種嶸<詩品>의 批評體例考 : 構造와 論理의 分析을 中心으로 with Special Reference to Analysis of its Structure and Logics = A Surbey on Pattern of Criticism in Zhong-rong's Shi-pin

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Shi-pin, attributed to Zhong-rong of Liang dynasty, is the oldest book of literary criticism in China. In this book, Zhong-rong made critical comments on the 5-syllabic-verse works by 124 poets who lived between the Han and Liang dynasties, thus covering the period of 700 years. He categorized these works into three classes in accordance with their literary merit: high (Shang-pin), middle (Zhong-pin) and low (Xia-pin). With this categorization, he discussed in detail on their genealogy, origin, style and quality. This particular methodology of criticism he employed in his Shi-pin, shown apprent in the content itself, was practised by many critics who succeeded his style of criticism. However, few studies have so far been carried out as to the basic structure of the book as well as Zhong-rong's idea of literature and his critical logic implied in the content of the book.
This paper is to discuss relative significance Zhong-rong endowed with to the poets of each class through a quantitative approach. In arranging 124 poets in three casses of high, middle and low, the ratio of three classes to 124 poets dealt with is 1 : 3 : 6. This tells that the higher the class, the less is the number of poets belonging to it. There are 12 poets in the high class (shang-pin), whom Zhong-rong gave individual comments. As to 39 poets belonging to middle class; he made individula comments only on 14 poets, while making collective criticism on the rest, by the groups of 2, 3, 4 and 5. Likewise, only 6 poets of low class were given detailed comments on individual basis, but the rest were treated collectively, by the groups of 2, 3, 4, and 7. Such being the cases, the ratio of the three classes to the number of poets who were given individual comments is 1 : 1/3 : 1/12. This rate may imply the standard point of Zhong-rong's assesment in regard with their originality and positional significance in the developmental process of Chinese poetics. In addition, it is apparent that Zhong-rong adopted their achievement of poetical understand as his basis of categorization.
And there is another point we must indispensibly look at over. Of 124 poets criticized in Shi-pin, 8 lived during the Han dynasty, 11 during the Wei dynasty, 39 during the Jin dynasty, 26 during the Song dynasty, 31 during the Qi dynasty, and 9 during the Liang dynasty. This fact means that we have far more high class poets in the earlier dynasties than in the later ones. This could show us Zhongrong's personal preference to the poets of the earlier period.
To the best of my analysis, Zhong-rong applied 84 different points of critical standard to the poets he dealt with in his Shi-pin: 28 points to high class poets, 40 points to middle class poets and 16 points to the low class poets, thus making the ratio of the number of each class to the number of the points of critical standard 28/12 : 40/39 16/73 (approximately 2 : 3/4 : 1/4). This rate can also be interpreted to reflect Zhong-rong's literary viewpoint that the highclass poets were better in terms of style and quality as well as originality.
Furthermore, if we investigate the nature of critical standards in each class, we can find that intrinsic nature of poetics were primarily discussed in the high class, whild style and forms of poems were discussed in the middle class and were discussed in the low class the achievement of practices. Along with this, one thing attracts our
attention is that his comment becomes ambiguous and weak as the poem or poet belongs to the lower classes.