遠在文字出現之前，歌謠跟口頭流傳的神話就已大量產生。中國的文學正是開始于此。不過，歌謠本是人們在生活中隨興而發的東西，上古時代也沒有保存和記載它們的方式，因此也就很快湮滅，不留痕跡。如今，我們只能從一些古書中推斷它們的存在。古書中記載了一些年代非常久遠的歌謠，但是大多出于后人的偽托，能夠斷定出處的歌謠要到《詩經》里才能看見。從這點來看，古代神話對中國文學的影響更為顯著。
　　【翻譯詞匯】
　　歌謠 ballad
　　隨興而發 improvise
　　痕跡 trace
　　推斷 deduce
　　年代非常久遠的 time-honored
　　偽托 derivative
　　《詩經》 The Book of Songs
　　【精彩譯文】Long before the emergence of the written word, ballads and myths, passed around by word of mouth, were widely popular. Chinese literature finds its origins in these traditions. However, ballads were what people improvised out of daily life, and due to lack of means to record and preserve them in ancient times, they quickly disappeared without leaving much of a trace. Today, we can only deduce their existence from ancient books, which recorded some time-honored ballads, though most of these are believed to be derivatives of later generations. Ballads in The Book of Songs are the earliest writings that can be dated. From this point of view, ancient mythology has had a greater influence on Chinese literature.