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Full-Text Articles in Chinese Studies
A Study Of The Phenomenon Of The Quasi-Peach Blossom Spring And The Poetry In The Late-Qing Dynasty, Qihua Sun, Shijin Luo
A Study Of The Phenomenon Of The Quasi-Peach Blossom Spring And The Poetry In The Late-Qing Dynasty, Qihua Sun, Shijin Luo
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The image of "The Peach Blossom Spring" created by Tao Yuanming (365?-427) became a motif since the Liang dynasty in Chinese ancient literature. The reception of the Peach Blossom Spring had shown two dimensions of the nothingness and the concreteness during the Tang and Song dynasties. However, toward the late Qing dynasty, the gradual appearance of quasi-Peach Blossom Springs and the poeticization of them, perhaps due to the social turmoil, especially brought by the Taiping Civil War. The understanding of the unrealistic vision of the Peach Blossom Spring and the wish for it during the turmoil constructed the mindset of …
The History, Region And Cultural Community Around The Paintings Of Ten-Thousand-Mile Yangtze River During The Song, Yuan And Ming Dynasties, Jin Yue
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
During the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, there emerged in large numbers of paintings under the title of Ten-Thousand-Mile Yangtze River. On the one hand, these paintings with inscribed poems and essays by elite literati collectively shaped the image of the Yangtze River, and established a cultural community with regional and historical identity centering on the Yangtze River. This greatly strengthened the sense of national identity and its presence. On the other hand, these paintings were collected into classified books as encyclopedic references during the late Ming dynasty, and became cultural products for mass consumption. Through copying, reproduction and dissemination …
Letters On Literature And The Internalized Drive For Literary Debates In The Ming Dynasty, Hua Ye, Huan Du
Letters On Literature And The Internalized Drive For Literary Debates In The Ming Dynasty, Hua Ye, Huan Du
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
As one of the traditional forms of literary criticism since the Han and Wei dynasties, letters on literature played an important role in the establishment of Chinese literary criticism framework. Based on the writers' identities and attitudes, these letters can be grouped into "the presenting type", "the replying type" and "the dialogue type". The theoretical nature of the epistolary style and the contextual constraints resulted from its reciprocal relationship, promoted in-depth scholarly dialogue and avoided the possibility of forcible reinterpretation of the text by later generations. Primary contents in the literary correspondences shifted from summaries of writing experience, reviews of …
On The "Portrait Paintings" In The Late-Ming Fictions And Xiqu, Yaping Cai, Guofu Cheng
On The "Portrait Paintings" In The Late-Ming Fictions And Xiqu, Yaping Cai, Guofu Cheng
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Portrait paintings were prominent in ancient Chinese fictions and xiqu (traditional Chinese opera), and the close relationships between them have not been duly explored. In late Ming-Dynasty fictions and xiqu, portrait paintings have been used in eighteen fictions and xiqu to construct the plots. These paintings usually gave a frontal image of the characters, with occasional glamorization for a unified representation of both the appearance and the spirit to achieve the integration of the character with the scenery. Three developments in the late-Ming Dynasty may explain why portrait paintings were prominent in the fictions and xiqu: the revival of figure …
An Investigation Of Gao Qi's Poetic Theory, Zhaoming Liu
An Investigation Of Gao Qi's Poetic Theory, Zhaoming Liu
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Gao Qi's poetic theory consists of one general standard and three specific concerns. The general standard for a great poet is to be well-rounded and versatile. The three specific concerns are listed according to their priority. The first and foremost concern of poetry is ge (form), yi(will), and qu (taste). What follows are secondary component of poetry: sheng (prosody) and yan (language). In terms of the source and function, he emphasized the importance of travelling across the landscape, as well as the autobiographical and archiving function of poetry. His poetic theory was not only tethered to the legacy of Yan …
The Art Of Guan Hanqing's Dramaturgic Structure, Jianzhong Xu
The Art Of Guan Hanqing's Dramaturgic Structure, Jianzhong Xu
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The 15 existing plays by the Yuan-Dynasty playwright Guan Hanqing reflect the playwright's originality in processing subject matter through transformation of conventional themes and his realistic concerns with profound thoughts. Guan Hanqing's plays, literally variety dramas in Chinese, demonstrate a variety of structural types with different dramaturgic techniques. The plot from suspense, misunderstanding, and discovery to return is well adapted into plays with each act comprising two sections, and this greatly promotes the expressiveness of the plays. His story is strengthened by his thoughtful construction of plot with added sections that broke through the "one-play-of-four-act" convention. In Guan's ingenious casting, …
