The conception of shishi (poetry as history) in the history of Chinese literary criticism

By scrutinizing the development of the concept of Shishi, this thesis tries to analyze the theoretic significance of Shishi and reflect on the Lyrical tradition of Chinese poetry.; The first Chapter begins with summarizing the past research on Shishi theory; the methodology, purposes and approach of this thesis are also presented in this introductory chapter. Second Chapter probes into the significance of the genesis of Shishi theory in Meug Qi's Benshishi. Third Chapter divides Shishi theory in Song dynasty into four ages and analyzes their connotation respectively. Fourth Chapter discusses the debate of Shishi theory in Ming Neo-Classic poetics. Fifth Chapter puts forward two directions of Shishi theory in Early Qing Dynasty. Sixth Chapter deals with the development of Shishi theory after Early Qing Dynasty. The concluding Chapter reflects on the relationship between Shishi theory and Lyrical tradition.