The Value of "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" in Traditional Article Studies

Regarding the nature of "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" as a work, scholarly opinions have often diverged. What particularly interests this author is Wang Gengsheng (王更生，1928 - 2010)'s essay "What Kind of Scholar Was Liu Xie? (〈劉勰是一個什麼家？〉)" The author summarizes the unique contributions of "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" in five aspects: high recognition of national culture, the ideological system of verify with the sages and model on the classics (徵聖宗經), the great ambition of literature serving the world (文學濟世), the noble character of achieving merit through writing (馳績垂文), and the outstanding vision of reconciling ancient and modern (折中古今). He believes that "only by respectfully calling Liu Xie a 'literary thinker' can we truly grasp both the 'authenticity' and 'completeness' of his intentions in writing (我們只有尊稱劉勰為『文學思想家』，才能得其為文用心之“真”和用心之“全”)."² Following this line of thought and continuing our in-depth investigation, we discover that Liu Xie, the "literary thinker," presents in his magnum opus "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons", which is "comprehensive in scope and thorough in consideration (體大慮周)," a broad and profound "cosmic consciousness (宇宙意識)."

The last chapter "Of My Purpose" (〈序志〉) in "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" describes the purpose of writing the book, beginning with "the boundless and remote universe (宇宙綿邈)," then turning to "the numerous and diverse (黎獻紛雜)"³ of human society, and finally focusing on the relationship between the " intellectual wisdom (智術)" and " literary creation (製作)" of the writing subject. At the level of the existential state of life where "Time passes swiftly, and human spirituality and wisdom cannot remain forever (歲月飄忽，性靈不居)," it highlights the intrinsic connection between writing and establishing words with one's life mission. This touches upon the philosophical question of why humans engage in writing activities: Why must one take up the pen to write during one's lifetime? Liu Xie borrows Mencius (孟子，371 B.C. – 289 B.C.)'s words to answer: "Do I take pleasure in disputation? It is but necessity (豈好辯哉，不得已也！)." Only in this way can writing possess vital life force and produce its proper effect in life and society, embodying the lofty theoretical height of Liu Xie as a "literary thinker (文學思想家)."

The chapter "The Way of Fundamental (〈原道〉)" best embodies Liu Xie's philosophical thinking. Scholarly discussions have mostly focused on the origins of Liu Xie's concept of "The Way (道)," but I believe what is more important is how Liu Xie selected and drew the essence from various theories, and achieved innovation.. He integrated the Way of the “Ten Wings (《易傳》, a collection of commentaries Book of Changes)”, Laozi (老子，571 B.C. – 470 B.C.) and Zhuangzi (莊子，369 B.C. – 286 B.C.), and Confucianism into one, permeating it with cosmic consciousness (宇宙意識) and the concept of the three powers (三材觀念，即天、地、人；heaven, earth, and humanity), the Originality (自出機杼) and creatively proposing the "The Way of Beautiful Writing (美文之道)." Therefore, the chapter "The Way of Fundamental" directly unifies the "heart of heaven and earth (天地之心)" with the human "Mind" for writing (人類為文之心), believing that the process of "From mind comes word, from word comes literature (心生而言立，言立而文明)" is, like the "Richly endowed with splendour and grace (鬱然有采)" masterpiece of heaven and earth (天地之文), a manifestation of the way of natural. Through the concept of the "three powers (三材)" of heaven, earth, and humanity, Liu Xie views human writing through the perspective of natural beauty, actually elevating human writing to a position where it can stand alongside the great beauty of the universe, highlighting the sublime significance of human " Literature." In chapter "Inheritance and Innovation (〈通變〉)", Liu Xie holds that "The principles of literature revolve in endless cycle; innovation driving the literary enterprise continuously forward (文律運周，日新其業)," inheriting the cosmic way of continuous flow of vital energy and transforming it into a fundamental mode of thinking for discussing writing. This philosophical wisdom and mode of thinking obviously holds important inspiration for enhancing contemporary understanding of writing activities, expanding the breadth of vision of writing subjects, and contemplating the cosmic life significance contained in human writing.

Regarding the value of "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" in the study of literary composition or literary theory, scholars have already engaged in relatively thorough discussions. Here we select two issues that may not have received sufficient attention, clarifying their essential meanings in order to more comprehensively consider questions related to the study of literary composition and theories of literary creation.

