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    Studies of China's Independent Knowledge System of Literary Theory
  • Studies of China's Independent Knowledge System of Literary Theory
    What Kind of Literature and Art Can Enhance People's Spiritual Strength?
    Fan Yugang
    2024, 44(6): 1-8.
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    As the global order shifts with the rise of the East and the decline of the West, and human civilization reaches new heights, cultural competition has intensified, and the clash of cultural ideologies has become increasingly fierce. The question of what kind of literature and art can enhance the spiritual strength of the people has become a crucial issue of our times. Experience has shown that only literature and art that are deeply rooted in the context of the new era, that fully grasp and express its consciousness, and that remain aligned with the “nation's core interests” can effectively strengthen the people's spiritual strength. This includes literature and art that uphold the people-oriented character of artistic creation, skillfully balance the relationship between art and politics, pursue artistic excellence with an emphasis on aesthetic expression, and willingly take on the cultural mission of the new era. Furthermore, such works must enhance the social function of art with a global perspective and a modern civilization vision. In this light, literary and art criticism in the new era must become more aware of its value-driven role.
  • Studies of China's Independent Knowledge System of Literary Theory
    A Study of Zhu De's Literary and Artistic Thought in the Early Period of the Liberated Areas
    Qin Linfang
    2024, 44(6): 9-19.
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    In the early period of the liberated areas, Zhu De developed a literary and artistic thought centered on revolutionary utilitarianism. Its main contents are as follows. In terms of nature and function, the literature and art in the liberated areas must become a weapon to suport the Anti-Japanese War. Regarding subject matter, they should correctly deal with the issues of praise and exposure. In terms of artistic form, it is essential to extensively utilize the forms of folk art favored by the masses so as to achieve “popularization and vernacularization.” For the literature and art in the liberated areas to take on these forms and fulfill these tasks, literary and art workers as the primary creators, must develop their class consciousness to a higher level, establish their class position, and immerse themselves in the masses to transform themselves. Zhu De's literary and artistic thought in this period promoted the development of literary and artistic movements in the liberated areas of North China and Yan'an. It also served as a preliminary exploration and preparation for the publication of Mao Zedong's Talk at the Yan'an Conference on Literature and Art, which would become the “Party's policy for literature and art.”
  • Studies of China's Independent Knowledge System of Literary Theory
    Reflections on the Origin and Development of the Discourse of the Chinese School of Comparative Literature
    Zhang Zhen, Lu Xiaopeng
    2024, 44(6): 20-28.
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    In the past few decades, the discourse of a “Chinese School of Comparative Literature” has received much attention among Chinese scholars of comparative literature. The notion of a Chinese school is in reference to the “French School” and “American School” in the historical development of comparative literature as a discipline. However, those Western-centric frameworks of comparative literary studies such as the French School and the American School have been widely challenged and largely abandoned in Western academia. Nowadays methods and perspectives on conducting comparative literary studies have become more diverse. This essay questions the discourse of a Chinese school, calls for a rethinking of Chinese literary studies, and aims at contributing to the theory of world literature in the light of world-systems theory as well as Chinese reality.
  • Studies of China's Independent Knowledge System of Literary Theory
    The Invention of Tradition: From Ancient “Articles” to May Fourth “Literature” — A Concurrent Explanation of the Connotation of “Chinese Literary Theory”
    Xu Xu
    2024, 44(6): 29-38.
