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25 September 2018, Volume 38 Issue 4 Previous Issue    Next Issue

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Chinese Literary Critical Discourse

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The Seven Hermits of the Bamboo Grove in Literature and Images Zou Guangsheng, Liu Yunfei 2018, 38 (4):  6-15.  Abstract ( 249 )   PDF (1512KB) ( 352 )   History of literature and art saw antithetical and interdependent relationship between texts and images in artistic events, as exemplified by the various editions of The Portrait of the Seven Hermits of the Bamboo Grove in different ages. The Seven Hermits of the Bamboo Grove produced profound influence on painting, calligraphy, sculpture and many other forms of visual arts in Chinese history, which, however, has received rare systematic elaboration, particularly explication of the antithetical and interdependent relationship between literature and images therein. Literature or the images of the Seven Hermits of the Bamboo Grove reflect, from their own perspective, the colorful life and intense contradiction of their inner world as well as the profound intricacy in the spiritual world of traditional Chinese intellectuals. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Origin of the Concept of Modern Chinese Aesthetic Education and Its Background of Disciplinary System Wang Hongchao 2018, 38 (4):  16-28.  Abstract ( 328 )   PDF (1713KB) ( 182 )   The formation of the concept of modern aesthetic education in China is related to the traditional thought of rite and music, and it also absorbs categories of Kant's philosophy. In the modern history of education in China, the transition from the emphasis on "Three education" (moral, intellectual and physical education) to the promotion of "four education" (moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic education) is a process of the recognition of the value of aesthetic education. During the period of the Republic of China, aesthetics and aesthetic education were highly advocated and promoted to the highest position, whose credit goes in large part to Wang Guowei and Cai Yuanpei's research and advocacy. Wang Guowei's early translation and introduction of Western Pedagogical works were greatly influenced by Schiller and Herbart, which played an important role in the formation of his aesthetic education thought. Cai Yuanpei's education at University of Leipzig has a profound influence on his aesthetic education thought. In the reform of the educational system in the earlier Republic of China, aesthetic education gradually established its important status. But later on, the status of aesthetic education declined with the change of dominant social educational concepts. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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From the Dynamic and Static Civilizations to Cultural Metaphysics: Zong Baihua's Methodological Transformation of Constructing Chinese Artistic Conception in the 1930s and 1940s Jin Lang 2018, 38 (4):  29-36.  Abstract ( 272 )   PDF (1162KB) ( 132 )   This article aims to analyze Zong Baihua's methodological transformation of constructing Chinese artistic conception by comparing Chinese and Western paintings during the 1930s and 1940s. In the beginning, Zong Baihua describes that China and the West are respectively static and dynamic; then he turns to consider China a fusion of both by interpreting it as qiyun shengdong (rhythmic vitality), after that, he focuses on the difference between Chinese and Western painting techniques by using the ideas of "musicality" and the "perception of space" to replace the concepts of dynamic and stasis with that of time and space; and finally, he conceptualizes Chinese views of universe as "time-leading-space" in the comparison of Chinese and Western metaphysics. Through these seemingly repetitive but really difficult explorations on the methodological transformation, Zong Baihua has provided the theoretical cornerstone for the modern project of "Chinese Aesthetics". References | Related Articles | Metrics

