Marginal Field Of Vision Humanism Quest And Reflection

In the modernizing transformation of China's history and culture in the 20^thcentury, Fei Ming has an almost unique standing.Unlike most writers who identified with the mainstream of the history,he shows his humanist reflection on China's history and culture in the 20^thcentury with anti-evolutionist position and anti-modernist narration. His choice made him the excluded and the restricted in the history of modern Chinese literature.He lived and died in"glorious loneliness".However,the significance of Fei Ming may lie in his stance of non- mainstream.As he eyed the changes and eternities obstinately from the perspective of a neo- literature writer,the " history forgotten by many historians" he left for the world obtained unique value and significance.This thesis adopts Fei Ming's modern humanist view as a basis to survey how,in the modernizing transformation of China's history and culture,Fei Ming insisted on countering the alienating forces of rationalism,scientificism,modern technology and industry.Guided by the modern humanist cultural inclination,Fei also established his unique realm of art.This thesis aims at exploring Fei Ming's latent foundation behind his texts of obscurity and style of levity by explicating Fei Ming's modern humanist ideas.The paper is divided into four chapters.The first chapter establishes the unique humanist position of Fei Ming's alternative literary narration.In the modernizing transformation of China's literature,Fei Ming's novels developed the imagination for the rural China,depicted the humanist-flavored pastoral countryside as well as the death and life going on eternally there from a unique humanist view.In Fei Ming's view,the pastoral existence and ease toward life and death are of the most eternal value in China's traditional culture,which shall be preserved and valued in the ado of modernity.Hence,as most of the modern writers are criticising the reality,he"closed his eyes to reality" and depicts the pastures with pure feelings.He understands death and life with mercifulness.Viewing reality with mercy and pureness, he constructed the special anti-modernism themes in China.This theme derives from Fei Ming's unique view of the universe.He embraced the cyclical and eternal view of time advocated by Buddhism,and opposed the linear view.From this assumption he criticized and challenged the evolutionary ideas dominant at the time.He pointed out that evolution theory is not a universal truth,and it's only a groundless misunderstanding in the realm of social morality.During the history and culture transformation of China in the 20^th century,Fei Ming's strong identification with Confucianism and Buddhism endowed him with an alternative perspective.He accomplished his alternative literary narration in conflicting with the mainstream.As Fei Ming's modernist humanism is rooted in his belief in Buddhism and Confucianism,the second chapter aims at interpreting Fei Ming's ideas of Buddhism.As a modern writer deeply believing in Buddhism,Fei Ming's Buddhism writing"The theory of a^laya"has always been ignored by scholars.This makes the understanding and criticism of Fei Ming's Buddhism-based work not comprehensive.This thesis aims at grasping the essentials of Fei Ming's belief of Buddhism,through analyzing his "The theory of a^laya".His grasp is the school of kong and you of the Mahayana and Vijnapti-ma^trata^,his family belief that is not in Zen but in Buddhism are the foundation of Fei Ming's ideas of Buddhism,which became clear in his debates with scientificism and neo-Vijnapti-ma^trata^.The third chapter focuses on Fei Ming's Confucianism ideas.From 1922 to 1937, Fei Ming became a neo-literature writer in Beijing whose idea and works integrated Confucianism and Buddhism,though Buddhism inclination was relatively more prominent.From 1937 to 1946,Fei Ming took refuge from the Anti-Japanese War in the countryside,and became a rural intellectual living at the lowest social stratum.The life values of Buddhism were no longer sufficient in aiding people reflect on reality The education of Confucianism Fei Ming received from childhood and his experience with the folks reshaped Fei Ming's ideas and character.A moral entity centering on conscience became Fei Ming's most important character.In his ideas of Confucianism, the exploration of religious meaning from the doctrines of Confucianism is also emphasized.Fei Ming discovered that Confucianism is equivalent to a worldly version of Buddhism,and it constructs religious transcendence via worship of fatality.It accomplishes the practice of transcendence in worldly settings,and in the pursuit of unity between human and destiny.Adopting religion to understand Confucianism might not be orthodox,but Fei Ming's understanding undoubtedly adds dimensions to the interpretation of Confucianism.The fourth chapter is devoted to Fei Ming's esthetic ideas.In line with his position between Confucianism and Buddhism,Fei Ming's esthetic ideas also wandered some where between these two fields,and finally settled in Confucianism.As the 1930s is the time when Fei Ming's writing and esthetic ideas peaked,and he started to understand that life is like a dream.His esthetic ideas manifested themselves in his theory and writings.This chapter focuses on Fei Ming's esthetic interpretation of "dreams".It went through three stages.First is the fascination with the illusionary beauty of dreams, which is influenced by Shakespeare.The second stage is when he got inspired by Li Shangyin's poems and started consciously portray dreams.In the third stage,he was guided by Vijnapti-ma^trata^,and integrated esthetic ideas with life philosophy to, achieve the Buddhism understanding of"Life is like a dream".Fei Ming's esthetic ideas of beauty started from the influence of western literature, and gradually returned to traditional Chinese literature,and finally consummate in the inspiration of Vijnapti-ma^trata^.Yet,inspirations from Buddhism reflection and debates are not accepted by scientific logics.Fei Ming's esthetics of dream finally developed into something of unique charms that is beyond the understanding of the secular world.Fei Ming's writing in the 1920s and 1930s adopted the illusions to construct the mirrored reflections.By depicting the illusions of the virtual reality and the emptiness of dream-like life,he completed his aesthetic construction based on the idea of "emptiness".In the 1940s,following Fei Ming's Confusianist conversion,his aesthetic ideas turned to Confucianist aesthetics.During this period,while seeking protection from war in Huangmei,Fei Ming recognised the historical reality and the suffering of Chinese village and dilligently devoted into the research of folk customs,which were energetic life styles passed down in Chinese villages.He made humanism interpretations of folk customs from different aspects,such as the regulating function of morality,aesthetic functions of arts,civilizing functions of souls and identifying functions of culture so that he offered realistic response to the Confucianist aesthetic idea ---- "observing the rise and fall of folk customs",and "learning lessons from the gains and losses".Through systematic study on Fei Ming's ideas,this thesis suggests that under the modern humanism field of vision in 20^thcentury China and as an actual existence who had been expelled from literary history for a time,Fei Ming echoed the great social changes with his unique life experience and humanism stand.Fei Ming's unique developing course of thought produced unconventional literary texts which exhibited attractive charm in modern literature and demonstrated the significant meaning of the existence of Fei Ming.