Chinese Studies Commons^™

The Aesthetic Regime Of Art And The Construction Of Its Politics: On Jacques Rancière's Aesthetic Thoughts, Haiting Zheng

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Jacques Rancière is not satisfied with the two modes of modernism, namely turning art into mere life or into pure art. He endeavors to reveal the hidden tension between this binary opposition, maintaining that art should play freely within this binary tension space and make the tension space a dissensus theatre of the part of no part. The essential of aesthetic revolution of modernism lies in recognizing and receiving the previous excluded parts of literature, such as details drifted away from the integrated story, characters detached from the writer's arrangement, which challenge the given distribution of the sensible with its …

The Construction And Review Of The Wujiang School And Linchuan School: A Study Of The History Research Books Of Traditional Chinese Drama In The Republic Of China, Huaping Cheng

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The naming of Wujiang Group and Linchuan School in the history of drama was established by drama historians of the Republic of China. Because these drama historians had neither defined the concept of School, nor had they reached a consensus and guidelines that should be followed in the division of the School. These drama history research books differed in the classification and number of dramatists. In interpreting the theory of the two factions, there is also a tendency to exaggerate the opposition between the two groups. Since the Republic of China, some drama historians had denied the existence of Linchuan …

Transcending The "Word-Image" Debate: The Writing Experiment Of T. J. Clark's The Sight Of Death, Yi Zhuge

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The "word-image" relationship is an important subject of modern Western aesthetics. It represents the division between the writing of art history and that of art criticism. The bone of contention between the two writing camps is whether the art work can be reducible to words. Art writings vibrate between this dualism, and some try to transcend the "word-image" division in theory. In his The Sight of Death: An Experiment in Art Writing, T. J. Clark, by adopting the diary style without a strong style of language, recorded his daily viewing of Poussin's paintings and his deep contemplations. He stresses the …

The Perfect Trinity Of Poetry, Calligraphy And Painting As A Neo-Classicist Paradigm In Zhao Mengfu: The Three Aspects Of Zhao Meng-Fu's Thought On Literature And Art, Yi Zhang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In the formation of the neoclassicism integrating the Yuan's and Southern and Northern Dynasties' retro ethos, Zhao Mengfu, known for his literary and artistic talents, played a pivotal role because of his opportunities to travel between South China and Dadu, the then capital, and to mix with his contemporary literati and artists, thus becoming an archetype of an artist featuring the trinity of poetry, calligraphy and painting. His "conception of antiquity", his understanding of the "Tang approach and Jin rhyme" and his high-brow, superbly skilled painting contains his valuation of classicality, naturalness, tradition, and innovativeness, informing the trend of the …

"What Are Poets For" And Ecological Ethics, Kuiying Zhao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Martin Heidegger's essential question of "what are poets for" is used to explore the relationship between the poet and nature, being, beings as a whole, the thing, and language in the "world's night" of "destitute time". In Heidegger's view, human beings' venture that follows their manufactural willing has led to the vanishing of the thing, the shrink of beings as a whole, destruction of the foundation of all beings, and deprived things and human beings of their homes of being. Then poet's mission is to reflect on the control of technology, to participate in the rescue of the thing, to …

A Critique Of Studies Of The Cultural Identity Of Hong Kong Literature Since The 1990s: The Case Of Inherent Contradiction Between Nativeness And Chineseness, Shiying Xu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Since the 1990s, Hong Kong and overseas scholars have borrowed the idea of the "third space" to investigate the issue of cultural identity in Hong Kong literature, which has brought about three typical views: "the margin theory", "the crevice theory" and "the theory of imagining Hong Kong moving North", all based on the inherent contradiction between the Hong Kong nativeness and Chineseness. In order to transcend the framework of "Hong Kong and China", Zhu Yaowei shifts his vision to the framework of "East and West, local and global, orientalism/postcoloniality and global capitalism". The above discussion shows that political factors play …

A Probe Into The Theory Of Event Literature: Reflections On The Reconstruction Of Literary Studies "After Theory", Jing Yin

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Terry Eagleton criticized different kinds of post theories which were once in fashion in his After Theory, and proposed that literary theory should return to literature itself and reflect on such grand issues as morality and ethics in a constructive way. Based on the "literary ethics" put forward by Terry Eagleton and the concept of "event" highlighted by his theoretical reflection, this paper tries to combine Gilles Deleuze's and Alain Badiou's concepts of "event" in order to carry forward Eagleton's reflection on theory and develop an effective theory of event literature, which focuses on writers who, as the faithful subjects …

