The polysemous term of shen 神 in Wenxin diaolong
Document Type
Book chapter
Source Publication
Recarving the dragon: Understanding Chinese poetics
Publication Date
1-1-2003
First Page
85
Last Page
116
Publisher
Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press.
Abstract
Here I propose to study how Liu Xie 劉勰 (ca. 465-ca.521) masterfully exploits the polysemy of shen in Wenxin diaolong 文心雕龍 (Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons). In this masterwork of criticism, he employs distinctive clusters of the term shen and shen-binomes in his discussions on the origins and nature of literature, the authorial qualities, the creative process, as well as on the religious poetry of remote antiquity. Focusing on clusters, I shall demonstrative how he ingeniously adapts different notions of shen developed by Confucian, Legalist, Daoist, and other philosophical schools to theorize about particular aspects of literature. By investigating the conceptual origins of shen, I aim to demonstrate the ramifying aesthetic significance of this all-important term in Wenxin diaolong and in Chinese literary thought at large.
Publisher Statement
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Additional Information
ISBN of the source publication: 9788024606910
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Cai, Z.-q. (2003). The polysemous term of shen in Wenxin diaolong. In O. Lomová (Ed.), Recarving the dragon: Understanding Chinese poetics (pp. 85-116). Prague: Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press.