Strive for the Continuation of Chinese Literary Refinement——On Lin Shu's Ancient Prose Theory and Its Historical Reaction

Lin Shu,a scholar living in the late Qing Dynasty,developed his unique Chinese ancient prose theory.He advocated the combination betweensolemn and proper connotationandstringent form,appreciatedartistic conception,and took the entertainment role of literature into consideration while emphasizing its political enlightenment.Although there were a number of conflicts about historical values of Chinese ancient prose theory between Lin Shu and the May Forth literati,the controversy of elegance actually reflected their traditional Chinese culture complex.