Historical Lineage, Philosophical Lineage, Cultural Lineage: On the Transformation of Literary Concepts During the Kang and Song Periods

Author: Luo Ligang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: For ancient poetry, we may not need to seek a precise interpretation, but for ancient prose, we absolutely cannot be casual, because the ancients never wrote carelessly. Even when it comes to seemingly ordinary writing, it must have profound meaning. Analyzing ancient prose, I prefer in-depth exploration through close reading and never overlook a single character. — Luo Ligang
This book is a work that explores the transformation of literary concepts during the Tang and Song dynasties. The shift in literary concepts unfolded across three levels: the historical paradigm, the philosophical paradigm, and the literary paradigm. Correspondingly, the transformation of literary concepts went through three stages:
1. During the early and mid-Tang Dynasty, under the influence of the historical paradigm, literary concepts were established as "the alternation of quality and refinement" through comparison with historical concepts.
2. From the mid-Tang to the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, under the influence of the philosophical paradigm, "quality" was interpreted as the Confucian "way," and the concept of "refinement" also underwent a transitional change. The distinction between "quality" and "refinement" evolved into the debate between "literature" and "way," ultimately leading to their separation.
3. From the mid-to-late Northern Song Dynasty to the end of the Song Dynasty, after stripping away the influence of history and philosophy, the intrinsic attributes of "literature" were fully revealed. External factors related to "literature" were dissolved. The sense of the literary paradigm became increasingly strengthened, and within the literary paradigm, the "orthodoxy" and "transformation" views centered on literary genres became the main contradiction influencing literary concepts. This ultimately replaced the literary concept of "the alternation of quality and refinement" with the view of "the orthodoxy and transformation of literary genres," achieving a significant transformation in the literary concepts of ancient China.