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    This article focuses on the relationship between literary views and article studies of May Fourth scholars from the perspective of hermeneutics, in order to re-explain the connotation of “Chinese literary theory” and consider the construction of a Chinese literary theory discourse system. Rooted in interpretations of the interplay between literature and dao, May Fourth scholars reshaped the traditional framework, shifting the focus to the relationship between literature and humanity, through the integration of ideals and dao. Their commitment to broad, applied literary views led to a progression from a simple division between cultural traits and literary function to a more complex fourfold classification of literature. These scholars also returned to an ethically driven interpretive awareness, with the goal of inspiring individuals and reviving the nation, as seen in their promotion of vernacular writing and realist literary forms. This invention within traditional boundaries suggests that the “modern development” of ancient literary theory may serve as a viable alternative to the concept of “modern transformation.” Through a return to holistic philosophical methodologies, this article positions “Chinese literary theory” as a dynamic system, integrating ancient, modern, and contemporary frameworks, and proposes a comparative analysis of key categories (resource-based, referential, endogenous) to establish a coherent and historically continuous discourse system that transcends its time.
    • Issue in Focus: Studies on Posthumanism
  • Issue in Focus: Studies on Posthumanism
    The Advent of the Posthuman Era and the Rise of Posthumanist Criticism
    Wang Ning
    2024, 44(6): 39-47.
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    As a living condition and state in the process of human development and evolution, a posthuman era has indeed arrived, which has brought about fundamental changes in the role and value of humanity. In the past, in the era of high humanism, the status of humanity as the “primate of all things” and the “elite of the universe” was challenged and resisted by various postmodern trends. In particular, the deconstruction of anthropocentrism by ecocriticism, the challenge posed by animal studies to the power and role of human domination, and the attacks launched by various viruses in nature on human survival and health have directly threatened human survival and evolution. The application and popularization of artificial intelligence in the high-tech era have further marginalized human beings and even made a large number of people who once took pride in their work lose their jobs. In the field of humanities that we are dedicated to teaching and research, humanism, which used to dominate modern and contemporary thought, has also evolved into a kind of “posthumanism”, followed by the rise of posthumanist criticism in the field of literary theory and criticism. Posthumanism challenges and deconstructs the myth that overemphasizes the status and role of the human being, leading the human being back to its original state: a species of all things on the earth. Posthumanist criticism, as the name suggests, is a literary criticism that contradicts the development of humanist criticism to the extreme. In terms of time, it has come after humanist criticism, and in terms of content, it challenges the anthropocentric consciousness of humanist criticism on the one hand, and on the other hand, it can hardly separate itself from it, thus maintaining a certain continuity with it. This is why it is called posthumanist criticism. The rise of posthumanist criticism has added a new direction to literary and cultural criticism in the post-theoretical era.
  • Issue in Focus: Studies on Posthumanism
    A New Dimension of Posthumanism: A Study of Cyborg Subject and Subjectivity
    Jiang Yuqin
    2024, 44(6): 48-59.
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    Posthumanism, as an emerging theory in twenty-first-century technology and humanities, simultaneously challenges and expands the traditional humanistic conception of subjectivity in the era marked by rapid advances in information technology and biotechnology (post-humanism). It also actively explores new perceptions of the world emerging from novel bodily senses and forms (posthuman-ism). The cyborg, representing a human-machine integrated bodily form and cultural construct, reflects the evolution and development of human subjectivity. Cyborg subjectivity is a form of existence that spans the understanding of both transhumanism and posthumanism. It is a comprehensive and open sprawling form that embodies the integration of technology and the fusion of nature and culture. The characteristics of cyborg subjectivity are based on the new development of human subjectivity, presenting a new feature of embodied integration. This includes the fusion of human and non-human bodies, and the technological integration of the real world and the virtual world, manifesting bodily sensory cognition and its worldview through an interface. Moreover, cyborg subjectivity is committed to the systematic construction of a new subjectivity in culture, world, and materiality. As a result, posthumanism has emerged as a new mode of thinking and a paradigm shift. It introduces ecological and material dimensions into humanistic discussions, recognizes the encoding and decoding of cyborg sprawling bodies in broader and deeper time-space trajectories, and reconceptualizes the universe, the world, and nature. Cyborg subjectivity also responds comprehensively to the new technological world and the human self with an open vision.
  • Issue in Focus: Studies on Posthumanism
    On “Posthumanism”
    Martin Crowley
    2024, 44(6): 60-68.
