Full Description
Beginning with a retrospective of the past century, this book offers a panoramic picture of Chinese comparative literature, from its nascence in the early 1920s, through its evolution in the 1980s, to the new development at the turn of the century, ending with a prospective look at the future of comparative literature in the 21st century. The articles presented here reveal the author's deep understandings of the literature and culture of her own country and those of other countries. A rich array of case studies and in-depth theorizing make it an extremely interesting and enlightening read.
Prof. Daiyun Yue is a prominent professor at Peking University and a leading figure in Chinese comparative literature. She has served as Head of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, PKU (1984—1998) and the third president of the Chinese Comparative Literature Association (1989—2014). Further, she is the founder of Dialogue Transculturel, a much-acclaimed journal of comparative literature.
Prof. Yue approaches outstanding literature as a bridge to link people of different cultural traditions: "The reason why interdisciplinary literary research between two alien cultures is possible is because dialog between alien cultures, along with exchange and understanding, is more readily realized through literature." Herein lies the value of comparative literature.
Contents
Part One: A Century in Retrospect.- The Origins and Precursors to Chinese Comparative Literature.- The Establishment of the Discipline and its Champions.- A New Beginning for China's Comparative Literature.- Enter the International Cultural Dialogue pro-actively with Uniqueness and Originality.- On the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Journal Dialogue Transculturel.- Problems and the Current Development Status of Chinese Comparative Literature.- Part Two: When East Meets West.- History - Literature - Literary History.- Setting Out again from Indigenous Literary Phenomena.- For an Active, Holistic Life.- Connecting China, Russia and the West; Synthesizing Literature, History and Philosophy.- Renovating Methodology.- Linking up with the Perspicacity of Foreign Climes.- The Last Decadent in China.- Nietzsche and Modern Chinese Literature.- Part Three: The Chinese Perspective.- Using the Wisdom of the East to Resolve Cultural Conflict.- Some Special Features of China's Traditional Literary Criticism.- "Harmony, Homogeneity" and Literary Research.- Qing in Chinese Culture.- The Mirror Metaphor in Chinese and Western Poetics.- Lunar Appreciation and Legends across Different Cultures.- Looking at Yangtze River Culture through the Legend of the Goddess of Mount Wu.- The Stone as a Motif in the Narration of A Dream of Red Mansions.- Revenge and Memory.- Part Four: Theorizing Comparative Literature.- The International and National Nature of Comparative Literature.- Poetics and Eurocentrism.- The Question of Discourse in the Dialogue between Chinese and Western Poetics.- Cultural Difference and Cultural Misunderstanding.- Misreadings in the Search for Commonality between Chinese and Western Culture.- "Death of a Discipline" and the Birth of a Discipline.- Escaping the Trap of Modernity.- Will "Sino-centrism" succeed "Euro-centrism"?.- Comparative Literature in the Era of Globalization: The Chinese Perspective.- Part Five: Into the New Millennium.- The New Humanist Spirit of the 21st Century.- On the Third Phase of the Development of Comparative Literature.- An Alternative Globalization on the basis of Reflection and Negotiation.- New Opportunities in the 21st Century Literary Research.- New Humanism and Postmodernism.- A Few Thoughts on Comparative Literature and World Literature.- The Urgency and Difficulty of Cross-Cultural Dialog.- New Thoughts on Ecological Civilization.- Looking into the Future.
