Storytelling the Yijing: Tales and Reflections on a Chinese Literature Machine

Date
2011-12-14
Authors
Buckingham, Will
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor-Francis
Peer reviewed
Yes
Abstract
The Chinese Book of Changes, or Yijing, has not only had a central role in the theory and practice of literature in China, but has also had a wider influence on writers in the West. But why has this difficult book been so important to writers? Drawing upon both Chinese and Western literary theory, from Liu Xie to Calvino, this paper explores the possible reasons for the Yijing's astonishing productivity as a 'literature machine'. Finally, as a machine can only be understood by seeing it in operation, the paper concludes with the generation of three new stories that are themselves derived from the texts and commentaries of the Yijing.
Description
Keywords
creative writing, creativity, yijing, i ching, 易經, China, Liu Xie, 劉勰, Calvino
Citation
Buckingham, W. (2011) Storytelling the Yijing: Tales and Reflections on a Chinese Literature Machine. New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing. 9 (2), pp. 135-146
Research Institute