Some Discussions on the Artistic Imaginary Created by WANG Guo-wei in The Theatrical History of Song and Yuan Dynasties

In The Theatrical History of Song and Yuan Dynasties,WANG Guo-wei picked up the term artistic imaginary to evaluate the beauty of Yuan Drama.This term,aroused many disputes within the field of Chinese classical literature over the years,originally referred to the perfect fusion and unity of feeling and setting,real and imaginary,form and spirit.But In WANG'S comments on the beauty of Yuan Drama's artistic imaginary,he laid particular stresses on the realistic settings of the drama,especially the natural and unaffected language which was full of dialects and colloquialism.WANG Guo-wei,being insightful and resourceful,was the only person who discovered and demonstrated the beauty of the artistic imaginary of Yuan Drama and thus established its unique position in the literary history.