Zhouzuoren And Six Dynasties

In the course of reevaluation of our tradition, Zhouzuoren changed his object that he advocated from later Ming Dynasty to Six Dynasties. We should notice there are several aspects about it. Before he noticed Six Dynasties literature, Zhouzuoren found his own method about how to choose books. He prefers to read those works that other people didn't notice or praise. So he likes Six Dynasties literature than others. There are two characteristics in Zhouzuoren's reception of Six Dynasties literature. One is his imagination about it, and the other is his need in that era. So his viewpoint about Six Dynasties is not the same as other's, neither the history itself. On his opinion, Six Dynasties literature means Yanzhi School (that means author can express his own opinion without any restraint.) first of all. That means people can express his own idea freely, because the government is powerless to control them. At the same time, Six Dynasties's literature is excellent both in thought and in aesthetics. Also Zhouzuoren conveys his opinion about Six Dynasties literature like this, he sympathizes with Six Dynasties's literature in other aspects. He accepts Six Dynasties's pessimistic philosophy of life and he wants to be a hermit just like Taoyuanming. After Zhouzuoren advocated Six Dynasties's literature, he accomplished transformation of seclusion's meaning and then ended it. In his composition, he pursues freedom of writing and aesthetics of art. So he makes a great contribution to modern literature.