1. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, people had a clearer understanding of the concept of literature. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, although there were also concepts of "Wen" and "Wen", the meaning of "Wen" was different from that of Han Dynasty. Cao Pi thinks that there are four articles: Shu Shu, Shu Lun, Inscription and Postscript, and Poetry. Although this kind of "literature" is somewhat different from today's "literature", it has made great progress than the Han people. On the one hand, it rejects historical biography, on the other hand, it brings poetry and fu into the literary category. Although this increase or decrease is not a simple mathematical problem, it greatly purifies the concept of literature. In addition, the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties also made a clear analysis of "style of writing". In the Han Dynasty, writing was a general term for all kinds of articles and works, and it was a very vague concept. Later, Liu Xie made a linguistic analysis of it: "Now as the saying goes, writing has a pen, thinking that those who have no rhyme write and those who have rhyme write" is also superficial. Later, I made an accurate analysis of it from the essence of literature: "If it is inconvenient, poetry will be like a slap in the face, and if it is good, poetry will be like a poem." If so, it is a pen; Those who mourn the wind are called articles. " This distinction undoubtedly makes people have a further understanding of the concept of literature. It is precisely because of this period that people's understanding of literature became clear that Song Wendi established the fourth museum "Wenguan" alongside Confucianism, metaphysics and history. There is another point that I think it is necessary to mention, that is, Cao Pi's proposition of "taking qi as literature" which is highly summarized from the perspective of literary creation. "Wen is given priority to with gas, and polluted gas has a body, which is not strong enough. For example, although all kinds of music have uniform curvature and consistent rhythm, as for air entrainment, it is skillful and skillful. Although he is a father and brother, he can't move his children. " The "Qi" that Cao Pi thinks here is naturally not the "Qi" at the philosophical level, but should refer to a temperament personality created by literati, which cannot be imitated and taught. And from it, various literary works of different styles have been formed. This also has to be said to be a progressive understanding of literary concepts. To sum up, during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, people's concept of "literature" was much more advanced than that of Han people and closer to modern literature.

Second, the awakening of people and the improvement of the status of literati and literature in the Wei and Jin Dynasties promoted the consciousness of literature. "The consciousness of literature is by no means an isolated phenomenon. It is guided by the awakening of individual consciousness. Without the recognition and affirmation of people's own value and the formation of respecting people's personality concept, there can be no literary' conscious' era. Because artistic creation has always been a personal spiritual activity, without the relative freedom of the creative subject, there would be no' conscious' development of literature. " Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is an era of self-realization. Some people think that Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties are the most turbulent period in China's history, with constant wars and frequent dynasty changes. The political unity and ideological unity formed in the Han Dynasty became fragmented, and the whole social order was disrupted. In this troubled times, literati are different from ordinary people. Although they feel the hardships of life like ordinary people, scholars are thoughtful and their eyes are not limited to this. They are very sensitive, so "in the war, it is easiest to feel the shortness of life, the fragility of life, the impermanence of fate, the impermanence of fate and personal powerlessness", so the literati thought at that time was extremely painful and complicated. They have no intention of continuing to abide by the traditional Confucian ethics, nor do they want it to bind their own thoughts, but spend more time thinking about their values. They began to pursue their independence and freedom, as well as their sensory enjoyment. "Six meridians are dominated by suppression, and human nature takes pleasure in being smooth. It is against one's will to suppress quotations, and it is natural to get them from desire. " This is exactly the portrayal of the literati at that time. At the same time, at that time, literati were treated specially by various local forces. In order to attract scholars for their own use, they all abandoned the principle of "taking people by virtue" followed by the Han Dynasty, but adopted a way of "taking people by virtue" regardless of morality. "People who have a career may not be able to make progress, and people who are enterprising may not be able to make progress." In such an environment, the literati realized the value of their own knowledge, made their subjective spirit known, and gave full play to the lyrical function of literature. Scholars can fully express their feelings and desires and show their personal spiritual world. "Making people the real theme of literature" not only improves the status of scholars, but also the status of literature begins to improve. According to the traditional view, writing a book is considered as a secondary thing in life. Confucius said, "Those who have spare capacity will also study literature." ⒄ Because of this, it is immortal to be "too virtuous, second meritorious, and second, although it will not be abandoned for a long time." Statement. However, Cao Pi has a different view. He elevated literature from a secondary position to be as immortal as virtue. He said, "Writing articles is a great cause of the country and an immortal event. The years of life sometimes come to an end, and glory stops there. Both will go to a normal period, rather than endless articles. " In his view, all the honors and disgraces in the world are insignificant and empty, and people don't have to take this as the standard of success or failure, but only literary creation can realize your life value. This is undoubtedly the highest praise for literature. These were not available to the Han people, and it was precisely because of these that the independent and natural development of literature at that time was promoted.

Thirdly, the themes and genres of literature in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties have been greatly enriched and developed. "The late Han, Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties were the most chaotic and socially painful times in China. However, it was an era of spiritual freedom, liberation, wisdom and enthusiasm, so it was also the most artistic era. " Therefore, the themes and genres created by literati in this period are diverse, which is unmatched by the previous generation. In terms of creative themes, some are ambitious, such as Cao Cao's "Watching the Sea"; Some express their desire to make contributions, such as Cao Zhi's "Seeking a Self-test Table" and "White Horse"; Some describe people's sufferings in a turbulent society, such as Cao Cao's Good Li Xing; Some of them have revealed the bitterness of missing women, such as Ge Yanxing by Cao Pi and Mourning Poems by Pan Yue. Some describe rural scenery, such as Tao Yuanming's Peach Blossom Garden poems and Xie Lingyun's trip from Jinzhuxi to Linghe. In addition, there are those who show the hardships of marching, describe personal experiences and explain metaphysical meanings, which have covered almost all aspects of life and showed people's real life and spiritual world at that time. In terms of writing genre, with the efforts of Cao Shi and his son, Wuyan poetry entered a period of development and prosperity; Seven-character poems also began to develop during this period. For example, Cao Pi's Ge Yanxing is regarded as the first mature seven-character ancient poem in China. Both lyric fu and parallel prose have entered their heyday. At the same time, novels and metrical poems have begun to take shape, such as Searching for the Gods. The emergence of heavyweight literary monographs such as Dian Lun Wen by Cao Pi, Wen Fu by Lu Ji, Wen Xin Diao Long by Liu Xie and Shi Pin by Zhong Rong made this period occupy a very important position in the history of China's literary criticism.

From the above analysis, it can be seen that literature was conscious only in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, which is also a recognized conclusion of most scholars. China's literary consciousness originated from this, and pure literature also embarked on the fast lane of development. It can be said that the prosperity of Tang and Song literature was based on the development of literature in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. It can also be seen that the literature of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties occupies an important position in the history of China literature.