This term, which literally means power and splendor, refers to a natural and powerful artistic style and aesthetic taste. In Daoist terms, the Way features the great and vast power of nature, hence the term. Powerfulness is not deliberately created by the author. Rather, it is a majestic, forceful style of artistic expression flowing naturally from the inner strength built up in a work of art itself. Powerfulness cannot be achieved artificially; it has a great deal to do with an author’s disposition and self-cultivation. Such a work has a powerful style in terms of wording, syntactic structure or presentation of imagery. Giving full expression to the author’s emotions, it creates a powerful artistic impact.
Feeling depressed and enraged, which here refers to a sense of helplessness found in poems, is one of the 24 poetic styles summarized by Sikong Tu(837-908), a poet in the late Tang Dynasty. Faced with frustrations and tough challenges in life, or overwhelmed by the immensity of nature or major events, poets were often seized by dejection, grief, sadness, and anger, which gave rise to a “depressed and enraged” style in poetry writing. While the style bears similarity with the genre of tragedy in Western literary tradition, it is more influenced by Daoism, often featuring a sense of resignation or stoic optimism.
Natural grace, a term for poetic study (often in contrast to the “melancholy” poetic style), refers to free and unconstrained aesthetic style and artistic appeal in poetic works. It gives expression to the imagination of the poet, the natural and free disposition of his spirit, and his pursuit of aesthetic enjoyment. When in such a state of mind, the poet is “totally absorbed in his interaction with heaven and earth,” roaming freely in boundless time and space. The concept represents a poetic style in which the poet and what he portrays in his poem merge into a natural whole.
The term refers to the primordial state of things, unaffected by the various meanings imposed on it by man. The concept of naturalness in philosophy is different from that of nature in the ordinary sense. In daily language, the term refers to the physical world, which is independent of human interference, as opposed to human society. In philosophy, there is also a natural state of man and society. In political philosophy, “naturalness” specifically applies to the natural state enjoyed by ordinary people free from the intervention of government supervision and moral edification. Daoism holds that in governance a monarch should conform to the natural state of the people.
A technique or style in creating literary works, it refers to the use of concise language in portraying a simple artistic image, whose rich feelings and implications are elicited in a subtle manner, so that readers can intuit multiple hidden meanings. One finds a straightforward and factual manner of expression in early literary and artistic works in China, as well as the subtle mode of expression. Because this technique originally evolved from Daoist thought and, in the early period, was employed as a means of criticizing powerful individuals in poetry, it stresses the expression of emotion in a subtly suggestive manner, such that the depiction of images should be supported by a rich undertone or hidden meaning that can appeal to readers. The language should be simple and plain but still leave sufficient room for readers to seize upon hidden meanings. Sikong Tu(837—908), a literary critic in the Tang Dynasty, listed it as one of the twenty-four styles of poetry writing. Subtle suggestion imparts a high degree of unity to a writer’s cultural attainments, creative technique, as well as his literary style and imagery.
This term refers to a type of writing that is classically elegant. Originally, it meant that a piece of writing should be modeled on ancient classics, express pure and noble ideas, and follow classical literary styles by using Confucian doctrines for aesthetic guidance. Later, the term shifted to emphasize elegant diction and style that were free from vulgarity and frivolity. Later still, it gradually incorporated Daoist aesthetic views, suggesting natural tranquility and spiritual transcendence. For example, in “Twenty-four Styles of Poetry,” Sikong Tu (837-908)described classical elegance as being “as quiet as falling flower petals and as modest as unassuming daisies,” which is close to the simple, relaxed, and natural style advocated by Daoist scholars.
The term means broad-mindedness and a totally unconstrained artistic style in poetic works. It presents a perfect union of the author’s outlook on life, his peaceful mind, and the artistic form of his work. A broad-minded writer was often disheartened, who went into seclusion, caused either by frustrations countered in life or social turmoil, and he would naturally seek to express his emotion in literature. As reflected in his writings, such a writer possessed a keen insight into the vicissitudes of worldly affairs. Being cynical and indignant, he also revealed such feelings of disdain for the world and its ways in his writings. The origin of this attitude can be traced back to the Confucian concept of proactivity and the Daoist proposition of following the nature, as well as to the open and cultured way of life characteristic of famous scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Such a writer would not shy away from the worldly, but neither would he cling to fame and wealth. He was completely reasonable in attitude and tolerant in mood. Sikong Tu(837-908), a literary critic in the Tang Dynasty, used this term to assess poetic and aesthetic achievement by emphasizing the unity of the style of a work and the mental attitude and the view about human life on the part of the author. The idea is to promote a view about life and an aesthetic attitude that is open-minded and uplifting.