How has modern Chinese literature emerged from the collision of domestic social upheaval, foreign inspiration and sparks of creative genius during the past century? Sihe Chen explores this question from a global perspective, analysing how Chinese authors assimilated Western literary movements to create new forms of expression adapted to a society in rapid transformation. The author then examines these global influences in the works of selected contemporary Chinese novelists and poets. He shows that the problems these writers confront are common to all peoples and that Chinese literature expresses not only the story of China, but also that of humanity.
Foreword to the English Edition of Global Elements in Chinese
Literature
Part 1: The History of Chinas New Literature: A Holistic View
1 A Holistic View of the History of Chinas New Literature
1New Literature as an Open Holisticism
2The Holistic Framework of New Literature and World Literature
3Tradition and Development: Proposed as a Methodology
2 Modernism in the Development of Chinas New Literature
1Chinese and Western Modern Literature: A Comparison
2The Influence of Modernism on May 4th New Literature
3The Historical Fate of Modernism in China
4Prospects of Integrating Modern Consciousness and Chinese National
Culture
3 Consciousness of Confession in the Development of Chinas New Literature
1The Evolution of Consciousness of Confession in Western Literature
2Consciousness of Confession in Literature during the May 4th New
Literature Movement
3From Mans Confession to Man who Confesses
4The Regression of Self-Cognition in Man Who Confesses
5The Possibility of Re-emergence of the Consciousness of Confession in
Literature
4 Romanticism in the Development of Chinas New Literature
1Personal Lyric Novels and Pastoral Lyric Novels
2From Romanticism to Lyricism
5 Realism in the Development of Chinas New Literature
1Realism in China
2From Creative Theories of Realism to Writers Realist Fighting Spirit
3Modern Resistance Consciousness in Contemporary Literary Creations
Part 2: Global Elements in Chinese Literature of the 20th Century
6 Global Elements in Chinese Literature of the 20th Century
1The Origin of Research Inquiry
2Why Question the Empirical Approach?
3Some Understandings of the Study of Global Elements
7 The Avant-Garde Spirit of the May 4th New Literature Movement
1The Attention of May 4th New Literature Writers to the Western Avant-Garde
Literature
2Man-eating Imagery, Antagonistic Criticism and Europeanized Expressions:
The Characteristics of the Chinese Avant-Garde Spirit
3The Relationship between the Avant-Garde Spirit of the May 4th New
Literature and Modern Literature
8 The Collection of Sonnets: The Model of Exploring Global Elements
1Soughing Jade Tree in the Spring Breeze of German Literature
2Interpreting The Collection of Sonnets
9 A Dictionary of Maqiao: One Case of the Global Elements in Chinese
Contemporary Literature
10 Daemonic Elements in Hard Like Water by Yan Lianke
1The Embodiment of The Daemonic in the World Literary Creations and Its
Application in Literary Research
2The Daemonic Elements in Hard Like Water
3The Cultural Revolution Narratives and Daemonic Elements in Contemporary
Literature
11 Daemonic Elements in Zhang Weis Fictions
1Reasons for Applying Daemonic Elements to Interpret Zhang Weis Fictions
2Daemonic Elements in Zhang Weis Works: Different Kinds of Primal Desires
3The Overall Limitations of Daemonic Elements in Zhang Weis Fictions
12 The Folk Narrative of Brothers from the Perspective of Bakhtins Folk
Theory
1Folk Tradition and Grotesque Realism: The Revelation of Bakhtin
2Peeping Details in Hidden Text Structure
3Folk Narratives: Three Forms of Vulgar Rhetoric
Appendixes
Appendix I: Thoughts on the Relationship between Chinese and Western
Literature
Appendix II: Comparative Literature and Elitist Education
Appendix III: The Spiritual Foundation of Comparative Literature as a
Discipline On René Étiembles Comparative Literature as Humanism
References
Book Series
Newspapers and Periodicals
Index
Sihe Chen, (1954), Fudan University, is Senior Professor of Liberal Arts and the former library director at Fudan University. He has published monographs and many papers on modern Chinese literature, including Chinas New Literature: A Holistic View (Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House, 2001).
