Liu Xie and Qian Zhongshu:Common Poetics

Literary theorists Liu Xie and Qian Zhongshu,with an age gap of almost fifteen centuries apart,are brought together for comparison in this article probably for first time.Liu's Intent and Ornament in Literature(Wenxin Diaolong) and Qian's On Literature (Tanyi Lu) as well as his other works of literary criticism written when he was 36 years old or younger,are compared.With references to systematic framework provided by Intent and Ornament in Literature(Wenxin Diaolong),both theorists' ideas ranging from nature of literature to its rhetoric skills are juxtaposed;and we discover that they have tremendous commonness.Their discourses on metaphor and on ulteriority,among others,contribute to formation of a universal or common poetics.Qian is famous for his super-erudition and his abundance in citing evidences to support his claims.Critics of Qian have harsh words for this excesses in citation.The author argues that this is exactly way for Qian to build solid foundations for his theories.Illustrating with massive quotations from various cultural traditions that the East and West have a common heart and mind, Qian contributes to understanding of humanity and thus would probably promote harmony in world.He deserves an internationally highest prize for peace.There is criticism that Qian's literary discourses are just notes-like writings,without an apparent systematic framework.The author argues that by reorganizing and categorizing contents of Qian's critical writings,a grand systematic framework would emerge from these.