A Study of the Structure of Xing

Abstract

Xing, as one of the major Chinese aesthetic concepts, best represents the characteristics of Chinese culture. It primarily integrates the perspective mold of the Heaven–man unity and reflects on observed objects, embodied in Chinese culture, with the process of literary creation. It evolves from the earliest metaphorical attempts on Bi and Xing to the sophisticated content-rich expression characteristic of stimulation and implied meaning of the later years. The idea of Xing is meaningful in depth and width as an important component of the Chinese aesthetics and literature and arts. Its thought-dimension focuses on the multi-fold content it gets across to the reader who can absorb on the basis of the individual interpretation. In general, the two major ones are in the following.