Welcome to Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art,

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art ›› 2017, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (2): 79-87.

• Classical Literary Theory and Criticism • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Analyzing Poetics with Calligraphy: Calligraphy and Poetics of the Classicist School in the Ming Dynasty

Yuan Xianpo   

  1. the School of Law and Politics, Tianjin University of Science and Technology (Tianjin 200033, China)
  • Online:2017-03-25 Published:2017-11-11
  • About author:Yuan Xianpo, Ph.D, is a lecturer in the School of Law and Politics, Tianjin University of Science and Technology (Tianjin 200033, China) with research focus on the history of Chinese literary thought.

Abstract: Analyzing poetics with calligraphy is an important strategy for the Ming dynasty classicist poetics. It originates from Su Shi and Yan Yu, flourishes with the first seven celebrities and the last seven celebrities, and ends in the five litterateurs. Such a combination of calligraphy and poetics aims to establish classical aesthetics by learning from calligraphy in terms of its classical characteristics, and thus to find a theoretical basis for ancient poetics. Furthermore, the classicist school moves beyond the connection of form between calligraphy and poetics by emphasizing practice, namely, composing poetry in the way of coping calligraphic works. In short, the classicist school establishes a well-developed poetics by relating it to calligraphy, hence anticipating the widespread of classicism in the Ming dynasty.

Key words: The classicist school, analyzing poetic with calligraphy, copy, classical beauty