Study On The Theory Of "Yin Xiu" In Liu Xie's" Dragon-carving And The Literary Mind"

The ancient Chinese literature theorist Liu Xie, in his book"Dragon-carving and the literary mind", built up a literature system info, discussed on several important issues in terms of the articles, and developed a series of creative and profound category of article criticism under the impact of the Chinese cultural tradition, the unique way of taste as well as the mixed idea of literature, history and philosophy, all of which have a far-reaching effect on the development of the ancient Chinese article criticism."Yin Xiu", as a critical part of the category, has greatly contributed to the literature creativity, appreciation, style and rhetoric, which also has a deep effect on the current articles and criticism.Among the literature books during the periods of the pre- Ch'in, Han-Wei and Northern and Southern dynasties,"Yin"and"Xiu"had always been taken as the important factors and appeared in various fields, which are of great meaning and importance. The original meaning of"Yin"was hiding and shielding, which was later developed into a way of life principles."Xiu"was originally meant beautiful and thriving, which was used as character appreciation afterwards. Liu Xie absorbed different ideas including Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and combined the two words into"Yin Xiu", adding new meanings based on the original ones, which enlarged the extension and depth after"Yin Xiu"stepped into the literature domain. Aiming at the prevalent grandiloquent writing style, Liu Xie dialectically brought up"Yin Xiu"theory. He believed that an excellent article should combine"Yin"and"Xiu"in a balanced way."Yin"indicates that the main idea of an article shouldn't be expressed in a direct way, but should have multiple meanings;"Xiu"signals that the language of an article should be refreshing, and should outstand from the article.Liu Xie emphasized that in order to achieve"Yin Xiu", articles must be natural and spontaneous so as to bring stunning effect to the readers, rather than trying to be obscure and hard to understand. For the"Yin Xiu"part is the only incomplete part in the book"Dragon-carving and the literary mind", the academe doesn't have a definite conclusion about the truth and false of the complementary part. Therefore, the previous researches on"Yin Xiu"are mainly focused on the identification of the truth or false of the literature. In addition, Liu Xie described"Yin Xiu"in a poetic language by a paralleled style, which meanings became even more profound and connotative, leading various opinions in the academe and more deep researches are needed. In this article, the author started the research of"Yin Xiu"from its source by way of intensive reading of the original text, putting"Yin Xiu"into Liu Xie's literature critical system, and finally systematically explained its value of theory criticism and historical significance under the background of the ancient Chinese literature.First, the author researched the characters"Yin"and"Xiu"respectively from their sources and explained each of their meanings and their relationship, in order to definitude their dialectic relations. Secondly, through the research of the cultural tradition of Confucianism"ZONGJING"and"ZHENGSHENG"(writing by following the Confucian classics ) and Taoist cultural spirit of"ZI RAN ZHI DAO"(Nature's law), the author concluded three aesthetic characteristics of"Yin Xiu"----- gracefully connotative, freshly elegant and naturally subtle. Thirdly, the author analyzed"Yin Xiu"s exertion among"WEN ZHI SHU NIU"(hinge of the article),"POU QING XI CAI"(analysis of literary talent) and literature appreciation, which further expanded the theoretical connotation and pragmatic denotation, and gradually formed"Yin Xiu"'s theoretical constitution and its interior construction. Finally, through comparing"Yin Xiu"with the scopes of the artistic conception, flavor and connotation of the ancient Chinese literature as well as the propositions of the false and true artistic conception, sub audition and lasting appeal, the author analyzed and explained the effect of scope intersexuality and theoretic intersexuality, so as to extend and expand its historical value and contemporary significance.Today, with the renaissance and reconstruction of the traditional culture, the expansion of Chinese literature upsurge and the emphasis of modernization of the ancient literature as well as its modern significance, the discussion about"Yin Xiu"'s modern significance shouldn't be constrained within the scope of the traditional ancient literature, and more scholars have already combined"Yin Xiu"with the researches in other areas. The research of"Yin Xiu"enriches the ancient Chinese literature, and also plays a positive role in the construction of the contemporary literature.