John J. Deeney (Li Dasan), a renowned American scholar who promoted the development of comparative literature in China, not only advanced the “Chinese School of Comparative Literature”, but also proposed a series of insightful ideas on such topics as world literature rooted in national character, the global nature of comparative literature, and the application of composite research methods. John Deeney has made significant contributions to the theoretical construction of comparative literature discipline in China since the new period of reform and opening-up. His ideas exert a profound and lasting influence that continues to play an important role today. His theoretical foresight is truly admirable.

Over the past half century, the study of foreign literature has developed from aesthetic study and formal study to cultural and interdisciplinary study. In this age of rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and big data, foreign literature research is once again facing transformations and re-orientations. The age calls for cross-disciplinary integration between literature and science, to supplement humanistic thinking with scientific methods. Quantitative research is an opportunity as well as a challenge which AI and big data have brought to the study of foreign literature. This article will trace the history of quantitative research in literature, examine various cases of this research paradigm, and hope to demonstrate that quantitative methods have powerful functions in the study of literary history, stylistics, authorship attribution, influence, genre, and textual visualization. It is also hoped that this new research paradigm will provide new inspirations for foreign literature studies in China and precipitate innovation and breakthrough.

Since the spatial turn emerged in the field of world literature studies in the 1990s, it has evolved into an important literary phenomenon. This article examines the representative perspectives within the spatial turn in world literature studies, aiming to explore its approaches, development causes, and its impact on the concept of world literature. This study discerns that the spatial turn in world literature studies has traversed three approaches: firstly, the construction of the world literary system; secondly, the pursuit of spatial justice in world literature; and thirdly, the remapping of world literature. The approaches adapt to changes in the international political and economic situations and prevailing cultural trends, thereby reshaping the concept of world literature. An examination of the spatial turn in world literature studies can complement existing theories of world literature and shed new light on its interdisciplinary studies.

This interview presents an in-depth interview with Brian Massumi, a renowned contemporary cultural theorist. Professor Massumi builds upon the philosophical ideas of Whitehead, Deleuze, and others, focusing his research on embodied experience philosophy, art and media theory, and cultural political theory. His article “The Autonomy of Affect” is widely recognized as marking a major theoretical shift in contemporary humanities research — the affective turn. This interview explores the contemporary significance of Deleuzian thought, the theoretical core of the affective turn and its interplay with process philosophy, and the political potential of art as a field of practice for nonsensuous similarity. The interview also reflects critically on the current affective turn in the humanities, addresses related controversies, and envisions art's experimental role in political potentiality and collective becoming.

Huang Jincheng's monograph Organic Modernity: The Young Hegel and the Discourse of Aesthetic Modernity focuses on the relationship between nature and spirit. It provides a deep and forceful discussion of the different understandings of organism held by major German intellectuals around 1800, as well as the internal rationale for the transformation from mechanical to organic modernity. Following the intellectual thread of Huang's work, this essay first offers a complementary elaboration on Kant's concept of the “organic beings,” and then traces the lines of thought in Hölderlin, Schelling, Hegel, and others concerning the leap from a regulative to a constitutive relationship between nature and spirit. Finally, this study examines the entanglement of Chinese culture with Spinoza and Leibniz, the two “progenitors” of organism. It concludes that there is a de facto correspondence between the Confucian theory of li (principle) and qi (vital force) and the Western organism. In this way, it provides a different perspective for a comprehensive understanding of the “theory of organism” and the Western discourse of aesthetic modernity based on it.

As an innovative art phenomenon in the new century, bio-art has yet to receive in-depth academic exploration with regard to its presentations of the posthumanist view of “continuity” in life. First, the concept of continuity in bio-art is represented by life processes, inter-life, and Zoe. Second, practices in bio-art present a continuity between humans and non-humans, biological and digital entities, life and information, as well as living and non-living things, which redefines the essence of life and puts into practice a neo-vitalism. Third, the concept of continuity provides an ethical defense for the moral controversies triggered by bio-art. To spare animals from aesthetic manipulation means that humans are isolated from the natural world, as the value of animal life is embedded in its continuity with humans. Fourth, facing the challenge of the “disconnection theory” in posthumanist speculation, the concept of continuity in the nature of “human” and the essence of “posthuman” makes the “non-human” impossible.

