The Illness Discourse In Chinese Literature: From Late Qing To May 4^th Era

Between the 19^thand 20^thcentury,a great deal of illness metaphors had broken out in the Chinese literature and political discourses.China was seen as a heavily sick body and literature as a healing method.This medical metaphor internally laid the foundation of Chinese modern literature.The discourse of illness was a basic theme of the Chinese literature in the 20^thcentury.But this dissertation is neither a research on the illness theme in the literature history,nor the aesthetical analysis of the illness metaphor.The literature in Late Qing and May 4^thperiod had been involved in the biopolitics in Modern China history.This dissertation mainly focuses on the illness discourse and tries to tell the story of literature and politics which constructed the nation-state and modern subjects.The origination of subjects and modern literature in the process of modernization of China is the inner theme and motive of this dissertation.This dissertation consists of five chapters.The first chapter gives a description of the illness discourse from Late Qing to May 4^thperiod.It points out that the origination of illness discourse is the encounter of modern West power reversal discourse.Chapter two gives a deep and detailed explanation to the historical reason and the evolution of illness discourse by reinterpreting the national character description in Chinese modern literature.It also analyzes some historical changes in the process of the modernization of China and the profound impact of these changes had on the Chinese modern literature.Chapter three firstly retrospects the origination history of the literature revolution in Late Qing and May 4^thperiod to explain the symbiotic relationship between the modern literature and the construction of nation-state.Then it analyzes the critical function of illness metaphors in the new novels in Late Qing period from a micro perspective.It reveals the questions neglected by other researches:the illness metaphors in novels had endured changes from Late Qing to May 4^thperiod.From illness as metaphor to metaphor of illness,the illness discourse of May 4^th era continued the criticism of society.Furthermore,it had helped to construct the building of new people/modern people.And illness had been the facet of new people/modern people.Chapter four and five focuses on two most influential writers in May 4^thperiod:Lun Xun and Yu Dafu.By the double historization of the texts and the interpretations,the dissertation tries to reveal how the modern literature expressed specific physical feelings to create a modern self in the name of illness.