Modern Chinese Prose Structure Theory

Juxtaposed with novel, poetry, and drama, the Chinese modern prose, whichin this thesis is confined as the works produced after the LiteratureRevolution in 1917, is a kind of belletristic style as a medium to comprehendthe world. Meanwhile, the present study of Chinese prose still stays in asimple impression way, such as appreciation of some essays, commentaryreading notes, etc, all stereotyped, lack of systematization,diversification and vitality.Artistic conception is the core every aspect goes round as the resultthat the prose text plays as medium and carrier, to transfer and pass thewriters' sentiments and feelings to readers during the course of the creation,transmitting and reading. Nevertheless, artistic conception isnonrepresentational, integrated by the objective world outside and theinternal subjective personal reception and feeling without either of whichit can't work and go. The inner thinking and feeling are personal andunspeakable, so is the artistic conception of the very prose work. Onlythrough describing the same or similar exterior world, and thecommunication happening between the two in similar circumstance, (which caninduce the readers' comprehension so as to strengthen his ability to reactto the same or similar exterior world) can the intercommunication on artisticconception come true.An essential ingredient of modern prose is language, which is a sign andtool for human beings to communicate. Should the language of the text belogical and practical, can the prose writer transfer his feeling about theexterior world into such signs able to express his sentiments and thoughts.Nevertheless, there comes an inconsistency that the prose text aims toconvey the artistic conception yet its material media and carrier is logicallanguage. The reason is that it is the imago that is the basic unit of modernprose, not the text itself such as words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs.The prose imago, which means the aggregation of image produced by the exteriorobjective world formed by a kind of language according to some rule and logic,can be classified into two: one is the common and everyday-life imago, theother is the textual imago from the functional angle, both of which are called"bi-contravention", which functions the human brain toComprehend the world, speaking from the angle of modern language function.So through presenting and unfolding two kinds of contradicting imago in thetext, do the prose writers induce or force readers to rethink deep about thesimilarity and dissimilarity, then to explore the relation between the two.During the course of thinking, rethinking and exploring, readerssuccessfully have gone through the limitation of logic and common evaluation,perceived something new and unusual from the exterior world that the prosetext by writers. That's the Artistic Conception! It comes to readers betweenand beyond the common life imago and the textual imago! That's what the prosewriters hope to work!"Bi-contravention" not only has broken the common comprehensive andcommunicative function of prose imago, but also give prominence to artisticconception itself which melt integrative the objective exterior world andinterior subjective world.According to the relation in the text between the common life imago andthe textual imago, modern prose works can be classified into four types asfollows: the prose of singularity which contains one life imago and onetextual imago, the prose of complementarity, which has one life imago andmany textual images to reinforce, the prose of flowing imago which has manylife and textual imago flowing in the works, and the prose with commixedlife-textual imago. To add, the structure of modern prose is to change tothe taste of readers and writers as times go by.