The Conclusion of Theories of Ancient Literature Held by Han Yu and Liu Zong-yuan

Han Yu and Liu Zong-yuan were the advocates for ancient literature movement of Mid-Tang dynasty.They argued for the past ways of composition popular in Qin and Han dynasties,but went against the Pian writing style emphasizing structure and neglecting content in order to guard against Confucianism.Han promoted that writing should be practical and sincere.Liu held that writing should be filled with high spirits,and an author's virtues should be ranked the same status as his works.Comparing with Han,Liu had a broader and richer writing style,and valued more the reality problems of Dao.And he more emphasized the union of article form and content,the unification of moral behavior and article quality.Han and Liu constructed comparatively complete ancient literature theory system of Tang dynasty and established a solid theory basis for the victory of the literature reform movement in North-Song dynasty.