Historical Lineage. Daoist Lineage. Cultural Lineage -- On the Transformation of Literary Concepts During the Tang and Song Periods

Author: Luo Ligang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: For ancient poetry, we may not need to seek its interpretation, but for ancient prose, we absolutely cannot be careless, because the ancients never wrote carelessly; even when holding a brush, they had profound meaning. This book provides an in-depth analysis of ancient prose from the perspective of literary theory. The author conducts a meticulous and thorough excavation of literary concepts throughout the ages, leaving no word unturned. This book is a work that explores the transformation of literary concepts during the Tang and Song dynasties. The transformation of literary concepts in the Tang and Song dynasties unfolded successively on three levels: historical tradition, philosophical tradition, and literary tradition. The transformation of literary concepts accordingly went through three stages:
1. The period of Sui and early to mid-Tang, under the influence of historical tradition, literary concepts were fixed as "the alternation of quality and refinement" through comparison with historical concepts.
2. From the mid-Tang to the mid-Northern Song, under the influence of philosophical tradition, "quality" was interpreted as the Confucian "way," and the concept of "literature" also underwent a phased change. The distinction between "quality" and "literature" evolved into a debate between "literature" and "way," ultimately leading to the separation of "literature" and "way."
3. From the mid-to-late Northern Song to the end of the Song, after stripping away the influence of history and philosophy, the intrinsic attributes of "literature" were fully revealed. External factors to "literature" were dissolved, the sense of system consciousness in "literature" was continuously strengthened, and the "correctness" and "transformation" views formed within the internal system of "literature," centered on literary genres, became the main contradiction affecting literary concepts. Thus, the literary concept of "the alternation of quality and refinement" was ultimately replaced by the concept of "the correctness and transformation of literary genres," achieving a significant transformation in the literary concepts of ancient China. This book is a work that explores the transformation of literary concepts during the Tang and Song dynasties. The entire book is divided into three parts: literary concepts under the influence of historical tradition, literary concepts under the influence of philosophical tradition, and literary concepts under the influence of literary tradition.