First, the formation of writing from the heart and the integration of emotion and reason. Under normal circumstances, theoretical thinking tends toward calmness and rationality, yet Liu Xie's "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" presents a different appearance: rational expression contains emotional spirit and vivid imagery, with rigorous theory and spiritual rhythm coexisting in mutual enhancement. When we read the "Of My Purpose" chapter, the opening section contains the exclamation "How beautiful is the human heart! (心哉美矣)", the closing section has the sigh "If writing can truly carry the emotions and aspirations of the heart, then my inner self will have found its anchor and home (文果載心，余心有寄)," and the middle section expresses the passion: "In the chapter "Understanding Critic (知音)", I express deep emotion about the difficulty of achieving correct literary criticism; in the chapter "Measuring Virtue and Ability (程器)", I propose the importance of moral character and political cultivation for writers; finally, in the chapter "Of My Purpose", I describes his own aspirations and interests (怊悵於知音，耿介於程器，長懷序志)."—all consistently centered on this "heart." Looking at other chapters, such as "The Way of Fundamental" with "How great is the power inherent in writing! Why does it exist coevally with heaven and earth? (文之為德也大矣，與天地並生者何哉)", Chapter "Verify with Sages (徵聖)" with "A hundred years pass, the shadow fades; through a thousand years, the heart remains (百齡影徂，千載心在)," Chapter "Revering the Classics (綜經)" with "How profound and radiant! The ancestor of all writings (淵哉爍乎，群言之祖)," Chapter " Analyzing the Songs of Chu (〈辨騷〉)" with "Later emerged some peculiar and marvelous writings, such as works like "Encountering Sorrow"(奇文郁起，其離騷哉)", Chapter "Content and Form (〈情采〉)" with "The writings of ancient sages were all called "literary works"—wasn't this because they all possessed literary elegance? (聖賢書辭，總稱文章，非采而何)", Chapter "Understanding Critic (〈知音〉)" with "How difficult it is to make correct criticism! While criticism is indeed hard to get right, correct critics are also not easy to encounter; to come across a correct critic, perhaps only one or two appear in a thousand years! (知音其難哉！音實難知，知實難逢，逢其知音，千載其一乎)"... In all these passages, the emotional waves of the thinker leap forth, and the intense spirit of the explorer surges. Therefore, one of the enduring values of Liu Xie's "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" is manifested in its writing style that integrates emotion and reason, demonstrating to later generations that the study of literary composition, including literary theory, though belonging to the category of "scholarship," cannot be separated from thinking and writing, and should properly follow the principle of "When thoughts take form in the mind, they naturally become words; once words are established, both substance and literary grace naturally manifest (心生言立，言立文明)." Theory with "heart" naturally radiates the warmth of emotion and the force of voice and spirit. This can perhaps be seen as an important characteristic distinguishing traditional Chinese theory from Western literary concepts, worthy of inheritance and promotion.

Second, emphasis on talent and emotion with unique individuality. Although Liu Xie revered Confucius and the Five Classics of Confucianism, he was not confined to Confucian tradition but transcended it, viewing subjective talent and nature as key factors, thus saying "(The talented and common people of the world) stand out from the crowd, relying on nothing more than acquired wisdom and the art of writing (出類拔萃，智術而已)," believing that "(When conceiving a piece of writing) natural talent takes the lead while acquired learning serves as support (才為盟主，學為輔佐)." For this reason, Liu Xie particularly emphasized the individualization of literary composition. In his eyes, the classics are "with distinctions between detailed and brief, implicit and explicit, (繁略殊形，隱顯異術)" valuing "The rich and varied language and content in the writings of sages (聖文之殊致，表裡之異體)." He greatly admired the "Encountering Sorrow" because it not only "Forging the spiritual core of classics into the flesh and blood of one's own creation (取鎔經意)" but more valuably "Building upon classical traditions, create a unique and unparalleled style of one's own (自鑄偉詞)" The chapter "Style and Personality (〈體性〉)" chapter discusses the beauty of literary style based on the recognition that "Talent and temperament are distinct (才性異區)," advocating "Each person writes according to their own nature, and the style of their work differs from one another just as people's faces (各師成心，其異如面)." In the chapter "Understanding Critic" discusses literary appreciation and criticism, opposing "(Each person) uses their own one-sided understanding to measure diverse articles, (各執一隅之解，欲擬萬端之變)" believing that true understanding lies in "Identifying Outstanding Talent (見異)"—deeply comprehending where the author's uniquely individual craftsmanship resides. All these concepts aim to emphasize unique individuality and subjective talent and emotion, manifesting the beauty of each person's individual spirit.

In today's world, human writing activities face multifaceted challenges from artificial intelligence technology. If we maintain a clear awareness of the resulting tendencies toward homogenization and standardization, and hold fast to the belief that the soul of writing lies in expressing individualistic sentiments and feelings, then revisiting the aforementioned propositions of Liu Xie may well serve as a fascinating remedy for enhancing our confidence.

