abstract:

China and Greece have different national and regional backgrounds, so in ancient times, their myths were also different. Compared with Greek mythology, China mythology has no gods and gods. China myth embodies a moral standard and ethical symbol, while Greek myth expresses an objective and beautiful personality. Then reflect their national spirit, that is, respect "virtue" and "strength"; Pay attention to kindness, ethical supremacy and personality, and explore philosophy; Perseverance, strong sense of responsibility, advocating freedom and optimism; This paper makes a comparison between China myth and Greek myth in form and content, and makes a superficial discussion on the national spirit embodied in them.

Keywords:: China Greek mythology national spirit comparison

Myth is the original explanation of the natural phenomena and social life of the surrounding world by primitive human beings. It reflects people's desire to overcome nature by using illusory imagination and exaggeration and adopting unconscious artistic techniques. Therefore, myths reflect some early human ideologies, and even "the most concentrated and true flash of national spirit is the oldest and most tenacious root of life of national culture, and it is also the essential feature of national culture". Therefore, the study of myth is helpful for people to explore the secrets of primitive human mind; Support historical, anthropological and ethnographic research; From the aesthetic value, many myths can give people a primitive and simple aesthetic feeling, which makes people have a spiritual shock; More importantly, it can reflect the national spirit of a nation to a certain extent, because people, humanity or national spirit are the main bodies of creating ancient myths or contemporary cultures, and these main bodies have not disappeared or deteriorated, but continue to affect human development.

I. China Myth and Greek Myth

(A) the comparison between China myth and Greek myth.

1. Unlike Greek mythology, there is no God and God in China mythology.

China's ancient myths are fragmented and chaotic, lacking a complete system, without the Lord God and the inter-divine network with him as the core, and without an omnipotent Lord God. Although there is a "little temple monarchy" and the "ancestor of the Chinese nation" Huangdi. Although it is only the "history" in myth, it has indeed broken away from the barriers of myth and entered the field of history.

Greek mythology, on the other hand, is relatively clear, with not only a rich and complete system, but also a definite god and an inter-divine network with him as the core. Zeus, the Greek god, is the king of gods in Greek mythology, the supreme master of the universe and the omnipresent and omnipotent creator. At the same time, he is also the center and link of the "Olympus God System". All kinds of mythological images in the religious system are related to the main god Zeus.

2. Greek mythology expresses an objective and beautiful personality, while China mythology embodies a moral norm and ethical symbol.

For example, from the appearance, the gods and people in Greek mythology are the same, while the gods in China mythology are a mixture of man and beast; As far as character and quality are concerned, Greek gods are majestic, handsome or fierce, beautiful or wise or charming or witty. They are immortal in the state of God and possess superhuman strength and beauty. At the same time, they are greedy, dissolute, savage, vain and narrow-minded in human nature. Although the gods in China's mythology are ugly, they are moral idols, representing many ethical symbols and implying a state of moral ideal.

3. The abdication mechanism in China mythology and the internal self-denial mechanism in Greek mythology.

The gods of China will all die, and the transformation of sovereignty will be realized through peaceful meditation and abdication. They not only handed over sovereignty to their successors, but also passed on the ethical norms, moral systems and values they formulated and represented, forming a transferable, expandable and reproducible form.

The self-affirmation mechanism of gender leads to the solidification of traditional culture in China. However, the change of Greek gods' sovereignty was completed by taboo-exile-rebellion-substitution, in which violent rebellion and negation were the opportunity for the gods to continue, evolve and develop, conveying an evolutionary thought.

(2) The reasons for the differences between China myth and Greek myth.

1, time difference.

China belongs to the first generation of civilization, with strong spontaneity and independent origin. The spontaneity of myth is particularly strong; Greece, on the other hand, belongs to the third generation civilization, which has strong inheritance and derivation. Therefore, he is a rising star, and can absorb and inherit many heritages of his previous advanced cultural circles, including production tools and spiritual wealth, especially customs and myths. For example, in the first generation of civilization in Egypt, the "father of history" pointed out: "It can be said that almost all the names of gods were introduced into Greece from Egypt." Mycenae, Babylon, etc. The second civilization.

