Chinese Studies Commons^™

Joyce Le Sinthome: Literature And Writing Under The Perspective Of Lacanian Psychoanalysis, Juanjuan Ye

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

From the onset of psychoanalysis, literature has been its common topic. The change in theoretical positions and ethical concerns from Sigmund Freud to Jacques Lacan led to the upgrading of literature from the symptom to the sinthome of the subject. Lacan theorized his literary criticism by analysing the "Joyce lesinthome", and hence the proposition of literature as the sinthome of the subject. On the one hand, literature enacts a break-away from the imaginary and the symbolic by way of writing, and represents the subject's jouissance of the unconscious by way of a resetting of letters through meaning reduction. On the …

Kitsch, Mecacci Andrea

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Used improperly as a synonym for "bad taste", the term kitsch refers to one of the most important aesthetic categories of the last century. This paper, after trying to provide a historical framework of kitsch, focuses on two themes: the kitsch object and the link between postmodernism and kitsch, which will be referred to as neo-kitsch. In the first field of investigation, through the morphology of the kitsch object, the opposition of the kitsch aesthetic to that of functionalism will be outlined. Neo-kitsch, on the other hand, will be interpreted as a process of aesthetic hybridisation, one of the most …

Mao Jin's Emphasis On Celebrated Drama And The Compilation Of Sixty Plays, Jianxin Liu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasty, Mao Jin paid much attention to celebrated works, which was embodied in the selection and compilation of his Sixty Plays. It included the classic dramas of the Yuan dynasty such as Romance of the Western Chamber and Tale of the Pipa, which had been canonized since the late Ming dynasty. The book also included more contemporary works such as The Peony Pavilion, which became noted as they were circulated among greater audiences. The selection of "potentially" famous dramas such as Xilou Ji and Feiwan Ji was in line with Mao Jin's consistent …

On The Edition Criticism Of New-Era Novels And Its Academic Value, Xianhai Luo

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Different versions of novels in the new era through the writers' revision or rewriting has not been paid due academic attention. Different versions of novels are produced in three periods particularly. Among these revisions and rewritings, the "substantive textual variants" center round expressions that are politically sensitive or that are concerned with sex scenes. Other changes are made concerning artistic perfection and socio-historical requirements. Apart from political factors, literary awards, commercialization, film and television adaptation, copyright, regional culture, network and new media, as well as changes in the context of globalization, are also contributing reasons for textual modification and variation. …

Physical Instruments And Image Art, Tian Li

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

From cavern fresco to easel painting, from photograph to computer-generated imagery (CGI), the physical instruments for capturing and creating images have constantly evolved thanks to the progress of technology. Accordingly, the development of image art has undergone three stages, that is, those of simulation, reproduction, and generation. Following the popularization of painting software and the Internet is the seamless integration of simulation, reproduction, and generation, which gives rise to an unprecedented prospect of visuality as well as more profound aesthetic thinking. This article, with a reference to the changes in drawing tools and a focus on the relationship between technical …

Pleasure And Aesthetic Experience From The Perspective Of Neuroaesthetics, Jun Hu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The study of the relationship between cognition and emotion in the common aesthetic mechanism of human brain is subject to debates. Oshin Vartanian, among others, suggests that cognition and emotion play an equally important role in the aesthetic process. He brings the concept of "pleasure" to the forefront in aesthetic experience and attempts to build a theoretical framework of neuroaesthetics that can link the study of emotion and that of cognition. Based on the aesthetic experience processing patterns, the emotional experience theory, as well as aesthetic experiential cases, Vartanian speculates and illustrates how "pleasure" plays a role in aesthetic experience. …

Some Issues Concerning The "Chorus" In Nietzsche's The Birth Of Tragedy, Youfeng Hu, Mian Wu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche, starting from the Satyr chorus and the original phenomenon of drama with a connection to his own aesthetic experience, offered a provocative aesthetic explanation of the origin and the development of tragedy. Tragedy, according to Nietzsche, originated from the Dithyramb and evolved in the form of "Dionysian chorus heading towards Apollo." The chorus, in which the tragic effect of "metaphysical comfort" was embodied, enabled tragedy to engage in the existence of Greek as a kind of primitive aesthetic experience. As the musical spirit of the chorus diminished, tragedy gradually declined. Nietzsche attempted to revive …

