Poetics is a ready-made concept in the history of Chinese literary criticism. In ancient China, poetics was regarded as a form of cultural criticism aimed at exploring the meaning and extension of literary works. It usually involved the analysis and interpretation of the text structure, language use, ideology, historical background, and other aspects of literary works. Poetics has always been an important research field in the history of Chinese literature.
Chinese literary criticism appeared in various periods in the history of Chinese literature, the most famous of which was in the pre-Qin period. In the pre-Qin period, literary criticism began to sprout famous writers such as Confucius, Mozi, Xunzi, etc. Through the analysis and evaluation of literary works, they discussed social politics, morality, human nature and other issues, which laid the foundation for the development of Chinese literary criticism. In the Han Dynasty, the literary criticism was further developed by famous writers such as Sima Qian and Ban Gu. Through literary criticism, they conducted in-depth analysis and discussion on the political, social, cultural and other issues at that time. In the Tang Dynasty, literary criticism reached a peak. Famous writers such as Du Fu and Bai Juyi. Through the analysis and evaluation of literary works, they explored the social politics, morality, human nature and other issues at that time, creating a new era of Chinese literary criticism.
The history of literary criticism could be traced back to the ancient Greek period, which mainly involved the evaluation of the form, content, and author's personality of literary works. In ancient Rome, critics began to pay attention to the impact of literary works on society and human life. During the Middle Ages, critics began to combine literary criticism with other disciplines such as philosophy, history, and philology. During the Renaissance, literary critics began to emphasize the creativity of literary works and the individual talent of the author. In the 19th century, critics began to pay attention to the ideology and political significance of literary works. In the latter half of the 20th century, critics began to pay attention to the cultural and social significance of literary works. The development of modern literary criticism has gone through many changes and challenges, but at the same time, it has also made many achievements.
Literature criticism refers to the evaluation, analysis, and criticism of literary works. It is an indispensable part of literary research. The purpose of literary criticism is to better understand literary works, reveal their inner beauty and defects, and explore the intentions and characteristics of literary creation. The history of literature was a subject that studied the development of literature in a certain period, region, or school. It usually included the analysis and evaluation of literary works, literary schools, literary phenomena, and so on. The study of literary history not only helps us understand the historical evolution of literature, but also helps us better understand the essence and significance of literature. The theory of literature is the foundation of literary criticism and literary history. It is an abstract and summary of literary creation and literary phenomena. The theory of literature mainly includes the theory of literary structure, the theory of literary symbol, the theory of literary language, etc. It reveals the rules and characteristics of literary creation by analyzing the language, structure, theme and other elements of literary works. The application of literary theory helps us to better understand the meaning and extension of literary works, as well as the intention and characteristics of literary creation.
In the history of Chinese literary theory and criticism, the first literary theory book with a strict system was Wen Xin Diao Long.
The development of Chinese literary criticism in the 1990s showed the following characteristics: 1. The rise of the literary review market: With the gradual development of the market economy, the literary review market has gradually formed. During this period, many publishing houses and media began to attach importance to the role of literary criticism and launched their own literary review series or columns. 2. Borrowing from critical theories: In the 1990s, the Chinese literary criticism circle began to borrow Western critical theories such as structuralism and cultural folklore to explore the internal mechanism and cultural background of Chinese literary works. 3. Increasing literary criticism activities: In the 1990s, the Chinese literary criticism community organized various forms of literary criticism activities, such as literary conferences, literary exhibition, literary lectures, etc. These activities helped to promote the results of literary research and enhance the influence and social status of literary criticism. 4. Pay attention to the works since the new century: The 1990s was the period of development of Chinese literature since the new century. During this period, literary criticism began to pay attention to the creation and publication of Chinese literary works since the new century, and carried out in-depth analysis and interpretation of these works. 5. The combination of literary criticism and social hot topics: In the 1990s, Chinese literary criticism began to combine with social hot topics to discuss the reality and social problems of Chinese society at that time, such as corruption, economic reform, cultural multiculturalism, etc. These comments were helpful for in-depth interpretation of social hot topics and promoting the development of Chinese literature.
Literature criticism and literary criticism were both ways of evaluating and analyzing literary works, but the focus and perspective were slightly different. Literature criticism refers to the subjective evaluation and analysis of literary works, mainly focusing on the characteristics and contents of literary works in terms of ideology, art, culture, etc., emphasizing the interpretation and understanding of the works themselves. Critists would use various methods such as reading, thinking, discussion, and analysis to conduct in-depth exploration and evaluation of works. Literature criticism, on the other hand, paid more attention to the analysis of the social, historical, and cultural background of literary works, as well as the author's intention, purpose, and creative process. The criticism mainly focused on the meaning, value, and influence of the work, emphasizing the evaluation of the relationship between the work and the era, society, history, and culture. Critiques tended to focus on being objective and fair, avoiding the interference of subjective colors. Therefore, the main difference between literary criticism and literary criticism lies in the focus of evaluation and analysis. One is the interpretation and understanding of the work itself, and the other is the evaluation of the relationship between the work and the times, society, and culture.
