The pursuit of essence is difficult: A study of the category of "" in ancient Chinese literary theory

Author: Hu Jianci / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-08-01
Features: The Ming Dynasty was a period of flourishing for the aesthetic category of "" in ancient Chinese literary theory. During this time, the concept of "" not only blossomed in traditional poetry and ci theory but also extended to the theory of qu (a form of Chinese opera) and the criticism of fiction. In the pursuit of poetic interest, Gao Qi regarded "" as one of the "three essentials" of poetry alongside "" (style) and "" (meaning); Xie Zhen labeled "" as one of the "four styles" of poetry, alongside "" (inspiration), "" (meaning), and "" (reason); Li Kaixian, Tu Long, and Li Hang vigorously advocated "" as the foundation of poetic aesthetics; Yuan Hongdao highly proclaimed that "poetry should be dominated by"; Zhong Xing not only defined "" as the essence of poetic aesthetic expression but also elevated it to the essence of human life; Wang Siren uniquely highlighted "" as the highest category of poetic aesthetics among various aesthetic elements. In exploring the aesthetic characteristics of poetic interest, Tang Xianzu observed that " is harmonious with the way of wandering," connecting the path of poetry with the path of Zen and the path of wandering. Wu Ne advocated that the expression of "" should be based on the "melting of words and meaning"; Yuan Hongdao's exploration of the aesthetic characteristics of "" had a unique perspective, revealing the non-substantial nature of "" and its distinction from the way of learning, logical reasoning, and other features, and proposed that "" originates from natural temperament and is an embodiment of innocent and lively heart. Tao Ming and Po compared "interest to the spirit of a person, which must be lively," revealing the dynamic nature of poetic interest. In exploring the origin and generation of poetic interest, Zhao Nanxing emphasized that "talent and emotion combine to form"; Xie Zhen proposed that "scenery is real but lacks," stressing that transforming the real into the virtual is an effective way to attain ""; Li Hang believed that " cannot be fully understood without enlightenment," defining "enlightenment" as the key to entering poetic interest; Yuan Zhongdao emphasized that "wisdom leads to"; Zhong Xing argued for the attainment of "" from the perspective of "profound and gentle temperament"; Hu Zhenheng explored the creation of poetic interest from the angle of "harmonious poetry." More notably, Lu Shiyong and Xu Xueyi, through extensive practice in poetry criticism, highlighted the role of "" as an aesthetic category in classical poetry theory. In ci theory, Chen Ting revealed the principle that "ci interest has no superiority or inferiority"; Qian Chongzhi analyzed the transformation and difference between ci, poetry, and qu in terms of artistic expression; Chen Zilong observed that the aesthetic expression of ci interest should be grounded in the ci realm. In qu theory, Wei Liangfu regarded "" as the essence of dramatic aesthetics; He Liangjun emphasized the fusion of rich and elegant language with humorous interludes that do not conform to classical standards, making the play vibrant with ""; Tang Xianzu highly proclaimed that "all literature should be dominated by and spirit," incorporating "" into the qualitative elements system of dramatic aesthetics; Lü Tiancheng clearly used the spiritual charm and in qu as criteria for judging whether a play is authentic; Qi Biaojiang proposed the concept of "," exploring the generation of interest in qu. In the theory and criticism of fiction, Ye Zhou distinctly explained "" as the "pursuit of the world's literature," emphasizing the need to generate "" in the process of artistic virtualization; Li Rihua further discussed the generation and characteristics of "" in fiction from the perspective of artistic creation. P18-19