The Art of Writing: Teachings of the Chinese MastersTony Barnstone, Chou Ping Shambhala, 1996 M06 25 - 108 pages The ancient Chinese regarded the written word as a transformative force able to move heaven and earth and unite the reader with the source of all things, the Tao. The power of writing, especially poetry, is celebrated here in short texts that present both practical instruction and spiritual insight: • Lu Ji's essay in verse, "The Art of Writing," reveals the inner process every writer must go through in preparing for the creative act. • Sikong Tu's "Twenty-four Styles of Poetry" teaches that poets must perfect themselves internally in order to achieve perfection in what they write. • "Poets' Jade Splinters" contains aphoristic prescriptions and humorous anecdotes about poetry, poets, and the rules of composition. Assorted commentaries and critical evaluations focus on Chinese lyrical poetry. |
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ancient Art of Writing asked Bai Juyi beauty birds bright Ch'i Chen Chuang-tzu classics clouds cold commentaries COMMENTS ON POETRY Confucian couplet craft crane deep perception Dongpo door dragon elegant Emperor empty etry example famous float flow flowers Fu's genres Han Yu hard heart hermit Huang ideas inspiration Ithaka Jade Splinters Jia Dao king of Chu knock leaves Lechang Li Shangyin lines literature look Lu Ji Lu's master Mei Yaochen Meng Qi Song monk moon Ouyang Xiu painting palace poet poetic POETRY STORIES prose Qi Song dynasty Qing river scholars shadow shape shi hua Shilong Sikong silk sing Six-One's Comments someone Southern Song spirit spring Su Dongpo Sui dynasty Tang Tao Yuanming Taoist thousand traveling tree TWENTY-FOUR STYLES Wang Guowei wife wild willow wind words write a poem wrote Yang Su Zhang Zheng Gu zither