In the 1940s, Hu Feng proposed a theory of “subjective fighting spirit” for the writing of realistic fiction. This article suggests that this theory implies a political agenda, which should be understood in the cultural politics of China in the 1940s. The divergence of his views towards contemporary Chinese society and its culture from that of the CCP accounts for his disagreement with Mao's vision of a new culture. It is a competition for cultural hegemony with the Party in the field of cultural production.

Bourdieu's theories and relevant conceptualizations in analyzing social and cultural phenomena and literary works were formulated based on his close attention to the transformation of the rural society. Such perspective distinguishes him from Zimmer, Benjamin and Adorno, whose aesthetics and literary theories were formed through their engagement with the transformation of modern urban society and industrial civilization. “Habitus” is the most important concept in Bourdieu's analysis of the characteristics of action in the literary and artistic fields, and is used to interpret how the revolutionary actions of Flaubert, Baudelaire, Manet and other pioneers of modernist artistic revolution took place. From a historical and generative perspective, the concept of “habitus” was first proposed in Bourdieu's early rural sociological studies of the social transformation in the 1950s and 1960s, which was concerned with the process of peasants' cultural adaptation to urban settlement in Algeria as well as the growing number of single men in rural areas affected by urbanization in Béarn, France. The term “system of dispositions,” which was used to explain the concept of “habitus” in rural social research in the 1960s, repeatedly appeared in Bourdieu's 19992000 lectures on Manet at the Collège de France. It was employed to emphasize the proactive nature of the actor and their transformative impact on the field.

The tiger is an image that symbolizes desire in The Plum in the Golden Vase. The ballad edition begins with Wu Song fighting a tiger. By paralleling Wu Song's battle with the tiger and other plotlines in the novel, it serves as a warning to readers about the danger of “tigers” in the form of beautiful women, representing the peril of lust. In the Chongzhen edition's first chapter, it subtly depicts Wu Song fighting the tiger while explicitly describing the tiger at the Jade Emperor Temple. Through the juxtaposition of these two scenes, it reveals the dual nature of temptation and danger associated with wealth and lust. The view of tiger as a symbol of desire is informed by the Taoist theory of internal alchemy. The “Dragon and Tiger Battle” structure that runs throughout the novel challenges the rationality of indulging in desires, as it aligns with Taoist principles. The image of tiger embodies the richness and thematic complexity of The Plum in the Golden Vase, and its use serves the overarching theme of desire within the novel.

In the development of Wang Guowei's aesthetic theory, his intentions and methods of theoretical construction, the establishment of theoretical structures and levels, and the incorporation of academic principles all exhibit a close and direct relationship with his examination of Kant, Schopenhauer and other Western philosophy and aesthetics. Wang Guowei's journey from Commentary on the Dream of the Red Chamber, A Word on Literature to Preface to the Second Draft of the Poetic Remarks in the Human World, and finally to Poetic Remarks in the Human World illustrates a complex process from reliance on Schopenhauer and integration of Schiller's aesthetics, to reliance on Schopenhauer and integration of Kant's aesthetics, and then to reliance on Kant and integration of Schopenhauer's aesthetics. This process involves both sublation and integration. However, with the writing of A History of the Dramas of Sung and Yuan Dynasties, Wang Guowei began to gradually diminish the traces of Western influence. His transformation reflects his reflection and understanding of Western theories and concepts, the characteristics of Chinese literature and theory, and the compatibility of the two. This reflection encompasses the complexity and innovation of knowledge cognition and choice, thereby constituting an important subject in the study of academic history.

In Su Shi's historical assessment, the Ming dynasty was the most unique era, experiencing extremes from obscurity and silence to utmost brilliance. The turning point began with the great admiration of Su Shi by Yuan Hongdao (15681610), a key member of the Gong'an School. In the Ming dynasty, it was popular for various schools to establish their respective leaders. The argument between schools focused inevitably on the comparison and competition between their respective leaders. In response to the literary view of the Revivalist School, Gong'an School, on its path of literary innovation, chose Su Shi as their major representative to combat the revivalists. In addition to being a literary representative of the Song dynasty, Su Shi was found to have a deep resonance with the Gong’an School in terms of the literary environment they faced with and their preference for satire and the popular. The twin aspects of revering Su Shi and embracing the popular, intertwined as one, permeated the entire path of literary innovation pursued by the Gong'an School. The reverence that the Yuan brothers held for Su Shi gradually informed to the entire literary circle of the Ming dynasty, becoming the precursor to the later veneration of Su Shi and the Song dynasty, even extending into the early Qing dynasty. As a result, the literary trends underwent a complete transformation.

