Pre-Qin and Western Han Taoism and Literature

Author: Zhang Songhui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Daoism and literature belong to the disciplines of philosophy and literature, respectively. In the past, those engaged in philosophical research rarely involved themselves in literature, and vice versa. This book, however, falls under interdisciplinary research, combining philosophy and literature to explore new questions and propose new perspectives. Daoism and literature are two major disciplines in the history of Chinese culture, and most renowned Daoist scholars themselves possessed high literary attainments. Many famous literati adhered to Daoist thought. Therefore, clarifying the relationship between Daoism and literature is not only beneficial for in-depth research on Daoism and determining its position in cultural history but also conducive to further understanding the thoughts, lives of literati, and tracing the development of literature. This book holds significant importance for both Daoist and literary studies.
Building on a comprehensive examination of the relationship between Daoism and literature during the pre-Qin and Han periods, this book conducts in-depth research on specific issues and proposes new viewpoints. For example, it explains the reasons behind the deification of Laozi using the concept of "infectious meaning" in Chinese language, suggests that Chapter 20 of the Tao Te Ching is the prototype of Chu Ci, identifies Song Yu as a Daoist literatus, argues that five-and-seven-character poems originated from Daoism, attributes the creation of the Canglang Song to Wenzi, and claims that the Liezi contains the earliest Chinese novels, with the earliest Chinese recruitment novel being Dao Lu. In the appendix, it posits that the meaning of "xiao Yao" before the Jin Dynasty referred to walking or leisurely wandering, rather than the modern interpretation of "leisure and contentment." These viewpoints are novel and, though not definitive, are well-reasoned and serve as a foundation for further research on these topics.