Unity of Knowledge and Practice: Zhang Zhidong's Theorization and Creation of Parallel Prose

Zhang Zhidong is a famous parallel prose writer in the late Qing Dynasty and even the entire Qing Dynasty. He not only noticed the differences of the times in the development of parallel prose but also pointed out that the styles that parallel prose writers in the Qing Dynasty followed were the Han-Wei style, the Jin-Song style, the Qi-Liang-to-early-Tang style, the middle-and-late-Tang style and the Northern-Song style. Of all these styles the Jin-Song style was the most respected while the Tang style and the Song style were ignored. He believed that the parallel style and the loose style could not be completely separated as they were the same in essence though divided into two styles after the middle Tang Dynasty. He also thought that ancient prose emphasized reality and parallel prose emphasized elegance and commented on famous parallel prose writers in the Qing Dynasty such as Chen Weisong, Wang Zhong, Hong Liangji and so on. On the whole, he resented the shortcomings of Taoism and literature in the Six Dynasties and respected the elegant and rich parallel prose of Song Si Liu, Zhang Shui and Su Ting in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. His parallel prose is closely related to politics and official career. The main content of his parallel prose is bout respect for the country, running the country, embellishing the great cause and commending loyalty and righteousness; It is characterized by rich citations of classics and history, elegant and incisive use of events, neat antithesis and smooth literary style. Major historical events such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement, the Nian uprising and the Opium War and important figures such as Li Hongzhang and Feng Zicai are reflected in his parallel prose writing. At the same time, he established academies to cultivate students' ability of writing, including parallel prose writing, which played an important role in the development of parallel prose in the late Qing Dynasty.