ZHONG RONG'S SHIPIN

AND THE AESTHETIC AWARENESS OF TEE SIX DYNASTIES

Aidong ZHANG
A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Department of East Asian Studies
in the University of Toronto
Copyright by Aidong ZHANG
1996
National Library
If 1 of Canada
Bibliothbque nationale
du Canada
Acquisitions and Acquisitions et
Bibliographic Services services bibliogmphiques
395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington
Ottawa ON K1 A ON4
Otmwa ON KI A ON4
Canada Canada
Your 6b v m mIbrsncu,
Our lSle Natre ref8,Bnce
The author has granted a non-
exclusive licence allowing the
National Library of Canada to
reproduce, loan, distribute or sell
copies of this thesis in microform,
paper or electronic formats.
The author retains ownership of the
copyright in this thesis. Neither the
thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it
may be printed or otherwise
reproduced without the author's
permission.
L'auteur a accorde une licence non
exclusive pennettant a la
Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de
reproduire, preter, distribuer ou
vendre des copies de cette these sous
la forme de microfiche/film, de
reproduction sur papier ou sur format
electronique.
L'auteur conserve la propriete du
droit d'auteur qui protege cette these.
Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels
de celle-ci ne doivent &e imprimes
ou autrement reproduits sans son
autorisation.
ABSTRACT
ZHONG RONG'S SHIPIN
AND THE AESTHETIC AWARENESS OF THE SIX DYNASTIES
Aidong ZHANG
Department of East Asian Studies
University of Toronto, 1996
Zhong Rong's (ca.463-520) Shi ni n (Classification of Poetrv) has
been recognized by modern scholars as the first and one of the
most important critical works in the history of Chinese literary
theories. It deals exclusively with the subject of poetry and
discusses many basic but important poetic issues.
As a critical work, the S h i ~ i n is markedly different f r o m
earlier criticism. It is not a mixture of socio-political and
literary comments but a wo r k that was consciously written to
fulfil the increasing demand for literary criticism of that
time. It treats poetry as an autonomous entity that ought to be
justified on its own terms.
This study is an attempt to explore the significance and
innovation of the Shioin in a systematic manner. More specifi-
cally, it probes the following issues:
First, it introduces and examines the theoretical debate
and the discussion of the Six Dynasties to see how the S h i ~ i n
benefited from them i n terms of i t s theoretical framework and
poetic terminology. Second, it studies the key concepts and
critical methods i n the Shinin by placing it in a broader
context of the aesthetic pursuit of the Six Dynasties. Third,
it observes how the Shinin embodies the aesthetic awareness of
the Six Dynasties and subsequently contributes to Chinese
poetics in general.
The study concludes that the Shipin is a serious critical
endeavour. Its emergence signified that pure poetry criticism
independent of canonical exegesis had come to light and critical
methodology that centred on aesthetic appreciation had been
established. The study also concludes that the Shi~ia brings
order and system to the previously random and scattered dis-
cussion of poetry; its concepts and vocabulary prove to be
beneficial to later poetics.
iii
To Yongqing and Annie Fang
Acknowledgement
I am profoundly indebted to Professor Wayne Schlepp who has
guided me throughout the entire Ph.D. program. His intellec-
tual insight, perceptive criticism, constant encouragement and
confidence in me have made the completion of my doctoral
studies and my dissertation possible. Being my mentor, Pro-
fessor Schlepp has also been a role model for my maturation as
a scholar and as a person.
/
My sincere gratitude also goes to Professor Melena ~ o l o h l o v ~
whose course on the topic of Modern Chinese Literature has
been a stimulus for my critical thinking. And the theoretical
literature she recommends are always of great value.
I am very grateful to Professor A. Ward, who has provided me
valuable advice through my course work and preparation of this
thesis. His encouragement has been a reliable source of help.
I would also like to thank Professor James Hsu whose expertise
on Chinese culture has been very helpful in my graduate
studies .
My special thanks go to the Yan Xin Qigong Association. It
has been a constant source of physical and spiritual support.
My sincere thanks also go to the University of Toronto, par-
ticularly the Department of East Asian Studies, for providing
me with fellowships during my doctorate studies.
Finally, I wish to thank my family. My husband, Yongqing
Fang, has walked with me through every stage of my graduate
life, sharing my successes and setbacks, my highs and lows.
His understanding, patience and great sense of humour have
always come to my support. My heartfelt thanks also go to my
parents and my elder brothers and sister. Their moral support
and selfless love will always touch the deepest place in my
heart.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Abstract
Acknowledgement
INTRODUCTION
Profound Learning
Personality Appraisal
Language and Meaning
Literature and Writing
Chapter One Pragmatic Perception of Poetry and
Zhong Rong8s View
The Pragmatic View
Zhong Rong's View of Poetry
as an Autonomous and Aesthetic Entity
Chapter Two Qi ng (POETIC EMOTXON)
Qing as Response to Nature
Qing as Expression of Personal Experience
Qing and Wu (Emotion and Object)
Ping and Ci (Emotion and Words)
Chapter Three Wei (POETIC FLAVOUR)
The Concept of Wei before Zhong Rong
Zhong Rong on Zi we i
Wei and qiongqing xiewu
Wei and hua mei (Flavour and Floridness)
Wei and yuan (Flavour and Far-reaching)
Chapter Four THE ROLE OF IMAGERY IN THE S h i ~ i n
The Interest in Imagery and Nature
Images and Their Culture-bound Aesthetic Content
The Role of Imagery
A Conscious Critical Effort
Specific Format and Classifications
A Clear Set of Objectives
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODDCT ION
Zhong Rongt sR1 (ca. 463-520) Shi~in"' (Classification of
Poetry)' has been recognized by modern scholars as the first and
one of the most important critical works in the history of
Chinese literary theory .' Dealing specifically with the subject
of poetry, it focuses primarily on evaluating the writers of
f ive-character poems (wuyan shiE3 . Although there were earlier
critics who had conducted such evaluations, Zhong Rong found
them inadequate, and wished to formulate his own critiques.
Many of the poets of that time strove to make their poems
exceptional by the use of allusion, or imitation of celebrated
writings. However Zhong Rong considered this harmful to the art
of poetry. The main purpose of the S h i p i n was to influence the
direction of contemporary poetry, a direction with which he was
extremely dissatisfied. Zhong Rong's method of evaluation was
inspired by and in line with the traditional interest in
classifying and evaluating human character, and interest that
'Zhong Rong, S h i ~ i n Ou a n v i . Ed. Xu Da, (Guiyang: Guizhou
renmin chubanshe, 1990). In conducting the current study, six
editions of the Shi pi n have been consulted, for example, Chen
Yanj ie, ed. Shi pi n Zhu and Yang Zuyu, ed. Shi pi n Jiaozhu, both to
compare texts and commentary. Xu Da's S h i ~ i n Ouanvi is cited
throughout this thesis for convenience. Please refer to the
bibliography for the complete list of the s i x editions.
'See Vincent Yu-chung Shih, The Literarv Mind and the Carving
Drasons (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1983). xxviii.
2
reached a culminating paint around Zhong Rong' s times. Zhong
Rong evaluated one hundred and twenty two poets and their works,
classifying them into three groups, namely, those of high,
middle, and low rank, according to the literary merit of their
poems. He not only provided his appraisal of each poet, tracing
the origins of some of t h e i r styles to an earlier source, but
also discussed certain basic, yet important concepts of poetry.
The value of the S h i ~i n , nevertheless, should not be judged
solely on the above contributions. In my opinion it ought to be
recognized as a work which reflects an aesthetic awareness of
its era - - the Six Dynasties (220-589 A.D.).
The modern scholar Chia-ying Yeh points out that since the
Great Preface to the Shiiinq (Shi daxu)'' (hereafter it shall be
referred to as the Great Preface),
critics have tended to attach too much importance to
the praise and blame of government and doctrines [in
their commentary of poetry], and have often tended to
distort facts in order to force the illustration of
their particular interpretation. At the same time, as
a result, they have often neglected the basic role in
poetry of the release of feelings, that is the moving
'For a background knowledge of this interest, see John Timothy
Wixted, 'The Nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pinn (Gradings of
Poets) by Chung Hung ( A. D. 469-518) . I t In ~heories of the Arts in
China, edited by Susan Bush and Christian Murck.. (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 19831, 227-229.
of mind by matter, and the associations which are
sparked by the imagery.4
A careful reading of the S h i ~ i n will help one to see that
Zhong Rong instead of following the inadequate approach men-
tioned by Yeh, focused more on the aesthetic aspects of poetry.
For Zhong Rong, poetry was not a by-product of political or
philosophical traditions, as certain critics and theorists
before him tended to believe. It was, rather, an independent
realm which should be justified on its own terms and, in my
view, it is in this concept that the major attraction of the
S h i p i n lies.
The Six Dynasties witnessed a transformation in the history
of Chinese art, literature and criticism. During this period
great changes were brought about not only in arts and literature
per se, but also in the conception of art and literature. In
spite of several literary anthologies which amazed the later
generations, there is for the first time specific literary
criticism with far-reaching insights and ideas, enlightening
contemporary literary theory and influencing the later develop-
ment of poetics. They are Cao Pi's (187-226) Di anl un lunwenb5,
'Chia-ying Yeh and Jan W. Walls, "Theory, Standards, and
Practice of Criticizing Poetry in Chung Hung's Shih-pin, " in Ronald
C. Miao ed., Studies in Chinese Poetry and Poetics (San Francisco:
Chinese Material Centre, 1978), 79.
4
Lu ~i's'~ (261-303) ~e nf Lf " , Xiao Tong'ssa (503-531) Wenxuan
XU' ~, Zhong Rong's Shi~in and Liu Xie' s E I O (ca. 465-502) Wenxin
-
~ i a o l o n c f ~ ~ . Rather than preoccupying themselves with political
-
and didactic concerns which were a common practice of the Han
critics, each author partook in some general or specific
literary discussion concerning stylistic, creative, structural,
or rhetorical questions. Lu XunE12 (1881-1936). a prominent
modem Chinese writer and critic, calls this period "an era of
literary awareness, " or an era of Itart for art's sake, " - - an
expression which he borrowed from modern critics. The reason
that he characterized this period as such was that truly
specialized literary criticism emerged, and the aesthetic
aspects of literature were consciously emphasized during this
time .
Although, it is hard to pinpoint what exactly made litera-
ture and literary theory prosper during this time, the breakdown
of a unified state might have created an opportunity for
diversity in the theoretical domain in general, and literary
criticism in particular. Here, we need to take into consider-
ation some historical facts. Following the collapse of the Han
'LU Xun. "Wei Ji n f engdu ji wenzhang yu yao ji jiu zhi guanxi1I
(The style and writings of the Wei-Jin period and their relation-
ships to drugs and wine). In Lu Xun l u n zhonsmo qudi an wenxue,
edited b y Xiamen daxue zhongwenxi , 19 6 - 212. (Fuzhou : Fu j ian renmin
chubanshe, 1979) , 199.
5
Empire, small states and dynasties replaced each other frequent-
ly, political chaos and philosophical confusion marked charac-
teristic features of the Six Dynasties period/ Even
Confucianism which was prominent in Chinese thinking for about
one thousand years by then was losing its status, owing to the
emergence of the I1profound learningm (xuan xu@") as well as
developing Daoist and Buddhist ideas. The latter had always
coexisted with Confucianism but was surpassed by it. At a time
when there is no rigid orthodoxy, a relatively creative atmos-
phere can emerge in literature as well as in criticism.
The idea that the Wei-Jin style of thought, primarily the
"profound learningl1 enlightened and nurtured the literary theory
of the Six Dynasties has been popular among Chinese scholars and
literary historians'. The thought -provoking debates and
discussions in the process of the "profound learningt1 provided
theoretical framework and methodology for literary theorizing,
and facilitated the aesthetics of the literary critics. Some of
the important concepts later became catchwords in art and
literary criticism. Since the 'Iprof ound learningr1 has played
'See Cai Zhongxiang, Cheng Fuwang and Huang Baozhen, Zhonoouo
wenxue l i l u n shl. 4 vols. (Beijing: Beijing chubanshe, l987),
Vol.1, 15.
'See Tang Yongtong, Lixue foxue xuanxue (Bei j ing: Beij ing
dame chubanshe, 1991) , 316. Li Zehou and Liu Gangj it Zhonssuo
meixue shi (Bei j ing : Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1987) , Vol -2,
106. Cai Zhongxiang, et al. Zhonssuo meixue l i l un shi, Vol.1, 154.
6
such an important role in the development of the Six Dynasties
literary theory, it is worthwhile to examine this dominant style
of thought as a basis for understanding the aesthetic evolution
of the Six Dynasties.
Profound Learning
The xuan xue, or profound learning, also variably translated
as "metaphysical discourse, It ttabstruse learning, was a leading
school of thought in the Six Dynasties. It was Daoist in
essence but incorporated some Confucian teaching in it. Wang
~iEl4 (226-249) and He Yann5 (D. 240) were the exponents of
this school. Xuan xue is famous for its quest for "spiritual
meaningf1 and/or "transcending the limited, to search for the
unlimited. Tang YongtongE16, the Chinese philosopher, charac-
terizes xuan xue as "the ontological mode of questioningu which
is in contrast to the Han Dynasty scholars' wcosmology prob-
ing. !la That suggests that as the Han scholar Dong ZhongshuE"
(ca.179-104.B.C.) was famous for his endeavour in cosmological
issues, the Six Dynasties thinkers, however, were well known for
their focus on the matter of being. Dong Zhongshu engaged
himself with the meaning of the five phases or five elements (wu
xing8ls), the correspondence of man and the numerical categories
'Tang Yongtong , W e i Ji n xuanxue luncrao, 48 -49 .
7
of Heaven and the transcendent justification for political and
morality, whereas the xuan xue scholars took on what they
considered the original and authentic meaning of things.
Emphasizing the significance and value of human existence, it
probes into the kind of "ideal personalityt1 which is spiritually
free, independent and not constrained by the Confucian laws and
rites.g Wang Bi believes "there is a limit, and end, to all
external things and achievements ; only the internal spiritual
being is primary, fundamental, limitless, and endless. "lo This
overall shift from cosmological to ontol-ogical, from external to
internal, embodies a kind of "human awakening,1111 that is to
comprehend the DaoR19 in itself, to understand underlying
structure and truth of things from within, and the faith in the
human potential. The questioning of the traditional beliefs and
values also enables the Six Dynasties thinkers to ltrediscover,
"reassess" and "pursueIt human existence and its destiny12.
The reasoning and opinions of the Itprofound learningH were
spread mainly through the interpretation and exegesis of three
' ~ i Zehou and Liu Gangj i, Zhonssuo mei xue shi (Beijing:
Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1987) , V o 1 .2, 7.
''See Li Zehou (Tse-hou) , The Path of Beautv, ( B e i j ing: Morning
Glory, 19871, 128-
"Li Zehou, Path of Beautv, 125.
8
philosophical texts, the Book of Chanses , Laozi and Zhuanszi .
The spirit, "to transcend the limited and to search for the
unlimitedv of "profound learningm has formed the very core of
the Six Dynasties aesthetics.
Aside from the ftprofound learningtf but associated with it
were other factors which played a crucial role in the develop-
ment of literary criticism and art connoisseurship of the Six
Dynasties. These have to do with techniques for judging talent
and character in people and the lively debate concerning
literature and writing.
Personality Appraisal
Versonality appraisal" ( r enwu pi nzaoEZ0) of Late Han and the
Wei-Jin period was a result of the system of ranking officials
adopted in 22OA.D. during Cao Pi's6" regime". Renwu pinzao
took the virtue, talent and manner of a person as its focus, and
''See John Timothy Wixted, "The Nature of Evaluation in the
Shih-pinn (Gradings of Poets) by Chung Hung (A.D. 469-518) , If 228,
for the Nine-grade system of ranking officials. Wixted says:
" Of f ice holders, termed 'equitable rectifiers' (zhong zheng) , were
selected at the provincial and prefectural levels to rate the
achievements talents, conduct, and abilities of officials from
ducal ministries down to the lower officials and to grade them into
nine ranks."
9
it was central in the selection of civil servants then? It is
important to note that the ranking system of the Six Dynasties
had its unique characteristics. It not only demonstrated a new
system of selecting political and administrative talent, but
also brought distinctive changes to the principles of selection
and standards of ranking. Notably, virtue, precisely the
Confucian style of virtue, conduct and the command of classics
were the standard of a qualified official in the Han Dynasty;
but the emphasis in the Six Dynasties ranking was "human talent"
and Ifenterprising spiritu which was an innovation of Cao Cao"',
the Emperor Wu of the weilS. In accordance with this, the
"personality appraisalM during this time concentrated primarily
on human talent as well as wisdom, and other aspects of a
person. One's physical features, style, disposition and
temperament were also taken as important factors for the ranking
and the discussions. As social and cultural discussion, the
"personality appraisal" was a subs tantiation of the spirit of
the "profound learning" in the sense that it aimed to investi-
gate "ideal personalityu - - the very issue that the "profound
learningtt had chosen to bear on. And the conceptual apparatus
of the appraisal was also in conformity with the ideas of
"For a historical development of the l fpersonal i t y appraisal,
see Li Zehou Zhoncwuo meixue shi , V o 1 . 2 , 59 - 65.
Issee Wei Jin nan bei chao w e m e shi cankao ziliao, ( B e i j ing:
Zhonghua Shuju, 1962) , 3 7 .
10
"profound learning. Liu Shao' s Treatise on Personalities
(Renwu zhiEZ3) was a representative work among many discourses
of this kind.
Treatise on Personalities can be seen as a summary of the
practice and theory of rlpersonality appraisalr1 from the late Han
to the Wei period. It contains a systematic study of human
personalises and abilities,
In addition to giving detailed description and analysis of
various types of characters, Liu Shao dedicates his discussion
on how to understand different kinds of personalities and sets
up methods and principles of observing and classifying talented
human beings.
In his discussion, Liu Shao places great emphasis on
talents and the individuality of human beings. He believes that
human personalities and dispositions are determined by the yin-
yang2" principles1' and "five elernent~~~''. Different combina-
'=The Chinese believe Yin and Yang are dualistic principles
composing the universe, i.e. all things and events. Yin is nega-
tive, passive, weak and destructive and yang is positive, active,
strong and constructive. Yin and yang are always complementary to
each other and their positions exchange sometimes. The earliest
source of this term might be traced to the Appendix to the Book of
Chanse. See J.K. Shryock, The Study of Human Abilities: The Jen Wu
Chih of Liu Shao (New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1937; A
1966 reprint by Kraus Reprint Corporation, New York) , 95. See also
Wing-Tsit Chan ed., A Source Book in Chinese Philoso~hv (Princeton,
11
tions and proportion of these energies and elements will form
distinctive human characteristics.
Gentle yet upright, and docile yet strong, these are
the virtues of wood; unyielding yet having a terminal,
liberal yet decisive, these are the virtues of metal;
honest yet courteous, reasonable yet ritually correct,
these are the virtuas of water; forgivable yet dig-
nified, and soft yet withstanding, these are the
virtues of soil ; simple yet luxuriant, illuminating
[externals] yet piercing [the depths], these are the
virtues of fire. Although phenomena are forever
changing, these changes are in conformity with the
five elements-B25
All personalities and human dispositions have t hqi r corre-
spondences in the "yi n and yang" principle and the "five
elements." And they also are manifested in people's outer
features, voice, style and gestures. Thus, Liu puts his
emphasis on the diversity of individual character, on concrete
and specific human beings. This approach to human beings is
significantly different from that of the Han which seems to be
based solely on Confucian ethics, virtue, conduct and knowledge
- - some very general schemes whereas the individual and specific
New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1973), 244.
"The five elements concept is associated with that of yin and
yang. They are water, fire, metal, wood, and earth. See Liu Shao,
The Studv of Human Abilities: The Jen Wu Chih of Liu Shao, ed. J.
K. Shryock, 95.
"Cited in Li Zehou and Liu Gangji, Zhonasuo meixue shi, Vol. 2,
74. The translation is from J . K . Shryock, The Study of Human
Abilities: The Jen Wu Chih of Liu Shao, 98.
12
characteristics of human beings were never the concern. Such a
shift of emphasis from the generality to individuality, '' and
from the abstract to the concrete, not only expanded the horizon
for understanding people but also opened the path for specific
literary criticism and art appreciation.
'9Scholars in China and the West have often
"indi~iduality,~ to describe the trait of the Six
About this, Professor Wayne Schlepp points out the
involved here. The danger may come in two-fold:
used the word,
Dynasty period.
possible danger
"The first is how-a term, the meaning of--which comes to us
mostly out of developments in modem society, is bound to distort
things when used to refer to ideas in the past, even if we take the
trouble to set it in very clear context. The second danger comes
from differences in attitudes toward the idea of individuality in
Chinese culture and in the West. In the West it is almost always
a virtue to be individualistic, and this is as true in business and
government as it is in art. In China, even when it was treated in
more benign fashion, the conditions adhering to it were vast and
never, it seems to me, was society adumbrated, set aside, forgot-
ten, in the pursuit of individualistic aims - - unless one was a
conf inned outlaw. This is not to say that there was no individual-
ity in China but we must admit that the threshold of tolerance in
different cultures and different times must always be kept in mind
as we consider the state, development and function of
'individuality' in society. So when we talk about individualistic
tendencies in the thinking of critics and poets during the Six
Dynasties, a Western reader will look for what he most admires in
individ~alism.~
This is a very important comment and should be applied when
the term is used to refer to that period. As no suitable substi-
tute has been found to-date, this word, individuality, is still
kept in this study. S i x Dynasties thinking was very different from
traditional thinking since it did not consider societal issues as
the beginning and end of everything; its focus was more on personal
angles; and poetry of this period tended to express more personal
feelings and experiences. However, Professor Schlepp's comment
should be born in mind for a more precise and contextual under-
standing of the term. For definitions of 5ndividua1, " "individu-
ali tytl and " indi~idualism~~ see Raymond Williams, K e y Words : A
Vocabularv of Culture and Societv, (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1983) , 161-165.
13
Accordingly, Liu Shao believes that different personalities
and natural traits will result in divergent abilities. Although
it is the best to have all of them, only the sages could
possibly reach this level. Ordinary human beings normally only
have particular abilities, still such would be adequate to their
needs. The most important task of a ruler is thus to be capable
of finding different kinds of capable personnel and to use their
expertise to support and strengthen the country. Liu Shao
claims that people who have particular abilities will inevitably
have some imperfections or disadvantages that are associated
with their abilities and a wise ruler should be fully aware of
this :
All men of partial abilities have their limitations.
Therefore, the defect of the straightforward man is a
tendency to make too many accusations. The defect of
the unyielding man is severity. The defect of the
peaceful man is timidity. The defect of the con-
scientious man is conventionality.
But if the straightforward man does not criticize, he
cannot complete his straightforwardness. Since you
like his straightforwardness, you cannot disapprove
his criticism, because the tendency to criticize is
the symptom of his straightforwardness.
If the unyielding man is not severe. he cannot accom-
plish his firmness. Since you are pleased with his
firmness, you cannot disapprove his severity, because
severity is the symptom of firmness.
If the peaceful man is not timid, he cannot preserve
his peacefulness. Since you are pleased with his
peacefulness , you cannot disapprove his timidity,
because timidity is the symptom of peacefulness.
If the conscientious man is not conventional, he
cannot keep his conscientiousness. Since you are
pleased with his conscientiousness, you cannot disap-
prove his conventionality, because conventionality is
the symptom of conscientiousness.
But those who have these limitations do not always
have the accompanying excellences. However, those who
have these excellences are sure to have the symptoms
of the corresponding limitation.
Therefore, by observing the symptoms of a man's
shortcomings, that in which he excels may be
known ,R26 2 0
These valuable abilities and imperfections are both opposite and
complementary to each other. They come in pairs to form a
rounded personality; without one, the other would certainly be
lost. Therefore, a ruler should wisely realize and understand
the above and not be overly critical about the shortcomings of
these capable men because these are only the %ymptomtl of the
great capacity.
This approach to categorizing human beings is extremely
valuable. It looks on the uniqueness and specific character of
each person and at the same time suggests a way to comprehend
20John, K. Shryock, The Studv of Human Abilities: The Jen wu
chih of Liu Shao, 138-139.
15
the human being as a complete whole. Although Liu Shao's work
was originally out of political concern which related to ranking
of officials, its influence on later literary criticism and art
appreciation was enormous and cannot be overlooked. Its
analysis and specific description of human characteristics
provided an appropriate approach for L i u Xie and Zhong Rong to
follow. Therefore, it is fair to say that Liu Shao's Treatise
on Personalitv demonstrated a distinctive change in the ideo-
logical domain of the Six Dynasties and by understanding its
aims we can comprehend Six Dynasties literary criticism.
The Nine-grade system of the official ranking did not
function long in the purpose for which it was first designed,
but existed in name only.21 The uper sonal i t y- appr ai sal t l grad-
ually deviated from political considerations to become oriented
more toward aesthetical considerations. This change was
reflected in the most lively way in Liu ~iqing's''' (403-444)
A New Account of Tales of the World (Hereafter referred to as
the New Account).
"When Nine-grade system was first established, it aimed to
select capable and knowledgable officials through rigorous
evaluation. However, it soon became an empty shell, especially in
Cao Fang's (240-253 A.D.) reign. The upper ranks were all filled
by people from rich clan families. See " j i u p i n zhongzhengU in
Ci hai (Shanghai: Shanghai cishu chubanshe, 1980), 65.
16
The New Account is an anthology of anecdotes, noteworthy
conversations, remarks and behaviour of the famous persons from
the latter Han to the Eastern Jin period. Owing to Liu Yiqing' s
vivid record and depictions we have some knowledge of the
temperament and spirit of that time. Many aspects of the New
Account deserve the attention of later generations, for example,
its narrative skill and character delineation which helped
greatly in the development of later fictional narrative.
However, at the present, I shall only focus on its unique
"personality-appraisal in hope of discovering its connection
with the later literary criticism, especially the kind that
concentrated on literary appreciation, to which Zhong Rong's
Shi in belongs.
Our first concern is the New Account's representation of
the unique characters of those historical figures. They are
"uniqueN because they are not the personalities people usually
encounter everyday. They were famous scholars or learned men
but they refused to be constrained by conventional concepts,
customs, laws and rites. They were labelled as "iconoclastsff
and for this, some of them were e~ecuted.~' Liu Ling of the
Western Jin is described as such:
such an example is Ji Kang (224-263), a distinguished
thinker, scholar, and musician. For discrediting Tang and Wudi,
and disparaging Zhou Gong and Confucius, he was executed by Cao
Fang, emperor of the Wei of the Three Kingdoms.
