Part 1: Overview of Pre-Qin Literature (36 credit hours) (1 credit hour) 1. The scope of Pre-Qin Literature. 2. The beginning of our country’s literature; primitive ballads and ancient myths; myths are the encyclopedia of the Chinese nation’s childhood and the earliest treasures of our country’s literary heritage. 3. The Book of Songs, my country’s first collection of poetry. As the source of ancient realist literature, "The Book of Songs" has pioneering significance in both the objects and techniques of literary expression. 4. The social changes during the Warring States Period and the emergence of "a hundred schools of thought contending" promoted the prosperity of prose. There are numerous excellent works of historical prose and various scholars’ prose, and numerous famous writers have emerged, laying a solid foundation for the development of prose in our country. 5. Qu Yuan is the first great poet in the history of Chinese literature. His excellent poems represented by "Li Sao" are full of lofty thoughts and sentiments, patriotic passion and the magical color of romanticism, and opened up the fine tradition of romanticism in our country. Question to think about: What is the general situation of Pre-Qin literature? Chapter 1 Ancient Myths (2 hours) 1. Myths and the emergence of myths. According to Marx, myths are "natural and social forms that have been processed unconsciously in people's imagination through artistic methods." The generation of myths is closely related to the productivity level and thinking ability of primitive people; the ways in which myths are generated usually include labor production and religious activities. 2. The content of the myth. Ancient Chinese myths are very rich, and the types are also very complete, such as myths about the creation of the universe, myths about the origin of mankind, myths about heroes, myths about floods, and various descriptive myths about the types, habits, and forms of gods. 3. The art of mythology and its national characteristics. Ancient mythology is the embodiment of the romantic spirit of primitive people. It uses exaggerated and fantasy means to express primitive people's understanding and imagination of nature and society. Our country's mythology has its distinctive national characteristics. In terms of content, it sings about the endless creative spirit, expresses the indomitable and tenacious pursuit, praises the indomitable and dedicated behavior, has a positive romantic spirit, and is rich in color and rich in art. fantasy. 4. The meaning and influence of myth. Questions to think about: 1. What are the contents and characteristics of ancient myths? 2. What is the relationship between ancient mythology and primitive religion? Chapter 2 Poetry of the Zhou Dynasty and the Book of Songs (13 hours) 1. Ancient ballads, proverbs, mantras and the formation of Zhou poetry. Before the "Book of Songs", ancient Chinese poetry had a long history of development. Ancient ballads, proverbs and ancient mantras were the two main forms of early poetry and were also the precursors of Zhou Dynasty poetry. The Zhou Dynasty was a period of great prosperity for ancient Chinese poetry. In addition to the "Book of Songs", there are also a large number of poems preserved in books such as "Book of Songs" and "Zuo Zhuan", which can be compared with the "Book of Songs". 2. The structure and compilation of the Book of Songs. The Book of Songs contains a total of 305 poems from about 500 years from the early Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period. It is divided into three parts: Feng, Ya and Song. The area covered by the 300 poems includes all or part of today's Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, Hubei, Shandong and other provinces. Some of them are folk songs, and some were created by nobles and scholar-bureaucrats. The names of most of the authors are unknown. There have been various theories in the past about the collection and organization of the Book of Songs, among which the three most influential ones are the theory of offering poems, the theory of collecting poems, and the theory of Confucius deleting poems. Most people today believe that the compilation of the Book of Songs was probably completed jointly by the imperial court, local princes and musicians. The Book of Songs was only called "The Book of Songs" or "Three Hundred Poems" in the pre-Qin Dynasty. After the Han Dynasty, it was regarded as a classic by Confucianists and was called the "Book of Songs". 3. Overview of the classification of "The Book of Songs". ① Zhou tribal epics; ② political satirical poems; ③ taxation poems; ④ farming poems; ⑤ love poems; ⑥ miscellaneous poems. The Book of Songs reflects all aspects of social life in the Zhou Dynasty. The lives and emotions of people from all walks of life in the Zhou Dynasty are confirmed in the Book of Songs. Some of the chapters show the history of the growth of Zhou people; some show the social and political worries or dissatisfaction of nobles, scholar-bureaucrats, petty officials, common people, and even slaves; some show the ritual life of the nobility and the entertainment and festival celebrations of the Yan Dynasty; Some show the social reality of a small country and small officials who are unable to be driven, and criticize the uneven work and rest; some show the agricultural production of the Zhou people; some show the sweetness or misfortune of love and family marriage; some describe the abandonment of women in the Zhou Dynasty social problems; some reflect the relationships and friendships between family, clan, and friends. In short, "The Book of Songs" displays various aspects of social life in the Zhou Dynasty in many aspects, and is a masterpiece of realism. 4. The artistic achievements of The Book of Songs. ① The realistic artistic characteristics and techniques of "The Book of Songs"; ② The artistic means of narrative, reasoning, lyricism, scene description, and discussion; ③ The sentence structure and composition of "The Book of Songs"; ④ The language art of "The Book of Songs"; ⑤ The Book of Songs 》Fu Bixing technique. Questions to think about: 1. What are the Six Meanings, the Four Beginnings, Mao’s Poetry, Four Schools of Poetry, and Changing Style and Elegance? 2. What is the main content of The Book of Songs? 3. What are the main artistic features of The Book of Songs? 4. How is the artistic technique of Fu Bixing reflected in the Book of Songs? Chapter 3 Pre-Qin historical prose (5 hours) 1. The basis for the development of Pre-Qin historical prose. Great social changes; new air in the ideological and cultural fields; social development’s new requirements for the style of history books. 2. Historical prose from the Yin and Shang Dynasties to the Spring and Autumn Period.

Oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions are the origins of the ancient prose system; "Book of Changes" is a book of divination, which also contains certain historical content; "Shangshu" is the earliest history book in narrative style; "Spring and Autumn" is the earliest chronicle style of historical events. 3. "Zuo Zhuan". The author of "Zuo Zhuan"; the style and content of "Zuo Zhuan"; the art of "Zuo Zhuan": Although "Zuo Zhuan" is a historical work, it is rich in literary nature. Its narrative focuses on storytelling and drama, and has It is good at writing wars with tense and touching plots, especially the Battle of Chengpu, Battle of Tao, Battle of Yao, and Battle of Changshao. They are all described in a coherent manner, complete from beginning to end, varied, and vivid. "Zuo Zhuan" is especially good at writing pedestrian rhetoric. 4. "Guoyu". The style and content of "Guoyu"; the art of "Guoyu": "Guoyu" is far less accomplished than "Zuo Zhuan", but there are also excellent chapters with interesting dialogues, vivid stories, and more detailed characterizations of characters. 5. "Warring States Policy". The style of "Warring States Policy"; the writing process of "Warring States Policy"; the content and art of "Warring States Policy": "Warring States Policy" reflects the thoughts of the strategists of the Warring States Period, and the vivid image of the strategists portrayed in the book. It objectively describes the machinations and deceit of politicians and strategists, and also records and praises some people who had political vision, insisted on justice, and were not afraid of violence and their vivid deeds. "Warring States Policy" likes to use exaggeration, metaphor, and allegory in art. The characters and stories are full of humor. The language style is arbitrary and unbridled, and it makes good use of parallel sentences to create strong language. In addition, the diction is gorgeous and vivid. Compared with previous historical prose, language skills have been improved and developed. Questions to think about: 1. Try to analyze the achievements of "Zuo Zhuan" in describing war. 2. Try to analyze the language style of "Warring States Policy". Chapter 4 Prose by Pre-Qin Scholars (5 hours) 1. The rise of scholars and the various schools of thought. The formation of the situation of "a hundred schools of thought contending" during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was closely related to the rise of the scholar class. Scholars who were transformed from various social strata became influential figures active in the political, ideological and educational circles during this period. "Family" has a complete ideological system and becomes the representative of hundreds of schools of thought. 2. The aphoristic prose of military strategists and early Taoists. The characteristics of the layout of "The Art of War"; the language characteristics of "The Art of War"; the thoughts of "Laozi"; the aphoristic prose of "Laozi". 3. The Analects of Confucius, a collection of quotation-style prose. The thoughts of Confucius; the essence of language art in The Analects; the description of character and voice in The Analects. 4. Conversational argumentative prose "Mencius" and "Zhuangzi". The thought of "Mencius"; the argumentative characteristics of "Mencius"; the language art of "Mencius"; the allegorical art of "Mencius"; the thought of "Zhuangzi"; the romantic characteristics of "Zhuangzi" prose; the allegorical art of "Zhuangzi". 5. The argumentative prose "Xunzi" and "Han Feizi". The art of reasoning in "Xunzi"; the art of allegory in "Han Feizi". Questions to think about: 1. Analyze the argumentation skills in the prose of "Mencius". 2. Analyze the romantic style of the prose of "Zhuangzi". Chapter 5 Qu Yuan and Chu Ci (10 hours) 1. The emergence of Chu culture and Chu Ci. The social and political background of Chu State; the relationship between the emergence of Chu Ci and the folk songs and folk music of Chu; the relationship between the emergence of Chu Ci and the witchcraft culture of Chu; and the relationship between the emergence of Chu Ci and the culture of the Central Plains. 2. The authenticity of Qu Yuan’s life and works. In his early years, he succeeded in his career and served as the left disciple of King Huai of Chu. However, he had conflicts with the old aristocratic forces of the Chu state. He seized the manuscript, was slandered, and lived in northern Han Dynasty. Then he was released to the south of the Yangtze River and sank into Miluo. Qu Yuan's work "Hanshu 6.1 Yiwenzhi" contains 25 articles, some of which may be forgeries. 3. Rondo of the soul - "Li Sao". "Li Sao" is Qu Yuan's masterpiece and a long autobiographical political lyric poem that will shine through the ages. The whole poem profoundly expresses Qu Yuan's political ideals and his conflicts with the old forces of Chu State, and reveals his psychological pain and hesitation. His passionate love for his homeland and his unremitting pursuit of his ideals have become a majestic righteousness in the world. "Li Sao" has a strong romantic spirit, with passionate emotions, high-pitched style, magnificent waves, and various atmospheres. He is also good at making skillful use of materials from myths and legends to explore his imagination. Among them, "Paradise in Heaven" has become a classic chapter of such descriptions in ancient Chinese literature. Vanilla Beauty's Bixing technique also had a huge impact on later generations' nostalgic poems, epic poems, and antiquity poems. 