Pre-Qin Philosophical Prose: Poetic Philosophy: Poetic Philosophy

Author: Yang Shuzeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-08-01
Features: The so-called pre-Qin scholars' prose actually refers only to the writings of various academic schools during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Before this, Chinese prose had already developed for at least a thousand years, and pre-Qin scholars' prose possessed a long-standing cultural heritage. Pre-Qin scholars' prose originated directly from the official culture, also known as the scribe culture, with its representative classics being the so-called "Six Classics" or "Six Arts," namely the Book of Songs, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, Book of Music, Book of Changes, and Spring and Autumn Annals. On one hand, pre-Qin scholars' prose drew on and inherited the essence of thought and art from the Six Classics; on the other hand, it made significant breakthroughs and innovations in thought and art, liberating prose from strict official control and the constraints of Confucian classics, making it a tool for personal free expression. Together with the historical and biographical literature that emerged from the scribe culture, it pioneered a glorious golden age for Chinese prose.
Pre-Qin scholars' prose, on one hand, drew on, absorbed, and inherited the thought and art of the Six Classics, while on the other hand, it also demonstrated criticism, breakthroughs, and innovations in relation to them. The emergence of pre-Qin scholars' prose developed prose from state-controlled historical records and writing under the strict control of institutions to personal free composition, liberating it from the shackles of Confucian classics.