On many occasions Liu Ling, under the influence of
wine would be completely free and uninhibited, some-
times taking off his clothes and sitting naked in his
room. Once when some persons saw him and chided him
for it, Ling retorted, "1 take heaven and earth for my
pillars and roof, and the rooms of mv house for mv - -
---2
pants and coat. What are you doing in my
pants? (Rendan ~ i a n " ~ ~ ) 23
Another wonderful episode is also worth noting for its vigorous
description and characterization of distinctive personality:
While Wang Hui-chih was living in San-yin (Chekiang) ,
one night there was a heavy fall of snow. Waking from
sleep, he opened the panels of his room, and, ordering
wine, drank to the shining whiteness all about him.
Then he got up and started to pace back and forth,
humming Tso Ssu's (d. 306) poem, Vummons to a Retired
Gentleman1' (Chao yin-shih) . All at once he remembered
Tai K'uei, who was living at the time in Shan (south
of Shan-yin) . On the spur of the moment he set out by
night in a small boat to visit him. The whole night
had passed before he finally arrived. When he reached
Tai's gate he turned back without going in.
When someone asked his reason, Wang replied, "1
originally went on the strength of an impulse, and
when the impulse was spent I turned back. Why was it
necessary to see Tai? ( Rendan ~ i a n ) ~ ~
'ILiu Yiqing, ed. Shi s huo xinvu (Hong Kong: Zhonghua Shuju,
1979 , 179. Translation from Richard B. Mather, A New Account of
Tales of the World (Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota,
1976) , 374.
"Liu Yiqing, Shi s huo xinvu, 179. Translation from Richard B .
Mather, A New Account of Tales of the World, 3 8 9 .
18
These personalities neither conform to the traditional
val ues and norms, nor seem t o care about t h e publ i c disapproval
of their "absurdity." They have t hei r own standard and want to
follow their own nature and sensitivity t o do whatever they feel
meaningful, that could bring them a richer and fuller life.
One may like or dislike the people in question, but one has
to admit that they do have distinctive characteristics. Not
being governed by abstract concepts, each of the above people
has his special traits, emotions, wit, and actions. Their
unique personalities and unconventional ways of living were
vividly demonstrated. Being particular, they cannot be con-
sidered along with others. Although what Liu Yiqing described
were the outer activities and behaviour, it is the inner spirit
of the individual that is best observed.
This approach to the particular and unique, and the
intention to pierce through the overt behaviour in order to find
the inner spirit established an excellent example for later
criticism to follow, In his Shi oi n, Zhong Rong dedicated
himself to singling out the unique literary aspects of each poet
which would cover the general style revealed, the feelings or
emotions expressed, the spirit conveyed and the language used.
Zhong Rong also provided a brief summary of his comments on each
poet to focus the point. This way of commentary, which demanded
19
t hat a critic use highly iconic, precise, beautiful and sugges-
tive language to summarize the uniqueness of poetic style and
grasp the spirit of particular poet, was in line with the
general approach of the llpersonality appraisal. I t It also
remends us the kind of commentary flair of the New Account.
Another feature of the New Account that one finds also in
S i x Dynasties criticism is the use of pertinent imagery to
illustrate human features, appearances, and personalities or
abilities.
Contemporaries characterized Wang Hsi-chih as follows:
"Now drifting like a floating clouds; now rearing up
like a startled dragon.25
Someone praised the splendour of Wang Kungts appear-
ance with the words, "sleek and shining as the willow
in the months of spring. lr2'
P e i Kai characterized Wang Jung as follows: "His eyes
flash like lightening beneath a cliff?
bid., 179. Translation from Richard B. Mather, A New Account
of Tales of the World, 315.
" I b i d . , 179. Translation from Richard B. Mather, A New Account
of Tales of the World, 317.
* b i d . , 179. Translation from Richard B. Mather, A New Account
of Tales of the World, 310.
This method of commentary and language are widely employed
in the criticism of the Six Dynasties as well as in the poetry-
talksz0 of later times. It is notable that in the pre-Qin time,
people already started to make associations between beautiful
natural objects and human beings. However, the beautiful
imagery was used mainly to symbolize Confucian style human
"virtueu or uconduct. n2g Liu Yiqing' s approach was different .
He used appealing images as simile to characterize elegant human
beings in making them stand out as distinct personalities. This
type of analogical commentary gradually developed into a
distinctive style of Chinese poetics thereafter . Zhong Rong,
Liu Xie and Sikong Tu of the Tang Dynasty are all well-known for
their employment of natural imagery in their critical dis-
courses. Their interests and practice can easily be traced back
to the tradition which the New Account exemplifies. A detailed
discussion of the role of imagery in the Shipin will be given in
Chapter Four of this study.
Z' Poet ry-t al k is a form of literary criticism that consists of
a critic's comments on various aspects of Chinese poetry. With
impressionistic nature, this kind of criticism is usually brief,
and intuitive. No sustained argument or development of ideas
carries from one point to the next. See Indiana Com~anion to
~raditional Chinese Literature, 695. See Wai-Leung Wong, "Selec-
tions of Lines in Chinese Poetry-talk Criticism - - with a Compari-
son between the Selected Couplets and Matthew Arnold's Touch-
stones,'" in William Tay, China and the West: Comparative Litera-
ture Studies (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 1980), 33.
''~i Zehou and Liu Gangji, Zhonscruo meixue shi, Vol. 2 , 96.
A final point we have to mention is that some rhetorical
techniques used in the New Account have developed into important
literary concepts in the Six Dynasties and subsequent criticism.
In the New Account, L i u Yiqing used many compounded words to
describe human beings, their manner and their spirit such as:
feng sheng2' (personal airs or spirit), feng yunE30 (style and
tone), shen yunE3' (spirit and tone), xing (personal
nature and emotions), si zhim3 (exquisite or fine thinking),
gu qig14 (spiritual and aesthetic force) . These were
subsequently used in literary criticism and art appreciation and
correspondingly their connotation expanded. In their literary
criticism both Zhong Rong and Liu Xie use either directly or
with changes some of the expressions found in the New Account.
After their use by such influential literary critics, these
expressions became essential to later critical discourse.
In general, the "personality appraisaln at its first
appearance was closely linked to ranking of officials but later
developed as relatively independent discourse. Its appraisal of
personality, personal disposition and physical appearance for
aesthetic ends proved to be crucial in the evolution of the
literary criticism of the Six Dynasties. The contribution of
the "personality appraisalu according to Li Zehou lies in its
shaping and facilitating the methodology for literary criticism
and art appreciation, which distinguished aesthetic appreciation
22
from pure theoretical reasoning. It was also a valuable source
from which aesthetic concepts could form and develop. 30
There were two other important issues which influenced the
development of literary theory during the Six Dynasties. They
w e r e the famous debates on yan - yig3' (language and meaning)
and on wen - bi (literature and writing) . Since they had
considerable impact on the development of literary theory, I
shall deal with them in detail on the following discussion.
Language and Meaning
The awareness of the paradox of language can be traced back to
the "Appended Words to the Book of Chansesrt ( Zhouvi - Xi ci E3' ) .
Wherein a most frequently quoted dictum goes: "Writing does not
exhaust words; words do not exhaust meaning. I t ' ' Similarly, the
ancient thinker and philosopher, Zhuang Zi, claims:
What the world values as speech are books. Books are
nothing more than words; words have something that it
valued. What is valued in words is meaning; meaning
is derived from something. That from which meaning is
derived cannot be transmitted in language. Yet the
world, because it values language, transmits books .
"Liu Fengzhang, Zhouv i i i zhu . (Taibei : Yiwen yinshuguan,
1982), 83.
Although the world values them, I shall still think
they are not worth valuing, because what the world
values is not valuable. Therefore, what can be seen
when one looks are forms and colours; what can be
heard when one listens are names and sounds. How
lamentable that people of the world should think that
forms, colours, names, and sounds are adequate to
capture the natures of things! If indeed forms,
colours, names, and sounds are not adequate to capture
their natures, then one who knows does not speak and
one who speaks does not know. Yet how could the world
know this?12
Zhuang Zi fully realizes the inadequacy of language, but
remarks also how people give weight to the power of language.
Nevertheless, his final emphasis is on its failings. Here and
elsewhere Zhuang Zi repeatedly voiced his concern that meaning
is poorly conveyed by language. But this emphasis on the
inadequacy of language is only one side of the debate and some
later literati did hold ideas to the contrary. Ouyang JianE3'
(?-A.D.300) of the Wei (220-265) had the opinion that words do
exhaust meaning. Scholars generally believe that there was
insufficient evidence to support Ouyang' s view. In fact, Ouyang
"raises more problems than he solves,tf33 and his arguments do
not constitute a valid refutation of the dictum "words do not
exhaust meaning." Some other thinkers during this period of
12Guo Qingf an, ed. Zhuanszi iishi (Beij ing: Zhonghua shuju,
1982), 488-489. Trans. by James Liu, Lansuase--Paradox--Poetics
(Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1488). 9.
"James J.Y. Liu, Lansuage--Paradox--Poetics, 32.
24
time such as Xun CanB" and Wang Bi also became involved in this
debate.
Thi s awareness of the paradox of language inevitably
affected t he contemporary literary theory especially t ha t of
poetics. The renowned scholar of Chinese literature Yuan
Xingpei has pointed out that since poetry is more about "impres-
sion, emotion, imagination - - the kind of imagistic thinking and
psychological process, it is even harder to express it fully
through language. w 3 4 This paradox of language constantly
troubled poets and critics, whereas the awareness of the
dialectic relationship between language and meaning nevertheless
enlightened more critical thinking. Lu Ji wrote in the preface
to his Wenfu (Rhvme~rose on Literature):
Whenever I compose a literary work myself, I perceive the
nature [of writing] even more keenly, constantly worried
that my ideas may not match things or that my words may not
capture my ideas, for the difficulty lies not in knowing
how, but in being able to do it?
Lu Ji is fully aware of the problem in using language to
convey his intended meaning, but he still engaged in the
difficult task. In fact, the whole Wenfu is an attempt and a
34~uan Xingpei, Zhonquo s hi s e vishu vaniiu (Beij ing : B e i j ing
daxue chubanshe, 1987), 84.
3 S ~ e e James J.Y. Liu, Lansuaqe--Paradox--Poetics, 39.
25
successful one, we may say, to bring to light the laws governing
the art of writing. Lu Ji's writing turned out to be most
meaningful and inspiring to later scholars of literature, which
subtly shows the paradoxical nature of Lu Ji's own words in an
interesting way.
Zhong Rong is the earliest critic who tries to play on the
paradox of language. Putting forward his famous definition of
the poetic device xinY3' (stimulus) , he wrote: "when words come
to an end but meaning lingers on, it is ~ i n g . " ~ ~ This defini-
tion typified the maturity of the Chinese poetics at this time.
It showed that the critics not only were aware of the paradox of
language and were perplexed by it, but were also willing to take
the advantage of this paradox. Their poetics might not emerge
at a purely conscious level, however, their attempt - - working
on the paradoxical relation between words and meanings in
writing - - turned out to be a conscious one. It is this
consideration of the relation between words and meanings that
developed into the most distinctive and influential style of
Chinese poetics. For this I shall give a detailed account in
Chapter Four of this study.
Literature and Writing
Finally, there is the very important discussion in the Six
Dynasties - - the discussion on "literature and writing." We
shall see how it nurtured the literary theory of that time.
The tendency to define the term wenE4*, in the sense of
"literaturefl was not prevalent until the Six Dynasties period.
From the period of pre-Qin to the Han Dynasty, wen remained a
very general and extensive concept. The empirical decrees and
regulations could be called wen; the memorials and remonstra-
tions to the throne were called wen; the classics and scholarly
works and essays were called wen; even the moral attitude toward
writing could be called wen. In sum, almost all the written
words and writings were called wen?' Some Chinese literary
historians characterized this "the most generalized and miscel-
laneous concept of we n. Thi s situation remained unchanged
until the Six dynasties per i od. Scholars started a conscious
effort to differentiate wen and biR" (literally means "writing
brushu) from that time on. Two scholars played significant
roles in the I t wen and bit! discussion, Fan YeE4' and Yan ~anthi'".
"Cai Zhongxiang et al.. Zhonsquo wenxue l i l un s hi , Vol.1. 31.
381bi d.
Fan Ye (398-445) might be considered among the earliest
scholars who tried to distinguish wen from bi . He held the
opinion that the distinction of the two lay in a formal feature
- - rhyme. Writings that were composed with rhyme should be
called wen, and those without rhyme should be considered bi.19
He further indicated that it was more difficult to compose
rhymed wen than unrhymed bi .lo
Yan Yanzhi (384-456) made a more detailed distinction not
only between wen and bi but among wen, bi , and yanB44 (words).
He advocated that the difference of the three depend upon the
degree of the literary embellishment. Writings employing rhyme
as well as embellished language were called wen; those with only
embellished language were called bi; and those containing only
direct exposition but no embellishment at all were called yan.
This distinction based on both auditory effect and embellishing
rhetoric indicated the evolution of the concept of wen. It had
started to move toward what we call wliteraturet8 in the modern
sense. But more interesting was the fact that Yan Yanzhi
maintained the classics belonged to the category of yan,
writings without embelli~hrnent"~. It is obvious enough that Yan
3 9 1 b i d . , Vol. 1, 207- 208.
' ' I b i d . , 208.
Y b i d . , Vol. 1, 208- 209.
28
Yanzhi's criterion of categorization went beyond that of the
tradition according to which the classics should always be in
the forefront as example for any category of writings. Indeed,
the classics were taken as the very standard of writing.
In my view, the important question here is not whether the
distinction of wen and bi made by Fan Ye, Yan Yanzhi and their
contemporaries is precise or not. What seems most surprising is
the effort itself to make such distinction. This constitutes a
conscious foray into the ontology of literature and the problems
associated with it. The distinction made by those ancient
pioneers might have been in a primitive stage, but it yielded a
meaningful expedition into the question for later theorists.
Only with the conscious effort to search for distinctions
between literature and non- literature, and between the unique
characteristics and vocabularies of literature and criticism can
we say that literary theory began developing to become a
substantial and completely independent enterprise.
Taking all the above into consideration, we may conclude,
it is the collective force of the "profound learning," the
"personality appraisal, " the various debates on "language and
meaningM as well as "wen and bim that nurtured and fostered the
literary theory of the Six Dynasties. It is with a view of this
general cultural and theoretical background in mind, we can have
29
a better understanding of Zhong Rong's S h i ~ i n - - a product of
t he aesthetic awareness of the S i x Dynasties.
Endnotes ( Introduction )
1. Zhong Rong
2. Shi pi n
3 . wuyan shi
4 . Shi daxu
5. Dianlun lunwen
6. Lu Ji
7. Wenfu
8. Xiao Tong
9. Wenxuan xu
10. L i u Xie
11 . Wenxin diaolong
12, Lu Xun
13. xuanxue
14. Wang Bi
15. He Yan
16. Tang Yongtong
17. Dong Zhongshu
19. dao a
20 . renwu pinzao A4bSrs1Fr
21. Cao Pi d!rZ
22 . Cao Cao *#
23 . Renwu zhi <A&&>
2 4 . yin-yang lff Fa
2 7 . Liu Yiqing *1 %A
2 8 . Rendan pian <+EM>
f eng shen
feng yun
shen yun
xing qing
si zhi
gu qi
yan-yi zhi bi an
Zhouyi . Xici
Ouyang Jian
Xun Can
xing
wen
bi
Fan Ye
Yan Yanzhi
Ya*
Chapter One
PRAGMATIC PERCEPTION OF POETRY AND ZEONG RONG'S VIEW
The Pragmatic View
The pragmatic perception of poetry flourished from the pr e- Qi n
period through the Han Dynasty and regained its strength later
in the Song Dynasty. Instead of seeing poetry as primarily an
aesthetic entity, the pragmatic perception regards poetry as a
vehicle to fulfil political, moral and educational goals. This
viewpoint dominated Chinese literary thinking for centuries and
its far-reaching influence cannot be ignored even in the modern
t i m e . As commonly accepted, Confucius and the orthodox
Confucianism were the initiator and initiative force of this
pragmatic perception of poetry.
Conf ucius
Confucius' views on poetry are mainly reflected in his Analects
( ~u n y u " ) . Although his commentary focuses on the Classic of
Poetrv (Shiiinq) , his thoughts were developed along the line by
the later Confucian school C o refer to all literature in
general.
3 4
Here is Confucius' longest remark on the usage of the Shi -
Young men, why do you not study poetry? It can be
used to inspire, to observe, to make you fit for com-
pany, to express grievances; near at hand, [it will
teach you howl to serve your father, and [looking]
further, [how] to serve your sovereign; it also
enables you to learn the names of many birds, beasts,
plants, and trees-'
It would be beneficial to know what Confucius means by "to
inspiretf (xing8'1, "to observen ( guanE3) , I1to be fit for com-
pany" (quns4) , and to express grievancesu (yuanE5) in order to
grasp the core of Confucius' view on poetry. According to Zhu
XiB6, xi ng is ganfa yizhiE7, which means Ifto get inspiration of
aspiration and ideas."' Reading a poem one may associate one's
own situations with that in the poem and further get
enlightenment of some sort of truth. There are many illustra-
tions of this point in the Analects.
T o observel1 ( gum) , was explained by Zheng XuanE' as to
"observe the rise and decline of moral custom^.^ Zhu Xi inter-
'Lunvu, 17 : 9. Wang Xiyuan, ed. , Lunw Tonsshi, 2 vols (Taipei :
Xuesheng shu j u, 1981) . Trans. by James J. Y. Liu, in Chinese
Theories of Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
l975), 109.
'Cited in Cai Zhongxiang et . a1 . , Zhonssuo wenxue lil un shi ,
vol.1, 18.
35
preted it as "observe the success and f a i l u r e s [of govern-
ment] . " = The observer however may not necessarily be the ruler.
Anyone with concern should also be able to find out the politi-
cal situation and local mores in a region from the poems.
"To be fit for companyN was annotated by Kong AnguoES as
"to discuss and deliberate in company, that is, by the use of
poetry, one can get refinement in one's speech and better rea-
soning in discussion with others.
Kong Anguo i n t e r p r e t e d "to express grievancest1 as "griev-
ances against the government. l t 5 This interpretation is con-
sistent with Confucius' urge that the way to serve one's ruler
is "not to cheat him but to point out his mistakes." ( l un-
YU .xianwenElO) . As long as the proper poems were quoted while
expressing grievances it would be acceptable.
These four concepts - - xing, gum, qun and yuan - - have
been regarded as the most representative and important view of
Confucius toward poetry. And they have been quoted repeatedly
throughout the history as canonic precedent for judging poetry.
' See James J.Y. Liu, Chinese Theories of Literature, 110.
*Cited in Cai Zhongxiang et al., Zhongcruo wenxue l i l u n shi,
vol.1, 18.
36
A close look at these four concepts may lead one to conclude
that Confucius was not concerned with poetry but rather the use
to which it was put. What Confucius provided to young people
was a guidance on how to read poetry and how to make proper use
of it. These four concepts indicate four pragmatic functions of
poetry. They seem different in appearance but are actually
interlocking aspects of the ultimate function of poetry, that is
to set one on his way to serve his father, and further or
finally to serve his ruler.
In addition to these four functions of poetry, Confucius
also made comments in the Lunvu in which he regards poetry as a
fountain of knowledge and an important tool in the exchange of
ideas. By learning poetry, one can more effectively communicate
with others and thus accomplish his task. Confucius once said
to his son Bo YuE1': "If you don't study the Shiiinq, you are
unable to speak properly. u 6 On another occasion, he questioned :
What use is it for a man to be able to recite the
three hundred poems [of the Shiiinq] by heart if,
although he has learned so many [poems], when he is
entrusted with work in the government he does not know
how to carry it out, or when he is sent abroad on a
mission he is unable to answer questions on his own
account?'
Confucius objects to a superficial learning of the Shijinq. He
sees the importance of the S h i j i n q as essential equipment for a
civil servant to carry out his official duty. It is al s o an aid
to diplomacy, as a model for proper speech on difficult occa-
sions.
Some scholars have considered Confucius a capable literary
critics. Objecting to this view. Donald Holzman has correctly
pointed out:
There can be no doubt as to the importance Confucius
accorded to the Shiiinq; but ther; can be no doubt
either as to the extra-literary importance he accorded
it: the Shiiinq was important not as a work of lit-
erature. but ai a tool of diplomacy, an extra-liteary
guide to morality and an aid to social living . . . g
I do not conceive t he necessity here to argue whether
Confucius is or is not a capable literary critic since every
exposition is conditional. Confucius was living more than two
' Lunvu, 13 : 5. Translation from Donald Holzman, Vonf ucius and
Ancient Chinese Literary CriticismIr1 in Adele Austin Rickett, ed.,
Chinese Amroaches to Literature from Confucius to Lians Ch'i-
ch'ao, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19781, 38.
'See Donald Holzman, Vonf ucius and Ancient Chinese Literary
Criticism, 24, note 2 .
38
thousand years ago and it is not appropriate to use modem
standards of literary criticism to judge him. However, it is
important to ask why Confucius interprets the poems in the
Shiiinq in the way he does.
Confucius devoted his entire life to the effort to restore
the rites of the early Zhou Dynasty (1100-722 B.C. ) . What
constantly occupied Confucius' mind, was a benevolent ruler,
good social order and a virtuous people. With this in mind we
can understand better why Confucius interpreted the poems in the
Shiiinq in the way he di d. Donald Holzman holds the belief that
Confucius deliberately misinterpreted the poems in the Shiiinq
in order to use them as moral lessons . l a I agree with Holzman
that Confucius di d misinterpret some poems in the Shiiinq but
doubt he di d so deliberately. I would rather propose that, the
immediate social, moral crisis of his times were what commanded
his attention. As he himself once s ai d: "The benevolent see
benevolence, the wise see wisdom, u61" These "extra meanings"
might be what he saw from his standpoint.
The Confucian viewpoint on literature came to be regarded
as orthodoxy in Chinese literary criticism. Its influence on
later criticism was profound. Although there are many schools
39
of literary theories from late Han Dynasty onward, the orthodox
Confucian literary view remained dominant.
Great Preface
Another m a j o r critical t ex t on poetry in the earlier period is
the "Great Preface to the Shi j i ng. " It is generally believed to
have been written by Wei ~ong'" of the first century A.D. and
is regarded as a summary of the pre-Qin Confucianist view on
poetry. It has generated enormous debates and discussions a m o n g
the scholars throughout each historical period and as well
exerted tremendous influence on the subsequent literary criti -
cism.
Modern scholars have been troubled constantly by the text
of the "Great Preface. " They have found it "a difficult and
sometimes confusing text, 'C its argument ~all~sive,~~ moving
abruptly "from one subject to anotherw and " t h e connections
between points are somewhat weak. 'I" and it has presented "the
most glaring non-sequiturs. " 1 3 These complaints may be legit-
"Steven Van Zoeren. Poetrv and Personalitv: Readins. Exesesis.
and Hermeneutics in Traditional China (Stanford: Stanford Univer-
sity Press, 1991) , 95.
121bi d. , 97,
"James J.Y. Li u. Chinese Theories of Literature, 119.
40
imate to a certain extent. However, despite this allusiveness,
the central theme of the "Great Prefacen is actually quite obvi-
ous. The thematic thread that runs through the whole text is,
according to the Chinese literary theorist Guo Shaoyu that
Ifpoetry must serve the political purpose of the ruling class. "14
With this thematic direction, it spelt out the political and
social functions of poetry and placed emphasis on the close tie
between poetry and politics. Thus it further carried out
Confucius's proposal that poetry should l1serve one's father and
the ruler." Let us give a closer look at how the "Great
Prefacew puts forward its main theme.
The "Great Preface" at the very beginning provided an elab-
oration of an influential passage in the Book of Documents,
which is commonly regarded as the earliest commentary on poetry
in China. The original passage explains the relationship
between poetry and "intent of the heart" or mind. The harmony
between songs and words, and between tones and intervals is also
considered. the "Great PrefaceH says:
Poetry is where the intent of the heart [or mind]
goes. Lying in the heart [or mind] , it is "intent ; "
when uttered in words, it is "poetry: When an
emotion stirs inside, one expresses it in words;
finding this inadequate, one sighs over it; not
"GUO Shaoyu, ed. Zhoncrsuo l i d a i wenlun xuan (Shanghai:
Shanghai guj i chubanshe, 1979), ~01.1, 68.
content with this, one sings it in poetry; still not
satisfied, oce unconsciously dances with one's hands
and feet?
This touched upon the expressive aspect of poetry by lin-
king the intent (or emotions) of the poet with the poem. Un-
fortunately, the "Great Pref acei1 did not further develop this
idea. On the contrary, its emphasis shifted to the didactic and
political functions of poetry soon after the above frequently
quoted and celebrated statement.
The emphasis on the moralistic use of poetry is not a pure
invention of the "Great Preface" but a continuation from earlier
times when "the former kings used it to make permanent [the tie
between] husband and wife, to perfect filial reverence, to
deepen human relationships, to beautify moral instruction, and
to improve social customs. "16 We are not informed on how the
former kings used poetry to inspire their people and thus
establish the perfect social order. However, Guo Shaoyu' s
annotation on this point may provide us with an answer. Guo
indicated that music and poetry were from a same origin in the
beginning in China. During their development, they have been
lSIbid., 6 3 . Translation from James J.Y. Liu, in Chinese
Theories of Literature, 69.
i d . , 6. Translation from James J . Y. Liu, Chinese Theories
of Literature, 111-12.
42
always connected to each other. For illustration, Guo quoted us
a relevant paragraph in the Book of Rites:
Music is what sages loved. It can be used to purify
common people's hearts, it deeply moves them and
transforms their mores and custom. Because of this,
our former kings endeavour to promote musical educa-
tion. ( Li i i . y u e i i Hl q 1
Obviously. this specifies the didactic usage of music.
This passage and that in the "Great Prefacen have some parallel
meaning. They can mutually explicate each other."
The "Great Prefacevi did not stop here, it further pointed
out an effective way with which the political and ethical order
in society can be better established.
The one above uses feng [air/moral influence] to
transf o m those below, and those below use feng [airs/
admonition] to criticize the one above; when the main
intent is set to music and the admonition is indirect,
then the one who speaks does not commit any offense,
while it is enough for the one who listens to take
warning. Therefore, it is called feng [airs/moral
influence/admoni tion] .
"~honssuo l i d a i wenl un xuan. Vol . 1, 65.
l 0 Tb i d . , 6 5 , note 17.
"Maoshi zhenwi , Vol. 1, 7. Translation from James J. Y. Liu,
Chinese Theories of Literature, 112.
43
This suggests the kind of communication and interaction
between a ruler and his subjects. Not only must a ruler use
poetry as a device to influence and morally transform his sub-
j ects, the subjects in turn were also bearing responsibilities
to remind and assist the ruler to keep the social order with the
aid of poetry. Of course, the remonstrance provided from below
should be indirect and subtle because the whole purpose is t o
help the r ul er to maintain the l1 kingly wayf1 ( w a n g d a ~ ~ ~ ~ ) , the
rites and righteousnesst1 (liyiR1') , flpolitical/ moral educationft
( zhengjiaoal') , the good politics ( zhengzhiE") and llsocial
customsN ( m i n ~ u ~ ' ~ ) as the "Great Pref aceff proclaimed.
