Abstract
Images and artistic conception in ancient Chinese poetics are in fact a beauty of inner-vision, which is the origin of what are seen as aesthetic standards: "yan wai zhi yi (lit. implication beyond words)" and "yun wai zhi zhi (lit. resonance beyond tone)". The beauty of inner-vision exactly reflects the basic aesthetic attributes of literature. Mei Yaochen, a poet in the Song Dynasty, says, "Depicting what is hard to depict as if before the eyes and expressing unlimited meaning beyond words." The inner logic for this sentence is that the former is the premise of the latter. Ideas such as "interest in the glorious age of Tang" by Yan Yu, "clear image" by Wang Tingxiang, "non-partition" by Wang Guowei etc., are all examples of inner-vision beauty. In terms of poetic writing, the beauty of inner-vision relies on the integrated artistic conception created by the subject's imitation of appearance and capture of the essence, with perception playing a key role. In terms of artistic media, the inner configuration is the foundation of "implication beyond words".
First Page
58
Last Page
66
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Jing. 2017. ""As if before the Eyes" and "Seen beyond Words": the Aesthetic Pursuit and Function of Inner-Vision in Chinese Poetics." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 37, (1): pp.58-66. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol37/iss1/1
