In an interesting way, the historical development of Chinese theorizing about literary creation—and, arguably, Chinese literary theory as a whole—appears to follow a counterintuitive path. Instead of a more natural progression from the fragmentary to the systematic, we observe a development from the systematic toward the fragmentary. Thinking about the creative process begins with Lu Ji's and Liu Xie's comprehensive theories (see chap. 2), often praised as “vast in scope and refined in thinking” (tida sijing 體大思精). Although Wang Changling explores an equally broad range of topics (see chap. 4), his mode of writing marks a shift from systematic exposition to random remarks. In Han Yu, Su Che, and Yan Yu (see chap, 5) we find discussions a bit more cogent than those of Wang Changling, but expressed in letters or extended entries rather than well-rounded essays.
The Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties (1279–1911) display yet another interesting shift:...
