Chinese Studies Commons^™

Expressing Feeling Through Scenery: On The Fashion Of Travel Among Literati And Its Influence On Xiqu During The Late Ming Period, Ji Yang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The rising fashion of travel among literati during the late Ming period significantly influenced the creation and development of xiqu. As many late-Ming playwrights shared great interest in travel, the choice of xiqu's theme and content also included portrayals of travel experiences. As a result, xiqu developed new features in its style and structure during this period. The model of portraying travel experiences in xiqu during the late-Ming period not only accorded with the requirement of xiqu's narrative mechanism, but also displayed its aesthetic characteristics and artistic features.

On The Formation Mechanism Of Contemporary Discourse On The Public, Chonghong Luo

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The formation of contemporary discourse on the public is embedded in the cultural context of humanism and post­-revolution, taking culture as the main criterion to divide the elite and the public. The era of consumerism in which revolutionary discourse is absent is characterized by the formation of discourse contestation in a multicultural field. As consumerism gradually shows itself in the public culture, traditional humanistic intellectuals' criticism of it leads to a discourse contestation between the traditional elite and the contemporary public. Meanwhile, the sustained prosperity of popular culture and the developing theorization of cultural studies result in a gradual shift …

An Examination Of Collected Historical Biographies In The Ming And Qing Dynasties From The Perspective Of Article Studies, Shihai He, Lu Chen

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Article anthologies of the Ming and Qing dynasties broke with the tradition of not excerpting writings from the Classical, Historical, and Philosophical Works. It compiled a great number of biographies that appeared in historical writings, and quite a few articles in The Commentary of Zuo, The Records of the Grand Historian, and History of the Han Dynasty. Four factors accounted for this phenomenon: the breakthrough of boundaries between the four sections; the necessity of distinguishing types or forms of literature; the elevation of narrative writings'status; the need to study eight-legged essays. Interactions among these various factors led historical biographies to …

Deciphering Hölderlin's "Hyperion": Eccentric Eros — On The Image Of The Poet As The Divine Mediator, Sha Li

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Friedrich Hölderlin took the Platonic idea of beauty to reconnect the soul and the world. As the epistemological basis against Johann Gottlieb Ficht, his "Vereinigungsphilosophie" reunifies the dichotomic world emerged from human judgement. Hölderlin explores this spiritual transition in his poetic novel Hyperion; or, The Hermit in Greece. The astronomic term "exzentrische Bahn"(eccentric orbit) fully epitomizes the potential for the transition of modem people between civilized society and the Rousseauian natural state. Hyperion's unification in love experience corresponds with the subtle spiritual transformation indicated in the ecstasy in " Phaedrus ", which reflects his aesthetical project to develop Kantian sublime …

From Original Creation To Manufactured Production: Transformation Of Literary Production In The Age Of Internet-Based New Media, Lingling Li

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Internet literary activities on various website platforms for original literature and We-media accounts have brought about new mechanism of literary production. Fundamental changes take place in literary production from "original creation" to "manufactured production": the shift of the focal concern of writers from expressing "the self" to catering to the taste of "the divided audience", the shift from a formulaic adaptive mode of writing to trans-formulaic writing to cope with the impact of A.I writing, and the formation of literary production groups to offset the pressure inserted by capital on the scale of literary production to require a shift from …

Nobel Prize For Literature And The Making Of World Literature, Dadui Yao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The Nobel Prize, while canonizing contemporary literary works, also establishes a set of standards for literary criticism, thus creating obstacles for properly evaluating prize-winners and their works. Through an analysis of the phenomenon of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Committee's evaluation of Rabindranath Tagore, and its world literature criticism terms, the paper concludes that there are evidences to prove the inequality and pseudo-universality in world literature. World literature at the present time is a "one but unequal" system determined by global market where the main evaluation criteria are primarily based on western standards. Therefore, scholars of world literature should …

On Middle English Ballads And "Medievalized" Traditional British Ballads, Huiyi Bao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The marginal status quo of ballad study is disproportionate to the importance of the ballad genre in medieval English literature. From Middle English ballads preserved in medieval manuscripts to traditional British ballads presented in early modem or modem anthologies, a ballad takes shape in the process which witnesses its constant adaptation, amplification, localization and individualization, in terms of both form and content. Such a poetic text in flux preserves and demonstrates the linguistic, metrical and rhetorical features of each period in which it was rewritten. This article analyzes one Middle English ballad and two traditional British ballads in their original …

On The Non-Temporality Of Aesthetic Experience: Case Study Of Michel Henry's Criticism Of Temporality, Can Liang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Temporality is often considered as a transcendental condition of the manifestation of aesthetic experience, which, however, is challenged by Michel Henry, who distinguishes two ways of appearing. Henry believes that the essence of temporality is nihility, which cannot bestow on things any reality. The imposition of the structure of temporality on aesthetic experience would only deprive the experience of its living reality. As a mode of life, aesthetic experience constitutes an important moment of life's self-transformation and self-growth, and therefore only in life's feeling of itself can aesthetic experience be manifested as what it is.

