What are the characteristics of traditional epics?

It refers to poetry creation with historical themes as the object of recitation. Most of them are about feelings or sentiments about specific historical events or historical figures. There are such works in The Book of Songs and Li Sao, and the first real epic in the history of poetry is Ban Gu's Ode to an Epic in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

About chanting epic poems

"Taking history as a mirror" is the viewpoint of historical materialism, which has always been the correct attitude of China traditional culture towards history. The 24-year history of 5,000 years is really rare in the world, with many historical sites and romantic characters. They have always provided rich materials for the creation of literature and art. Paintings, sculptures, novels, plays, essays, poems and even today's film and television works are full of historical materials. Artists face real life directly, or they have many regrets and satires from thinking about historical facts, or many associations and assumptions from studying historical facts. The poet's feelings are the most abundant, and the poet's research and thinking on history are more emotional and vivid. This is why the poems about nostalgia are more attractive and spread more widely than those incisive historical articles.

Sister Liu's History of the Development of China Literature says, "Ode to history began in Ban Gu, but only to history, not to contact yourself." During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Zuo Si wrote eight epic poems. According to Shi Shuo Xin Yu Literature, Xie Shangzhou, the general of Zhenxi, passed through Niuzhu. On a moonlit night, he heard someone chanting poems on the passenger ship and sent someone to interrogate him. It is Justin who is reciting his own poem Ode to History. Poetry-chanting in the Tang Dynasty became a common practice, and outstanding historians such as Liu Yuxi, Du Mu and Li Shangyin appeared.

Recalling the past and reciting epic poems first means that there are history, or historical figures, or historical events, or historical sites in the poem. Because it is a poem and a literary work, the "history" in the poem does not have to be as exact as that in the history books. "Yi Zhen Zhai Shi Shuo" said, "You don't have to refer to facts when reciting epic poems, but you can read ancient masterpieces." For example, Battle of Red Cliffs was mentioned in Su Dongpo's Red Cliff Fu and Nian Nujiao's Red Cliff Nostalgia before and after, but there are a lot of arguments about whether Su Dongpo has been to the ancient battlefield of Red Cliff in history. In fact, as far as the ideological content and artistic achievements of poetry are concerned, this argument is meaningless, because Su Dongpo is reciting history, not recording it.

Of course, this does not mean that nostalgia can distort and tamper with history. As an artistic creation, a poet needs to create a more concentrated and typical environment and image if he wants to describe history and express his feelings in a limited space. This is the reason why Li Shangyin's epic has high artistic value. Such as "Han Gong Ci":

The bluebird flies west and does not return, and the king and the king are in Lingtai.

Courtiers are the most thirsty, and they don't give a cup to the golden stem.

This is the richest man's epic with social significance. The poet spreads the wings of imagination and weaves myths and legends with historical stories in an ethereal way. The first two sentences are fairy tales, telling the wishful thinking of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who was obsessed with immortals. Three or four sentences are historical stories, describing the thoughts and behaviors of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who devoted himself to seeking immortality rather than morality. The poet speaks with images without comment. Another example is "Ode to an Epic":

The water at the south foot of Beihu Lake is long and the flag drops 100 feet.

I've had the same dream for 300 years. Where is Panlong in Zhongshan?

This is one of the masterpieces of Li Shangyin's epic. It only takes 28 words to express his feelings through the historical facts of the metabolism of the Six Dynasties, saying that it is historical facts, because Jinling (Beihu Lake, that is, Xuanwu Lake) is indeed the old capital of the Six Dynasties, and "a flagpole falling 100 feet" is obviously not a historical scene, and it is even more impossible for the king of the Six Dynasties to lower the flag with a 100-foot pole. However, no matter how the author writes it, it is an epic history and an art history. Therefore, when appreciating poems about the past, we should not only pay attention to the relevant history, but also be too rigid in historical facts. It is more important to appreciate the artistic image created by the author.

Poets often don't write poems about the past to express the thoughts of the ancients. They often distort historical facts with reality, or perceive personal experiences or comment on social politics. It is a common expression to borrow ancient times to satirize the present. For example, the ancient city of Jinling, the capital city, the Western Jin Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, the Qi Dynasty, the Liang Dynasty and the Chen Dynasty all have short histories, which contain profound historical lessons in their historical facts of grief, anger and hatred. Therefore, Jinling's nostalgia for the past has almost become a special topic in the epic, and it has become a common theme of poets who care about politics when the national fortune declines. Such as Liu Yuxi's "Jinling Nostalgia":

Chao Man Ye and Zhu Cheng, the sun oblique sign pavilion.

Cai Zhou's new grass is green, and the shogunate is old and smoky.

Prosperity and waste are caused by personnel, mountains and rivers and empty terrain.

There is a song in the backyard, which is miserable.

The first two couplets of the poem only point out the scenic spots in Jinling related to the Six Dynasties, so as to hint at the reasons for the rise and fall of the times. The latter two associations, through discussion and emotion, put forward the wonderful opinion that the state exists, but the morality is not in danger, suggesting that the rulers at that time were following the footsteps of the demise of the Six Dynasties by relying on the danger of the mountains and rivers in Guanzhong, which was meaningful. Another example is "Passing by Chen Lin's Tomb":

I once saw a legacy in history of qing dynasty, and today it floats on this grave.

Poets should know me if they have spirits, and tyrants will pity you if they have no owners.

Spring grass is buried in the stone forest, and Tongquetai is desolate against the dusk clouds.

Don't blame me for being depressed. I want to learn calligraphy and sword to join the army.

On the surface, this poem is a tribute to the ancients, but in fact it expresses the feelings of life experience. Chen Lin, one of the seven sons of Jian 'an, is good at Zhang Shibiao. He once worked for Yuan Shao, and drafted an anti-Cao Cao campaign for Yuan Shao. Later, he returned to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao did not forget the past and reused him. There are many military certificates. The whole poem runs through the contrast between the poet himself and Chen Lin in different times and experiences, and shows the poet's untimely feeling caused by "dominating talents and having no owner", cherishing the past and placing hopes in the distance.

Poetry about objects is an important category in China's ancient poems. It directly takes historical figures and events as the theme of singing, reposes the author's thoughts and feelings, and expresses some comments or opinions.

Epic and literary and historical fu belong to a kind of marginal poetry.