Reading through the "Great Prefacev, we see clearly that it
concentrates on t he conduct of two basic units of society, "the
familyn and " t he government;" and it is concerned with the
relationship of t he two parts of the state, the ruler and the
subject. The central theme thus remains that poetry as a means
and device can be used to fulfil the greater political and
ethical purposes since like music, poet ry has the power to move
the readers and effects their moral attitudes. Theref ore
however elusive the arguments in the "Great Prefacen seem to be,
it is consistent in its central theme.
Zhu Zi qi ng observes a connection between the "Great P r e f -
aceu and Confucian concepts of poetry. He believes the func-
44
tions of poetry the "Great Prefacen emphasized were: "To make
permanent [the t i e between] husband and wife, to perfect filial
reverence, to deepen human relationships, to beautify moral
instruction, and to improve social customsu have been developed
from Confucius' concepts to inspire, t o observe, to make you
fit for company, to express grievances." Confucius' famous
conclusion that poetry should be used to serve one's father and
one's ruler is too a source for the " G r e a t Prefacew to draw its
ideas. 20
W i t h t he increasing i nf hence of Conf ucius , the pragmatic
concept of poetry or literature in general reached its full
development in the Han Dynasty. Particularly noticeable during
the reign of Emperor Wu (141-87 BC) , Confucianism was recognized
as the orthodox ideology - - an effort of Dong Zhongshu, (ca.175-
ca.105 BC), a Confucian theorist.
At a time when Confucianism achieved its status o f supre-
macy, its didactic and transforming theory was also highly
esteemed, which probably explains why t he " G r e a t Prefacen came
to the fore with its pragmatic perception of poetry.
2 0 Z h ~ Zi qi ng. Shi van zhi bi an (Beij ing: Zhonggua shuj u, 1956) ,
45
The "Great Preface" has stimulated much discussion. Almost
all the renowned scholars in Chinese history have given their
account of it. This indicates the important position that the
"Great Preface" holds in the history of Chinese literary theory.
Yang Xiong
Yang ~iong~'~, an influential Han adherent to the pragmatic
perception of literature, was a Confucian scholar, literary
theorist and rhymeprose ( f u E2 ' ) writer. As a court literary
man, he was engaged in elevating the classics as the supreme
model for all writing:
Books, which do not conform to the style of the
classics are non-books and words which do not conform
to the style of the classics are non-words. for these
are useless."
In this way, Yang Xiong set up a simple arbitrary factor to
evaluate a work - - its faithfulness to Confucianism; he rejected
the qualities of individual writings.
In his own practice of rhymeprose, Yang Xiong claimed in
the prefaces of four of his major fu that his purpose in writing
'l~anszi Favan.
Zhur i jicheng, ed., Vol. 7 (Beijing: Zhonghua
shuju, 19541, 14.
was to "provide admonition. Originally, Yang Xiong admired
Sima Xiangru's fu. He praised Sima's talents and imitated his
style. However, Yang Xiong later criticized Sima's fu because
he felt that, though they were "written in beautiful style.
lengthy and descriptive, they had little use. ( ~a_van. iunziS2*)
He held a similar view towards his own fu. He was very fond of
writing fu when he was young. His "Fu of the Sweet Springtt was
written as an indirect criticism of Emperor Xiao Cheng' sEZ3
extravagance. However, Yang Xiong found out the fu did not make
the Emperor realize his mistakes at all - - he continued with his
palace construction. The fu form could not fulfil the utmost
purpose of admonition because. as Yang Xiong believed, its ex-
ubexant style simply distracted the reader. For this reason
Yang Xiong decided to give up writing them. He later described
the fu form as an unworthy tipetty skill like the carving of
insects," and claimed "a mature man would not do it againrt
( Favan. wuzi) .6' 4 22
It is obvious that the pragmatic motif in writing indeed
affected Yang Xiong's attitude towards literature. His remark
that writing fu was a "petty skill like the carving of insects1'
has been taken up repeatedly, especially by Confucian moral-
2 2 Y a n s z i Fanvan. 4 . Yang Xiong' s different attitudes towards
fu was also mentioned by Guo Shaoyu. Zhon_souo lidai wenlun xuan,
~01.1, 96-
istic critics whenever they disapproved
For example, the Tang Dynasty poet Wang
47
of a particular work.
B O ~ ~ ~ ( 6 4 8 - 6 7 5 ) , one of
the If four masters of the Early Tang, If used Yang Xiong' s words to
attack Lu Ji's poetic view that Itpoetry traces (or originates
from) emotions and is ornate, " and "rhymeprose (fu) describes
objects and is limpid. u23 Wang BO says:
Where a superior man exerts his mind and labours his
spirit, he should aim at the great and far-reaching
and not merely at " tracing emotionsn and ffdescribing
objects;If petty skills comparable to the carving of
insects. u24
What is the "great and far-reachingtf then? As Wang Bo
proclaims: It is "to promote righteousness, to correct im-
morality." If one cannot fulfil this in one's writing, he
should just stop writing, as Yang Xiong did with the f ~ . lfZ5
13~uo Shaoyu, Zhoncrcruo l i d a i we n l u n xuan, Vol. 1, 171.
"Cited in Luo Genze, Zhonasuo wenxue ~ i ~ i n s s h i (Shanghai:
Gudian wenxue chubanshe, 19571, vol.2, 118). Translation from
James J.Y. Liu, Chinese Theories of Literature, 28; Slightly
revised by this writer. Here and elsewhere I have used existing
translations of both the S h i ~ i n and of secondary sources. In many
cases, I have altered them by changing no more than a word or two
to match my translations of technical terms or occasionally a
phrase to fit the point being made at the time. By so doing I also
try to call attention to other studies and sometimes to emphasize
differences of interpretation.
25See Guo Shaoyu, Zhonsguo l i d a i wenlun xuan, Vol. 2, 8.
48
For Yang Xiong as well as Wang Bo, writing i s not an end i n
itself. Its importance lies mostly in its function to give
admonition or to foster morality. Violating this basic pr i n-
ciple, a writer's works should be regarded as worthless. What
we are hearing here is an echo of the "Great Preface."
Zhi Yu
Another noteworthy person in the history of Chinese literary
criticism is Zhi ? - 3 a Jin Dynasty scholar. Zhi Yu
is a figure between past and future for he adhered mainly to the
Confucian tradition and held the pragmatic view towards litera-
ture yet his remarks on modes of writing have inspired later
scholars, especially Zhong Rong . 26
Zhi Yu holds the belief that literature of different kinds
were created primarily to me e t practical needs. In the very
beginning of his famous essay, "Discourse on the Different
Traditions in Literature, " he states :
Literature [wenzhang] is that by which we manifest the
signs above and below [i.e., in heaven and on earth],
clarify the order of human relationships, exhaust
'%ee Pauline Yu, The Readino of Imaserv in the Chinese Poetic
Tradition (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987). 163-164.
principles, and fully understand human nature, in
order to investigate the suitability of all t h i n g s 2 '
He continues :
When the goodness of kings flowed, then the poetry was
composed. When accomplishments reached their utmost,
then hymns began. u28
Not only was literature obliged from the very beginning to
meet practical ends, its functions by and large were political
and ethical. Above all, it was a response to the ethics and
accomplishments of the kings.
Zhi Yu too had his standards for good literature. First of
all, good literature must follow the examples of the classics.
He praised Ban GU' ss2' and Shi Cen' sEt e hymns for they are simi-
lar in both style and idea to the Hymn of Lu (Lu song)'29 in the
S h i j i n q . He praised Yang Xiong's Hymn of Zhao ChongguoE3',
because it had the style of a hymn but contained elements of the
ya"' style of the Shi i i nq. Zhi Yu criticized the five-word
poetry which began to flourished during his time. He admitted
"Zhi Yu, in Quan s hanwu sandai oinhan sanquo l i u c h a o wen
(Taibei: Shijie shuju, n.d. Vol. 4 . Translation is from James
J. Y . Liu, Chinese Theories of Literature, 20.
' ' I b i d . Translation from Pauline Yu, The Readincr of Imagerv,
63.
50
that the form was more intricate but was not "orthodox in t he
sound." He considered that t he four-word s t yl e alone could be
called orthodox, it belonged to "the sound of eleganceu (yayin
zhi yun, siyan w e i zhengm2) . z 9
Secondly, a good work should not 'violate the gr eat
principle and be harmful for the political /moral educationl1
( bei d a t i er hai zhengjiao) . He commented on Mei Cheng' sB3'
wQi f aM6' i fu with approval for though it was written w i t h
elegant words, the element of admonition was not overshadowed.
On the other hand, he condemned some fu of his day because they
violated t he proper course of literature and damaged the
political and the didactic elements.30
Zhi Yu appreciated the "Fu of the Ancientu for they were
"based on emotions and reason while allusion played only a
secondary role." J us t as our hope for a less didactic view of
literature is raised, Zhi Yu concludes that the great beauty of
the "Fu of the Ancient" lies in its starting "from the emotion
and stopping a t propriety and rightne~s."~' The principle of
the "Great Prefacet1 is fi rml y emphasized once again.
51
There was in the literary criticism of earlier Six Dyn-
asties, a change of tone to st r ess the aesthetic merit of lit-
erature and its specificity, which can be found in essays of Cao
Pi and Lu Ji. Zhi Yu, on the contrary, still insisted on the
conventional moral, didactic emphasis of literature and objected
to any style that did not conform to that of the classics,
This, I believe, nevertheless reflected the complexity in the
sphere of literary thinking of that age. But when w e understand
that Zhi Yu was an official of Rites and dedicated his life to
restoring ancient ritual, we can see why he held the view of
poetry and literature that he did.32
What we have reviewed above represents a critical tradition
that dominated Chinese literary thinking for ages. The critics
under this tradition were not able to perceive poetry as an
autonomous entity but believed instead the value and beauty of
poetry resided primarily in its uses as a powerful tool to
fulfil political and didactic goals. Confucius, as is commonly
accepted, bears the responsibility for this tradition. Donald
Holzman suggests an explanation of Confucius' attitude toward
poetry:
"see Cai Zhongxiang, et a1 . , Zhoncrsuo wenxue 1 il un shi , Vol -1,
Confucius was, after all, a man of his times and his
interests were inevitably moulded by the extraordi -
narily urgent moral, social, and political crises that
beset his contemporary China. 3'
As a philosopher, thinker and educator, Confucius was
probably accustomed to see only the significant role poetry
played in the political and didactic program he designed to save
the state (I have discussed this issue a little earlier in this
chapter). However, when we recognize Confucius as the initiator
of the pragmatic theory we should not overlook other possibil-
ities that contributed to such a powerful tradition. For
example, from the very beginning, the broad, general concept
wens3' and its use created obstacles for specific literary
theories to take shape (see "Literature and Writingt1 in Intro-
duction) .
In this regard, there is another matter worth our atten-
tion. It is the subject of man. What was the ancient concept
towards man and man' s life and how did t h i s concept develop?
Thi s has everything t o do with critical views of literature.
Donald Holzman has put it this way:
As long as man's life was regarded as something
exclusively state-centred, as long as man remained
"Donald Holzman, I1Conf ucius and Ancient Chinese Literary
Criticism," 39.
almost exclusively a political animal in China,
literary criticism stayed pretty much as Confucius
left it?
I would also add: as long as man's thought was exclusively
dominated by a single school of thought, orthodox Confucianism,
for example, literary criticism could hardly be a thing in
itself. That probably explains why the collapse of the Han
Empire and the diversity in modes of thought brought about the
new atmosphere in literature and literary criticism, which has
always been remembered as the "literary awareness. "j 5
Zhong Rong's View of Poetry
as an Autonomous and Aesthetic Entity
The Awareness of the Difference
Zhong Rong's conception of poetry is in line with the general
Six Dynasties awareness of the aesthetics of literature. It has
best been illustrated on his comments of Cao hi's'^^ poetry.
he expression is drown from Li Zehou. In his work, The Path
of Beauty, Li writes: Literary awareness1' is an aesthetic concept
that refers not to literature alone. In other arts, especially
painting and calligraphy, such an awareness also began in the Wei
and Jin and manifested itself in much the same way, that is in the
tendency to stress, study and discuss creative laws and aesthetic
f o m . See his The Path of Beauty ( B e i j ing: Morning Glory, 1987) ,
131.
54
After acknowledging Cao Zhils excellence in his poetic tempera-
ment, diction, sentiment and style, Zhong Rong states:
Verily, in poetry [ w ~ z h a n ~ ~ ] prince Ssu of Chen
(Tslao Chih) is like the Duke of Chou and Confucius in
the human ethics; [renl~n~~~ldragon and phoenix among
those with scales and feathers, the zithers and pan-
pipes among musical instruments, the embroidered
sacrificial garments among the products of women' s
handicraft _ 639 36
Zhong Rong praises Cao Zhils poetry very highly and con-
siders it to be comparable to all the excellent achievements of
the world, be they significant human ethics, beautiful inhabit-
ants of the animated world or the refined articles of human
artistic effort.
There is another aspect of this comment that deserves our
attention. We see that Zhong Rong is most clearly aware of the
difference between poetry and human ethics as two separate
entities. Sounding rather like a non-problem for the modern
reader, this was still a somewhat perplexing issue in Zhong
Rong's time which lacked a clear distinction between pure lit-
erature (as we understand it today) and writings, or useful
literature which included treatises essentially on human ethics
''Shipin, 41. Translation from Chu Whan Cha, "On Enquiries for
Ideal Poetry-An Instance of Chung Hung. l1 Tamkana Review 6.2 - 7.1
(1975-19761, 53, revised by this writer. See Endnote 39 in Chapter
One.
&
55
that were cultivated by Confucius. At a time, when Confucius
was still regarded by many as the source of inspiration and wis-
dom, as the standard of the all-embracing wen or wenzhang, it is
remarkable for Zhong Rong to differentiate between wenzhang and
renl un, and to compare the poet Cao Zhi to the human saint,
Confucius.
We may recall at this point what has been mentioned earlier
in the Introduction of this study, wen in Pre-Qin time is a very
general and all-embracing term. It denoted at once the meaning
of culture, scholarship, civilization, writing or sometimes
cultural ref inenent or outward embellishment. 37 During Han
times, literature was still perceived largely as an inherent
part of learning and it did not designate the meaning of belles
lettres but, instead, learning, scholarship, erudition and
education. However, starting from this time, the word, wen,
sometimes compounded as wenzhang, took on a "narrowerI1 and
"pureru conception of l1 literature, If and a meaning distinct from
culture and learning was gradually emerging. ''
3'~arnes J. Y. Liu, Chinese Theories of Literature, 8 .
le1bid. , 100. And David Knechtges , The Han Rha~sodv : A S tudv
of the Fu of Yanq Hsiunq (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
19761, 89, cited from Guo Shaoyu, Zhonsouo wenxue p i ~ i n q shi (Hong
Kong: Hongzhi shudian, 1934), 40.
56
The Six Dynasties period is an important transitional
period in regard to the concept of wen or wenzhang. On the one
hand, there already occurred the famous debate of wen and biEio
(Literature and writing) in the attempt to distinguish litera-
ture from non-literature and even prior to this there were
collective efforts of the Cao brothers and Lu Ji to promote the
status of literature and give it more specific definition.
However, on the other hand, the term wen or wenzhang had not yet
acquired the exclusive meaning of literature in the sense of
belles lettres. This can be witnessed from the elaboration of
the prominent literary critic Liu Xie on wenzhang:
The writings of the Sages and worthy men are called in
general by the name wenzhang (or, embellished pat-
tern) . What is this, if it is not embelli~hrnent?~~
( qing caiE4')
Wenzhang thus is a name for the important writings of the
sages and worthy men. By going through Liu Xie's work, we can
see that the wenzhang of the sages and worthy men he refers to
are mainly the "five classicsfM namely, the Book of Change, the
Book of Historv, the Book of Poetrv, the Book of Rites, and the
S~rinq and Autumn4'.
"wenxin diaolonq z hu (Hong Kong: Shangwu yinshuguan, 19601,
537. Hereafter referred to as Wenxin diaolong.
''See Liu X i e ' s If ZongjingIt in Wenxin diaolonq.
The Jin scholar Z h i Yu gave his opinion of wenzhang in his
"Discourse on the Different Writings:"
Wenzhang is that by which one makes known images above
and below, clarifies the principles of human relation-
ships, probes meaning thoroughly, and exhausts all of
human nature, so as to examine the proper order of the
myriad phenomena. When the goodness of kings flowed,
then the poetry was composed. When accomplishments
reached their utmost, then hymns began. When virtue
and merit were established, then they were made known
in inscriptions (rninga2) . When admirable men died,
then dirges (1 ei s4) ) were collected. Sacrificial
priests presented words, and officials criticized the
over-sights of kings4'.
A concept with such generality and endowed with ethical
functions, wenzhang seems to refer to all the writings that come
to serve specific pragmatic purposes. Although Zhi Yu's work
was recognized by scholars of ancient and modern times as an
admirable effort for its differentiation of diverse literary
genres, we could hardly sense here that poetry is a separate
entity of its own, probably, at most a moral response to the
virtuous conduct of kings. This can be seen more clearly in his
definitions of the three poetic modes, fu, bi and xing, which
shall be dealt with a bit later.
"Zhi Yu, in Quan shanopu sandai, Vol. 4. Translation from
Pauline Yu, The Readins of Imasery in the Chinese Poetic Tradition,
163; revised by this writer.
We have seen
as an independent
to meet pragmatic
58
that, traditionally, poetry was never treated
realm, rather a useful tool that could be used
ends. It was therefore assumed to function
accordingly. Poetry, the Shiiing, was indeed held high in Han
times and was assigned to the category of the Confucian jing
xu@44 - - the Itscriptural scholarship." In that extreme circum-
stance, "every sentence in the Shiiinq was entrusted the duty
and function of justifying all f eng~u' ' ~ (custom) and zheng-
jiao- "'" With this background in mind, we appreciate Zhong
Rong's awareness of the difference between poetry and human
ethics better.
Zhong Rong' s awareness of the intrinsic qualities and
functions of poetry is revealed in his objection to the over
application of allusions and references in poetry. There was a
tendency during the Qi and Liang periods (479-558) of the
Southern Dynasties to use excessive historical allusions in
poetry, thus poetic writings virtually became "book ~opying."~'
Zhong Rong describes the situation this way:
[The poets of that age] did not value originality in
diction but competed in employing curious allusions.
12Luo Genze, Zhonqsuo wenxue ~ i ~ i n c r s h i , 71. See Endnote 17 for
zhengj i ao .
"Shioin, 21; Li Zehou and Liu Gangji. Zhonqquo meixue shi
(Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1987), Vol. 2, 792.
Since then this practice has gradually become a habit
among poets, so that there are no lines in a poem
without allusive phrase and no phrases without allus-
i ve words. Being cramped to the point of confinement
and patched up, the verses have become extremely
impaired. It is generally very rare that one comes
across the poets who are able to convey spontaneous
yet refined sentiments in their poems. Since their
poems fail to be elegant in their own right, it may be
f easi bl e that historical allusions are added- Thus,
although one is no genius, it may be possible to
exhibit one's knowledge of books.646 44
Zhong Rong remarks on the confusion between poetic composi-
tion and the di spl ay of knowledge and learning, between creative
talent and making
hardly finds any
with allusions.
allusion. As a result of this practice, one
l1 elegant " poems but only those overburdened
As we have seen and shall see further in the subsequent
parts of this study, Zhong Rong is greatly concerned with the
artistic effects of poetry, and with its spontaneous expressions
as well as the elegance or "true beautyu of it. In this regard,
any violation of this would be considered an "extreme impair-
ment." To correct this and other damage done to poetry is the
very reason that Zhong Rong wrote his S h i p i n . Zhong Rong
argues :
44Shi~in, 23. Translation from Chu Whan Cha, "On Enquiries for
Ideal Poetry - - An Instance of Chung Hung," 49; revised by this
writer.
It is true that documents dealing with the ordering of
the state draw upon extensive erudition about ancient
matters; and in making known virtuous conduct and in
writing point-counterpoint arguments and memorials to
the throne, one should explore past accomplishments
thoroughly. But when it comes to expressing human
feeling and emotion in verse (yinyong qi ngxi np' ) ,
what is praiseworthy about the use of allusion
(yongshiB4') ? [The line by HsO Kan (170-217) ] "Think-
ing of you is like flowing watert1 merely relates what
struck the eye. [Ts'ao Chih's line] "The high ter-
race---much sad wind" simply states what was seen.
[The line by Chang Hua] "In the clear morning I climb
Lung Peaku made no use of allusion- And as for [Hsieh
Ling-ycin's line] T h e bright moon shines on the piled
snow, " could this have been derived from a canonical
or historical text? Examine the best expressions past
and present; the majority of them are not patched or
borrowed. They all derive from the direct pursuit of
the s~bject."'~ ''
There are some noteworthy points in this passage. First,
Zhong Rong has made an important distinction between the com-
position of state documents and that of poetry in terms of their
different natures and functions. He maintains that it is
necessary for the former to borrow more from the classics to
strengthen their arguments, whereas the latter is nothing more
than a natural outpouring of inner feelings, so the excessive
use of allusions can only be harmful to poetry. From Zhong
Rong's practice of ranking and evaluation, one can see that he
focuses mainly on the creative uniqueness of each poet's talent,
skill, style and so on-but not on the thoughts and ideas carried
i 5 Sh i ~ i n , 21. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, "The
Nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pintt1 240; Revised by this writer.
61
in the poems. This makes Zhong Rong's Shiwin a specialized work
of literary criticism rather than a collection of socio-politi-
cal comments mixed with certain literary insights.
Second, through examining the outstanding poetry of the
past and of his own time, Zhong Rong finds in them all a special
quality (zhi xunES0) - the Ifdirect pursuit of the subject. l1 By
promoting zhi xun, Zhong Rong, in fact, sets up his own aes-
thetic standards for poetry.
Z h i Xun
What is zhi xun or the direct pursuit of the subject then?
Zhong Rong did not provide a direct answer on this point, but we
may deduce his meaning from his general remarks. Zhi xun is
obviously the antithesis of yong shi"' (excessive use of
allusion) and bu j iaE5' (borrowing from or imitating canonical
or historical texts). It has something to do with the ftcreative
talent" of t he individual poet, not his erudition in the
classics.
The literal meaning of zhi xun is to "seek directly.
Doubtless, it is the poet who must "s eek directlylt in his poetic
creation. But what to seek? There are also indications in the
above lines of Zhong Rong. The poet must seek after his emotion
and nature since those are what poetry is supposed to sing of
( yinyong qi ngxi ng) 46, something to do with Zhong Rong ' s under-
standing of the nature and function of poetry (see Chapter Two) .
The poet must seek what "strikes the eyeu (ji muES3) , and "what
is seen1' ( suo j i anB5' ), to describe natural scenery rather than
rely on "book copying. Ultimately, it is the fusion of the
subjective emotion of the poet and the objective scenery that
the poet ought to follow. The modern scholar Xu ~ e n y u ~ ~ ~
suggested in his work on the S h i ~ i n that zhi xun can be
explained by the Ming critic Wang F'uzhi'sEs6 (1619-1692) famous
dictum: "If it comes out of the scene and comes out of the
emotion, the line will naturally be superiori1 (yin qing yin
jing, zi ran 1 i ngmi aoES7) . " By going through Wang Fuzhi ' s
comments we can find an affinity between his views and Zhong
Rongfs. Wang Fuzhi says:
"Pool and pond grow with spring-time plantsM
[Hsieh Ling-yun]
"Butterflies flutter in the southern gardensu
(Chang Hsieh (d.ca.307)]
"The bright moon shines on drifts of snowm
[Hsieh Ling-yun]
In each of these, what is in the mind and what is in
the eye are fused together. Once they come out in
language, we get a perfect sphere of pearl and the
moist sensation of jade: what is essential is that in
"XU Wenyu. Zhons Rons S h i ~ i n J i a n ~ s h u (Chengdu : Chengdu guj i
shudian, 19831, 22.
each case the poet looks to what comes from his own
heart and to what meets the scene (Ching) at hand?
It is easy for us to see that Wang's style of commentary
derives from that of Zhong Rong. In fact, the same lines of Xie
Lingyun, "the bright moon shines on drifts of snowu also appears
in Zhong Rong's discussion of zhi xun. Wang's is a more
elaborated comment but the central idea is the fusion of the in-
ternal feelings and the external scenes, and this echoes Zhong
Rong's conception of zhi xun.
Another comment of Wang Fuzhi on creative activity will
also serve to illustrate Wang's point. The Tang poet Jia ~ a o ' ~ '
was famous for his painstaking craftsmanship in poetry writing.
He once described his own creative experience as such: V3vo
poetic lines were written in three years; tears ran down once I
read them. uE59 There is a vast circulating llpush/knocktt ( tui -
q i a ~ ' ~ ~ ) story about Jia Dao. It says once writing a poem, Jia
was troubled by the problem of which verb to use in the line:
"The monk pushes/knocks at the gate beneath the moon. " He paced
up and down on the street for long and finally ran into Han Yu
(another famous poet) who suggested that llknock" would be a
''Translation from Stephen Owen, Readinss in Chinese Literarv
Thousht , (Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, - 1992) , 461.
64
better choice. The llpush/knockn was used afterwards as an
expression to refer to the act of deliberation.
Wang Fuzhi comments on Jia' s careful weighing of verbs in
his Xi tans vonsri x u 1 un :
If the scene meets mind, then it may be itpush" or it
may be but it will have to be one or the
other. As long as it follows from scene and follows
from emotion, the line would naturally be superior.
There will be none of the bother of debating the right
choice. 49
This too emphasizes the meeting of the inner experience and the
external world. The fusion of the two will naturally result in
superb poetic lines. What Wang Fuzhi indicates is that as long
as a poet has actually experienced a scene and his subjective
state of mind has a meeting with that scene, the right choice is
made automatically. The painful striving for the word would
prove unnecessary.
The commonground in Zhong Rong's zhi xun and Wang Fuzhi's
yin qing yin jing is the objection to purposeful and unnatural
labour in poetic writing, that is, the borrowing and patching up
of allusions and historical references criticized by Zhong Rong
49Stephen Owen, Readinss in Chinese Literarv Thouqht, 462;
revised by this writer.
65
and the painstaking craftsmanship displayed by Jia Dao. The
seamless f us i on of the inner and outer is central to both Zhong
and Wang' s theories of creativity.
Xing, Bf, Fu
Following the differentiation he sees between poetic composition
and human ethics, Zhong Rong further exemplifies his poetic
theories by posing three poetic principles the poet should
follow in the creative process. They are fu, bi and xing.
Though an old formula, t hey were endowed w i t h some innovative
insights and became the essential elements in Zhong Rong's
creative apparatus.
Ideal poetry must make a proper use of the three poetic
principles -- exposi t i on ( fu) , comparison (bi) , stimulus k i n g ) .