Peeping And Moralizing: Daniel Defoe's Practices Of Literary Production, Zhenming Hu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

As early practices of literary production, Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders and Roxana integrated peeping with moralizing, exemplifying the transformation from the linear logic of author-work-reader to the bidirectional logic of author-work and author­reader. Through textual analyses of Moll Flanders and Roxana, this article argues that forerunners of eighteenth-century English novelists represented by Defoe were engaged in literary production in the spirit of exposing the interactive construction of personal subjectivity and social publicness. With peeping and moralizing as creative forms, their works laid foundation for the theory of literary production gradually developed by Karl Marx, Pierre Macherey, and Terry Eagleton, which …

Personality, Natural Endowment, Scholarship, And The Vicissitudes Of Time: Revisiting The Phenomenon Of "Reversion" In Wang Kaiyun's Poetics, Yafeng Li

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

"Reversion" used to be hailed as a pure "Chinese phenomenon", but its richness and complexity have not been effectively revealed yet, which has seriously affected our in-depth understanding of it. Take Wang Kaiyuan as an example. His poetics of "reversion" had profound spiritual connotation, which implied his original comprehension of poetry, his political ideal of "Entering the Holy Land through Zhuangzi" and "Self-government with Propriety"; it also presented Wang's distinct personality in his stance, method, and object regarding "reversion". The formation of such "reversion" phenomenon was both closely related to Wang's personality, talents, scholarship, as well as the vicissitudes of …

Post-Humanism, Reconstruction Of Subjectivity, And Politics Of Technology: A New Narrative Of The Relationship Between Man And Technology, Xiuqin Lin

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Subjectivity is an important perspective to observe the relationship between man and technology. From instrumentalism to ontology and subjectivism of technology, this relationship is being constantly rewritten. Based on the concept of technological subjectivity, post-humanism re-activates the concept of subject with the post-human subject image represented by cyborg, in order to break into the theoretical space of cultural and political criticism. The new subject created by technology and its practice innovate the production mechanism of meaning, such as identity, recognition, and value, providing a powerful momentum for deconstructing the various hegemonic systems lurking in traditional humanism. However, as the subject …

The Revival Of The Ancient In Ming-Dynasty Essays: Its Political Appeal And The Chosen Approach, Jiaqi An

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The Ming dynasty saw a surge of "the revival of the ancient" in both theory and practice of leisure essays. The revival of the ancient was both value judgment at the level of literature and cross-reference between personality traits and social changes. Essay writers who promoted the revival of the ancient fell into two groups, one comprising members of the learned societies and academies, the one including officials from ministries in the central government. The former advocated a plain style as exemplified by the Song-Dynasty prose, while the latterfavored the archaic style of the Qin and Han dynasties. The different …

Time, Space, Meaning, And Narrative: Literary Interpretation Of Alain Robbe-Grillet's Concept Of Game, Mingxing He, Yingyi Han

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Alain Robbe-Grillet creates a distinctive world of game in his literary creations. Different from the everyday world of linear time and Euclidean space, Robbe-Grillet's world of game is based on topological space, where the inner and outer spaces are interconnected and topologically equivalent, the time stops at the present, and characters gain true freedom. By suspending the linguistic structure, Robbe-Grillet enables objects to return to their natural existence, where human and substance exist equally. The purpose of this return is to create a game that generates infinite meaning. This game is a rebellion against the unique truth and the authority …

Variations On Art And Technology: From Machine Aesthetics To Bio Art, Qiong Liu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The machine aesthetic had its origins in the emphasis on ingenuity and novelty in Baroque art. After the neoclassical period in the 18th - 19th centuries, the function of machinery (rational efficiency) was also accepted as beauty. In the 20th century, the aesthetic concept "form following function", marks the flourishing of machine aesthetics. Contemporary time witnesses the development of machine aesthetics into bio art and other forms of avant-garde art integrated with science and technology. The machine aesthetics reflect in different weight of truth, goodness and beauty and their different combinations in machinery, with truth being the key reference to …

Writing For Local Government Schools: Authors And Themes In Song-Dynasty School Inscriptions, Song Chen

Faculty Journal Articles

A hallmark of the Song dynasty's achievements was the creation of a national network of state-sponsored local schools. This engendered an exponential growth of commemorative inscriptions dedicated to local government schools. Many authors used these inscriptions as an avenue to expound and disseminate their visions of schools and education. Using the methods of network analysis and document clustering, this article analyzes all the inscriptions extant from Song times for local government schools. It reveals a structural schism in the diffusion of ideas between the Upper Yangzi and other regions of the Song. It also demonstrates the growing intellectual influence of …

