In the original manuscript of Wang Guowei's Poetic Remarks in the Human World, the phrase ‘yao miao yi xiu’ (delicate beauty, fittingly adorned), used to describe the characteristics of ci poetry, has been widely praised by scholars. However, this particular passage was omitted from the officially published version. Researchers have either overlooked this omission or expressed doubts about it. This paper argues that the discussion of ‘delicate beauty, fittingly adorned’ and the distinction between shi poetry and ci poetry reflects Wang Guowei's early views on ci poetry, which differ from the newer ideas presented in this book. The newer ideas in Poetic Remarks in the Human World center on the concept of ‘realm’ (jingjie) with modern aesthetic implications, and on his later belief in the unity of shi poetry and ci poetry. The passage on ‘delicate beauty, fittingly adorned’ is largely a compilation of earlier theories on ci poetry, and the brief remarks on the distinction between shi poetry and ci poetry merely continue prior discussions, lacking substantial theoretical innovation. For this reason, it was excluded from the final version. A thorough and systematic interpretation of the passage on ‘delicate beauty, fittingly adorned’ is nevertheless of great significance for understanding Wang Guowei's evolving thoughts on ci poetry.

Wang Guowei's Criticism on A Dream of Red Mansions is acclaimed as a groundbreaking work in the history of Chinese literary criticism for its “organized and systematic” approach. However, a notable textual discontinuity exists between the Chapter III and IV, revealing ideological shifts and editorial interventions by Wang himself. He openly acknowledged that Chapter IV abandoned Schopenhauer's theory of the will, which formed the philosophical foundation of Chapter III. A close examination of Wang’ s editorial practices as the chief editor of World of Education revealed a striking anomaly: while articles marked with “to be printed in the next issue” consistently appeared as scheduled in the subsequent issue, Chapter IV of Criticism was the sole exception. Influenced by Nietzsche's ethics, Wang began to question “the highest ideal of Schopenhauer's ethics,” prompting a revision of the chapter's publication schedule. Titled as “The Ethical Value of A Dream of Red Mansions,” Chapter IV marked a significant shift. Later, as Criticism evolved from serialized publication to a self-selected anthology, Wang meticulously revised earlier arguments in Chapter II to align with the new ethical stance in Chapter IV. This case highlight how media morphosis profoundly influenced the development of early modern Chinese literary criticism.

By situating Zhou Ji and Wang Guowei within the historical context of learning ci-poetry and ci-poetry studies, this article reexamines the interactions between ci-poetry and its theoretical development. First, they demonstrate different approaches to incorporating authorial intention into the “awakening structure” and the “arousing structure.” Secondly, they inherit and refine the traditional poetics of experiencing objects and emotions by shaping the impassioning process through the centripetal style of the “immersion structure” and the centrifugal style of the “nomadic structure.” Thirdly, they construct the structure of ci-poetry through the duration-oriented “superimposition structure” and the punctum style of “explosion structure,” which integrate reason and emotion and serve as precursors to structural theory. Although Zhou Ji and Wang Guowei occupied different historical positions, representing the old and the new, their development of ci-poetry was shaped by the dual perspectives of learning ci-poetry and ci-poetry studies.

The primary aim of semioethics is to explore the ethical issues that have been overlooked by previous semiotic theories. Semioethics holds that the ethical relationship in semiosis is a dialogical relationship between the self and the Other, and views listening to the Other as the moral value to be pursued in semiosis. Deeply influenced by Mikhail Bakhtin, semioethics views dialogue as the most fundamental form of semiosis and emphasizes the inescapable alterity inherent in dialogue. In its conception of the self, semioethics incorporates Charles Peirce's ideas, highlighting the sign-based nature of the self and the inseparability of the sign self from the community. Semioethics positions meta-semiosis as the bridge between moral judgment and moral practice. Simultaneously, drawing on Bakhtin's exploration of the grotesque body, it introduces the concept of inter-corporeity to address Peirce's neglect of the body. Through Emmanuel Levinas's distinction between the saying and the said, semioethics emphasizes signifying, which is overshadowed by the static significance, and calls for the self's response to the absolute Other through the act of signifying. Building on Levinas, semioethics further distinguishes listening and hearing, framing listening as a moral value to be pursued by the sign self.

