“Sound of Nature” and “Authorship”: The Formation of Two Concepts of Text Generation

Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 9, 2021

“Sound of Nature” and “Authorship”: The Formation of Two Concepts of Text Generation

(Abstract)

Cheng Sudong

The generative mechanism of the Book of Songs, the Book of Music, the Book of Changes, the Spring and Autumn Annals and other texts attracted the attention of learned men during the Warring States period and the Qin and Han dynasties. Two views gradually took shape. One emphasized that a text reveals natural human emotions, and the generator of the text participates in the generation process in a natural, irrational state; the text is thus something natural. This view can be called the “sound of nature theory.” The other emphasized that the text is the carrier of humankind’s rational spirit and independent character, and that the generation of text is a highly individualized, rational and technical process, so the resulting text is something man-made. This view can be called the “authorship theory.” The two conceptions of text production present different textual values and aesthetics. As seminal ideas, they have had a significant influence on the development of Chinese literary history, and their competition and convergence have constituted one of the driving forces behind its development.