ON the Origin, Evolution and Connotation of “Wenqi (writing Style)” in Traditional Literary Theories

“Qi” is one of the most fundamental and important categories. It has its unique national features. In the history of traditional literary theories, it was CAO Pi who first introduced this concept into literature and made comments on articles with the standard of “Qi”. And later, scholars like LIU Xie, HAN Yu, and SU Zhe all discussed it. They no longer talked about literature too generally but raised their purposeful questions and attempted to solve them with combination of theory and practice. This, to a large extent, shows the inheritance and mutation of Chinese literature. However, no matter what kind of qi it is, it is a kind of human active life force, a unique spirit and individuality. The theory of Wenqi (writing style) has undergone the inheritance and innovation of various theorists. And its connotation has gradually become perfect. And Tongcheng School have already developed it into a complete theoretical system.