Issue in Focus: A New Treatise on Ancient Fiction

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Shao Yong as the Origin of the Mind philosophy in Journey to the West: A Critical Examination Zhu Hongbo 2018, 38 (4):  37-45.  Abstract ( 489 )   PDF (1432KB) ( 279 )   Journey to the West indisputably contains the philosophy of the mind, but there is no consensus whether it is derived from Wang Yangming's mentalism. An examination of the stylistic features and the Taoist intention of mythological novels reveals a certain identity between Shao Yong's mind philosophy and that of Journey to the West and therefore establishes the significance of Shao's philosophy for the writing of the novel. This realization helps to completely understand the intention of the novel's mind philosophy. Wang Yangming's mentalism and Shao Yong's mind philosophy have something in common yet remain apart; they are not to be confused. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Narrative Function of the Description of Daily Meals in A Dream of Red Mansions Wang Jinju, Zhang Yujie 2018, 38 (4):  46-55.  Abstract ( 359 )   PDF (1587KB) ( 487 )   The narrative of meals in A Dream of Red Mansions has been a topic of concern to critics. Among the numerous descriptions about daily meals in the novel, some are simple, acting as narrative techniques such as introduction, development, transition and closure, and some are more specific, functioning as narrative techniques and narrative contents at the same time. As narrative contents, they provide ideological meaning and literary value. And as narrative techniques, they play important roles in structuring, plotting and characterization. By studying the narrative of meals, we could see the difference between chapters 1-80 and the rest of the chapters. Cao Xueqin consciously narrates and describes meals as an important aspect of the family's daily life, which, on the one hand, reflects essential aspects of the noble family, and on the other hand, reveals the exploration and innovation of A Dream of Red Mansions in the narration of fiction. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Scholars' Caps in Unoffical History of the Scholars: Rereading Details from a Holistic Perspective Liu Ziyun 2018, 38 (4):  56-65.  Abstract ( 519 )   PDF (1950KB) ( 206 )   This article studies descriptions of scholars' caps in Unoffical History of the Scholars and investigates how this seemingly trivial detail connects to plot structure and the ideology of the novel. By examining types of caps, this article points out that although the novel potentially deals with scholars of the Qing, when it comes to describing their costumes Wu Jingzi refers to costume rituals of the Ming so as to strictly fit in the background of the Ming. This article illustrates how Wu Jingzi weaves details about caps into two main types of plot concerning disorder and chaos among literati circles and their living conditions within the hierarchical imperial examination system. In conclusion, the cap not only plays a positive role in structuring plot but also is well organized in a holistic perspective to reflect Wu Jingzi's contemplation on Confucian rituals. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Classical Literary Theory and Criticism

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The Disintegration and Reconstruction of the "Value" in the Study of The Book of Songs in the Twentieth Century Wang Changhua, Zhao Pengge 2018, 38 (4):  66-79.  Abstract ( 268 )   PDF (1992KB) ( 148 )   Before the Revolution of 1911, the study of The Book of Songs always appeared in classicism, which means that before the end of the Qing dynasty, scholars paid attention to the issue of value in it. When Zhang Taiyan took The Book of Songs as history, he initiated a shift from classicism to history, marking the beginning of deconstructing the value of The Book of Songs. Since then, a new generation of scholars such as Hu Shi regarded The Book of Songs as a historical material, and its value as a Confucian classic was further deconstructed. The literary interpretation of The Book of Songs, also advocated by Hu Shi and promoted by the "Ancient History Discrimination" School, became more obsessed with treating the songs as ballads in the 1930s. The literary interpretation became established when Wen Yiduo applied Western theories to the study of The Book of Songs. The focus of study in the 1980s was "culture", but actually it stemmed from literature and eventually won the approval of literature. Looking back at the study of The Book of Songs in the past century, we can see that to completely dismantle the moral value of The Book of Songs by connecting it to history, historical materials and literature was problematic in the very beginning. However, it is neither possible nor unnecessary for the study of The Book of Songs to return to pure Confucian classicism; rather, to take literary understanding as a precondition, and partially affirming the value of traditional didacticism by poetry, might be a reasonable direction for the future study of The Book of Songs. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Nature of the Incident of the Tea Merchant Lai Wenzheng and Its Suppression by Xin Qiji Wang Zhaopeng, Xiao Peng 2018, 38 (4):  80-90.  Abstract ( 462 )   PDF (1964KB) ( 365 )   In the Southern Song dynasty, the system of "tea monopoly" made tea unprofitable, and then tea merchants took risks and caused frequent riots. These riots were not peasant uprisings, but illegal activities similar to gangsters' organized crimes. They not only fought against the government's crushing of tea smuggling, but also plundered houses and pillaged civilians. It is a misunderstanding that the academia usually refers to the armed gangs of the tea merchant Lai Wenzheng as the "tea merchant army". The "tea merchant army" was an official army that specialized in dealing with the rebellion of tea merchants. The armed gang of Lai Wenzheng started the revolt in Hubei, and soon moved into Hunan and Jiangxi. The court of the Southern Song dynasty sent the regular army to put it down, replaced three judicial executives, and used tens of thousands of troops to suppress the gang but to no avail. Xin Qiji was appointed as judicial executive of Jiangxi Province and went to Ganzhou to suppress the revolt. He adopted a series of tactics such as besieging with massive forces, ambush by multiple ways, offering amnesty for surrender. In the end, he spent about two months defeating the armed gang of Lai Wenzheng, and fully demonstrated his talents. His meritorious deeds aroused his confidence and hope for the future, but the next appointment disappointed him, for his dreamed expedition to the north failed once again. He took his new office from Ganzhou to the north, and wrote "Pu Sa Man · Writing on the Wall of Zaokou in Jiangxi" when he passed by Zaokou. This poem shows the anxiety for elapsing time. In this case, the main purpose of the poem is not to express the irresistible torrents of history, nor to allude to the capitulationists in the imperial court and all kinds of reactionary forces that obstructed the struggle against the Jin dynasty. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Conflicts between Elegance and Vulgarity: Leng Qian Prosody and the Changes of Rites and Music in the Ming Dynasty Li Shunhua 2018, 38 (4):  91-102.  Abstract ( 265 )   PDF (1942KB) ( 213 )   Like the exterior and interior relations, the retro thoughts trend in literature shared a mutual interdependence with the retro trend on music in Confucian classicism. Song Lian initiated the literature of Ming while Leng Qian pioneered the musicology correspondingly. Song Lian and his followers' esteem for Leng Qian directly represented the retro thoughts of contemporary scholarofficials and their musicology ideas to reform the world with ancient music. In terms of literature, they canonized the harmony of music and poetry exemplified in The Book of Songs and Song Lian further denied the validity of poetry afterwards. Eventually the Hongwu ruling period (1368-1398) saw a restoration of order with northern music, which was a legacy of the Jin and Yuan dynasties. And then Song Lian was sentenced to death by the emperor and Leng Qian became secluded, leaving his prosody to fade out. The retro thoughts trend on music revived after the Zhengde (1491-1521) and Jiajing (1507-1566) periods with recurrent debates on the Da Sheng prosody and Leng Qian prosody. The phenomenon actually was a re-examination of the popularizing process and changes related to music after the fall of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), even after Emperor Xuanzong in the Tang dynasty (618-907), who had promoted greatly the imperial music academy. Meanwhile, it was also the restructuring of Northern and Southern music after the Song dynasty, corresponding with the retro thoughts in literature in the North and South at the time. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Reception of Jiangxi Poetry School by Edo Poetry Circle: The Essence of the Controversy over the Tang and Song Poetry He Zhen 2018, 38 (4):  103-111.  Abstract ( 279 )   PDF (1561KB) ( 286 )   In the past, scholars paid more attention to the comparison of poetic style and theory when dealing with the controversy of the Tang and Song poems in the poetry circle of the Edo period. However, by investigating the popular poetry notes of Edo in Japan, the publication of Chinese books, the reception of Chinese poets and the creation of Chinese poems, etc., one can find the essence of the controversy over the Tang and Song poems in the Edo poetry circle, namely, the preference for the "lyrical" Tang poetry and the rejection of Jiangxi poetry school. One can also find the Japanese culture's selectiveness to Chinese culture and the local characteristics of the Japanese Edo poetry. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Issue in Focus: Art Theory Studies