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    The label “posthumanism” identifies neither a doctrine, nor an intellectual or analytical approach with a defining set of protocols. Rather, we may take “posthumanism” as a term loosely applied to a range of contributions and approaches, on the basis of a generally under-specified collection of sympathies and commitments. Approximately stated, these sympathies and commitments would entail the claim that — with due allowance for historical variation — the category of “the human” has long played a key role at the centre of Western thought; that this role has included serving to justify the promotion of human beings above other forms of being, and indeed within this, over its history, the violent oppression of the great majority of human beings themselves; and that, in league with the effects of various recent technological developments, it is therefore important to decentre, relativize, critique, and perhaps even move beyond “the human”. In this article, I will accordingly not look to define the term “posthumanism”: rather, I will present some of the background to and influences on the range of contributions and approaches that have come to be assembled under this label; delineate two principles which may be discerned within these contributions and approaches; and consider some of the critiques which these “posthumanist” interventions have attracted. Ultimately, I will argue that the label itself matters less than the impulses behind the contributions it has come to identify.
    • Issue in Focus: Studies on Chinese Art History
  • Issue in Focus: Studies on Chinese Art History
    “The Poetics of Graphite Stone Paintings” and the Quality of Modern Scholars' Paintings: Wu Changshuo and Pan Tianshou as Examples
    Xia Zhongyi
    2024, 44(6): 69-78.
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    To identify why only “the poetics of graphite stone paintings” in Wu Changshuo and Pan Tianshou's works deserve to be referred to as representative of “modern scholars' paintings,” several issues need clarification. First, what is the boundary between “paintings by scholars” and “paintings by literati?” Second, how does one identify Wu's “stubborn stone” not only as a kind of “scholarly painting,” but also as “modern?” Third, how does one recognize Pan's “massive rock” as a “scholarly painting” worthy of being called “modern?” The response is as follows. Firstly, “scholarly painting” is rooted in tranquility and introverted in the self-sanctity of personality, while the root of “literati painting” lies in pleasure, and the pursuit of novelty lies in elegance and entertainment. Secondly, Wu's “stubborn stone” embodies a black-robed Zhong Qiu (dispelling evil and supporting the right), whose image resembles a “drunken Taoist priest” (stubborn and ugly) in Su Shi's “strange stone.” With an unrestrained mind, Wu could resign from his official position and pursue art. At the peak of his rise in the Shanghai-style painting circle, with the stone as a shield, he withstood the turbid flow of money worship shared by both the imperial court and the general population, reflected in the paintings of “peony.” Thirdly, Pan's “massive rock,” metaphorical of his late days, stands for his self-expectation to fulfill his mission to climb the pinnacle of modern ink wash painting.
  • Issue in Focus: Studies on Chinese Art History
    Yi-Xia Distinction and Cultural Identity in the Reception of Calligraphy in the Northern Dynasties
    Zhang Xingcheng
    2024, 44(6): 79-89.
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    The fluctuating recognition of Northern dynasties' calligraphy within Chinese calligraphic history stems not only from aesthetic considerations but also from complex cultural identity issues, which profoundly reflects the interaction between calligraphy and cultural politics. The Tang dynasty's reverence for Wang Xizhi and the trend toward “southernization” in calligraphic studies initiated the decline of Northern dynasties' calligraphy, while the Song Dynasty's rejection of Wei steles and related Northern styles reflected the orthodoxy of Jin and Tang, based on the Yi-Xia distinction and the divide between civilization and barbarism. Since the mid-to-late Qing dynasty, the transformation of academic thought, the demands of realistic cultural politics, and particularly the adjustment of Yi-Xia perspective in Qing scholars' studies of the Spring and Autumn Annals transformed the Qing people's view of Northern dynasties' calligraphy. Key thinkers like Ruan Yuan and Kang Youwei were central to this reevaluation, infusing Northern dynasties' calligraphy with new meanings such as “communicating with antiquity” and “transforming antiquity,” which disrupted the prevailing cultural hierarchies of south versus north, cultured versus uncultured, and Xia (Han culture) versus Yi (non-Han cultures) in calligraphic discourse. Emerging from the cultural-political contexts of the Tang, Song, and Qing dynasties, Northern dynasties' calligraphy became a paradigmatic style, which formed a distinct lineage within Chinese calligraphic history. Tracing the reception history of Northern Dynasties' calligraphy would deepen our understanding of the cultural-political psychological structures behind aesthetic values and critical norms in Chinese calligraphy.
  • Issue in Focus: Studies on Chinese Art History
    A Semiotic Interpretation of Landscape Painting and Its Limitations: A Focus on Duan Lian
    Liu Yiqing, Sun Zhijie
    2024, 44(6): 90-100.
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    Duan Lian has offered a semiotic interpretation of the history of landscape painting. He argues that the formation, development, divergence and decline of landscape painting are all conveyed through the form of images. This constitutes an interaction of image symbols from form to concept, providing new perspectives and paradigms for the study of landscape painting and semiotics. However, regarding the transcendence of landscape painting, we contend that Duan Lian's semiotic interpretation of landscape painting cannot fully capture its intrinsic aesthetics and spirit, as this approach may lead to an underestimation and weakening of the artistic essence of landscape painting. Semiotics, rooted in Western culture, emphasizes the search for definite meaning while neglecting the overall sense of meaning and the unique aura of the artwork, which is central to the expression of Chinese landscape painting.
    • Theoretical Studies of Ancient Literature
  • Theoretical Studies of Ancient Literature
    Education for the Average Person and the Celestial-Human Strategy in Ancient Poetry Education: Pedagogical Choices in the Context of the Li-Du and Su-Huang Debates
    Zhao Shugong
    2024, 44(6): 101-110.
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    As early as the Wei and Jin dynasties, Chinese literary culture developed a marked adulation of genius. Yet, poetry education took a distinct approach, which favored models not solely based on genius. In discussions contrasting Li Bai and Du Fu, Li Bai was esteemed for his rare natural gift, while Du Fu was valued for his profound intellectual insight. Similarly, in the Su-Huang debates, Su Shi was praised for innate talent, while Huang Tingjian was noted for his disciplined scholarship. Despite these distinctions, poetry education consistently recommended emulating figures like Du Fu and Huang Tingjian. This choice reflects the ancient Chinese principle of “education for the average,” rooted in the view that while the wise are innately gifted and the unintelligent fixed in capacity, the “average person's” nature is adaptable. Confucian reflections on human nature placed emphasis on educating the average rather than the exceptionally wise, which adopted a strategy of gradual progress from simplicity to sophistication. As a methodological principle with enduring influence, the concept of “education for the average” became integral to literary theory and criticism, leading to distinct positions on aesthetic values and approaches to emulating genius. This pragmatic celestial-human strategy enriched ancient ideas on literary talent and shaped the expression of literary criticism in China, which highlighted the balance of celestial-human harmony alongside the importance of human endeavor and norms.
  • Theoretical Studies of Ancient Literature
    A New Explanation of the Connotation and Poetic Significance of “Poetry Springs from Emotions and Hence Reads Beautifully” in Rhapsody on Literature
    Cai Yanfeng, Wei Xiaoli
    2024, 44(6): 111-122.
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    Traditionally, “poetry springs from emotions and hence reads beautifully” in Rhapsody on Literature has been interpreted primarily within the poetic context of expressing emotions and aspirations, often overlooking the broader connotation of “emotion” and the logical relationship between “springing from emotions” (yuanqing) and “beautiful” (qimi). Two key concepts are essential in understanding of this sentence. The first is “emotions”, which has been widely used to denote an objective state, essence, and reality since the pre-Qin era. Recognizing the objective meaning of “emotion” is crucial for a correct understanding of the poetic connotation of “springing from emotions”. The second key point is the choice of “hence” rather than “and” in this statement. This statement offers a generalization of the style and method of poetry itself. The objective connotation of “emotion” shifts it from being merely the source of poetry to the object of poetic expression. This shift represents Lu Ji’s significant contribution to the development of lyric poetry, and is key to explaining the poetic significance of “springing from emotions”.
  • Theoretical Studies of Ancient Literature
    New Changes in the Theater Ecology in the Late-Qing Shanghai: A Study Based on Wang Guifen's Contract Payment Lawsuit
    Zhao Chunning
    2024, 44(6): 123-132.
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    Contract payment lawsuits discussed in this paper were disputes over rights and interests arising from the operation of modern xiqu (Chinese opera). During Wang Guifen's performances in Shanghai, he was involved in such lawsuits with quite a few theaters, including Xin Dangui, Tianxian, Liuchun, Tianfu, and Guixian. The practice of inviting and recruiting famous actors with high contract payments was a common form of commercial competition in Shanghai's theaters, and it was also the direct cause of job-hopping by well-known actors and their involvement in legal disputes. The high contract payments intensified malicious competition between theaters, hindered the healthy development of the xiqu market, and posed risks to the stability of theater operation. Wang Guifen's contract payment lawsuits revealed that the signing and renewal of performance contracts, payment methods and penalty for breach of contract, and the settlement of disputes in Shanghai were very different from those in the capital. These processes reflected broader changes in the theater ecology of late Qing dynasty Shanghai: actor mobility increased significantly, troupes became more flexible and freer in their formation, and individual consciousness was noticeably strengthened. The traditional pan-family relationship between troupes and actor, as well as among actors themselves, gradually evolved into a commercial and market-oriented structure. The commercial value of famous actors became more prominent, and the organizational structure of theaters shifted from the traditional role-category system to a “star system.”
  • Theoretical Studies of Ancient Literature
    A Study of the Historical Formation of the “Fengyao” Pattern and the “Touchun” Pattern in Five-character Metrical Poetry
    Zhang Zhao
    2024, 44(6): 133-146.
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    Since the Song dynasty, the touchun pattern has referred to the five-character metrical poetry in which the antithesis is used in the first couplet rather than the second; the fengyao pattern has referred to those in which the antithesis is only used in the third couplet. These two patterns began to flourish in the works of Shen Quanqi and Song Zhiwen. During the High Tang dynasty, they were equated in number with the standard format of metrical poetry. It was not until the Dali era that they were finally confirmed as variant formats of five-character metrical poetry. This trend of using free verse in metrical poetry corresponded with the development of antithesis theory. It showed that Tang poets, under the current of rhetoricism, broke out of the framework of dixiangzushu (continuation of the established disciplines and customs), drew on all the poetic resources since the Han and Wei dynasties, and returned to the essence of expressing emotions and aspirations. This was not only the key to the improvement of the quality of five-character metrical poetry, but also a cause of the later situation where five-character metrical poetry tended to be more ancient and elegant, while the seven-character metrical poetry tended to be more novel and popular.
  • Theoretical Studies of Ancient Literature
    Mirroring: A Study of the Relationship between Weng Fanggang's Poetics and Ming Dynasty Poetics
    Kong Yanjun
    2024, 44(6): 147-157.
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    The relationship between Weng Fanggang's poetics and Ming dynasty poetics has been largely overlooked, primarily due to Weng Fanggang's critical stance toward Ming poetry. However, Weng Fanggang's poetic criticism and theoretical framework clearly exhibit characteristics of “using Ming poetry as a reference”: he gradually developed a poetic genealogy and restructured classical poetry through the themes of “learning from the ancients” and “inheriting the ancients,” based on a critical approach that viewed Ming poetry as a negative example. In his critique of Ming poetry criticism, Weng Fanggang also drew clear distinction between “true poetry” and “pseudo-styles”, thereby constructing a logical foundation and advancing the theoretical understanding of poetic essence. This laid a solid theoretical basis for the development of scholarly poetry. It can be said that Weng Fanggang gradually developed and refined his own poetic theory through his observations, dialogue, and critique of Ming poetry, engaging it as both a point of reference and a negative example.
