From Ancient-Style Prose to Useful Writing:The Crux of The Key to Ancient-Style Prose and the Reshaping of Classics
After breaking through the dilemma in selecting passages from Elite Cavalry(《精骑》),Lv Zuqian(吕祖谦)completed the classic selection of The Key to Ancient-Style Prose(《古文关键》)in 1174,which became the pioneering work in the commentary category of selected works.Lize Prose Theory《丽泽文说》)and General Theory(《总论》)differed from each other in some points,both of which were written records of the opinions by Lv Zuqian and his disciples during their discussions on prose,but neither of which had any direct affiliation with The Key to Ancient-Style Prose.Important Rules(《要法》)attached to The Key to Ancient-Style Prose was a simplified and organized version of General Theory,reflecting the process of matching the entries in his disciples'transcripts with The Key to Ancient-Style Prose.This book creatively integrated marking symbols with prose analysis,creating a form of commentary that combined essential elements,general comments,end comments,and inserted comments.It uncovered a large number of structural terms in imperial examination essays and led the trend of essay commenting.The theory of"setting up pillars"(立柱)represented the form of passage writing(段子)in the structure of prose,constituting the origin of the four-part style("四比"体式)of the eight-part essay(八股文).According to the needs of the imperial examination,Lv Zuqian promoted the crux,emphasized the principles,and reshaped ancient-style prose into useful writing.The"crux"in the narrow sense refers to the crucial points and subtle methods in the organization of chapters and sentences,while the"crux"in the broad sense refers to the formulas of prose writing(文诀).The cutting-edge and systematic nature of Lv Zuqian's literary thought made him a central figure during the establishment of prose studies.
The Key to Ancient-Style Prose(《古文关键》)General Theory(《总论》)Important Rules(《要法》)Lize Prose Theory(《丽泽文说》)Lv Zuqian(吕祖谦)
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