Volume 12 of Perspectives

Author: Li Tu, edited by Chen Yangu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features: The purpose of this issue of Vision is not to reflect on and examine this period of "borrowing" history, but rather to attempt to showcase some recent developments in modernism studies through this collection of articles. Although these articles cannot fully represent the state of this research field domestically and internationally, they are merely a few examples. Nevertheless, we believe they can still serve as a window to glimpse some new landscapes. While these landscapes are limited, they can still help us measure the problems, shortcomings, and deficiencies in our knowledge of this field. We also believe that such measurement and comparison will not only provide inspiration for theoretical research in literature and art but also hold significant meaning for other intellectual and theoretical fields beyond literature and art. After carefully reading this issue, we believe readers will have the impression that modernism is far more than just a few literary and artistic schools, or merely the declarations and claims of these schools. Modernism has brought far more to the world than that. It is not only an important component of modernity as knowledge but also the very force that transforms modernity into something visible, audible, and tangible in people's imagination. In turn, this concrete and passionate imagination plays a crucial role in the material unfolding of modernity, in the various practices of constructing and reconstructing reality, a role that other forms of discourse cannot match and whose importance is immeasurable. The issue, however, lies in the fact that people have yet to conduct sufficient research and understanding of this process.