Chinese Studies Commons^™

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 …

"Re-Theatricalization" And "Re-Totalization": The Historical Influence Of Japanese Touring Troupes On The "Revitalization" Of Western Theatre In The Early 20th Century, Yang Gao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

From the turn of the century to the 1930s, three Japanese theatre troupes successively toured the West spanning a long period of time and a large geographic area. During their overseas tours, the various "theatrical" and "total" qualities identified in the troupes' stage performances highly fascinated and impressed the Westerners. Although the Westerners' reception of the Japanese touring troupes' performances was inevitably accompanied by some "(mis)interpretations". Nonetheless, these "(mis)interpretations" could be regarded as a kind of positive "self-affirmation", which greatly strengthened and reinforced the ideals and visions of some innovative Western theatre practitioners who had been aspiring to "revitalize" Western …

Aloofness Of Tai-Ge School Literati In The Qianlong Era (1736-1795): A Case Study Of Shen Deqian, Haosu Zhang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In the eighth year of the Qianlong era (1743), Hang Shijun (1696-1772), a famous poet of the Zhejiang School, was demoted because of his disagreement with Emperor Qianlong about the "Inner Manchu and Outer Han" policy, in which the Manchu were given preferential treatment, while the Han were excluded. Shen Deqian (1673-1769), the leader of the poetry circle who was favored by Emperor Qianlong, wrote poems and presented them to Hang Shijun. By comparing Shen Deqian's two poems with those by the Jiangsu and Zhejiang scholars in the same period, this study identifies the internal consistency in their sympathy towards …

Articulation Theory And The Evolution Of Cultural Studies, Dongli Yang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Articulation theory has special value for cultural studies. This article discusses the evolution of the concept "articulation" from its origin through Ernesto Laclau to Stuart Hall, and goes on to portray articulation theory’s developing landscape in cultural studies – from "articulation", "double articulation" to "triple articulation". The developments of articulation theory have updated foundational concepts in cultural studies, helping it break the conflicts between "culturalism" and "structuralism". However, articulation theory has also complicated the scene of cultural studies, as it overemphasizes the agency of audiences in decoding activities and overly relies on language's expressive logic in the interpretation of cultural …

Fictional Characters From The Perspective Of Possible Worlds Theory, Bei Qiu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

According to the possible worlds theory, there are three types of alethic logics, i.e. necessity, possibility and impossibility. Literary works can then be seen as a specific possible world: fictional narrative world, while characters are its inhabitants. Taking into consideration the accessible relation of the fictional characters with the human beings in the real worlds, we divide the fictional characters into plausible characters, physically impossible characters and logically impossible characters. These three types of characters cover all the character types in fictional works. Possible worlds theory provides a new research scale and theoretical framework for categorizing character types as well …

From "Truth" To "Place": On The Turn Of Martin Heidegger's Artistic Thought, Yaxin Feng

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Chinese scholars have reached a basic consensus on the periodization of Martin Heidegger that his thought can be divided into early and late stages by the ideological turn in the 1930s. Noticeably, however, at the Le Thor seminar more than three decades later Heidegger used three keywords — meaning, truth, and place — to mark the three stages in the development of his thought. In accordance with Heidegger's own rule, his thought had two turns and were thus divided into the early, middle, and late periods, the subjects of which are respectively "the meaning of being", "the truth of being", …

He Shaoji's Inheritance And Revision Of The Poetic Concept Of Natural Spirituality, Shuangxia Xiang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

He Shaoji has historically been considered a theoretician of the Song poetry school during the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns, his poetics often taken as a representative of scholar poetry and as an altered form of Wen Fanggang's concept of textuality. However, when his poetics is studied on itself disregard of his personal link with the poetry school, it could be argued that He Shaoji was practically a follower of Yuan Mei. He's poetics is grounded in Ye Xie and Yuan Mei's concept of natural spirituality (xingling), and the shared features with Ye and Yuan's poetics show in his elucidation on …

From Bruce Lee To Eddie Peng: Transformation Of Chinese Male Star's Body And Its Cultural Significance, 吴红涛

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Bruce Lee and Eddie Peng, two high-profile Chinese male stars of different generations, are both recognized and loved by the public for their masculine bodies characterized by perfect muscles. Their bodies, as well as the public's imaginations and evaluations of their bodies reflect profound changes in contemporary cultural trends. In terms of body politics, this change shows a transformation from national discourse to international symbols; in terms of body types, it embodies a shift from martial hero to fitness expert; in terms of body landscape, it demonstrates a change from masculinity to masculine temperament. Due to the diversified visions of …