This article systematically traces the historical development and theoretical transformation of modern German music criticism, revealing the core contradictions of artistic modernity embedded within it. In the Enlightenment, music criticism acquired its public-sphere attributes, consolidating the conflict between the aesthetics of genius and rule-based poetics, as well as the initial tension between aesthetic and social references. In the Romantic era, criticism assumes a more productive character, transcending interpretive frameworks and transforming itself from instrumental analysis into a dynamic artistic mechanism. By the second half of the nineteenth century, it had begun to establish historical standards, and by the twentieth century, it entered a phase of systematic theoretical construction. Scholars pursued methodological self-awareness through hierarchical models but remained constrained by empirical limitations. From a historical-philosophical perspective, Adorno critiqued empiricism, arguing that criticism must unveil artistic truthfulness within dynamic historical processes. Dahlhaus, by contrast, stressed the equal importance of value and factual judgments, advocating the integration of subjective experience and objective cognition. Fundamentally, the history of German music criticism exemplifies the contradictions of modernist artistic culture, and its trajectory profoundly reflects the enduring tension between aesthetic autonomy and social heteronomy.

The rise of new materialisms in Western academia in the twenty-first century has prompted a critical reexamination of the linguistic paradigm that dominated the humanities and social sciences in the twentieth century. Proponents of new materialism contend that the potential of linguistic constructivism has largely been exhausted and that scholarly attention should now shift toward the ontology of material entities. From this perspective, the relationship between language (words) and matter (things) has been reimagined and reinterpreted. Drawing on speculative realism and agential realisms as key examples, this article examines how new materialisms critique linguistic theory and their limitations. Speculative realism emphasizes the autonomous reality and irreducible otherness of objects, challenging anthropocentric epistemologies that privilege linguistic representation. In contrast, agential realism foregrounds matter's agency and performativity, seeking to transcend the dichotomy between discourse and matter imposed by linguistic theory. By centering diffraction as a methodological paradigm, new materialisms reconstruct the dynamic relationship between “discourse and matter”, highlighting their co-constitutive performativity and addressing the limitations of linguistic theory. It is important to note that new materialisms do not categorically reject linguistic theory. Rather, they supplement it by reintroducing the previously ignored material dimension and broadening our understanding of the world.

The critical theory of Frankfurt School was profoundly influenced by Heidegger's Being and Time, and its theoretical coordinate was established through absorbing and criticizing Heidegger's thoughts. In the context of the two world wars, Heidegger's views on death became the focus of Frankfurt School. Criticizing Heidegger's death metaphysics, Horkheimer, Adorno, and Marcuse argued that Heidegger not only ignored the social-historical character of death, but also, in the process of ontologizing death, rendered death into an ideology to maintain social domination. Critical theory emphasizes the meaninglessness of death, pointing out that art provides the real death experience and holds the historical truth about death. Therefore, art has the potential to resist philosophical ideology. In the process of criticizing Heidegger's death metaphysics, critical theory forms the utopian spirit that opposes “being-towards-death” as well as a spirit that depends on death.

Theodor Adorno attributes the symptoms of late capitalist society to a kind of social “powerlessness,” which aims to reveal a close connection between the phenomenon of power and the inner realm of the subject. The dialectical relationship between powerlessness and power may offer an intrinsic clue to reconstruct Adorno's philosophy. This problem-domain intertwines Nietzsche's genealogy with the interdisciplinary research of the early Frankfurt School in the field of psychoanalysis. On the micro level, it narrates how the subject, out of powerlessness, fear, and narcissism, turns to a compensatory identification with the powerful and ultimately is realized in the bourgeois ideal of the ceaselessly “active life.” On the social level, powerlessness is less a psychological condition to be “cured” than a mechanism of integration generated by the social structure itself. On the political level, the phenomenon of powerlessness explains precisely why “Pseudo-Aktivitt” arises amid profound social pathologies and even crises. It can be said that Adorno proposes a kind of sociology of affect, which aims to transcend the bourgeois form of practice, make “non-identity” visible, and promote the radical self-transformation.

