A Discriminative Analysis On The Notion Of Symbol In Light Of Artistic And Literal Criticism

Symbol is a complicated notion with profound deposit and coverage. This article combs out a diachronical clue of the evolution of symbol as a notion. Symbol was originally a tally recording friendship; then it extended to be mystery in the realm of religion bridging man and god. In either case, the generation of the notion was arbitrary and conventional.The situation remained virtually the same in the 18th century. Then significant change came about as a result of the overwhelming French symbolism. The connotation changed: it began to refer to individual, esthetic artistic form or technique, and its status in theory changed substantially. So did its status in theory: it became an indispensable concept in criticism. The enrichment and expansion of the connotation has never ceased since, which is attributed to the influence of Symbol in other domains as well as the persistent efforts of theorists.Though there was a concept in ancient China echoing the western Symbol in broad sense, it didn't identify itself as a theoretical category in Chinese artistic and literal criticism until the introduction of French Symbolism. Since then, this notion had been expanding and its theoretical status had been enhancing. In the 40s, it was even upheld by some theorists as essence of poetry. But, due to historical change, the ensuing period witnessed the withdrawal of the notion from Chinese criticism and literature.In the 70s, attention was drawn back again to Symbol and the school it represented, and Symbol as a theoretical category regained popularity. Since then, its connotation has been expanding, with some misinterpretation, when it is put to use in diversified domains. Meanwhile, the enhancement of its theoretical status regains momentum.