2. The geographical environment is different.

China belongs to an ancient inland country with agriculture as the main industry, and the whole nation is relatively closed and introverted. So the spontaneous farming inland civilization created the myth of China. Greece, located on the Mediterranean coast, is a kind of marine civilization, with an open and diverse culture and a tradition of overseas trade and colonization, and it is easier to widely absorb other national cultural elements, including mythological elements.

3. The difference between preservation and circulation.

The difference between preservation and circulation. The ancient culture of China has a strong spontaneous tendency, and the spontaneous and complicated hieroglyphic system develops slowly, which can't keep up with the myth of barbarism and the turning point of civilization, and hieroglyphics are not as convenient to use as the phonography system formed by Greek and other countries with the help of other national languages. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, writing was used as a tool for a hundred schools of thought to express their philosophical thoughts and political opinions. Our resourceful and pragmatic ancestors quickly dispelled unrealistic illusions and devoted themselves to the realistic ideal of "ruling the country and leveling the world", so the myth was not carried forward too much, but scattered in general articles in a short, scattered and unsystematic way and kept in ancient books such as Shan Hai Jing and Huai Nan Zi. In Greece, myths were mostly handed down by folk singers who sang poems, and were later processed and created by poets and dramatists. In this process, they often add personal imagination and polishing, and because of their life and responsibilities, they must win with rich storylines and content. Therefore, in Greek mythology, it is often a long masterpiece, such as Divine Spectrum and Homer's Epic.

Second, the national spirit embodied in China mythology and Greek mythology.

(A) the worship of "virtue" and "strength"

The formation of China myth and national spirit is due to the cohesion of etiquette and ethics. The formation of this national spirit has a profound historical background: when the Zhou people replaced the Yin people to rule the Central Plains, they were faced with a fundamental question: whether the Zhou people's "business suspension" war was just and whether the new ruling order of the Zhou people was reasonable. In order to solve this problem, the rulers of Zhou Dynasty reformed the religion of Yin and Shang Dynasties, emphasizing "matching heaven with virtue" and giving way to the inheritance of blood. In this way, in China's ancient social consciousness, it is not "force" that is worthy of worship, but the moral essence embodied in "force". "Knowledge is power" invisibly gave way to "Morality is power". Therefore, in the ancient myths of China, or more precisely, in the myths of China influenced by historians' culture, the noble "saints" who advocated saving the people with the wind of three emperors and five emperors and strict laws should be the rulers of a huge and stable political entity linked by cultural centripetal force, governing the country and uniting the people with courtesy, virtue and benevolence. Therefore, China's myth embodies a moral norm and ethical symbol, which makes his national spirit have obvious ethical tendency. The basic element of China's national spirit is the respect for "morality" in social, political and secular life.

The formation of Greek mythology and national spirit is due to the cohesion of economy, strength and technology. Greece is a city-state civilization, and the typical origin of its city-state is: first, a military fortress appeared, then around the fortress, a market gradually appeared and formed, and finally the two merged into a complete city. This city is both a military town and an economic center, but its goal is to pursue material strength, which can only be effectively obtained through technology. It can be seen that "knowledge is power". This city-state culture emphasizes that only by defeating other city-states in their own economic and technological strength can they survive and prosper. Therefore, in the whole Greek mythology, it is the powerful, magical and meticulous division of labor of the Olympians, which reveals a strong non-ethical tendency, and it is the "powerful" figure who can turn the tide and reverse Gankun. These gods have three heads and six arms, but their ethical standards are even lower than ordinary people, so the basic element of their national spirit embodied in Greek mythology is the worship and pursuit of "power."

(2) Pay attention to kindness, ethics first, personality and explore philosophy.

