Commenting on "Ding Shi" in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons

or literary appearance is a unique theoretical category of classical Chinese literary theory. It was originated in Ding Shi (Determining the Literary Appearance) in Liu Xie's The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. Wen Shi, which concerns literary forms, is involved with such factors as phonetics, words, sentences in its formation. It is characterized by its mobility, inclusiveness and variety and has a great aesthetical effect on readers. Liu Xie's Wen theory has a great significance for today's literary creation and theoretical research.