Chapter 1: The Philosophical Foundations

In studying literary creation, Chinese critics follow an approach markedly different from that of Western critics, who tend to dwell on abstract theoretical questions regarding its origin and ontotheological implications.¹ Chinese critics, in contrast, focus on the actual creative process itself. What interests Chinese critics most is how an author reaches yi 意, an intense, preexpressive state of mind, and then translates that mental state into yan 言, a refined pattern of words or simply a literary text. Both yi and yan are very important terms in early philosophical discourse, denoting from very early on the signified and the sign, respectively, in linguistic and cognitive processes and over time acquiring a rich polysemy. This polysemy, in turn, provides a treasure trove of concepts necessary for distinguishing complex mental and linguistic activities at different stages of literary creation. The term yi 意 captures a broad array of preexpressive mental experiences,...