This emphasis on three elements for expression in poetry is a
tradition in Chinese criticism. It is only in Zhong Rongts
S h i ~ i n , however, that these three terms become fully oriented
towards aesthetic considerations and are discussed systemati-
cally. Fu, bi, and xing mentioned in the Rituals of Zhou were
explained by Zhi Yu as follows:
An exposition ( f u ) is a statement that sets something
forth. A comparison (bi) is a word that compares by
categorical correspondence. A stimulus (xing) is a
word in which there is response
Zhi Yu called f u, bi , and xing, "song-methods , " as they
were not applied to poetry during the Zhou period. They were
used only by the "Grand Masteru of court musicians to perform
songs. An implicit moral application of the fu, bi, and xing
elements was also implied in both the Rituals of Zhou and Zhi
Yu's treatise.
The fact that fu, bi, and xing in the "Great Prefaceu were
used with political and moral nuances was in accordance with the
work's basic concept that poetry should serve political or moral
ends. It first states that the former kings used poetry to
adjust the relationship between husbands and wi v e s , to foster
filial and respectful behaviour by the young towards the old, to
deepen human relations, improve moral education, and eradicate
bad habits. It further claims:
There are six aspects to poetry. They are 'popular'
[ fen@''] , ' serious' [ya] , ' ceremonial ' [son@62] ,
'narrative-descriptive' [fu] , 'similatic' [bi] and
associative' [xing] . The government employs the
popular song [feng] to influence the people. The
?Zhi Yu, in puan shanclqu s andai , Vol. 4. Translation from
Pauline Yu, The Reading of Imagerv in the Chinese Poetic Tradition,
163-64.
governed employ it for the purpose of offering barbed
admonition to their princes?
This is seen by some modern scholars as "a glimmering
notion of composition technique, as distinct from content or
subject matter, in terms of fu, bi, and xing. n52 Even if this
assumption is valid, there is no discussion in those early times
as to what fu, bi, and xing indicate- Zhong Rong is the first
to use these elements as specific literary terms, and discuss
them extensively in a purely literary sense:
There are three principles in poetry: one is called
stimulus, the second is comparison, and the third is
exposition. When the words come to an end but meaning
lingers on, that is a stimulus [xing]. Relying on an
object as a comparison to one's intent/will is corn-
parison [bi] . Writing about a situation directly and
lodging descriptions of objects in words is exposition
[fu] . By extending these three principles and using
them according to circumstances, giving them body by
means of inspired vigour and adorning them with
colourf ul embellishment, one can give endless pleasure
'l~aoshi zhenwi , 6 - 7. Translation from Siu-kit Wong,
Chinese ~iterarv Criticism (Hong Kong: C&C Joint Printing
1983), 2. There are other translations of the six aspects,
Earl v
Co.,
eg. ,
f eng as "airs, ya as "elegance, song as "hpns , " fu 5 s "exposi-
tion, " bi as Ir comparison, " xing as llstimulus. If Cf . Liu, Chinese
Theories of Literature, 64, 109, and Yu, 163-64.
hen Shih-Hsiang, "The Shih-ching: its Generic Significance
in Chinese Literary History and Poetics" in Cyril Birch ed.,
Studies in Chinese Literarv Genres (Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1974) , 18.
to those who savour them and move the hearts of those
who listen: this is the utmost in poetry.E63 53
This statement illustrates Zhong Rong's view of poetry as
an aesthetic form. Prior to Zhong Rong, fu, bi, and xing had
always been used in conjunction with feng, ya, and song (air,
elegance, hymn) -- terns which had political overtones when they
appeared in the Rituals of Zhou and the "Great Preface." Zhong
Rong, however, omitted the notions feng, ya, and song in the
Shipin, and focused only on what he called the "three principles
of poetry" (sanyiE6") -- fu, bi, and xing. This significant
omission probably comes from Zhong Rongts belief that poetry is
a specific "techniqueu ( jiM5) and it thus has its own artistic
ttprinciplesu ( yi E66) . '' The ultimate goal of poetry is to
entertain and to move the reader.
To Zhong Rong, xi ng llfocuses on the emotionally suggestive
openendedness of the imagevss since Iffrom the beginning the use
of xi ng lays in contacting an object in order to arouse a
'%hioin. 11. Translation from Pauline Yu, The Readincr of
Irnaserv in the Chinese Poetic Tradition, 164; Slightly altered and
pinyin added by this writer.
''Pauline Yu, The Readins of Imagerv in the Chinese Poetic
Tradition, 165.
69
feeling, selecting it in order to invest it with
what Zhong Rong called I1exhausting emotions and describing
objectsn (qiongqing x i e w ~ P ' ) . Bi, brings object and subject
together and makes the subjective intent clearer by the use of
objects. Fu, approaches the poetic topic in a somewhat more
direct way. Poetry can achieve best effect only when "these
three principles are applied appropriatelyIr ( zhuo er yong
zhiE6') . 5 7 The didactic tone of earlier criticism is entirely
absent in Zhong Rong's work; what is left is his conscious
concern for the aesthetic effect of poetry.
Traditionally, the order of the three principles was always
fu, bi, and xing. Zhong Rong, without giving the reason,
changes the order to xing, bi, and fu. By examining his basic
views of the nature and functions of poetry, we may gain insight
into the reason for this change. As discussed above, Zhong
Rong's poetic theory is basically reader-oriented and he is very
much concerned with the affective power of poetry ( see Zhong
Rong's definition and discussion of xing, bi, f u ) . Since the
strength of xing exists in its conveyance of what concrete words
cannot exhaustively express, as he defines it, it is probably
the most powerful means to arouse an artistic effect. As far as
56Huang Kan's words cited in Pauline Yu, The Readincr of Imaqerv
in the Chinese Poetic Tradition, 166.
57Shi~in, 11. See also Footnote 53 and Endnote 63.
70
I am concerned, this might be the reason for Zhong Rong to make
a change in the order of fu, bi, xing.
The following comments also reflect his conctrn with the
special function of bi and x i ng:
If one solely uses comparison (bi) and s t i mul us
( xi ng) , the meaning may suffer from being overly pro-
found; if meaning is overly profound, then the words
will not flow smoothly. If one only uses the method
of exposition ( f u ) , the meaning may suffer from being
too shallow; if meaning is too shallow, then the lan-
guage will not cohere. If i n sport one drifts and
rambles [among these methods] , then one's writing will
lack moorage and will suffer from diffusene~s."~~
He indicates here that poetry relies on bi and xing to
attain its profound and i m p l i c i t meaning. The direct approach
of fu is not sufficient in this regard. Still, the proper use
of the three is called upon.
It is worth noting that Liu Xie a l s o discusses f u , bi , and
xing in his Wenxin di aol onq. Like Zhong Rong, Liu Xie considers
describing a situation directly azd depicting objects i n words
to be fu. His notions of bi and xing, however, differ from
Zhong Rong's. Liu Xie states:
"Shi~in, 11. Translation from Pauline Yu, The Readins of
Irnaserv in the Chinese Poetic Tradition, 164.
Therefore, bi means to match, and xing means to
arouse. What matches a meaning uses close categorical
correspondence in order to indicate a situation. What
arouses emotions relies on the subtle to formulate
conceptions. Arouse emotions, and forms of xing will
be established. Match a meaning, and examples of bi
will be produced. A comparison stores up indignation
to castigate with words; a stimulus links analogies to
record criticisms. 59
Liu Xie regards bi and xing as pragmatic devices to be used
to fulfil political goals. He uses examples from the Shiiinq to
explain bi and xing modes and st r esses the importance of their
critical functions. He complains that from the Han Dynasty
onward, the principle of remonstrance was forgotten, and the
meaning of hsing (xing) lost."60 Clearly Zhong Rong does not
place bi and xing within a moralistic framework, but focuses on
their aesthetic dimensions, and was the first to apply the three
terms to non-canonical poems in the five-character form.
As one reads through the many poetic theories throughout
the history of Chinese poetics. Zhong Rong's poetic conception
might not be the most impressive one
However, after observing the influential
at the first glance.
pragmatic tradition of
- -
55Wenxin diaolonq, 601. Translation from Pauline Yu, The
readins of Imaaerv, 165. See also translation in Yu-chung Shih,
3 7 7 . I consider Yu's translation to be more accurate.
Wenxin d i a o l o n q . 602. Translation from Vincent Yu-chung
Shih, The Literarv Mind and the Carvins Dracrons: A Studv of Thousht
and Pattern in Chinese Literature, 379.
72
poetics that prevailed at the time, one has to admire Zhong Rong
f or his "daring and taste.
6 1 He l l mu t Wilhelrn. "A Note on Chung Hung and H i s Shih-p'in."
In Wen-lin: Studies in the Chinese Humanities, edited by Tse-tsung
Chow, (Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 19681, 120.
Endnotes t Chapter On e )
Lunyu
xing
Zhu Xi
ganfa yizhi
Zheng ma n
Kong Anguo
Lunyu . xian wen
renzhe j ian ren,
zhizhe j ian zhi
Wei Hong
L i j i .yueji
wang dao
liyi
zheng j iao
19. rninsu
20. Yang Xiong
21. fu
22. Fayan- junzi
23 . Xiao Cheng
25. Wang Bo
26. Zhi Yu
27. Ban Gu
2 8 . Shi Cen
2 9 . Lu Song
3 0 . Zhao Chongguo Song
32 . yayin zhi yun,
siyan wei zheng
33. M e i Sheng
34. qifa
35 . wen 2
36. Cao Zhi i!M
37. wenzhang L*
38. renlun A*
39. Verily, i n poet ry pr i nce Ssu of Chen is like
the Duke of Chou and Confucius in the human
et hi cs, dragon and phoenix among those with
scales and f eat her s . . .
+~ea/sla, *ae*x, +*-*a,
*s=%WaL *..f;%4G 05 .s;B:, *S*lhi*&,
&**L;t b *, ~a&a-l+fl*, RrJ&T**,
X - ~ A $ ~ *f a, a, f ' h p $T!k'f.fik*liiJka
41. qing cai a* ;it
42. ming %
4 3 . lei ik
44. jing xue S+
4 5 . fengsu H.6
47 . yinqong qingxing +qjC?$*
49. It is true that documents dealing with the
ordering of the state draw upon extensive
erudition about ancient metters , . .
sls*a**, &*fa*, .tre&R*, *s&a,
f ++*HM, * H f *la*? ' SW*%*" ,
B X ~ F I J "&&$3*m , $#Ef X;
"*X*&kt" , ffkvs; "eaf l X*t W ,
i ~ t k S P , to Plt++BL+&, j s ?Si f - E,
51. yong s hi
52. bu j i a
5 4 . suo j i an Ft A
5 6 . Wang Fuzhi
5 7 . I f i t comes out of the scene and comes out of
the emotions, the line will naturally be superior.
yinqing yin j ing , ziran lingmiao
Wm*, fl.%R*
58 . J i a Dao @&
59. Two poetic lines were written i n three years
Tears run down once I read them.
fie=+#, - +~ B&o
60. tuiqiao S%&
61. feng 68,
62. song
64. sanyi zx
67. qiongqing xiewu %kt%&
6 8 . zhuo er yong zhi H&mi=t
69 . If one solely uses comparison and stimulus,
the meaning may suffer from being overly profound. . .
s-emk* 9 , ~ - &%X, *RRwJSO
SmlWk, ~%&&sF, t$a3a;.iiir,
o&&iX@, &%Li b, *Xi *& R 4,
Chapter Two
ping (POETIC EMOTION)
pi ng' has been a constant theme in Chinese poetics throughout
history since it is closely linked to the nature, the purpose,
and attributes of literature. Qing can be translated as
uemotions,lB waffections,lt or sometimes vpassions.N When it is
compounded, a broader meaning is produced.' As the cornprehen-
sion of the nature and functions of literature has changed, so
also the concept and the role of qing have undergone trans-
formations in different historical periods. These transform-
ations in turn reflect the metamorphosis of Chinese poetics.
In the opening sentence of the S h i ~ i n Zhong Rong makes it
very clear that qing is the key element in poetic creation.
Poetry is produced when natural emotions are stimulated to a
degree of seeking expression.' This view of Zhong Rong repre-
sents the critical trend of the Six Dynasties since the theme of
qing was touched upon in almost all the major critical works of
that age. To get an overall picture of the theoretical develop-
ment of the issue in question, we may trace back to earlier
times to see how the concept of qing gradually enters into the
I
See Stephen Owen, Readinss in Chinese Li t eram Thousht, 585-
586.
79
current stage of the Six Dynasties theoretical background and
especially how it is reflected in the Shipin.
The authoritative "Great Prefacen to the Classic of Poetrv
of the Han Dynasty contains the most influential statement on
the topic of qi ng in the history of Chinese poetics. It
articulates: "When an emotion stirs inside, one expresses it in
words, 11B2 and describes further that the increasing intensities
of qing require stronger outward manifestations. That is when
finding this inadequate, one sighs over it: not
content with this, one sings it in poetry; still not
satisfied, one unconsciously dances with one's hands
and feet?
Thus the " G r e a t Prefacen articulates the link between emotions
and poetry. This is the earliest clearly- stated pronouncement
about the production of poetry, which suggests that poetry comes
from the provocat i on of emotions. However, i t does not show us
how poetry is produced as a result of stirring emotions nor does
it specify what kind of emotions they cue.4 What we have
learned is that poetry is produced in a movement, something
' ~ a o s h i zhenwi , 4. Translation from James J .Y. Liu. Chinese
Theories of Literature, 69.
o ow ever, with the continuation of the sentences we shall have
a sense where the emotions are directed. They are after all
responses to the social circumstance. See my discussion, " Qi ng as
response to nature," in this chapter.
moves from latency to manifestation and poetry is produced
involuntarily. Stephen Owen calls this
a specialization of the poetic process in conformity
to the fully established paradigm of ' inner' (nei s4)
and 'outer' ( wai E5) . This becomes the ground of the
psychology of poetic theory and links the movement in
the production of the poem to the "extensive aspect of
communication in shi (shi is said to "go faru) .'
This statement in the "Great Prefacet1 has affected to a great
extent later perception of qi ng.
The "Great Prefacer1 - al s o quoted from the Record of Music to
reveal the correlation between the emotions revealed in poetry
and the social order of the country:
The music of a well-governed world is peaceful and
happy, its government being harmonious; the music of
a disorderly world is plaintive and angry, its gov-
ernment being perverse; the music of a vanquished
country is sad and nostalgic, its people being dis-
tressed.
Although this is the same statement that appears in the
Record of Music, the influence it exerted on later literary
thoughts was far more extensive. Had the "Great Prefacen
'stephen Owen, Readinqs in Chinese Literarv Thouoht , 41.
'Maoshi zhenwi , 5. Translation from James J.Y. Liu, Chinese
Theories of Literature, 63.
81
continued to elaborate further on the subject, it could have led
to a more aesthetic-oriented discussion. Instead, it seems to
have moved to a habitual practice common in the Han Dynasty to
elevate a standard to regulate emotions expressed in poetry. It
claims that poet r y "emerges from the affections, but it goes no
further than rites and moral principles?
This criterion is very much in line with the famous dictum
that Confucius pronounced about t h e essence of the Classic of
Poet r v: "there i s no evil t hought in it [t he Shiiinq] . ' l a Both
of them emphasize qi ng as subjected to Confucian lis6 (pro-
priety) . This comment as well as the above phrases in the
" G r e a t Prefacem opened the door for the Han Confucian critics to
develop their particular exegesis on the emotions and thoughts
presented in poetry.
About two hundred years l at er , Lu Ji (261-303) w a s t he
f i r st person t o reassume explicitly the aesthetic aspect of qi ng
suggested in the "Great Preface. While differentiating the
traits of various styles of writings, he states in his famous
essay, Wenf u (Rhymeprose on Literature) , that "Poetry traces (or
'Ibid, 9. Translation from Stephen Owen, Readinss in Chinese
Literarv Thousht, 47.
aLunvu, 2: 2.
82
originates from) emotions and is ornate. N g Lu Ji' s essay voices
a dissimilar tone from the Han critical sensitivity and his
words have been regarded as a touchstone and were cited for
centuries. He later goes back to mention the pragmatic and
moral functions of literature, saying that literature %aves
[the ways of] kings Wen and Wu from falling. And it propagates
moral teaching so that it will not vanish."'' We may assume he
was here paying lip service to tradition, otherwise he expounded
a two-fold theory. Albeit a rather brief comment, it simply
provides one crucial account of the nature of poetry, which had
been absent for decades. This is also a statement that caused
much dispute and discussion afterwards.
Recognizing the role of emotion in poetic writing, the
"Great Prefacei' had already made an association between emotions
and poetry. However, it did not concentrate on the subject of
qing and relegated it to a position subordinate to Confucian li.
Explicitly putting emphasis on tracing qing, Lu Ji claims qing
is the initiator of poetry, yet, he does not specify how it
functions.
9Wenf u, 71. Translation from James J.Y. Liu, Chinese Theories
of Literature, 72.
''See James J.Y. Liu, Chinese Theories of Literature,
83
Further deliberations upon qing appear later in Zhong
Rongf s S h i ~ i n . Zhongf s probe of qing was a continuation of the
pioneering effort of the "Great Prefacem and particularly of Lu
Ji's Wenf u. It is, as well, a response to the call of the
de s i r e to express one's feelings and emotions in the poetic
practice of the Six Dynasties.
Compared to the poetry of previous times the S i x Dynasties
poet r y is distinguished f o r its establishment of emotion and
ornate s t yl e as features of primary importance. The famous
poet s Cao Zhi (192-232), Ruan ~i"' (210-263), Zuo siEs (ca.250-
305), and Xie Lingyun (385-433) all composed poetry with an
ample outflow of emotion, a phenomenon t hus has been
characterised by The Hi st or v of the Southern Qi as:
Singing personal nature, which is not a negligible
skill [at that time] ; embracing the adorned style,
[the poetry) traced emotions and was or nat e. ''
-
During this period of history, poetic composition became a
favoured practice among literati. The keen interest in composi-
tion as Zhong Rong described: "has been prevalent in learned
"Cao Daohen~ et . all Nan bei chao wenxue shi (Bei j ing : Renmin
wenxue chubanshe, 1991) , 15.
84
society . . . . 11 12 People, especially those from the noble families
were: "afraid lest their poems be inferior to those of others,
spend the whole morning in altering and touching them up, and
keep on groaning them until midnight. Ill3 The reason for this
zeal for poetic writing might be attributed to the social con-
sideration of literary talents of the age, in which one's
literary skill was essential to official and social advancement.
The Histow of the Lianq has recorded this typical situation:
"in recent years, people get promoted chiefly because of their
knowledge of literature and history."14 And we could also
regard this creative yearning as a resonance of the quest for
spiritual awakening and individuality in the age (see discussion
in the Introduction). This was the period when five-character
lyric poetry became prevalent and was undergoing great change.
Many spontaneous and embellished poetic works that were highly
regarded then are still appreciated and memorized even today.
The poetic tendency of the Six Dynasties in which personal
feelings and emotions were the centre can be observed in another
essay "On Insect Carvingw (Diaochong l unsg) written by the
12~ranslation from Chu Whan Cha, "On Enquiries for Ideal
Poetry-An Instance of Chung Hung." Tankarm Review 6.2-7.1 (1975-
l976), 4 7 .
" S h i p i n , 3. Translation, i b i d .
'Tited in Cao Daocheng, et al. Nan bei chao wenxue shi, 8.
85
famous historian of the Liang, Pei ZiyeE10 (469-530) . In his
essay he attacks with great anger the contemporary poetic style
of "yinyong qingxingUEl1 (giving expression in song to one s
emotions and sensibilities) and claimed it violated the prin-
ciple of the classic^.'^ He was in total support of the idea of
the "Great Preface1! that poetry should "emerge from the af fec-
tions, but it goes no further than rites and moral principles."
He admired the Han concept of the political function of poetry
asserted in the "Great Preface" and insists that "literature
must serve moral purposes and foster ethical effects.lf He
condemned poetry of that time as "obscene writings and indecent
collections.
Zhong Rong's concern with the poetic practice of his times
took a standpoint that contrasts sharply with that of Pei. As
mentioned before, Zhong Rong too, was dissatisfied with the
"lack of standardsu in contemporary poetry writing, but he
embraced and promoted with enthusiasm the sincere and innovative
poetic insight of "yinyony qingxing, that is, the expression of
one's personal feelings and emotions.
''See John Marney Li a n q C h i e n - wen Ti, 80.
''See Cai Zhongxiang et. al, Zhon~cruo wenxue l i l u n shi
(Beijing: Beijing chubanshe, 1987). 222.
86
Throughout the S h i ~ i n Zhong Rong paid special attention to
the theme of qi ng. He constantly uses terms as "yinyong qi ng-
xi ngm (giving expression in song to one's emotions and sensi-
bilities), "yaodang qingxingU8l2 (emotions and sensibilities
being moved and stirred) , " qiongqing xiewuWE" (exhausting one ' s
emotions and describing the external and I1qingyu y ~ a n s h e n ~ ~ ' ~
(the depth of one's emotions and metaphors). For Zhong Rong,
the importance of qing is twofold. First, poetry is an
expression of qing; and second, poetry of great appeal and
beauty must contain genuine qi ng.
Po e t r y is essentially an expression of inward feelings
(yinyong qingxing) , not anything else. This reflects Zhong
Rongfs concern with the nature of poetry. This can also be
observed from Zhong's differentiation between poetry and state
documents, which has been discussed in "The Awareness of the
difference," Chapter One of this study.
Verse in five-character lines is the most important
mode of literary expression . . . . The five-character
line is the best and sharpest tool for simple narra-
tive, for the making of images, for describing the
world that surrounds one, for the exhaustive presen-
tation of one's feelings . I 7
"Shioin, 10. Translation from Siu-Kit Wong, Earl v Chinese
Literarv Criticism, 92.
87
It is clearly stipulated he r e that the most beautiful part
of the five-character poetry lies in its capacity for accurate
and vivid depiction of things and thorough display of emotions.
And poetry is a vehi cl e for those individuals whose "hearts have
been affected and stirred." Without putting them into poetry,
their feelings will never be communicated and thus achieve
release (cheng qinf15) .
Poetry of great appeal and beauty must contain genuine
emotion (gan kai zhi ciE16) . They must be the products of
moving hearts (gan dang xin l i ngs 1' ) , like the Nineteen Ancient
Poems which Zhong comments upon as "striking the heart and
moving the soul. "lB They are also beautifully and sincerely
written that "every word is worth a thousand piece of gold. Ill9
But, as for poems which do not express genuine emotions, Zhong
would only put them in the lower rank. He considers a poem of
the J i n poet Miao Xi s Ls ( 1 8 6 - 2 4 5 ) as "making up mournful feel-
ings" ( zao aiE1'). A similar comment is uttered by Liu Xie as
he describes what the insincere poet will do: "making up
feelings in order to write.
'OWenxin di aol onq, 5 3 8 -
Carefully reading through his S h i ~ i n we may gain insights
into the nature of Zhong Rong's viewpoint on emotions which are
markedly different from the Han Confucian understanding of the
topic. The following are the main characteristics of Zhong's
notion of qing.
Qing as Response to Nature
Zhong Rong gives an account of the link between the natural
world and one's qing. He says in the opening sentences of his
preface to the Shi oi n:
The cosmic energy (qis2') sets in motion the pro-
cesses of the natural world, and the changing world
moves men. Their sensibilities and emotions once
stirred, manifest themselves in dance and song. This
manifestation illuminates the Three Powers (san
i 621 ) and brightens the myriad things ."' "
Zhong Rong obviously gives weight to Nature as stimulus of
emotion. He does not deny social influence on emotion, which
shall be dealt with later, but here he emphasizes the correla-
tion between external world (objects and phenomena) and the
poetic subject. He believes that personal emotions are stirred
2 ' S h i ~i n , 1. Translation from Chu Whan Cha, 43. Revised by this
writer.
89
and stimulated by the external world, with the vital energy, qi,
as an initial force.22
Poetic emotions arise, according to Zhong Rong, through the
following process : the qi, the primordial matter-energy, sets
the natural world in motion and the changes in that world stir
the hearts of human beings. Responding to the changes and
stimulations of the natural world, the sensibilities and emo-
tions arise. In this way, human emotions have their most
natural origin. They are primarily the response (ganE2') of the
poet to the changing world,
The term, I t san cai t t (three intelligences or three powers) ,
used by Zhong refers to the triad Heaven--Earth--Man, which can
be traced to the earliest Chinese philosophical text, The Book
of Chanses. It is the earliest book that contains the dis-
cussion of the relationship of the three elements 'Isan cai ?
"It should be noted that the qi Zhong Rong talks about in the
original text refers to the kind of energy that exists in the outer
world but not in human beings. In context elsewhere, qi can mean
something inside human bodies, the kind of bioenergy which sustains
stamina. According to Chinese cosmology, qi is "what the world is
made of, the wvapourfl out of which sensible things condense,
primordial matter-energy . The qi brings objects and phenomena into
physical existence. For a more detailed elaboration on the matter
please see Adele Austin Rickett, ed. Chinese Amroaches to
Literature from Confucius to Liang Ch'i-chfao, 45-47.
Looking upward, we contemplate with its help the signs
in the heavens; looking down, we examine the lines of
the earth. Thus we come to know the circumstances of
the dark and the light. Going back to the beginnings
of things and pursuing them to the end, we come to
know the lessons of birth and of death . . . .
Since in this way man comes to resemble heaven and
earth, he is not in conflict with them. His wisdom
embraces all things, and his Tao brings order into the
whole world; therefore he does not err. He is active
everywhere but does not let himself be c a r r i e d away.
He rejoices in heaven and has knowledge of fate,
therefore he is free of care. He is content with his
circumstances and genuine in his kindness, therefore
he can practice love. 23
The relation between Heaven, Eart h and Man thus suggests
the kind of fluniversal resonancev (gan ~ i n f ' ~ ) which has been
dominating Chinese thought ever since. Man is then from the
very beginning in harmony with Heaven and Earth. He is bestowed
upon to understand them, and obtains his full identity by their
aid.
Zhong Rong' s view of the correspondence between the natural
world and human emotion can be compared to that in the "Great
Prefaceti, which attributes the emotional expressions in the
Classic of Poet- to the ethical and political decline of the
States:
"Hellmut Wilhelm, Heaven. Earth. and Man in the Book of
Chanaes (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1977) , 163.
The historiographers of the States, understanding the
indications of success and failure, pained by the
changes in the observance of the relations of society,
and lamenting the severity of punishments and of [the
general] government, gave expression in mournful song
to their feelings, to condemn their superiors;-- they
were intelligent as to the changes of circumstancest
and cherished [the recollection of] the ancient cus-
toms . 24
This speaks of emotion as primarily and only moralistic
responses to the social circumstance. No other kind of emo-
tions, for example, emotions of a more personal nature have been
mentioned in the "Great Preface."
Explaining the rise of various emotions, Zhong Rong seems
more concerned with the changes of the external world:
Vernal breezes and springtime birds, the autumn moon
and cicadas in the fall, summer clouds and sultry
rains, the winter moon and fierce cold- -these are what
in the four seasons inspire poetic feeling.s25 "
The cycle of the four seasons affects the poet in a way
that causes emotional cycles and stimulates their creativity.
This observation of Zhong Rong echoes a similar idea of Liu Xie
presented in his Wenxin Diaolonq:
24Maoshi zhenwi , 8 - 9 . Translation from James Legge, The
Chinese Classics, (Oxford: Clarendon, 1871), Vo1.4, 36.
"Shi~in, 12. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, "The
nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pin,It 239.
Spring and Autumn roll round, succeeding one another,
and the yin and yang principles alternately darken and
brighten. When objects in the physical world change,
our minds are also affected. "' 26
Both Zhong Rong and Liu Xie notice the linkage between the
seasonal vicissitudes of nature and man's emotions. They share
the understanding of the correspondence between the natural
world and the human mind and emphasize t he natural facet of
emotion.
Qing as Expression of Personal Experience
It should be born in mind the Han critics had a special critical
approach. They habitually looked at a literary work for moral
and political implications. and they tended to interpret any
emotional articulation in a literary work. more specifically, a
poem, as feelings of either Mloyaltyw of a subject toward his
lord or a satirical "condemnationw of a minister toward his
king. It is interesting to see the commonly regarded love poem
It Gum, ux- I! in the Shiiinq was interpreted by the " G r e a t Pref-
ace" as praising "the virtue of the Consort of the King (hou fei
2 6 Wenxin di aol onq, 693 . Translation from Vincent Shih, The
Literary Mind, 245.
93
zhi deE2') . u27 The relation of the ospreys (described in the
poem) is conceived of as analogous to and emblematic of the har-
monious yet correct relation of the Consort and the King."
While the proper attitude of the poets recommended in the "Great
Preface" is to have their emotions regulated, that is to let
them go "no further than rites and moral principles.
Moreover, the Han Confucianist Dong Zhongshu strongly
urges : " [man must 1 reduce his desires and stop his feelings to
respond to Heaven. Il3O Whereas Zhong Rong' s concept of qing
indicates a difference. By cheng qing, he seems to prefer poets
vent forth their feelings and emotions naturally and unre-
strainedly. The legitimacy of cheng qing is described by the
Ming theorist Li Zhi'29 in this way: When the poet naturally
expresses his emotions, he will then naturally stop where
propriety permits in the end. There is no such 'proprietyf to
stop at beside one' s personal emotions. 11"
"Maoshi zhenwi , 3.
2s~teven Van Zoeren. Poet- and Personalitv, 8 9 .
"~aoshi zhenwi , 9.
Translation from Stephen Owen, Readinss
in Chinese Literarv Thousht . 47.
"Wing-Tsit Chan, trans. & cornp. A Source Book in Chinese
Philoso~hv (Princeton: Princeton University Press. 19731, 274.
"Li Zhi, "dul u f ushuo. I' in his Fenshu. Xufenshu (Changsha :
Yuelu Shushe, 1990) , 1 3 2 .
94
We can see from the Shioin that Zhong Rong's qing is a more
personalized term. The word, npersonalized,n does not take the
sense, that feelings and emotions revealed in a poem must not be
responses to social life or one's concerns toward political
incidents at all. The focal point is the purpose of poetic
writing. The poet may describe either his inner subjective
world or the social circumstances he is in but he is concerned
with using the poetic form to express his emotions of joy or
anguish, to release himself from psychological sufferings, but
not using the form as an means of voicing his concerns in order
to admonish the ruler and help with governing and education as
encouraged in the "Great Preface. If poetry can functions as
an aid at all, it is more a personal than a political aid.
Zhong Rong writes in this way: "At an agreeable banquet, through
poetry one express his sentiment of intimacy. When parting, one
can vent his grief in verse.""' " He continues in another
paragraph:
For giving solace to those in extreme circumstances,
and for relieving the distress of those living retired
from affairs, there is nothing better than poetry.""
2 3
"Shipin, 12. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, "The
nature of Evaluation in the Shi h- pi n, 239.
33Shi~in, 12. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, "The
nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pin, l1 239.
The sacred function
Pref acett cannot be found
its release of emotional
95
of poetry as indicated in the "Great
here and the power of poetry rests in
turmoil. This statement of Zhong Rong
is remarkably consonant with the idea of the Nineteenth Century
Romantic critic John Keble who was famous for his theory about
"poetry as catharsis." Keble claims that
Poetry is the indirect expression in words, most
appropriately in metrical words of some overpowering
emotion, or ruling taste, or feeling, t he direct
indulgence whereof is somehow repressed?
Keble believes that poetry can provide "healing reliefM to
emotionally depressed people and regards poets ltwho sponta-
neously moved by impulse, resort to composition for relief and
solace of a burdened or over-wrought mind," as the first class
of poets-35
Although Zhong Rong uttered his viewpoint more than a
millennium prior to Keble, the difference in the tone of the two
critics, however, is not that great. In a similar vein, Zhong
considers as first rank poets those who involuntarily voice
their emotional disturbances. (Gan kai zhi ci or qi ao chuang zhi
M . H. Abr ams, The Mirror and the Lamp (New York: Oxford
University Press, 19531, 145.
particularly singles out which
stimulated by personal or social experiences prevail. And it is
obvious that all the poets placed in the upper rank in the
S h i ~ i n expressed profound feelings personally experienced in
their poems.
When a Ch'u official [ Ch' l i YQan (343-277 B.C. ) I
is banished-
When a Han consort [Pan Chieh-yii or Wang Chao-chiin
(f 1.33 B. C. ) I has to leave the palace--
When white bones are strewn across the northern plain,
And souls go chasing tumbleweed-[as in poems by Ts' ao
Ts'ao (155-220), Wang Ts'an, and
Hsieh Chan (387-421) 1
When arms are borne in frontier camps,
And a savage spirit overflows the border- [as in a poem
by Chiang Yen (444-505) ]
When the frontier traveller has but thin clothing,
And all tears are spent in the widow's chambers-[as in t k
Old Poems and in Ho Yen's (190-249) verse]
When the ornaments of office are divested and one
leaves the court,
Gone, no thought of returning [as in poems by
Chang Hsieh, Yiian Shu (408-453)' and Shen Ytieh]
When by raising an eyebrow a woman [Lady Li in
Li Yen-nien's (140- 87B. C. ) poem] wins imperial favor,
And with a second glance topples the state-
These various situations all stir the heart and move
the soul. If not put i nt o poetry, how can such
sentiments be expressed? If not put i nt o song, how
can these emotions be ~ented?"~ 36
Zhong Rong regards poetry as an expression of the emotional
journey that the poet has personally experienced. All the
16Shi~int 12. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, "The
Nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pin, " 240.
97
instances Zhong Rong mentions above are well-known in Chinese
history. According to Zhong Rong, superb poetry come to light
hand in hand with sincere emotions, and with the help of poetry
the poets were able to express sufficiently their feelings, es-
pecially that of grief.
One may have noticed that in the above mentioned poetic
expressions, social occasions still function as stimuli and
inspiration. However, this does not prove the total analogy
between the poetic perceptions of Zhong Rong and the Confucian
critics. As explained earlier, the central issue is not whether
or not poetic feelings can be directed towards socio-political
issues. What makes the difference is the final purpose of this
description, to express one's deeply-felt emotions or to fulfil
the function of ethical, and political critique, as the "Great
PrefaceM indicates to "beautify moral instruction, and to
improve social customs. "l-
For Zhong Rong social occasions are but one of the stimuli
for poetry. The seasonal phenomena, the vernal breezes, Autumn
moon, Summer clouds, and the fierce cold as well as a moment of
reunion or parting are also what evoke poetic feelings.
98
This awareness of poetry as an expression of personal
emotions, rather than as a vehicle for didacticism and politics
illustrates Zhong Rong' s advanced understanding of the f o m with
regard to both its nature and its function. Although Zhong Rong
at some point quoted from the Analects: Toetry can be used to
make you fit for company, to express grievances, u 3 8 we can see
from the context what he is mostly concerned "a giving solace to
those in extreme circumstances, and for relieving the distress
of those living retired from affairs, there is nothing better
than poetry. w3 9 This is to say that Zhong Rong only focuses on
the associative power and expressive function of poetry. The
old concepts have been used in his new conceptual context (see
the discussion of Confucian concept of xing, gum, qun, yuan, in
Chapter One of this study).
This alternative use of an old concept can also be observed
at the very beginning of the preface to the S h i p i n , where Zhong
Rong, after giving an account of how poetry is produced,
proclaims its power:
Heavenly and earthly spirits depend on it to receive
oblations, and ghosts of darkness draw upon it for
secular reports. In moving heaven and earth, and in
3 9 ~ h i ~ i n , 12 . Translation from John Timothy Wixted, '!The
Nature of Evaluation in the Shi h- pi n, " 239-40.
appealing t o spirits and gods, there is nothing better
than poetry.
Here he quotes from the "Great PrefaceH, but omits, "in
maintaining correct standards for success or failure [in gover-n-
mentl , " a phrase which in the original precedes the above quote.
To facilitate the discussion, I shall list the paragraph of the
"Great Preface below :
In maintaining correct standards for success or
failure [in government 1 , in moving heaven and earth,
and in appealing to spirits and gods, there is nothing
better than ~0etr-y.~'
It seems, however, very unlikely that Zhong Rong omitted
the first sentence by accident; rather, it would be more ap-
propriate to consider that he deliberately omitted the passage
in order to distance himself from the Confucianist interpre-
tation of poetry. What really interested him was the "Great
Prefaceu's reference to the moving power and expressive aspect
of poetry.
" I b i d . , 1. Translation f rorn John Timothy Wixted, "The Nature
of Evaluation in the Shi h- pi n, " 230. I have lightly altered the
translation and added the emphasis.
IIMaoshi zhenwi , 5 . The translation is a combinat ion of James
J.Y. Liufs and John Timothy Wixted's.
100
The concept of qing in the Shi pi n is primarily aesthetic-
oriented, and intimately associated with poetic beauty. Zhong
inclines to use certain expressions to combine poetic feeling
and beauty, such as Ifthe plaintive feeling is deep and\then the
poem is beautiful (yuan shen wen qi"') , " or "the poem is
elegant and plaintive (wen di an yi yuanE35) . " These agree with
Lu ji's and Liu Xie's views about the link between qing and
poetic beauty. Lu Ji states: "Poetry traces emotions and is
ornate (shi yuan qing er qi mi E36) , which views poetic feeling
and poetic beauty as a complementary unity. And Liu Xie, more
explicitly, names one chapter of his Wenxin diaolonq I1Emotion
and Ornamentation, (qingcai"' ) . Be uses examples of the col-
ourful outward forms of the external world, e. g., trees, flowers
and animals to illustrate the idea that human emotion needs
beautiful ornamentation as its outer form. And further, he
tries to prove that the original meaning of "literary worku is
"ornamental patterning." Therefore, literary works should be
considered in terms of l 1 literary ornamentation. "" He insists
that "Likewise the literary decorativeness is a means to adorn
words, but the beauty of a lavishness of words is based on
emotion and personal nature. u 4 3 Because of this, Liu concludes:
42~e nx i n diaolonq, 537.
101
"emotion is the warp of literature, and diction is the woof of
reason. v45
Zhong Rongfs discussion of qing at times touches on a few
other poetic elements, such as objects and words, an indication
that qing alone does not guarantee a good poetic work. Instead,
the appropriate fusion of qing with other indispensable poetic
elements will produce poetry of superiority.
Qi ng and Wu (Emotion and Object)
Although, as commonly accepted, the full-fledged discussion in
traditional Chinese poetics about the binary concepts qing and
j i ng3' (scene) did not appear in Chinese poetics until the Song
Dynasty, Zhong Rong did use the binary term " q i n g and wuu
(emotion and object) and treats these two as complementary
elements in the Shi~in. And the wu Zhong uses here refers
mainly to natural phenomena. This concious use of the combi-
nation of internal state and external object has no doubt led to
later discussion of I1qing and jing" (poetic emotion and scene)
and affected the approaches of subsequent poetics. It should be
noted that Chinese poetic practice witnessed a distinctive
change in the Six Dynasties in terms of the depiction of the
b i d . , 538.
102
external reality. The critical term ~ i n g s i ~ ' ~ (f omal likeness)
or sometimes qiaosiEiO (artistic likeness) were commonly used
in literary criticism of that time. Liu Xie provides his obser-
vation of this change in his W e n x i n di aol onq:
-In recent years, literature has been prized for
verisimilitude [hsing-ssul . Poets perceive [k'uei-
ch'ing] the true form of landscapes, and pierce
through [tsuan-ma01 the appearance of grass and
plants. . . . Thus , this technique of skilled expression
and precise description may be compared to the use of
ink for imprinting seals, for the copy so made re-
produces the seal in its finest detail without the
need for further cutting and shaping.''
This speaks of a newly-developed tendency in poetry writing
in which there is a decided interest in observing the natural
scene intimately and giving a detailed description of it. This
style of viewing nature can be seen in many famous poets of the
9
period. In his S h i ~ i n , Zhong Rong praises Zhang Xie as "good at
vivid descriptions of detailed sceneryUl6 and Xie Lingyun as:
''good at artistic likenesses. tl'' Historically, this new taste
in landscapes developed after the decline of the xuanyan6"
style poetry, in which the thought of Laozi and Zhuangzi
occupied a significant place. This xi ngs i mode started and
'5~enxin diaolong, 694. Translation form Kang-i Sun Chang, Six
Dvnasties Poetrv (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986). 47.
103
became mature throughout the course of the Six Dynasties. Its
evolution paved the way for the successful fusion of poetic
emotion and scene of later poetry. Zhong Rong notices and
praises the skilful and detailed depiction of external reality
by some poets. However, he seems to have given the highest
esteem the poets who succeed in bringing their poetic qi ng and
external wu or j i ng into a harmony. Commenting on Xie Lingyunf s
poetry, Zhong writes :
I myself consider this man to have such abundant
poetic inspiration and lofty talent as being able to
write down whatever strikes his eye. Internally he
never lacks thoughts and poetic affection; and
externally, there is nothing that fails to have vivid
description. It is appropriate to regard his style as
I1lavishness. u"2 4 8
This consideration by Zhong Rong of the dichotomy of poet
and object, the inner state and external world is the earliest
on the subject. As I mentioned earlier, Zhong Rong especially
favours five-character poetry because he believes that "the
' 8 ~ h i p i a , 64. Some translator has rendered si as thought,
this, in my view, conveys only partial meaning of the word.
According to Ci-man (The Orisin of Chinese Words) "siH when use as
a noun means both thinking and emotion (see Civuan, Beijing:
Shangwu yinshuguan, 1980, Vo1.4, 1111). Taking Zhongts view as a
whole and recalling his constant and recurrent pronouncement that
poetry is vehicle to express one' s emotion (yinyong qingxing) , we
can assure that the "siH he uses here refers mainly to the poet's
feelings or emotions. In its loosest sense, it might be translated
as tf thought and af fectionn as some scholars have done. (see Xu Dar s
translation in his S h i ~ i n auanvi, 65. )
104
five-character line is the best in terms of its details and
precision for simple narrative, for the making of images, for
describing the world that surrounds one, for exhaustively
expressing one' s feelings , and for describing the ' external
world. To sum up, the power of five-character poetry resides
in its effectiveness in depicting the poetic duad I1ernotion and
object" (qiongqing xi ewu) .''
Qing and cim3 (Emotion and Words)
The nineteenth century English critic Alexander Smith's defini-
tion of poetry has been famous for ages:
Behold now the whole character of poetry. It is
essentially the expression of emotion; but the ex-
pression of emotion takes place by measured language
(it may be verse, or it may not) --harmonious tones--
and figurative phra~eology.'~
This definition resembles the poetic view of Zhong Rong in
certain points. Although Zhong did not explicitly speak about
poetic language as a vehicle for expressing emotion, he did
' 9Shi ~i n, 10. Translation from Siu-kit Wong, 92. Altered by
this writer.
'Osee the discussion of f ive-character poetry in Chapter Three
of this study.
"M. H. Abrams, The Mirror and the lam^, 150.
105
touch upon the question of the interaction between emotion and
language in terms of how they affect a particular poetic work.
Zhong Rong carried on his discussion about emotion and language
mainly on three levels, namely, the level of the work itself;
the creative process; and the reader.
Zhong Rong warmly praises the Nineteen Ancient Poems of the
Han. He writes: "Their language is genial and beautiful, and
their implications sorrowful and far-reaching" (wen wen yi li,
yi bei er yuan'44) . Among the poems Zhong Rong commented on,
the Nineteen Ancient Poems won his highest esteem. This is to
a great extent due to the refined poetic language and sponta-
neous emotions displayed in these poems. According to Zhong
Rong, when the two elements, feelings and words, nicely and
coherently interweave in a particular poetic work, ideal poems
are produced.
Sometimes the poetic language used by the poets seemingly
makes no exceptional impression, however, the emotive effect
would turn out to be even greater. For example, in the case of
Ruan Ji, Zhong Rong maintains that "his words are of everyday
sights and sounds, yet the feelings he expresses go above and
beyond the universe, This tells us the kind of dialectical
s 2 ~h i o i n , SO. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, "The
Nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pin, " 237.
relationship between language and emotion embodied in poetry,
especially in lyric poetry. Zhong Rang believes that the poets
r el y on language to express their sentiments, and lack of genu-
ine feelings will definitely result in a work that is not dif-
f erent from "the plain and bookish essay on D a ~ d e " ~ ~ . w s 3 How-
ever, this is by no means to say that meaning and sentiment will
simply halt when the words come to an end. From Zhongr s
rendering of the poetic mode xi&" (stimulus) , we can see that
he believes the ideal poetic piece will make such an effect that
"when words come to an end, meaning lingers on. ltS4 This thought
echoes the insightful ideas occurring in the famous "language
and thoughtm debate we have mentioned in the Introduction.
The integration of emotion and poetic language in the cre-
ative act also attracted Zhong Rong's attention. Zhong praises
those poets who are capable of striking a balance between their
sentiments and poetic language. For example, he praises the
female poet Ban ~i'' of the Han Dynasty, since her poems "pos-
sesses both deep-seated grievance and linguistic elegance.'t56
53Shi~int 7. Here Zhong Rong is talking about the philosopher
He Yen' s work, The Dao and Its Power (Daode l un) .
an Ji, also called Ban Jieyu, was the consort of the Cheng
Emperor of the Han. She was later out of favour with the Emperor
so that she wrote the poem "Silk Fann to express her grief.
107
Passing judgement on Xie Lingyun, he maintains that Xie: "has
enormous poetic sentiments, inspirations, as well as artistic
talents, skills. u57 However, when his sentiments, inspirations
and poetic language are not presented in a poem in a balanced
way, for instance, when there are too many luxuriant descrip-
tions, the work would prove defective. Tang Huixiu of the Sout -
h e m Dynasty has been commented on as representing the opposite
case. In his poems, "emotions surpassed his poetic talents.
And another is Xie ~iao'~' ( 464- 4991, who is said that his
"emotion and thought are keen but his talent is weak,n59
We can now turn to Zhong Rong' s observation on the handling
of emotion and language in terms of how it affects the reader.
For Zhong Rong Language is never a mere vehicle for the author
to express emotion - - it evokes sympathetic feelings in the
readers as well. Zhong Rong maintains that when reading good
poems, such as those of Ruan Ji, "one's nature and sensibility
are nourished and refined, and one's thoughts and feelings
enlightened. t t 6 0 Zhong Rong highly recommends Ruan Ji s "Poems
108
Singing my Thoughts" (yonghuaiEJ8) which have always moved
readers. One of them goes:
Midnight and I cannot sleep:
I sit up and pluck my singing zither.
Through the thin curtain the bright moon shines,
And a cool wind blows my lapels.
A lone wild goose cries beyond the wilds,
soaring birds sing in northern woods-
I pace to and fro: what shall I see?
Mournful thoughts alone wound my hearte61
Zhong Rong considers Ruan's poems comparable to the fine
poems of the "XiaoyasJS and the Guof encf So of the Classic of
PoetrvM and warmly praises Ruan's powerful presentation of his
spontaneous emotions and profound thoughts. He believes that
this kind of poetry "makes one forget the base and narrow-minded
self and look t o the far-away and t he grand.""
According to Zhong Rong's critique, qing i s not only the
initial force for poetic creation, it comprises the actual
substance of poetry as well. Working coherently w i t h the other
poetic elements, e - g . , the scene and the words, it moves the
readers, and arouses profound feelings.
'lSee Pauline Yu, The Reading of Imacrerv in the Chinese Poetic
Tradition, 133.
'%hi pin, 5 0 .
109
Yet, we still remember Confucius' claim mentioned before,
that poetry Van be used to express grievances [yuanE5'] . "
However, the grievances Confucius refers to must not be ident-
if ied with Zhong Rongt s "relieving distress [yuan] . The
grievances with which Confucius was concerned were those
associated with "serving [one' s] sovereign, " as outlined in the
Analects. Kong Anguo, a Han Confucian, once explained these
"grievancesn as a way of If criticizing politicstf (Lunvu ii-
jieE"> . The term "grievancem in this context has mainly
political connotations, and its aim is to criticize in order to
help the government correct its imperfections so as to fulfil
the goal of "serving the sovereign. fl In contrast, Zhong Rong
emphasizes personal feelings towards life and one's surround-
ings. By expressing these personal feelings, one can bring
comfort to one's soul and consolation to the heart. In this
regard, Zhong Rong added new meaning to traditional critical
terms.
Liu Xie, the well-known critic also maintained that
outstanding literary works emanate from the natural flow of
emotions ; he believed that emotions are naturally aroused when
affected by external circumstances. If one makes up feelings in
110
order to write, or writes to depict false feelings, such works
will tend to prolixity and be diffuse?
There are some differences, however, between Liu Xie and
Zhong RongJs views about emotions expressed in literature.
Although Liu Xie recurrently talks about genuine emotions, he
insists that they should be controlled by the Confucian norm.
L i u says: "Poetry means to 'hold.u1 He continues:
Poetry is what holds one's emotion and nature [within
the bounds of propriety] . In summing up the Three
Hundred poems, [Confucius] described their general
principle with the phrase, "No evil thoughts. " The
interpretation of "poetry " as 'lholdt1 finds here its
corroboration. 653 64
The statement "poetry is what hold one's emotion and
natureu is not an invention of Liu X i e . It has appeared in the
Han Confucianist work, Sh i we i s s 4 as well as in the J i n scholar
Zhiyu's essay, Wenzhans l i u b i e l un. In both places, the word
"hold" denotes the meaning I t t o direct one's emotion and nature
towards appropriateness. Liu Xie is adopting an old concept and
from the context of his whole passage, one can also find that he
is using the concept in line with that in the S h i w e i and
" ~e nxi n diaolonq,
64Wenxin diaolonq, 65. Translation from James J. Y. Liu,
Chinese Theories of Literature, 126.
111
Wenzhancr l i ubi e l un. (I believe this is what makes James Liu
add the words in the square brackets of his translation. ) In
contrast, Zhong Rong seems to insist on the natural flow of
one's emotions; he does not praise anything that restrains them.
Endnotes ( Chapter Two
1. qing +k
2 . zai xin wei zhi ,
fa yan wei shi &G%&, &gh*
3 . finding this inadequate, one sighs over it : not
content with this, one sings it in poetry, still
not satisfied, one unconsciously dances with one s
hands and feet .
%&*X? &*?5L&? %<%FX, ***&,
sic*a;T;x, **f**ZL, X=%#*&o
4. nei
5. wai
6. li
7. Ruan Ji
8. Zuo si
9. Diaochong lun
10. P e i Ziye
11 . yinyong qingxing
12. yaodang qingxing
13 . qiongqing xiewu
14. qingyu yuanshen
15 . cheng qing
gan kai zhi ci
gan dang xin ling
Miao Xi
zao ai
san cai
The cosmic energy sets in motion the processes of
the natural world, and the changing world moves men.
Their sensibilities and emotions once stirred,
manifest themselves in dance and song. This
manifestation illuminates t he Three Powers and
brightens the myriad things
fi&%b%, *&&A, &#2i&M, Y***,
,**=$, *az&
gan ying &&
Vernal breezes and springtime birds, the autumn moon
and fall cidadas, summer clouds and sultry rains,
the winter moon and fierce cold--these are what
in the four seasons inspire poetic feeling.
4kW.-W$, &a&*, X*s*, *RYE,
% m & a s i W * & o
Spring and Autumn roll round, succeeding one another,
and the yin and yang principles alternatingly darken
and brighten. When objects in the physical world
change, our minds are also affected.
;B-3EirR& wfe-, WL * ~ , * c * # A o
27. guanju
28. hou fei z h i de g m
29 . Li Z h i +It
30 . At an agreeable banquet, through poetry one express
his sentiment of intimacy. When parting, one can
vent his grief onto verse.
&+*.t;)-wk, s r * & * ~ S O
31. For giving solace to those in extreme circumstances,
and for relieving the distress of those living
retired from affairs, there is nothing better than
poetry.
WHW, a gm, s a w
32. Gan kai z h i ci
qiao chuang zhi ci Qk&@, ~6t~k%-~al
34. yuan shen wen qi &SLq
35 . we n dian y i yuan &$bx &
3 6 . s h i yuan qing er qi mi ++a#&+&
37. qing cai
38. jing
3 9 . xing si
40. qiao si Pi4a
41 . xuanyan e2-
42. I myself consider t h i s man t o have such abundant
poet i c i nspi r at i on and lofty talent as being a b l e
to write down whatever strikes hi s eye. . .
*iA%h*&%*, $I*#, A%&&,
WAM, &*%, T M !
43. qing and ci ?&, *
4 4 . wen wen yi l i , y i bei er yuan +ad%, &sh&
4 5 . Pi ng di an s i dao de l u n c+ffiili&&ie>
4 6 . xing
4 7 . X i e Tiao #r#r
4 8 . yonghuai **I%
4 9 . xiaoya C 11% #D
SO. guofeng < a m
P a *
Lunyu j i j i e
Poetry is what holds
a
<**e>
one's emotion and nature
[within the bounds of propriety] . In summing up
t he Three Hundred poems, [ Confucius ] decribed
their general principle with the phrase. . .
**, #&, z5*&, L!B%*a
Chapter Three
W e i (POETIC FLAVOUR)
weiE1, taste or flavour, sometimes also appearing as a compound
word, z i we i B2 , is an important although very briefly elaborated
aesthetic concept in Zhong Rong's Shiwin. Based on this con-
cept, Zhong Rong builds up his aesthetic theory of poetic
composition and appraisal. Wei is used in the Shi~in both as
noun and verb. As noun, it signifies the aesthetic merit of a
poetic work which is used as you z i we i E3 (literally, having
flavour) or g u a we i E4 (literally, lack of flavour) . As a verb,
it speaks of experiencing, judging and appraising a particular
work, i.e., w e i z h i (to taste it). Stephen Owen calls wei or
flavour "an important master metaphor in describing the aes-
thetic experience of the text,"' which is correct; however it
reveals only one side of the truth. Besides the aesthetic
experience of the text, wei is also concerned with the aesthetic
merit of the text as reflected in many masterpieces of Chinese
poetics including Zhong Rong' s S h i ~ i n . For a better understand-
ing of Zhong Rong's concept of wei, we may first start by giving
a historic review of this "master metaphor.It
'Stephen Owen, Readincrs in Chinese Literarv Thouqht , 593.
