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Full-Text Articles in East Asian Languages and Societies
The Origin Of The Title "The Four Dreams Of Linchuan" And The Deep Significance Of The Peony Pavilion, Baocheng Kang, Yanfang Chen
The Origin Of The Title "The Four Dreams Of Linchuan" And The Deep Significance Of The Peony Pavilion, Baocheng Kang, Yanfang Chen
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The title "the Four Dream of Linchuan" is not in accordance with the facts of the four Chuanqi plays written by Tang Xianzu, for "The Purple Hairpin", one of the "four dreams" has little to do with "dream" of any kind. Inspired by "the Four Dreams" written by Che Renyuan and the folk song "4 dreams 8 voids" in The Plum in the Golden Vase, Tang Xianzu himself began to use the title of "the Four Dreams of Linchuan". The title was rarely recognized till the late Ming Dynasty, but it became popular during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of …
Pen Names In The "Seventeen Years Period" And The Ecology Of Contemporary Chinese Literary Criticism, Pengcheng Kou
Pen Names In The "Seventeen Years Period" And The Ecology Of Contemporary Chinese Literary Criticism, Pengcheng Kou
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
It is a common phenomenon to use a pen name when a writer publishes his critical works in China's "seventeen years period". There are several causes: 1. the author worries that his work is not mature; 2. the author is not confident of his reputation; 3. the author intends to express particular ideas. Underneath these apparent causes are deeper psychological motivations: 1. to express opposite ideas to someone else’s; 2. to criticize a friend or a teacher; 3. to publish politically alternative works; 4. to reinforce the validity of criticism with another name; 5. to express special aims. Because of …
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 …
Bai Xianyong's New Aesthetics Of Kunqu Opera, Sheng Ding
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 …
Literary Theory: Nationality In An Age Of Globalization, Fan Nan
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 …
New Changes Of Confucianism During The Late Qing Dynasty And The New Novel's Imagination Of The Nation, Jun Zhu, Xun Sun
New Changes Of Confucianism During The Late Qing Dynasty And The New Novel's Imagination Of The Nation, Jun Zhu, Xun Sun
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
New Novel's imagination of the nation in the 20th century marked the beginning of modern Chinese novel as well as the narrative of a modern nation state. It was related both to the introduction of western modernity and new changes of Confucianism during the late Qing Dynasty. The convergence of the evolution theory in Gongyang studies and that in the West changed the traditional temporal and spatial structure in Chinese novels, which consequently resulted in the shift from traditional utopians to the imagination of the future "New China". While Chinese writers were introducing western political ideas by writing political novels, …
Originality In Modern And Contemporary Chinese Drama Revisited: Spoken Drama Vis A Vis Chinese Opera, Huizhu (William) Sun
Originality In Modern And Contemporary Chinese Drama Revisited: Spoken Drama Vis A Vis Chinese Opera, Huizhu (William) Sun
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
From a comparative perspective and using originality as the main criterion, this study examines dramatic literature in modern and contemporary China, including Chinese opera as well as spoken drama, especially taking seriously the former, often overlooked by modern literary scholars. The conclusion is that the achievements of Chinese opera are greater than those of spoken drama. And modern Chinese opera has unwittingly had a breakthrough in the area of modern verse drama where western dramatists have tried but largely failed in the last century or so. Some Chinese operas may likely become the most valuable world classics from Chinese theatre.