Inner Feelings And Perseverance Of The Editor-In-Chief Of Modern Times: Notes On Shi Zhecun's "Elegy For Master Lu Xun" And Seven Other Poems, Shengwei Zhou

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Shi Zhecun's "Elegy for Master Lu Xun" and its preface, written around the end of 1956, clearly express his understanding and evaluation of Lu Xun, and his attitude toward Lu Xun has always been respectful. At the same time, they also display his reflection and introspection on his controversy with Lu Xun, not only reviewing his own short-sightedness of being a "well frog presuming to measure the sea", but also insisting on his consistent position of "I aspire to promote essay". As for Lu Xun's "frowning at the evil young men" and its adverse effects, Shi's heart still hurt despite …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Single Step: Towards A Confucian Geopolitics, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This commentary welcomes the opportunity of a dialogue on the development of a Confucian geopolitics that offers an alternative to the prevailing dominant geopolitical theories. Three areas are discussed to further development of such an alternative. The first is the challenges (and not only the opportunities) of recovering Confucian values to inform foreign policy and international relations. The second is the appropriation of Confucian philosophy to legitimize state action, and how this is actually playing out in present-day China. The third is the slippage between narrative and practice – that is, how a narrative of Confucian geopolitics is translated in …

Big Community In Little Chinatown: How Asian Americans (Re)Present Their Community Today, Meghan Morrison

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper looks at a series of modern Asian American pieces of media in order to analyze how women and LGBT+ depict and create their community, especially in relation to another marginalized ethnic group. By examining the relationship between these groups within popular media, we can uncover how Asian Americans choose to represent themselves and gain a deeper understanding on how marginalized groups choose to portray themselves.

Methods And Effects Of Shadowing Using Online Authentic Videos On L2 Acquisition Of Mandarin Chinese Tones, Ai-Ling Lu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mandarin Chinese tones are notoriously difficult for second language (L2) learners. Previous research focuses on tone training methods that can help learners produce monosyllabic lexical tones, and studies about the production of multisyllabic lexical tones at the sentence level in spontaneous speech are limited. This study applies shadowing—a method where the learners repeat what they heard with as little delay as possible—to tone training and compares the effects of using authentic videos and textbook audios as shadowing materials for beginner L2 Mandarin learners’ tone improvement at the sentence level. Fourteen students in elementary Chinese classes at an American university participated …

China, Xinjiang, And The Genocide Convention: The Fragility Of International Law, Lucy Kate Herron

Honors Theses

This paper examines China’s actions through the lens of the Genocide Convention to examine the whether the crimes of genocide are being committed against the Uyghur population. It contends that according to the Genocide Convention, China is committing genocide, and particularly through conditions, torture, and rape, against the Uyghur population. However, prosecuting a genocide in court would prove difficult due to China's laws and actions that can be used to defer accusations of genocide and problems with the Genocide Convention in the context of China and the Uyghurs.

Rome Joins The Belt And Road Initiative: Implications For The Development Of Trieste And Italy’S Position In Chinese Foreign Policy, Colin Durkin

Honors Theses

In March of 2019, during a visit from Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Rome, Italy became the first G7 country to sign on to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), generating an intense reaction from allies. The non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) included 29 deals, a number of which were signed between private Italian and Chinese companies on the sidelines of Xi’s visit. One of the most important of these deals was between the Chinese SOE China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and the Trieste Port Authority. The deal promised increased cooperation and investment in a number of areas. Optimists on …

The Somaesthetics Of The Multitude: The Politico-Aesthetic Logic Of Antonio Negri And Michael Hardt In Constructing The Subjecthood, Jinying Li

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

"The Multitude", a concept reconstructed by Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt after the deconstruction of the subjecthood by post-structuralism, is a combination of singularity and commonality, and physicality and affection, and it is the subjecthood of postmodern society that overthrows the control of the empire and constructs the commonwealth. In the early days, Negri began to explore social issues from the perspective of the relationship between art and the multitude. From this perspective, his logics in constructing the multitude can be summed up as aestheticization and bio-politicization, and its inner trajectory of reasoning can be summarized as a transformation from …