As the birthplace of semiotics and the center of European semiotic research and development, France, particularly the Paris School of Semiotics led by Algirdas Julien Greimas, spearheaded the trajectory of literary theory in the second half of the twentieth century. The early research of this school centered on narrative semiotics, emphasizing figurative construction, logical semantics, and narrative grammar within complex textual forms. Following Greimas's passing, the research of the Paris School continued to evolve. Building on achievements of discourse analysis, cognitive science, and phenomenology, three distinctive research approaches emerged: the semiotics of passions, subjective semiotics, and tensive semiotics. While their research emphases differ, they all carry forward the legacy of Greimas's semiotics. Rooted in linguistics and drawing extensively from other disciplines such as phenomenology, they exhibit a high degree of complementarity and integration, establishing themselves as a crucial theoretical framework for the study of emotion, body, and tension.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin posits that the complicated process of life' evolution embodies an inherent progression from subtlety to richness in the mentalization of the universe. According to him, human beings, equipped with self-awareness, self-reflection and self-examination, transcend other creatures and represent the pinnacle of universe evolution. As individuals transition from instinctual needs to ideological aspirations, a noosphere emerges alongside the biosphere. Love, encompassing refinement and kindness, serves as a cosmic energy that binds human beings into a community of life. This trajectory toward integration aligns with the natural law of evolution. De Chardin's cosmic mind, offering a compelling perspective on human ecology within the broader cosmos, resolves the epistemological divide between subject and object. It establishes a holistic framework for mutual growth and co-prosperity between humans and nature, thus fortifying the foundation of ecological aesthetics. His theory serves as a rich source of inspiration for understanding the relevance and interactivity of life, appreciating aesthetic beauty with affinity and harmony, fostering integrative abilities and creativity in artistic endeavors, and appreciating how symbolic consciousness cultivates a healthy and happy life for humans — the core tenets of ecological aesthetics.

“The Orphan of the Zhao Family” is a well-known case in the historical stories depicted in Han Dynasty pictorial arts, with three known existing places housing the images. Two of them are in the Wu Clan Temple, Jiaxiang County, Shandong Province, with one bearing an inscription, both adopting the momentary narrative mode. The other is found in a Han tomb at Yangguan Village, Nanyang, Henan Province, where the image is divided into four layers, presenting ” The Orphan of the Zhao Family” along with “The Mastiff Biting Zhao Dun” in a layered sequential narrative. In this paper, the author verifies the existence of an unknown image of “The Orphan of the Zhao Family” on the north beam in the front chamber of the Han Tomb in Baiji, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. This image adopts a scroll-style continuous narrative, depicting four captivating moments in chronological order. The transition from a single scene to multiple scenes in the visual narrative of historical stodies in Han Dynasty pictorial arts is influenced by factors such as the earlier tradition of narrative in bronze pictorial arts, the inherent development patterns of Han Dynasty paintings, the transformation of image carriers, and regional differences.

Erwin Panofsky's theory of iconology has a substantial sociological foundation. Pierre Bourdieu was influenced by Panofsky and borrowed his concept of “mental habits” to propose the concept of “habitus” in the field of sociology, shedding light on Chomsky's theory of transformational generative grammar to give it more dynamic and explanatory power. The proposition of habitus marks Bourdieu's departure from structuralism. Bourdieu also drew on Panofsky's Perspective as Symbolic Form, which was influenced by Cassirer's semiotics. Meanwhile, Bourdieu reviewed the history of semiotics and constructed the “sociology of symbolic form” which regards habitus, field and capital form as main elements. Bourdieu keenly discovered the linguistic, semiotic, and sociological bases in Panofsky's theory, and advanced on these bases. However, his interpretation of Panofsky was critically accepted and partially misunderstood.

Su Shi's Lingnan experience provides a productive perspective for understanding his life consciousness. Over time, his optimistic spirit has been a source of influence upon people. Through an examination of his Lingnan experience along with an analysis of his related poems and prose, this study, employing a literary criticism approach, reveals that Su Shi utilized his writings not only to express his attitude toward the challenges of fate, the beauty of the natural landscape, and the intricacies of the world but also to convey a deeper, more fundamental life consciousness. Su Shi navigated through the tapestry of everyday life, constantly ascending to the core of existence. The adaptable, harmonious, and transcendent philosophy of life embedded in his Lingnan encounter ultimately elevated his literary charm and ideological realm.

