| Abstract |
“The refined meaning is always magnanimous, simple is beauty in a composition,” so was it stated in “The Literary Heart and the Carving of Dragons. Inscriptive Maxim” (文心雕龍．銘箴). Indeed, “simple” is a significant concept when the author Liu Hsieh evaluated a composition. This article is focused on such point, discussing the background of that period when Liu Hsieh advocated the concept of “simple.” It was because the excessive rhetoric in the literary style of the South and North Dynasties, which Liu Hsieh defamed as pompous and unsubstantial. So he suggested “to esteem the classics.” He emphasized that literature must be subject to the principle as “simple in wording and abundant in meaning, which would show the advantages of simple style simultaneously. The perfect literary style that Liu Hsieh praised was to used as few words as possible, and to present the very subtle meaning in the content. When he commented on any writer′s literary works, whatever it was simple in wording would be he greatly appreciate, and for those abundant and excessive rhetoric would be critically depreciated. It seemed that “simple” and “complexity” was the only criteria when Liu Hsieh evaluated a composition, so did he used the same principle to comment on any literary styles. In one of his criticism 〈the Arguments〉(議對), he suggested that: “A composition can only be outstanding by clear statement, and excessive wording will never be praised as exquisite.” In the 〈Book Notes〉(書紀) he suggested that: “When a writer is describing anything in any style, it is essential to be simple and precise.” In the 〈Comment〉(論說) he stated that: “Whatever article is simple, precise and fluent, it can be a model composition.” How can a writer apply the principle of simplicity to his writing? Liu Hsieh suggested that “melt” and “tailor” were two basic elements. In respect of melting the meaning, a writer must be able to “presume the circumstances to set forth the style of an article,” which was described in 〈The Elegance of Content〉 (情采) as “the content must be precise and realistic;” secondly, he must “select the proper style according to the content,” which was described in 〈the Category of Content〉 (事類) as “selecting the content of an article based on preciseness;” and finally, he must “arrange his diction to present the essence,” which was described in 〈The Marvelous Thought〉 (神思) as “Consistency is the only way to avoid disorder.” In respect of tailoring the wording, Liu suggested that a good writer must be able to “preserve the meaning but diminish the word;” however, never could he “deletes the word but losses the meaning.” That is, to be simple but not to be heedless, to be precise but not to be negligence. To sum up, Liu Hsieh had advocated the concept of simple from the aspects of criticizing the lavish style in his period, complying with the classics, commenting on the literary works of writers, suggesting the requirements of literary styles, and applying those principles to the substantial writings. It was obvious that “Simple is beauty in a composition” was not only a significant concept when Liu Hsieh evaluated any articles, but also had it become a consistent thought in 《The Literary Heart and The Craving of Dragons》. |
