Abstract
By “investigating the origin and explaining the development” and “interpreting the definition to illustrate the meaning”, Liu Xie (ca.465—522) traced the evolution of the ode in the chapter “An Interpretation of the Ode” in Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. He asserted that “Xun Kuang's “Ritual” and “Intellect”, Song Yu's “Ode of Wind” and “Ode of Fishing” achieved a formal style and distinguished the ode from poetry”, identifying these works as the origin of the ode and the marker of its distinction from poetry. Their characteristics aligned with Liu Xie's theory of literature's function and closely tied to the ritual and musical system of the pre-Qin period. Liu Xie's selection of these four odes as this genre's origin not only reflects his ode criticism — emphasizing “beautiful words and elegant meaning”—but also represents “a compromise” between the “power” and “reason” inherent in the ode.
Keywords
Liu Xie, Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, “compromise”, the ode of Xun Kuang, the ode of Song Yu
First Page
111
Last Page
120
Recommended Citation
Luo, Jianbo, and Hanqing Yong. 2025. "“Achieving a Formal Style and Distinguishing the Ode from Poetry”: Liu Xie's Argument on the Ode." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 45, (2): pp.111-120. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol45/iss2/11
