First, philosophy and religion.
There were two main schools of philosophy in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. One is idealism represented by "metaphysics", and the other is materialism represented by "the theory of deity extinction".
1. Philosophy
1) Metaphysics Metaphysics is mainly prevalent among scholars in Wei and Jin Dynasties, and it is a school that interprets the Confucian classic "Book of Changes" with Taoist idealism as the center.
2) Fan Zhen's "Deism" clearly illustrates the contingency of wealth and poverty in life, and opposes the Buddhist theory of karma. Pointed out the dependence of spirit on matter, which was a great progress of materialism theory at that time, and strongly criticized the theory of immortality of spirit.
2. Religion
1) After the "Eight Kings Rebellion" in the Western Jin Dynasty, ethnic vendettas occurred in Yongjia period and later, and the rulers of all ethnic groups in the north and south were also worried about their unpredictable fate and tried to consolidate their rule; The broad masses of working people of all ethnic groups have suffered cruel exploitation, oppression and war for a long time, so we should also pin our hopes on them. So Buddhism has developed rapidly under such circumstances.
2) After the failure of the Taoist Yellow Scarf Uprising, Taoism began to be divided into two factions. One is the Prayer Sect, which spreads among farmers, treats diseases with water, kowtows and thinks, and belongs to the nature of secret association. One is the alchemist school, which is mainly a scholar's belief, emphasizing techniques such as alchemy, penetrating the valley and guiding, with the aim of prolonging life. This faction mostly served the political and life needs of the ruling class, represented by Ge Hong in Jin Dynasty and Kou in the early Northern Wei Dynasty.
Second, literature and art
Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties was a period of great development of China's literature and art, so it was inseparable from the characteristics of the times at that time.
1. Jian 'an Literature The literature during the Jian 'an period was very prosperous. It was called Jian 'an Literature in history, with the most remarkable achievements in poetry. The poet inherited the fine tradition of Yuefu folk songs in Han Dynasty, and created with the social war and people's wandering voices as the theme. Many poems reflect people's pains and demands to some extent. The representative figures of Jian 'an poets are Cao Cao and his son, seven sons of Jian 'an and Cai Yan.
2. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, pastoral poetry came into being and developed. Tao Yuanming's works are representative of pastoral poetry.
3. Folk songs The folk songs in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties developed quite well, and produced many masterpieces handed down from generation to generation. The famous long narrative poem Peacock Flying Southeast in Jian 'an period exposed and accused the ruthlessness of feudal ethics, and praised the sincere feelings and rebellious spirit of Lan Zhi and his wife. After Wei and Jin Dynasties, China was in a state of north-south opposition for a long time. The development of folk songs also has regional characteristics. Folk songs in the south can be divided into Wu Ge and traditional Chinese opera. Wu Ge is a folk song in Jiankang area, and Opera is a folk song in Beijing, Britain, Fan and Deng. Wu Ge and traditional Chinese operas mainly express love, and are characterized by tactfulness and lingering. The famous "Song of Chile" describes the boundless scenery of the northern grassland with great momentum. Mulan Poetry, written in the late Northern Dynasty, is a Han folk song. More than 300 words long. It tells the story of a young girl Mulan who joined the army on behalf of her father and returned home in triumph. It expresses the thoughts and feelings of the working people who love the motherland, are not afraid of violence, are not greedy for fame and wealth, and are simple and chaste. The writing is popular and the narrative is clear and popular.
4. Literary Criticism Literary criticism is a new literary form that grew up in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and was formed on the basis of literary development. Its contents include literary theory and literary criticism. His masterpiece is Liu Xie's Wen Xin Diao Long.
5. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the art of cave temples was very developed, among which the art of cave temples was an outstanding representative of sculpture. The earliest grottoes in the east are Yungang Grottoes in Wuzhou Mountain, Datong, Shanxi, and the largest Buddha statue is17m high. The cave walls are mostly decorated with reliefs, including small Buddha statues, Buddhist stories and images of Buddhist rituals. The images are vivid and the scenes are vivid.
6. Calligraphy and Painting There were three great painters in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties, namely Gu Kaizhi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Lu Tanwei in Liu Song Dynasty and Zhang Sengyou in Xiao Liang. Gu Kaizhi is good at drawing characters and pays attention to making the finishing point. There were many calligraphers in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, among which Wang Xizhi and his son Wang Xianzhi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty were the most famous. Xihe people are called book saints. His son Wang Xianzhi is an expert in all fields, especially ICBC and Caohe Lishu. He is as famous as his father and is called "Little Saint".
Third, historical geography.
1. Historiography During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, historiography was very developed, and the official attached great importance to the revision of history, and folk revision of history was also very popular. The most famous historical works are The History of the Later Han Dynasty by Ye Fan in Liu Song Dynasty and The History of the Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou in the Western Jin Dynasty. The Book of Song Dynasty was written by Shen Yue in the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties. This is a biographical chronicle of the Liu and Song Dynasties. There are many imperial edicts and memorials in the book, and some materials are preserved. Shu Qi, also known as South, was written by Xiao Zixian in the Southern Dynasties. Shu Wei was written by Wei Shou of the Northern Qi Dynasty.
2. The geographical development of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. In addition to the geographical records in the official history, there are many works devoted to county geography, famous mountains and rivers, and regional scenery. The most famous one is Li Daoyuan's Annotation, which is 20 times as many words as the original book. It is a major supplement and development to the original book, and it is a comprehensive and systematic geographical masterpiece in ancient China. The style of writing is vivid and fluent, which has high literary value.
Fourth, science and technology.
1. Mathematics Liu Hui was the most successful mathematician in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Wei Jingyuan wrote "Nine Chapters Arithmetic Notes" in 263 and calculated л = 3. 14 16, and calculated pi to the fourth place after the decimal point. Zu Chongzhi, a great mathematician in the Southern Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, further calculated the value of pi between 3. 14 15926 and 3. 14 15927, and calculated pi to the seventh place after the decimal point. He also put forward the Ming Calendar, which stipulated that a year was 365.2428 days, which was more accurate than other calendars at that time.
2. The most famous doctor in the Western Jin Dynasty was Wang Shuhe. He collected Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Febrile Diseases and preserved this important medical literature. In Jin Dynasty, Ge Hong wrote 100 volumes of Synopsis of the Golden Chamber, and three volumes of the simplified version of Elbow's Prescription for Saving the Nation (also called Elbow's Urgent Prescription). Tao Hongjing, a Taoist priest of Qi and Liang Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, was called "a hundred cubits after elbow filling". He also wrote Notes on Materia Medica, which is divided into seven volumes and records 730 kinds of drugs.
3. Agronomy Jia Sixie was an agronomist in the Northern Wei Dynasty and wrote Qi Yao Min Shu. The cultivation and breeding of various crops, vegetables, fruit trees, bamboo and wood, the feeding of livestock and poultry, the processing of agricultural products and sideline production were discussed respectively. This is a valuable book on agricultural science in ancient China.