A Study on Allegorical Narration and the Art of Argumentation in the Prose of Pre-Qin Philosophers

Abstract

During the development of Pre-Qin philosophical prose from aphoristic writing to expository writing, allegory has been employed in various forms to achieve these changes in genre. Allegory is a type of argumentation that uses fictional narration to present rational persuasion and is thus closely related to the art of argumentation. The three parts of this paper are the combination of style, method of argument and display of ideas. The narrative turn can provide a reason for argumentation other than examples; thus, the main tools of argumentation are metaphors, counterfactual narratives and dialogic refutations, and shifts in perspective, control over the story and allegorical presentation are also ways to change one's way of thinking. Based on the above results, narrative elements are not merely decorations for the argument but also form the foundation of the text in which the art of argumentation is displayed. The Narrative Structure and the Argument Structure are closely related, so the Pre-Qin philosophers were also aware of this.