Saadi’s Cultural Discourse in his Ideology Towards Ancient Iran’s Culture

Saadi and his thoughts have always been the focus of critics. One of the aspects of criticism that can acquaint the audience with the thoughts and sources of Saadi's thinking is the cultural-oriented criticism which is based on the cultural components used in the texts according to the date of composition of the literary work. In Saadi's literary works, three intellectual sources can be found, all of which being powerful and effective. The first is the origins of ancient Iran and Saadi's attention to pre-Islamic Iranian culture, the second is the progress of Islamic wisdom that the great theologians and sages of the Islamic world such as Imam Mohammad Ghazali influenced Saadi. His third thought can be considered as the progress of Iranian mysticism, which is aimed at softening the ascetic ether and creating a poetic ether in dealing with doctrinal topics and beliefs. Saadi was greatly influenced by Ferdowsi in his pre-Islamic Iranian ideas. In this research, we have shown how Saadi used the symbols of ancient Iran in his works and how he could create a new discourse in praise of the wisdom and glory of pre-Islamic Iran at a time which historical attention to the mirrors and personalities of ancient Iran was considered a kind of blasphemy. This research relying on the principles of cultural criticism, seeks to understand why among the poets and artists before the seventh century, Saadi paid the most attention to Ferdowsi.