A Modern Interpretation of the Creation Theories in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons

Liu Xie, in Bian Sao, the general introduction The Literature Mind and the Carving of Dragons, and other relevant parts, takes Qu Yuan's Li Sao as a model and advances his aesthetic views of sticking tradition and keeping a firm rein on unusual expression, that is to pursue the unusual expression but never lose sight of the tradition; employ the exquisite words but never forget the plain truth, emphasizing the unity of form and content, as well as to absorb the expressions from the classics and create one's own glorious ones, indicating inheritance and creation. Such basic principles of literary creation have great theoretical value and methodological meaning.