T. J. Clark's Logic Of "Negation" And The Practice From An Opposite Perspective In Social Art History, Haoyang Li

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Social art history is one of the most popular approaches to writing art history in the English-speaking context. T. J. Clark, who has been viewed as the leading scholar of social art history, introduced such discourses as "ideology", "class," and "production" into the writing of early French modern art history, seeking to interpret the relation of "vision-context" between ideology and social context. It is interesting to note that, when the social art history was in its heyday, Clark did not continue on its path, but proposed to "negatively" evaluate modern art. Once published, this view immediately triggered in the field …

The Compilation Of Anthologies And The Theoretical Issues In Constructing Contemporary "Study Of The Literary Selection", Yong Xu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In order to construct a contemporary "study of literary selection", we should center on the compilation of anthologies while taking into consideration of other mechanisms concerned with the selection of literary works, so as to construct a multi-dimensional system through multi-layered analysis of the "study of literary selection". The multi-layered structure of contemporary "study of literary selection" allows for its departure from the study of "The Selection of Refined Literature", and manifests as the important features of its modernity as well the anxiety of modernity. An investigation of contemporary "study of literary selection" informs our understanding of literary canonization.

The Crisis And Future Of National Memory In The Digital Age, Jingrong Zhao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The concept of national memory can be interpreted in two ways, either as "memory about a nation" (or "a nation as a kind of memory") or as "a nation that remembers" (or "a nation's memory"). With a reference to nation which could be understood as country, native land, nation, and state, the national memory also unfolds as memory of China in geopolitical sense, memory of the native land in cultural and psychological sense, memory of nation in ethnographic sense, and memory of the state in political sense. The signification of the national memory changes in different contexts. There are two …

Transformation In Women's Ci-Poetry Towards The Su-Xin Style In The Mid-And Late Republican Period And Its Significance In The History Of Ci-Poetry, Yanting Xu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The mid- and late Republican period witnessed a transformation in ci-poetry initiated by a group of female poets, drawing on the style of Su Shi and Xin Qiji (Su-Xin hereafter). This transformation had its origins in the female poets who, due to their experience of modern education and particularly systematic education on ci-poetry, gradually formed a new practice to write under the guidance of certain thought on ci-poetry. The direct reason for this transformation was the emphasis on literature's social function brought about by the dramatic changes since the late 1920s, and the indirect reason was to use the Su-Xin …

Towards "Post-Critique": A Debate Over The Future Of Western Literary Studies, Hansong Dan

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In the era of "after theory", it is always a heated scholarly issue to debate over the future of Western literary studies. Recently, Rita Felski and Joseph North respectively advance their arguments as to how literary studies as a discipline can overcome its methodological and disciplinary impasse. After a scrutiny of the inherent flaws of contemporary criticism, Felski suggests that we choose to practice "post-critique" so as to avoid the restraints of the "hermeneutics of suspicion". She is much in favor of Latour's "Actor Network Theory", which in her view is a significant new tool to reorganize literary criticism. North's …

The Construction And Formation Of Chinese Character, Lejia Zhang

Theses - ALL

Chinese characters are very unique. As one of the most widely used scripts in the world, its complex forms and large volume of characters make it always daunting for beginners, which is related to the long history of Chinese characters. This paper is divided into five parts, based on a definition of the nature of ancient Chinese characters. In the first part, it is argued that Chinese characters are made up of smaller elements. A single Chinese character, as a morpheme, is the smallest ideographic unit of the Chinese language, but a single character may also be formed by combining …

