A Study On Chinese Ancient Poetic Hermeneutics

Mainly taking western modern hermeneutics as theoretical reference, the paper studies and elucidates a series of important theoretical topics and theoretical principles, put forward from Chinese traditional culture, to reveal distinctive theory and theoretical characteristics, using for reference to realize modern conversion of traditional literary theory and construct contemporary literary and artistic of national characteristics.Two basically expounding principle of Chinese ancient poetics hermeneutics are explored and discriminated in the first chapter of the paper: one is Yi-yi-ni-zhi (以意逆志) and Shi-wu-da-gu (诗无达诂) . Yi-yi-ni-zhi signifies readers use their understanding to trace it back to what was in the writer's mind, and Shi-wu-da-gu means the poem can not be elucidated totally. Yi-yi-ni-zhi is akind of literary expounding principle that lays particular stress on objectivity, for what was in the mind of the writer is regarded as the basic objective during literary expounding according to this principle .Shi-wu-da-gu, this principle lays particular stress on subjectivity ,because it emphasizes reader's rights of participating in rebuilding the significance of works. But these two principles are different from the western hermeneutic ideas of which Gardamer and Hirsh are the representative figures and their respective hermeneutical ideas lay stress on subjectivity and objectivity which are absolute antithesis, for there is no absolute antithesis between these two Chinese principles. On the contrary, they tend to overlape, fuse and complement each other. For example, the former although lays particular stress on objectivity, it does not reject subjectivity absolutely, because literary elucidation is considered as a course, in which, elaborators' idea can trace back to what is in the writer's mind, then produce new significance by the means of tracing back. And the latter although lays particular stress on subjectivity, it does not dispel objectivity absolutely, because it also emphasizes "following meaning" as well as following change. That is to say ,elaborators' understanding and elaboration about a literary work must be based on the objective connotation of the works .Therefore the two principles of Chinese ancient poetic hermeneutics can solve the two essential problems of how to keep objectivity and effectiveness in literary elaboration that western hermeneutic theory can't deal with .Savoring (品味) , Han-yong (涵泳) and contentedness (自得) , these three main ways in Chinese ancient poetic hermeneutics to understand literary works are straighten out andanalyzed in the second chapter of the paper. These three ways were put forward from the perceptual fact of literary understanding and based on full consideration of the characteristic and regular pattern of the elaborated object elaborating subject and elaborating activity . Then there is a great difference between Chinese and western hermeneutics which lays particular stress on pure reasonable elaboration of literary text. Savoring especially stresses advancing gradually and repetitions during understanding literary text, the intuitionality , experience and entirety of elaborators' aesthetic understanding .Savoring also stresses elaborators' appreciation and master the lingering charm of the works. Han-yong pays attention to explore the deep implication of a work all the same, but it doesn't require elaborators eliminate their own standpoints consequently and draw close to the works just like savoring ,but keep the works into elaborators ' heart ,to correspond to the works through the realization and examination of their own thought. Contentedness more praises elaborators' independence and subjective spirit during the understanding of works, and elaborators can feel and touch the works freely according to their own morale, then give their own understanding and comprehending about the idea and the aesthetic implication of the works.Imagery (^.$wi), Quoting lines (tjtj'nj) and Poems on Poetry (itWl^) in Chinese ancient poetics hermeneutics are studied and elucidated in the third chapter of the paper. Imagery means that elaborators use all kind of implicit, temperate and refined .significant image or artistic conception constructed elaborately to represent inner affective force (KW) and wholly lingering charm of the works with poetic nature ,then arouse readers' vivid feeling and experience from the poetic work s with obscure misty sense of beauty that it can't be defined by the way of concept analysis. Quoting lines ,elaborators choose those poet lines pure and fresh and meaningful with distinctive images of poetic meaning principle, and poetic regulations. Poems on Poetry, elaborators transmit their interpretation and evaluation to the works with poetic nature through style form, linguistic form and means of expression of poem that has more poetic nature than any other genre in the Chinese literary genres. There are slightly differences in usage of specific means among Imagery .Quoting lines and Poems on Poetry of these three means in Chinese ancient poetic hermeneutics, but they are identical or interlinked in the mode of thinking. That is, the disadvantages of western hermeneutic that stresses reasoning things out abstractly, deducing logically and demonstrating conception are discarded unexceptionally in these three means. And the means of the poetic quality that artistic means is adopted to demonstrate and manifest art ,thus it can be avoided that the dismemberment and strangle from linguistic and logical analysis to the whole aesthetic implication of poetic quality work ,the special object of hermeneutics ,then the inner nature of the poetic quality elaborated object can be corresponded and interlinked finally.The relationship of Chinese ancient poetic hermeneutics with Confucianism, Taoism and the Chan sect idea of Buddhism is explored in the fourth chapter of the paper. Chinese ancient poetic hermeneutics came from hermeneutics of study of Confucian Classics directly, so Confucian thought, no doubted, exerted a tremendous and profound, and many-sided influence on Chinese ancient poetic hermeneutics. But it is not allowed to neglect that Confucian thought has negative influence on Chinese ancient poetic hermeneutics under the reasonable introspection , as reflects the hermeneutical rule of revering the classics to construct significance (ffcitALjSC) which was pursued in hermeneutics of Study of Confucian Classics. It was this hermeneutical rule that directly bred the tendency of government to teach people (B& $k$)L fn]) when Confucians interpreted the Book of Songs .understanding mode of Praise and Criticism (§t$!j )and elaborated means of Comparison and Affective ImagesC tbX )o Although the theory that words could not express the mind utterly ("g"^-^-^) of Taoism aimed at deconstructing the status of ethical code of feudal orthodoxy ( ^LWi&'fr ) and scattering the discourse power of Confucianism (^^iSi^^^I ) , its reflection on the relationship between language and significance not only initiated the argument of language and idea of the metaphysics( ~￡^~s M3lM) in Wei and Jin period, but also.had direct effect on the produce of forgetting the means by which the idea is attained ( ?# ,1t S "if ) this means of poetic hermeneutic ,that is to say ,the effect that came from the Chan sect of Buddhism mainly reflected on the mode of thinking —Realize (fn) and Consider (#) affected by the means of practicing Buddhism and realizing power of Buddha about Realization and Considering, Mystic realizationC &!>fn ) and Flexible consideration Sj#) these two poetic hermeneutical means shows the characters of intuitionality, entirety, illogicality and dynamic creativity.Chinese ancient poetic hermeneutics is a wonderful work bred in Chinese traditional culture. Its hermeneutic idea not only has distinctive national cultural characteristics but can compare with western modern hermeneutical theory. At present , domestic literary critical circles are all not satisfied with the aphasia situation of Chinese literary critic and are arousing to reconstructing national characterized Chinese literary system and theoretical discourse .It is an important matter to tap and summarize traditional literary critic and theory including Chinese ancient poetic hermeneutics seriously and to confirm to Chinese contemporary literary critical and theoretical discourse system with distinctive national characteristic early.