History of Chinese Letter-Writing Literature

Author: Zhao Shugong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-11-01
Features: The study of the history of Chinese literature began at the turn of the 20th century and has now spanned nearly a century. As the century draws to a close, calls for rewriting the history of literature have grown louder, and there are many grand pronouncements on how to write literary history. However, in essence, there are two main approaches: one values objectivity and emphasizes description, while the other advocates subjectivity and focuses on interpretation. Those who emphasize description tend to focus more on the lives of writers and social contexts, whereas those who emphasize interpretation use textual analysis to explain everything.