World Chinese Literature Studies (Second Issue)

Author: Zhu Wenbin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-12-01
Features: The second issue of World Chinese Literature Studies, sponsored by the Institute of World Chinese Literature at Shaoxing University of Science and Technology, has recently been officially launched by Xingxing Press in Beijing. The articles included in this issue are relatively cutting-edge, covering many of the forefront topics in the field of Chinese literature studies. We welcome readers' comments and corrections! This paper attempts to establish the "romantic" tradition since Wen Rui'an, and discusses several types of "romanticism," as well as the aesthetic of the derivative prose, and the potential limitations. This romantic tradition in Chinese literature can be replaced by "feeling the times and mourning the country," but "feeling the times and mourning the country" is a theme-based interpretation that is both "Chinese" and "positive." It highly affirms the positive evaluation of the works but does not discuss the expression methods. Therefore, this paper proposes "romantic replacement," with Wen Rui'an's Dragon Cries Across a Thousand Li being particularly regarded as a representative work under this concept. Additionally, the main subjects of this paper include Lin Xingqian, Zhu Jiahua, He Guozhong, Pan Bihua, Xin Yinong, and others, who were campus prose writers in the 1980s and 1990s who experienced "internal and external troubles." The paper is divided into four sections: the first section defines the criteria for selecting texts and the definition of "romantic"; the second section discusses Wen Rui'an and Lin Xingqian, who have different styles but share a similar "vocabulary" that resonates as a narrative mode for fixed situations; the third section focuses on "passing the torch," discussing the era's concern born from the cultural mission among university campus prose writers; the fourth section is a seemingly "anti-romantic" romantic writing, but beneath the calm words lies an oppressed cultural mission, which is also another narrative way of romance.
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