Dr HO Tsz Hing, Chinese Language Centre

From 'better raw but not crafted' to 'Nature' — A study on Chan Shidao’s literary path (從「寧拙毋巧」到「無工」：論陳師道的詩學門徑). Hong Kong Young Scholars’ Forum in Studies of Early Modern Literature and History. School of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University of Hong Kong & Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong. 28 August 2021.

Abstract
In literary history, scholars studying Hou Shan Shi Hua tend to quote "better raw but not crafted" arguing that Chan Shidao creates his work with intentions of writing raw lines, and further elaborating this as the causes of his raw poetic style. However, when the ancients commented on Chen Shidao’s poems, apart from seeing the "Raw" side, they actually started more from the perspective of "Crafted". Then why Chen Shidao, who advocated " better raw but not crafted ", was rated as " Crafted "? Is there a contradiction between his theory of poetry and his creative practice? Or is there a deviation in the narrative of literary history? This article focuses on Chen Shidao's theory of " Crafted " and " Raw ", and hopes to re-discuss his poetic concepts and poetry practice to try to solve the above problems and supplement the current research deficiencies.