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1、WesternliteratureandChineseLiteratureWesternliteratureIntroductionhistoryofliteraturesinthelanguagesoftheIndo-Europeanfamily,alongwithasmallnumberofotherlanguageswhoseculturesbecamecloselyassociatedwiththeWest,fromancienttimestothepresent.Diverseastheyare,Europeanliter
2、atures,likeEuropeanlanguages,arepartsofacommonheritage.Greek,Latin,Germanic,BalticandSlavic,Celtic,andRomancelanguagesareallmembersoftheIndo-Europeanfamily.(FinnishandHungarianandSemiticlanguagesoftheeasternMediterranean,suchasHebrew,arenotIndo-European.Literaturesinth
3、eselanguagesare,however,closelyassociatedwithmajorWesternliteraturesandareoftenincludedamongthem.)ThecommonliteraryheritageisessentiallythatoriginatinginancientGreeceandRome.Itwaspreserved,transformed,andspreadbyChristianityandthustransmittedtothevernacularlanguagesoft
4、heEuropeanContinent,theWesternHemisphere,andotherregionsthatweresettledbyEuropeans.Tothepresentday,thisbodyofwritingdisplaysaunityinitsmainfeaturesthatsetsitapartfromtheliteraturesoftherestoftheworld.Suchcommoncharacteristicsareconsideredhere.Forspecificinformationabou
5、tthemajornationalliteraturesorliterarytraditionsoftheWest,seesucharticlesasAmericanliterature,Englishliterature,Germanliterature,Greekliterature,LatinAmericanliterature,andScandinavianliterature.VariousotherWesternliteratures—includingthoseintheArmenian,Bulgarian,Eston
6、ian,Lithuanian,andRomanianlanguages—arealsotreatedinseparateentries. AncientliteratureThestarkfactaboutancientWesternliteratureisthatthegreaterpartofithasperished.Someofithadbeenforgottenbeforeitwaspossibletocommitittowriting;fire,war,andtheravagesoftimehaverobbedposte
7、rityofmostoftherest;andtherestitutionsthatarchaeologistsandpaleographersachievefromtimetotimearesmall.YetsurvivingwritingsinGreekandfarmoreinLatinhaveincludedthosethatonancienttestimonymarkedtheheightsreachedbythecreativeimaginationandintellectoftheancientworld.Fiveanc
8、ientcivilizations—BabylonandAssyria,Egypt,Greece,Rome,andthecultureoftheIsraelitesinPalestine—eachcameintocontactwith
