Historical Lineage, Philosophical Lineage, Cultural Lineage – On the Transformation of Literary Concepts During the Tang and Song Periods

Author: Luo Ligang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-25
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 across three levels: the historical perspective, the philosophical perspective, and the literary perspective. The transformation of literary concepts correspondingly went through three stages:
1. During the early and mid-Tang period, under the influence of the historical perspective, 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 perspective, "quality" was interpreted as Confucian "Dao," and the concept of "literature" also underwent a gradual change. The distinction between "quality" and "literature" evolved into a debate between "literature" 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 "literature" were fully revealed. External factors related to "literature" were dissolved. The sense of systematization within "literature" was continuously strengthened. Within the internal system of "literature," the concepts of "normative" and "transformative" genres became the main contradiction influencing literary concepts. This ultimately replaced the literary concept of "the alternation of quality and refinement" with the concept of "the normative and transformative nature of genres," achieving a significant transformation in the literary concepts of ancient China.