O grande prefácio aos poemas do senhor Mao no espelho da Poética de Aristóteles: um exercício de filosofia comparada

The Great Preface to Master Mao’s Poems in the mirror of Aristotle’s Poetics: an exercise in comparative philosophy

Abstract

By employing Aristotle’s Poetics as a comparative model to the Great Preface to Master Mao’s Poems, we establish a dialogue between Chinese and Western Poetics. The introduction defines criteria for our reading and analysis of both texts, focusing on their different worldviews and social/institutional contexts. The second chapter discusses the Poetics, dividing it into a general theory about that Art and a special theory about the tragic form. The next chapter deals with the Great Preface, investigating its three parts, namely, the program of the Classic of Poems, a general prelection on the Poetic Art and one about the poetic practice of the Classic. Although Western theory provides formal means of comparison, cultural differences between both traditions make analogies difficult content-wise. While the Aristotelian doctrine is mimetic-cathartic, plot- and public responseoriented, Chinese Poetics is evocative, focused on the poet’s “ideals” and on the dynamic relation between text and authorized hermeneutics.

Keywords: Confucianism; Aristotle; Poetics; Ethics; Hermeneutics; Comparative Philosophy.