This article reviews the controversies surrounding “metalepsis,” and attempts to propose a relatively more inclusive definition, which takes into account the nature, scope, degree and effect of metalepsis, reality and fictionality, authorial intention and reader interpretation, as well as the characteristics of different media, etc. Metalepsis exists not only within textual boundaries but may also occur in the connections between the text and the real-world author, reader, and context. Furthermore, it transcends narrative levels to encompass different representational worlds, story worlds, real-world contexts, and discursive worlds. By engaging with unnatural narrative theory, this paper further explores the issues of “natural metalepsis” and “unnatural metalepsis,” which have not yet to receive sufficient scholarly attention.

The concept of “representation” involves a lexical genealogy of multi-ethnic languages. At the core of this semantic spectrum is substitution that engages both the self and the other, thus demonstrating an oscillating character in terms of its presence. In this regard, “zaixian”, despite its connotation of otherness, is often seen as an alternative expression of imitation, which is also used to translate the concept of “reproduction”, a synonym of imitation. Although “biaozheng” breaks away from the idea of imitation and attempts to cover both the self-oriented and other-oriented aspects of representation, its classical Chinese connotation and contemporary usage in Chinese scientific and technical papers are not compatible with the original meaning of representation. Since the ancient times, “biaoxiang” has been identified as symbolism, representative and denotation, which can encompass the objectification and action-oriented meanings of representation. Such conceptualization is evidenced in modern Chinese translation practices. Therefore, compared with “zaixian” and “biaozheng”, “biaoxiang” can be viewed as a better Chinese translation of “representation”. Using “biaoxiang” to translate representation can better unlock the theoretical potential of this concept itself and its potential for dialogue with Chinese literary theory. The semantic and translational examination of the concept of “representation” is an attempt to explore an appropriate Chinese expression for foreign concepts through the methods of restoration, interpretation, and accurate naming, thereby seeking the possibility of dialogue and convergence between Chinese and Western literary theories.

The shift from le plaisir to la jouissance represents a significant transformation within French theory, reshaping traditional philosophy. Sigmund Freud's pleasure theory in the nineteenth century was rooted in Gustav Theodor Fechner's physiological research, which framed pleasure as a form of pleasure pedagogy involving domestication and manipulation. In the twentieth century, among the shift of thought in the cultural era, French theorists’ focus on la jouissance introduced a critical deconstruction of Freud and Fechner's frameworks. While engaging with the concept of pleasure, it turns to the unsatisfied and the lack of pleasure. La jouissance emphasizes dissatisfaction and the absence of fulfillment, advancing a theory of “anti-pleasure”. This conceptual evolution from le plaisir to la jouissance, along with its theoretical lineage, reflects the inversion and development of pleasure theory into its antithesis: “anti-pleasure.” It not only highlights the “implosion” of traditional pleasure theory and its “slippery slope” to anti-pleasure theory but also encapsulates the broader cultural-historical development from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century.

Franz Kafka's late short story “A Hunger Artist” depicts an artist who performs the act of hunger within the confines of an iron cage. The figure's self-referential reflexivity, a hallmark of modernity, along with the story's dual dimensions of “testimony” and “prophecy,” has inspired creative interpretations from theorists including Walter Benjamin and Giorgio Agamben. These interpretations encompass perspectives including theological allegory, corporeal apparatus, historical consciousness, and testimonial writing. Together, they illuminate the core theme of “art as installation-event.” By undertaking a comparative reading of the story and its critical interpretations, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the “dialectical phenomenon” in avant-garde art during the 20th-century modern art movement, which combined destructive and creative forces. This movement saw art transition from still-life to installation, performance, and even event.

