A Comparative Study of the Interweaving of Chinese and Western Literary and Cultural Currents -- A Series of Comparative Literature and Culture

Author: Li Jiaxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The original intention behind writing this book was to horizontally compare several major issues or new problems involved in Chinese and Western literary theories, ranging from the emergence of literature to literary criticism. The book has discussed topics such as literary and non-literary theories, essentialism, authorship theory, creation theory, constitution theory, and reception theory. The discussion on Chinese and Western theories primarily spans from ancient times to modernity. It also attempts to conduct a comprehensive and multi-layered analysis within a broad and long historical and cultural context, hence the current title of the book. In the author's view, as the name suggests, literary theory is a theory that studies the entire ontology of literature. It cannot be replaced by poetry alone to represent the whole of literature. As for whether the original state or origin of literature or art is poetry or dance or some other artistic form, it remains an unresolved issue to this day. Moreover, discussing which is the highest art form is also something that requires exploration. And whenever there is "comparison," there is inevitably a specific stance and perspective that cannot be transcended. My comparison may be viewing the issues through the lens of Chinese literary theory. I hope and demand that this book strongly embodies the spirit of Chinese national literary theory, taking pride in the profound, extensive, and glorious literary theoretical system of the Chinese nation. This is also due to the profound influence of the "Western-centric cultural theory" in the current field of literary theory (the beneficial components of Western literary theory should indeed be absorbed).