The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons
eBook - PDF

The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons

About this book

The world is filled with ten thousand things in confusion: Never overtax your literary thought.The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons is the first comprehensive work of literary criticism in Chinese, and one that has been considered essential reading for writers and critics since it was written some 1, 500 years ago. A vast compendium of all that was known about Chinese literature at the time, it is simultaneously a taxonomy and history of genres and styles, and a manual for good writing. Its chapters, organized according to the I Ching, cover such topics as "Emotion and Literary Expression, " "Humor and Enigma, " "Spiritual Thought or Imagination, " "The Nourishing of Vitality, ""Organization, " and "Literary Flaws.""Mind" is the ideas, impressions, and emotions that take form—the "carving of the dragon"—in a literary work. Full of examples and delightful anecdotes drawn from Liu Hsieh's encyclopedic knowledge of Chinese literature, readers will discover distinctive concepts and standards of the art of writing that are both familiar and strange. The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons is not only a summa of classical Chinese literary aesthetics but also a wellspring of advice from the distant past on how to write.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons by Liu Hsieh in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Half Title
  2. Full Title
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Preface (Hsü-chih)
  6. On Tao, the Source(Yüan-Tao)
  7. Evidence from the Sage (Cheng-sheng)
  8. The Classics as Literary Sources (Tsung-ching)
  9. Emendation of Apocrypha (Cheng-wei)
  10. An Analysis of Sao (Pien-Sao)
  11. An Exegesis of Poetry (Ming-shih)
  12. Musical Poetry (Yüeh-fu)
  13. Elucidation of Fu (Ch’üan-fu)
  14. Ode and Pronouncement (Sung Tsan)
  15. Sacrificial Prayer and Oath of Agreement (Chu Meng)
  16. Inscription and Exhortation (Ming Chen)
  17. Elegy and Stone Inscription (Lei Pei)
  18. Lament and Condolence(Ai Tiao)
  19. Miscellaneous Writings (Tsa-wen)
  20. Humor and Enigma (Hsieh Yin)
  21. Historical Writings (Shih-chuan)
  22. Speculative Writings (Chu-tzu)
  23. Treatise and Discussion (Lun Shuo)
  24. Edict and Script (Chao Ts’e)
  25. War Proclamation and Dispatch (Hsi I)
  26. Sacrifices to Heaven and Earth (Feng-shan)
  27. Memorial, Part I (Chang Piao)
  28. Memorial, Part II (Tsou Ch’i)
  29. Discussion and Answer (I Tui)
  30. Epistolary Writing (Shu Chi)
  31. Spiritual Thought or Imagination (Shen-ssu)
  32. Style and Nature (T’i-hsing)
  33. The Wind and the Bone (Feng-ku)
  34. Flexible Adaptability to Varying Situations (T’ung-pien)
  35. On Choice of Style (Ting-shih)
  36. Emotion and Literary Expression (Ch’ing-ts’ai)
  37. Casting and Cutting, or,on Editing of Ideas and Rhetoric (Jung-ts’ai)
  38. Musicalness (Sheng-lü)
  39. Paragraph and Sentence (Chang-chü
  40. Linguistic Parallelism (Li-tz’u)
  41. Metaphor (Pi Hsing)
  42. Hyperbole (K’ua-shih)
  43. Factual Allusionand Textual Reference (Shih-lei)
  44. Philology and Choice of Words (Lien-tzu)
  45. The Recondite and the Conspicuous (Yin-hsiu)
  46. Literary Flaws (Chih-hsia)
  47. The Nourishing of Vitality (Yang-ch’i)
  48. Organization (Fu-hui)
  49. Discussion on the Art of Writing (Tsung-shu)
  50. Literary Development and Time (Shih-hsü)
  51. The Physical World (Wu-se)
  52. Literary Talents (Ts’ai-lüeh)
  53. An Understanding Critic (Chih-yin)
  54. The Capacity of a Vessel (Ch’eng-ch’i)