Western And Chinese Cultural Archetype And "Old Tales Retold"

The research on Lu Xun's works has become one of the major questions in the modern chinese literary analysis. Compared to the "Outcry"("Nahan") and "Hesitation"("Panghuang"), "Old Tales Retold"has received less attention. Domestic scholars recently discovered and started to develop a new cultural and anthropological approach to the analysis of "Old Tales Retold"(hereafter shortened as OTR). Contrary to the several quite significant research works done by domestic chinese scholars, the literary analysis of OTR has received rather limited attention abroad and therefore has a comparatively short history. However, both chinese and foreign scholars are facing the necessity to broaden the range of approaches to the OTR analysis. OTR is sometimes considered to be a non-typical and even not very successful one of Lu Xun's works. However, an attempt made by the author to reconsider and re-create traditional symbols of Chinese culture, was rather significant and deserves attention. We can notice the presence of three obvious collective images in the OTR, which are the images of Nvwa ("Mending the Heaven") and Houyi ("The Flight to the Moon") reflecting Lu Xun's views on literary creation; images of Da Yu ("Curbing the Flood"), Mozi ("Opposing Aggression") and The Revenge ("Forging the Swords") revealing the praise of a culture hero spirit; images of Shu Qi and Bo Yi ("Gathering Vetch"), Lao Tze ("Leaving the Pass") and Zhuang Zi ("Resurrecting the Dead") showing the criticism of the traditional culture. The connection of these images to the ancient chinese mythology and traditional culture makes it possible to see them as Jungian cultural archetypes. While seeing them in the light of New Culture Spirit, Lu Xun makes an attempt to re-estimate them. First, while analyzing the OTR, in this thesis we apply the Jungian Archetypal Theory, which introduced the concept of archetype. The appearance of Jung's theory not only inspired the further research in the area of psychoanalysis, but also had a strong influence on literary criticism. Application of Jung's theory in OTR analysis allows us to see it from a certain distance, find it's connection with the motif of the ancient myths (archetypal motif). We find the connection between archetypal theory and traditional characters, depicted by Lu Xun in OTR. Then, according to their meaning, we divide these characters into three groups of archetypes: The Creator archetype, The Culture Hero archetype, The Old Wise Man archetype. Thesis is composed of three chapters. The first chapter presents an overview of recent research works done by scholars in China, as well in English and Russian speaking countries. In the second chapter we mention the characteristic features of chinese mythology, introduce the concept of archetype, the Jungian Archetypal Theory and it's influence on the 20th century literary criticism. While analyzing The Culture Hero we also use Jung's most famous student -Joseph Campbell's theory. The third chapter explains every archetype in OTR, each of them is represented by several characters, shows it's place in the ancient chinese culture and traces the change of this position and a new meaning brought by this change. Considering the aggressive attitude of MAY FORTH movement towards traditional culture, the position of "re-estimating the values"(Nietzsche), criticism of the Confucian culture, the creation of The Old Wise Man archetype in the OTR has certain inevitability. While describing The OldWise Man archetype, Lu Xun unveiled and criticized the influence of traditional culture and ancient doctrines on the formation of the Chinese character, and as the result denied it's previous position in the traditional culture. Taoism and Confucianism previously considered to be the roots of the Chinese traditional culture, in reality caused the appearance of the "ill root"in chinese national character (guominxing). Chinese culture can be called the culture of the "Old Wise Man", and by showing the denial of The Old Wise Man archetype, Lu Xun showed the criticism of the traditional culture. Moreover, through this criticism, Lu Xun re-created the archetypes of "The Creator"and "The Culture Hero". In OTR Lu Xun not only reveals "The Old Wise Man's"doctrine, which is disadvantageous to the development of the modern Chinese society, but also shows it's incompatibility with the society, facetious features and even absurdness. Out of three cultural archetypes in OTR, The Old Wise Man lost it's "divine ring of light". Therefore, all the facetious and satirical details appear in the description of it's image: Bo Yi and Shu Qi seen as "freaks"or "antiques"; "random talk"of Laozi, which "gives people headaches"; the principals of Zhuang Zi, "which even three-year-olds would not believe"etc. Lu Xun satirizes the collective image of The Old Wise Man. We see the expression of Lu Xun's views on artistic creation in the praising of the "Creator"archetype. This archetype shows an importance of natural creation based on love. Nvwa, filled with the creation spirit and the people she created –although they are erect, but they lost their natural character. After the completion of his great deed, although Hou Yi is deprived of his mythical powers, but we can still see the creation spirit exist in him. Without a doubt, by depicting Houyi in the "Flight to the moon"Lu Xun shows his own experience, his "boredom"reflects the destiny of new culture archetype (new culture spirit) created by him, it's incompatibility with thereality of the Chinese society. Obviously, we see the need to re-create the creation spirit. By describing The Creator (especially Nvwa) Lu Xun shows the praise of the New Culture Spirit, and therefore he approves The Creator archetype. Lu Xun's connection to the local culture of Shaoxing and Eastern Zhejiang and the approval of the culture hero spirit is reflected in "Culture hero"archetype. Altogether, the collective image of the Culture Hero described by Lu Xun reflected the features of the Chinese national character, as well as the will to survive and pursuing of spirit of the chinese nation. Moreover, image of the hero reveales the spirit rooted in hometown (Shaoxing )culture, as "spirit of Da Yu and Mozi"coming from Zhedong culture shown in "Curbing the Flood"and "Opposing Aggression"and spirit of resistance and revenge . "Spirit of Da Yu and Mozi"is the new "Culture Hero "archetype. These two characters are the core and spine of the re-created "Culture Hero archetype". In the OTR, Lu Xun shows reconsideration of the traditional symbols. Through the change of an archetype image Lu Xun is stressing the need to change the national spirit, denying and approving some features in the chinese "national character". Instead of creating his own "artificial myth", Lu Xun is using mythological and legendary motifs and characters, which exist in the unconscious of the Chinese nation, through the change of the archetype he analyses the factors which influenced the formation of the national character (guominxing) and stresses the need to change it.