The Construction And Formation Of Chinese Character, Lejia Zhang

Theses - ALL

Chinese characters are very unique. As one of the most widely used scripts in the world, its complex forms and large volume of characters make it always daunting for beginners, which is related to the long history of Chinese characters. This paper is divided into five parts, based on a definition of the nature of ancient Chinese characters. In the first part, it is argued that Chinese characters are made up of smaller elements. A single Chinese character, as a morpheme, is the smallest ideographic unit of the Chinese language, but a single character may also be formed by combining …

Online Cultural Contention And China-Korea Relations: Interpreting Netizens’ Narratives On Social Media, Roselyn Wang

Master's Projects and Capstones

In this era of social media, popular narratives have increasingly important implications on domestic policy and bilateral relations. In part based on the video of making Kimchi published by a famous Chinese YouTuber, this study analyzes Chinese and Korean netizens’ opinions of each other by examining around one thousand social media posts, which offer a glimpse of the unique

cultural confrontation between China and South Korea. By revealing the complexity of China- Korea relations through a social media lens, my analysis provides new insights into the

implications of these popular narratives on China’s policymaking. The Chinese government has started to …

Do You See What I See? Do You See Me? Disability In China: The Perceptions Of Wheelchair Users And Able Bodied Citizens, Michelle Fisher

Master's Projects and Capstones

Abstract

This paper explores the state and perception of wheelchair users in China. My research outlines various disability models by which we can measure China’s level of effectiveness at providing access and services for its disabled population. In my analysis, I largely draw the conclusion that China is evolving out of a Charity state model into one which supports the rights of Chinese citizenry. There are many good laws in place in China, but they are not being enforced effectively at this point in time. There also seems to be a class division involved in the acceptance of educated disabled …

The Impact Of Religion On Chinese Government, Society, And Civilians, Liyan Tang

Master's Projects and Capstones

This research project analyzes the importance of religion in Chinese society from ancient to contemporary times and how the role of religion has changed throughout history. The Cultural Revolution had a major impact on the perception and use of religion in Chinese society, and the effects still exist in the present day. In order to explore how religion functions in these specific time periods, this research examines various secondary sources, which include scholarly articles and interpretations. Moreover, primary sources, which include official documents of the government and news articles, show how the Chinese government and the citizens have diverse points …

Towards An Aesthetics Of Space: Heterotopia And Intertextuality In Contemporary Chinese Fiction, Yuan Zhao

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation investigates a special group of contemporary Chinese fictional works which engage intertextuality in their exploration of the intriguing yet complicated relationship between utopian impulse/desire and heterotopic spaces. In particular, I examine closely in what ways heterotopia could be related to intertextuality, and how these two concepts might jointly illuminate my reading of fictional works written by four writers respectively from Mainland China (Ge Fei and Liu Cixin), Hong Kong (Dung Kai-cheung), and Taiwan (Luo Yijun).About Ge Fei, who is one of the pioneering experimentalist writers active through mainland China’s transitional period from the 1980s to the 90s, I …

Small-Family Mindset: An Analysis Of The Impact Of China's Family Planning Policies On Family Culture, Sarah Ansley Croft

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the impact of China’s family planning policies on women’s attitudes towards family culture and the implications on China today. The family planning policies began in the 1970s as an emergency measure intended to create a short-term voluntary small-family culture by decreasing fertility rates. My research, comprised primarily of primary and secondary qualitative sources, discusses the development and implementation of the policies, the economic reforms beginning in the 1980s, and their joint effects on fertility rates, sex ratio at birth, women’s liberation, and changes in family culture, particularly in rural areas. This study found that the family planning …

The Politics Of Water Resource Management: State-Guided Framing Of China’S South To North Water Diversion Project And Its Impact On Citizen Perception, Mary Barlow

Honors Theses

Due to China’s geographic and human-exacerbated water scarcity, government leaders have turned to the South to North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) in order to ensure a reliable source of water for the country’s increasingly parched Northern cities and townships. This thesis examines this inter-basin water transfer project (soon to be the world’s largest) through the lens of how government actors have framed the project. This official framing analysis is presented in tandem with citizen perceptions observed through online commentary in order to evaluate how effective such framing has been. Through such analysis, this research observes a pattern of nationalism and …