Whither East-West Comparative Literature? One Recent Answer from China

Comparative literature,as a discipline,has been in selfdoubt and crisis since its birth.Various scholars give different answers to its tendency and future.With the growth of East-West comparative literature research in East Asia,Chinese School of Comparative Literature proposed its own answer to it.In response to James St.André’s review essay'Whither East-West Comparative Literature?Two Recent Answers from the U.S.',this paper focuses on a new answer from Cao Shunqing’s work The Variation Theory of Comparative Literature,aiming to explore the two focuses of this new platform:one is the heterogeneity,and the other is the variation,which are different from French comparatism based on influences and American part based on analogies.On this basis this article tries to have a dialogue with imagology study of variation theory and sinicization of Western literary theory in Cao’s works.By highlighting the heterogeneity and variation,Chinese scholars seek to promote crosscivilization communication based on maintaining and developing the uniqueness of different literatures and civilizations,thus building a harmonious world without uniformity.

Comparative literature, as a discipline, has been in selfdoubt and crisis since its birth. Various scholars give different answers to its tendency and future. With the growth of East-West comparative literature research in East Asia, Chinese School of Comparative Literature proposed its own answer to it. In response to James St.Andre’s review essay "Whither East-West Comparative Literature?Two Recent Answers from the U. S. ",this paper focuses on a new answer from Cao Shunqing’s work The Variation Theory of Comparative Literature, aiming to explore the two focuses of this new platform:one is the heterogeneity,and the other is the variation, which are different from French comparatism based on influences and American part based on analogies. On this basis this article tries to have a dialogue with imagology study of variation theory and sinicization of Western literary theory in Cao’s works. By highlighting the heterogeneity and variation, Chinese scholars seek to promote crosscivilization communication based on maintaining and developing the uniqueness of different literatures and civilizations, thus building a harmonious world without uniformity.