A Study Of Mongolian Reading Books From The Perspective Of Ancient Chinese Literature

With primers as the object of study,the thesis focuses primers from the perspective of ancient Chinese literature,and probes into the links between the evolution of primers and ancient literature in a systematic way.Literature education is a critical component of education in ancient China.Since the significance of literature education was recognized in early ancient time,literature education has been integrated with education of politics,character,history,rites and music.The literature education model in ancient China thus came into being.Ancient Chinese primers,one of main sources for early childhood literature education,are the carrier of early childhood literature education.As special literature books,ancient Chinese primers reflect a boarder sense of literature education integrated with politics,philosophy and history.Derived from Classics education,the ancient Chinese primers directly or indirectly reveal literature styles or elements through their rhythmical lines.There are four phases of evolution of ancient Chinese primers: 1)early stage from Han,Wei to Northern and Southern Dynasties;2)growth stage between Sui and Tang Dynasties;3)mature stage in Song and Yuan Dynasties;4)sustained stage in Ming and Qing Dynasties.In every stage,the changing literature concepts,tastes and forms exerted impacts on primers’ content,forms and functions of literature education.In return,educational practices of these ancient primers influenced literature creation,dispersal,acceptance and even literature research.Quickly Master Chapters(Ji Jiu Pian),the icon among ancient primers in its early stage,imitates the style of Yuefu poems of Han Dynasty,using three-and seven-character style;and a great number of seven-character lines catalyzed the mature formation of seven-character poems.“Sound and Rhythm Theory of Qi and Liang Dynasties” is the cradle of Thousand Character Classic(Qian Zi Wen),while the primer itself extends the “Zan” style.Poems in Tang dynasty directly pushed forward the development of primers in Sui and Tang Dynasties.Literacy Book For Kids(Meng Qiu),complied and edited by Han Li,contains four-character style,allusions and couplets.It reveals Li’s mastery of couplets in classic Chinese poem-“Gelushi”.Zeng Hu’s Poem for History(Yong Shi Shi),a well-written piece among others,imitates the style of seven-character Jue Ju.In Song and Yuan Dynasties,poetic styles remained in some primers,such as Lecturing Kids in Jue Ju(Xun Meng Jue Ju),Poems from Past Generations(Li Dai Shi),Poems and Rites for Kids(Xiao Xue Shi Li),Prodigies’ Poems(Shen Tong Shi)and etc.However,As Daoism was valued more than literature in Song and Yuan Dynasties,the literature features of primers were reduced by the ethics and doctrines,indicating that the literature education was influenced by this ideology.Despite that the popularity of literature education had been taken over by Neo-Confucianism in Ming and Qing Dynasties,popular literature enjoyed vibrancy and influences primers,especially poems.Primers such as Introduction to Rhythms and Rhyme(Sheng Lu Qi Meng)and Sages’ Rhyme(Li Weng Dui Yun)were emerged to teach children how to write poems;Poems of A Hundred Masters(Qian Jia Shi)and 300 Tang Poems(Tang Shi San Bai Shou)can inspire children and help to develop a good taste of poems.They are sufficient to learn in childhood and will benefit the whole life time.Primers for girls have their unique features.The ethical values advocated in Four Books for Girls(Nv Si Shu)were the benchmark for female figures in Ming and Qing’s popular literature.The literature value of primers is demonstrated by the literature education value based on the idea of “learning extensively and comprehensively”.And primers also strengthen the literature education in poems and extend the acceptance and spread of ancient Chinese Literature.