“形式”是西方文论史上内涵极其复杂的基本概念之一。古希腊罗马哲人毕达哥拉斯、柏拉图、亚里士多德、贺拉斯提出各具特色的形式理论。作为哲学和美学概念的“形式”兼具不容忽略的神学维度。近代美学家康德、黑格尔、马克思、恩格斯等为丰富形式理论做出了重大贡献。20世纪形式观念呈现出多元共生局面,俄国形式主义、英美新批评、原型批评、格式塔美学、符号美学、西方马克思主义等皆有一家之论。中国古代形式思想大体上是对艺术创作经验的总结,而未上升到语言哲学和世界观层面。 “Form ” is one of the basic concepts of the extremely complicated connotation in the history of Western literary theory. Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Horace proposed different forms of theory. As a “philosophical and aesthetic concept of” form "with both can not be ignored theological dimension. Modern virtues such as Kant, Hegel, Marx and Engels have made great contributions to enriching formal theory. The conception of form in the 20th century showed a multi-symbiotic situation. Russian formalism, new criticism from Britain and the United States, archetypal criticism, aesthetics of format tower, symbolic aesthetics and western Marxism all have their own theory. The ancient Chinese form of thinking is generally a summary of the artistic creation experience, rather than rising to the language philosophy and world view.