Abstract
The poetics of “laborious versifying” was an important practice in the development of literary theory from the mid- and late Tang to the Five dynasties under the influence of metaphysics from the Wei and Jin dynasties. With the construction of metaphysical literary theory as a direct starting point, the laborious poets considered themselves as “authors” and promoted poetry to a noumenal level. Poetry became the only way for this abnormal group to settle their souls. Methodologically, the “discrimination of words and meanings” extended to two dimensions. First, “words cannot exhaust meaning” was developed into a series of aesthetic topics, such as “implicit truth” and “abstract image”. Second, “words exhaust meaning” was transformed into laborious versifying and the “polishing” theory. In terms of their conception, the laborious poets also emphasized sudden flash of inspirations.
Keywords
laborious versifying, noumenon, exhaustion; inspiration; nature
First Page
113
Last Page
122
Recommended Citation
Zhong, Yao. 2022. "“Laborious Versifying” and Poetic Works from the Perspective of Metaphysics since the Mid- and Late Tang Dynasty." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 42, (4): pp.113-122. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol42/iss4/12
