As a self-proclaimed "literary lover", I have read a lot of books on literature, but I don't know much about the science of literature, and I haven't read any books on literary theory. In his Introduction to Literature, Mr. Lao She said: "The methods of writing and reading are taught by the master (the Chinese teacher taught in the ten-year compulsory education). As for what literature is, a young genius who creates with pen and ink will naturally ask questions (as will literary lovers who like literature). He cares about ethics, takes Ming Dow as his own responsibility, and regards "carrying Tao" and "understanding" as the essence of literature (I seem to have read literature books). Therefore, we can't find a clear and appropriate literary theory in China's literary criticism and poetry theory. Very natural. Literary theory is difficult to determine, and it seems unnecessary from the perspective of literary appreciation (I have read literary books for decades and have never seriously thought about what literature is); However, to study literature, we must have a clear concept (as a literature lover, we can no longer be confused about literature), so as not to pull at will and cast a fog over literature. " What is literature? Looking at the first introduction, I have drawn a big question mark in my heart.

? What is literature? In the second lecture and the third lecture, China's literature of past dynasties (upper and lower), Mr. Lao She told us about China's literature and literary theory of past dynasties: pre-Qin, Han Wei, Six Dynasties, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing and modern times. The fourth chapter is the characteristics of literature: "Love and beauty are a pair of wings of literature and art, and imagination is the ability to make them fly;" Literature is something that must fly. The purpose of literature is to make people happy. Only by bringing people up and flying with them can people be happy. Emotion, beauty and imagination (structure, temperament and expression) are the three characteristics of literature. "Literature itself is the only preserver of literary features. The fifth lecture "The Creation of Literature": The creation of literature is not simulation. " Artists should not only observe things, but also go deep into the hearts of things and find emotional, beautiful and powerful expressions for things. ""The so-called writer's life, in other words, is the whole personality and personality of that person. More carefully, let's say it's the total amount of insole experience that person has. "Why on earth do people want to create? The answer is simple: satisfy the individual. " "Creation is the light from the purest and noblest self-activity, which can make meaningless chaos and unconscious life in society too small and dirty, so that society can know itself and have social consciousness." The sixth lecture "The Origin of Literature" "The origin of literature is indeed an interesting pursuit, but its value lies only in explaining the origin of literature, and it is dangerous to use it as the basis for explaining literature and art." "The origin of art can only explain the material needs of primitive society for real needs, but it cannot satisfactorily explain that future generations must have art in spirit." "Art is a necessity of life, and life is not limited to material things. Poetry is primitive literature, and there was poetry before literature. The seventh lecture is "style of writing". According to the interest in creation, every work has its content and form in the mind of the creator. Every division is intentional, and the difference is as different as the surface. Man is style, and style is the expression of personality. We can judge what is literature and what is not literature from the style of the works. There is a mind and a soul in words, which is literature. What style of writing is good? " Style is the only tool to conquer readers. "Style is not something you can learn. Style is the expression of personality (including talent and habit). Lecture 8 "The Difference between Poetry and Prose": The combination of thought and melody is the characteristic of poetry. Poetry is the expression of creation; Prose is the expression of composition. Poetry is often full of emotional appeal, words are better than meaning, prose is not necessary, and words can convey meaning. The ninth chapter, the form of literature, discusses the importance of research form in understanding literature: first, the form of literature is enough to help us understand the progress of literature; Second, literary works can be recognized through literary forms; Third, form is sometimes the inspiration of creation. The fourth is the relationship between form and content. Form and content are inseparable. Everything in beauty must be expressed in form. Lecture 10 Lecture 11 The tendency of literature to go up and down is also a literary school. Lao She introduced the schools of classical literature in China, and introduced classicism, romanticism, realism, neo-romanticism, symbolism, aestheticism and idealism according to the literary tendency of the western vernacular movement. The twelfth lecture, literary criticism, introduces four kinds of theoretical criticism, inductive criticism, judgmental criticism and subjective criticism. The thirteenth lecture focuses on poetry: the difference between poetry and other literature and art; Classification of poetry; Poetic language. The fourteenth lecture focuses on the history of drama, the differences between ancient Roman drama and China drama, form, structure, characters, speech, stage setting, action and performance, the development of drama and the cultivation of actors. The fifteenth lecture focuses on the novel, its origin, function and artistic expression, its content and form, its language and philosophy, its thoughts and imagination, its development and its comprehensive artistic form.

Learning the basic knowledge of literature is helpful to systematically understand what literature is. This book is really suitable for beginners of literary theory. It makes a comprehensive and unique interpretation of literature from the writer's point of view, which includes both the basic knowledge theory of literature and the unique thinking of literature. Reading this book is like listening to Mr. Lao She's literary lecture, which is easy and concise and fruitful.