There are two mistaken tendencies in the development of a Chinese literary discourse in academia. One is the ＂red dancing shoes＂ phenomenon, where scholars run helter- skelter after the latest developments in Wester...There are two mistaken tendencies in the development of a Chinese literary discourse in academia. One is the ＂red dancing shoes＂ phenomenon, where scholars run helter- skelter after the latest developments in Western literary theory; the other is the ＂bound feet＂ phenomenon, where tradition-bound scholars believe that tradition must be kept unchanged and that Chinese literary theory should be cleansed of all alien elements. Neither approach is desirable. Contemporary Chinese literary theory should be grounded in present realities and should distinguish between substance and function. ＂Substance＂ has to consist of China＇s present literary creation and critical practice; only thus can we appropriate Western and traditional Chinese literary theories in the service of today＇s needs, and make the ancient serve the modern and the foreign the Chinese. This will enable us to develop a literary discourse that is both contemporary and Chinese.展开更多
A common symptom of the blanket coverage of Western literary theory was the way Chinese intellectuals ＂kept harping on Greece,＂ to the neglect of their own literature＇s distinctive features. Even worse were attempt...A common symptom of the blanket coverage of Western literary theory was the way Chinese intellectuals ＂kept harping on Greece,＂ to the neglect of their own literature＇s distinctive features. Even worse were attempts to force Chinese literature into the Procrustean bed of Western literary propositions. How can Chinese literary theory be used more effectively to interpret native literature and culture, or Chinese experience？ How can it throw off Western theoretical models and become a component of the Chinese nation＇s own narrative？ Reconstruction of the discourse system of Chinese literary theory must be a high priority. It is a complex project, one that necessarily entails stepping on to the discourse platform of modernity, accepting various kinds of open dialogue, and thence envisioning a new form of discourse system set amid multilayered overlapping perspectives and even the challenge of different ideas.展开更多
文摘There are two mistaken tendencies in the development of a Chinese literary discourse in academia. One is the ＂red dancing shoes＂ phenomenon, where scholars run helter- skelter after the latest developments in Western literary theory; the other is the ＂bound feet＂ phenomenon, where tradition-bound scholars believe that tradition must be kept unchanged and that Chinese literary theory should be cleansed of all alien elements. Neither approach is desirable. Contemporary Chinese literary theory should be grounded in present realities and should distinguish between substance and function. ＂Substance＂ has to consist of China＇s present literary creation and critical practice; only thus can we appropriate Western and traditional Chinese literary theories in the service of today＇s needs, and make the ancient serve the modern and the foreign the Chinese. This will enable us to develop a literary discourse that is both contemporary and Chinese.
文摘A common symptom of the blanket coverage of Western literary theory was the way Chinese intellectuals ＂kept harping on Greece,＂ to the neglect of their own literature＇s distinctive features. Even worse were attempts to force Chinese literature into the Procrustean bed of Western literary propositions. How can Chinese literary theory be used more effectively to interpret native literature and culture, or Chinese experience？ How can it throw off Western theoretical models and become a component of the Chinese nation＇s own narrative？ Reconstruction of the discourse system of Chinese literary theory must be a high priority. It is a complex project, one that necessarily entails stepping on to the discourse platform of modernity, accepting various kinds of open dialogue, and thence envisioning a new form of discourse system set amid multilayered overlapping perspectives and even the challenge of different ideas.