Love stories of the southwestern Miao region is an important subject in Shen Congwen's fictional works, which also contribute to Xiangxi's reputation. The ways in which Shen Congwen's literary construction of the Miao region was informed by pre-modern literary texts, however, are often overlooked. An important connection can be observed between the portrayal of the Miao region in Shen Congwen's fiction and the similar discourse found in A Country Codger's Words of Exposure. Firstly, both works draw upon the knowledge system of the Ming and Qing dynasties regarding the Miao region. Secondly, they both explore the aesthetic construction of the literary space in this region from the perspective of the local people, emphasizing emotions and Chineseness. In Border Town, for instance, Shen Congwen redefines “what China is” during the country's semi-colonial period by delving into the emotions of the Miao region. This creative transformation of traditional literary heritage serves as a critique of imperialism and a call for alternative modernity.

In solidifying the scholarly framework of “the learning of scholar-officials”, Zeng Guofan, inspired by the cosmological insights of the “Xici” (the chapters explaining the principles of The Book of Changes) and the dialectical perspective of Zhang Zai, drew upon Han Yu's discourse of the “complementary use of Confucianism and Mohism” to formulate his own theory of “complementary use of odd and even prose”. This theory, distinguishing itself from mid-Qing narratives on the interplay of prose styles, posits odd prose as foundational, to be harmoniously integrated with even prose. This approach evaluates prose through the lens of qi dynamics and divine governance, re-establishing Han Yu's ancient prose as a bridge in academic diversification and as a paradigm in stylistic evolution. Furthermore, Zeng's theory expands upon Yao Nai's dichotomy of prose into yin and yang, aiming to rectify the biases of overt masculinity, thereby neglecting feminine subtlety in literal works of Tongcheng. By adopting Han Yu's ideal of returning to the classical virtues and embracing broad scholarly knowledge, Zeng Guofan's acceptance of the controversial “complementary use of Confucianism and Mohism” underscores his commitment to rejuvenating the ethos of self-improvement, societal education, and pragmatic application during the late Qing transformation.

Mirrors, as a tool for presenting images, often have a mysterious quality. From the initial reflection to the later symbolic metaphor, mirrors often appear in the illustrations of popular fictions and xiqu in the Ming and Qing dynasties due to their practical imaging function and multiple symbolic meanings. As a physical carrier, painters use the images reflected by mirrors to create a different image of space-time in the illustrated world. It symbolizes deep emotions and characters' destinies that were not clearly expressed in the illustrations, creating a special visual image of “painting in the mirror”. As a pictorial symbol, the “painting in the mirror” becomes part of the whole expression of the main picture, becoming “mirror in the painting”. Painters not only use mirrors to expand the space of the picture, but also continuously interact with various objects in the main picture through the “picture in picture” in the mirror, leading viewers into the world of “picture in picture” with endless meanings.

In the early twenty-first century, a group of sociologists based at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, represented by Jeffrey C. Alexander, formally developed a constructivist theory of cultural trauma, or a constructivist social theory of trauma. Based on the rejection of pathological and essentialist theories of trauma, this theory argues that trauma does not exist naturally, but is a symbolic/representational construct; trauma, therefore, is not innately traumatizing but becomes so through social and cultural interpretations and interactions. The primary objective of this cultural trauma theory is to uncover and understand the nature, processes, and mechanisms behind this construction, thereby providing insights into the social underpinnings of trauma.

The construction of sound theory is still in its initial stage, requiring exploration of existing intellectual resources. Agamben's insights into sound not only inform sound studies theoretically but also offer a new direction in connecting his early linguistic philosophy with later political philosophy. Agamben's awareness of the problematics lies in the fact that, despite Derrida's deconstruction of the present illusion of sound, a more covert transcendental illusion, the Voice, persists. The Voice, as sound and metaphysical grammar, resolves philosophical binary opposition through transformation. Nevertheless, achieving such unification requires that the Voice, endowed with an embedded function of “dividing and connecting,” inevitably establishes an unjust threshold between animal sound and human speech. This threshold lacks legitimacy but evolves into the absolute standard for creating naked phoné. Constrained by this anthropological apparatus, the human voice is endlessly commandeered, transformed and shaped by micropolitics, potentially reduced to a subject of governance. Agamben proposes a redemption strategy from the perspective that the threshold also serves as the resolution to distinctions, hindering the Voice from intersubjectivity. Therefore, Agamben's critique of sound politics aims to unveil the sound grammar concealed behind the subject's auditory experience, which is then subject to criticism and dispelling.

