Wenxin Diao Long Zhu (Volumes 1 and 2)

Author: Liu Xie (Southern Dynasties of Liang)
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons was written by Liu Xie of the Southern Dynasties of Liang. Among the existing ancient Chinese works on literature, it is one of the earliest and most complete masterpieces in the genre of literary theory. Classical Chinese literature, after a long period of development from the Zhou, Qin, and Han dynasties, had accumulated rich creative experience and had undergone extensive theoretical exploration. By the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties periods, there was a new leap in creation, while theoretically, it entered a period of conscious summarization of experience. Starting from the Jian'an era, complete literary theory monographs began to appear one after another. By the time of the Qi and Liang dynasties, Liu Xie's The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons emerged, becoming the culmination of later works. This book consists of ten volumes and fifty chapters, which can be clearly divided into four parts: 1. General Theory; 2. Discussion of Literary Genres; 3. Theory of Creation; 4. Theory of Appreciation, with the self-introductory Preface and Biography as the fiftieth chapter, summarizing the entire work. In this sense, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons is a work without a successor. Today, as we critically inherit the legacy of classical Chinese literary theory, we naturally should study this work earnestly.