Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture
Publication Date
4-2017
Volume
4
Issue
1
First Page
180
Last Page
207
Publisher
Duke University Press
Keywords
Wang Changling, literary creation, Chinese literary theory, Chinese calligraphy criticism, Buddhist theory of consciousnesses
Abstract
This article reveals the coherent theory of literary creation hidden within the multivalence of the term yi in Wang Changling's (ca. 698–ca. 756) writings on poetry. A close and intertextual reading demonstrates how Wang deftly appropriates various Daoist and Daoist-inspired notions of yi 意 to illuminate different phases of literary creation. Comparisons with the term's adaptations by earlier literary and calligraphy critics further accentuate Wang's unique and innovative approach. Looking into a hitherto neglected Buddhist source, the author uncovers a Buddhicized yi-xiang-yan 意-象-言 (conception-image-word) paradigm, one that allows Wang to move beyond the theories of Lu Ji (261–303) and Liu Xie (ca. 465–ca. 522). Borrowing the Buddhist sense of yi and yishi 意識, Wang demonstrates the creative mind's receptivity to the richness and nuances of the world, followed by its dynamic transformation of what it has absorbed in quietude. The result is a much more detailed view of the different phases of the creative process—one that leads to a new appreciation of its poetic results.
DOI
10.1215/23290048-3780764
Print ISSN
23290048
E-ISSN
23290056
Funding Information
Author would like to thank the Hong Kong University Grants Committee for its generous support (project code LU330000215). {LU330000215}
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2017 Duke University Press. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Additional Information
The earliest version of this article was presented at AcrossText and Source: Comparative Perspectives in Literary and Historical Theory, an international workshop held at the University of Chicago in April 2016.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Cai, Z.-q. (2017). Toward an innovative poetics: Wang Changling on Yi 意 and literary creation. Journal of Chinese Literature and Culture, 4(1), 180-207. doi: 10.1215/23290048-3780764