“Sounds of Nature” and “Works of Authorship”: The Formation of Two Concepts of Text Production

Abstract

The generative mechanism of the Book of Songs, the Classic 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 texts display natural human emotions, and the generation of the text participates in the generation process in a natural, irrational way; the text is thus something natural. This view can be called the “sounds 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 “works of 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.