Literary History

The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment or education to the reader, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pieces. Not all writings constitute literature. Some recorded materials, such as compilations of data (e.g., a check register) are not considered literature, and this article relates only to the evolution of the works defined above.

Ancient (Bronze Age–5th century)

Early literature is derived from stories told in hunter-gatherer bands through oral tradition, including myth and folklore. Storytelling emerged as the human mind evolved to apply causal reasoning and structure events into a narrative and language, allowing early humans to share information with one another. Early storytelling provided opportunity to learn about dangers and social norms while also entertaining listeners. Myth can be expanded to include all use of patterns and stories to make sense of the world, and it may be psychologically intrinsic to humans. Epic poetry is recognized as the pinnacle of ancient literature. These works are long narrative poems that recount the feats of mythic heroes, often said to take place in the nation's early history.

The history of writing began independently in different parts of the world, including in Mesopotamia about 3200 BC, in Ancient China about 1250 BC, and in Mesoamerica about 650 BC. Literature was not initially incorporated in writing, as it was primarily used for simpler purposes, such as accounting. Some of the earliest surviving works of literature include ''The Maxims of Ptahhotep'' and the ''Story of Wenamun'' from Ancient Egypt, ''Instructions of Shuruppak'' and ''Poor Man of Nippur'' from Mesopotamia, and ''Classic of Poetry'' from Ancient China.

Mesopotamia

Sumerian literature is the oldest known literature, written in Sumer. Types of literature were not clearly defined, and all Sumerian literature incorporated poetic aspects. Sumerian poems demonstrate basic elements of poetry, including lines, imagery, and metaphor. Humans, gods, talking animals, and inanimate objects were all incorporated as characters. Suspense and humor were both incorporated into Sumerian stories. These stories were primarily shared orally, though they were also recorded by scribes. Some works were associated with specific musical instruments or contexts and may have been performed in specific settings. Sumerian literature did not use titles, instead being referred to by the work's first line.

Akkadian literature developed in subsequent Mesopotamian societies, such as Babylonia and Assyria, from the third to first millennia BC. During this time, it spread to other areas, including Egypt, Ugarit, and Hattusa. The Akkadian language was influenced by the Sumerian language, and many elements of Sumerian literature were adopted in Akkadian literature. Many works of Akkadian literature were commissioned by kings that had scribes and scholars in their service. Some of these works served to celebrate the king or the divine, while others recorded information for religious practices or medicine. Poetry, proverbs, folktales, love lyrics, and accounts of disputes were all incorporated into Akkadian literature.

Ancient Egypt

Literature of the Old Kingdom of Egypt developed directly from practical use during the Fifth Dynasty. Lists of offerings to the gods were rewritten as prayers, and statistical information about state officials was expanded into autobiographies. These autobiographies were written to exemplify the virtues of their subjects and often incorporated a free flow style that blended prose and poetry. Kings were not written about beyond clerical recordings, but poetry was performed during the funerals of kings as part of a religious ritual. The ''Instructions'', a form of wisdom literature that was popular during most of Ancient Egyptian history, taught maxims of Ancient Egyptian philosophy that combined pragmatic thought and religious speculation.

These literary traditions continued to develop in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt as autobiographies became more intricate. The role of the king in literature expanded during this period; royal testaments were written from the perspective of the king to his successor, and celebrations of the king and advocacy of strong leadership were included in autobiographies and ''Instructions''. Fiction and analysis of good and evil also developed during this period. During the New Kingdom of Egypt, the popularity of wisdom literature and educational works persisted, though the use of teachings and stories was prioritized over the use of discourses. Entertainment literature was popular among the nobility during this period, incorporating aspects of narrative myth and folklore, religious hymns, love songs, and praise for the king and the city.

Ancient China

Zhou dynasty

Chinese mythology played a notable role in the earliest Chinese literature, though it was less prominent compared to mythological literature in other civilizations. By the time of the Zhou dynasty, Chinese culture emphasized the community over the individual, discouraging mythological stories of great personages and characterization of the divine. Mythological literature was more common in the southern Chu nation. The ''Tao Te Ching'' and the ''Zhuangzi'' are philosophical compilations that serve as the foundation of Taoism. Confucius was a defining figure in ancient Chinese philosophy and politics. He collected the Six Classics as founding texts of Confucianism, and they became the central texts by which other works were compared in Chinese literary scholarship. Confucianism dominated literary tastes in Ancient China starting in the Warring States period. The sayings of Confucius were later compiled into the ''Analects'' by his students.