117
The Concept of Wei before Zhong Rong
The word of Wei made its appearance in pre-Qin historical and
philosophical works. In those texts it designated the following
meanings :
1) The sensation of taste. Laozi in his description of Dao
says: "When Dao is uttered, it is plain and no taste at
allu (Lao~i'~)~. This wei points to the sense of taste and
it is similar to the wei in the Lm- yu which describes
Conf ucius ' fascination towards the music shaoE6 : "When the
master was in the state of chi he happened to hear the
shao, and for three months, he could not even recognize the
taste of meat ( L u n ~ u . Shuef '1 '. There is another example
in the Zuo zhuanEs which goes : "There are six kinds of
qiE9 in heaven. They descend to become five flavours, five
colours and five sounds .'
=Laoz i , Zhuzi j i cheng ed. Vo1 - 3 (Bei j ing: Zhonghua shuj u,
19541, 20.
' Lunv u, 7:1.
'Zuo Zhuan, cited in Li Zehou, Zhons~uo meixue shi, Vol. 1,
78. A brief introduction of the evolution of the concept of wei can
be found in Cai Zhongxiang et al. Zhonsquo wenxue l i l u n shi
(Beijing: Beijing chubanshe, 1987) , Vol.1, 308-310.
119
These are wei's usages as noun. When wei is used as verb,
it could mean:
2) To taste, to savour, to distinguish the flavour of. It is
recorded: "There is somebody who tastes foodt1 (you wei wei
zheEf0) in the Li ez i : t i anrui nian6" . As a verb wei can
be found in the Laozi where it indicates that to understand
Dao is to: "Act without action; Do without doing; Taste
without tastingt1 (wei wu wei, shi wu shi, wei wu weis") '.
And the true power of Dao exists in this state of non-
action and non-flavour. But it will eventually achieve the
utmost action and inexhaustible flavour.
On some occasions, the ancient Chinese seemed to have
realized the similarities between music and taste in the sense
that they both bring sensual comfort to people and make them
spiritually happy. For instance, it is said in the Zuo Zhuan
that "sound is like tastef1 (sheng yi ru we i s 13) . There is a
further description of how different sounds might be put
together (likewise that of tastes) to make a pleasant and
coherent whole (Zhaogong ershi niana4) :
. . . being pure or murky, loud or low, lasting or
fleeting, fast or slow, sad or joyful, powerful or
soft . . . they all complement each other. When a
gentleman listens to the music, he would attain peace-
fulness in his mind, when the mind is peaceful, his
virtues will be harmonious.
In the above comparison, wei was still not used as an
aesthetic concept but it was indeed used in connection with the
artistic form - - music. And the ancient Chinese were using the
joyful sensory perception of taste as a simile for the kind of
aesthetic experience that music has. Therefore we may consider
that at that time, the concept wei was evolving into a literary
concept. It was not until the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 221 AD),
that wei gradually acquired its literary-orientation. Evidence
can be found in Wang Chong s Lunhens. zil us'' :
An essay must be written beautifully, then it can be
considered good. Language must be uttered eloquently,
then it can be considered skilful. When language
rings to the ears, the meaning will be savoured (wei)
in the heart; when things strike the eyes, they will
be kept at hand? -
W e i in the above paragraph already implies the meaning of
tasting and pondering over a writing. Although it did not
6Zuozhuan. Cited in Cai Zhongxiang, et al. Zhongcruo wenxue
l i l u n shi, Vol.1, 3 0 9 .
'Guo Shaoyu, ed . , Zhonqcruo 1 i d a i wenlun xuan, vol -1, 1 2 6 .
exactly poi nt to what w e called "the aesthetic evaluation, "
something similar was clearly suggested?
In this regard, we shall mention another two scholars in
the Wei-Jin era for their insights on wei. They are Ge Hongs"
(283-363) and Zong ~ing'" (375-443) . In their works, the term,
wei, was used specifically in literary evaluation. In his Bao
pu ziEL9, Ge Hong comments on the inappropriate attitude people
hold toward literary works: Veople who solely prefer the taste
of sour and salty would not get its (the work's) flavour (wei) ;
people who have limits in their thinking cannot get its
spirit."E20 What he emphasizes here is that the reader's
reading competence should match the level of the text. If a
reader is biased in his own preference and lacks comprehension,
he will not get a text right. He further warns the readers that
if they "rely on their ordinary understanding to observe the
great uniqueness; and on their biased scale to measure the
'I am adopting ~ e n e Wellekr s term here. Talking about
"judgingu a literary work, Wellek maintains : "There is a judgement
of sensibility, and there is a reasoned, a ratiocinative, judge-
ment. They exist in no necessary contradiction: a sensibility can
scarcely attain much critical force without being susceptive of
considerable generalized, theoretical statement; and a reasoned
judgement, in matters of literature, cannot be formulated save on
the basis of some sensibilities, immediate or derivative. " In his
Theorv of Literature (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1956) ,
241.
'~ai Zhongxiang, et al., Zhonssuo wenxue lilun shi, vol.1,
309.
122
unlimited; with the coarsest to seek the finest, with the
shallowest to speculate the deepest, they will never understand
a work even if they started young and ended up
lo
Ge Hong holds the belief that to evaluate a literary work
is more difficult than to appraise the virtue and conduct of a
person, since :
there are some standard criteria for virtue and
conduct, thus it is easy to judge the good and the
bad; whereas there are some subtle elements in writ-
ings, therefore it is hard to tell among them.. .
because of the essence within, it is indeed hard to
have a standard criterion for their appraisal.'" ' I
Here, Ge Hong actually uses the word pinzaosz3 (which has
been used in t he famous tlPersonality appraisaln) in the sense of
" tasting1! and llexperiencingw particular texts. And this
"appraisaltt shows that Ge Hong has creatively applied the
concept of personality evaluation t o literary works.
Zong Bing writes in his highly celebrated artistic cri-
tique, Preface to Shanshui Paintinq (Hua shanshui xu'24 : "The
sage embraces the Dao when he responds to things, the worthy man
purifies his mind to savour ( wei) the myriad phenomena. "E2s Li
l0Guo Shaoyu, ed. Zhoncrsuo l i d a i we nl un xuan, vol. 1, 212.
"Cited in Li Zehou, Zhonscmo meixue shi, vol. 2, 316.
Zehou explains this wei as " w a n ~ e i ~ ~ ~ ~ and
which I think is appropriate. The compound
means Itto play wi t h and savour.tt It has the
123
"in search of, "I2
wanwei literarily
sense of "rolls in
the mine- Itturning it over in the mindv and "to reflect on
something thoroughly. I t ' ' Zong Bing indicates here a difference
between the sage and the worthy man in terms of their interac-
tions with the myriad world. The sage can meet that world
directly since there is no blockage. The spiritual freedom of
the sages makes the meeting immediate, while the worthy man has
not yet attained this free spirit as the sage has. Therefore,
he needs first to remove the worldly concerns of his mind and
then to savour the truth embodied in the myriad world. This
explains how the sage and the worthy man, each with his special
way, can grasp and reflect on the true beauty of nature.
Although wei is a noun in Ge Hong and a verb in Zong Bing, they
are both associated with literary evaluation or artistic
creation. We can say that wei began to develop as an aesthetic
concept in the Wei-Jin period.
From this preliminary review of t he use of we i we can see
that ancient Chinese thinkers had not iced the analogy between
the pleasant sensuous experience of taste and the lasting
"Steven Van Zoeren, Poetrv and Personalitv: Readins, Exeaesis.
and Hermeneutics in Traditional China, 211.
124
impression of an artistic work, for example, music. And some of
them had gone even further to apply the term wei to the artistic
process. Nevertheless it was not until Zhong Rong that wei
become a full-fledged aesthetic concept."
Zhong Rong on Zi wei
In the S h i ~i n , Zhong Rong warmly praises poems that are satu-
rated with z i w e i ; with equal emphasis he criticizes poems that
lack it. Needless to say, that wei or z i w e i had become an
indispensable criterion for ideal poetry to Zhong Rong. And
after him, ziwei became a constant theme in Chinese poetics, not
only restricted to the poetry criticism or the general literary
criticism but to that of other arts as well. Although we find
no rigorous account of the concept ziwei in the S h i ~ i n , it is
useful to examine what Zhong Rong had in mind when he spoke of
ziwei considering its tremendous influence on the later develop-
ment of Chinese poetics.
"Cai Zhongxiang et al. Zhonssuo wenxue l i l l r n shi, Vol. 1, 310.
Li Zehou, Zhonsmo m e i x u e shi, Vo1.2, 803. This view is commently
shared by scholars of Chinese Literature.
wei and Qi ongqing xi emu7 (Exhaustively expressing
onef s feelings and describing the external world)
Zhong Rong gave the most credit to f ive-character poetry for its
richness in zi wei and its great achievement during the Six
Dynasties periodL5. Yet it was impossible for Zhong Rong to
predict the brilliant development of the regulated verse and the
subsequent establishment of seven-character poetry of later time
when he wrote the Shinin. However, one might still feel it
inappropriate to evaluate any poetry solely by the number of
characters in its line, for example, to say five-character
poetry is arbitrarily better than four-character. Nevertheless,
since Zhong Rong has attached so much importance to five-
character poetry, we should first look into his comments in the
Shi~in in an attempt to understand his preference for that form
of poetry and his sense of z i w e i . Zhong Rong states in the
Preface to the S h i ~ i n that
Four-character poetry has the disadvantage of requir-
ing the poet to say much in a few words. It is true
enough that good poems can be written by studying the
~ u o f e n p ' and the Li saos2' . But poets have of ten to
wrestle with the problem of having written many lines
while having expressed only limited meanings : This is
why the four-character poetry is rarely preferred by
the modern poets. Five-character poetry is on the
other hand, the most important mode of literary
expression. It is also the mode that promises the
most of flavour. That is why it has been widely
accepted. Thus the five-character poetry is the best
in terms of its details and precision for simple
narrative, for the making of images, for exhaustively
expressing one's feelings, and for describing the
external world."0 l6
Here Zhong Rong concedes that the Guofenq and the Lisao are
models that any four-character poetry should follow but he says
five-character poetry is better because it is the best form a
poet can use to express his feelings and to describe the
external world. The disadvantage of the f our-character lies.
according to Zhong Rong, is its insufficient length of line
which impairs the poetic expression. Five-character poetry is
capable of retaining the most artistic flavour because it allows
"detailsw and "precisionn in poetic expression.
Chinese poetic form went through a decisive change when
developed from the four - character line to the five - character
line, even though this was only one more character. (Examples
can be drawn from the Shiiinq, four-character poetry, and the
I1Nineteen Ancient Poemstt, five-character poetry. ) The features
of the new form have been clearly summarized by scholars, the
four metrical rules for five-character poetry being:
16Shioin. 10. Translation from Siu-kit Wong, Earlv Chinese
Literarv Criticism. 92. Adjusted by this writer.
1) each line has five characters, namely a pentasyllabic line;
2 ) each line has a caesura after the second character, with a
secondary caesura occurring either after the third o r
f our t h character, according t o the semantic division;
3 ) a couplet forms an independent two-part metrical unit; and
4 ) the rhyme falls at the end of the second line of the
couplet. l7
It is important to note that "in Chinese, each character
counts invariably as one syllable (and the words themselves, in
ancient Chinese, are often made up of only one character) . "l a
With this basic feature in mind, we m i g h t better understand the
implication of any numbering change in a poetic line. In
classical Chinese poetry, where the syllable is the basic unit,
the additional word affords semantic and syntactic flexibility
in the poetic f r o m .
The five-character line consists of an initial
dissyllabic unit and a final trisyllabic unit, while
"Yu-Kung Kao, The Aesthetics of Regulated Verse? I n Shuen-fu
Lin and Stephen Owen, eds., Vitality of the Lyric V o i c e : Shih
Poetrv from the Late Han to the T'anq (Princeton, New Jersey:
Princeton University Press, 1986), 335.
"Franqois Cheng, Chinese Poetic Writinq. Translation from
French by Donald A. Riggs and Jerome P. Seaton, (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1982), 46.
the final part can be further divided into a monosyl-
labic unit and a dissyllabic one.19
The syllabic division thus can be either two-two-one or
two-one-two depending on the sematic divisions of the line.
Normally, in the four-character poetry, one needs to use a
couplet to express the meaning in full. In the five-character
poetry, however, we only need to make the third or the fifth
word a verb or predicator, and the meaning shall be clearly
expressed in one single line. Taking Xie Lingyunf s ( 3 8 5 - 4 3 3 )
famous poetic lines as example:
(1) White clouds embrace [baol the shaded rocks;
Green bamboos charm [ me i 1 the clear ripples. ' ' I
( 2 ) In the curving of the stream,
the flow keeps straying out of sight;
By the distant forest,
the cliffs cluster together. k32 ' O
19Tu Weiming . "Profound Learning, Personal Knowledge, and
Poetic Vision, in Shuen-fu Lin and Stephen Owen, eds . , Vitalitv of
the Lvric Voice: Shih Poetrv from the Late Han to the T'anq, 336.
"Cited in and translated by Kang-i Sun Chang, "Description of
Landscape in Early Six Dynasties Poetry.I1 In Shuen-fu Lin and
Stephen Owen, eds., Vitalitv of the Lvric Voice: Shih Poetrv from
the Late Han to the T'anq, 126.
129
In case (I), the verbs bao and mei each bring two natural
images together and thus outline a "vital and arrestingft scene
with an "animated effect . "'' While in the case ( 2 ) , there are
two subject-predicate syntactic structures in each line and the
complications of the scenes gets more detailed description.
We may observe that in this way the extra word could lead
to its expansion of the artistic capacity by changing the
syntactic structure of a poetic line. It grants more freedom
for the poets to I1qiongqing xiewu,~ a poetic vogue of the Six
Dynasties. It is this flexibility of the five-character poetry
that makes Zhong Rong consider it to be the most important mode
of poetic expression. 22
Zhong Rong points out that the preference among his contem-
poraries for five-character poetry is owing to its potential to
make poetic expression "detailedM and "precisew (xiang and
qiem33) . Because the four-word poetry could only express
"limited meaningsw (yi shao")) , people of his time rarely
preferred the latter form.23
130
But, one may ask: Had the f our-character poetry stopped
functioning at all after Zhong Rong's time? Not really. Though
less frequently, this form endured and being used for over
another thousand years. Different from the f ive-character f o m
which was regarded by Zhong Rong as a better form for expressing
feelings and describing the external world, the four-character
form was used for special purposes, moods and themes, especially
for creating weighty and solemn atmospheres. 24
Zhong Rong emphasizes that the purpose of writing poetry is
to express feelings and emotions (yinyong qi ngxi ng) , or
It exhaustively express feelings and describe the external world"
(qiongqing xi e wu) , and he clearly prefers f ive-character poetry
for its distinctive poetic capacity which he feels serves this
purpose well.
To Zhong Rong, if poetry is to have ziwei, artistic
flavour, it must first project the poetf s most immediate and
sincere feelings. Xiewu, or describing the external world, is
not an end in itself, it is to serve the purpose of qiongqing,
to express one's feelings. Second, the poetry which has been
said to have zi wei must be affective to a degree that is, to
2 4 ~ would thank professor Wayne Schlepp for reminding me of
this fact of the four-character form.
131
"give endless pleasure to those who savour them and move the
hearts of those who listen. m5 2S
To illustrate Zhong Rong's view of ziwei, we may glance
through a poem from the "Nineteen Ancient PoemstL which won Zhong
Rong's highest esteem and occupied the first rank i n the Shioin.
Far, far, the Herdboy star [Ni ul ang xi nf 16] ,
Shimmering white, the Han River maid.
Slender, slender, she lifts a pale hand,
Click, clack, she plies the loom's shuttle.
In one whole day not finishing a piece,
Tears flowing down like rain.
The River Han is clear and shallow - -
How far apart can t hey be?
Only t he span of a single brimming stream;
Looking, looking, but finding no words. 26
L S S h i ~ i n , 11. Translation from Pauline Yu, The Re a d i n c r s of
Imaserv in the Chinese Poetic Tradition, 164.
26~i ans han wenxue shi cankao z i l a o . Ed. B e i j i ng D a m e Zhongguo
wenxue shi j iaoyan shi ( B e i j ing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1980) , 586. For
translation, see Pauline Yu, The R e a d i n s of Imasery i n the Chinese
Poetic Tradition, 127; Slightly altered according to Burton
Waston' s translation. See Burton Waston, Chinese ~fricism: Shih
Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century. (with translation)
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1971), 28.
This poem was based on a well-known legend which describes star-
crossed lovers being separated by the Milky Way. As the Herboy
star ( Ni ul ang) and Weaving-Lady star (2hinuB") , they are kept
apart except on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month each
year. The description of "clear [ness] and %hallow [ness] " of
the River Han well arose a sense of hope- However, when
realizing that it is the Milky Way that separates the lovers,
one knows the impossibility of reunion. No words have been used
to tell how much the Herdboy star and the Wearing-Lady star
loved each other and how sorrowful they were, the rain-like
lftearsll tells all. The rhetorical question by the poet presents
the reader with the paradoxical situation and no more words are
needed yet the meaning is clear and the impact strong.
Zhong Rong considers poems of this kind "startling to one's
heart and stirring to one's soul," and "every word is worth a
thousand pieces of gold. '- The artistic effect of this
kind of poem allows the reader to experience unbounded feelings
within, to be deeply moved and so get the utmost ziwei savour.
We can see from the above that wei or z i w e i in Zhong Rong' s
poetic framework points to both creative and evaluative pro-
cesses. As for the former, it has to do with the poet's
13 3
genuine, unresemed feelings . Poems that are saturated with
this kind of spoctaneous qing are said to have z i w e i , flavour.
As for the latter, which is closely related, it concerns more
the moving power of poetry. The description of the external
world or situation must result in inner experience.
Wei and hua me i mO (Flavour and Floridness)
It is not difficult to find in the S h i ~ i n that Zhong Rong
favours poems with floridness and considers this indispensable
for generating poetic flavour.
Chinese poetics from the pre-Qin period through the Han
Dynasty and to the Six Dynasties has experienced various stages
in which the political, socio-ethical meanings of the text were
emphasized in the early periods and self-expression gradually
became more important. These changes reflect the gradual
awakening of critical thinking to the fact that poetry was an
independent realm that has its own generic features, unique
operating rules, as well as specific functions. More specifi-
cally, since Cao Pi urged in his influential Treatise on
Literature that lfpoetry and rhymeprose should be ornatevza in
2 a ~ ~ o Shaoyu, ed. Zhonssuo l i da i wenlun xuan, vol. 1, 158.
134
distinguishing them f rorn other f o m s of writing, this Ifornate-
nessw and the emphasis on the formal aesthetics became the vogue
of the day. The tendency in literary compositions was charac-
terized by Liu Xie as follows:
Writers vied in ornately weaving couplets which might
extend to hundreds of words, or in attempting to
achieve the wondrous by a single line. In expressing
feelings, they always made them in complete harmony
with the things they described and in literary phras-
eology they tried their best to achieve freshne~s.'~
Zhong Rong's appreciation of ornately written poems in the
S h i ~ i n was in accordance with this general literary tendency of
the Six Dynasties, shangmei , literally, favouring beauty.
His comments on ornately written poems were concerned with three
kinds of beauty: (1) floridness in its entirety or juti hua-
mei s i ' ; ( 2 ) ornate language or ci cai h ~ a ma o ~ ' ~ , h ~ a m i ' ~ ~ ; (3)
pleasant and melodious phonetics or yinyun kengqianf45. The
fulfilment of these three aspects contributes to make poetic
flavour, ziwei.
Categorizing Lu Ji's poems into the first rank, Zhong Rong
says they are Ifof talent outstanding and phrasing rich, his
29~enxin diaolong, 67. Translation from Vincent Ywhung Shih,
The Literary Mind, 71.
entire corpus is splendidly beautiful. flE46 30 Lu Ji, as we
have mentioned in Chapter Two of this study, was the first
person to insist that "poetry traces (or originates from)
emotions and is thus ornate.I1 In his essay, Wenfup4', Lu Ji
maintains that in literary writing it "is desirable to employ
words of true beautyt1 (qi qianyan ye gui ymE4' ) ." His poems
were written in ornate style which at the same time reflected
his theoretical views and influenced his contemporary poetics.
Zhong Rong believes that Lu Ji' s achievement is owing to
the fact that he "thoroughly masticated the quintessence of
writing (jujue yingh~a"~) and filled himself completely (yanyu
gaozeEso) on its rich sustenance.v32 For this, his writings
were designated by Zhong Rong as the "great source of the art of
letters . " Here, whatever zuyue yinghua or yanyu gaoze, they
both refer to the act of tasting and savouring beautiful
rhetoric and diction. This implies that Lu Ji thoroughly
studied and absorbed the essence of the beautiful words or
expressions of other splendid writings and creatively incorpor-
"Shipin, 5 3 . Translation from John Timothy Wixted in his Poems
on poet^: Literary Criticism by Yuan Hao-wen (1190-1257) (Wies-
baden: Franz Steiner, 1982) , 83-84.
"Translation from Siu-Kit Wong, Early Chinese Literary
Criticism, 44.
"Shi~in, 53. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, Poems on
Poetrv: Literarv Criticism bv Yuan hao-wen (1190-1257L, 83-84.
136
ate them into his own so as to make his poetry full of ziwei and
should be taken as a good example for emulation.
For Zhong Rong, poetic rhetoric is indispensable for
creating poetic flavour. Almost all the poets in the first rank
have been designated by Zhong Rong as having mastered to some
degree ornate language. He regards Cao Zhi's3) style as "beau-
tiful and luxuriant It ( c i c a i huamaoEsl) ; the "Nineteen Ancient
Poemsn as "genial and beautifuln (wen wen yi liES2) . He notes
that Xie Lingyun's poetic language is "rich and luxuriantn (fan
fuES3), Itrich and floridtt (fu y d S ' ) and he calls Zhang
~ie' sPS5 poetic phrasing "fresh and abundantu ( congqianES6) ".
We can see from the following comments Zhong Rong made on
poems by Cao Pi, Ying hS5' and Guo P U ~ ~ ~ that for him ziwei is
intimately bound up with mei (beauty, floridness) :
These are distinctively beautiful and luxuriant and
worthwhile for appreciating and tasting ...E5g 3 5
Florid and luscious, it deserves to be recited and the
poetic flavour sipped. E60 36
"See Chapter One, Endnote 36.
His style echoes that of Pan Yue and is shiningly
graceful. His poems deserves to be sav~ured."~ 37
The word, wan, or wanwe i , as we have explained a while ago,
suggests letting meaning roll in one's mind, especially the
nuances and subtleties. According to Zhong Rong, only those
beautifully written poems can be said to have poetic flavour and
their meanings deserve to be savoured and reflected on repeated-
ly -
On the other hand, Zhong Rong denounces those plainly
composed poems and considers them to be lacking of z i w e i . For
example, he thinks Eastern Han (25-220 AD) an extremely infer-
tile period in terms of poetic composition. Ban Gu's "Singing
my Thought of Historyf1 is the only poem which is worth mention-
ing during the entire two hundred years, because there are true
feelings in the poem ( gant an z h i ~ i ' ~ ~ ) . However, it is indeed
"wooden in style and there is no adornment at allff ( z hi mu wu
wenE6') . j8 Zhong Rong obviously cherished It true feelings" in
poetry, but he also weighted the beauty of language highly. For
him, "feelingsw alone are not sufficient for creating good
poems. This view of Zhong Rong' s was revealed in his comments
138
on Tang H U ~ X ~ U ~ ~ ? He criticizes Tang because his "emotions
exceeded his verbal talentu and thus he pl aces Tang in t he
lowest rank. He believes the coherent integration of the two
aspects of qing and ci w i l l nourish superior poems with z i w e i .
Zhong Rongfs concept of wei is also reflected in his
comment on Cao Pi, Emperor Wen of Wei (Wei WendiE6') . His
general impression of the one hundred poems of Cao Pi is that
they are "on the whole, unpolished and direct as ordinary dia-
loguefl ( bi zhi ru o ~ y ~ ~ ~ ~ ) . ~ ~ But Zhong Rong does show his
unbiased appreciation of a group flMiscellaneous Poemsw (za-
shiEG7) of Cao Pi because "they are indeed distinctively beauti-
ful and luxuriant worthwhile for appreciating and tastingw (shu
mei zhan ke wana6' . l o Zhong Rong feels that only by reading
through those poems, can he discover Cao's "literary skill"
Otherwise, he would have wondered "how Cao Pi could
have managed to comment on and evaluate other literary t a l e nt s
and face his distinguished brother.""
Zhong Rongf s comment is justifiable here. In his well-
known essay. Treatise on Literature, Cao Pi rigorously commented
upon and evaluated the styles of some outstanding writers: IfYing
yang70 has harmony, but no force. L i u Zhen1ss7' style has
force but suffers from looseness. Kong ~ongP" is by nature
noble and sublime, and in that he surpasses his contemporaries;
but he is incapable of sustained argument, his logic being
weaker than his rhetoric. . . w 4 z And Cao did in the same essay
make the marvellous differentiation of kinds of writings:
Wen is all one thing in essence but a range of things
in its accidental manifestations. Official memorials
and discourses on state matters should be formally
elegant; letter and essays should be orderly; elegiac
and other inscriptions should be reliably factual;
poetry and rhyme prose should be ornate?
This has been called a manifestation in the history of
Chinese literary theory that marks the new orientation toward
t he autonomy of literature.
Zhong Rong must have been familiar with Cao Pi's comments
and was quite dissatisfied with the "unpolished and directn
s t y l e of Caots own poetic practice. Zhong Rong shows no
sympathy at all toward what he calls the Itordinary dialoguesIt of
"Guo Shaoyu, ed. Zhonwuo l i d a i wenlun x c m, Vol. 1, 158.
Translation from Siu-kit Wong, Earlv Chinese Literarv Criticism,
21.
-
3 b i d . , 158. Translation from Siu-kit Wong, Earlv Chinese
Literam Criticism. 20. The first word of the translation,
"literature," has been changed to wen to avoid confusion.
Cao and shows interest only in his few ornately written poems
since these have poetic flavour and deserve to be savoured.
In the development of five-character poetry, according to
Zhong Rong, there is a period in which poetic composition is
insipid. That was the time of Yongjia"' (307-313) of Jin.
