A Study Of The Golden Mean Poetics In Song Dynasty

Abstract: The present dissertation is a study of the golden mean poetics in Song Dynasty. It argues that to pursue the golden mean is the essential feature of the poetics in Song Dynasty. Under the special historical and cultural of Song Dynasty, there appears golden mean requirements in poetics, which finds out expressions in many aspects of poetics such as the essence and functions of poetry, the creative subjectivity, the poetical expressions, the appreciation of poetry and so on. In terms of the essence and functions of poetry, poetry is supposed to be the representation of the harmony of Tian and Di, the harmony of politics and religion, the harmony of temperament. And because of this, poetry has got the nature and responsibility of golden mean. In terms of the self-accomplishment , poets are encouraged to conserve their vital powers, to cultivate themselves through meditations, and learning is thought to be only complementary, personal feeling are to be restrained in poems. That is to say, poets are required to possess a mean temperament and follow the rules of Dao, in order to surpass the ups and downs in real life. About expressions, inclusiveness and plainness are required, which follows the principle of "Expressions are harmonious and restrained ". In appreciation, the authors and the readers are looked at in the light of " Have no depraved thoughts", peaceful minds and plain expressions are supposed to be corresponding framework. We could see that golden mean is the time spirit of Song Dynasty. Permeated with the golden mean spirit of the time , the poetics in Song Dynasty has set up a criteria of golden mean principles.The Confucian scholars of Song Dynasty try to ally the mean temperament of human beings with the Natural Laws, hoping to identify human's Dao with the heavenly Dao. The Dao in Song Dynasty is mostly concerned with ethics, and theessence of ethics is to build up harmony between individuals and collective. Ethics gains its generative and inclusive quality when it is considered at a metaphysical level. The cultural spirit of Song Dynasty then becomes very broad and profound. With such a viewpoint, the intellectuals of Song gains a peaceful mind and look at the twists of life and changes of positions very calmly.In ancient Chinese literary tradition, the contents of poems are supposed to be consistent with the poets' mind, the styles of poems are consistent with the poets' makings. But this idea was lost during the Six Dynasties. In Song Dynasty, the identity of the Confucian scholars and the identity of poets are reunified, and "Sing for temperament " changes to be " Poems, the representation of harmonious temperament". The minds that do not follow the Dao is under revision. Poems which have been the representation of temperament now become the representation of mean and upright temperament.The mean temperament and makings come to be the center of the golden mean poetics in Song Dynasty. But this is only a base, there is still a distance between the will and the chanting. Song poetics not only requires feelings" to be harmonious in poems", but also " a restrained expressions of feelings in poems", which means an inclusive and restrained, plain poetic expressions. Just because of such theoretical intentions, Song poetics pursues an aesthetic state of a plainness and suggestiveness. Thus, Song poetics shows its ideal frames: it requires that the subjectivity be consistent with the golden mean principle, the expressions be in a mean way, the poems as a whole be in mean style. Song poetics also adopts the golden mean principle in poetry appreciation, that is, reader should understand and accept a poem from a mean perspective, to read a poem with a mean temperament and even to get the "depraved thought "from the " bad poems", to appreciate the plain style of poems with a peaceful mind, and to chant in order to get an insight into the profound meaning of the poems.Based on the above ideas, Song poetics is looked at through this dissertation in five chapters.The first chapte...