Articles
The Wen Category in Liu Xie’s Work: Textual Aspect of the Literary Problem
Lidia Stejzenskaya
Vostok/Oriens '2014, №4
The article deals with the content of wen, one of the most important categories of traditional Chinese philosophy and literature, as represented in the first chapter Tao Yuan (Origins in the Way) of Wen xin diao long (The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons) by literary theorist Liu Xie (465/466–520/522). Employing the synchronic method of philological analysis, the author offers some new interpretations of the treatise postulates that define the scope and content of the wen category in Liu Xie’s work. The analysis results are in general consistent with the widely accepted opinion of the polysemic character of this medieval Chinese category. At the same time, the conventional opinion on natural origins of belles-lettres in Liu Xie’s system is called in question. This opinion provides the basis for evaluation of Liu Xie’s concept of literature as a metaphysical one as well as defines the place of the Chinese literature in the typology of Asian literatures.
Keywords: Wen xin diao long, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, Liu Xie, wen, Chinese poetics
Pages: С. 96–106