Zhong Rong characterizes the general atmosphere of that period
as follows:
In the Yongjia period of the Chin (Jin) Dynasty the
thoughts of Huang-ti [the Yellow Emperor] and Lao-tzu
were held in great esteem and abstruse talk prevailed.
The poetical works of the time were absolutely taste-
less, for reasoning in them surpassed their artistic
value. Even after the Chin Court had moved its
capital to the South of the Yangtze, the influence was
still mildly felt. The poems of such dignitaries as
Sun Ch' o Hsu Hsun, the Huans (Wen and Hsuan) and the
Yus (Liang and Chien) are without exception plain and
bookish and very similar to the Dao Te Lun (A Dis-
cussion of the Way and Its Power). The distinctive
vigour of Chien-an poetry was thus exhausted."
Nobody could deny the positive influence of the "profound
learning" on the Chinese poetics of the Six Dynasties, especial-
ly its contribution in providing methodology and vocabulary for
the literary theories. However, pure theory and philosophy
should not usurp the position of literature. Zhong Rongls
dissatisfaction arises when poetic writings under the influence
" S h i p i n , 7. Translation from Chu Whan Cha, "On Enquiries for
Ideal Poetry - - An Instance of Chung Hung," 52.
141
of the manxue thinking became unbearably dull and insipid.
There must be a proper balance between theoretical reasoning and
literary expression and Zhong Rong considered it undesirable
when poetry was made to resemble philosophical discourse.
By
contrast, Zhong Rong highly esteemed the poetry of the Jian-
An674 period (196-219) . He believed the success of the Jian-An
poets lay in their ability to strike a poetic balance between
substance and artistry (Binbin zhi ~he ng' ~) ." and that is the
very reason their poetry was filled with vigour and taste.
Apart from the beauty and ornate language of a poetic work.
Zhong Rong does give thought to tonal euphony since it is a part
of creating poetic flavour. Commenting on Zhang Xie's poetic
style, Zhong Rong says:
[Zhang's style] is full of free spirit and yet coher-
ent, he is definitely an unprecedented talent. His
poetic language is fresh and rich, his tonal oatterns
melodious, which make us never tire of sHvouring
them. ''' 4 6
According to Zhong Rong, Zhang X i e integrated the poetic
strength, embellished language as well as melodious euphony into
a cohesive whole. This is sufficient to make him a f irst-rank
142
poet. However, Zhong Rong objects when people overly emphasize
and set up too many restrictions on euphony:
Poetical works, it seems to me, should be fundarnental-
ly written for recitation without causing speech
difficulties, and it would be quite enough if we could
make surdus and sonorous flow smoothly together so
that a poem can be recited harmoniously as well as
fluently. +'
Zhong Rong thinks it necessary to allow a smooth reading of
poetry and malqualities that might interfere with the flow
should be avoided. But, he does believe that too many prohib-
itions will "impair the true beauty of the poetryn ( shang qi
zhen mei E") .
W e i and yuanm8 (Flavour and Par- reaching)
Much has been said about the importance of the beauty of
language in generating poetic flavour. There is another indis-
pensable quality seen by Zhong Rong, namely the far-reach (yuan)
of poetic implications. The "Nineteen Ancient Poems", which
have been considered among the best of five-character poetry
with llflavourtl, were considered by Zhong Rong to possess this
" I b i d . , 29. Translation from Chu Whan Cha, "On Enquiries for
Ideal Poetry--An Instance of Chung Hung," 51.
i e I b i d . , 29.
143
quality. As we saw above, his praise for this group of poems
was enthusiastic:
Their language is genial and beautiful, and their
meaning is sorrowful and far-reaching (yi bei er
yuanms) .
One may note here that Zhong Rong attached special import-
ance to the far-reaching quality of the I1Nineteen Ancient
Poems. " Because they are f ar- reaching, " their penetrating
overtones could affect "those who savour themw (wei zhi zhemO);
when "far-reaching," the inexhaustible flavour of each word can
be felt by "those who listenM (wen zhi zheEef)
Zhong Rong further used the word jing j uesD' (startlingly
excellent) to describe the far-reaching impact those poems
exerted on the reader? "Even their historical era is lost in
oblivion; only their pure tones have lasted the distance. How
sad! l l Ea3 5 1
Talking about affective power of a literary work, Rene
Wellek and Austin Warren maintain:
Its aesthetic value must be so rich and comprehensive
as to include among its structures one or more which
gives high satisfaction to each later period.''
A few centuries may have passed by the time Zhong Rong
expressed his admiration for the "Nineteen Ancient Poems. l 1 It
was the aesthetic value, the far-reaching implications of those
poems that diminished the time and made Zhong Rong return to
them, to feel and experience their ziwei.
Zhong Rongfs emphasis on z i w e i both as the aesthetic merit
and the aesthetic experience of the poetic work was only a
beginning. The discussion continued after him and wei eventual-
ly became a concept that proved to be crucial in the development
of the Chinese poetics and in the Chinese poetics per s e .
5 2 ~ e n e Welleck and Austin Warren, Theorv of Literature, 233.
Endnotes c Chapter Three )
wei
ziwei
you ziwei
guawei
Laozi
shao
Lunyu . shuer
Zuo Zhuan
qi
You wei wei zhe
L i e z i . Tian rui pian
wei wu wei, shi wu shi, wei wu wei
A k h , Fk*, e*k*
sheng yi ru wei B ***
Shaogong ershi nian a&-=++
Lunheng 6 ;em
An essay must be written beautifully,
then it can be considered good. . .
17 . Ge Hong
1 8 . Zong Bing
1 9 . Ba o pu z i
20 . People who solely prefer the taste of sour and
saulty would not get its flavorg
People who have limits i n t h e i r thinking cannot
get its spirit.
p 3 1 f i B* - &* T 81 &%a;%? 3EftE#%+a
22. There are some standard criteria
for v i r t u e and conduct. . . .
&.rih;k+, %h&X; &*.fat*, ***i?. . .
k**&, b 4 L a w M o
23 . pinzao oOoi &
24. Hua shanshui xu <S3(7fC&>
25. The sage embraces the Dao when he responds to things. . .
f A$-;a.&$h, P&.**K*%
26. wanwei **
27. qiong qing xie wu ~~~~~
28. Guofeng C E l l O
29. Lisao C 8S>
3 1 . White clous embrace [ bao I the shaded rocks
Green bamboos charm [ rnei I the clear ripples.
6 *&&A,
s4.w *.&a
32. In the curving of the stream,
the flow keeps straying out of sight!
By the distant forest,
the cliffs cluster together.
N***S,
m 2 * 3 ? a
33. xiang, qie *, +I
34. yi shao & 3-
35. Give endless pleasure to those who savour them
and move the hearts of those who listen.
*=t&k&, W~~~~~
36. Niulang 4=6
37. Far, far, the Herdboy star,
Shimmering white, the Han River maid
. . . .
Only the span of a single brimming stream!
39. Strartling to one's heart and stirring to o n e r s soul,
it can be said that one word of it is worth a
thousand pieces of gold
WeW$, T+IfRt-++&
40. hua mei
41. shangmei
42. j ut i huamei
43. cicai huamao
44 . hua mi
45 . yinyun kengqiang
46. Talent outstanding
his entire corpus
* ma , ww&
47 . Wenfu
and phrasing rich
is splendidly beautiful
48. qi qianyan ye guiyan Xatd$%
4 9 . jujue yinghua uE*S*
50 . yanyu gaoze RE**
51. cicai huamao .iiJ%+iit
52. wen wen yi li %ZWX a
53. fan fu 3W
54 . fu yan We
55 . Zhang Xie 3EB
56. congqian
5 7 . Ying Ju
5 8 . Guo Pu *a
59 . shu mei zhan ke wan &&RTX
60. hua mi ke feng wei lS;Ak~;w+
61. xianzhang panyue, wenti xianghui,
biaobing ke wan z$ci&a, &*$wF, &%T%
6 2 . gantan zhici &<2Js7
6 3 . zhi mu wu wen $*%A
6 4 . Tang Huixiu *&#
6 5 , Weiwen Di 4kW
66. bizhi ru ouyu Wi+%i5
67. Za Shi C &*>
68. shu m e i zhan ke wan &4&#tTR
69. gong 1
70. Ying Yang B 5%
71. Liu Zhen
72 . Kong Rong %kir
74. Jian-An &a
76. [ Zhang s style ] is full of free s p i r i t and coherent . . .
kmm, mm& A # , .id7*$-&, -9-#e#,
i ? A * = t * WC ; t = f &O
77. shang qi zhen m e i fM&&
78. weiyuan
79, yi bei er yuan j& 3- 5-i&
8 0 . w e i zhi zhe *&&
8 1 . w e n zhi zhe @It5%
82. jing j ue Me
83. Even t hei r historical era is l o s t in oblivioni
only their pure tones have lasted the distance.
How sad !
A&%X, *-&&&, %+!
Chapter Four
THE ROLE OF IMAGERY IN THE Shi~ia
The traditional Chinese critical device of using concrete and
lively imagery to comment on poetry or poetic styles is clearly
illustrated in Zhong Rong's S h i ~ i n . As commonly regarded, Zhong
Rong is the first or among the first critics to use this device
extensively in poetry criticism. This approach to literary
works later became a basic model in literary and art criticism.
The imagery Zhong Rong employed to conduct his criticism
was drawn mainly from the natural world- It can be either
seasonal phenomena such as wind, rain, snow, and cloud, or the
inhabitants of the animal kingdom. Nat ur al vegetation was at
times also used. It can be as big as the river and sea, o r as
small as grass and sand. Sometimes Zhong Rong uses human
images, but only in very rare cases would he resort t o man-made
artifacts as his sources of imagery.
After summarizing the strong and weak points of the poetry
of one of his most favourite poets, Xie LingyunE1 (385-433),
Zhong Rong goes on to give an overall impression of ~ i e ' s poetry
which he expresses in the following images:
To be sure, wonderful strophes and superb couplets do
appear here and there and beautiful allusions and new
sounds do incessantly converge. It
pines towering out from thick bushes
shining amid dirt and sand, yet they
from his loftiness and purity.'2
is like green
or white jade
cannot detract
Zhong Rong indicates the advantages and disadvantages in
Xie's poetry by setting the images of green pines and white jade
against the contrasting images of thick bushes, dirt, and sand.
As we saw before, Zhong Rong makes the following comment on Cao
Zhi's poetry:
the Duke of Zhou and Confucius in the human ethics
(renlun) , the dragon and phoenix among those with
scales and feathers, the zithers and pan-pipes among
musical instruments, the embroidered sacrificial
garments among the products of women's handicraft.'
The images Zhong Rong employed here come from the realm of
the most celebrated and universally revered objects of his age,
whether they belong to human, musical or the animal world. All
this imagery describes the brilliance of Cao Zhi's poetry and
signifies its supreme quality. In a more literal style Zhong
'Shipin, 64. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, "The
Nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pin," 242.
'Chu Whan Cha, "On Enquiries for Ideal Poetry--An Instance of
Chung Hung," 53, revised by this writer. See Chapter One, endnote
39.
154
Rong says : "The poetic temperament is unusual yet elevated. The
diction is ornate and luxuriant. The sentiment is urbane as
well as sorrowful. The style has both artistry and substance. H 3
This is the kind of ideal poetry that could "prompt the liter-
ati, eagerly practising versification, to admire them
wholeheartedly, cherish them, and enlighten themselves by
sharing the distant glow of their light.ll" '
Sometimes the works of two equally talented poets are
compared to different images. Zhong Rong considered that "Lu
Ji's talent is like the sea and Pan ~ u e ' s ' ~ is like the Yangtze
~ i v 9 r ~ ' ~ 5 . In this comparison. Zhong Rong did not necessarily
indicate that one poet is better than the other, but that each
poet has his merits, which are extraordinary like the sea and
the Yangtze River. On other occasions, Zhong Rong imposed his
value judgements. To compare the poetic quality of Xie Lingyun
and Yan Yanzhi, he quoted Tang Huixiu's" (fl. 464) comments:
Xief s poetry is like lotus flowers
coming out of the water;
Yan's is like a mix of colour
' I b i d . , 5 4 . Translation from Chu Whan Cha, "On Enquiries for
Ideal Poetry--- Instance of Chung Hung," 54.
with inlays of goldE7.
This is to appreciate the beauty and yet spontaneity of Xie
Lingyun's poetry, but criticize implicitly the overly-embel-
lished style with the too obvious human element of Yan Yanzhi's
poetry. According to Zhong Rong, Tang Huixiufs remark made Yan
"feel regret all his lifetime."'
Zhong Rong uses imagery in his criticism in several ways.
First, as in most cases, he provides a summary of a particular
poetic style and draws upon relevant images to illustrate his
point. For example, commenting on Fan Yun'sBa poetry he says :
"Fan's poems are br aci ngl y nimble and smooth-turning, like a
flowing breeze swirling snow."'
Secondly, Zhong Rong would sometimes quote other people's
commentary which contains pertinent imagery as support to his
own poetic judgements. Tang Huixiu's remarks on Xie Lingyun and
Yan Yanzhi are of this kind. Occasionally, the poets' state-
ments on their own poetry are also used to describe the charac-
%zipin, 100. Translation from John
Nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pin, " 243.
' S h i p i n , 120. Translation from John
Nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pin, 243.
Timothy
Timothy
Wixted,
Wixted,
"The
" The
156
teristic of their work. The poet Yuan GU'~ is placed by Zhong
Rong in the lower rank, however, Yuan's high esteem of and his
use of imagery to describe his own poetry caught Zhong Rong's
attention. Yuan said: "My poems contain such lively vigour that
people must hold them tightly, otherwise they will simply fly
away. l1
The Interest in Imagery and Nature
This use of concrete imagery in literary criticism, which,
borrowing Chia-Ying Yeh's term, I call "imagistic criticism, "I0
was very much in vogue in the Six Dynasties. However, it was
not fully reflected in the sphere of literary criticism. The
earliest application of images to art criticism could be found
in commentary on calligraphy of the Wei-Jin period. Some
calligraphers of that time tended to express themselves through
various newly-invented styles of handwriting, whether the
"running, " "cursiveN or "regularM scripts". A style of cornrnen-
tary on calligraphy developed and the following are some
examples from the Wei-Jin period:
;OChia-Ying Yeh and Jan W. Walls, llChung Hung's Shih-Pin, 70.
"The Chinese calligraphy is considered a special form of art
due to its unique picturesque nature. Li Zehou describes it as
"the art of line in a highly concentrated and purified form.m See
his The Path of Beauty, 101.
When you look up at it, it is like the luxuriant mi s t
rising in the morning, a floating fog joining the
cloud; when you examine it closely, it flows like pure
wind and clear water which ripples, forming pat-
t e m s - ''' l2
The composition is beautiful like the iridescence of
a shining pearl; the flourish of the brush is like an
uplifted branch of spring flowers; the launch of the
stroke is unrestrained as the long eyebrows of a
beautiful girl ."I l3
Natural images like clouds, dawn mist, ripples, flowers,
wind, ice, or even lighting and storm were constantly and widely
used in calligraphy commentary. This represented, on the one
hand, the common practice in the Six Dynasties of perceiving
nature as a rich source for styles and strength; on the other
hand, it demonstrated the conscientious pursuit of beauty, that
is, using imagery to express the understanding of beaut y and to
show how the beaut y was specifically embodied in the forms of
characters, structure and composition. At an earlier stage,
calligraphy commentary of this kind would only describe ideals
of style in general. I t was used later to describe and discuss
the characteristics of individual calligraphers. For example,
Yuan AngE1' in his Guiin ~h u o i n e " (Past and Present Calliara-
phv) provided commentary to twenty-eight calligraphers of the
"Cheng Gongsui, Li s h u ti. Cited in Li Zehou and Liu Gangj i,
Zhonssuo meixue shi , Vol . 2, 432 .
"Yang Quan, Caoshu fu. Cited in Li Zehou and Liu Gangj i,
Zhonssuo meixue shi, vol. 2, 432.
158
past and in his time. His critical commentary included remarks
such as : "This personf s handwriting was regarded by viewers as
'a beauty wearing flowers, dancing and smiling on a mirroring
stage; ' yet it means there is too much nimble grace, and not
enough strength and energyH (Xuanhe shuprY1*) . Or, T h e
viewers consider this handwriting to be like ' t he start of the
floating wind, ' 'a fierce birdf s taking off, which describes
the power and vigour of the writing. "I5 These comments would
immediztely remind us of Zhong Rong's critical style although
Zhong Rong always provided a general characterization of each
poet in question.
It is notable that the calligraphy commentary during this
period had clearly made the association between 'beautyu and
calligraphy, owing to the general trend towards aesthetic
awareness in the Six Dynasties as I have indicated in the
Introduction of this study. Suo ~ing"' in his The Cursive
Script ( Caoshu Zhuan$l6) uses "ornateu ( q i mi Ei ' ) t o describe
the beauty of grass-like cursive scripts embodying a kind of
free spirit. Wang Mint s The Running Scri~t ( Xi ns s hu ~h u a n c f " )
associates qimi with the dynamics of the running s t yl e . And Liu
Yanzu' s The Flvins-white Scriat (Feibai s hus hi rnin@l9) uses
"Xuanhe S h u ~ u . Cited in Zhang Bowei, V h o n g Rong S h i ~ i n d e
piping f angf a l un? Zhonaquo s he hui k e x ue , 3 (1986). 164.
15Zhang Bowei ,
159
word, qimi, to convey the notion of the fine and graceful
organization of the flying-white style.16
It is this very word, qimi, that was later used in Lu Ji' s
well-known critical work, Nenf u, and became a catch-word to
modify the typical characteristics of the Six Dynasties'
literary tendency. It was also used as a specific critical term
to describe t he Six Dynasties understanding of the aspect of
poetry as distinguished from some non-literary f oms, as we have
seen in the discussion of Lu Ji's wenfu in Chapter mo of this
study .
The imagistic criticism was in conformity with the general
attitude of the Six Dynasties towards the natural world. This
was a time, that mountains, water, wind, trees, plants, and
clouds became the constant focus of not only poets but also the
painters as well as calligraphers. Correspondingly the tech-
niques for describing nature also attained a distinctive
development. Liu X i e in his Wenxin d i a ~ l o n $ ' ~ characterizes
the interest in scenic beaut y with the following words: Literary
men "pierce through t o the inner structure of a landscape and
1 6 ~ i Zehou, Zhonsguo meixue shi, Vol . 2 , 4 3 2 .
160
penetrate the appearances of plants,"17 which we have discussed
in Chapter Two. Also:
Mountains rise one behind another,
and waters meander and circle;
Trees interlace and clouds mingle.
Such sights before the eyes
Stir the mind to express itself.
"Spring days pass slowly, "
And autumn wind "soughs m~urnfully.~
The access of feeling for something is described
as the giving of a gift.
And the coming of inspiration as a response? ''
As if identifying himself with the spirit of the poets of
the Six Dynasties, Liu Xie in six beautiful images set in
parallel phrases describes the affinity between poets and the
natural world and how feelings and poetic inspiration arise
involuntarily.
Of the many epigrammatic lines (jing j u2" ' ) of poetry
produced during this period which have been admired, memorized
and recited by later generations, two of the best examples are
Xie Lingyun's famous couplets: "White clouds embrace the shaded
"~enxin diaolonq, 694. Translation from Vincent Yu-Chung
Shih, The Literarv Mind, 4 8 1 .
'arbid. , 695. Translation from Vincent Yu-Chung Shih, The
Literarv Mind, 483 and 4 8 5 ,
161
rocks; Green bamboos charm the clear ripplesu1s and: "By the
pond spring grass is growing; In the garden willows cause
singing birds to change. Zhong Rong characterizes them as
"wonderful strophes and superb coupletsv and believes only such
talented poets as Xie Lingyun who "internally never lacks
thoughts and poetic af fectionw is capable to portray things like
this. 21
Zhang Xie' sR2= ( ? -307 poems portrayed the beautiful images
of the natural world. One of his l~miscellaneous poemsn (Za
Ship*') goes as :
The autumn wind fans the white season;
Rosy clouds usher in the gloomy period,
Soaring clouds resemble a rising mist;
The dense rain is like loosened silk threads.
Cold flowers bloom in yellow hues,
The autumn grass bears emerald d e w .
7 9
- ..
Kang-i Sun Chang believes that this poem uculminates in a
transcendence of time where the sky, the elements, and the earth
"Cited in Kang-i Sun Chang, "Description of Landscape in Early
Six Dynasties Poetry, " 127.
" I b i d . , 127.
"Cited in Kang-i Sun Chang, "Description of Landscape in Early
Six Dynasties Poetry," 112.
162
exist in harmony.N23 Each line contains a vivid image and their
effect was enhanced by the poet's arranging them in parallel
form. Zhong Rong praised Zhang's poetry in the Shi pi n by
saying :
His literary style was flowery yet lucid, with very
little blemish and verbosity. In addition, he was
skilful at creating descrip&ve similitude i qi ao gou
xi ngsi zhi yan] B25. 2'
The descriptive similitude points to Zhang Xie's literary
skill of describing the natural world according to the rule of
verisimilitude or xiang qi e (detail and precision) ."
Whatever those scenic sights appear to be, such as "peace
and calm" or I1activity and exploration, I l 2 ' they are inevitable
results of the sensitive poets' response to the natural world.
Zhang Xie describes his aroused poetic feelings this way: "Moved
by things, my feelings fill my heart. '12' Zhong Rong makes a
" S h i ~ i n , 6 0 . Translation from Kang-i Sun Chang, I b i d . , 108.
I have replaced the Wade-Giles with Pinyin in the square bracket.
"This is Kang-i Sun chang's description of the difference
between poetry of Zhang Xie and Xie Lingyun. See Kang-i Sun Chang,
"Description of Landscape in Early Six Dynasties Poetry, lt 120.
hang X i e , Za Shi no. 6. Cited in Kang-i Sun Chang, "Descrip-
tion of Landscape in Early Six Dynasties Poetry," 118.
163
similar observation, as we s a w earlier in his preface of the
Shi pin :
Vernal breezes and springtime birds, the autumn moon
and cicadas in the fall, summer clouds and sultry
rains, the winter moon and fierce cold - - these are
what in the four seasons inspire poetic feeling.28
This is not only a general statement about the arousal of
poetic feeling but also a reflection of the Six Dynasties
burgeoning interest in portraying nature. Zhong Rong must have
been inspired by many such beautiful epigrammatic lines and so
he incorporated them into his S h i p i n as imagistic criticism.
One may notice that there is extensive use of images in Liu
Yiqing's New Account. One judgement recorded in the New Account
of the poetic merits of Pan Yue and Lu Ji goes: "Pan Yue's
writings are shallow, but limpid; Lu J i t s are deep, but weed-
choked. 11" It is interesting to see that Zhong Rong also passed
similar judgement on Pan's poetry which he considered shallower
than Lu's.~' However, he did not indicate that Lu's was "weed-
choked. " He quoted instead a comparison of the two poets and
"Shi oi n, 12. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, T h e Nature
of Evaluation in the Shih-pin," 239.
*'See Richard B. Mather's translation, A New Account of Tales
of t he World, 138.
164
attributed it to Xie HunE2': Van Yue's verse is resplendent,
like embroidery being spread out; it is everywhere beautiful.
Reading Lu Sits writing is like sifting sand to find gold; here
and there a gem appears. Actually the same phrase was
recorded in the New Account but it was attributed to Sun
Chuo . "" It is not difficult to find various graceful natural
images such as green pine, flowers, spring grass, white jade,
dragon, and phoenix used in both the New Account and the Shipin.
In the former they are used mostly to describe the characteris-
tics of human beings, their manners, personalities and in the
latter to comment on certain poetic styles and qualities.
Therefore, we can observe fascination of the Six Dynasties
towards the use of imagery.
Images and Their C u l ture-bound Aesthetic Cont ent
Much has been said so far about Zhong Rong's use of imagery in
the S h i ~ i n and its association with the aesthetic temperament
and style of commentary of the times. It is now time to examine
two out of many culture-bound aesthetic contents of these images
in order for us to understand better Zhong Rongf s choice of them
for his critical language. The questions that should be borne
in mind are: What are the cultural commonality of these images?
bid. , 56. Translation from John Timothy Wixted, "The Nature
of Evaluation in the Shih-pin, 243.
165
Do they contain comprehensible aesthetic connotations to induce
desired response? And why should it be that this imagistic
criticism later become a critical tradition that concentrated
itself in the poetry-talk style of commentary. The images I
choose to analyze are among those most heavily used and fre-
quently referred to in the later commenta~q or criticism.
Lotus flower coming out of the water (Furong chushuim8)
As we have mentioned earlier in this chapter, Zhong Rong
borrowed Tang Huixiu's comments which compared Xie Lingyun's
poetry to the "lotus flowers coming out of the wateru whereas he
ascribed the trait of " a mix of colours with inlays of gol dt t 3*
t o Yan Yanzhi's poetry. This is the first time that the
lotus/water image was incorporated into poetry criticism. The
response towards this comparison was overwhelming in critical
circles. After Zhong Rong's application of this image, it
appeared constantly in the literary and art commentary. Many
n a t u r a l l y and beautifully written poems attracted comments using
the lotus/water image as comparison, though there might be
variations of use in each.
''John Timothy Wixted, "The Nature of Evaluation in the Shih-
pin," 243.
166
The lotus/water image had enjoyed favour from earliest
times in the history of Chinese poetry. Prior to its use in
poetry criticism, it makes its appearance several times in the
Shiiinq, as the setting of a beautiful scene or as an object by
which to compare a beautiful person.
Qu yuanE2' . (ca 343-278 B .C. , the great poet of the War-
ring States, in his "Encountering SorrowN (li S a o E 3 0 ) made
symbolic use of the lotus:
I made a coat of lotus and water-chestnut leaves,
And gathered lotus petals to make myself a skirt."' 33
This is t o signify that the poet would do everything to maintain
his virtue, which is pure and fragrant like the lotus flower,
rather than fall in the mire with the evil around him.
During the course of the Six Dynasties more poets, for
example, Cao Zhi and Xie Lingyun, used this lotus/water image in
their poems and created spectacular poetic effects w i t h it.
"xianain wenxue shi cankao z i l i ao. Ed: Beij ing dame zhongguo
wenxue s hi jiaoyan s h i (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1962). 510.
- - -
Translation from Pauline Yu, he Readins of Imagery in the .dhinese
Poetic Tradition, 93.
167
The lotus/water image was from the very beginning endowed
with meanings as 1) beautiful, natural, fresh, and 2) lofty,
pure, and virtuous, because of its lovely and delicate appear-
ance. The ancient Chinese always adored lotus flowers, the
poets sang of them with great emotion and the painters drew them
with great passion. The aesthetic experience towards the
flowers becomes a shared property passing on from one generation
to another. And with the constant artistic attention, the
lotus/water image was even more appreciated, admired, and loved
as time went on and came to be a part of the collective aes-
thetic taste. Therefore when properly used, it could call up
the desired response.