"Engaging In Literature For Life" In The Era Of Post-Revolution: The Theoretical Framework And Connotation Of Zhu Ziqing's Literary Appreciation, Cheng Luo
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Previous studies have primarily recognized Zhu Ziqing's significance in modern hermeneutics of poetry, literary criticism, the establishment of literary studies as a discipline, etc; and they tend to pay much attention to the influence of Richards and Empson's semantic criticism on Zhu's methodology of appreciation. However, in the historical context of post-revolution Zhu's literary appreciation is not just for "appreciation" or "knowledge", but originates from his anxiety about the cultural and political conflicts between the new and the old. That the two literary events between him and Gu Sui and Zhu Guangqian reveal Zhu's uniqueness on his theoretical framework of …
Huaxia Mythological Astronomy And The Comparative Literary Studies Of The Multi-Ethnic Chinese Nation, Yunhong Dai
Huaxia Mythological Astronomy And The Comparative Literary Studies Of The Multi-Ethnic Chinese Nation, Yunhong Dai
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Contemporary literary studies in China is moving towards a new direction, which is to reflect on and study the literature of multi-ethnic China by considering cultural-historical characteristics of the Chinese multi-ethnic nation and the multiple sources and ethnic groups in and of Chinese literature. Studies in Chinese mythology and archaeoastronomy indicate that Huaxia mythological astronomy is the source and basis of Chinese history, culture and literature. If the Chinese comparative literary studies reflect on their history, horizons and scope, Huaxia mythological astronomy should become a cornerstone and starting point of this discipline.
Literature Of Small Nationalities: Rewriting History, Boundary And Transgression, Changzhong Li
Literature Of Small Nationalities: Rewriting History, Boundary And Transgression, Changzhong Li
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The encounters of tradition and modernity, the local and the global make rewriting history a prominent narrative syndrome of literature of small nationalities. It is rewriting history’s basic appeal to summon collective memory and subsequently to reinforce an awareness of boundary and reproduction of identity with it. History in this sense is not a grand history written to be verified, but a narrative and hermeneutic tradition, a past constructed and molded by texts. Because of the absence of self-other spatial dimension, the single temporal dimension of tradition-modernity makes rewriting history penetrate the boundary of literature and ethics. Rewriting history can …
The Aesthetic Ideology Of Post-Marxism, Yongkang Fan, Fengjie Liu
The Aesthetic Ideology Of Post-Marxism, Yongkang Fan, Fengjie Liu
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
This paper aims to analyze the philosophical basis, theoretical connotation and theoretical characteristics of the theory of post-Marxist aesthetic ideology. The influential theory about aesthetic ideology in China belongs to the "problematic" of traditional Marxism, but the contemporary Western aesthetic ideology belongs to the 'problematic' of post-Marxism. The former is based on historical materialism, and the latter on cultural materialism and language constructivism. From the perspective of post-Marxism, aesthetic ideology no longer stays at the ‘metaphysical’ linguistic, cultural and symbolic levels; it is integrated with "physical" material systems and social reality and becomes parasitic within the institutions, thus having material …
Historical Evolution And Reflection On The Concept "The Essence Of Literature", Daren Lai
Historical Evolution And Reflection On The Concept "The Essence Of Literature", Daren Lai
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The essence of literature is an issue of modern literary theory. In the process of Chinese literary theory's modern transformation and development, the theorization of the essence of literature was highlighted, and has become the key issue in modern literary theory. This concept has adapted itself several times through historical construction and evolution, from the beginning of the twentieth century to the period of reform and opening up, in accordance with the change of time and the development of literature. The new period also saw the evolution process of this concept under different critical lenses: social and aesthetic ideology theories, …
Shen Congwen And The Study Of Material Culture, Jin Ji
Shen Congwen And The Study Of Material Culture, Jin Ji
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Forced to stop writing after 1949, Shen Congwen veered his attention to the study of material culture. Consistent with his literary creation, his study of folk and daily cultural relics was a "lyrical archeology" to present his life. The guideline for his study of material culture was "biographing things" by tracing their histories with a massive amount of literature. His emphasis on the material existence not only echoed ideas in modern archeology, but also related to his long-term obsession with "things", hence the juxtaposition of handed-down relics, newly discovered literature and articles. His study penetrated original discipline boundaries, because he …
Genesis And Evolution Of The Concept "Chinese Painting" — The Art Of The Early Republican China, Yiran Xiong
Genesis And Evolution Of The Concept "Chinese Painting" — The Art Of The Early Republican China, Yiran Xiong
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The concept "traditional Chinese painting" was originally a by-product of the establishment of a national state. In the process of naming, there existed an intervention of state power and a repression of cultural diversity. At the same time, concepts related to "traditional Chinese painting", such as the artist's identity, ink, the artistic function of Chinese painting, were also changed with the expansion of the concept "Chinese painting". In the early Republican China, when the West stood out as the other, the positions of "the Westernized Chinese style" or "the Sinicized Western style" underpinning experimental arts were further highlighted, showing the …
The Dilemma Of Minority Ethic Group's Literary Theory And The Conjunction With "Aphasia" Of Chinese Literary Theory, Xinyong Yao, Yajuan Liu
The Dilemma Of Minority Ethic Group's Literary Theory And The Conjunction With "Aphasia" Of Chinese Literary Theory, Xinyong Yao, Yajuan Liu
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The paper focuses on the process of Chinese minority ethnic group ancient literary theory discipline construction, introduces the general characteristics of the discipline, and reveals the main dilemma perplexed. And also comparing the discussion of the "Alogia" of Chinese literary theory together with other related disciplines in the recent two decades. Through this discussion we try to practicing multi-dimensional and polygonal speech in which the China's literatures and literary theories should have.
