Research. Wang Daokun Literature

The current studies on the literature of the Ming Dynasty, to a large extent, follow the criticism system set up by Qian Qianyi and Ji Yun. When we quote the classics, judge of the previous success and failure, we may as well rethink whether our criteria are fair or not, whether there are biases and limits or not, and we should clearly recognize the historical position we stand at. "A real historical mind must think of its own historicism. Only doing as so will we not pursue the specter of some historical object (historical object is the very target we have been studying), and will we learn to understand another side of a certain object and further to understand object itself. Real historical objects are not targets at all, but the union of itself and another side of its own or a relationship between them. In this relationship there are both a historical reality and an understandable historical reality."Individuals lived in ancient China had a quite prevalent tendency that people seldom looked forward to what the future would be like when they were in between the past and the future, as for the future, there were few written thinking and explorations on it. They were concerned about the present, at the same time were more accustomed to looking back the past, placing their own hopes and ambitions in the remote past, and patiently ruminating that repeatedly modified but nonexistent goodliness. The root of recollection and beautification to the past lay in the desperation and helplessness to the reality. Returning to the ancients, as a social ideal, has practical significance in opposing autarchy. However, the truth is relative, everything has its two sides, the moment the advocacy of returning to the ancients turned to the rule to standardize literary creation, it would decline to be the tool or dogma to fetter freedom, and the major idea of extolling the past and denigrating the present in the movement of returning to the ancients in essence violates the basic spirits of literary creation. There was no wonder the thought of returning to the ancients gained more criticism later, and finally fell into an object bitterly attacked by people.When we are criticizing and rethinking the thought of returning to the ancients, which had ever been a long-standing, widespread and influential school of literature but later treated as ridiculous theory, we might as well put it in its place and consider why it did can draw the creation enthusiasm for generations who had ever called for it, If there had not been the pioneers advocating returning to the ancients and their influences, could the spontaneous arousal of literary consciousness come forth in the late Ming Dynasty? Based on the principles of containment, should literature tolerate the existence of thought of returning to the ancients? All history is contemporary history, only when history plays a role in contemporary life, it can become history itself. Historical process is not simply the course of events, but the process of actions, there is an internal aspect constituted in the course of thoughts. This paper goes into WANG Daokun's doctrines and interests in literature from his works and communication with others.This paper considers that WANG's thoughts on Zen Buddhism according with his attitude toward unity of the three religions are fairly comprehensive. In the age when Buddhist morals were deteriorating day by day, Wang both affirmed inherent inbeing of becoming Buddha and emphasized adhering to original dogma of practicing Buddhism. His way of exploring the relationships between minds and law, minds and Buddhism, and minds and nature was similar to the one of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi pursuing absolute freedom of no block, no obstacle, and doing nothing. He derived the thoughts of mixing and melting from two Buddhist classics Huayan and Lengyan, and tried to practice a thorough equality in different branches of the same religion aiming at advocating a harmony and accordance and opposing antagonistic stands and disputes. However, this in reality was merely an unreachable ideal that even WANG Daokun himself could hardly put it into Buddhist practice.For a long time, WANG left an impression in the history of literature that his thoughts closely related with returning to and imitating the ancients. By analyzing WANG's poems, dramas, biographies and literature outlooks, we find that his thoughts were in a process of gradual change. In Wang's late years, from historical perspective he studied the relationship between the old and the new and considered any old literature would not become classic without being tested by time; so do contemporary one. History always has an astonishing continuity. The attitude treating with the thought of returning to the ancients in literature in the late Ming Dynasty can be well linked with the stand at which we now treat with traditional culture. Can both a bathing child and the water in the same basin be poured away at the same time? Or shall we judge and follow what is right and make different treatments? They are worthwhile problems.British poet Eliot said: "there was never any poet, or any artist engaging in any art who had a complete significance. His significance and people's appraisal on him are the evaluations on the relationship between him and the former poets or artists. The evaluation can not be only made on his behalf, but made by comparing and contrasting him with the former." Based on the principles of art and the communication perspective, this paper studies Wang's works, academic thoughts, and cultures and customs in his age.In Appendix, The Biography of Wang Boyu by Long Ying, and Chronicle of Minister of Defence Wang's Life by Wang Wujing and Wang Yaoguang are offered for reference.