New Era research on the essay and other occasional writing already has a history of thirty years. For various reasons, however, such research has consistently been slighted and condemned. This article offers a systema...New Era research on the essay and other occasional writing already has a history of thirty years. For various reasons, however, such research has consistently been slighted and condemned. This article offers a systematic and comprehensive review and analysis of the last thirty years of research in this field in terms of writers and their works, research on special topics, and the construction of the history and theory of this genre, and explores the reasons why it has been slighted for so long. To deepen and broaden this research in the new century, we must exert ourselves in three areas： first, we must adopt a modern vision of criticism of the essay; second, we must ＂digest Western theories＂ and ＂Sinicize essay writing and research＂; and third, we must change our research methods and way of thinking. These three points not only offer an important dimension for understanding and solving contemporary issues relating to the essay, but also have methodological significance for research.展开更多
文摘New Era research on the essay and other occasional writing already has a history of thirty years. For various reasons, however, such research has consistently been slighted and condemned. This article offers a systematic and comprehensive review and analysis of the last thirty years of research in this field in terms of writers and their works, research on special topics, and the construction of the history and theory of this genre, and explores the reasons why it has been slighted for so long. To deepen and broaden this research in the new century, we must exert ourselves in three areas： first, we must adopt a modern vision of criticism of the essay; second, we must ＂digest Western theories＂ and ＂Sinicize essay writing and research＂; and third, we must change our research methods and way of thinking. These three points not only offer an important dimension for understanding and solving contemporary issues relating to the essay, but also have methodological significance for research.