4. Exile and Wandering Suite - "Nine Chapters". The editing and naming of "Nine Chapters"; the content of "Nine Chapters"; the chapter analysis of "Nine Chapters"; the art of "Nine Chapters". 5. God Sacrifice Suite - "Nine Songs". The content of "Nine Songs"; the art of "Nine Songs". 6. Qu Yuan’s other works and their influence. "Tianwen", "The Conjuring" and others. 7. The evolution of Chu Ci and other writers. Song Yu and his "Nine Bian", "Feng Fu", etc.; the influence of Chu Ci on Han Fu. Questions to think about: 1. What is the reason for the emergence of Chu Ci, a new poetry style? 2. What is the unique style of Chu Ci? How to behave? 3. The similarities and differences in the artistic styles of "Li Sao" and "Nine Songs". Part 2: Overview of Qin and Han Literature (24 hours) (1 hour) 1. Qin Shihuang unified the long-divided China in 221 BC, but it fell in less than fifteen years. The Qin Dynasty made few achievements in literature. Only the "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" before unification and Li Si's "Remonstrance and Expulsion of Guests" are slightly commendable. 2. The Han Dynasty was one of the most powerful feudal dynasties in China.

During the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, China was the largest country in the world with the richest products and the most powerful national power. However, the rulers' extravagance and external expansion made the people pay the price of "waste at home and the population was halved". The social conflicts in the late Han Dynasty were extremely fierce, and uprisings and riots continued in various places. This historical background had a great influence on the development of Chinese literature. The main achievements of the Han Dynasty include Han prose, Han Fu, Yuefu poems and nineteen ancient poems. 3. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" and Ban Gu's "Hanshu" are representative works of historical biographies of the Han Dynasty. In particular, "Historical Records" is the originator of biographical general history and one of the most outstanding prose works of Chinese literature. Political treatises in the Han Dynasty were also quite developed. Jia Yi and Chao Cuo in the early Han Dynasty, Huan Kuan in the reign of Emperor Xuan, and Wang Chong and Zhong Changtong in the Eastern Han Dynasty all wrote political treatises. 4. Han Fu is a new style of writing. It is mainly developed on the basis of Chu Ci, and its style is between poetry and prose. The form is characterized by question and answer between subject and object, rhyme is used in scattered rhymes, and it is good at elaborating narratives. Although the contents of Han Fu mostly praise the Han Empire, they also have satirical meaning. In terms of style, Han Fu had a great influence on the literature of the Six Dynasties. 5. The Yuefu poems of the Han Dynasty are mainly the works of the people at the bottom. Most of them are "the hungry sing about their food, the laborers sing about their things". They are simple in style and good at narrative. Its five-character form has a huge influence on the literati's five-character poetry. 6. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, five-character poetry gradually matured and had a great influence on the history of poetry. Nineteen Ancient Poems is the representative work of five-character poetry by literati. Questions to think about: 1. What is the overview of literature in the Han Dynasty? Chapter 1 Prose and Fu from Qin and Early Western Han Dynasty (3 hours) 1. Literature of Qin Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty made few achievements in literature. Only the "Lu Shi Chun Qiu" before unification and Li Si's "Remonstrance and Expulsion of Guests" are slightly commendable. The style of "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals"; the allegorical art of "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals"; the stylistic significance of "The Book of Remonstrance and Chasing Guests". Jia Yi and early Han Dynasty prose. Jia Yi's life; three types of Jia Yi's prose; Chao Cuo's prose. 2. Fu writers of the Western Han Dynasty. The origin of Fu style; Sao style Fu - taking Jia Yi Fu as the object; the founder of San style Fu - Meicheng and his "Qifa"; the representative writer of San style Fu, Sima Xiangru and his "Zixu Fu", "Shanglin Fu"; other Fu masters of the Western Han Dynasty - Dongfang Shuo and Yang Xiong. Questions to think about: 1. Briefly describe the three stages of the development of Han Fu. 2. How to evaluate San Tai Fu? Chapter 2 Sima Qian and his "Historical Records" (6 hours) 1. The life of Sima Qian. He was born in a family of historians. As a young boy, he had a family background and recited ancient Chinese prose, "Shang Shu", "Spring and Autumn Annals", etc.; three travels during his youth and middle age broadened his knowledge, and he also took the opportunity to collect a lot of information. There were few relevant rumors about the legacy, which directly helped him write "Historical Records"; when he started writing "Historical Records", he was "unfinished" by Li Ling, so he worked hard to write the book, and finally completed this great historical work. 2. Regarding his book "Historical Records". The style of "Historical Records"; the purpose of writing "Historical Records"; the historical view of "Historical Records". 