Historical Lineage, Philosophical Lineage, Cultural Lineage (On the Transformation of Literary Concepts in the Tang and Song Periods)

Author: Luo Ligang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: This book is a work that explores the transformation of literary concepts during the Tang and Song dynasties. The transformation of literary concepts unfolded successively across three levels: the historical paradigm, the philosophical paradigm, and the literary paradigm. The transformation of literary concepts accordingly went through three stages:
1. During the early and mid-Tang period, under the influence of the historical paradigm, literary concepts were defined as "the alternation of quality and refinement" through comparison with historical concepts.
2. From the mid-Tang to the mid-Northern Song period, under the influence of the philosophical paradigm, "quality" was interpreted as Confucian "Dao," and the concept of "refinement" also underwent a transitional change. The distinction between "quality" and "refinement" evolved into the debate between "refinement" and "Dao," ultimately leading to their separation.
3. From the mid-to-late Northern Song period to the end of the Song dynasty, after stripping away the influence of history and philosophy, the intrinsic attributes of "refinement" were fully revealed. External factors related to "refinement" were dissolved. The sense of system consciousness within "refinement" was continuously strengthened. The "correctness and transformation" view centered on literary genres within the "literary paradigm" became the main contradiction influencing literary concepts, ultimately replacing the "alternation of quality and refinement" literary view with the "correctness and transformation of literary genres" view. This achieved a significant transformation in the literary concepts of ancient China.