韓愈是中古思想與文化轉型中的一位重要人物，他與柳宗元的古文創作極大地改寫了後世中國文章寫作的面貌。「文」與「道」的關係，是探討韓愈文學創作觀念的重要話題。本文認為，「文以明道」是韓愈文道觀念的核心，可以視作以韓柳為代表的唐代古文運動文道觀念的內涵。韓愈的文道觀顯示了「承先啟後」的特點。他對文道關係的表述在很大程度上繼承了以劉勰《文心雕龍》為代表的六朝文道觀，但在對「道」的看法上卻與劉勰不同，韓愈「修其辭以明其道」的「道」，是基於儒學道統觀背景下的「仁義」之道。韓愈倡導的儒學道統觀被宋代理學家繼承和發展，但在對「文」與「道」的關係的看法上，韓愈又與理學家「文以載道」、「重道輕文」有著明顯的區別。韓愈古文呈現出這樣一種面貌：「文」是「道」的外在，「道」是「文」的內涵。「文能明道」，文能夠充分地傳達道的內涵，「道」可以言傳，而不是意在言外；同時，「文必明道」，文的形式無法阻止道的外顯，無法掩飾道的面貌，文必定真實地反映著道的「醇」。比起宋代理學家的文道觀，韓愈更強調文章的地位與其獨立性，在韓愈的文章觀中，「文」與「道」二者並重，相輔相成，可以說是一個密不可分的整體。

Han Yu is an important figure in the transformation of the mid-ancient. The writings of Han and Liu Zongyuan greatly affect the writers after them. To Illuminate Dao with Wen can be seen as the key of Han’s views on the relationship between Wen and Dao. Han’s views carry on the past heritage and open up the future. In a large part, he inherits the views on the relationship between Wen and Dao of Liu Xie in Wen Xin Diao Long; however, he has a different point of view on Dao. Han’s Dao is greatly based on the Confucian Orthodoxy, which is inherited by the scholars of the Song Dynasty, such as Zhu Xi and Zhou Dunyi. However, Han’s views on the relationship between Wen and Dao differs from the Song scholars, who attach more importance to Dao than Wen. In Han’s eyes, Wen is the external form of Dao, and Dao is the inner core of Wen. Wen and Dao are equally important, and the two constitute an organic whole.