Prayers and Oaths
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Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who want an introduction to The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons but do not know where to start
- Students and teachers studying ancient genres, ritual, and oath culture
- Readers interested in the humanities who are curious about sacrificial invocations and covenant texts
- Self-learners who need short classical Chinese texts for close reading
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting to read all chapters of The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons completely and systematically
- Readers who only want literary appreciation and are unwilling to engage with genre criticism
- Beginners without a foundation in classical Chinese who are unwilling to use annotations
Reading tips
- Read the original text once, mark the key sentences on the two genres, zhu and meng, and then use the annotations to sort out the structure.
- While reading, separately organize the origins, uses, and writing requirements of zhu texts and meng texts, and make a brief comparison.
- Read it together with other genre chapters of The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons to appreciate Liu Xie's common method in discussing genres.
- After reading, try to summarize in your own words Liu Xie's views on the relationship between literary wording and sincerity, to test your understanding.
About the publisher
Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 祝盟第十
FAQ
What is the position of "Zhu Meng" in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons?
What is the difference between zhu texts and meng texts?
Can I read this chapter without a foundation in classical Chinese?
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About the author
Liu Xie (c. 465–520), courtesy name Yanhe, was a literary theorist and critic of the Liang dynasty in the Southern Dynasties. His ancestral home was Ju County in Shandong, and he was born in Jingkou. Orphaned young and poor, he was nonetheless devoted to learning and long stayed with the monk Sengyou at Dinglin Temple, where he took part in collating Buddhist scriptures. From about the age of thirty-two, Liu Xie spent five years completing The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons (Wenxin Diaolong), a work of broad scope and deep thought that examines genres, creative conception, style and rhetoric, and literary criticism. It is the most systematic treatise on literary theory in ancient China. Chapters such as “Preface and Motives,” “History and Biography,” “Cutting and Tailoring,” “General Technique,” and “Prayers and Oaths” discuss aims in writing, the genre of history and biography, organization and arrangement, principles of composition, and the forms of prayers and oaths, showing his concern with the origins of genres and the practice of writing. In his later years he became a monk and changed his name to Huidi. Public information about the details of his life is limited, but The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons has had a profound influence on later literary appreciation, Eastern philosophy, and cultural studies.
