Qianlong Literary Thought Research

The literary theory of Qian Long, emperor of the flourishing age in Qing dynasty, hinges around the "mellow and elegant" concept, which is "mellow and elegant"? Mellow and elegant literary one formed under the influence of the poetic tradition of Confucians, together with special Imperial status. In practical terms, Qian’s literary concept is mainly embodied in the concept of poetic, which needs one "to write concretely, express the author’s feelings and thoughts"; the concept of ancient prose, which needs the content to be "pure, elegant and political"; and the concept of literary communication, which needs the content to be "mellow and socially administrated".The first chapter is about the reason why the "mellow ang elegant" concept is formed, which is, of course, multiple. First, the foundation of Qian’s thoughts is formed for his being affected from his early age by Kang Xi emperor and Yong Zheng emperor, with the former view of "respecting Neo-Confucianism, advocating elegance"; the latter’s "being socially administrated and pure of literature", and further more the instruction of Neo-Confucianism master, just like Zhu Shi, Cai Shiyuan, Fu Min, Xu Yuanmeng. Then, under the influence of Qing academic trend, Neo-Confucianism and Qian and Jia sinology co-occurred in Qian dynasty, and, correspondingly, the view of "including Literature" and "pursuing classical basis" come into being. The "originality of poetry", the combination of parallel prose and essay in ancient prose, and the choice of elegance or enchantment in songs and are all factors that influence Qian’s "Mellow and elegant" concept.The concept of poetic, which needs one "to write concretely, express author’s feelings and thoughts", would be discussed in chapter two. On content, it should show the realistic principle and reflect the recording of history. Qian thinks that being realistic is the recording of daily life, and the so-called history is the history of daily life and the governing of a country, based on which the view that poem should be situational is put forth. On emotion, he thinks that poem is "written for expressing one’s feelings and thoughts" and emotional factors are the basis for poetry composition. The emotion is not only the happiness and sorrow of private human beings, but also factors of self-cultivation and kindness toward his subjects. On function, Qian follows the concept of educational function of poetry. In his view, the meaning of " literature " is multiple, just like regarding history as a guideline in politics; stressing ethics and showing the art of learning and living.The third chapter analyzes the concept of ancient prose, which needs the content to be "pure, elegant and political". First, Qian holds the opinion that the ancient prose should be "based on classics and include theory and method" and the explanations of classics, the recording of information and the expressing of feelings and thoughts should also be included in it."Being socially administrated and suitable for social situation" are what Qian persues, on the basis of which he puts forth the view that the admiration of classics, the view of putting theory into practice and the praise of merits and virtues in the composition of ancient prose. The judgment of ancient prose should not be based on times or whether it is a parallel prose or an essay. The core of a good article is the natural feeling not the form of it.The concept of literary communication, which needs the content to be "mellow, sincere and socially administrated" would be the topic of chapter four. When orders others to revise the poem selections, Qian states clearly that he would follow the selection view of judging poem works through the authors, and the moral values of them. The open-minded attitude is adopted in the judgment of Tang and Song poetry by him who orders to revise Yu Xuan Tang Song Shi Chun, Yu Xuan Tang Song Wen Chun. Then, when commenting on ancient prose, Qian sticks to the principle of "mild and peace", and approves and carries forward the view of being "mild and elegant" putting forth by Kang Xi, who advocates gentleness and is against articles going against normal rules. By revising Yu Ding Si Shu Wen, Qian declares that it is "smooth and pure", which is a supplement to the article norm at that time. He also comments on and guides the use of words in Oin Ding Si Ku Quan Shu ZongMu. In Qian’s mind, Song lyrics riginates from poetry and is the variant of it and should be elegant accordingly. Therefore, he is strongly against vulgar poetry and for elegant ones. As for the style of Song, he thinks it should be elegant, mild, delicate, generous and smooth. Lastly, to clamp down on people, Qian adopts the principle of discarding the secular and keeping the refined works; putting emphasis on poetry works that are good for governing. In Qian’s mind, as for the former one, it is related to the content of poetry, which says that songs and have the same origin with poetry and thereafter the elegant principle should be followed; then as for the latter one, it is related to the collections and deletions of poetry, i.e. adds the feudal ruling ideology into poetry works for the governing purpose. Therefore, Qian adheres to the opinion that correcting and deleting and even for-biding works accordingly to meet with the feudal ideology in novels and traditional operas.The formation of Qian’s "Mellow and elegant" concept has had a great influence on the literature since the times of Qian and Jia emperor. The "gentle and sincere" poetic concept passes through the development of Qing poetry; the " Mellow and elegant " ancient prose concept guides the development of Tong Cheng school; the "delicate and mannered" concept promotes the Qing poetry to develop independently; while concept of "putting emphasis on words that are good for governing" changes the way of development of the former two concepts. All in all, Qian’s " Mellow and elegant " concept determines the main development trend of literature in QianJia dynasty.