Introduction to Modern Writing Studies

Author: Chen Guo'an
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-08-01
Features: In the past two decades, the study of stylistic writing in the field of writing has surpassed the study of writing principles. The sheer number of books published in this area and the significant impact they have made are undeniable, marking a grand and highly successful trend. Stylistic writing is divided into literary writing and practical writing. In terms of the study of literary writing, since most researchers in the writing field are college writing instructors, they have conducted extensive research on the basic literary genres (such as prose, poetry, fiction, film and television literature, and reportage literature) and their writing techniques and principles. Additionally, works like Sun Shaozhen's Literary Creation Theory have emerged as comprehensive, principle-based treatises. As mentioned earlier, both literary studies and writing studies focus on the writing of literary genres, but their research objectives differ. Literary studies place greater emphasis on the aesthetic and ideological nature of literary creation, focusing more on interpretation, understanding, and appreciation. In contrast, writing studies prioritize the mechanics and principles of writing. Although the research on literary writing in writing studies has not yet reached the level of literary studies, it has at least compensated for the shortcomings of literary studies in the study of writing techniques and principles. The achievements of the writing field in stylistic writing research are more evident in its study of practical writing. Since the publication of Mr. Li Jinglong's Practical Writing (1984), practical writing has garnered widespread societal attention, leading to an explosion of books on the subject that cover various domains, including news writing, secretary writing, scientific writing, economic document writing, legal document writing, business management document writing, military document writing, and modern etiquette document writing, among others. This has also facilitated more exchanges with scholars from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. In meeting societal needs, the impact and achievements have been significant. Notably, writing studies have increasingly moved beyond the simplistic "format + examples" approach in their research on practical writing, achieving substantial results in understanding the essence and principles of practical writing. It is particularly worth mentioning that a group of researchers from the "Article Society," a subsidiary of the Chinese Writing Society, represented by scholars such as Zhang Shoukang, Cheng Funing, Zeng Xiangqin, Zhang Hui'en, and Wang Kaifu, have conducted specialized research on the history, functions, social norms, writing processes, generative models, and reading-writing patterns of practical articles. Collectively, these studies present a remarkable and impressive picture. Furthermore, Mr. Pei Xiansheng's edited Modern Practical Writing Studies (1996) and Chen Guo'an's Principles of Practical Writing (1997) have conducted disciplinary and principle-based research on practical writing. Mr. Yu Guorui's edited Economic Writing System and Techniques (1990) proposed the "function-structure" principle of practical writing, which is also one of the important theoretical achievements in the study of practical writing. (III) Research on Writing Pedagogy "Writing Pedagogy" is an "applied discipline" within writing studies, which applies the fundamental principles of writing and the fundamental principles of stylistic writing to writing pedagogical practice. Writing pedagogy must adhere to the general principles and rules of writing while also having its own unique "teaching" and "learning" patterns. Modern writing studies have largely been established in response to the needs of modern writing pedagogy, therefore