A Critical Illumination of Poetic Styles

Wang, Keping

doi:10.1007/978-981-13-3173-2_12

Keping Wang²

311 Accesses

Abstract

What marks a milestone in Chinese literary criticism is the Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (Wenxin diaolong) by Liu Xie (c. 465–532). As read in Chapter 6 on “Illuminating Poetry” (Ming shi), the focus is placed on a tangle of historical and formal issues in Chinese poetry dating from the antiquity to the fifth century. Even though it conducts a brief survey, it bears much significance to the development of Chinese poetics in general and its poetic styles in particular.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Chapter: USD 29.95; Price excludes VAT (USA)

eBook: USD 79.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Hardcover Book: USD 99.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

1.
It is controversial about the year of Liu Xie’s death. For instance, there are typically three assumptions. Fan Wenlan assumed that Liu was born in 465 and died around 520–521. Li Qingjia concluded that Liu died in 532 after examining the records about Liu Xie in the Buddhist documents written in the Song Regime during the South and North Dynasties. Yang Mingzhao reckoned that Liu died around 538–539. The second edition of Zhongguo wenxue baike [The Encyclopedia of Chinese Literature] (1988) adopts Yang’s view. I hereby follow the conclusion presented in the Ci hai [The Encyclopedia Dictionary in Chinese] (Shanghai: Shanghai Cishu Press, 1980), p. 1540.
2.
Liu Xie, “Postscript,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin, Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2003), Vol. 2, pp. 716–717.
3.
Tong Qingbing (ed.), Xiandai xinli meixue [Modern Psychological Aesthetics] (Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Kexue Press, 1993), pp. 463–524.
4.
Huang Kan, Wenxin diaolong zhaji [Notes on the Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind] (Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Press, 2000), pp. 28–29.
5.
Liu Xie, “Illuminating Poetry,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin), pp. 64–65.
6.
Ibid.
7.
Ibid., pp. 66–67.
8.
Ibid.
9.
Ibid., pp. 68–69.
10.
Ibid., pp. 66–67.
11.
Ibid., pp. 68–69.
12.
Huang Kan, Wenxi diaolong zhaji [Notes on the Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind], p. 25.
13.
Ibid., pp. 27–29.
14.
Tong Qingbing, “Wenxin diaolong ganwu yinzhi shuo” [Expression Arises When Emotions Stir in the Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind], in Wenyi yanjiu [Journal of Literary Studies], No. 5, 1998, p. 19.
15.
Liu Xie, “Illuminating Poetry,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin), Vol. 1, pp. 60–61.
16.
Ibid., pp. 62–63.
17.
Tong Qingbing, “Wenxin diaolong ganwu yinzhi shuo” [Expression Arises When Emotions Stir in the Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind], in Wenyi yanjiu [Journal of Literary Studies], No. 5, 1998, p. 21.
18.
Liu Xie, “Postscript,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin), Vol. 2, pp. 718–719.
19.
Li Zehou and Liu Gangji (eds.), Zhongguo meixueshi [A History of Chinese Aesthetics] (Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 1987), Vol. 2, p. 609.
20.
Liu Xie, “The Treatise and the Speech,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin), Vol. 1, pp. 248–249.
21.
Liu Xie, “Choosing the Style or Natural Tendency,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin), Vol. 2, pp. 424–425.
22.
Liu Xie, “The Treatise and the Speech,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin), Vol. 1, pp. 248–249.
23.
Liu Xie, “Continuity and Change,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin), Vol. 2, pp. 408–409.
24.
Ibid., pp. 418–419.
25.
Tong Qingbing, “Wenxin diaolong ganwu yinzhi shuo” [Expression Arises When Emotions Stir in the Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind], in Wenyi yanjiu [Journal of Literary Studies], No. 5, 1998, p. 26.
26.
One of the Confucian classics. It is available as part of The Book of Rites (Li ji).
27.
An essay by Xunzi in The Book of Xunzi.
28.
Chen Guying (ed.), Zhuangzi jinzhu jinyi [The Works of Zhuangzi Annotated and Paraphrased] (Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1983), pp. 823–824.
29.
Liu Xie, “Illuminating Poetry,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin), Vol. 1, pp. 70–71.
30.
Zu Baoquan, Wenxin diaolong xuanxi [Analysis of Selected Texts from Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind] (Hefei: Anhui Education Press, 1985), p. 119.
31.
Liu Xie, “Illuminating Poetry,” in Dragon-Carving and the Literary Mind (trans. Yang Guobin), Vol. 1, pp. 70–71.
32.
Laozi, Dao de jing [The Book of Laozi], Ch. 63. Cf. Wang Keping, The Classic of the Dao: A New Investigation (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1998), p. 249.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
Keping Wang

Authors

Keping Wang
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Keping Wang .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wang, K. (2019). A Critical Illumination of Poetic Styles. In: Chinese Culture of Intelligence. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3173-2_12

Download citation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3173-2_12
Published: 07 February 2019
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3172-5
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3173-2
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics