Renewing the Centurial Discourse of Chinese Literary Theory Through the Genealogy of Spirit: Case Study of Zong Baihua and Li Changzhi

Abstract

Abstract: A disparity exists between the first and the revised edition of Zong Baihua's The Birth of Chinese Artistic Conception. Adopting a comparative methodology, the revised edition highlights the spiritual dimension of artistic conception. When Zong Baihua regards artistic conception as "incarnation of the supreme human mind," the word "incarnation" is more than a metaphor for an aesthetic expression; it also gestures at a deep meaning of religious spirit. "Symbol" is one of the ways to actualize such incarnation. Influenced by Zong's theorization of religious spirit, Li Changzhi's literary theory and aesthetical thinking further shows a modern Chinese genealogy of spirit that is different from the path of enlightenment led by Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu. As the foundation of Zong's and Li's literary theories, this spiritual dimension shares two origins generated in German modern aesthetics: Neo-Romanticism and life philosophy. Dilthey, a key figure in this, directly affected Zong Baihua and Li Changzhi by his understanding of "spirit". Moreover, Zong's and Li's theorization of "spirit" and "science" contribute to the intellectual fields from history of spirit to literary theory, which provides us with valuable references to new paradigm changes in modern Chinese aesthetics and literary studies.

Key words: literary theory, aesthetics, genealogy of spirit, history of spirit

CLC Number:

Zhang Yunyan. Renewing the Centurial Discourse of Chinese Literary Theory Through the Genealogy of Spirit: Case Study of Zong Baihua and Li Changzhi[J]. Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art.

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