The Expressive Forms Of Xu Bing’S Neo English Calligraphy, Jinfu Xie

Student Works (2020-2029)

Xu Bing is active in the contemporary art world and a famous calligraphy artist and painter who held many individual art exhibitions in New York New Art Museum, Czech National Museum and other famous international art institutions. In 1999, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship in recognition of his "significant contribution to society, particularly in printmaking and calligraphy". Xu Bing created a kind of new square character which combined English alphabets with Chinese calligraphy strokes and named it Neo English calligraphy. A series of Neo English calligraphy artwork was produced which theoretically influenced by the Chinese traditional philosophy …

Nationalistic Massacre Victims Triumph Over Ccp, Nathan Huffine

Voces Novae

Following the Japanese invasion of mainland China, and the subsequent Nanjing Massacre in 1937, Chinese Massacre survivors gained a nationalistic perspective as a result of their lived experiences. Later, these survivors’ nationalistic perspective came in direct conflict with the class-based perspective held by the Chinese Communist Party. This clash in political views helps shed light upon much of the internal and external Chinese historical narrative throughout the mid to late twentieth century.

Modernity In Miniature: Maoism And The Beijing Department Store, Samuel M. Hellmann

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines the Beijing Department Store as a contradictory structure embedded in the world’s largest Communist revolution. By looking at the urban planning decisions behind constructing a colonial form in the center of the socialist capital, I attempt to unravel the complex intersection of economic development and egalitarian mass action in the early Maoist period. Constructed in 1955 during the first Five Year Plan, the Department Store sheds light on the specific parameters of post-revolution modernization campaigns. Furthermore, by looking at the conceptualizations of the building by the Party, architects, and the workers inside the store, I examine how …

The Chinese Calligraphy Stone Gallery, Yingying Xie

Student Works (2020-2029)

This dissertation studies the reshaping of cultural memory in helping to increase cultural self-confidence and to gain cultural identity. Nirvana Group placed great emphasis on promoting Chinese culture and on the basis of respecting culture; it has established the Chinese Calligraphy Stone gallery. This dissertation found that the Chinese Calligraphy Stone gallery which is specially constructed through the installation of represented structures of China showcased the Confucian principles and Taoist thought. Cultural memory has been reconstructed based on the permanent collection of diachronic masterpieces of the elite culture of calligraphy tradition. I would like to say that the spirit of …

A Changing Tea Culture, A Changing China: Variations In Conceptions Of Gift Tea Among Tea Sellers, Tiana Wang

Student Work

A 2019-2020 Williams Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Tiana Wang (Ezra Stiles College '20) for her essay submitted to the Department of Sociology, "A Changing Tea Culture, A Changing China: Variations in Conceptions of Gift Tea Among Tea Sellers” (Jeffrey Alexander, Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor of Sociology, advisor).

Tiana Wang’s essay, “A Changing Tea Culture, A Changing China: Variations in Conceptions of Gift Tea among Tea Sellers” makes substantial use of original interviews and observations with twenty tea sellers across Jinan, Shanghai, and Beijing to show that tea culture is changing with new …

Redefining Through Remembering: China’S Political Objectives As Reflected In Chinese State Commemoration Of The Korean War, 1950 - 2010, Yoojin Han

Student Work

A 2019-2020 Williams Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Yoojin Han (Berkeley College '20) for her essay submitted to the Department of History, "Redefining through Remembering: China’s Political Objectives as Reflected in Chinese State Commemoration of the Korean War, 1950 - 2010” (Denise Ho, Assistant Professor of History, advisor).

A highly analytical and engaging senior essay grounded in an impressive array of both primary and secondary sources, Yoojin Han’s thesis, “Redefining through Remembering: China’s Political Objectives as Reflected in Chinese State Commemoration of the Korea War,” utilizes Chinese “leadership speeches” made and published during …

A New Exploration Of The Title Of "Cheng Xiang" In Xunzi, Chaobin Zou

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The meaning of the title "Cheng Xiang" in Xunzi is controversial. Through close reading, this paper analyzes "Cheng Xiang" in Xunzi from such new angles as evolvement of literary style and cultural integration. It is found that "Cheng Xiang" in Xunzi consisted of three relatively independent articles when Xunzi originally wrote them. "Cheng Xiang" was not simply titled by using several characters in the opening passage. Instead, it was consciously named after its literary style. "Cheng Xiang" as a literary style resulted from the integration of rites and music culture in the court of the Zhou dynasty and folk ballad …

