"The Historian’s Poem Heart":Qian Mu’s Theory On Chinese Literature

Strictly speaking, Qian Mu is not a literary researcher in the true sense. However, from the perspective of historians and the passion for literature, Qian Mu still makes high evaluation on Chinese literature.The thesis is divided into four chapters, including the introduction and conclusion, six parts in total.The first chapter summarizes Qian Mu’s standpoint, viewpoint and method of studying Chinese literature. From the "warmth and respect" on Chinese history and culture, Qian Mu stood in the position of Chinese traditional culture, and then found the unique features of Chinese literature. As for "What is literature", Qian Mu saw close ties between the Chinese literature and daily life. He suspected that "literature is life ". At the same time, he also stressed the significance of the author. In the methods, Qian Mu adopts the method of Chinese traditional academic research, and using the method of comparison of Chinese and Western culture and literature.The second chapter discusses Qian Mu’s concept of literary history. Qian Mu’s concept of literary history reflects the "through" consciousness of historians. Qian Mu made many "new" discoveries in the history of Chinese literature. At the same time, he found literature means in other forms of art, such as music, opera, calligraphy and paintings. The chapter also discusses Qian Mu’s idea on "how to teach the literary history" and the relationship between Literary history with textology.The third chapter discusses Qian Mu’s literary ideas. Qian Mu’s evaluation on Chinese literature is not only concerned about the education function of literature, but also concerned about the literature aesthetic value and presentation skills. From the perspective of the tradition of Chinese literature, Qian Mu regards Chinese literature as "Xin Xue", if the hearts of readers perceived the heart of the author, achieve emotional resonance, this literature is still "living". At last, The chapter discusses Qian Mu’s notion of "pure literature ".The fourth chapter is the research of style and genre. The literary style and literary category are representative of the classification criteria of Chinese and Western literature. From Qian Mu’s understanding of Chinese style, we can see the evolution of Chinese literature.The conclusion part focuses on the significance of Qian Mu’s study on Chinese literature, and why we still read Qian Mu’s writings today.