Bai Xianyong's New Aesthetics Of Kunqu Opera, Sheng Ding

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Bai Xianyong proposed the concept of New Aesthetics of Kunqu Opera after the youth version of The Peony Pavilion and the new version of The Story of Jade Hairpin. The goal of the New Aesthetics of Kunqu is to integrate the classical aesthetics of Kunqu and modern theatrical aesthetics, and the integration is characterized by the centrality of classicality aided by modernity. The works which come as a result of the New Aesthetics of Kunqu Opera have received praises scholars and some criticism from senior fans at the same time. This paper expounds on Bai Xianyong's theory and practice, and …

Becoming, Intensity And Transversal Communication: The Cross-Cultural Dialogue Between Deleuze's Thoughts And Taoist Thoughts, Dandan Jiang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

This paper explores the paradoxical thought in the works of the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995), including his writings in collaboration with Félix Guattari, around the question of "becoming". It examines the connotation of certain notions and their internal connection in Deleuze’s works, and, by drawing on the reinterpretations of Deleuzian philosophy by the contemporary Italian philosopher Agamben, discusses becoming and intensity, immanence and Transcendental empiricism, body without organs and transversal, etc. It also explores some possibilities of cross-cultural dialogue between Deleuze's thoughts on becoming and the works of the Taoist thinker Zhuangzi in ancient China.

Empiricism, Sense And Modernity Of Aesthetics: Edmund Burke's The Sublime And Beautiful From The Viewpoint Of Medieval Aesthetics, Chen Chen

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Edmund Burke's The Sublime and Beautiful is familiar to Chinese scholars, the studies of which nevertheless are inadequate, as many studies confine themselves to Burke's exposition of the sublime. But in fact Burke implies a critique of the tradition of the medieval doctrine of beauty, which is particularly evident in the first section of the third part of this book. As central concepts in the Scholastic doctrine of beauty in the Middle Ages, proportion, fitness, and perfection are transmitted to Burke's times. Burke, employing John Locke's empiricism, criticizes traditional qualities of the beautiful on the side of the object, and …

From "Poetry Critique" To "Drama Critique": Lü Tiancheng And Qi Biaojia's Critique Of Drama, Chao Wang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

"Drama critique", an important form of critical studies of drama in the Ming dynasty, benefits more or less from the critical paradigms of poetry and prose in terms of the consciousness of different schools, the awareness of comparison and the image- and analogy-based aesthetical mindset. Meanwhile, Lü Tiancheng and Qi Biaojia, starting from the "nature and naturalness" theory in poetry criticism, pursue an aesthetical taste characterized by "ideo-mood-imagery" and "feel". By modifying the various indexes of "calligraphic critique" and "painting critique", including the "spirit, exquisiteness, potential and embodiment", they successfully refresh the essence of "drama critique", which reflects the evolution …

Literary Theory: Nationality In An Age Of Globalization, Fan Nan

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The maintenance of nationality of Chinese literary theory in an age of globalization is part of the issue of the relationship between culture and nationality. Many factors are herein involved, including nationality and the globalization of Chinese literary theory, the relationship between the discourse of modernity and traditional culture, and the treatment of Localization, the modern constructive transformation of ancient Chinese literary theory, etc. A thorough study of these factors is needed to draw a reasonable conclusion. There is an important principle for introducing into China Western literary theories: the significance of the theory is to represent and interpret China's …

Lubomir Dolezel's Literature Fiction And Possible Worlds Theory, Yu Zhang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Lubomir Dolezel is one of the most important literary theorists of the so-called fiction and possible worlds theory in the English world. In Dolezel's Heterocomica: Fiction and Possible Worlds, the author provides a conceptual framework of possible worlds against the one-world frame in traditional fiction study, arguing that fiction worlds are a special kind of possible worlds. Focusing on the fictional universe projected by literary texts and the discursive means of achieving fictional effects, he offers a new approach to narrative and fiction study. This paper is a complete review of the entire system of Dolezel's possible worlds theory, and …

The Heart Of Basketball: A Dynamic And Transformative Program Design For Chinese Youth, Jayson Gilbert

Capstone Collection

Chinese participation in educational overseas programs has steadily increased over the past several years. Chinese parents and youth see these types of programs, specifically short-term programs, as a means to gain exposure to a foreign country and its culture before possibly studying in that country. This capstone paper explores the value of such programs by examining their long-term impact while considering other factors that may influence Chinese desire to participate in these programs.

