Janus Faces: Magic And Children's Literature

The magic-concerned masterpieces for children's literature have been expanded since the latter half of the 20th century for they have already transcended the demarcation between the children and the grown-ups, and also broadened the single word-only media, all of which have made them become acceptable within a world-wide range. This thesis attempts to give a response to such transference on children's literature or children's culture. Therefore its intention can be described as follows: 1. cleaning up the relationship between magic and children's literature; 2. our understanding on children's literature itself from the relationship; 3. our new concern on the vernacular reaction based on the tradition-deviated understanding on children's literature, which means the existential status of Chinese children's literature in a global circumstance. The achievement of all these intentions would be displayed around the theme"magic".The first thing would be explained is the heritage and transformation of the form of magic which occurred by the influence of such factors as epoch background, religious belief and literary conception, from the original silver stream-like glimmering to the later significant gold-like glittering, within the field of children's literature. The form of magic originates from the ancient magic which belongs to the old mythological narrative system and is used to convey the primitive thinking. The modern magic which is normally included in the routine narrative system displays a new world perspective on contemporary new mythology. If the history is the clue and background which could help us make out the development of magic, then the current is its final destination which could make us understand its value and significance. The expression of magic is so vivid that it looks like the one of roman god Janus, who depicts the past and the future between tradition and modern in the times of alternation.Secondly, the thesis, which uses children's literature as a coordinate, analyzes the cultural and aesthetic connotation of magic and explores its unique importance to the art of children's literature during the process of conceptual definition, historical settlement and textual analysis by the approach of analytic philosophy, which gives a phenomenal description and theoretic illustration on the concept"magic"due to its historical complexity. Meanwhile other disciplines such as anthropology, psychology, mythology and culture studies are taken into account. By taking a open stand and building a theoretical bridge between magic and children's literature, the thesis also tries to look after the future of the magic-concerned children's literature and its vernacular development by making a rational objective distinction between different schools, and different creation between the East and the West.