Yuan Mei not only absorbed Yuan Hongdao's theory, but also Li Zhi's theory of childlike innocence, and advocated that poetry should express the mind directly, express the soul, and emphasize naturalness and originality. He opposed the restriction of Zhu Cheng Neo-Confucianism on poetry creation, expressed dissatisfaction with the tendency of imitating the ancients and the so-called gentle and sincere "poetry teaching", and criticized the "model theory" and "muscle theory" popular in poetry circles at that time.
The core of Yuan Mei's theory of spiritual nature emphasizes that poetry creation should express the poet's thoughts and feelings, and holds that the essence of poetry is lyricism, which is the natural expression of human feelings. As the proposition of poetry creation and criticism in China's ancient poetry theory, the theory of soul, verve, mode and texture are the four schools of poetry theory in the early Qing Dynasty.
Yuan Mei's personal profile
Yuan Mei (1765438+March 25, 2006-179865438+1October 3), Zi Zicai, No. In his later years, he was named Cangshan lay man, Suiyuan master and Suiyuan old man. Qiantang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang) was born in Cixi, Zhejiang. Poet, essayist, literary critic and gourmet in Qing Dynasty.
Yuan Mei advocated the theory of "the spirit of nature", arguing that the aesthetic creation of poetry should show the spirit of nature, the poet's personality and his true feelings in his personal life. He, Zhao Yi and Jiang Shiquan are called "Three Masters of Ganjia" (or "Three Masters of Jiangyou"), and Zhao Yi and Zhang Wentao are also called "Three Masters of Lingpai", which is one of the "Eight Masters of Parallel Prose in Qing Dynasty". The style of writing comes down in one continuous line with that of Ji Yun, a great scholar, who is called "Southern Yuan and Northern Ji". His main works are Xiao Cang Shan Ju Ji, Sui Yuan Shi Hua, Sui Yuan Shi Hua Supplement, etc.
The above contents refer to Baidu Encyclopedia-Soul Theory.