The Commitment of Literature

Author: Wang Qiankun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Academically, starting points and questions are often the most difficult ultimate questions, much like "What is a person?" "Who am I?" and so on. These words are simple, yet they represent the most academically profound challenges. They are like a ghost that lingers, and all wise minds in history have encountered such enlightening questions. The issues discussed in this book are none of the high-brow, distant questions. It simply attempts to seek literature as it truly is. The narrative strategy is not my invention but rather the principle of "reducing and reducing again," a form of interrogation and organization of conventional literary knowledge. We are accustomed to seeking knowledge through addition, "increasing in learning," which is certainly correct. However, humanity also possesses another form of wisdom that requires the use of subtraction. One function of subtraction is to remove veils, allowing people to see the essence. This discipline of literature is filled with layers of knowledge dust, shrouded in clouds and fog, and must be approached with subtraction to reveal its true nature. The ultimate horizon of literature is simply this.