The Divergences Of Interpretation: Comparison Between Stephen Owen's And Guo Shaoyu's Studies On Th'ang-lang's Remarks On Poetry

Ts'ang-lang's Remarks on Poetry is the treasure of Chinese ancient theories. It has controversial points and bold words,its influence is also far-reaching. It is worthy to be studied carefully. Stephen Owen and Guo Shaoyu are the best two of the researchers. But their interpretations about the Ts'ang-lang's Remarks on Poetry are full of divergences.In the 8th chapter of his Readings in Chinese Literary Thought, Stephen Owen has an amazing interpretation about the Ts'ang-lang's Remarks on Poetry which shows his unique ideation and opinions. Deeply nurtured by the Western culture, he can use analytic thinking ways to put forward his own ideas in elegant dictions. He deals with the Chinese ancient theories in a never-seen-before angle, interprets the text through carefully reading, centers the text and inter-compares the Western literature theories with the Chinese ones guiding by his conscious of comparative poetics.Guo Shaoyu bases on the ancient theories'historical development in his book Revision and Annotation on the Ts'ang-lang's Remarks on Poetry, bears the mind of traditional Chinese culture and the Marxism Literary and Artistic Creation– Outlook, takes great value on the research of history of ideas and the usage of revision and annotation. He quotes as much solid evidence as he can to prove his ideas which making them quite convincing. People can really learn a lot from his book.Though Stephen Owen's and Guo Shaoyu's visions, methods and specific interpretations on the Ts'ang-lang's Remarks on Poetry are not the same, the hermeneutic theories have told us that there's no correct and ultimate interpretation ever in the world. Comparing is to rethink about ourselves in Others'direction and to get something new but not to do the comparison itself.