Proverbs about the book in Russian and Chinese folklore

In the world there are two ancient sources of wisdom. They are rightly considered oral folklore, conveying wisdom in brief statements, legends and fairy tales, as well as books - the first full-fledged repository of information. These two phenomena could not not intersect, so today mankind has a lot of books about proverbs and a huge number of sayings about books.

History of books in Russia

As you know, in 988, Russia adopted Christianity. In this regard, there was a need for material carriers that could spread the dogmas of the Orthodox faith throughout the state. Such carriers of information about the holy laws of Christianity were books that were copied by monks manually. Significant contribution to the development of the book in Russia was made by the brothers Cyril and Methodius.

During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the need for a large number of books was greatly increased, as the layer of the educated population of the state (boyars), in turn, increased markedly. Monks did not have time to rewrite books, and it took a very long time. In connection with this, printing equipment was required. The founder of the printed book in our country is Ivan Fedorov, who, on the orders of Ivan IV, published in the first printing house the publication "Acts of the Apostles".

Since then, books have become an indispensable attribute of educated and moral people, they have entered the Russian tradition and folk folklore: a new variety of utterances - proverbs about the book.

Under Peter I, print publications have become not only a bearer of Christian values. There was a secular literature, performing a recreational function. Also, textbooks and compilations were written, for which children were trained at home and in educational institutions. Thanks to this variety of printed publications, proverbs about the book began to include an additional connotation. They equated reading to teaching and education.

The book as a symbol of teaching

Proverbs and sayings about the book fixed it in the Russian folk tradition as a source of knowledge and a fount of information. It is not by chance that a popular opinion emerged that an intelligent person can not become such without reading.

The books became firmly established in the education system, entered the curricula of educational institutions, and the notion of "classical literature" also appeared, which could not exist if the works of great writers were not fixed on a material carrier.

Proverbs about the book represent only the cumulative image of editions as something useful for the morality of man. But in history there were many cases when books and individual works were considered dangerous, as they contained ideas that were contrary to the interests of the authorities. An example of this is the "Gulag Archipelago" by A. Solzhenitsyn, a novel that was published by the public much later than appeared from the pen of the writer.

Russian statements about books

The value of the book has always been emphasized in Russian folklore. An illustration of this thesis is the saying: "Gold is extracted from the earth, and knowledge is from the book." From it it is clear that knowledge for the Russian people is equivalent to gold in its value, and a good book is a fertile soil on which everything useful and necessary for a spiritually and morally developed person appears.

Proverbs about the book are inextricably linked with the process of acquaintance with the information presented in it, that is, with reading. In Russia, by the way, before the abolition of serfdom, most of the population was illiterate, as the peasants did not have the financial means to give the child to an educational institution. Nevertheless, proverbs about the book and reading it were fixed in the Russian tradition long before the illiteracy in the state was liquidated.

Chinese sayings about books

Wise Eastern thinkers could not get around the topic of books by party. Proverbs and sayings about the book occupy an important place in Chinese folk art.

Eastern utterances are distinguished by a special, refined metaphor, which makes them vivid and refined. Here is one of them: "An unread book is not the way to the end." This proverb emphasizes that reading a work is a whole life with its own characteristics and laws that a person must obey. If the reading of the work is not finished, then all previous actions lose their meaning, the essence and philosophy of the book remains incomprehensible, the reader will not fully appreciate her beauty. Thus, proverbs about the book and reading are very common and relevant in China.

Russian sayings about the doctrine

The Russian people, of course, perceive education as a blessing for man. And since the source of knowledge is the book, the concepts of "study" and "reading" in domestic folklore have become synonymous. That is why proverbs about love of the book are often embodied in another variety of utterances - in sayings about learning: "Red bird is feathery, and a person is taught" - after all self-education without a good book is impossible.

Chinese sayings about study

Eastern sages also emphasize the incredible importance of reading for the knowledge of the environment and of oneself, for the improvement of one's inner world. Therefore, in China, proverbs about teaching and the book are the most popular version of such clever laconic utterances.

"You will not rush into the teaching - you can completely miss it," is one of the examples of sayings in which early self-education is promoted, whose best assistant is a useful and interesting book.