The images of gods of moral idols created in China's mythology represent many ethical symbols, implying a state of moral ideal. This is because the myth of China has been strongly influenced by historization, ethicalization and politicization during its development. In the final analysis, it was the ruling group at that time that, in order to safeguard its own interests, coordinated various social contradictions between large families and between large families and small families, and achieved social harmony that was beneficial to the ruling group, that is, the balance of interests was "harmony is precious". By shaping the mythical image of moral idols, they make people worship the mythical idols of virtuous people, thus forming social values and moral norms conducive to the ruling group, and governing the people and regulating their lives with such values and moral norms. Therefore, the highest value of life formed by ancient people in China is to integrate with the ethical rules advocated by the ruling group, firmly adhere to or grasp the "destiny" with strong humanistic ethics, and reach the highest realm of "harmony between man and nature". This shows that the Chinese national spirit pays attention to the basic characteristics of kindness and ethical supremacy, and indicates the basic development direction of national culture in the next few thousand years.

What Greek system mythology worships and praises is not a "sage" who is omnipotent and strict with himself, but a "powerful person" or a master of technology who can reverse Gankun. These "great" or technical experts represent some aspects of "strength" or technology. This makes people pay attention to the integrity, systematicness and internal relations of the stories of the gods, which will inevitably lead people to pay attention to the knowledge exploration about "power" or technology, and this exploration process will make knowledge systematic and full of philosophy. Its life value is to explore the mystery of "power" or technical knowledge, so that people can become beautiful creatures that can compete with God. Therefore, from the integrity of the Greek mythology system and the clarity of the stories of the gods, we can see that Greek mythology embodies the spirit of paying attention to individuality and exploring philosophy.

(3) Perseverance, strong sense of responsibility, advocating freedom and optimism.

China and Greece are different in geography, natural conditions and historical development. One is a typical inland civilization, and the other is a typical marine civilization, which has created different national spirits: China is a river civilization with a single and stable culture; Moreover, people in ancient China used farming and agricultural production as the main ways to obtain material information, which also created the concept that China people attached importance to villages and clans and tended to be stable, harmonious and relatively closed. Ancient Greece was a marine civilization. They seek wealth and development through maritime activities. Long-term life at sea makes them yearn for freedom and individuality. What they pursue is courage, wisdom and technical wealth, which actually squeezes out their moral share in the national spirit.

Therefore, the myth of China has a heavy atmosphere, magnificent image and magnificent weather, which embodies the national spirit and character of the Chinese nation's perseverance and strong sense of responsibility; The posture in Greek mythology is simple and natural, full of artistic flavor, and also reflects the optimistic personality of westerners who advocate freedom.

China ancient myth and Greek ancient myth have their typical meanings in the world myth system. Represents the similarities and differences between the myths of the two cultural circles in the East and the West. These myths can reflect their respective national spirits and are the original records of national spirits. The revival of myth has the value of stimulating national characteristics, carrying forward and preserving national characteristics. In today's era of great cultural integration in the world, we not only need to explore and study our own culture, but also need to expand our horizons to the whole world. We should not only learn the development status of world culture and the most advanced cultural knowledge, but also dig deep into the roots and fully understand the emergence, development and trend of each culture, so as to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, improve ourselves and develop ourselves.

Precautions:

(1) China ancient literature.

② Comparison of Chinese and Greek Myths from the Perspective of Cultural Philosophy, Journal of Hubei University for Nationalities (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), Vol. 19, No.2.

(3) the history of the second volume, Herodotus Commercial Press, 1959 edition, section 50.

(4) Myth and National Spirit Xie Shandong Literature and Art Publishing House

⑤ Myth and National Spirit Xie Shandong Literature and Art Publishing House

6 "Myth and National Spirit" Xie Shandong Literature and Art Publishing House

⑦ Comparison of Chinese and Western Myths and Their Influence, Yang Yiren

References:

Guangming net