The Genesis Of Literature, Shuying Du
The Genesis Of Literature, Shuying Du
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Existing hypotheses of the genesis (or the origin) of literature and arts, such as the renowned theory of "mimesis", of labor, of witchcraft, and of play, have made their due contribution, but none of them is entirely convincing. Equally important to the field of study are theories by the Russian scholar Alexander Veselovsky and Chinese scholars Lu Kan and Feng Yuanjun, who have been neglected by academics. It is probable that Giovanni Battista Vico's New Science is the closest to the truth of the origin of arts. Therefore, his ideas are still provocative. This article proposes another hypothesis: literature (poetry) …
The Philosophical Art Criticism Of Rosalind Krauss, Wenji Zhou
The Philosophical Art Criticism Of Rosalind Krauss, Wenji Zhou
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
As a well-known American art critic and art theorist, Rosalind Krauss established her own criticism style from the perspective of structuralism and post-structuralism, drawing on Saussure's ideas, semiology, psychoanalysis and various theories to take a philosophical art criticism on modern and postmodern art. This paper explores her particularly philosophical idea about the theory of grid and the formless while reviewing her philosophical art criticism, and therefore it presents the cultural logic behind modernist myths and essential postmodernism ideas. Hence, through philosophical art criticism, Krauss went through the change from the formalism to post-formalism during the course of unveiling the modernist …
The Void As The Effect: The Constructive Precondition Of Buddhist Aesthetics, Yun Wang
The Void As The Effect: The Constructive Precondition Of Buddhist Aesthetics, Yun Wang
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
If the "void" is taken as an aesthetic concept, the idea of the "void as the effect" should be its indispensable condition. If "cause and effect" is understood as a kind of time sequence, then "effect" is undoubtedly the end of this process. This "sequence" indicates the pursuit for reason and emphasis on the end, and thus it establishes the aesthetic vision for the "void". The development of the idea of the void has revealed that it is getting increasingly result-oriented with more emphases on proving and tracing the result that one gets what the mind turns to. Thus the …
Mirror Image Deviation In Cross-Cultural Transmission: A Reevaluation Of The Debate On H. D. Thoreau As A Hermit Or A Fake Hermit In Dushu, Luechang Liu
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
In the dissemination of H. D. Thoreau in China over the past 90 years, one heated debate with Dushu as the main platform occurred over Thoreau as a hermit or a fake one. By nature, this debate is a false statement, because Thoreau has never claimed to be a hermit. Being similar to the hermit and Chinese yinyi culture, a visible tendency to detach oneself from society and live in seclusion, Thoreau is arbitrarily judged as a hermit or a fake one. From the perspective of Chinese yinyi culture, some Chinese scholars analyzed the period, place, motivation and lifestyle of …
Behavior Language, Unconscious Structure And Literary Activities, Dakang Ma
Behavior Language, Unconscious Structure And Literary Activities, Dakang Ma
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Human's consciousness is constructed by the memory of speech acts, and the unconscious is constructed by the memory of behavior language. The similarities and differences between the two languages (behaviors) determine the relation and differentiation between the structure of consciousness and that of the unconscious. Therefore, it does not hold water that Lacan uses the structure of language to explain the unconscious. Aesthetic activities are the full cooperation between consciousness and the unconscious, so the characteristics of the two kinds of behaviors (languages) determine the dual character of aesthetic and artistic activities.
