On The Connotation And Cultural Significance Of "Wolf Totem"

The book "Wolf Totem" has attracted a lot of attention ever since its publication. The sales record it created is also very conspicuous. People that like it think it’s a magic, as the vivid picture it draws about the grassland provides the intense pleasure of reading. Its originality, uniqueness and complexity in meaning are also held in esteem; others criticize that the author is too radical. His trying of re-writing the5000years of Chinese history by simplifying it into division of wolf and the sheep spirits is disagreed by them, and they don’t give a sniff to the highly praised wolf spirit. This thesis starts from the Critique of National Characters, which is the most obvious point of view in the book, and outlines the feature of wolf spirit. By analyzing the cultural factors behind the formation of national characters, the thesis then investigates the author’s research and innovation in succession of the National Characters Critique. By using a unique writing style, the author guides the readers to jump out of "Anthropocentrism" thinking mode, points out the theme that the wolf totem spirit is the spirit of defending the nature, and ultimately directed his criticism to civilization itself. The introspection of civilization is promoted along the development of the storyline. The conflict between the nomads who hold wolf totem spirit and the Han people that guided by farming culture, and the story between Chen and the little wolf symbolically represent the confrontation between civilization and nature. The death of the grassland-the symbol of nature and the death of the little wolf-the symbol of freedom, has struck a responsive chord in the hearts of the readers, and left a huge space for introspection. By going through the three layers of introspection and associating with the content and intension of the book, this thesis expounds the impact of civilization on natural environment, humanity and human biological features, and then concludes that the direction for development is to get rid of the values of anthropocentrism and re-set Wolf Totem spirit.