The Substance Of Wei Xi's "Genuine Air" And Its Theoretical Implications, Zebao Zhu
The Substance Of Wei Xi's "Genuine Air" And Its Theoretical Implications, Zebao Zhu
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Wei Xi(1624-1681), an early Qing-Dynasty prose theorist, proposed the concept of "genuine air(zhen-qi)," and it is an important component to his literary theory. In essence, the concept highlights author's personality and centers round author's reason, while it also implicitly promotes cultural pluralism. With this concept, Wei's theory framework can refrain from overreliance on the rules, reason and knowledge. The political implication of "genuine air" respond to the socio-cultural background in which the Ming-Dynasty subjects tried to reflect the fall of their nation, and his theory also embodies his intention of upholding mores of the intellectuals through changing literary mode. Wei …
Incorporation Of Tang Short Stories Into Song Poetic Verses, Zhenqian Zhang
Incorporation Of Tang Short Stories Into Song Poetic Verses, Zhenqian Zhang
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Tang short stories (xiaoshuo) have had an important influence on the creation of poetic verses (ci) in the Song dynasty, but this literary phenomenon received little academic discussion. The most salient manifestation of such influence is textual, including poetic verse's lyric patterns, titles, sequences, and main content. Additionally, writers of poetic verses in the Song dynasty composed their works by tailoring, rewriting and selecting verses, literary quotations, characters, and plot from Tang short stories. This kind of incorporation was further motivated by the sufficiency of short stories and their popularity among Song literati, as well as the practice of crossing …
Changxieyao And Changjiedeng: Prosodic Theory And The Evolvement Of Five-Character Poetry In The Early Tang Dynasty, Hongqiang Xiang
Changxieyao And Changjiedeng: Prosodic Theory And The Evolvement Of Five-Character Poetry In The Early Tang Dynasty, Hongqiang Xiang
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Changxieyao was a common prosodic phenomenon in the five-character poetry of the Six Dynasties. After the transformation by Xie Tiao and He Xun, the style of Changjiedeng became more mature, but the number of poems written in this style was still small, hence the lack of diversity in the prosody of poetry. Since 663 CE, the situation began to change: Lu Zhaolin, Cui Rong, Du Shenyan, among many others started to use Changjiedeng and Changjiedeng interchangeably in their five-character poems, which enriched prosody in poetic writing. This move was related to Yuan Jing's theory of Changxieyao and Changjiedeng. Ever since, …
Expressing Feeling Through Scenery: On The Fashion Of Travel Among Literati And Its Influence On Xiqu During The Late Ming Period, Ji Yang
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The rising fashion of travel among literati during the late Ming period significantly influenced the creation and development of xiqu. As many late-Ming playwrights shared great interest in travel, the choice of xiqu's theme and content also included portrayals of travel experiences. As a result, xiqu developed new features in its style and structure during this period. The model of portraying travel experiences in xiqu during the late-Ming period not only accorded with the requirement of xiqu's narrative mechanism, but also displayed its aesthetic characteristics and artistic features.
An Examination Of Collected Historical Biographies In The Ming And Qing Dynasties From The Perspective Of Article Studies, Shihai He, Lu Chen
An Examination Of Collected Historical Biographies In The Ming And Qing Dynasties From The Perspective Of Article Studies, Shihai He, Lu Chen
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Article anthologies of the Ming and Qing dynasties broke with the tradition of not excerpting writings from the Classical, Historical, and Philosophical Works. It compiled a great number of biographies that appeared in historical writings, and quite a few articles in The Commentary of Zuo, The Records of the Grand Historian, and History of the Han Dynasty. Four factors accounted for this phenomenon: the breakthrough of boundaries between the four sections; the necessity of distinguishing types or forms of literature; the elevation of narrative writings'status; the need to study eight-legged essays. Interactions among these various factors led historical biographies to …
Personality, Natural Endowment, Scholarship, And The Vicissitudes Of Time: Revisiting The Phenomenon Of "Reversion" In Wang Kaiyun's Poetics, Yafeng Li
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
"Reversion" used to be hailed as a pure "Chinese phenomenon", but its richness and complexity have not been effectively revealed yet, which has seriously affected our in-depth understanding of it. Take Wang Kaiyuan as an example. His poetics of "reversion" had profound spiritual connotation, which implied his original comprehension of poetry, his political ideal of "Entering the Holy Land through Zhuangzi" and "Self-government with Propriety"; it also presented Wang's distinct personality in his stance, method, and object regarding "reversion". The formation of such "reversion" phenomenon was both closely related to Wang's personality, talents, scholarship, as well as the vicissitudes of …
