Feng Zhi · Unfinished Self

Author: Zhang Hui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: In the 21st century, world culture is facing a new turning point. To oppose cultural hegemonism and cultural fundamentalism, it is essential to promote multipolar balance and the pluralistic development of culture. In this process, Chinese culture will inevitably become an important part of the construction of new world culture. This requires us, on one hand, to modernize traditional culture through interpretation to facilitate its modern development and benefit the world; on one hand, we urgently need to summarize the experiences and lessons learned from absorbing Western culture on the basis of Chinese culture, to sum up the modern culture of the past century, and to contribute to the construction of future world culture. The core of this summary undoubtedly lies in the conflicts and collisions between ancient and modern, Chinese and Western cultures over the past century and the development trends they have fostered. The development of Chinese comparative literature over the past century has been driven by this historical mission. The 20th century was a century in which the history of Chinese academic culture transformed from tradition to modernity andly moved toward maturity and prosperity through the conflicts and integration of Chinese and foreign academia. During this century, comparative literature first emerged as a concept and method of academic research, and later as a relatively independent discipline, leaving its profound and unique mark on the history of Chinese academia. The emergence, development, and prosperity of comparative literature in 20th-century China were primarily based on the internal need for changes in the concepts and methods of literary research. This determined the fundamental characteristics of 20th-century Chinese comparative literature. Historical research shows that Chinese comparative literature was neither ancient nor imported; it emerged from the intrinsic needs of local literary development and, within the context of global exchange, became a novel and uniquely Chinese humanistic phenomenon. The relationship and mutual influence between Chinese and foreign literatures over the past century are an important part of Chinese comparative literature. As Mr. Qian Zhongshu said, "Historically, one of the first tasks completed by countries in developing comparative literature has been to clarify the relationship between their own literature and foreign literature, and to study the mutual influence between their own writers and foreign writers." Over the past century, many scholars have made significant contributions in this area, but past research has largely been limited to the influence of Western culture on Chinese scholars and writers, with little study on how this influence developed within the transmission of Chinese culture itself, and even less on how traditional Chinese culture was reinterpreted under the influence of foreign culture, leading to its modernization. This series of books, starting from the current academic situation and the perspective of the history of scholarship, comprehensively explores and deeply studies how outstanding Chinese academic figures of the 20th century, based on inheriting traditional Chinese culture, absorbed Western culture, and formed a unique modern Chinese culture according to the needs of the times and society. Building on this foundation, it examines the laws of inheriting traditional culture, absorbing Western culture, and the coexistence of pluralistic cultures, aiming to elucidate the unique path of the formation of new culture in China, draw correct conclusions about the century-long debate between the East and West, and predict future development directions, so that Chinese culture can truly become an advanced culture and occupy its rightful place in the pluralistic landscape of world culture, playing its role. The connection between ancient and modern cultures and the communication between Chinese and Western cultures are important aspects of cultural development in the 20th century, but academic research has focused more on general theoretical discussions about these topics and less on in-depth case studies that combine the integration of Chinese and Western cultures with the inheritance of ancient and modern traditions. This series of books, from the perspective of the history of scholarship, conducts in-depth case studies on Chinese academic figures who have made significant contributions to the development of Chinese culture through the communication of Chinese and Western cultures. It comprehensively elaborates on their lives, ideals, careers, achievements, and their contributions to the development of Chinese and foreign scholarship, all within the coordinates where ancient and modern, Chinese and Western cultures intersect. It places particular emphasis on how these figures, over the past century, inherited traditional Chinese culture, absorbed Western culture, and formed a modern Chinese cultural landscape completely different from the past. The focus on case studies aims to highlight their unique contributions to the development of Chinese and foreign scholarship through their lives, ideals, careers, achievements, and their inheritance of traditional culture and absorption of Western culture, elucidating the unique path of the formation of new culture in China, and striving to draw correct conclusions about the century-long debate between the East and West through examples, predicting its future development directions. The authors of this series are first-class experts and scholars with extensive writings in cross-cultural studies and modern literature, possessing profound cultural foundations and research capabilities. They are the new generation of leaders who have emerged after figures like Qian Zhongshu and Ji Xianlin, who connected Chinese and Western cultures at the beginning of the 20th century. They have basically achieved the goal of having famous scholars write about famous figures, with in-depth research, compelling narratives, detailed materials, and unique perspectives. In summary, the research conducted in this series is not only extremely important for China but also has outstanding methodological and epistemological significance for the dialogue and communication of pluralistic cultures in the world. This series aims to fill the gaps in academia in this regard. In people's memories, Feng Zhi has always been considered "the most outstanding lyrical poet in China." This glory of the singer accompanied him throughout his life, which spanned almost the entire 20th century. Yet few have paid attention to the fact that as a genius of contemplation, he was one of the few Chinese intellectuals who could profoundly grasp the modern crisis from a spiritual level. But why did a poet who stood firm against the myth of collectivism with personal conviction, a singer who refused to join the public chorus, willingly try to become "a drop in the ocean"? And why did a thinker who deeply explored the wholeness of the self so easily abandon his initial aspirations, willingly becoming "a brick and mortar" or "a piece of wood"? This book explores the spiritual journey of this scholar-poet in constant self-negation by examining his dialogue relationship with the spiritual traditions and intellectual figures of China and Germany. The author attempts to reveal the stark contrast between Feng Zhi's genius in foreseeing the crisis of modernity and his life's choice to lose himself through reflecting on Feng Zhi's keen awareness of the modern spirit and his inability to avoid its profound problems. The book begins by analyzing Feng Zhi's four autobiographies and five biographies to gain a comprehensive overview of the poet's life story of "living in negation." It then focuses on the significance of German Romanticism in Feng Zhi's early self-discovery and further examines the connection between Rilke and Feng Zhi's first major spiritual transformation. Building on this foundation, it discusses Feng Zhi's attempt to move from the "individual self" to the "universal self" through the central works "Fourteen Sonnets" and "Wu Zixu." Subsequently, it explores Feng Zhi's struggles in moving toward a political self through important case studies such as his Goethe research and "Biography of Du Fu."