3. The ideological content of the biographies in "Historical Records". How to choose the biography in "Historical Records"; how to write the biography in "Historical Records"; the ideological tendency of the biographies in "Historical Records". 4. The historical authenticity and literary artistry of the biographies in "Historical Records". 5. The literary achievements of the biographies of "Historical Records". The narrative in "Historical Records" is vivid and vivid, and the description is full of imagery. On the basis of historical facts, the mental outlook and character traits of the characters can often be highlighted by selecting and cutting materials. The article is majestic and lyrical. He often borrows historical events to express his anger and pour in his own emotions in the book. Mr. Lu Xun once praised "Historical Records" as "the swan song of historians, the rhymeless "Li Sao"". 6. The status and influence of "Historical Records" in the history of literature. Questions to think about: 1. What is the relationship between Sima Qian’s life and the writing of "Historical Records"? 2. Briefly discuss the ideological content and artistic achievements of Sima Qian’s historical prose. 3. How to express the method of commenting and complimenting and the method of mutual reference in "Historical Records" Chapter 3 Prose and Ci Fu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (2 hours) 1. Ban Gu and "Han Shu". The style of "Han Shu"; the ideological and artistic achievements of "Han Shu"; comparison between "History" and "Han". 2. Prose of the Eastern Han Dynasty. 3. Ci Fu of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Questions to think about: 1. How to evaluate the ideological and artistic achievements of "Han Shu"? 2. What famous prose writers and works were there during the Eastern Han Dynasty? 3. What is the general situation of Ci and Fu in the Eastern Han Dynasty? Chapter 3 Han Yuefu Folk Songs (8 hours) 1. About Yuefu. The organization and mission of Yuefu; the changes in the meaning of Yuefu. 2. The ideological content of Yuefu folk songs. ① Works showing the life of the wealthy class; ② Anti-war works; ③ Works showing the life of farmers and citizens; ④ Works showing love and family life. Yuefu folk songs are "feeling sorrow and joy, and are inspired by events." Most of their authors have low social status, so they have the characteristics of "the hungry sing about their food, and the tired sing about their affairs." Whether the poem describes the luxury of the upper class or the plight of the lower class, it can all be seen from the singer's own perspective, so it embodies a distinct civilian color and realism spirit. 3. The artistic achievements and influence of Han Yuefu folk songs. The subject matter is mostly based on typical events or certain scenes; the structure of narrative poetry is rich in dramatic monologues and dialogues, and characters with certain personality characteristics; the poetry is free in form, scattered and informal, mainly five words, interspersed with miscellaneous words; The language style is simple and natural. Questions to think about: 1. How is the ideological value of Yuefu folk songs reflected? 2. Briefly discuss the artistic characteristics of Yuefu folk songs.

3. What is the significance of Yuefu folk songs in the history of poetry development? Chapter 3 The origin and development of five-character poetry (4 hours) 1. The origin of five-character poetry. It first appeared in folk songs of the Han Dynasty. The earliest literati five-character poem is Ban Gu's "Ode to History". Zhang Heng, Qin Jia, Zhao Yi, etc. all have five-character poems. Five-character poems have more advantages than four-character poems in expressing aspirations and objects, and it is also easier to reproduce the beauty of the rhythm of the poem. 2. "Nineteen Ancient Poems". "Nineteen Ancient Poems" represents the highest achievement of five-character poetry by literati in the Han Dynasty. It reflects the sorrow and sadness of the scholars in the late Eastern Han Dynasty who were separated from each other and missed their official career. Its artistic characteristics are that it is good at expressing emotions and expressing deep feelings in plain and elegant language. Questions to think about: 1. Briefly describe the development of poetic styles in the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties and the status of "Nineteen Ancient Poems" in the development of five-character poetry.

2. How to understand the value of "Nineteen Ancient Poems"?