Indefinability, Mystique And Theological Implication In Adorno's Natural Beauty, Ting Wang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In Adorno's aesthetics, there is a natural beauty with a particular form: it has no clear concept, but only undefinable and impalpable characteristics. This distinguishes it from rational things, for the essence of natural beauty is unconditional and transcendent. Being transcendent, it is beyond reason. Since indefinability and mystique are appearances presented at its experience level, natural beauty can only be referred to through detour and negation. The rationale for Adorno's set of natural beauty originates from Kant's aesthetics. Like Kant, Adorno distinguishes knowledge from beauty; he differs from Kant in that Kant draws natural beauty from experience and leads …

"Istoria" In Leon Battista Alberti's Painting Theory: An Application Of The Method Pseudomorphosis Into The Study Of Renaissance Aesthetic Concepts, Xi He

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Della Pittura (On Painting) by Italian humanist Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) is considered as one of the most important works in the history of Western art theory. In this book, Alberti constructed a system of terminologies and a set of principles, in order to structurally describe the content of paintings, to accurately convey the technique of paintings, and to systematically understand and evaluate the meaning and value of paintings. With the method of "quasimorphosis", this paper explores Alberti's artistic term "istoria" in three steps. Firstly, it traces the origin of the term back to the Classical Age; secondly, it describes …

Is "Place" Ended: Dialectical Thoughts On Space Theory, Jun Zhu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Globalization has reshaped our sense of place and this reshaping has profound impact on human aesthetic experience. Modern transportation, media, mass culture and theme — parkization of cities accelerate the proliferation of the aesthetics of placelessness. Facing the crisis of “the end of Place”, Marxist theorists on space believe that “place” has become increasingly important due to its multiple deformations. Place not only reshapes the structure of senses but also reconstructs urban situation and social structure. This paper claims that there is at present a need to discard the narrow understanding of place while retaining the aesthetic appreciation of particularity …

Reportage As A Non-Fictional Narrative Mode, Xiaoyuan Ding

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Reportage is a literary genre emerged out of modern journalism, featuring its blending of news, literature, and political commentary. With the changing of time, particularly due to the advent of the "Age of Omnimedia", its function to report news has significantly declined. Writers of reportage begin to develop its non-fictional narrative aesthetics, in order to accommodate themselves to the reader-objects and rising reader expectation. Reportage, as it stands, has shifted from its original style of reporting to a new genre of "literary reportage", a non-fictional narrative mode with distinctive features such as non-fiction, narrativity, and literariness.

The Characteristics Of Chinese Creative Culture And Its Form Of Existence , Xuan Wu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Chinese creative culture intersects with modern Western culture in the following aspects. First, Fuxi's xiantian bagua (Prenatal Eight Trigrams Numbers), "creating symbols of humanity via nature," and the idea of "respecting Confucianism while creating philosophy of individualism" discussed in the Records of the Grand Historian and The Yi Commentary of Su Shi all represent the Chinese-style implicit creative experience of "respecting and transforming reality." Such experience — "creation of the individual within the whole" — is distinguished from creation out of binary opposition in the West. Second, the worship of vitality and the cherishing of life in ancient times, which …

The Emergence And Development Of Poetic Treatises During The Ming Dynasty, Miaomiao Zheng

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Among literature on poetry during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) there was poetic treatise, which focuses on theoretical and systematic expounding on the basics of poetics. This type of writing evolved through three stages of emergence, improvement and maturation. Li Dongyang's Poetry Commentaries from the Foothill Studio and Xu Zhenqing's On the Art of Poetry were two key works in the first stage. Li's work presented a gradually strengthened emphasis on the systematicity of poetry criticism, while Xu's work substantially centered on poetry criticism, marking the formation of poetic treatise. In the second stage, Wang Shizhen's Rambles in the Garden of …

The Political Dimension Of Vernacular Fictions During The Ming Dynasty As Exemplified By Fictions On Major Historical Events, Qingchuan Wan

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The deterioration of political ecology during the Ming dynasty led to intense conflicts among various political powers and interest groups. Due to the development of publishing technology and Dibao Gazette, lower classes of the society were increasingly involved in political activities. The varying degrees of involvement of different social classes in political struggles influenced related writers' fiction writing and dissemination. In this sense, fiction, especially those based on major political events and historical figures, gradually became an auxiliary vehicle for political struggle. Through the selection and (re)interpretation of historical materials, authors expressed their political views and appeals, attempting to influence …

The Postmodern Or The Present: Time As The End, Yaojun Zhang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The postmodern is not a concept with definite historical times, but is still related to time, especially to the present. There are two different concepts of the postmodern in Lyotard's writings, which correspond to the present of two different kinds. One is the finished status of modernity, which embodies an eternal present that leads to the "inhuman" depressions on humans. The other is an instantaneous moment that has burst out emotionally, which not only reflects on the former kind of the postmodern, but also forms a particular style of postmodern existence.