Author ｜
Chien-hui Chan
Abstract ｜
According to the American scholar René Wellek, literary studies can be divided into three fundamental fields: literary history, literary criticism (practical criticism), and literary theory. Among these, literary criticism addresses the question of “how to appreciate” literature. However, just as ancient Chinese poetic discourse includes categories like shige 詩格 and shishi 詩式, which discuss “how to create poetry,” the topic of “methods of composing poetry”—that is, “how to write poetry”—can also be regarded as a form of practical criticism, belonging to the domain of literary criticism. An example of this is Kainan Mori’s Sakushihō Kōwa 作詩法講話. A closer examination of this work reveals that it is not merely a book about “poetic composition methods,” but also one that embodies characteristics of both literary theory and literary history. Therefore, this article explores Sakushihō Kōwa and its related issues from three perspectives: poetic composition, literary theory, and literary history. The book Sakushihō Kōwa 作詩法講話 departs from the fragmentary and impressionistic mode characteristic of traditional shihua 詩話 by adopting a systematic and structured approach to literary exposition, thereby reflecting the new intellectual transformations brought about by the influence of European and American scholarship in the aftermath of the Meiji Restoration. With regard to the issue of the “origins of the ci lyric,” Kainan Mori advanced pioneering perspectives by extending his analytical scope to include folk literary forms such as ci and qu lyrics, zaju drama, and fiction, thus embodying a progressive, historically oriented conception of literature. Through the discursive format of “lectures,” Kainan Mori integrates traditional Chinese poetics with modern scholarly methodologies. His writings not only illuminate the processes of reception, reinterpretation, and articulation within literary history, but also open up new horizons for modern East Asian literary criticism.
keywords ｜
Kainan Mori, Sakushihō Kōwa, the poetics of East Asia, book circulation, guidebooks for classical Chinese poetry composition