The Influence Of Mencius' View About Personality Aesthetics On His Prose

Mencius, the second saint of Confucianism who lived in the medium-term of Warring States was deep suffered the influence of the culture of intellectual at that time. Based on the apriori theory of good nature, Mencius promoted the development of the theory of personality aesthetics and suggested a famous theory of "HaoRanZhiQi"(浩然之气) so as to advance his personality to a spirited and saintly moral level from the angle of attaching importance upon the human beings. Influenced by his personality, Mencius' article showed it's character of excited and indignant emotion and powerful vigor. This kind of style of writing of Mencius which combine one's language of writing and morality cultivation together was greatly commended by the classical writers in later period, including the eight Tang-Song prose masters to the Tongcheng School in Qing Dynasty. What they had done produced a specific effect in the history of Chinese literature development.