| Wang Ch'uan-shan lived in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties.His thoughts can be said to be a summary and throwback of the thoughts of the three schools of thought since the Sung and Ming Dynasties,that is,school of Principle(Li),Qi-ology and the school of Mind.In cosmic ontology,Ch'uan-shan inherited the Qi theory of Chang Heng-ch'u,affirmed his "the great void(Tai xu)is Qi",criticized Chu Tzu 's"Principle is in the first place of Qi”and thought that“all emptiness is Qi".Therefore,in Ch'uan-shan's view,the most important thing to understand and clarify the origin and generation of the universe is not the question of "Being" and "Nonbeing",but of"Darkness(You)" and "Brightness(Ming)".On understanding of "You-Ming",Ch'uan-shan thinks that the relationship between "You" and "Ming" is mutual complementarity and independence.Darkness has its reason,so does Brightness.Darkness is not only darkness,but also lightness.Lightness is not only lightness,but also darkness.Although "You" is subtle and secluded,human cannot hear it,but "You" is not "nothing","You" has a secluded connotation."Ming" is visible that the external form is very significant,but "Ming"also has its hidden connotation.In the cognitive theory of "You-Ming",Ch'uan-shan interprets the "Cause" of"You-Ming Cause" as the tendency(Ji)of the changes in the movement of things."Ji"is a sign of action.It is hard to hear and see because of its subtlety.It is the beginning of things because it can augur good or bad.“The sage knows the cause of the dark and bright",and the way of sage and the way of heaven are the same,so the sage knows the reason of the dark and bright when he looks up and looks down;the man of honor needs to "discriminate the Ji" and "completely develope his mind" to see the omen of"You-Ming".From Ch'uan-shan's "You-Ming" theory,we can see that "human" has its own"You-Ming" characteristic.As far as life and death are concerned,Heaven fosters all things and people,which are the manifestation of the popularity of the operation of Qi.From the historical development,if the sage's way is feasible,then the politics is prosperous,which is called "Ming";if the sage's way is infeasible,then the politics is obscure,and the wise men live in seclusion,which is called "You".Ch'uan-shan has a unique understanding of hermit,thinking that although they are covered by the times and the outside world,they are clear-minded and stick to their own aspirations.The"You-Ming" of the gentleman's human nature is embodied as follows:governing the world is a manifestation of good nature while evil nature is hidden;chaotic times are a manifestation of evil nature and good is hidden.As far as human's mind-nature-and-emotion is concerned,the mind and nature originates from heaven,while mind has both nature and emotion,that is,mind is the carrier of nature and emotion,and nature and emotion are the function and exertion of mind.Nature and emotion are the noumenon and function of each other,that is,nature is the noumenon of emotion and emotion is the function of nature.The cosmology and human nature in Ch'uan-shan's view of "You-Ming" have further developed in his poetic thought.Ch'uan-shan said,"The poetry is between the darkness and brightness",that is,the noumenon and generation of poetry can be intuitively perceived by "You-Ming".Human sentiments are the subtlest changes of Yin and Yang,and poetry also has its subtlest changes.Therefore,from the subtlest changes of poetry,we can see the"You-Ming"of poetry.The darkness and brightness of poetry is not only the darkness and brightness of the universe,but also the darkness and brightness of social order,human sentiment,and even the poetry sentiment.Poetry between the darkness and brightness infers not only to the "Ji" of poetry,but also to the "Words(Tao,Speech)" of poetry."Poetic sentiment" presents the essence of poetry,while "Poetic Way"("Words")shows the generation of poetry.In the aesthetic aspect of poetry,Ch'uan-shan proposes "the unification of the principle of poetry and music" and emphasizes the aesthetic realm of "the unity of poetry and music".His poetic aesthetics originated from his philosophical thought.The interaction between Yin and Yang and deification of Qi have become the category of aesthetics,that is,the beauty of heaven and earth,the beauty of man and everything,is rooted in "god".The aesthetics of poetry lies in "integration with god" and"depicting god"."Writing should show the author's real intention",that is,poets should have both moral realm and aesthetic implication.The moral promotion and aesthetic accomplishment of man of honor are mutually cultivated and promoted.By discussing the distinction between words and meanings,on the one hand,it advocates that poetry should be dominated by meaning and that meaning is the commander of poetry;on the other hand,the relationship between words and meaning shows two different kinds of beauty,hidden beauty and beautiful beauty.The unification of the principle of poetry and music infers not only the original consistency of poetry and music in the historical ontology,but also the aesthetic realm of the unity of poetry and music. |
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