Anthologies were common in Ancient China, and anthologizing was used as a means of literary criticism to determine literary classics. The ''Classic of Poetry'', one of the Six Classics, is the oldest existing anthology of Chinese poetry. It comprises 305 works by anonymous authors dating from the 12th to 7th centuries BC. Prior to the collection of these works, poetic tradition in Ancient China was primarily oral. The ''Chu Ci'' anthology is a volume of poems from the Warring States period written in Chu and traditionally attributed to Song yu and Qu Yuan. These poems were written as rhapsodies that were meant to be recited with a specific tone rather than sung. The Music Bureau was developed during the Zhou dynasty, establishing a governmental role for the collection of musical works and folk songs that would persist throughout Chinese history.

Historical documents developed into an early form of literature during the Warring States period, as documentation was combined with narrative and sometimes with legendary accounts of history. Two of the Six Classics, the ''Book of Documents'' and the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'', are historical documents. The latter inspired works of historical commentary that became a genre in their own right, including the ''Zuo Zhuan'', the ''Gongyang Zhuan'', and the ''Guliang Zhuan''. The ''Zuo Zhuan'' is considered to be the first large scale narrative work in Chinese literature. ''The Art of War'' by Sun Tzu was an influential book on military strategy that is still referenced in the modern era.

Qin and Han dynasties

Poetry written in the brief period of the Qin dynasty has been entirely lost. Poetry in the Han dynasty diverged as several branches developed, including short length, paralleled exposition, rhymed exposition, and ancient style, and idealism also became popular during the Han dynasty. The '' Nineteen Old Poems'' were written at this time, though how they came about is the subject of debate. Poetry during this period abandoned tetrasyllabic verse in favor of pentasyllabic verse. The ballads of Chu spread through China and became widely popular, often focusing on concepts of inevitable destiny and fate.

Political and argumentative literature by government officials dominated Chinese prose during this period, though even these works often engaged in lyricism and metaphor. Jia Yi was an essayist known for his emotional political treatises such as '' The Faults of Qin''. Chao Cuo was an essayist known for treatises that were meticulous rather than emotional. Confucianism continued to dictate philosophical works, though a movement of works criticizing contemporary application of Confucianism began with Wang Chong in his '' Lunheng''. Prose literature meant for entertainment also developed during this period. Historical literature was revolutionized by the ''Records of the Grand Historian'', the first general history of ancient times and the largest work of literature to that point in time.

Six Dynasties

Centralism declined during the Six Dynasties period, and Confucianism lost influence as a predominating ideology. This caused the rise of many local traditions of philosophical literature, including that of Taoist and Buddhist ideas. Prose fiction during the Wei and Jin dynasties consisted mainly of supernatural folklore, including those presented as historical. This tradition of supernatural fiction continued during the Northern and Southern dynasties with the ''Records of Light and Shade'' attributed to Liu Yiqing. Another genre of prose was collections of short biographical or anecdotal impressions, of which only '' A New Account of the Tales of the World'' survives.

Jian'an poetry developed from the literary tradition of Eastern Han, incorporating idiosyncrasies and strong demonstrations of emotion to express individualism. This movement was led by then-ruler of China Cao Cao. The poetry of Cao Cao consisted of ensemble songs published through the Music Bureau and performed with music. The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove were influential poets in the Wei dynasty mid-3rd century, addressing political and philosophical concerns directly in their poetry. Chinese poetry developed significantly during the Jin dynasty, incorporating parallelism, prosody, and emotional expression through scenery. Zhang Hua, Lu Ji, and Pan Yue are recognized as the great poets that developed early Western Jin poetry. Zuo Si and Liu Kun were poets in later Western Jin. In Eastern Jin, philosophical poetry went through a period of abstraction that removed much of its literary elements. Guo Pu and Tao Yuanming were notable poets in Eastern Jin.

The popularity of literary poetry and aestheticism grew during the Southern dynasties, and literature as art began to be recognized as distinct from political and philosophical literature. This resulted in the growth of literary criticism, with '' The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons'' and ''Ranking of Poetry'' being written at this time. The Sixteen Kingdoms of the Northern dynasties saw little cultural growth due to their instability, and Northern literature of this time was typically influenced by the Southern dynasties. Shanshui poetry also became prominent in Six Dynasties poetry.

Levant

Ancient literature of the Levant was written in the Northwest Semitic languages, a language group that contains the Aramaic language, as well as the Canaanite languages such as Phoenician and Hebrew. A corpus of Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions (or "Northwest Semitic inscriptions") are the primary extra-Biblical source for the writings of the ancient Phoenicians, Hebrews and Arameans. These inscriptions occur on stone slabs, pottery ostraca, ornaments, and range from simple names to full texts.

The books that constitute the Hebrew Bible

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases