Multi-Cultures And The New Traditions Of Chinese Literary Criticism

In recent years, some subjects became the focuses of Chinese literary criticism, such as globalization .and multi-cultures, modernity and tradition, center and margin, dominant culture and popular culture. There are some propositions about Chinese nationalism and the reconstruction of Chinese literary theories around these subjects. This dissertation will study carefully them and the new traditions formed since May Fourth Movement, put forward our opinions on them and their faults, and probe into the problems and the puzzles which Chinese literary criticism faces. We'11 pay much attention to the real conditions of the thoughts, cultures, and the literary theories according to cultural critique and contextual analysis. It especially emphasizes the important duties of literary theory in the construction of meanings, the transmission of values and the critique of cultures. And it points out the misunderstandings which contemporary Chinese literary theory should shake off in its theory initiation, the pursuit of modernization, and the cultural contradictions between the West and the East.The main ideas of this dissertation are:1, Culture is the external symbol of the national spiritual existence. Language is the expression of the tradition of the national culture. Andentering a language means entering a national culture. The nature of Chinese language is a cultural concept in Chinese literary criticism. The study of literary criticism should choose the cultural position, take the tasks of the transmission of value and the cultural critique.2, Some new traditions have formed gradually in the development of Chinese literary criticism nearly 100 years. They are the consequences of the fusion between old and foreign traditions in the special context of the 20th century, including the dualism of the West and China, Marxism, the pursuit of modernity, social utilitarianism, evolution, literary revolution, realism etc. They are the special heritage of Chinese literary criticism in the 20th century and have deeply influenced upon the development of Chinese literary criticism. Also, they are the local reality of new theoretical construction that we should face.3, The contemporary multi-cultures have two meanings: one is the coexistence of national cultures in the world, another the coexistence of the different elements in a national culture. We should encourage communications of national cultures based on the spirit of rationality and the distinction of national culture in the world and not limit to the West and China. Meanwhile, we should pay attention to the different ideas in Chinese literary criticism and encourage the theoretical construction on multi-resources.4, The intellectual as critic should clearly understand the duty of literary criticism and honestly take their mission. And they should keep their independence and their critical spirit.This dissertation is divided into six chapters. The first one is an introduction that reviews briefly the new traditions and the main puzzles which Chinese literary criticism faces. The second chapter focuses on the complicated links among language, culture, and tradition. It points out the development of tradition always base on the rupture and the continuity oftraditions. New traditions always emerge from the change of context, foreign influences, and the old tradition. It also emphasizes the different values of texts and mental level of traditions. The third chapter discusses the different meanings of multi-cultures both in the world and in China. It points out the cultural contradictions between the West and the East is the trace of development of the thoughts and culture in China in the past 100 years, and the new traditions formed from this situation. It analyses the dominant culture, the high culture, the popular culture, and the folk culture in contemporary China. The fourth chapter reviews the course of the pursuit modernization of Chinese literature and theory and its new traditions, and refers to the difference of the modernization...