Tragic Spirit and National Consciousness (Second Edition)

Author: Qiu Zihua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-03-01
Features: In this book, Comrade Zihua has proposed his own insights and conducted persuasive arguments on the tragic subject, tragic conflict, and tragic aesthetics. He suggests that tragedy does not solely refer to the destruction of good and noble characters; in fact, both good and evil, beautiful and ugly can all be tragic figures. From an epistemological perspective, he explores the subjective motivations that lead tragic subjects into tragedy, discovering that tragic subjects often possess universal and regular aesthetic characteristics: their motivations and behavioral outcomes are completely contradictory; they are trapped in an "impossible choice" dilemma. He provides numerous examples from historical and tragic works to prove his points. Additionally, Comrade Zihua points out that the confusion in understanding the tragic category in the past stems from the lack of accurate distinctions between the concepts of sublimity, heroism, and tragedy, often equating heroism with tragedy. It should be said that these insights are correct and relatively profound. I feel that Comrade Zihua's book is well-structured, combining theoretical depth with methodological originality and inspiration.