David X Novak
  • Home
  • About
  • Poetry
  • Plays
  • Prose
  • Books
  • News
  • Contact

Literary Accomplishments in the Works of the Sages

11/1/2016

 
The Book of Changes says, "When things have been correctly distinguished and the language expressing them has been made accurate, then decisive judgments are complete." And the Book of History says, "In the choice of language one should emphasize the essential and should not indulge in the extraordinary." So we know that the way to establish significant distinctions is by using language accurately; and the way to perfect writing is to emphasize the essential. If the writing is thus perfect, there will be no danger of succumbing to the love of the extraordinary; and if significant distinctions are thus established, the beauty of decisive judgments will emerge. Profound ideas may be obscure, but they will not harm linguistic accuracy; and the subtle language may be only suggestive, but this does not do injustice to the essential: the essential substance and the subtle expression will be achieved together; and accurate language and profound ideas will coexist. We may observe these literary accomplishments in the works of the sages.
​

—Liu Hsieh, The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, Chapter 2 (translated by Vincent Yu-chung Shih)

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    News?

    A new poem is always news to the poet.
    ​Or whatever.

    Archives

    April 2020
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed