Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.1, 2022 

 

The Dionysian Spirit and the Generation of the Poetic Discourse of “Xing”

(Abstract)

 

Fu Daobin

 

In Chinese culture, xing of poem and xing of wine generate inter-dependent relationship in the beginning, and further integrate in the life of rites and music. Certain similarities and connections lie in between Chinese literature, represented by xinggan (sense of xing), and Dionysian spirit, originally from ancient Greek. The contradictions between rational Apollonian spirit and irrational Dionysian spirit constitute the major theme in the evolution of the literary spirit in Western literature; In Chinese classical culture, conflicts of emotional revelry and rational restraint also exists, and are manifested not only the restrictive norm of ritual and musical culture on wine, but also, understanding and tolerance for wine.