The Literary Reputation Of Henry James In China--A Doxological Study

Henry James was the consummate American man .of letters. There is not much doubt that he deserves to be called the first of English-writing novelists today. The criticism of Henry James has been among the most prolific in the academy. 1934 saw the publication of a special number of Hound and Horn., "Homage to Henry James." The Henry James Review, founded in 1979, is most notable for its fine balance between contemporary analysis and traditional scholarship. Leon Edel, the uncontested dean of James studies, won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for the five volumes of his Life oj Henry James. Henry James Encyclopedia published in 1989 provided more helpful information on James than any other single-volume works.James's revival was initiated half a century ago in the English-speaking world but it did not happen in China until the last two decades. Even so, Henry James is quite a new name to most of Chinese readers. His work was first translated into Chinese in 1934, however, the first attentive study on James and his works appeared more than twenty years later. People in China tend to regard The Portrait of a Lady and Daisy Miller as his best works . There has been little mentioning of his works of the major phase which can best represent his unique technique of writings.This paper is to provide a careful description of James reception in China. It focuses on the doxological study of James. The historical and comparative methods are adopted in the research work. The Chinese references are given together with a translation made by myself; for full information, please refer to the select bibliography.The thesis is composed of five chapters.The first chapter gives a brief introduction to the reception of Henry James in China. The early figures enjoy more attention in this part.Chapter Two tries to make a comprehensive study of the publication of the works of Henry James in China. Much emphasis is placed on the history of the publication of the novelist, and a detailed discussion follows on some of the works.Chapter Three is devoted to a thorough explanation of Henry James criticism in China from historical respect and then to a focused introduction of some figures who dedicated themselves to James studies in China.Chapter Four aims to examine the reasons why Chinese treat this distinguished novelist in such an indifferent way.The last chapter presents a possibility of a marvelous future for Henry James reception in China.