Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.2, 2023

“Wen” and Its Life Significance from the Perspective of “Heaven and Man”

(Abstract)

Liu Guirong

“Wen” in ancient China goes beyond the admit of modern “literature.” The wen in wenli has been generated in early concepts. “Wen of heaven and earth” is the basic meaning and scope of wen, including wen of heaven, wen of earth, all creatures, and wenof all manifestations of nature. “Wen of virtue and principle” is also known as morality of wen. Sages, kings, and virtuous men should have morality of wen which lays foundation on heaven and conforms to virtue. Although “wen of ritual (liwen)” is manifested at social level, its constituent system and intellectual essence are a correlated trinity of heaven, society, and human. The Confucian concept of “cultivate virtue internally, behave externally as what liwen records” is liwen’s essential attribute and fundamental basis for guiding a man to become full-grown.