    • Mutual Learning between Literary Theories
  • Mutual Learning between Literary Theories
    Derrida's Theory of Sovereignty—And His Criticism of Robinson Crusoe
    Xiao Jinlong
    2024, 44(6): 158-167.
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    The 20th century has witnessed an unprecedented exploration and development of the concept of human essence in the Western theoretical community. In the early 20th century, Heidegger proposed that human essence was existence. Later, Foucault argued that human essence was power. By the end of the 20th century, Derrida clearly pointed out that human essence was neither pure existence as advocated by the existentialists, nor pure power, as claimed by the power theorists. Instead, it is something between existence and power: the “powerization” of existence, which Derrida termed “sovereignty.” The operating rhythm of sovereignty involves the autonomy of automation, specifically speaking, the ordering of disorder, the culturalization of nature, and the rationalization of instinct, constituting the most fundamental mode of existence for the sovereign. By thoroughly examing and elucidating the keyword “sovereignty” that frequently appears in Heidegger's later works and by analyzing and interpreting the classic character Robinson Crusoe, created by Daniel Defoe, Derrida fully and forcefully confirmed his view of the essence on sovereignty. Derrida's theory of sovereignty has advanced the exploration and discussion of human essence in Western cultural and intellectual circles to an unprecedented height.
  • Mutual Learning between Literary Theories
    Atmosphere and Artistic Appeal (Qi Yun): An Unfinished Reflection on the Modern Interpretation of “Artistic Appeal and Rhythmic Vitality” from the Perspective of Atmosphere Aesthetics
    Li Lei
    2024, 44(6): 168-177.
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    Drawing from the traditional binary thinking of subject-object division and confrontation, the modern interpretation of “artistic appeal and rhythmic vitality” since the twentieth century considers it either as an aesthetic feature or the overall spirit of the artwork, or as the painter's inner harmony and resonance, failing to fully realize that the ideal effect of “artistic appeal and rhythmic vitality” can only be generated by the two-way communication and resonance between the creator and the object. In the light of the aesthetics of atmosphere, “artistic appeal” is a special category or an advanced state of atmosphere that arises from the intentional relationship established by the simultaneous presence of the creator and the object, as well as the creator's integral representation of the object's intuitive visualization and depiction with sublime brushwork and ink in a state of mind that forgets both the object and the self. It embodies the highest artistic realm that combines the aesthetic sense of the atmosphere in the artwork with the creator's life force and sentiment. The unity of humanity and nature is the philosophical foundation of “artistic appeal and rhythmic vitality”, the key to distinguishing it from and elevating it above “atmosphere”, and also serves as the reason why “atmosphere” cannot directly replace “artistic appeal and rhythmic vitality”, nor can the two be simplistically interchanged or confused.
  • Mutual Learning between Literary Theories
    Dufrenne's Genetic Phenomenological Explanation of “Affective A Priori”
    Huang Ziming
    2024, 44(6): 178-184.
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    The discussion on the nature of the affective in phenomenology can be traced back to the debate on the universality of the aesthetic affective in modern epistemological aesthetics. Dufrenne interpreted it from the perspective of genetic phenomenology and identified it as a problem of “affective a priori.” The “affective” is an object of feeling triggered by the work and constituted by the subject; and “a priori” is a means of preforming the object within the subject. As the constituent structure of the object, the affective a priori indicates the unity of the objective cosmological a priori and the subjective existential a priori. As the existential attitude of the subject, the affective a priori is based on the a priori of presentation and the a priori of representation in aesthetic perception. Our understanding of the affective qualities relies on our a priori knowledge that is formed in advance, that is, affective categories, which run through our feelings of the affective qualities as a mode of being. As the product of intersubjective behavior, “habitus” constitutes the existential depth of the personal ego. The transcendental subject of aesthetics can attain the universality of aesthetic affective solely via communicating with others from the deep self.
