亡國悔書:王夫之批評竟陵派的社會語境及思想析論

Due to the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Fuzhi’s commentary on the JingLing School was more critical than that of the Classical School. Such criticism reflected Wang’s pang of repentance in his later years, and gave him the urge to constantly perfect his poetic criticism and theoretical framework. This paper provides evidence to reveal the influence and interconnectedness of Wang’s social relationships—such as family, teachers, friends, regions, political alliances, and loyalist communities—and investigates how such interrelations had penetrated into his critical discourse of the Jing-Ling School as well as Wang’s transformation from a Jing-Ling-style learner to an adopter of a much harsher social stance. Moreover, as a former Jing-Ling-style learner, Wang is distinguished from other contemporary critics of the fall of Ming during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. In addition to the analysis through the lens of social sciences, this paper suggests that Wang’s criticism of the Jing-Ling School also exhibited his unique thoughts of tiyao (style and essentials) and wenzhi (outer grace and inner substance), which subtly embody the conceptions of the yi-xia distinction that entails the debate over the civilized xia and the uncivilized yi. Wang was apprehensive of poetry being the possible downfall of the nation, and that poetry, as a substitute for music, would suffer the same tragic fate as music under the invasion of yi. Therefore, Wang’s focus on the significance of wenzhi, tiyao, and poetry derives from his concerns of the dire circumstances surrounding the survival of Xia culture.