a new rhythm and new form of Chinese poetry, this is the long-lasting five-seven-character style.
2. The Middle Ancient Period
The Middle Ancient Period started from the Wei and Jin Dynasties, passed through the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and ended in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.
Why consider the Wei and Jin Dynasties as the beginning of a new period, and classify the long period from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the middle of the Ming Dynasty as a medieval period? This is taking into account the following facts: First, the era of self-consciousness in Chinese literature began at this time, and this self-conscious process was completed in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Second, the literary language has undergone epoch-making changes, from ancient to modern. Third, this was the heyday of three important literary genres: poetry, lyrics, and music. They reached their peak in the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties in the Middle Ages. Fourth, classical Chinese novels began to take shape in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and reached maturity in the Tang Dynasty. Vernacular short stories have been quite prosperous in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and vernacular novels have also appeared in works such as "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin" in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. Fifth, various new forms of literary media have emerged, such as printing and publishing, singing and singing, and stage performances. Sixth, the subjects and objects of literary creation include various aspects such as the court, scholars, villages, and markets. In short, all the various factors of Chinese literature were present and mature during this period.