Yang Hui
On October 15, 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on literary and art work and made an important speech. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that "the needs of the people are the fundamental value of the existence of literature and art." In his speech, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "the world's earliest literary work, gilgamesh epic, reflects the state of mind and emotion of the ancient people of the Two Rivers Valley to explore the laws of nature and the mysteries of life and death. "Literature and art can only develop and prosper if they are rooted in real life and closely follow the trend of the times; only by conforming to the will of the people and reflecting the people's concerns can literature and art be full of vitality."
Statue of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh is the earliest heroic epic ever discovered by mankind, and is an ode to Gilgamesh, the king of the Uruk kingdom in ancient Mesopotamia. Recorded on 12 clay tablets, the epic revolves around the friendship between King Gilgamesh of Uruk and his friend Enchidu: During a fight, Gilgamesh accidentally formed a deep friendship with Enchidu. Since then, they have worked together to defeat the evil monsters and become heroes loved by the people. However, due to angering the gods in the process of hunting the Celestial Bull, Enchidu took the initiative to drink poisoned wine and died as punishment, which made Gilgamesh grief-stricken and embarked on a journey to find eternal life. After exhausting his unsuccessful search for eternal life, Gilgamesh finally understood the reality that man must respect the laws of nature and cannot live forever.
The eleventh mud-plate fragment of the Gilgamesh Epic
As one of the world's earliest literary and artistic works, the reason why Gilgamesh can be passed on to future generations is not only because it presents the living conditions of the ethnic groups in the two river basins in the ancient times, providing us with valuable historical clues for understanding primitive society, but also because this epic reproduces the ancient people's exploration of the mysteries of life and the struggle against natural violence, and profoundly contains the fundamental orientation of literary and artistic creation with the people as the center and the value mission of promoting truth, goodness and beauty.
The Eleventh Clay Tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh (Codex)
Gilgamesh is a classic that originated from the people, for the people, and belongs to the people. Unlike other literary genres, "epics" are generally based on folk literature such as ancient myths, folklore, and folk songs of various ethnic groups, and are enriched and developed in a living inheritance system that combines oral and written forms. The historical period described in the epic is said to have been between 2700 BC and 2500 BC. In early 2000 BC, an Akkadian version of the epic text appeared. After thousands of years of processing and precipitation, it was recorded and passed down in written form during the ancient Babylonian Kingdom from the 19th century BC to the 16th century BC. The creative process of Gilgamesh conforms to the trend of the times, reflects the voice of the people, and is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the people. Therefore, although in the long period of historical changes, a total of about 3500 lines of epic texts have been mutilated nearly 1/3, and only about 2000 lines are currently about 2000 lines, this does not diminish the important role of this magnificent poem in the inheritance of human civilization.
Clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform verses
The pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty is the eternal value of literature and art. "Gilgamesh" reflects the tenacious spirit and indomitable will to struggle of the ancient Babylonians who dared to explore nature and life, and it is also enough to glimpse the wisdom and ideological connotation of the primitive people. For example, after the death of Enchidu, Gilgamesh devoted himself to the search for the grass of immortality in an attempt to revive his best friend, reflecting the ancient people's cherishing of friendship and confusion about the ultimate question of "death". Gilgamesh's quest for eternal life embodies the rebellious spirit of the ancient people who did not want to agree with the destiny of Heaven, which is also the conscious release of the self-consciousness of the subject of life. Life goes on and on and on. Not giving up on one's pursuit of life, ideals and beliefs is still one of the most precious and important qualities of human beings to this day. Although Gilgamesh's ultimate failure in his quest for immortality added a tragic color to the impassioned heroic story, he finally accepted the fact that life was limited in length, respected and conformed to the laws of nature, and abandoned the futile illusion of eternal life. In an era when science and technology and material civilization were extremely underdeveloped, this rational outlook on life and death and a positive outlook on life was already very advanced, shining with the light of human wisdom, and even if it was read thousands of years later, it would still have enlightening significance.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gongyu Book, The Commercial Press, February 2021 edition
As a result, Gilgamesh deservedly became a clarion call for the times to move forward. The themes reflected in it are not exclusive to a certain nation, but transcend time and space, condensing the common concerns and pursuits of human beings in the primitive and primitive people's period. Whether it is the spirited heroes, or the precious friendship between Gilgamesh and Enchi, or the rebellion against the will of the gods and the pursuit of eternal life, these not only reflect the way of life, ritual beliefs and conceptual cognition of the ancient people, but also the eternal themes of human development that continue to this day. More importantly, gilgamesh's storyline and cultural elements had a profound influence on the subsequent literary creation. The heroic images of demigods and demigods such as Prometheus and Hercules in ancient Greek mythology, the complex entanglements between man and god in the story of Adam and Eve, and the Genesis narrative of the Great Flood are all thought to be based on the story archetype of Gilgamesh.
In classic oriental mythology, stories such as Pangu Kaitian, Dayu Zhishui, and Jingwei Reclamation also reflect the ancient people's exploration of the universe of heaven and earth and natural things. These storylines are exaggerated but have a simple and sincere appeal, and the spirit of self-improvement, benevolence, self-denial and dedication contained in them is the same as that of "Gilgamesh", which jointly promotes the development and evolution of human civilization.
Gesar epic
Xinjiang Manas
Jianger's hometown
Cultural people can more condense the soul; with art, it is easier to communicate with the world. In the long-standing inheritance of Chinese civilization for more than 5,000 years, a number of magnificent epic masterpieces have also been precipitated, the most representative of which are the "three epics": the Tibetan heroic epic "The Biography of King Gesar", the Kirgiz epic "Manas", and the Mongolian heroic epic "Jianger", similar to "Gilgamesh", promoting justice, defending the homeland, and benefiting the people are the common themes of the "three epics", reflecting the ancient people's pursuit of stability, peace, freedom and happiness. Full of idealism and patriotism. General Secretary Xi Jinping has mentioned three epic poems many times on different occasions, pointing out that "the people of Chinese are the people with great creative spirit". These literary and artistic works not only provided rich nourishment for the Chinese nation, but also contributed a colorful chapter to world civilization. In 2006, the "three epics" were included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists, and in 2009, "The Biography of King Gesar" and "Manas" were selected into UNESCO's "Representative List of intangible cultural heritage of humanity", becoming treasures comparable to the world's cultural masterpieces. These works with strong artistic vitality are not only the cultural roots of the Chinese nation, but also constitute the source and confidence of our cultural self-confidence today.
Source: Learning Times (03/02/2022)