Mind and manifestation: The intuitive art (miaowu) of traditional Chinese poetry and poetics.

摘要

This is a study of the literary thinking, termed in Chinese miaowu, of classical Chinese poetry and poetics. Often translated into English as "intuition" or its adjective "intuitive," the literary thinking characterized by "subjectivity," "ambiguity" and "holisticity" permeates in fact all the classical Chinese literary genres such as poetry, prose and fiction, and runs through the entire process of the literary undertakings from writing, reading to literary criticism. Concerning poetry alone, this study demonstrates that classical Chinese poetry presents but does not comment, that reading in Chinese classical poetry is not to interpret a poem in terms of its linguistic meaning but to have a contemplative aesthetic experience, and that literary criticism is in essence an artistic practice rather than a scientific undertaking, all having to do with the intuitive artistic thinking of Chinese poets and critics.;Despite its importance, Chinese intuitive literary thinking has been left untouched by scholars for being "marginal" and, above all, "oppositional" to Western discursive paradigms. By focusing on this topic, therefore, this study wishes to challenge the powerful universalistic trend in the field of Chinese literature, a trend geared by the drive to set up a "common poetics" between East and West literary traditions. Feasible and, indeed, desirable within the Judean-Christian traditions, a "common poetics" between East and West literatures could only be established at the expense of the "localities" and "marginalities" of non-Western literary traditions. Methodologically, this study is pursued through a different route than that commonly adopted by scholars in the field. Instead of using Western literary theories as universal paradigms, this study attempts to look at Chinese literature as it is, examining it against its own cultural, historical and philosophical background. By adopting such a native perspective, this study argues that literary study is first and foremost a cultural study. Any critical attempt that refuses to take cultural relevance and determinants into account will result in superficiality and distortions. By refusing to apply Western theories wholesale to Chinese literature, this study does not deny the dialogues between East and West literary traditions, but enhances such dialogues through the contention that only when the peculiarities of the two literatures are brought together can comparative literature becomes truly comparative and dialogues intended for cultural understanding more meaningful.