A Poetic Research on "The Republic"

Author: Wang Ke-ping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Plato's Republic is a universally recognized classic. This book is based on the relevant historical and cultural context and textual semantic analysis, utilizing existing Western research findings and a method of secondary reflection, attempting to re-examine and reposition the poetic thought of Republic. Plato's poetics is a moral idealism poetics with a political instrumentalist color. This poetics operates on metaphysical dualism as its principle, emphasizing the interactive relationship between spiritual goodness and physical strength. It can be divided into two interconnected theoretical dimensions: spiritual poetics and physical poetics. Based on poetic and musical arts education, spiritual poetics aims to shape a moral and beautiful soul; while based on physical training, physical poetics aims to shape a strong and elegant body. These two interact organically and are unified, aiming to achieve a state of harmony between body and soul through an education that integrates both, cultivating individuals who possess both beauty and goodness, forging guardians who are both literary and martial, finally constructing an ideal city-state where people can find a place to live and thrive.