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Literary Expression in the Discourse of Artistic Interpretation Ling Chen'guang 2018, 38 (4):  112-121.  Abstract ( 260 )   PDF (1452KB) ( 186 )   The writer is the subject of literary expression in the discourse of art interpretation. They interpret paintings as a visual allegory, and penetrate the surface of the canvas to the deep meaning. They look at a picture as if it was a play, and explain an art piece like explaining a story. The main way of commenting on art works is literary rhetoric, emotional projection and semiotic imagination. Their self-positioning is a psychological analyst and their goal is to find the truth. Through the contest with painters at the levels of signs and meaning, the depth and emotional intensity of the literary expression of their artistic interpretation discourse have been enhanced. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Vibration of Appearance: The Immanence of Paintings Li Kelin 2018, 38 (4):  122-130.  Abstract ( 321 )   PDF (1266KB) ( 186 )   Via reading through the different interpretations on Cezanne's painting by Meyer Schaprio, Merleau-Ponty, D. H. Lawrence and Deleuze, this article is firstly aimed at manifesting the different directions in the development of aesthetic theories after the 20th century: psychoanalysis, phenomenology, literary and art criticism, as well as post-structuralism. Secondly, it intends to demonstrate that although these critiques refer to and draw from one another, they are in parallel relation. And lastly, these observations have elaborated on the artistic world inside the painting, which provides us with a defense of the inexhaustible immanence of art against the negative nihilism of the art market value. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Brush Strokes, Texture and Appreciation of the Original Painting He Zhenhao 2018, 38 (4):  131-137.  Abstract ( 198 )   PDF (1032KB) ( 142 )   In the age of new media, people have many ways to appreciate art works. We get increasingly used to watching and appreciating them with print and electronic media, and even with our cell phone screens. But whether this way of watching can completely replace the way to see the original? Through the analysis and research of the original painting brush strokes and texture, this article explores the haptic visuality and the observer's psychic experiences with the author, so as to find out the essential difference between watching the original works and watching with the print and electronic media. Finally, this article intends to justify and emphasize the singularity of the original and the significance of watching original art works. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Application of the Art of Blank-leaving in Painting to Modern Fiction and Its Significance Li Huizhao 2018, 38 (4):  138-149.  Abstract ( 554 )   PDF (1513KB) ( 507 )   The art of blank-leaving is important to traditional Chinese painting. At a first glance, it is similar to Western novelists' iceberg theory and theory of vacancy, but they differ in cultural origins, subject matter and the use of skills. Writers with a decent knowledge of traditional painting and calligraphy, such as Wang Zengqi, Jia Pingwa, Wang Xiangfu, Xu Zechen, etc., have been insightful in connecting blank in painting with literature. They have demonstrated different ways of blank-leaving in fiction, and have activated a new space for the application of classical Chinese painting to modern fiction. Wang Zengqi, Jia Pingwa, Xu Zechen, Fei Ming, Shen Congwen, Xiao Hong, etc., fiction writers from all generations and with different narrative materials, have practiced this theory in their writings, in terms of narrative structure, plot, characterization and endings. Different forms of blank in fiction convey the spirit of traditional culture, such as the artistic conception, mutualism of blankness and fullness, etc. They have also achieved the modern transformation of literature with traditional Chinese artistic spirit. Therefore, the value of cultural subjectivity it has is a supplement and enrichment to world literature. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Studies in Western Literary Theory and Aesthetics

