| Abstract |
It is a fact that Literarily, the presentation of "spirit," "hing of sages," and "obeying instructions from the content," "style," and "form" in "sao" is different from other "canonical" genres. When Liu Xie regards "traci ng the orthedexy of preceps," "followeing the teaching of sages," and obeying instructions from the classics" as them, he also indicates that several kinds of distinctive features shown in sao will viattalize the critical canon stated above and demonstrate the value of the genre in literature. There are many arguments about the relationship between critical standard and the characteristics of sao. In this paper, the writer tries to search for a new presentation Liu Hsieh’s literary precepts. He argues, through the presentation of new literary concepts ("flexibility," "changeability," and "convertibility"), Liu Xie proves the value of sao and its influence on distinctions of sao, and moreover, to bridge over the chasm between writer points out three characterstics of sao: felicitous expression of flowery phrase, harmonization of fleeing and expression,and precise description of reality. The systematization of Chinese literary crierion has not been completed until Liu Xie offers the concepts of "flexibility" and "changeability" which demonstrate the distinction of sao, and vindicates how the literary genre vitalizes the dominant critism based on traditional precepts, sages’ teaching and classics’ instructions. Thenceforth, the characteristics of sao are confirmed by literary historians, and Liu Xie’s discussion on the literary genre also occupies a significant position in the history of literary criticism. |
