The theory of the relation of the concepts of “text” and “Dao”, and its influence on the development of text science in Ancient China

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between the concepts of “text” and “Dao”. These two concepts are important for such scientific fields of ancient China as literary theory, philosophy, text science and others, and the relationship between them is interpreted differently depending on a number of factors. The first part of this article examines the interpretation of the concepts of “text” and “Dao” in different dynasties. First, in the Zhou Dynasty (1045–221 B.C.) the concept of “text” denotes an interlacing of multicolored patterns, from which follows the interpretation of text as beauty, bright color. Only in the Han dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.) did the text begin to be understood as a completed work of speech in written form. The concept of “Dao” is a more complex and fuzzy concept that includes material, moral, spiritual-psychological and other components. The interpretation of the concept of “Dao” depends on such factors as one’s ideological position and the political system of a particular time. The following is an analysis of the main trends in the development of the relationship between the two key concepts. The relationship between the concepts of “text” and “Dao” went from fusion to divergence and again to fusion and equilibrium. The fusion of the two concepts in the era before the Qin Dynasty (221–206 B.C.) is closely related to Confucianism, and the divergence of these concepts during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589) is due to the dominance of the pair style. The two concepts came together again as a result of scholars’ desire for a balance between content and form. The analysis summarizes the main characteristics of the relationship between the concepts of “text” and “Dao”: multidimensionality, balance, harmony and ethicocentrism. The last part of the article is devoted to the analysis of the influence of the relationship between “text” and “Dao” on the development of textual studies in Ancient China, the science of ontological features of the text, which originated in the period of the Eastern Han dynasty (206–220). The discussion of the relationship between the concepts of “text” and “Dao” prior to the Qin dynasty contributes to the unification of disparate theoretical points regarding the understanding of textual patterns. In addition, the relationship between these two concepts also influences the genre diversity and expansion of textual issues in different periods.