On Literary Theory: Its Way Of Unveiling, Semiotic Rectangle And Absolute Deterritorialization, Jin Zhang
On Literary Theory: Its Way Of Unveiling, Semiotic Rectangle And Absolute Deterritorialization, Jin Zhang
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
In the 21st century, literary study has started a self-reflection on the multiple facets of theory, thus giving rise to anti-theories, meta-theories and after-theories, all of which cast doubt on theoretical study and literary theory. However, all the facets of theory are the inherent dimensions of theory per se. The exploration of the unveiling way of theory lies in a comprehensive view and an unveiling of theory itself. The theoretical rectangle reveals the varied and interconnected connotations within theory per se. The absolute deterritorialization of theory offers a dialectical possibility among territorization, deterritorization and reterritorization. The after theory is a …
The Debate On "National Characteristic" And The Mindset Of Binary Opposition In Contemporary Intelligentsia, Yugao He
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
In the debate on Lu Xun's "national characteristic" at the turn of the 20th century, Feng Jicai and Liu Hewereseverely criticizedfor their post-colonial stance. However, all these critics misunderstood Liu He's point. Through analysis, one finds that critics' mindset of binary opposition such as "China/west, tradition/modernity" was the main cause of the misreading. Meanwhile, Liu He's post-colonial practice also betrays dogmatic binary thinking. The mindset of binary oppositions inherent inmodern Chinese academic thought throughout history has restrained intellectuals' talent, hence a waste of intelligence. To avoid such mindset, Chinese literary scholars should be more sensitive and receptive tofindings in other …
A Feminine Gaze: A Lacanian Analysis Of The Tv Series Journey To The West, Guanjun Wu
A Feminine Gaze: A Lacanian Analysis Of The Tv Series Journey To The West, Guanjun Wu
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The TV series Journey to the West, first shown on China Central Television in 1986, is undoubtedly a seminal work in the history of Chinese television. As a TV remake of the classical Chinese novel bearing the same title, this work, following the principle of "faithfulness", substantively makes itself a symptomatic excess to the original novel. Through the "feminine affection" depicted by the general director Yang Jie, the original novel's phallocentric perspective is replaced in a revolutionary way by a feminine perspective of the Queen of the "Feminine Kingdom". In the end of the TV remake when Tripitaka has "completed" …
Lu Xun's Idea Of Fiction Writing And His Brief History Of Chinese Fiction, Qingxin Wen
Lu Xun's Idea Of Fiction Writing And His Brief History Of Chinese Fiction, Qingxin Wen
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Lu Xun's idea of fiction writing was deeply influenced by his conceptualization of the book A Brief History of Chinese Fiction. Lu Xun initially read fictions as a historical phenomenon while currying the ancient Chinese fictional writings, and his lectures on the topic showed that he intended to take the perspective of nationalist critique. These showed that Lu Xun's guiding idea for writing the history of Chinese fiction was the cultivation of integrate men. The literary idea of "writing for life" (as contrary to "writing for art") was reflected in Lu Xun's own fictional writings, and the idea behind the …
Statistical Literary Theory: New Literary Research Paradigm In The Era Of Big Data, Caishu Zhou
Statistical Literary Theory: New Literary Research Paradigm In The Era Of Big Data, Caishu Zhou
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
The advent of the Big Data era highlights the importance of statistical methods. Franco Moretti and Stanford Literary Lab try to use some quantitative methods in literary researches. Their qualitative analysis on the data from books discovers some facts about literature that may challenge some established literary theories, and scholars are also trying to adopt the statistical methods to literary study in China. Statistical literary theory is literary research methodology with mathematical logic and empirical data, which comprises such methods as quantitative analysis, regression analysis, hypothesis test, and time series analysis. In term of its combination of aesthetics characteristics with …
