Shenshi: The Spirit of Art

Author: Zhang Jing / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The "Shen Si" (Spiritual Thought) chapter establishes the entire system of Liu Xie's theory of creation from the perspective of creative principles, revealing all the content that his theory of creation aims to study. Therefore, "Shen Si" can serve as a key to researching Liu Xie's entire system of creation. Some argue: "The 'Shen Si' chapter is the general outline of the theory of creation in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, encompassing almost all the important points of the subsequent chapters on creation theory." This is a very insightful view; indeed, "Shen Si" is the general outline of Liu Xie's entire theory of creation. However, since it is the general outline, it cannot merely encompass the "important points" of the theory of creation. Trying to find connections between "Shen Si" and other chapters based on "points" can be difficult, as some "important points" are hard to link. A "general outline" must encompass the entire content of the theory of creation, including the entire system from "Shen Si" to "Wu Se" (On Things and Scenery). Liu Xie's theory of creation is fully discussed according to the framework proposed in "Shen Si," and although he places emphasis on certain aspects in his specific discussions, the main themes of the twenty-one chapters following "Shen Si" do not go beyond the scope of its general outline. ① Overall, the author is quite inclined to this view. From the perspectives of aesthetics and literary theory, the most valuable chapters in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons are those on the theory of creation, as these chapters systematically and profoundly elaborate on some internal laws of literary creation. The chapters on the theory of creation discuss fundamental issues of creation from various angles, while "Shen Si" focuses on creative thought as its core, summarizing the entire process of literary creation. Let us now reproduce the full text of the "Shen Si" chapter to see its original form. P37