Review on Tang Wenzhi’s The Gist of Chinese Writing Gamut

于博文

【Abstract】Claimed as an important prose-theory work in the Republic of China， The Gist of Chinese Writing Gamut authored by Tang Wenzhi has arrested considerable academic attention in recent years. On the basis of the literary thoughts concerned， this paper not only concludes the two major contributions it has made， say， its clue-oriented study and the invention of phonology theory， but also encapsulates the scholarship attitudes he has cleaved to throughout his entire life.

【Key words】Tang Wenzhi； literary thoughts； prose-theory

The Gist of Chinese Writing Gamut written by Tang Wenzhi is an important prose-theory treatise in the period of Republic of China. Stylistically speaking， it is of classical commentaries anthology. This Book involves 44 writing techniques and affords readers a terse explanation on characteristics and scopes of application of each grammar. It selects literary articles in line with its category of grammar， totaling 237 articles with 38 poems in the Book of Poetry and another 11 composed by Tang Wenzhi himself. In combination with the grammar， it makes elaborate analyses and comments on every selected article. Overall， this book is not only expressive of the epochal character of the then prose-theory works， but boasts its own uniqueness.

Recently， Tangs prose-theory has been much valued in the academic field. Literary Anthologies of Previous Dynasties compiled by Wang Zhaoshui includes Tangs The Gamut of Chinese， The Gist of Chinese Writing Gamut， and Literature Lectures. It， for the first time， presents Tangs prose-theory in an exhaustive and comprehensive manner. Henceforth， Tangs literary thoughts have been granted with a complete and credible literature grounding. In midst of his introspection on the value of the traditional Chinese prose theory and on the confrontations of the new and old cultures before and after the May Fourth Movement， Wang paid a particular attention to over 30 literature commentaries at that time. His prose theory and educational practices are tightly bound up with times.

Tangs academic contribution is first and foremost reflected by its emphasis on clues. The so-called clues are referred to as the train of writing thoughts， which is an important structural element in writing. In the part of his introductory remarks， Tang reiterates that it entails the overriding importance to figure out the clues during his or her perusal. Besides， he puts a high premium on the clues when annotating and commenting some articles. As what Tang has remarked， previously， people tended to circle and dot the details worthy of attention which function in reasoning， narrating， and polishing......the delicacy it produces rests with the clues which are mainly marked by circles and dots. In this regard， Tangs commentaries by circling and dotting are different from those before. This difference is secured by Tangs emphasis on the clues. As far as Tangs concerned， the merit of this commentary is that those who get hang of it can develop the deductive thinking and harvest great benefits from that. Writing while making a point of its clues is another contribution that Tang has made to the classical prose theory.

The other is his invention of phonology theory. In view of the innate relations between classical poetry and music， discussed enormously in the Chinese classical poetry notwithstanding， phonology theory is merely referred to. It is Zeng Guopan， a descendant member of Tongcheng School， who firstly introduced the phonology theory to writing and prose-theory. After that， Wu Rulun， a student that Zeng mostly appreciated， instilled the theory into Tang Wenzhi who has sublimed it to its full later. As what Tang has commented in the chapter entitled Rhyme-selecting approach in Volume Eight， phonology is mostly applicable to such literature as poetry， Fu， Ming， and eulogy， and it is unprecedentedly created.

Tangs genius lies in incorporating the more abstract phonological theory featuring Ying and Yang into the particular rhyme selection. Take Han Yus the Epitaph of Shao Fan in Nanyang for example， Tang asserts that its beauty lies in its fabulous use of the entering rhyme which is sonorous and inclusive. As regards the Antumn Wind composed by Ou Yangxiu， Tang has commented that it is scintillating as to blend the use of Yang rhyme， Geng rhyme and entering rhyme. What a dulcet syllable. The charm of classical prose perusal is all illustrated therein. In this connection， learners should look it through. predecessors have accomplished much achievements in commenting Han Yu and Ouyang Xiu in variegated respects. However， from the perspective of the Phonology， Tang is the first scholar to comment those two literatis works. Tang has introduced the phonology theory in the poetry study into prose theory， and made most use of it to teaching writing， which conforms to the fundamental features of linguistic art， that is， the literature creation. It is worth cherishing indeed.

Over his whole life， Tang cleaves to the principle—making peoples mind righteous， and succoring peoples life. In his middle life， he switched his efforts into education. He reiterated that at or after the age of 50， he was committed to making peoples mind righteous and succoring peoples life. With diligence and studiousness， he composed voluminous articles and rendered assistance for his comrades. Although the argumentation is slightly different， his principle never changed. In his self-made preface， Tang claims that at the age of 50， I exerted myself in lecturing simply to make peoples mind righteous and succor peoples life. In this end， we should reevaluate the classics and respect the essences of Chinese literature. Besides， in his literature anthology， he pointed out that it is our obligation as to expound the profoundities of Chinese classics， thereby succoring peoples minds.

Before the 20th century， harboring the unswerving belief of purifying the nation， Tang expanded the directions of the development of Chinese classics such as classics perusing， particularly reciting purple classics， in hope of cultivating the moral personality special to China. And through incorporating the prose-composing into ethics cultivating， the pent-up Chinese national vitality could be emancipated. The elevation of moral personality and the capability of composing are seemingly foreign to each other. Tang， however， has successfully incorporated those two respects. Specifically， the literature tonality which is indicative of the voice of mindset can to some extent strengthen readers awareness of moral personality by means of the overwhelmed musicality and the cadence between the lines. The aforementioned morality is far from nothingness but the genuine solicitude and down-to-earth thinking for the realistic society concerned.