The History Of The Reception Of Roland Barthes’ Literary Theory In China

The image of Roland Barthes in China has changed four timesr’formalist’—structuralist——post-structuralist——critics of mass culture image.Through the study of the development of Chinese literary theory,we found that’formalist’image was in the conversion period between the revolution instrumentalism and aesthetic autonomy,the structuralist image appeared in the times of aesthetic characteristics,the post-structuralist image catered to the rise of post-modernism,Mass culture image coincided with the rise of consumer culture.The image transformation of Barthes closely related to the development of Chinese literary theory.In early1980s,Barthes’literary theory upsurge into china with ’methodology’,as the development of Marx’literary theory resources,participating in the debate between the revolution instrumentalism and aesthetic autonomy.Works of scientific semiology were first translated, academic circles used structuralism criticism of Barthes to criticize the linear,isolated,single social history criticism.In late1980s,as the increase of self-consciousness of literature theory,academic circles made a new understanding about the relationship between language and literature or world. In1990s,China appeared new aesthetical standard,literature and culture no longer rely on Ideology,giving up pursuing the eternal values. Barthes’literary theory was involved in deconstructing the’subject、’history’、’death of author’、’theory of text’、’degree writing Zero’、 historical discourse were popular in the articles of literary theory and literature review.In21century,since the consumer culture、mass culture, attention of academic circles shifted to the method of cultural semiology and diary,autobiographical writing,some scholars thought that Barthes change from scholar to author.Barthes’thought occurred two qualitative mutation in China,from the conservative method theorists to radical intellectuals to author,we had discovered a previously unknow’new’Barthes. Four periods of Roland Barthes’literary theory in china was completely different from his own academic stage,his own academic stage as follows:1953-1956’social mythology’stage, dedicating to exposing the bourgeois society cultural myth operation mechanism;1957-1967scientific semiology stage,1968-1980, committing to the establishment of the structuralism semiotics science foundation; textuality stage, paying attention to structure difference and the instability of sign,pursuing pleasure of text through writing. From the point of west scholars,Barthes’thought had consistency,decoding,demystifing the signfiance,putting forward writing text,were to break the forever myth of the existing order.Barthes’image in Chinese academic circles was quite different from his image in the western academic circle,which was because the demand of the development of contemporary Chinese literary theory contributed to the image change of Barthes in China.By short,the reception history of Roland Barthes’literary theory in China was the reflection of the development of contemporary Chinese literary theory.