The Wei Jin Shuxin Study

Letters, as a form of practical writing, are not excluded from literature, whereas the literary characteristics of letters have not been paid enough attention to. However, letter-wrting in Wei and Jin Dynasties, two "literature-consciousness" periods in Chinese literary history, had been endowed with unique features of the times. The unique literary characteristics of letters written in Wei and Jin Dynasties were evidently manifested, and the literary characteristics of such letters are worth some explorations.The present thesis investigates the artistic trends together with their causes of letter-writing in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Generally speaking, in different periods in the Wei and Jin, "literary grace" and "function" were two important orientations in letter-writing, which were paid more or less attention to, while the trend was a balance between these two orientations. With the emergence of Metaphysics and Buddhism, letter-witting was given more consideration of "philosophical thinking" and "grace in mood" . The thesis respectively discusses letters between officials, friends, and family members, with the finding that each of these three kinds of letters were unique even though they shared the common characteristics of letters. Letters between superiors and subordinates were often carefully worded, with exception of a small number of letters for banter; letters between friends, often in a free and relaxing tone, were straightforward in expressing the inner thoughts; letters between family members were mostly cordial and heart-warming in tone. In addition, letters written by calligrapher and letters written by others are two special forms of letter-writing, with the former being " bold and unconstrained "and the latter " clear and brief " in wording.Finally, the literary value of letters written in Wei and Jin Dynasties is explored: firstly, they enriched the literary techniques to describe scenery; secondly, they created something new in the form of letter-writing; thirdly, they brought forth new ideas concerning the letters of commentaries.