Noel Carroll's multidisciplinary research on philosophy of film, aesthetics and philosophy of art combines philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, ethics, cognitive science and biology, revealing the new trend of analytical aesthetics and philosophy of art in the late twentieth century. Carroll adopts an eclectic strategy in his middle-level approach to the philosophy of art. His method of historical narrative incorporates historical and narrative dimensions, complementing the history-intention theory and the institutional theory of art. He examines the traditional concept of mass art from a neutral position, attempting to construct the philosophy of mass art. He also relies on the latest results of psychology, philosophy of mind and cognitive science to develop the concept of emotional cognitivism, claiming rationality as an organic part of emotion. The construction of Carroll's art theories such as the definition, the ontology and the emotion of art appear as a middle-level approach, which is between the construction of grand theory and the critical practice of specific works, advocating a plural theory and behavior of theoretical analysis.

For a long time, the academic community has regarded Fan Xiheng's “On Fengge” (published in the September 1957 issue of The Translation) as the authoritative translation of Buffon's “Discours Sur Le Style” (Discourse on Style). However, in the 1958 edition of Selected Works of Comte de Buffon, also translated by Fan, the speech appears under a different title, “On Wenbi”. Based on Fan's other translated works, it can be inferred that “On Wenbi” is the original version endorsed by the translator, while “On Fengge” is highly likely a version revised by the editors of The Translation, who altered the rendering of the key concept “style” from the original text. In Western stylistics, “style” primarily refers to modes of linguistic expression characterized by specific traits, and in Buffon's speech, it denotes a normative and structured mode of writing, that is, a planned and hierarchical form of linguistic expression. Fan's choice of the term wenbi (linguistic form) accurately conveys this connotation. However, when translated as fengge (the personality and individuality of a writer), the concept of “style” is often associated with the dimension of individuality, which can even become the dominant meaning, thereby severely obscuring its fundamental denotation of “linguistic form.” Interpreting the different translations of Buffon's speech as well as the semantics of related concepts not only clarifies many misunderstandings but also allows one to reflect on the theoretical deficiencies of modern Chinese theory of literary style. This, in turn, facilitates a paradigm shift in the study of wenti (literary entity), stylistics, and the study of fengge.

By “investigating the origin and explaining the development” and “interpreting the definition to illustrate the meaning”, Liu Xie (ca.465—522) traced the evolution of the ode in the chapter “An Interpretation of the Ode” in Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons. He asserted that “Xun Kuang's “Ritual” and “Intellect”, Song Yu's “Ode of Wind” and “Ode of Fishing” achieved a formal style and distinguished the ode from poetry”, identifying these works as the origin of the ode and the marker of its distinction from poetry. Their characteristics aligned with Liu Xie's theory of literature's function and closely tied to the ritual and musical system of the pre-Qin period. Liu Xie's selection of these four odes as this genre's origin not only reflects his ode criticism — emphasizing “beautiful words and elegant meaning”—but also represents “a compromise” between the “power” and “reason” inherent in the ode.

The discussion on the difficulty of different poetic forms is a result of the deepening of stylistic criticism, with scholars holding diverse opinions. Since Yan Yu proposed a systematic ranking of the difficulty of various poetic forms, this debate persisted throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, influenced by internal shifts within the style school and motivated by the desire to elevate certain forms and articulate poetics, theorists in these periods often “took it out of context,” focusing exclusively on the notion that regulated verse is more challenging than archaic forms. The idea that seven-syllable verse is the most difficult to compose became widely accepted in literary circles. Additionally, this emphasis on the difficulty of seven-syllable verse also addressed the issue of its excessive proliferation, which had led to the creation of shallow, formulaic poetry. In response to the style school's preference for High Tang poetry and regulated verse, the trend of Song poetry began to rise from the mid-Ming dynasty onward, leading to changes in the poetic system, taste, techniques, and functions, which in turn elevated the status of archaic forms. As a result, arguments such as “archaic forms are more difficult than regulated verse” emerged, challenging the mainstream view that seven-syllable verse is the most difficult form. This seemingly straightforward debate on poetic creation actually reflects deeper connotations related to the evolution of poetics and the development of poetic forms.