Imagining And Constructing "Popular Literature": The Popularization Of Literature And Art In China Since The "May Fourth" Movement, Zhiping Zhang
Imagining And Constructing "Popular Literature": The Popularization Of Literature And Art In China Since The "May Fourth" Movement, Zhiping Zhang
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
Since the May Fourth Movement, enlightenment became the basic strategy and approach by which the literary and art circle participated in politics; thus the movement of the popularization of literature and art was a by-product of this enlightenment strategy. The purpose for the movement of the "popularization of literature and art" was to construct "popular literature" that appealed to both the more and the less cultured, a modern genre in accordance with the new vision of literature. The road map of "popular literature" imagined and designed by the literary and art circle comprised three steps: 1. writers devoted to popularizing …
A Critique Of The Three Approaches To Studying Liang Qichao's Aesthetic Thoughts, Xianwu Mo
A Critique Of The Three Approaches To Studying Liang Qichao's Aesthetic Thoughts, Xianwu Mo
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
There are three academic approaches to Liang Qichao's aesthetic thoughts: political criticism of Cai Shangsi around 1949, enlightenment criticism of Li Zehou in the new period, and aesthetic criticism of Jin Ya in this century. In spite of their varying attitudes towards politics, they all endorse the division of politics and aesthetics. The difference is that political criticism sees aesthetics attached to politics, enlightenment criticism distances aesthetics from politics, and aesthetic criticism sets aesthetics against politics. In fact, the relationship between politics and aesthetics is not merely one of separation or antithesis, but also one of consistency in terms of …
Consumption Of Celebrity And The Republican Apparatus: Lu Xiaoman, Xu Zhimo And Tabloids In Late 1920s Shanghai, Jianhua Chen
Consumption Of Celebrity And The Republican Apparatus: Lu Xiaoman, Xu Zhimo And Tabloids In Late 1920s Shanghai, Jianhua Chen
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
In late 1920s Shanghai tabloids flourished. With sensational news reports and literary narratives, they catered to urban readers' needs for daily emotional and cultural consumption. Due to their involvement in the Yunshang Company and theatre performances, Lu Xiaoman and Xu Zhimo became foci of Pictorial Shanghai and other major tabloids. Numerous news or rumors about their activities revealed different values, tastes, and commercial strategies among the tabloids, which told the game rules, ethics, and cultural politics of various communities and strata in the civil society. To a certain extent, the tabloids not only helped the masses know more about power …
Literature Ecology In The 1980s And The Publication Of Anthologies, Yong Xu
Literature Ecology In The 1980s And The Publication Of Anthologies, Yong Xu
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
This paper explores the dialectical relationship between the publication of anthologies and the literature ecology in the 1980s. Anthology publication is linked to editors, writers and readers, and reflects literary environment of a particular era. The significance of anthology publication to literature ecology in the 1980s lies in two aspects, the first being the reflectivity and reactions almost all the literary periods and the second being the construction of the anthologies to literature ecology in the 1980s. The roles of various anthologies such as annual literary anthology, anthologies of controversial works, and anthologies of different literary schools present different ways …
On Narrative Of Literary Folklore, Dongwei Mei
On Narrative Of Literary Folklore, Dongwei Mei
Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art
As an interdisciplinary study of folklore and narratology, folk narrative is an indispensible component in the construction of Chinese narratology and an important dimension in the study of literary folkloristics. However, due to the ambiguity of the term and the lack of consensus of its academic parlance, "folklore narrative" has incurred much inconvenience to relevant studies. From the perspective of literary folkloristics, when the folk culture as a phenomenon in narratological text of fictions is to be defined, it is more appropriate to replace folklore narrative with the narrative of literary folklore. Narrative of literary folklore focuses on the narrative …