What are the writing characteristics of "Innocent Children"?

The theory of childlike innocence is the literary concept of Li Zhi, an outstanding thinker in the late Ming Dynasty. "Childlike heart" means sincerity, that is, true thoughts and feelings. He believes that all literary works must truly and frankly reveal the author's inner feelings and desire for life. In Li Zhi's view, in order to maintain "childlike innocence", keep literature authentic, discard the false and retain the true, it is necessary to cut off contact with Taoism. Criticizing Confucian classics is the basis of pseudo-Taoism, and opposing "childlike innocence" is progressive and profound.

The article explaining this view is called Childlike Heart. The article points out that "there is a childlike husband in the world." "Those who are childlike are sincere." Li Zhi regards "childlike innocence" as the opposite of Confucius and Mencius, and thinks that "truth is heard", which makes people's speech and behavior no longer come from their own hearts, so they become "lies with dummies". If we don't clean up the pollution of "truth and taste" and restore the human nature at that time, there will be no real literary creation, so Li Zhi sighed at the end of "Innocence": "I have found a real saint who has never lost his childlike innocence. Let me talk to him!"

"Innocent Childlike Heart" is an essay of Li Zhi's public crusade against falsehood and pseudo-literature, which has great shocking power.

First, he opposed using literature as a tool to explain Confucius and Mencius with childlike innocence, and even pointed the finger at Confucius and Confucian classics, pointing out that their preaching was not "eternal supremacy" and could not "take Confucius' right and wrong as right and wrong".

Secondly, he opposed the theory that "literature must be in Qin and Han dynasties and poetry must be in Tang dynasty" with the theory of "childlike innocence" He believes that literature is constantly changing and developing to produce good works, and the quality of works is not as old as possible.