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 the one hand, to interpret traditional culture in a modern way to facilitate its modern development and benefit the world; on the other hand, to urgently summarize the past experiences and lessons of 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 resulting development trends. Chinese comparative literature has developed under the impetus of this historical mission. The 20th century, a hundred years, was a period when 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 then as a relatively independent discipline, leaving a profound and unique mark on the history of Chinese academia. The emergence, development, and prosperity of comparative literature in 20th-century China were primarily driven by the internal need for changes in the concepts and methods of literary research in China. This determined the fundamental characteristics of 20th-century Chinese comparative literature. Historiographical research shows that Chinese comparative literature was neither ancient nor imported; it was a new humanistic phenomenon rooted in the intrinsic needs of local literary development, emerging in the context of global exchanges. 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, "From a historical perspective, one of the first tasks completed by countries in developing comparative literature is 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 achievements 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 situation and the perspective of historiography, conducts a comprehensive and in-depth exploration of how outstanding Chinese academic figures over the past century, inheriting traditional Chinese culture, absorbed Western culture, and formed a unique modern Chinese culture based on the needs of the times and society. It also explores the laws of inheriting traditional culture, absorbing Western culture, and the coexistence of pluralistic cultures, aiming to elucidate the unique path of new culture's formation in China, draw correct conclusions and predict future development directions through examples, 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 inheritance of ancient and modern cultures and the communication between Chinese and Western cultures are important contents of cultural development in the 20th century, but academic research has focused more on general theoretical discussions and less on substantial case analyses that combine the integration of Chinese and Western cultures with the inheritance of ancient and modern cultures. This series of books, from the perspective of historiography, conducts in-depth case studies of Chinese academic figures who made significant contributions to the development of Chinese culture and 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 academia, focusing on how they inherited traditional Chinese culture, absorbed Western culture, and formed a modern Chinese cultural landscape completely different from the past in the 20th century. The emphasis on case studies aims to highlight their unique contributions to the development of Chinese and foreign academia through the lives, ideals, careers, and achievements of key figures, as well as their inheritance of traditional culture and absorption of Western culture, elucidating the unique path of new culture's formation in China, and striving to draw correct conclusions and predict future development directions through examples of the century-long debate between Chinese and Western, ancient and modern cultures. The authors of this series are first-class experts and scholars with extensive writings in cross-cultural studies and modern literature, possessing a deep cultural foundation and research expertise. They are the new generation of leading figures who have emerged after giants like Qian Zhongshu and Ji Xianlin, who communicated Chinese and Western cultures in the early 20th century. They have basically achieved the goal of famous scholars writing about famous figures, with in-depth research, accurate narration, detailed materials, and unique perspectives. In summary, the research conducted in this series of books 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 in academia in this regard. This book explores the spiritual journey of the scholar- poet Feng Zhi, who continuously negated himself, by examining his dialogue relationship with the spiritual traditions and intellectual figures of China and Germany, revealing the stark contrast between his genius in anticipating the crisis of modernity and his life choices that led to self-.