The Ideological and Historical Significance of Chinese Mythological Resources
It can be said that thought is the precursor of culture.To further clarify the close re-lationship between Chinese national mythology and Chinese culture,this study postulates it is necessa-ry to examine it from the perspective of intellectual history,exploring the intellectual and historical significance of Chinese national mythology.The u-nique worldview of the Chinese people,shaped by their agricultural civilization,provides a distinctive perspective through which they observe the world.This viewpoint,grounded in a relationship with both the natural and cosmic orders,leads Chinese thought to focus on exploring the philosophy of life.At the same time,investigations show that this specific perspective situates the exploration of Chinese thought on the philosophy of life within a hierarchical framework of heaven and earth,where the establishment of cardinal directions and a cor-responding central consciousness form the founda-tion of Chinese thought.What is more,Chinese mythology appears to have consistently mirrored the development of Chi-nese thought,as a rule offering abundant content and a diverse array of narratives that capture the development process of this prolific system of thought and its integration into national memory.Moreover,it is found that Chinese mythology,rooted in prehistoric cultural orientations and folk beliefs,highlights a distinct central cosmic con-sciousness from the upper and lower four direc-tions,which arguably not only shows the origins of Chinese thought but also provides a vivid record of its formation.During the period of social upheaval and ideological construction in the Spring and Au-tumn Period,records suggest that Chinese mytho-logical resources vividly presented the destruction of the cosmic order and subsequent efforts to re-build a world order.Indeed,in the Qin and Han dynasties,a shift from a heaven-centered world-view to a human-centered one gave rise to rational-ism,marking a transition in Chinese intellectual history.Correspondingly,Chinese mythology e-volved,moving away from a puzzling blend of the divine and human to a separation between the two,gradually becoming more relatable to everyday life.This shift not only evidently contributed to the his-toricization of Chinese mythology but also led to its secularization.As the mythological narratives be-came less divine and more human-centric,the myth of the Chinese nation also shifted from a cos-mic pattern to a focus on social order.With the historical identification and rise of a unified nation-al community,a sense of nation-state conscious-ness,which originated from the world conscious-ness,emerged;over time,the mythological narra-tive of the Chinese nation increasingly highlighted themes of a shared ancestry and family tree of all ethnic groups as well as the integration of diverse ethnic cultures,showing a nation-state conscious-ness rooted in the identity and establishment of the national community.These unique expressions of the mythological resources of the Chinese nation illustrate the role that mythological resources have played in shaping the formation,evol ution,and development of Chi-nese thought.It can be concluded that this process accentuates the important ideological and historical value of said mythological resources in the broader context of the Chinese nation.
mythological resources of the Chinese nationcentral consciousnesseveryday lifenational communities
万方数据
维普
