Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.1, 2024

 

From “Bixing” to Allegory—Reflection on the Opposing Modes of Chinese and Western Poetics

(Abstract)

 

Zhang Wanmin

 

“Bixing” is a central concept in Chinese poetics, and as a form of allegorical composition or interpretation, it is in dialogue with Western allegory. The fundamental limitations imposed by the main characteristics of “bixing” and allegory are transcended precisely by the incorporation of those elements that are opposite to their main characteristics, i.e., “bixing” incorporates universal concepts, and allegory incorporates specific histories. In the comparison between the two, one should not simply label them as specific history and universal concept, locking them into two distinct fields.