Gender traits result from the interweaving and co-construction of physiological attributes and social consciousness of gender groups. Masculinity, in particular, represents the transference, extension, or distorted expression of male traits. In the gender narratives of Ming and Qing fiction, there is an implicit intention to construct masculinity. In these works, real and fictional female figures serve as critical mediators for highlighting masculinity, while misogynistic tendencies manifest in various forms throughout the narratives. Fortitude and bravery are fundamental categories of masculinity, but in certain contexts, these traits are prone to transforming into violence, characterized by strong aggressiveness, which leads to moral transgressions. Furthermore, the internal diversity within male groups results in a multifaceted representation of masculinity in Ming and Qing fiction. This diversity is closely linked to the ways in which authors reconstruct masculinity by othering women in different contexts.

The revival of modern-text Confucianism laid a solid ideological and theoretical foundation for the emergence and development of the “literary revolution” in the late Qing dynasty. In response to the challenges posed by scholars of modern-text Confucianism, scholars of ancient-text Confucianism also put forward a confrontational approach to the literary revolution. This not only created a unique landscape of two competing forces in the modern transformation of Chinese literature but also provoked diverse thoughts and practices regarding the nature and revolution of literature among contemporary scholars. The debate between modern-text and ancient-text Confucianism continued until the May Fourth New Literature Movement. Under the influence of the eastward expansion of Western learning, this important driving force from within the tradition has long been overlooked by the academic community, which has affected the comprehensive and in-depth study and reflection on the transformation of modern Chinese literature.

As a peripheral organization of the League of Leftist Writers and a small private bookstore, the Tianma Bookstore made a significant contribution to the development of new literature by publishing various literary series, particularly left-wing works on literature and art during the Anticultural Encirclement Movement in the 1930s. The struggle for cultural hegemony was intense between the organic intellectuals of the emerging social class and the official intellectuals of the ruling class in civil society, as opposed to political society. As members of Tianma, Lu Xun, three editors and two bookstore managers were such organic intellectuals with a strong revolutionary spirit. Under the leadership of Lu Xun, this revolutionary spirit further contributed to shaping the revolutionary tradition of new literature.

The emergence of A Madman's Diary resulted from the full integration of reformative forces within traditional Chinese culture and the influences of modern Western culture. In particular, the tradition of anti-Neo-Confucianism during the Ming and Qing Dynasties provided a crucial internal impetus for the birth of a new culture. The rich and complex intellectual resources surrounding the figure of madman in the anti-Neo-Confucian thought contributed to the creation of modern madman. Despite the restrictive literary form imposed by Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, the diary became an important vehicle for the gentry to develop personal spiritual space and new modes of cognition. As a form of marginal resistance against orthodoxy, the diary laid the internal foundation for the emergence of new literary forms. The ideological and stylistic resources of anti-Neo-Confucianism thus served as a conduit for integrating modern Western thought and literature. By fully utilizing aspects that resonated with modern ideas and aesthetics, they helped foster the creation of Chinese new literature with modern thought and form. Furthermore, enriched by deep historical roots and a complex contemporary context, Chinese new literature reflected the intense cultural dynamics and ideological evolution characteristic of a period marked by the fierce clash of civilizations.