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The Subject qua Other: A Hauntological Spell on Lacan Yuan Yuan 2018, 38 (4):  150-161.  Abstract ( 440 )   PDF (323KB) ( 176 )   This project interrogates the dubious nature and the polemic role of the other in Lacan's discourse of the subject by invoking Derrida's ideas of hauntology. The Lacanian subject, albeit baffling and elusive, has been consistently labeled as "the subject of lack" by almost all critics including Felman, Ragland-Sullivan, Wilden, Derrida, Butler, et al. Departing from this established position, I probe Lacan's subject in terms of the subject qua other; contesting that in both imaginary and symbolic orders his subject is inescapably meshed with and dispossessed by some spectral and/or specular other. The mirror stage not only fabricates an optic illusion of a total self, but also situates the specular subject as overtaken by a spectral other. Similarly, the symbolic subject appears to be under the spell of a linguistic other in a double signifying conjuration — metonymic substitution and metaphorical transfiguration — that disembodies the subject into a ghost, i. e., deprived, displaced, and decentered. Further, the essay discreetly sets apart the poststructuralist Lacan from the psychoanalyst, or particularly, the oedipalist Lacan. The symbolic order, as known, is centralized and dominated by the veiled phallus, "the master signifier" or "the transcendental signified." This attests that Lacan's locus of the other is more than merely inhabited by general "pure signifiers" or abstract "empty words;" on the contrary, the field of the other is replete with privileged "full words" from the (dead) father in terms of sacred scriptures. Aside from addressing language as a generic other (as so inclined by past critics), this project uncovers a series of phantom others that haunt Lacan's unconscious subject: the oracular other (the father's last words), the spectral other (the ghost of the dead father) , and the Holy Other ( the fetish Phallus). Intriguingly, the ontology of Lacan's subject qua other dissipates into a hauntology of Derrida's subject qua specter. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Western Literary Theory and Studies in Aesthetics

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The Predicament of Anglo-American Aesthetic Experience and Its Extrication Zhao Yu 2018, 38 (4):  162-170.  Abstract ( 302 )   PDF (1137KB) ( 191 )   The concept of "aesthetic experience" has fallen into a serious predicament since the late 20th century, especially in Anglo-American philosophy. Sometimes this concept is put in the core position in aesthetics and art theories, while other time even its existence is questioned, only being taken as phantom or myth; According to some philosophers, this concept is commendatory and represents only those affective experiences, while in other philosophers' eyes, this concept is purely descriptive and can also contain those experiences without any affects or emotions. Underlying this predicament is the wrong binding of aesthetic experience with the definition of art, and the blurred distinction between aesthetic and artistic experiences. So, the best way to extricate the concept from the predicament is to break down the wrong binding, clarify the distinction, and liberate the concepts of aesthetic experience and art from each other. References | Related Articles | Metrics