The term yuefu yiqu (yuefu poetry in melody-reliant form) in Wen Tingyun's Funerary Inscription for Yang Nian does not denote a poetic composition dependent on meldoy, but rather reflects the poet's vision of yuefu poetry's “melody-reliant” nature — an expressive aspiration to adapt works according to yuefu conventions. Guo Maoqian's classification of Wen Tingyun's self-composed yuefu poems with new titles as yuefu yiqu in his Collection of Yuefu Poetry directly follows Wen's original intent. Wen's emphasis on the musical essence of yuefu poetry constitutes a response to the New Yuefu faction's shift toward meaning-centered, rather than music-centered interpretation. In his own compositions, Wen drew on the Han-Wei tradition for titles and forms, absorbed the diction and emotional expression of the Southern Dynasties, and inherited Li He's focus on musicality and lyricism. Amid the late Tang context of the flourishing qu-lyrics and the decline of ancient yuefu traditions, Wen Tingyun consciously sought to reintegrate sound, music and poetry in yuefu composition. His practice represents an intellectual effort to revive the classical yuefu spirit against the backdrop of prevailing entertainment trends.

Although Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind declined and fell into disrepute in the early Qing dynasty, it continued to exert a significant influence on the development of ancient prose. Wei Xi (16241681) was among the early Qing scholars deeply shaped by Wang Yangming's thought. Wang's life, his doctrine of “the unity of knowledge and action”, and his practical moral concerns profoundly informed Wei Xi's intellectual orientation. In his theory of ancient prose, Wei Xi emphasized the cultivation of the writer's moral character prior to composition and placed comparatively less emphasis on technical aspects of writing. His notions of “partial perfection” and the “accumulative relationship between knowledge and practice” clearly reflect the influence of Wang Yangming's philosophy of the mind. Wei Xi's essay style — marked by the “counselor (ceshi)” mode — was also closely related to Wang Yangming's way of thinking and writing. However, many early evaluations of Wei Xi's ancient prose have failed to align with his ideological background. Immersed in Wang Yangming's study of the mind, Wei Xi valued authenticity of character and rejected artificial imitation, thereby developing a distinctive style of his own. Uncovering the long-overlooked intellectual ties between early Qing prose and Wang Yangming's thought allows for a fuller appreciation of the diverse and dynamic literary landscape of the early Qing Dynasty.

The authors comparing themselves to a reincarnation of Su Shi, aka Su Dongpo, is a peculiar phenomenon in classical Chinese literature, and this phenomenon, termed as “Dongbo reincarnation,” has its complex realistic orientation and rich literary expression. Ming and Qing literati departed from the religious implications of the original narrative of Su Shi reincarnation, displaying a more secular and literary inclination. In their literary representation, they exemplified a “dual interaction” between Su Shi's literary activities and poetry creation. By invoking coincidences and resemblances with Su Shi's life stories in terms of time, space, and material details, they established correspondences and intertextual relationships with his original works. This process reveals the reproduction, expansion, and continuation of Su Shi's individual literary memory. The “Dongpo reincarnation” phenomenon reflects the evolving history of literati, embodying their reflection upon and transcendence of officialdom, life, and death. Through their varied interpretations and selective appropriation of Su Shi's literary ideas and stylistic traits, figures such as Wang Shizhen, Yuan Hongdao, and Weng Fanggang exemplified the notion that “Dongpo validates me” within their literary practice. This phenomenon also illuminates the transformation of Song-dynasty literature from concealment to prominence during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The concept of poetic style provides an in-depth approach to studying retro poetics during the reigns of Emperors Hongzhi (14881505) and Zhengde (15061521). During this period, the concepts of poetic style of Li Mengyang and He Jingming, leaders of the retro movement, gradually deepened. During the reign of Emperor Hongzhi, the two did not yet possess mature ideas on venerating specific styles. Only after the early years of the Zhengde reign did they form an awareness of revering the Han and Wei dynasties while also modeling on the Jin and Song for the ancient style, and revering Du Fu and the High Tang for the recent style. As their concepts of poetic style became increasingly refined and rigorous, they began to disagree on various details, triggering the debate between Li Mengyang and He Jingming around 1517. The “Debate between Li and He” was not a dispute between imitation and creation, but rather a contestation of stylistic rules and methods within a shared adherence to retro style. It is from the perspective of style analysis that we can more profoundly understand the logic behind the literary practices of retro poets like Li and He and in turn grasp the internal rationale for the evolution of their poetics.