In the 1920s, Chinese scholars, represented by Mao Dun, analyzed through reconstructive interpretation and extracted the referential value components via different routes of “naturalism”, ultimately shaping a more idealized literary model. This article examines a typical case of China's absorption of foreign literary concepts in the early twentieth century. Positioned retrospectively, Chinese scholars dynamically synthesized the theoretical resources and practical experiences of European and Japanese scholars, allowing the concept of naturalism to evolve and become a driving force for the development of local literary history. In conclusion, through the process of translation, citation, reference and restatement, the Chinese literary field witnessed the convergence, intertextualization, dissociation and re-exportation of European and Japanese experiences. Building upon these layered meanings, Chinese critics further advanced the methodological construction and dynamic conceptualization of naturalism.

The genre fiction mode represents the primary form of Chinese Internet literature at its current stage. Although this form embodies the collective labor of mass authors and readers in the Internet age, it is not a result of the autonomous production of Internet literature. Instead, it is deeply rooted in the history of literary commercialization propelled by publishing capitalism and serves as a new tool for capitalist expansion into the literary and cultural domains. From the early publication of physical books through forums and literary websites to the establishment of the “Qidian” model on literary websites, there is a continuous thread of literary commercialization. The “Qidian model,” by implementing a closed-loop operation of literary activities and systematic abstraction, has established an industrial standard for online literary production, consolidated the genre fiction production mode, and simultaneously legitimized the logic of capital accumulation. Failing to acknowledge the historical continuity of literary commercialization when studying the mainstream of Internet genre fiction would result in the loss of a critical perspective on Internet literature research.

French symbolism and decadentism were not one unified literary school, but two different schools that opposed each other. Decadentism focused on the depiction of pathological feelings represented by the neurosis, and the invention of delicate phrasing following with it. In the process of the formation of decadent school, the neurosis always occupied an important position; it was not only a paradigm of decadent feelings, but also a microcosm of decadent aesthetics. In order to get rid of the morally and aesthetically shameful impression of the neurosis, Jean Moréas advocated a new school which was called symbolism. Moréas and his symbolist school focused on a series of formalist practices, such as “the sensible forms”, “the verbal music”, and free verse, which led to a split between the symbolists and the decadent poets. Faced with the competition of the superiority of literary schools, the decadent Anatole Baju found a rational basis for the psychology of the neurosis from the perspective of social evolution, stabilizing the emotional route that the decadents practiced, which he defined as “le décadisme”. Baju and Paul Verlaine also deepened the meaning of decadentism by giving it the function of resisting the literary and moral conception of a decadent society. The split between symbolism and decadentism not only created an almost new symbolism, but also consolidated the literary characteristics of decadentism.

It is generally acknowledged in academic circles that Charles Baudelaire, as a representative of aestheticism, advocated the idea of “art for art's sake”. Baudelaire's theory of correspondence inherits the concept of Universalpoesie from early German Romanticism, emphasizing the role of imagination. As the essence of poetry, imagination unifies all aspects of existence, including art and life. Baudelaire examined the dimension of time and space in modernity, regarded the dandy as the hero of modern life, and saw the artificial beauty of surprise as a symbol of modern life's meaning. In doing so, he embraced truth and goodness through beauty within the revolutionary sphere of everyday life, seeking to reconstruct a new morality for capitalist society. Although the excessive pursuit of instant pleasure can lead to hedonism, the theory of correspondence remains highly significant in the history of aesthetics. It reveals the meaning of modern life and introduces key concepts such as the aestheticization of everyday life, body aesthetics, and other dimensions of life aesthetics.

Since the twentieth century, lyric theory has undergone a resurgence in modern Western criticism. Viewing lyric through the lens of modernity, Paul de Man redefines its characteristics by navigating the paradox between historical and modern elements, and the dialectic between grammar and rhetoric. By deconstructing traditional academic perceptions of lyric in terms of the lyric subject, genres, and rhetorics, de Man presents lyric as an allegorical form of rhetoric that rejects a purely empirical subject, transcends temporal constraints, and eludes historical specificity. Although de Man's critical perspective has drawn skepticism, particularly concerning its apparent evasion of history, it nonetheless offers a new trajectory in the field of Western poetics research in the twentieth century.