There are many differences between the methods of Chinese literary criticism and Western literary criticism. 1. Different cultural backgrounds: Chinese literary criticism methods are influenced by Chinese traditional culture and values, emphasizing the understanding and analysis of history, politics, society, morality and other aspects of literary works; while Western literary criticism methods are influenced by Christian culture and philosophy, emphasizing the understanding and analysis of theology, philosophy, humanities and other aspects of literary works. 2. Different types of literature: Chinese literary criticism mainly focuses on traditional literary works such as poems, novels, operas, etc., emphasizing the understanding and evaluation of the artistic value and literary significance of the works; while Western literary criticism mainly focuses on modern literary works such as novels, plays, movies, etc., emphasizing the understanding and evaluation of the background of the times, social trends, artistic techniques, etc. 3. The standards of criticism are different: Chinese literary criticism focuses on the understanding and evaluation of the works, emphasizing the uniqueness and uniqueness; Western literary criticism focuses on the understanding and evaluation of the works, emphasizing the universal and objective nature of the works, emphasizing the artistic rules and aesthetic value of the works themselves. 4. Different ways of criticism: Chinese literary criticism mainly focuses on reading and studying literary works, combining traditional and cultural values to carry out in-depth understanding and evaluation of works; Western literary criticism mainly focuses on reading and studying modern literary works, combining philosophy, mythology, social trends and other aspects of knowledge to carry out in-depth understanding and evaluation of works. Therefore, the methods of Chinese literary criticism and Western literary criticism are very different in cultural background, literary genre, critical standards, and critical methods.
There are many works of ancient Chinese literary criticism. The following are some famous works: The Book of Songs: The Book of Songs was the earliest collection of poems in ancient China. It included the important poems of the early Zhou Dynasty. It had a profound influence on ancient Chinese literature and was one of the important classics in the history of Chinese literature. The Analects of Confucius: The Analects of Confucius is one of the most famous collections of ancient Chinese sayings. It records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples. It contained many thoughts and views that were beneficial to ancient Chinese literary criticism. 3. Zhuangzi: Zhuangzi is one of the classics of ancient Chinese philosophy. It contains many ideas and views that are beneficial to literary criticism. Among them, there were many famous works such as "Xiaoyao You" and "Health Master", which had an important impact on the development of ancient Chinese literature. Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals: Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals is an ancient Chinese military book that contains many ideas and perspectives that are beneficial to literary criticism. There were many discussions about literary writing and rhetoric techniques that had an important impact on the development of ancient Chinese literature. Records of the Historian: Records of the Historian is a great historical biography of ancient China. It contains many ideas and perspectives that are beneficial to literary criticism. There were many discussions about literary creation and literary phenomena that had an important impact on the development of ancient Chinese literature. Dream of the Red Chamber: Dream of the Red Chamber is a long novel from ancient China and is considered a classic in the history of Chinese literature. It contained many ideas and views beneficial to literary criticism, which had a great impact on the development of ancient Chinese literature and modern literature. These are some of the more famous works in ancient Chinese literary criticism. Of course, there are many other works. These works not only have a profound impact on ancient Chinese literature, but also have an important impact on the development of modern literature and contemporary literature.
For books on ancient Chinese literary criticism, you can refer to the following examples: The Book of Songs: The earliest collection of poems in ancient China, which contains a large number of criticisms on poetry creation, aesthetics, emotions, and so on. "Chu Ci" was one of the most important chapters in the history of Chinese literature and a classic of ancient poetry. It contained a lot of criticism on the form, rhythm, and image of poetry. Dream of the Red Chamber: This is the pinnacle of Chinese classical novels and one of the important documents in the history of Chinese literary criticism. It contained a lot of criticism about the creation of the novel, the creation of characters, the structure of the plot, and so on. The Analects of Confucius: It is one of the ancient Confucian classics in China. It contains a lot of criticism on literary creation, moral cultivation, political governance, and so on. 5 Zhuangzi: It is one of the classics of ancient Chinese Taoism. It contains a lot of criticism on literary creation, philosophical thinking, aesthetics, and so on. The above are some classic works of ancient Chinese literary criticism. The readers can choose according to their own interests and needs.
The history of Chinese literature can be divided into the following periods: Pre-Qin period: 770 to 221 B.C. is the early stage of ancient Chinese literature. During this period, many excellent literary works appeared, such as the Book of Songs, the Songs of Chu, and the Analects of Confucius. 2. Qin and Han Dynasties: 221 B.C. to 220 A.D. was the middle stage in the history of ancient Chinese literature. During this period, many important literary masterpieces appeared, such as "Records of the Historian,""Han Shu,""Journey to the West" and so on. 3. Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties: The period from 220 to 589 was the later stage of the history of ancient Chinese literature. During this period, many outstanding literary figures appeared, such as Tao Yuanming, Xie Lingyun, Wang Bo, Yang Jiong, etc. The literary works of this period mainly included the Book of Jin and the Book of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. 4 Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties: 581 to 1911 was the later stage of the history of ancient Chinese literature. During this period, many literary masters appeared, such as Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Su Shi, Xin Qiji, Li Qingzhao, Lu You, etc. The literary works of this period mainly included 300 Tang poems, 300 Song poems, and 300 Yuan songs. The period from 1911 to 1949 was the period in the history of modern Chinese literature. During this period, many important literary figures and works appeared, such as Lu Xun, Lao She, Ba Jin, Shen Congwen, Zhang Ailing, etc. The literary works of this period mainly included "Scream,""Hesitation,""Dream of the Red Chamber,""Journey to the West" and so on.