Notes on Reading Wen Xuan

Three important issues are under discussion in the field of Wen Xuan as a literary genre. First, it traces back to thirtyseven literary forms as demonstrated in Xiao Tong′s Wen Xuan as a point of departure, among which Form Seven (qi), that is, any literary form started with Chinese numerical seven becomes the center of discussion. In addition, it places Form Seven in the historical context and discusses its influence on the latter writings. Second, it tries to do meticulous textual criticism about Wen Xuan Pang Zheng and finds it as a serendipitous discovery the original author of the text, Liang Zhangju. Third, it reassesses the views by Su Shi's comments on Wen Xuan: on one hand, Su Shi pointed out the errors made by Xiao Tong; on the other, Su Shi's comments, inevitably tinged with his biases, failed to offer a fair and judicious review. 