Studies in Western Literary Theory and Aesthetics

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"The Unspoken Beauty": A Review of Beauty and Sublimity: A Cognitive Aesthetics of Literature and the Arts Yu Lei 2018, 38 (4):  171-178.  Abstract ( 309 )   PDF (1130KB) ( 185 )   Patrick Colm Hogan's newly published monograph Beauty and Sublimity: A Cognitive Aesthetics of Literature and the Arts aims to explore, among others, the architectural substratum underlying miscellaneous aesthetic responses in literature and the arts, and, by having recourse to a dialogue with cognitive science, enables the previously "unspoken beauty" to secure an unprecedented cognitive attention. This review, on the one hand, focuses and elaborates upon such three crucial topoi as "information processing & emotion system," "aesthetic universals & the diversity of taste," and "variation, canonization & aesthetic argument," as illustrated in Hogan's work, and, on the other, takes issue with a few research trajectories arising in the present literary cognition studies. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Symptomatic Reading, Surface Reading, and the Renovation of Literary Criticism in the New Millennium Yang Ling 2018, 38 (4):  179-187.  Abstract ( 332 )   PDF (1268KB) ( 262 )   The new millennium has witnessed the emergence of a series of new approaches to literary criticism in the United States that have posed serious challenges to the dominant paradigm of symptomatic reading and the "hermeneutics of suspicion." Focusing on surface reading proposed by Stephen Best and Sharon Marcus in 2009, this article examines the background, basic ideas, representative works, academic responses, and recent development of this new interpretative practice. It argues that the rise of surface reading is closely tied to the external and internal crises that American literary studies have undergone in recent decades. With rapid changes in contemporary social, political and technological environments, the underlying assumptions and beliefs of literary studies have also been evolving accordingly. The shift of critical attention from symptomatic reading to surface reading and description in American literary studies might shed light on problems confronting Chinese literary critics and stimulate reflections on the domestic anxiety of theoretical construction. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Digital Manufacturing, Grass-root Innovation and Sustainable Development: Characteristics of the Maker Movement in the UK and the Implications Wen Wen 2018, 38 (4):  188-195.  Abstract ( 339 )   PDF (1053KB) ( 143 )   The maker movement in the UK is characterized by: digital manufacturing technology as the tool, grass-root innovation as the pathway and sustainable development as the orientation. Digital manufacturing has not only promoted the digital economy in the UK, but also influenced the traditional craft and necessitated new requirements for the digital education of citizens. In the UK, grass-root innovation is not only embodied in the bottom-up formation and management of the makerspaces but also featured in the makers' daily practice. Meanwhile, aiming at sustainability in both economic and social development, makers in the UK are actively engaging in material research, circular economy and building up self-sustainable communities. These may shed light on the development of maker culture in China; for instance, we should upgrade the digital skills of citizens with makerspaces and maker education as the carriers, build up institutions and networks to support grass-root innovation, and to encourage makers to work on projects for sustainability and community building. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Polyphonic Novel and Polyphonic Music Hao Qian 2018, 38 (4):  196-206.  Abstract ( 326 )   PDF (1759KB) ( 181 )   Besides some similarity, there are many differences between Bakhtin's "Polyphonic Novel" and Western polyphonic music, for example conflict and harmony, pluralism and monism, confrontation and imitation, incompletion and perfect termination, historical background and many other aspects. Realization of these, and some concepts like counterpoint and bitonality in musical senses, will help us avoid interdisciplinary misusing of these terms. Compared to "polyphonic", "dialogical novel" may be the more suitable antonym of "monologic novel", because "dialogue", which can include various meanings that the term "Polyphony" wants to express, is not only the core of Bakhtin's poetics, but also the essential feature of the "Polyphonic Novel" which he defined. In addition, the most important standard for the judgement of a novel as to whether or not it belongs to "Polyphonic Novel" as defined by Bakhtin's is whether a novel has "dialogue". References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Strength of Voice: The Making of "Literary Culture" and the "New Individual" Yang Jing 2018, 38 (4):  207-213.  Abstract ( 237 )   PDF (1021KB) ( 203 )   Bob Dylan and his rock and roll works are examples of "literary culture", and he is worthy of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature. Different from ordinary popular music, Dylan's works belong to "imaginative culture", are a continuation of a profound idealistic tradition and carrier of ideological unrest. His works are actively engaged in social issues, and contemplate and interpret common concerns of the times, thus creating a poetic "literary culture" that nourish private life, safeguard free space, and realizes fairness and justice. Through empathy and imagination, they realize and enlarge "solidarity" and therefore create "new individuals", or individuals who are good at becoming humans. All this promotes modern social progress. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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A Review of The sixth Youth Forum of Chinese Literary Theory Society on "New Changes in Academic Discourse: Academic History, Ideological History and Literary Institutions" Peng Chengguang 2018, 38 (4):  214-216.  Abstract ( 189 )   PDF (492KB) ( 154 )     References | Related Articles | Metrics