Commercial Publishing and Market-oriented Turn of Poetic Criticism in Late Ming: Centered on the Poetic Criticism of “Yan”
Xiong Xiao1, Luo Jiahao2
1.College of Humanities, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou 310018, China 2.School of Literature, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210024, China
Abstract：Previous studies have largely overlooked the new developments in poetic criticism centered on the concept of “yan” (艳) during the Late Ming Period, as well as the impact of market-oriented factors in the commercial publishing industry on the poetic perspectives reflected in privately printed woodblock books of the time. In fact, the transformations in poetic criticism centered on “yan” during the Late Ming period clearly demonstrate how the publishing industry could align critical ideas with broader cultural trends and popular reading preferences. This phenomenon also reveals a reciprocal relationship between art-oriented criticism and moral-political criticism, with the rise of one corresponding to the decline of the other. Furthermore, this case illustrates how classical poetics actively adapted to the changing context of cultural knowledge dissemination and commodification in the early modern period, thereby serving as a bridge for the evolution of classical poetics toward modernization. The research significance of this topic is evident across multiple dimensions.As a category in poetic criticism, the aesthetic tendency of “yan” referred to the lyrical and ornate qualities of musical melodies and literary expressions initially. As its excessive and unrestrained aesthetic inclinations synchronized with the macro-trend of emphasizing lyricism in Wei-Jin poetry and subsequent literary developments, “yan” became prominent in poetic criticism of this period. Yet, at the macro level, this aesthetic tendency conflicted with the Confucian poetic ideals of moderation and restraint. Thus, early Tang historical works, such as Book of Sui (Sui Shu) and Book of Chen (Chen Shu), targeted Gongti poetry and criticized the aesthetic orientation of “yan”, establishing its long-term negative connotation in criticism.However, in the Late Ming Dynasty, due to popular readership’s interest in texts featuring “yan”, a large number of commercial publications featuring works of this nature or titles incorporating “yan” emerged. Correspondingly, new critical strategies were developed to provide a positive interpretation of this aesthetic. In poetic criticism, represented by works like The Keynote of Poems (Shi Gui), Elegant and Beautiful Selections of Tang Poetry (Tangshi Yanyi Pin), and The Keynote of Famous Women’s Poems (Mingyuan Shigui), the strategy centered on the theory that “a virtuous person can create amorous poems (yan shi)”, which neutralized the moral stigma attached to its creation. Furthermore, “yan” was juxtaposed with concepts such as subtlety (you), transcendence (yi), purity (qing), and chastity (zhen) to explore the aesthetic tension within poetic texts. With the rise of female poetry publication trends, some poetry anthologies extended this critical practice to women’s poetry, transforming the “yan” texts into an expression and representation of female emotions. This, in turn, introduced a dual-gender interpretive dimension to “yan”. In novel criticism, works like Compilation of Beautiful and Exotic Stories (Yan Yi Bian) and Romantic Tales of Emperor Yang of Sui (Sui Yangdi Yanshi) associated “yan” with the strange (qi) and the exotic (yi), attempting to excavate the alienating and extraordinary reading experiences that distinguished “yan” texts from daily routine. This reinforced the narrative characteristics of fiction as a literary form and positioned “yan” as a core selling point for these books.The rise of poetic criticism centered on “yan” during the Late Ming Dynasty was closely associated with the Cult of Sentiment movement. However, compared with the broader and more ambiguous philosophical and literary discourse that was closely associated with the Cult of Sentiment movement, the poetic criticism of “yan” remained focused on summarizing and analyzing the aesthetic tension of works and the associated reading experience. This allowed it to maintain a specialized and textually interpretive focus within critical discourse. The widespread appearance of this criticism in the Late Ming commercial publications was also driven by market-oriented motivations within the publishing industry. First, the themes and texts associated with “yan” aligned well with popular reading preferences. Second, poetic criticism centered on “yan” was articulated from an artistic standpoint, rejecting traditional political and moral critiques. Its innovative theoretical discourse also provided it with strong commercial appeal. Third, the striking visual aesthetic of related books created an intertextual effect with “yan” texts, further stimulating readers’ purchasing desires. The thematic appeal, textual attraction, and critical innovation of “yan” reflected the publishing industry’s interpretation of market demands, while also revealing the multi-layered and overlapping nature of its readership.Through the transformation of commercial capital into cultural capital, this criticism extended its influence via book sales, thus entering the mainstream critical discourse to some extent and impacting the Qing poetic thought. On the one hand, the theory of “allegorical interpretation of amorous poems” in Qing-era was influenced by the macro-context of the Ming-Qing dynastic transition. However, it was also built upon the Late Ming Poetic criticism, which had granted amorous poems greater aesthetic inclusiveness. On the other hand, Yuan Mei’s advocacy that amorous poems was independent of moral character, and his emphasis on its irreplaceable aesthetic value from an artistic standpoint, reflected a distinctly popular and artistic orientation. Yuan Mei’s theories similarly drew upon these Late Ming theoretical resources.
熊啸, 罗家昊. 晚明商业出版与诗学批评的市场化转向[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2025, 55(5): 75-86.
Xiong Xiao, Luo Jiahao. Commercial Publishing and Market-oriented Turn of Poetic Criticism in Late Ming: Centered on the Poetic Criticism of “Yan”. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2025, 55(5): 75-86.
2025, Vol. 55 
