"When the spring dries up and the fish are on the land, it is better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes." This is a sentence in "Zhuangzi, Neipian, Great Master". There are only two kinds of feelings in the world, one is mutual support or the other is forgotten. We are all moved by the friendship between fish, but in Zhuangzi's view, the mutual support of fish in desperate situations is far inferior to swimming freely in the water, forgetting each other in the rivers and lakes.
The prose of the Warring States Period is like a gorgeous flower, opening up in the history of ancient Chinese literature. During this period, due to the integration of ethnic groups, there were many cultural exchanges, and the political environment was relatively loose, cultural thought was extremely active. "A hundred schools of thought competed, and nine schools of thought emerged simultaneously." This was the first era in our country's history where a hundred schools of thought contended and a hundred flowers bloomed. Although the prose of the Warring States Period focuses on theory and contains many arguments, it is not boring to read because of its vivid expression and full of flavor of life and times.
Prose in the Warring States Period mainly includes two categories: prose by various scholars and historical prose. The prose of various scholars is generally based on discussion. The main books written during this period include "Mencius", "Zhuangzi", "Xunzi", "Lu Shi Chunqiu", etc.; while historical prose is mainly based on describing historical events and historical figures. , the representative work of this period is "Warring States Policy".
"Zhuangzi" is a classic work of Taoism and a representative of the prose of various scholars. Sima Qian said in "Historical Records" that Zhuangzi wrote more than 100,000 words. However, there are only 33 chapters of "Zhuangzi" popular today, with more than 65,000 words, and some of them may have been lost later. The existing "Zhuangzi" is divided into three parts: inner chapter, outer chapter and miscellaneous chapter. In the past, it was generally believed that the entire book was written by Zhuangzi. From the Song Dynasty, people began to doubt this issue, and generally began to believe that only the inner chapters were written by Zhuangzi himself, and the outer chapters and miscellaneous chapters were written by later generations. However, the outer chapters and miscellaneous chapters are basically consistent with the inner chapters in terms of thought and style. Except for "Miscellaneous Chapters: Talking about Swords" which looks a bit like a strategist's work, the rest of the chapters are unified with Zhuangzi's thoughts. Zhuangzi was a man of rich imagination, beautiful writing style and strong romanticism. Liu Xizai, a writer in the Qing Dynasty, described Zhuangzi in his book "Yi Gai·Wen Gai" as "unexpected and strange in his writing". Most of the articles in "Zhuangzi" are in the form of fables. Zhuangzi used his wonderful pen to write fascinating stories one after another. He integrated his own views and thoughts into these stories, and said what he wanted to say through the mouth of the protagonist:
Yao ordered the world to follow Xu You, saying: "The sun and the moon are rising, but the fire does not cease. Isn't it difficult to deal with the light? Sometimes the rain falls, but it is still soaking; it is not difficult to deal with the lake. ? When the Master is established, the world is governed, but I am still a corpse; I regard myself as lacking, so please give it to the world." Xu You said: "The Master governs the world, and the world has been governed; but I still take the place of the son, what will I be called? The famous person is also a real guest. How can I be a guest? The wren nests in the deep forest, but it is only a branch; the rats drink from the river, but their belly is full. Return to the king, and I have no use for the world! Although the cooks do not manage the cooks, the corpses are blessed Don't go over the bottle and replace it!"
Yao wanted to give way to Xu You, but Xu You rejected him. Sitting in the world and gaining both fame and fortune is what many people dream of, but Xu You feels that fame is a real guest and is unwilling to join an official position just to pursue false fame. This coincides with Zhuangzi's thought of "quietness and inaction". Zhuangzi expressed his thoughts through Xu You's mouth. Life is just a big dream. No matter how great your fame is, it cannot be immortal. No matter it is great or small, noble or humble, it can only be submerged in the long river of time. Therefore, it is better to enjoy the present moment than to pursue fame.
In Zhuangzi's writings, everything in the world, whether living or inanimate, tangible or intangible, can become the carrier of his thoughts and spirit. In "Autumn Water", He Bo initially thought that all the beauty in the world was here. Later, after seeing the sea, he looked at the ocean and sighed, and understood his own narrow-mindedness and ignorance. Extending this to people, Zhuangzi believed that Confucius' knowledge was limited and Boyi's benevolence and righteousness were not enough. In this story, Zhuangzi combines myths and fables, which is both interesting and educational. It also fully demonstrates Zhuangzi's excellent language skills. His fables deeply influenced many poets and writers in later generations.
When talking about historical prose, people will immediately think of "Warring States Policy". "Warring States Policy" is a representative of historical prose during the Warring States period. It belongs to the national history book, also known as "National Policy". "Warring States Policy" mainly records the stories that happened to counselors who were good at lobbying in various countries during the Warring States Period.
As a history book, "Warring States Policy" is of great literary talent. Even compared with "Zuo Zhuan", which is famous for its literary talent, it is not inferior or even better. Whether in terms of narrative or reasoning, "Warring States Policy" often uses exaggeration and parallelism to present a hearty and hearty momentum. Moreover, in this book, language is not only used to reason, but also to move people with emotion. For example, the famous article "Su Qin Shi General Lian Heng Speaks of Qin" records the story of Su Qin, a representative of the Hezong faction, lobbying King Qin Hui. The whole story is very simple, but the language is gorgeous, the emotions are sincere, and the story is majestic.
In addition to its unique literary style, "Warring States Policy" is also very unique in its portrayal of characters. Its portrayal of characters is more specific and detailed than ordinary history books. Most of the descriptions of characters in "Zuo Zhuan" are just a few strokes, outlining a simple form. "Warring States Policy" will describe a person through many aspects. For example, when Feng Xuan is described in "Feng Xuan Ke Mengchangjun", he is initially described as leaning on a pillar and flicking his sword, which initially depicts his mysterious side. He clearly intends to ask for higher rewards, but is unwilling to say it outright. Then it narrates a series of plots such as "burning bonds", "restoring life", "seeking opportunities for Lord Mengchang", "asking Lord Mengchang to build an ancestral temple", etc., depicting the style of this arrogant but indeed very courageous and strategic strategist. To the fullest.
In addition, the counselors in "Warring States Policy" often cited some very vivid fables to explain their reasoning when lobbying the monarchs. Many of the fables we are familiar with can be found in it, such as "superfluous to the superfluous", "the fox fakes the tiger's power", "the cunning rabbit has three burrows", "the snipe and the clam fight, the fishermen gain", "repairing the situation after the sheep has been lost", etc.
In addition to reflecting the active thinking of the Warring States Period, "Warring States Policy" is also of great significance in terms of language and art, and plays a connecting role in the history of Chinese literature. Later, many historical books were influenced by it. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" borrowed many of its description methods in describing characters.
The prose of the Warring States Period occupies a very important position in the history of ancient Chinese literature. The reason why literature in this period could achieve such great achievements was largely due to the relaxed social public opinion environment at that time. No matter which era, only when the social atmosphere is enlightened can people's thoughts be active and culture can develop rapidly and significantly.