The Revival Of The Ancient In Ming-Dynasty Essays: Its Political Appeal And The Chosen Approach, Jiaqi An
The Revival Of The Ancient In Ming-Dynasty Essays: Its Political Appeal And The Chosen Approach, Jiaqi An
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The Ming dynasty saw a surge of "the revival of the ancient" in both theory and practice of leisure essays. The revival of the ancient was both value judgment at the level of literature and cross-reference between personality traits and social changes. Essay writers who promoted the revival of the ancient fell into two groups, one comprising members of the learned societies and academies, the one including officials from ministries in the central government. The former advocated a plain style as exemplified by the Song-Dynasty prose, while the latterfavored the archaic style of the Qin and Han dynasties. The different …
A New Exploration Of The Title Of "Cheng Xiang" In Xunzi, Chaobin Zou
A New Exploration Of The Title Of "Cheng Xiang" In Xunzi, Chaobin Zou
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The meaning of the title "Cheng Xiang" in Xunzi is controversial. Through close reading, this paper analyzes "Cheng Xiang" in Xunzi from such new angles as evolvement of literary style and cultural integration. It is found that "Cheng Xiang" in Xunzi consisted of three relatively independent articles when Xunzi originally wrote them. "Cheng Xiang" was not simply titled by using several characters in the opening passage. Instead, it was consciously named after its literary style. "Cheng Xiang" as a literary style resulted from the integration of rites and music culture in the court of the Zhou dynasty and folk ballad …
The Emergence And Development Of Poetic Treatises During The Ming Dynasty, Miaomiao Zheng
The Emergence And Development Of Poetic Treatises During The Ming Dynasty, Miaomiao Zheng
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Among literature on poetry during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) there was poetic treatise, which focuses on theoretical and systematic expounding on the basics of poetics. This type of writing evolved through three stages of emergence, improvement and maturation. Li Dongyang's Poetry Commentaries from the Foothill Studio and Xu Zhenqing's On the Art of Poetry were two key works in the first stage. Li's work presented a gradually strengthened emphasis on the systematicity of poetry criticism, while Xu's work substantially centered on poetry criticism, marking the formation of poetic treatise. In the second stage, Wang Shizhen's Rambles in the Garden of …
Confucianism, Ancient-Style Prose And Current Affairs: The History Of Chinese Ancient-Style Prose From The Perspective Of Japanese Sinology, Weizhao Chen
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
From the Tang dynasty onwards, ancient Chinese literature and literary theories have influenced the Sinophone cultural sphere, especially in East Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. During the Edo and Meiji periods, conceptions of Chinese ancient style prose were also incorporated into the framework of Japan's intellectual and cultural constructions. Yet, Japanese writers acceptance of and rejection to the paradigms in ancient style prose were closely related to their current affairs in socio political, economic, and cultural dimensions. Remolded by Japanese culture, Chinese literary theories became localized and started to influence the literary creations and theories in Japan. …
On The Theory Of Literary "Craftsmanship" During The Six Dynasties, Dongxiao Yang
On The Theory Of Literary "Craftsmanship" During The Six Dynasties, Dongxiao Yang
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The literary theories during the Six Dynasties often compared writers to "craftsmen", who were proficient in handicraft. Referring to the well developed art theory during this period, the connotation of "craftsman" can be considered in four dimensions: (1) a close adherence to the norm of literary styles, (2) an emphasis on language skills, (3) a balance between expressions of literary talents and emotions, and (4) a combination of conformance to rules and spirit of change. The theory of literary "craftsmanship" not only demonstrated an emphasis on writing techniques, but also disclosed its interactions with the lyrical and aesthetic functions of …
The Ideal Qualities And Their Value In Niu Yunzhen's Historical Criticism, Zhouyin Huang
The Ideal Qualities And Their Value In Niu Yunzhen's Historical Criticism, Zhouyin Huang
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Early Qing historian Niu Yunzhen concluded that grave elegance of style, sophisticated maturity of expression and inspired originality of appeal were three foremost qualities of the history-writing genre, through his reading of Han historian Sima Qian's exemplary work Records of the Grand Historian. With these qualities as criteria for historical criticism, Niu Yunzhen not only reinforced the status of Records of the Grand Historian as a classic, but also attached importance on emotion as an intrinsic attribute of historical writing. As a result, the expression of personal feelings was gradually legitimized and eventually became equally important to narrative method and …