先秦两汉宗教文学论略

先秦两汉时期韵文文体的宗教表达呈现了实用与审美两种风格。从上古歌谣到《诗经》"颂"诗再到汉代郊庙歌辞,其宗教内容是民众现实诉求的反映,具有鲜明的功用性,而楚辞、汉乐府游仙诗中的神仙意象与宗教思想更多体现了作者的个人审美情趣。此时期散文文体中的宗教表达采用了说理与叙事两种方式。《老子》、《庄子》、早期道教典籍《太平经》、《周易参同契》均以说理的方式阐述作者的宗教理念;《史记》、《汉书》则是以叙事的方式将先秦两汉的宗教信仰、宗教活动展现于后世。另外,两汉时期人们对上古神话故事、神话人物进行宗教化改造,出现了《列仙传》与系列仙话小说,标志道教文学之形成。

Religious Literature in the Pre-Qin and Two Han Dynasties

The religious expression of verse in the pre-Qin and two Han Dynasties shows practical and aesthetics styles.Religion in Shijing reflect the people’s reality;those god images and religious ideas in chuci and han yuefu reflect the author’s personal aesthetic taste.On the other hand,religious expression of prose are used two ways about reasoning and narrative.Lao Tzu and Zhuangzi and early Taoism classical writings describes the author religious ideas by reasoned approach.Religion and religious activities in the pre-Qin and two Han Dynasties are unfolded to the later by the narrative form in Shiji and Hanshu.Ancient myths and fairy figures were religiously reformed by people in Han Dynasties,thus forming Taoism literature.