The practice of pairing Liu Zongyuan and Wang Anshia was a common trend in the literary circles of the mid-to-late Qing dynasty. The “Liu-Wang” pairing was substantively established in Mao Kun's Anthology of Prose by the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song during the early Wanli era of the Ming. The pairing made a well-deserved name in Mao Xianshu's “On the Merits of Liu and Wang” in the late Shunzhi era of the Qing. The commonalities in the “moral character” and “literary quality” of Liu and Wang served as the basis for legitimizing the establishment of the “Liu-Wang” name. Based on the historical conditions created by the framework of the “Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song,” the “Liu-Wang” pairing not only aligned with mainstream literary concepts but also played a supportive role in scholars' pursuit of advancing classical prose, thereby was widely circulated. Formed and disseminated through interactions with socio-cultural dynamics, the “Liu-Wang” pairing facilitated a reevaluation of existing viewpoints in the research history of both figures and helped their writings to become models suited to the cultural choices of the time.

Modern Chinese literature emerged and developed amidst the clamor of advertisements. Many modern writers were deeply engaged in the production of books and periodicals, contributing numerous advertisements that not only promoted these publications but also played a role in shaping the development of modern Chinese literature. Owing to the practical nature of literary advertisements, conventional practices such as anonymity, and particular narrative strategies, many of these advertisements have remained unpublished works by modern writers. Although notable progress has been made in discovering and interpreting these texts, further examination is both urgent and promising for deepening our understanding of modern Chinese literary culture.

In 1926, Yu Dafu traveled twice to Guangdong, the center of peasant movement. His interactions with the leaders of the Communist Party of China's the Rural Movement enriched his political experience and deepened his understanding of the national revolution. Amidst the debates over the proletarian literature, Yu Dafu distinguished between pastoral literature and peasant literature, advocating for the latter in his publications such as Flood, The People and Literaturo por Homaro. His original theorization of “peasant literature and art” reflected the early peasant movement theory of the Communist Party of China, offering a vivid interpretation of political praxis in literature. The affirmations and questions surrounding his theory illustrate his dialectical approach to the relationship between revolution and rational enlightenment. During the 1920s, as East Asia was focused on peasant modernity, Yu Dafu responded with a more comprehensive theoretical engagement. His “turn” exemplified how modern Chinese intellectuals reexamined themselves by rethinking the figure of the peasants, thereby established an important path for the construction of intellectual subjectivity. This holds lasting value for understanding the modern character of Chinese literature.

The formation of Yan'an literature and art represents a significant reconstruction of the literary and artistic field, with “North China literature and art” serving as its foundation. Building upon the legacy of the Soviet-area literature and art, literary and artistic practices in the North China base areas evolved into a distinctive “North China path,” giving rise to the “North China experience”. This experience markedly differed from the literary activities in Yan'an prior to the “Talks at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art”. While North China's literary works were shaped by wartime exigencies, emphasizing broad popularization and mass participation, the pre-Talk cultural scene in Yan'an, situated in a relatively stable environment, placed greater emphasis on artistic refinement and elevation. Thus, the North China model served as an essential regional pathway in the development of the Yan'an cultural paradigm. The Yan'an central leadership recognized and absorbed the North China experience, transforming and restructuring the existing literary field. Yan'an literature and art ultimately took shape within this dynamic process. The subsequent promotion of literary activities and cultural orientations across the Liberated Areas after the Yan'an Forum further confirms the formative influence of the North China experience on the development of Yan'an literature and art.

As a second-generation member of the New Culture Movement, Fu Sinian put forward several remarkable propositions on the Chinese “Literary Innovation.” Although formulated at different times, these views were interconnected and mutually elucidative, thus forming a coherent whole. Fu's theory of “Literary Innovation” exhibited a distinctive philological logic. He justified the advocacy of vernacular language and the abandonment of wenyan (classical literary Chinese) by arguing that literature bore little connection to Chinese written characters (words) but was more closely tied to Chinese language. He further advocated the abolition of Chinese characters in favor of pinyin (romanized spelling), asserting that there was no necessary relationship between Chinese language and its written characters. At the same time, Fu initiated the literary revolution through language reform, viewing language as primarily a pragmatic tool. He identified incongruities between traditional language and characters, as well as between vernacular Chinese and classical texts. Grounded in the theory of “language as tool/ontology,” Fu sought to achieve the modern transformation of traditional literature via language reform. While this line of thought was undoubtedly beneficial to the development of new literature, its historical foundations and internal logic were inconsistent with certain facts and difficult to reconcile, thereby necessitating more dialectical analysis.