In the camp of deconstruction, drawing is an important device of contemplation thanks to its explicit connection with the trace of writing. Both Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Nancy wrote about drawing. In their works, drawing is all about revealing the relation to the Other. However close these thoughts may seem to be, the two philosophers differ in their thinking about the Other. Derrida affirms the Other in a holistic manner and posits it as a quasi-transcendental being. In contrast, Nancy is more inclined to present a form of “being-with” the Other on the basis of affirming heterogeneity and distance. A close analysis of Derrida's and Nancy's thought on drawing offers us an approach to the inner core of their deconstructionist ideas as well as clarifying the continuity and difference between the two deconstructionist thinkers.

The article offers a reinterpretation of the nuanced relationship between Lu Xun's role as an “enlightener” and a “participant in life” as proposed by the Japanese scholar Takeuchi Yoshimi. It contends that, beyond his identity as a purely “literary” figure, Lu Xun's role as a “participant in life” significantly contributes to his stature as an “enlightener”. This perspective underscores Lu Xun's active engagement with tangible reality. His enlightenment was forged through an earnest immersion in the lived experience of Chinese society. He grappled with and contested these experiences, delving deeply in them before emerging with fresh insights into the issues surrounding enlightenment within the crucible of real life. The interplay between Juansheng and Zijun serves as a reflection of Lu Xun's contemplation of the environment in which enlightenment ideas were received and his examination of the subject of enlightenment. Concurrently, it provides a lens through which he scrutinizes the ethical conundrum and the crisis of alienation inherent in enlightenment thought during the post-May Fourth era, resulting in the intricate interplay of Juansheng's soliloquies and the text's complexity. The novella not only stands as an indispensable element within Lu Xun's narrative of enlightenment but also as an important practice of his renewed confrontation with the issues of enlightenment during the post-May Fourth era, all approached with the disposition of a “participant in life”.

Su Shi's culinary odes drew inspiration from The Book of Songs, On Encountering Trouble and comedian's lyrics, blending the lofty ideals of The Songs of Chu and the playful wit of comedian's lyrics. This synthesis reflects Su Shi's intent to innovate within the literary tradition, allowing his compositions to entertain divinities, the audience, and himself. Immersing his full life experience into his work, Su Shi blurred the distinctions between high and low culture in both aesthetic preference and emotional expression. He moved beyond the dichotomy of refined versus common subjects, adopting an aesthetic approach to everyday life with equanimity. Su Shi's reflections on the interplay of elegance and vulgarity also mark his personal journey towards self-realization and character development. Far from mere literary diversion, Su Shi's culinary odes established a classic paradigm with lasting influence on subsequent generations.

Georges Didi-Huberman adopts a trans-historical and interdisciplinary approach to image, and his theory of image unfolds through an ongoing dialogue with such particular figures as Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, Aby Warburg, Walter Benjamin, and Gilles Deleuze. On the one hand, Didi-Huberman develops a style of “figurative thinking” in which he often starts from an old image and reformulates his own conceptual framework, such as the “Ninfa fluida”, the “firefly of resistance” and the “double Atlas” (atlas and resistance). On the other hand, despite the extensive and diverse nature of Didi-Huberman's research, his theoretical thinking maintains remarkable coherence. In the early years, he focused on the issue of image migration and survival represented by the image of the flowing Ninfa, as a means of reassessing the potential for rewriting art history as an open narrative. He later turned to the visual form of image juxtaposition, the atlas approach, and introduced the multiplicity and heterogeneity of montage. In recent years he has attempted to transform the historical and political reflection on image into a philosophy of action: how images move towards emancipatory action through the mediation of desire, affect and imagination.

The “gediao theory” is one of the core principles of Ming-dynasty poetics, and its formation and development have run through the entire process of Ming-dynasty poetics. Zhao Yiguang, a Suzhou literatus of the late Ming dynasty, advocated the use of tone to interpret gediao and opened up a path for restoring the musical beauty of poetry. He applied the theory of gediao to calligraphy criticism, adopted the method of using poetry as a metaphor for calligraphy, and for the first time systematically discussed the connotation of the “gediao theory” in calligraphy studies. By using calligraphy to imitate the tones and restore ancient poetics, Zhao Yiguang reestablished the balanced semantic structure of the “gediao theory” and revitalized the increasingly imitative “gediao theory” in the late Ming dynasty. Zhao Yiguang's integration of poetry and calligraphy in the new “gediao theory” was inseparable from his multiple identities as a poetic critic, phonologist, and calligrapher. It is also based on the transition of late Ming to Qing dynasty literary trends from revivalism to innovation, making his adaptation and interpretation of “gediao theory” unique and distinctive.