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

Share

COinS