The Study On Qian Zhongshu's Literary Thought

Qian Zhongshu's ideological and cultural existence is a product of Sino-Western cultural shocks and exchanges in the twentieth century. In Qian Zhongshu's thoughts,the literary thought is the most important.Exploring the basic rule of literature, had always been the core content of Qian Zhongshu's academic activities. He paid close attention to Chinese culture and also dabbled in foreign culture, and not only valued the traditional culture, but also concerned about the current culture. With a broad vision, He conducted a comprehensive study on various cultural and literary phenomena at all times and in all countries. Combining with his own unique aesthetic feeling and the experience of creation, he expounded a lot of literary theories, that look very fragmentary, however as a whole together. This dissertation intends to systematically search, analyze and summarize them with modern way, make them become a theoretical system.It also explores the successful practice bridging the opposite value between the old and the new, the classic and the modem,Chinese and Western, and the value of model in the dialogue between Chinese literary theory and the foreign Poetics.The full text consists of eight parts such as introduction, six chapters of body and conclusion. The introduction summarizes the related research results of the other people, and explains writing origins, values, methods, innovations.Chapterâ… is an overview of Qian Zhongshu's literary thoughts. First, clearing development history and logical mind of Qian Zhongshu's literary thoughts,which is divided into three periods:the period of academic attempt as a student, the development period of more pure and specific literary theory and comparative literature research, the prime of Comprehensive study on the whole human culture and parallel study. Second, it describes the manifestations of Qian Zhongshu's literary thought which is non-systematic, and points out that it is a deliberate reaction against the modern western pattern in method and an echo to the irrationalism ideological trend in the west since modern times. At the same time state clearly that it is complete, unified, systematic in essence.Chapterâ…¡analyzes Qian Zhongshu's opinions on essence view of literature. It shows a variety of levels. He believes that literature is a performance of the psychological state, so that communicating literature and the other social and cultural system such as philosophy, history at the psychological level. But don't confuse literature and humanities and eliminate the difference between the two. Instead highlights the essence of literature. Meanwhile he contrasts literature with other art such as Zen Buddhism, music, painting in the art system, further highlighting the literary language features. The content of the above is a general view on literature essence. It is built on "connecting" method, which is not an abolishment but an open and illumination in a wider view. At base it is an emphasis and protrusion to subjectivity and independence of literature.Chapterâ…¢discusses Qian Zhongshu's concepts on literary works. Emphasizing "nature of literature", will inevitably lead to the tendency to formalism. But because Qian Zhongshu's mode of thinking is dialectical, his theories don't go to the extreme.To focus on the form, but not to despise the content, and content and form constitute a unity of opposites. So he thought that literature should not be divided into two parts:content and form. Under his theory, there are two levels of language and spiritual in the text. I consider that Qian Zhongshu's text structure theory not only come from Chinese traditional poetics, and also is similar to the theories from Hegel and Ingarden, which essentially reflect the relationship between Chinese theory and western theory. According to Qian Zhongshu's theory, text structure is dialectical, which is derived from the dialectics in everything in the world. It has a close relationship with British and American New Criticism, also reflects the most profound concept of Qian Zhongshu on the problem of literature in the philosophical dimension. It is an inevitable result of "connecting" method in logic.Chapterâ…£discusses Qian Zhongshu's opinions on writing. It mainly talks about Qian Zhongshu's concepts on writing subject and writing process. I think that Qian Zhongshu's understanding is comprehensive on writing subject, which both emphasize gift, also do not overlook acquired accumulation, In addition attach importance to the experience. But importance in Qian Zhongshu's theory is different, the acquired knowledge accumulation appears to be more highly valued. And he advocated it in methodology combining with James's idea of "self. On writing, Qian Zhongshu opposes excessive expressing feelings, in the process of criticizing the idea:" emotions lead to change in the appearance of things'" which is an creating method of the Romanticism. He highly endorsed John Ruskin's concept "pathetic fallacy". At the same time he put forward "Seeing a thing and then having a feeling" concept. On communication of art, He criticized Croce's view, emphasizing already "conception ", also not ignoring "expression".Chapter V discusses Qian Zhongshu's opinions on the birth and development of literature. Qian Zhongshu thought that "The birth of art is from a practical purpose "and" practicality disappears and the art saves", which is similar with "art origin theory from game" and "theory of art origin from labor". In fact it is the integration of the two. The genetic principles of art is connected with the idea on the literary essences, meanwhile the opinion on the development of literature is related with the attitudes towards literature. Qian Zhongshu stressed that categories between inheritance and development, learning and innovation, the eastern and the western should be dialectical, only then can the literature has a open and tolerant development environment. Obviously it is a rational and cool thinking on the twentieth-century literary development, to the current literature it still has guiding significance in practice.Chapter VI discusses Qian Zhongshu's literary acceptance theory. Literary acceptance is the last question of literature. In One side Qian Zhongshu emphasized the necessary qualities and conditions of the recipient, in the other side he thought that text implication is rich, hyperplastic and uncertain, the two highlight the importance and necessity of text explanation. Then on the basis, he connected the Chinese with the Western, went through the ancient and the modern, and talked about a great many ideas, concepts and methods on interpretation and acceptance. Meanwhile he provided us with experience guiding with large number of classical examples.The conclusion summarizes the full text, and elucidates the spirit of Qian Zhongshu's literary thoughts, which is embodied in three aspects: the problem consciousness, the wide horizon, the practicality. The six above parts are the external form of Qian Zhongshu's literary thoughts, and the three are its inherent characteristics.