Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.2, 2023

Restoring the Original Meaning of “Wen” from the Perspective of Confucian and Taoist Philosophy

(Abstract)

Cai Jiajun

The concept of wen is of great importance in Confucian and Taoist philosophy, but it has lost its original meaning in the modern context and tends to be understood as Westernized “literature” or “culture,” its importance being obscured. In the philosophy of Confucianism and Taoism, wen can be broken down into two aspects: “the li (reason) of heaven and earth” and “the heart of heaven and earth.” The original meaning of wen is the “beauty of natural order” obtained by feeling the li of heaven and earth with the heart of heaven and earth.