Abstract
Chuiwan Guangzhen had a clear understanding of the imitation and plagiarism in Zen in the late Ming dynasty, and put forward the theory of “using poetry to describe Zen”, that is, “the method of poetry is the method of Zen”. It was not only a development in the theory of Zen poetry, but also reflected his concern about the current situation of Zen. Chuiwan Guangzhen considered “real Zen method” as a “real poetry method”, leading Xie Zhen’s poetry method of “four interpretations” to the method of “real Zen” and incorporating the way of Zen into poetics. He believed that the ancient and modern ways shared one spirit and pointed out the true essence of poetry from the standpoint of a Zen monk. In the late Ming dynasty with frequent upheavals, Chuiwan Guangzhen resorted to loyalty and filial piety in Buddhist rituals and incorporated Confucianism into Zen, reflecting the Buddhist thought of salvation. Although Zen’s “poetry expressing aspirations” and “incorporating poetry into Zen” reflected the thought of salvation, it ended up being Zen. The distinction between poetry and non-poetry lies in Zen, not in art.
Keywords
the late Ming dynasty, Chuiwan Guangzhen, the relationship between poetry and Zen, incorporating Confucianism into Zen
First Page
216
Recommended Citation
Wang, Tingfa. 2022. "Reconstructing the Relationship between Poetry and Zen and Incorporating Confucianism into Zen in the Late Ming Dynasty: Centering on Chuiwan Guangzhen." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 42, (2): pp.216. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol42/iss2/22
