Pseudomorphosis in the Poetic Theory and Practice in The Dream of the Red Chamber: The Union of Ge-Diao and Xing-Ling

Vol. 41 No. 3   06/2011    

Title

Pseudomorphosis in the Poetic Theory and Practice in The Dream of the Red Chamber: The Union of Ge-Diao and Xing-Ling  

Author

Ou, Li-chuan  

Genre

Article  

Pages

477-521

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese  

Key words

The Dream of the Red Chamber, poetic theory, Ge-Diao 格調派, XingLing 性靈說, mid-late Tang poetry

Abstract

     The art of The Dream of the Red Chamber is deeply rooted in lyrical tradition, wherein the poem genre plays the single most important role. This paper studies the poetic theory and practice as revealed in The Dream of the Red Chamber and shows that the practice of poetry in the novel contradicts the poetic theory expressed there. The identified contradiction between theory and practice of the poetry is named pseudomorphosis. Via both diachronic and synchronic approaches, and in the context of both historical and textual analyses, I clarify the respective correspondence of poetic practice of The Dream of the Red Chamber and Xing-Ling 性靈說 on the one hand, and the poetic theory and Ge-Diao 格調派 on the other hand. In addition, many multi-dimensional contrasts between poetic theory and practice in The Dream of the Red Chamber are exposed, such as orthodoxy/heresy, form/content, dominance/protest, mainstream/ latent-flowing and poetic civilization/poetic mind. These contrasts are investigated in the context of the fundamental struggle of The Dream of the Red Chamber, the confrontation between canonic convention and individual freedom.

 

 

Author: Ou, Li-chuan
Genre: Article