The Concept of Image in Zhu Guangqian's Early Aesthetic Thoughts

Abstract

Abstract: In such early works as Psychology of Literature and Arts and On Poetry, Zhu Guangqian constructed his transcendental aesthetic theory centered round the concept of image, putting forwards his theory of imagery structure and his critique of the concept of jingjie (the poetic state) in Chinese poetics. Although Zhu's theory is centered around imagery, and it is realized on the basis of the unity of the poetic state, his criticism on Wang Guowei's concept of the poetic state and on the concept in ancient Chinese poetics in general appear to have missed the point, due to his preconceived ideas that were resulted from Croce's and Nietzsche's influence. The paper concludes that Zhu's different uses of the concept of imagery (Imagery) may be the cause of the misreading of Wang Guowei, but his endeavors to bridge Chinese and Western?aesthetics are worth critical examination.

Key words: the structure of the poetic state, the concept of imagery, unity, comparative poetics

Wang Huaiyi. The Concept of Image in Zhu Guangqian's Early Aesthetic Thoughts[J]. Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art, 2014, 34(5): 198-204.

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