Introduction to Literature, Chapter 5: The Relationship between Literary Inheritance and Innovation

Ancient Chinese literature is a concept that actually refers to the relationship between inheritance and innovation in the development of literature. It is mainly found in Liu Foxing's "Wenxin Diao Long" (文心雕龙-通变). In the literary world at that time, the trend of "competing with the modern and neglecting the ancient" was prevalent, and the tendency of "picking up the even of a hundred words and competing with the odd of a single sentence" (Wenxin Diao Long - Ming Poetry) prevailed. Liu was opposed to this style of writing, which emphasized on the form of weird and strange, and advocated "to return to the scriptures", and thus put forward the "general change" theory. The "through and through" is not to revert to the past, but rather to explore the origin and know the source, so as to achieve "through and through is not lack of", "change can be a long time". The Qing dynasty Ji Yun once commented on this: "Qi, Liang between the style of beautiful, turn the phase of the sacred, the scribe made, such as out of a hand, so Yan and to change the argument. However, seeking new in the popular fashion, then the small wisdom of the teacher heart, turned into a slim and narrow. ...... Therefore, it is to save its return and seek the ancient. The new sound of the contemporary era is no longer an abusive tone, so the old style of the ancients is now a new sound. This is the reason why the name of the old style has been changed." (Fan Wenlan, "Wenxin Diao Long" cited) This is a deep understanding of Liu's intention to make up for the shortcomings. However, "restoration of the past" and "change" can not be equated. The combination of inheritance and innovation is the essence of the "universal change".

Liu advocated innovation and creativity, but did not overemphasize innovation and creativity, and there is a difference between the Tang Dynasty ancient writers. Meaning that the writing of the landscape, ancient and modern have the same; the crystallization of the artistic ideas of the former, often become the model for later learning, not necessarily all changes, and it is not possible to have a great change. This belongs to the problem of performance skills, but has shown that the "through change" is a cause of change, not all changes in the former. Therefore, Liu Fu in the "wind bone" and "change" especially emphasized the importance of inheriting tradition. Wind and Bone" said: "If the melting casting of the classic model, Xiang set of the art of history, know the situation, Qu Zhao style, and then be able to culminate in a new idea, carving and painting strange words. Showing the body of intentional new and not chaotic, understand the changes in the rhetoric of strange and not militaristic." "New ideas", "strange words" is valuable, but to "new but not chaotic", "strange but not militaristic", it must be But in order to be "new but not chaotic" and "strange but not militaristic", it is necessary to "show the style" and "know the changes". Only people who know the style of writing, can through the ancient and modern changes, although the change without losing its way. The "Changes" discusses the changes of literary style in the past dynasties, saying that "(Liu) Song's early black and new", which is why "black", is because of "near attachment and far detachment", "nasty in partial understanding, and far away from the understanding," "nasty in partial understanding, and far away from the understanding," "nasty in partial understanding, and far away from the understanding". The reason why it is "black" is because "close attachment and far detachment", "sordid in the biased understanding, reserved in the unanimity", know the new changes but do not know "through the changes", can □ rhetoric but can not "show the body" of the sake of the cause. The result is inevitably that "the practice of luxury, the flow of recluse and forget the opposite" ("Bones of the wind").

The "change" is a contradiction in two aspects. In the process of literary development, in terms of its successive inheritance, it is "through"; in terms of its ever-changing changes, it is "change". To link up the words "through and change" into a complete word meaning is to speak of the relationship between their opposites and their unity. Therefore, it is necessary to seek "change" in "Tong", and at the same time to "change" without losing its "Tong", and to put "Tong" into "Tong". The "communication" and "change" are united. Liu Feoxing said that "through and through" is a balance between these two aspects. He emphasized the inheritance in the main text of Tongyi, like recognizing Chusuo as Momentary Zhouren, and like the so-called Correcting Error and Turning Shallow, but also the scriptures and grants etc., which are focused on the inheritance; in the Zanzheng, he emphasized the inheritance. In the "Zan", innovation is emphasized, like the so-called "day to day new industry", "tend to the time must be fruitful", "looking to the present system of strange "and so on. He recognized the importance of innovation, but the focus is on saving, so in the body of the text to emphasize the inheritance.

"Passing on change" is a key issue in understanding literary development, and Ye Xie of the Qing Dynasty further played out this rationale in the Original Poems. He used a large number of facts of literary history to prove that the evolution of literature is, on the whole, a step forward, but the source of the process of its development is sometimes due to change and prosperity, but also sometimes due to change and decline. The decline is precisely due to the fact that either the ancient or the new and do not know the reason of "through change". Liu Foxing's words, for the six dynasties, so emphasize the "reference to the ancient law", inherit the traditional side; Ye Xie is the feeling of the Ming and the seven sons of the "literature must be Qin and Han, poetry must be the Tang Dynasty" of the ancient theories, so emphasize the innovation side. Corrective action, the intention is different, but the basic spirit is the same.