Liu Xie lived in an era when the literary world pursued innovation and emphasized literary art (including techniques). As stated in " Elucidating Poetry (明詩)": "(Thus, literates) strived to display their literary brilliance through parallelism throughout entire pieces, and competed to show off their talent through novelty in every sentence (儷採百字之偶，爭價一句之奇。)." "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" also dedicates special chapters to discussing the technical application of Structure and Syntax (章句), Theme Extraction (鎔裁), Article Layout (附會), Hyperbolic Embellishment (誇飾), Classical Allusions (事類), Phonetic Rhythm (聲律), Word Refinement (煉字). Readers who study these carefully will naturally benefit from them. It should be noted that Liu Xie's discussion of the art of writing is distinctive. To select the essential points, I humbly believe the following two aspects hold particular inspirational value for contemporary writers.

First, Liu Xie's discussion of the art of writing always focuses on the wholeness of writing. As stated in "The Fundamental Methods (〈總術〉)": "In the realm of literary creation, methods are diverse and varied (文場筆苑，有術有門)," but the prerequisite is understanding how to "Prioritize the overall structure (務先大體)" and "Establish the main structure and theme of the article to refine the details of the wording (舉要治繁)." Therefore, the Chapter "Theme Extraction (〈鎔裁〉)" discusses the art of editing, valuing "(The various parts of an article, like the doors and windows of a house,) correspond to each other on the left and right, echoing one another (左右相瞰). " to make "Writing should flow like rivers and streams, smooth and natural (辭如川流)"; The Chapter "Article Layout (〈附會〉)"discusses the overall coordination and consideration in writing, emphasizing "Summarize the logical thread of the article, connecting the beginning and ending throughout the entire piece (總文理，統首尾)."; the Chapter "Structure and Syntax" (〈章句〉) discusses word choice and sentence construction, emphasizing "Establish the central theme of the article first, then determine the overall structure (總義以包體)." In order to achieve the ideal state that "(The diction and phonology) flow with emotions, progressing layer by layer, rising and falling dynamically (宛轉相騰)"... In short, beautiful writing is like the human body, where "writing must use emotion and aspiration as the soul of the composition, use content and reasoning as the skeleton of the composition, use diction and literary grace as the flesh and countenance of the composition, use rhythm and meter as the breath and spirit of the composition (必以情志為神明，事義為骨髓，辭采為肌膚，宮商為聲氣)." If Liu Xie's theory of literary techniques in "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" has practical value for contemporary writers, then this way of thinking that emphasizes vital energy, unity from beginning to end, and mutual correspondence should be regarded as the compass for establishing words and the essential technique for writing.

Second, Liu Xie's discussion of the art of literary always reveres natural beauty. "The Way of Nature (自然之道)" proposed in Chapter "The Way of Fundamental (〈原道〉)" has three key points: first, regardless of what techniques are employed, they should conform to the natural process from "Mind (心)" to "Words (言)" to "Article (文)"; Second, the essence of the "Mind" lies in "Beauty (美)," therefore "Article" formed from the "Mind" should with brightly diction and meaning, richly endowed; Third, no matter how numerous the techniques, all methods return to one, all belonging to the category of natural creation. "Parallelism Art (〈麗辭〉)" discusses the beauty of parallelism, beginning with "Nature endows all things with form (造物賦形)," revering "All things have symmetry (自然成對)"; the "Phonetic Rhythm (〈聲律〉)" chapter is based on the naturalness of human voice: "The human voice naturally possesses tonal rhythms, which originate from the body's natural circulation of blood (聲含宮商，肇自血氣)." Even when discussing the use of allusions, as stated in "Classical Allusions (〈事類〉)", the ideal state is "To value others' talents as one's own (用人若己)" and "It is as if the words came from his own mouth (不啻自其口出)." In short, when various literary techniques are all incorporated into the framework of following and conforming to nature, harmony resonates between "Mind and Art," and beautiful writing emerges.

From the above, it can be seen that Liu Xie's "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons", as a classic work of traditional literary theory, radiates infinite charm that "Passed down through countless generations, forever treasured and cherished by all (萬代永耽)." through its beauty of emotion and literary grace, and its light of wisdom. In terms of The Way of Establishing Words, The Scholarship of Literary Composition and The Art of Writing, it is like Mount Tai spreading rain to nourish the literary world, benefiting the concerns of future generations. It can truly be said that "The meanings left behind by ancient classics remain forever fresh. For later generations to learn from them is never too late (餘味日新，後進追取而非晚)."