Abstract
From "the study of poetry and prose" in the pre-Qin period (before 221-207 B.C.) to "the study of The Book of Poetry" in the Han Dynasty and to "the study of poetry" in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the idea of poetry study in China undergoes constant change from the earliest concept of "expressing will (yanzhi)" in the antiquity. "Expressing will" is "recording events (jishi)" and "writing down the speech (jiyan) ," and fictionalization has no value in the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties. The act of recording contributes the main content of Chinese ancient poetry, while the appropriation of poetry for moral teaching, communication, and illustrating history and geography to poems contributes the main purpose of Chinese ancient poetry. This results in a theoretical system of poetry study very different from the Western poetics and criticism, and in this system can be found at least nine ideas and concepts such as "poetry essence (shi ben)," "poetry use (shi yong)," "poetry thinking (shi si)," "poetry schema (shi shi)," "poetry story," "poetry comments (shi ping)," and "poetry rituals (shi li)" etc. These categories in Chinese ancient poetry study may provide a unique approach to ancient Chinese poetry before the Tang Dynasty.
First Page
173
Last Page
181
Recommended Citation
Zhong, Shilun. 2015. "Ideas of Poetry Study and the Paradigms of Chinese Poetry Studies." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 35, (4): pp.173-181. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol35/iss4/10