  • Mutual Learning between Literary Theories
    Rita Felski's Critique of Contextualism: Taking Rem Koolhaas and Bruno Latour as a Clue
    Su Lijun
    2024, 44(6): 185-195.
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    With a special nested structure, Rita Felski follows and finalizes Rem Koolhaas and Bruno Latour's manifesto of “Context Stinks!” The three theorists of different disciplines such as architecture, sociology and literature take context as a conservative proposition. In response to the contextualist paradigm that is threatened by self-limitation, self-exclusion and generalization, Koolhaas creates space for innovation through the strategy of “bigness”, while Latour questions the theory of social entities, introducing non-human actors into a new coordinate system. Based on them, Felski tries to remold the future of literature within the framework of actor-network theory, in order to forestall text from degrading into historical materials. She strives to dismantle the temporal structure of contextualism, revealing the emotional overtones of hermeneutics of suspicion and advocating a postcritical phenomenology of reading. However, there are some compatibility problems between actor-network theory and literary criticism, and Felski's midlevel approach is also at odds with the inherent requirement of absolutization in their anti-context manifesto. The reader-oriented reading theory is an important supplement to the contextual criticism, but not necessarily in a hyper-historical way.
  • Mutual Learning between Literary Theories
    Edward Said on Religion: The Counterpoint between the Sacred and the Secular
    Li Sheng
    2024, 44(6): 196-204.
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    Deeply involved in religion, Edward Said's intellectual image may not be depicted fully if the significance of religion to him remains unclarified. Religion has two dimensions in Said's writings: one refers to specific religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, which concern his religious identity, religious experience and the religious environment in which he grew up; the other is the metaphorical “religion” of culture, nation and state, or a secularized religion. Said is more tolerant of the former, but more critical of the latter because it always acts as a reductive measurement of differentiation that identifies a particular “we” by excluding the Other. Said has the deepest connection, among various others, with “Islam.” When Western media and the so-called experts regularly reduce “Islam” to a huge homogeneous entity, he endeavors to uncover the ideology and power struggle underlying such representation that seems objective and neutral. By criticizing “covering Islam,” he appeals to the critical consciousness of intellectuals, which Julian Benda refers to as the trabison des clercs, that is, an alienated and uncompromising severity.
  • Mutual Learning between Literary Theories
    Différance, Transparency and Truth: Jean-Luc Nancy on Beauty
    Zhang Zhizhong
    2024, 44(6): 205-214.
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    In God, Justice, Love, Beauty, Jean-Luc Nancy thoroughly elucidates his perspectives on beauty, extending beyond the confines of conventional epistemological aesthetics by introducing deconstructionism to the discourses on aesthetic issues. Specifically, Nancy reinterprets the legend of Narcissus, positioning its theme as the movement of beauty's self differentialspacing, and unveiling the différance inherent in beauty. However, as a generalized spacing movement, différance cannot highlight the singularity of beauty. Consequently, through an analysis of douard Manet's painting Reading, Nancy contends that beauty, as a motion of meaning that transcends signification, can only be represented as being of near-nothingness, that is, as a transparent representation. Nevertheless, beauty, as a motion of meaning, persistently exposes itself to the relational existence often succumbing to circular reference or self-cancellation. Thus, Nancy argues that the ultimate destination of beauty is the punctuated truth, which serves as an anchor point for enchained senses and, consequently, allow them to belong to each other even in separation from beauty.
  • Mutual Learning between Literary Theories
    The Construction and Reflection of the Theoretical Knowledge System of Chinese Literature and Art:Summary of the 16th Annual Conference of the Chinese Association for Theory of Literature and Art
    Gu Qianpeng
    2024, 44(6): 215-217.
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