Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.2, 2025 

The Concept of Yijing in Qing Dynasty Poetics

(Abstract)

Chen Juan

The meaning of jing in ancient Chinese poetics includes two dimensions: jingjie (realm) and jingyu (encounter), both of which are involved in the creation and development of the concept of yijing (realm of meaning). Tang dynasty poetics emphasized the realm, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasty poetics emphasized the encounter, and Qing dynasty poetics adopted both. On the one hand, Qing poetics absorbed the ideas of Daoism and Buddhism and emphasized the ethereality of the poetic realm, and on the other hand, it emphasized that the basis of poetic creation lies in the poet’s personal encounters at the level of sensibility. The poets of the Qing dynasty described yijing as “non-separation, non-existence,” and yijing actually became an element and inherent quality in various artistic activities such as poetry. “The realm of meaning should be rich, and it should expand like waves” is a prominent proposition in the poetic theory of the Qing dynasty. The use of the concept of yijing in Qing dynasty poetics shows that the connotation of yijing has three corresponding levels, namely, fostering yi from jing, the creation of jing based on yi, and reaching jing from yi. Jingyu is the starting point of the interpretation of yijing, and jingjie constitutes the highest point of the interpretation of yijing, which should be carried out in the interval constituted by jingyu and jingjie.