Abstract:

Chinese culture and Chinese way of thinking  share the characteristic of imagistic correlation, which may be termed  as “image-oriented thinking” or “imagistic thinking”. This characteristic is related to many concepts concerning images such as “regarding objects for images” and “watching for image through divination”  in The Book of Changes, “no shape in the grand image” in Laozi, and “intangibility of images” by Zhuangzi. A delineation and analytical examination  of the concepts concerning image in the pre-Qin literature may illuminate our understanding of how the concepts of image influenced the direct representation of images in the poetry, and the prioritization of imagism in poetics and poetic criticism in Chinese aesthetics. The above discussion may lead to further investigation of the important role of “imagery beyond images” in poetic criticism.

Key words:

pre-Qin concepts of “image”, imagistic thinking, direct representation  of image; image, imagery beyond images