As far as we can trace, Zhong Rong is the first person to
introduce the lotus/water image as a medium for critical
judgement to the Chinese poetry criticism. The judgement he
adopted to compare Xie Lingyun's poetry to the "lotus flowers
coming out of water, and to compare Yan Yanzhi's to the "mix of
colour with inlays of goldH was used in the language of later
critics.14 We see a similar comparison between Xie Lingyun and
Yan Yanzhi recorded in the ~anshi"' (The Historv of Southern
Dvnasties) . We see also a later critic, Jiao Ran,'33 of the
Tang Dynasty had a sympathetic response to this imagistic
168
comment (lotus flowers coming out of the water) upon Xie Lingyun
in his Shishin4-
It is evident that as soon as the lotus/water image was
introduced into poetry criticism, it was everywhere well
received. The transformation in the imagistic content of the
lotus from description of natural beauty to the designation of
poetic qualities was smooth and complete.
As an aesthetic judgement, the lotus/water comparison
gained much more ground after Tang Dynasty, owing probably to Li
Bo' sS3' (701-762) effort. Li Bo showed tremendous enthusiasm
towards the aesthetic quality the lotus/water stood for. His
famous line in the poem, "Present to Taishou Wei" ( Z e n q J i a n s x i a
we i t ai s hou liang z ai n6) , en j oyed extreme favour throughout
centuries. Even today it is still being cited as a critical
remark of accuracy and beauty. Li Bo wrote:
To read your poem of Jin-mountain,
even Jiang (Jiang Yan) and Bao (Bao Zhao)
would be surprised.
Like the lotus coming out of
limpid water
It is natural, eschewing
all that is ornate."37 ''
'5S~ Zhongxiang. ed. Li Du shi xuan (Shanghai : Shanghai guj i
chubanshe, 1957) , 63.
169
Li Bo. in his fondness for the lotus wrote frequently of it
in his poetry, where he speaks both of it and his attachment to
it. In this poem to Taishou Wei he uses the lotus/water image in
the same sense as Zhong Rong does in commenting on Xie Lingyun's
poetry.
After Li Bo, more critics started using lotus/water image
in their criticism. Jiao Ran in the Shishi makes the lotus/
water quality the highest among his poetic standards. Gao
~ h o n g w u ~ ~ ~ and Quan ~eyu~'' both used it to characterize their
favourite poetic style. As an aesthetic term, the lotus image
eventually entered the universe of the famous Tang critic.
Sikong Tu, 640 in his Ershisi shi~in"' (Twent y- f our Wes of
Poetrv) 36. In the fifth of his twenty-four poetic categories,
"Lofty and Ancient" (Gao Gus'') , Sikong writes :
The man of wonder rides the pure.
In his hand he holds a lotus;
He drifts on through unfathomed aeons,
In murky expanses, bare of his trace ."' 3 7
36Sikong Tu's work shares a similar title with Zhong Rong's
book.
"Guo Shaoyu, Zhonoquo l i d a i wenl un man, vol. 1, 204.
Translation from Stephen Owen, Readings in Chinese Literarv
Thousht , 3 13 .
170
Here Sikong Tu describes the kind of poetic quality which
is aloof from the ordinary world. It can only be comprehended
within a specific realm, which is at the same time tranquil and
peacefully remote, as well as deep and lonely. The lllotuslr
herein serves to substantiate the characteristics of this poetic
quality because of its naturalness, beauty and its symbolic
meaning that related to the Daoist and Buddhist viewpoints. By
this time, the tllotus/waterfl ( qi ngshui furon$'') was already
taken as a fixed expression in the poetry criticism and the
essence it stood for had become an aesthetic standard for ideal
poetry.
The White Jade
At times in the S h i ~ i n , Zhong Rong would use the image of jade
to describe a poetic style or language he admired:
It is like green pines emerging
from thick bushes or
White jade shining amid dirt and sandms. ''
Zhong Rong makes this comment about Xie Lingyun to indicate
the excellence of his poetry. The image was useful as well when
discussing Xie Tiao, ''' the middle-ranking poet, attempting to
171
point out that in Xie Tiao's poetry there are good aspects and
not so good:
Within every one of his poems, there is always jade
and stones to be found ."" 39
Thus jade is used as a contrast to dirt, sand and stone to
illustrate the better qualities of Tiaofs poetry.
Jade, the smooth and beautiful stone, has constantly been
favoured and cherished by Chinese. This adoration of jade can
be traced back as early as 3000 BC." A jade decoration could
signify a person's wealth or a prestigious social status in
ancient times. The well-known mythical ruler, Huang Di, was
s ai d to have creat ed with it clothes for human beings and from
his time onward, the emperors would wear jade pendants without
exception. '' In the Shi iinq. there are many depictions of
beautiful persons wearing j ade ornaments ; in some instances,
jade is used to symbolize beautiful looks.
''Xu Jinxiong, Gushi z at an (Taibei: Taiwan shangwu yinshuguan,
1991), 84.
172
The description, flLovely as jade, also appears from time
to time in the Shiiinq. This must have ecouraged comparing jade
or relating it to the sort of lovely and precious qualities
whether it is a human being or object.
Jade was not only loved by passionate poets, it was also
admired by serious scholars, because of its quality. In the
Book of Rites, jade was used to illustrate the virtues of
refined gentleman ( j un ziE4') : I t (the jade) is gently smooth
and illuminating, that is benevolence (re12"~~) . . . It is clear
and pure and never to harm, that is the righteousne~s.~~' This
shows that the amient Chinese valued and cherished jade in the
extreme. This cultural tradition had been carried on for
centuries, even to the modern times to a great extent. Differ-
ent from the Book of Rites, the New account resumed the tradi-
tion of the Shiiinq to compare jade to beautiful human beings.
In describing P e i LinggongEs\ it says that Pei has such good
appearance and manner, whether he dressed up or not, it is just
fine. His contemporaries regarded him as yurenEsl (a man of
jade). Seeing him people would remark that it is "like walking
on top of a jade mountain (yushanES2) , with the light reflected
back at you. "" There are many other descriptions of human
"Quoted in Xu Jinxiong, Gushi zat an, 85.
"Liu Yiqing, ed. Shishuo xinvu, 152. Translation from Richard
B. Matter, A New Account of Tales of the World, 311.
173
features as yaolinB5' (jade forest) and two equally handsome
friends as lianbis5' (linked- jade disks) . From the above
survey, we can see that the love and admiration of jade were
caused primarily by its exquisite and beautiful appearance. In
the historical process however, more refined qualities of the
jade were discovered by those who would in turn attach broader
significance to it. This begins to suggest how jade was taken
in the Chinese mind and in the material culture.
From the above survey we learn that Zhong Rong' s preference
for using the jade image to compare and define the superior
literary quality of poetry thus has its basis in the Chinese
jade culture and aesthetics. It is in the jade, its exquisite
quality and beautiful outer took, its smoothness, illuminative-
ness. clarity and purity. Zhong Rong found the necessary char-
acteristics that ideal poetry should have.
Some other images Zhong Rong uses in his work are also
suggestive. For example. :'green pinem is taken by the Chinese
to symbolize something lofty, outstanding and sometimes
uncompet itive ; the Ir dragonft and "phoenixu stand for power,
vigour and beauty; the sea and the Yangzi River denote richness
(in talent) and profundity. In sum, they are all culture- and
value-laden images and function as specific critical terms in
Zhong Rongls poetic discourse. After the Shi~in, this kind of
imagistic criticism gained more ground, Some imagistic compari-
sons used by Zhong Rong were repeatedly quoted or alternatively
used in subsequent literary commentary. In actuality, with
Zhong Rong this imagistic practice began to be a distinctive
mode in traditional Chinese literary criticism.
The Role of Imagery
In his book, The Art of Chinese Poetrv, James J.Y. Liu devoted
some space to the analysis of the use of imagery in Chinese
poetry. Although Liu's analytic perspective is different from
the present study which focuses on the use of imagery in poetry
criticism, his insights can be of benefit. Liu pointed out that
by its very familiarity, a conventional image can t f cal l forth
the desired response and the relevant associations,uii just as
long as
the poet uses images which have similar associations
to build up a coherent picture, or if he uses a
conventional image but gives it a twist or a fresh
significance in a new context, or if he further
develops such an image or modifies it to suit his
present purpose.. . 4 5
i4James J.Y. Liu, The Art of Chinese Poet- (Chicago: Univer-
sity of Chicago Press, 1962) , 115.
175
This accurately describes Zhong Rong's use of imagery in
the S h i ~ i n . The images he uses have some shared cultural and
aesthetic resonances in the history of Chinese culture and aes-
thetics and this is drawn into the context of his commentaries
where the meaning is given another dimension, or even gains its
multi-valence.
For example, the lotus/water image, we may say, is beauti-
ful to all eyes, whether to Chinese or non-Chinese. However,
this image or the kind of beauty it brings is distinctive and
not replaceable by other flower images. During their long
cultural history, the Chinese have endowed it with more symbolic
significance. It takes on, besides representing "beautyv and
wfreshness~ in the Shiiinq, the meanings of "purity,"
"lof tynessm and "virtue1' (the use of Qu Yuan) , ~naturalness,
Vlaritytt (the use of some Six Dynasties poets like Cao Zhi, Xie
Lingyun, etc.) and some implications rooted in religious
contexts. Thus, when Zhong Rong uses this image to describe Xie
Lingyun's poetic style in contrast to Yan Yanzhi's "mix of
colour with inlays of gold, " the readerf s cultural knowledge and
imagination would be evoked and he is able to sketch quickly a
picture of the merits of Xief s poetry. Especially, when one
combines his reading of the imagistic criticism with the
rationalized comments on the two poets (Zhong Rong characterizes
Xie as rich in "poetic inspirations and talent and comments on
176
Yan as If enj oying allusions, thus his poems looked constrainedIr )
he could have a fuller sense and better understanding of the
general poetic style of Xie and Yan. Not to mention the marked
difference between the two, the talented and yet spontaneous
presentation of Xie and the demonstrated constraint and overly
obvious artistry of Yan, as Zhong Rong described it, will also
be meaningful to him, indeed perhaps offering a basis for his
conclusions and construct his summaries.
Discussing the successful use of images in a poetic work,
Professor Wayne Schlepp gives special emphasis to the issue of
balance. He believes that there is a:
balance that must be struck between how tight or lax
is syntax structure and how natural or forced, within
literary conventions, is the association between the
things related. This balance, assuring on the one
hand comprehensibility, and on the other, freshness
and lively imagery, is basic to the success of all
figures of speech.
Although the statement does not directly point to the use
of imagery in poetry criticism, it will certainly benefit our
present discussion. Zhong Rongts imagistic comments on the
"Wayne Schlepp, an-ch 'ii: Its Techniaue and Imaqerv (Madison:
The University of Wisconsin Press, 1970) , 104.
177
Liang poet Fan Sun could serve as a good illustration for us how
the images work. I shall repeat his comments for the conveni-
ence of discussion:
Fan's poems are bracingly nimble (qingbian) and
smooth-turning ( wanz huan) , like a flowing breeze
swirling snow. 85S 47
Zhong Rong ' s summary as qingbianEs6 describes the fresh-
ness, grace and syntactical compactness of Fan's poems whereas
the subtle, clever turns are what wanzhuanEs' connotes. Reading
Fan' s Poem of DepartureM (~ieshi'~') , we may have a sense of
his poetic style:
East and west of Luoyang City,
You parted long without return;
Then [xi] when you left, snow fell as flowers,
Now [ j i n ] as you return, flowers blow like snow ."' "
The temporal change is displayed by the contrast between
the past ( x i ) and the present ( j i n ) , as well as in the substitu-
tion of seasonal phenomena such as snow and flowers. The two
nouns of locality, qSb3 (rendered in English as ltleavell) and
l ai E6' (coming back) signify the spacial change. Reading this
"see Note 8 in this Chapter. Pinyin added.
"Jiang Shuge and Jiang Yibo, ed. H a n Wei Liuchao shi sanbai
show (Changsha: Yuelu shushe, 19921, 353.
178
poem, one's mind is bound to move back and forth between the
past and the present x i ; qu/lai; xue/hua) and experience
the poetic feeling and meaning revealed through the change of
seasonal images. Therefore, we may say the style demonstrated
in this poem is, generally speaking, agreeable to Zhong Rong's
summary - - qingbian wanzhuan, while Zhong Rong ' s further
imagistic comparison of Fan's style to ''a flowing breeze
swirling snown would bring special effect to a critical under-
standing. Associating Fan's style with the images of "breezef1
and "snown would reinforce the impression of the freshness and
the gracefulness; and the interesting use of adjectives 'flow-
ing" ( 1 ~ ~ ~ ) and If swirling" ( hui s") could make the "breezetf
and "snowf1 images more lively, so as to "put actual things into
unusual and illuminating perspective^.^'^ Eventually the
apprehension of the characteristic of "smooth-turning,"
reflected both in the poetic structure and in its effect could
be strengthened.
Images, therefore, when properly used in poetry criticism,
can "serve as a device for explaining, clarifying, and making
vivid what the speaker is talking about, since at this point
i9~ayne Schlepp, San ~ h u : Its Technicrue and Imaaerv, 103.
*O~lex Preminger et al., Ed., Princeton Enc~clo~edia of Poetry
and Poetics (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press,
1990), 371.
179
"the reader would not only know but feel what the speaker is
responding to.n5L Imagery is able to evoke responses that no
other form of expression might, sr! this helps to explain why
imagistic criticism enjoyed such long-lasting favour in Chinese
literary criticism.
Imagistic criticism has drawn both praise and criticism
from scholars of Chinese literature. Three reasons for favour-
ing it are:
Firstly, imagistic criticism gives the critic's general
aesthetic impression and experience of the poetry, which in turn
helps the reader to grasp the overall style of the poetry.52
Secondly, using juxtaposed phrases and beautiful imagery
the imagistic criticism itself demonstrates a sort of inspiring
poetic beauty and artistry. It stimulates the reader to I 1 a more
sensitive and critical appreciation of the subject.us3
Thirdly, with their rich symbolic connotations, the images
are inconclusive and open-ended and allow room for a wider range
'%hang Bowei , 'I Zhong Rong Shipin de pi pi ng fangfa llm, 165 .
S 3 ~ e h Chia-Ying and Jan W. Walls. Theory, Standards, and
Practice of Criticizing Poetry in Chung Hung's Shih-Pin,"
70.
180
of interpretations. Being merely suggestive, they stimulate the
imagination and evoke more from the reader?
It may be added, on the other hand, that a sort of ration-
alist thinking, or a too rigid analysis might deceive the reader
as well as the writer into thinking that what is said is
conclusive, henceforth distorting facts. Cases like this can be
easily drawn from both ancient and modern criticism.
Some scholars believe the shortcomings of imagistic criti-
cism lie in its lack of a rational and theoretical basis and
objectively defined standards. It is even worse in the cases
where the imagery was inappropriately used and can mislead the
reader. "
So far, we have spoken about imagistic criticism, its
historical context and the possible advantages and disadvantages
which I believe accrue to it. We turn now to questions of its
underlying causes both as literary criticism and in the arts in
general.
an Jingtai, Zhonwuo shixue vu chuan tons wenhua jinqshen
(Chengdu: Sichuan renmin chubanshe, 1989). 159.
"yeh Chia-Ying and Jan W. Walls. "Theory, Standards, and
Practice of Criticizing Poetry in Chung Hung's Shih-Pin, 70.
181
Modem critics tend to attribute the cause of this critical
style to the uunderdevelopmentli of the Chinese l z z ~ ~ a g e for
expressing abstract thought, or further, the "underdevelopment
of abstract thinking.Its6 This, in my view, only partially
touches che truth. As I mentioned in the Introduction the
ancient Chinese were aware of the limit of language from the
earliest times on:
Writing does not exhaust words;
w o r d s do not exhaust meaning6' ''
Even so, the sage in an effort to solve this problem:
Set up the images in order to exhaust meaning;
Instituted t he h e x a g r a m s in order t o exhaust
the true nature or the factitious i n things;
Appended words to them (the hexagrams) in order
to exhaust what they had to say.'65
Hence we know that "setting up images to exhaust meaningqf
is not a foreign topic for the cultivated Chinese especially not
for Zhong Rong wh o was said to have a good knowledge of the Book
'%ee Han Jingtai, Zhonssuo shixue vu chuantono wenhua
iinsshen, 153.
"Xie Dahuang, Y i i i n ~ baihua zhuvi , 3 3 .
' V b i d . , 3 3 .
182
of Chansess. Imagery was considered essential to convey what
words cannot fully express. Although the images mentioned in
the Book of Chanae were not in reference to poetics, it is safe
to assume that this awareness of the necessity of images would
inevitably lead to the awareness of the need for poetic images.
The attitude toward the images would eventually have an effect
upon the imagistic thinking in poetics. Chinese poetics has
been nourished by Chinese philosophical thinking and has
developed in active interaction with it. It is in this sense
that imagistic criticism in art and literature reflects the
Chinese consciousness towards imagery.
Chinese thinkers believed that the totality of the world
can be kept intact only when it is not hampered by language.
Lao Zi has this famous utterance:
The Dao that can be dao-ed [spoken of 1
Is not the constant dao;
The name that can be named
Is not the constant name.60
The indication is that the dao is most ineffable and as
soon as language enters in (i-e., to speak about it), its
59~ans hi , Zhons Rons zhuan. See Wei J i n Nan B e i Chao wenxue shi
cankao ziliao, 617.
6%aozi, 1 Translation from Zhang Longxi, The Tao and the
Loqos (Durham: Duke University Press, 1992) , 27.
183
essence will have been undermined. Tnis demonstrates the Daoist
concern about the totality and true meaning of the world. This
explains as well why the sage prefers to rely upon images since
language would fail to express what it aims to and thus actually
distort the reality.
Therefore, instead of being a sign of the underdevelopment
of Chinese abstract language and thinking, this em~loyment of
concrete imagery is an effort to circumvent the inadequacies
which are inherent in all languages. This imagistic criticism
keeps the critic from too much abstraction, which actually draws
him away from the matter at hand, and allows the images to bear
upon a particular meaning by interacting with each other and the
obj e c t of their description according to their inner logic. By
using imagistic language, a culture-bound convention of signif i-
cance will be invoked in the reader whose imagination and
associations will be stimulated and the meaning will be
concretized automatically.
After Zhong Rong, some critics of subsequent periods used
imagistic criticism as their mode of discourse. Among those, I
shall her e mention the Tang critic Sikong Tu and the Song critic
Yan YuE6'. In his own S h i ~ i n , Sikong Tu used various kinds of
imagery, from cosmology to nature, from the animal world to
sage, in pursuing his interpretation of poetry. Yan Yu,
184
however, selected the most subtle and intangible imagery,
suffused with Zen buddhist ideas, as h i s critical language.
There are such expressions as "sound in the air, colour in
appearances, the moon in the water, or an image in the mir-
ror. l t 6 1 Yan claimed that there are "limited words but unlimited
meaningw in these images, that i s the very reason for using
them.62 This poetic understanding of Yan agrees with Zhong
Rong's poetic ideal - - "when words come to the end, meaning
lingers on, f163 that is where the power of imagistic criticism
resides.
"GUO Shaoyu, Zhonsguo l i d a i wenlun xuan, Vol.2, 424. Transla-
tion from James J.Y. Liu, Chinese Theories of Literature, 39.
Endnotes c Chapter Four )
1. Xie Lingyun iiMS
2. To be sure, wonderful strophes and superb couplets
do appear here and there. . . green pines towering out
from thick bushes or white jade shining amid dirt
and sand. . .
#X*X~I , Wkl ;i l &, BMi Q, %*#em
4%***W*, ta xak* $,#&E*&;&&,,
3 . Prompt t he literati, eagerly practising versification . . .
#E1=*#;e 92, .S&, *js*riij*&,
w*a b #a
4. Pan Yue *a
5. Lu Ji's talent is likened to the sea
and Pan Yue * s t o t he Yangtze River
Hi***, .2&;5*%
6 . Tang Huixiu i6 $56
7 Lotus flowers coming out of t he water
A m i x of colors with inlays of gold
&* XE, % X M
8 Fan Yun Z*
9 Yuan Gu dt
10. Look up at it, it is like the
luxuriant m i s t r i s i ng i n t he morning. . .
Vpb?E*, ap%T#&l*, ma&*;
4#6&t, ijlCS*RS*, .&*&L
11. Yang Quan 45% <1FPW
The composition is beautiful like the iridescence
of a shining pearl.
Yuan Ang
Gujin Shuping
Xuanhe shupu
Suo Jing
Caoshu zhuang
q i m i
Xingshu Zhuang
Feibai shushi ming
Wenxin diaolong
Mountains rise one
22. j i ng ju
23 . Zhang Xie 3kBZ;
2 4 . Za shi C Wb
26 . X i e Hun i#;.
27. Sun Chuo +*
28 . f urong chushui XS&;3c
29 . Qu Yuan hi?&
30. Li sao <A*>
31. I made a coat of lotus and
and
water-ches t n ~ ~t leaves,
gathered lotus petals to make myself a skirt.
+JXkaifi;A+,
% EiW ifi s o
32. Nanshi <&&>
33. J i a o Ran a*
31 . Shi s hi wenzhang zongzhi <+&: 2 $ O 8,
3 5 . Li Bo ?Fa
36 . zeng j iang xiawei taishou liang zai <~@irx+, A+ &*,
37. To read your poetry of Jing-mountain,
even Jiang and Bao would be moved and frightened.
As if the lotus flower coming out of
the limpid water,
they are so natural without any ornate decoration.
%*#I A++,
%%#+I $ 0
**&ES?
kW&n$*.
3 8 . Gao Zhongwu
39 . Quan Deyu
40 . Sikong Tu
4 1 . Ershisi shipin
42. Gao Gu
43 . The man of wonder rides the pure,
In his hand he holds a lotus9
He drifts on through unfathomed aeons,
In murky expanses, bare of hi s trace .
*A*&?
+ k X %
U&*,
Q~ r a .
44. qingshui furong %biGE%
45. It is like green pines towering out
from thick bushes, or
white jade shining amid dirt and sand.
658kW.Y
46. Xie Tiao
4 7 . Within every one of his poems, there is
always j ade and stones to be found .
-**+ Q * ~ & o
4 8 . junzi
4 9 . ren 6
50 . Pei Linggong X W?
51. yuren 4h
52. yushan 3.h
53. jade forest S4+
55 . Fan ' s poems are bracingly nimble and smooth- turning,
like a flowing breeze swirling snow.
s"s**E, *#, *2w.El*
56 . qingbian : HE
57. wanzhuan +JE#
58. bieshi 81
59. East and west of Luoyang city. . . .
Sf8hk*i% ,
* 4 w e t % 3 0
**S*Z,
+*ZMSO
61. lai
62. 1iu
63. hui
64 . Writing would never exhaust words
Words would never exhaust meaning
%W$Sp ST+%
65. Set up the images in order to exhaust meaning!
Institute the hexagrams in order to exhaust
the true nature or the factitius in things,
Appended words to them in order to exhaust
what they had t o say.
i EA&&X&d l p iE4bXJ$4-4, %q%gA+&Sa
66 . Yan Yu
CONCLUSION
When the Qing scholar He wenhuanEt compiled the Lidai shihua"
(Talks on Poet ry Chronolocricallv Arransed) , the Shi~in was
placed in his first entries .' Because of ~ e ' s practice, many
later scholars mistakenly regarded the S h i ~ i n as one of the
shihuaU (poetry- talk) .
Is the Shi~in truly a shihua? The answer is no. To be
fair, the Shi~in does share some traits with shihua, but it is
not itself a shihua. As commonly perceived, shihua are not
works of serious concern but rather, using the Song dynasty
shihua writer Ouyang xiu'sU words, "an a i d to light conversa-
tion.~'' Zhong Rong's S h i ~ i n is different in this respect. It
was consciously motivated, purposefully designed and carefully
written. The Chinese literary historian Guo Shaoyu has pointed
out that "the Shinin is a serious work among literary criti-
cism."' As we know, shihua are usually collections of random
jottings of poets and their works (see Introduction, note 25)
' ~ e Wenhuan, ed . , L i d a i shihua, 2 vols . , (Beij ing : Zhongnua
shuju, 1982). The other two in the first entries were Jiao Ran's
S h i s h i and Sikong Tu's E r s h i s i shipin.
'~uoted in Yh i h -hua, The Indiana Com~anion, 69 5.
'see "Preface" of Wang Fuzhi, Qins shihua, 2 vols. (Shanghai :
Shanghai gu j i chubanshe, 1963 ) , 1.
192
but the S h i ~ i n is not. It is systematic in its categorization
and evaluation and has its own logic and written order.
The S h i ~ i n is the first attempt at a systematic evaluation
of individual poets and their works - For Zhong Rong, poetry was
not treated as merely a medium to mirror the temperament of the
age, or to aid politics and moral education. It is primarily an
entity i n itself, an independent field of study and deserved to
be studied for its own sake. Zhong Rong's consciousness and
seriousness in writing the Shiwin is reflected in the following
areas :
1) The Shipin is a conscious critical effort;
2) The S h i p i n has its specific format and principles for
making classifications;
3 ) The Shi- in has a clear set of objectives and proved t o be
faithful to them.
I shall discuss each of these characteristic in the following
pages .
The Shipin Is a Conscious Critical Effort
Reviewing the poetic practice of his times, Zhong Rong was
extremely dissatisfied, but not because there was a lack of
enthusiasm in poetry writing or any shortage of attempts at
production. It was the meagreness of good poetry and, more
vital, the lack of criteria in poetic evaluation that caused
Zhong Rong' s concern :
As for officials who serve in the courts of noblemen.
whenever time is left over from state discussions.
they invariably turn to the topic of poetry. As each
follows his individual predilections, the critique of
one is at variance with that of another. The Zi and
Sheng flow indiscriminately;" vermilion and purple,
the pure and impure, each vies with the other.
Discussions turn into disputations, and there is no
reliable standard.
Confusion occurred since there was no dependable standard
and poetic rules to follow. Men of letters of that time strove
to make their poems exceptional by the use of historical
allusion or imitation of celebrated writing. Some of them even
flippantly mocked the outstanding poets Cao Zhi and Liu 2henEs
.
"regarding them as old fashioned and unsophisticated and
considering their own works master pieces. Unfortunately, in
others ' opinions they were but something clumsy and unbearable
to read.' This situation made Zhong Rong realize that serious
'Zi and Sheng are two rivers in the Shandong province of
China. As the legend goes the water in the two rivers tastes very
different; but when the two merged into one, people could not
distinguish one from the other.
'Shi~in. 16. Translation from John Timothy Cixted, "The
Nature of Evaluation in the Shih-pin, 226. A light revision is
made by this writer.
'Shi~in, 14.
I MAbt LVALUAIIUN
TEST TARGET (QA-3)
APPLIED I WGE . lnc
I653 East Main Street
-
-.
- Rochester. NY 14609 USA
--
--
- - Phone: 716/482-0300
--
--
- - Fax: 71 61288-5989
0 1993. Applied Image. Inc.. All Rqhts Reserved