文心雕龍

by Xie Liu

"文心雕龍" by Xie Liu is a work on Chinese literary aesthetics composed in the 5th century. Written in fifty chapters based on principles from the I Ching, this text presents a complete and internally consistent account of literature. Liu Xie argues that affections are the medium of literature while language is merely the product. The work engages with and challenges earlier literary theory, particularly Lu Ji's 3rd-century "On Literature."