The research in this paper reveals that overseas youth programs that incorporate sound pedagogy and elements of experiential learning in their design have potential to be successful …

Chinese Wines And Foreign Urns: Making Objects Of Lyric, Ryan Matthew Hintzman

Student Work

A 2016-2017 William Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Ryan Matthew Hintzman (Silliman College '17) for his essay submitted to the Department of Comparative Literature, "Chinese Wines and Foreign Urns: Making Objects of Lyric.” (Edward Kamens, Sumitomo Professor of Japanese Studies, advisor.)

Ryan Hintzman’s essay, Chinese Wines and Foreign Urns: Making Objects of Lyric is a work of awe-inspiring erudition, vision, and ambition. Ranging far and wide among traditional and more recent theories of the lyric and moving boldly from 8th century poems in Japanese to 19th and 20th century poems in English, Hintzman …

Xinghun: A "Cooperative Marriage" Ties Chinese Lesbians And Gays, Rongdian Zhu

Master's Projects and Capstones

In modern China, although the normality of homosexuality has been officially admitted, misconception and discrimination against homosexuals are still prevalent in the mainstream of Chinese society. Chinese LGBT people endure two main sources of pressure: one is from the external and another is from the internal. From the outside, Chinese LGBT people bear the suppression made by the normality of sexual orientation and the hegemonic culture of heterosexuality, in particular heterosexual marriage. And such discrimination is still occurring now in our society. LGBT people themselves are heavily tortured by the pain and pressure of self-denial. A lot of them cannot …

Enclave Of Ingenuity: The Plan And Promise Of The Beijing Intellectual Property Court, Max Goldberg

Student Work

A 2016-2017 William Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Max Goldberg (Pierson College '17) for his essay submitted to the Ethics, Politics, & Economics Program, "Enclave of Ingenuity: The Plan and Promise of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court.” (Frances Rosenbluth, Damon Wells Professor of Political Science, and Paul Gewirtz, Potter Stewart Professor of Law, advisors.)

Max Goldberg’s thesis, Enclave of Ingenuity: The Plan and Promise of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, examines in depth one of the most interesting institutions in today’s China – an experimental court that stands at the intersection of …

Celebrating The Feminine: Daoist Connections To Contemporary Feminism In China, Dessie Miller

Master's Projects and Capstones

Contemporary feminism and its emergence in the early 20th century may seem like a recent phenomenon; however, the idea of feminism has been evolving over the centuries and what may be called a “proto-feminism” could be found in one of China’s classical literary masterpieces, known as the Daodejing. Classical Chinese philosophy has influenced and helped shape what feminism is today in China. For this project, I analyzed the use of language in the Daodejing to demonstrate the feminine imagery throughout the text. Secondly, the characters having significance for feminist interpretations for the Dao and Yin-Yang were deconstructed and analyzed in …

Animating Chinese Cinemas: A Preface, Li Guo, Jinying Li

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This preface by the guest editors provides a situated overview of the purpose, structure and methodologies of the contributing articles on Chinese animations in this special issue. Aiming to reconfigure Chinese film studies through historical and theoretical inquiries about the relationship between the animated and the cinematic, the special issue introduces a nascent perspective on Chinese animations by offering rigorous and stimulating studies on the forms, genres and materiality of animation, as well as on the technological and ontological conditions of animated moving images in the age of digital new media. The preface also provides a brief historical overview of …

Tour Guides Take Technology: Mobilizing The Coverage Process, Cassie Jes Jacob

Senior Honors Projects

Technology has progressed more in the past decade than it has in the past century, and it has changed the way we live. To succeed in this society, innovation is a necessity. A recent phenomenon in technology is the use of mobile applications designed to make our lives and daily activities, such as note-taking and scheduling, more convenient.

This project explores the use of mobile applications in a business. At URI, the Tour Guide team acts as a business that manages over 100 employees as they lead visits around campus for prospective students.

These employees are college-age students raised in …