Search For Modernity

Leo Ou-fan Lee is an American-Chinese scholar who has great influence in the world and enjoys great honor in the academy field. He fetches most attention in the nucleus generation scholars in America and becomes another head of modern Chinese literature study after C. T. Hsia.Lee's outstanding talent and academy thoughts have great wallop to modern Chinese literature scholars. Searching for modernity is a vivid characteristic of his academic study. He introduces the theory of two kinds of modernity and explores the particular Chinese modernity in the post-modernity context. For the first time he relates modernity to the development of modern Chinese literature. He puts the literature and culture of the whole 20th century into his modernity research network. He revalues the romantic generation in May 4th movement. He draws the outline of the romantic tide in modern Chinese literature, pointing out the romantic exposure in it. He forms a set of narration through unearthing"decadence", which opposes that of May 4th movement and left wing narration. His review on Lu Xun's ambivalent mind and dark side is special. Through the visual angle of"decadence", he figures a complex and profound"human Lu Xun". He reconstructs the culture of the Shanghai city in the 1930's and 1940's, and examines the modernity of modern Shanghai. He penetrates metropolis cultural landscape by referring to the theories of"imaginary community"and"public sphere". All of the above mentioned aspects form an important say which can't be ignored.Lee often wanders from modern to classic resources, from China to Western countries, from modern to post-modern theories and among literature, history and philosophy realms. He invokes many kinds of theories rightly, at the mean time, he oppugns them and manages to form his own original theory and method. He is open and smart, using many styles and sensibility in his articles. He seldom fixes himself to routines. His particular viewpoint and narrative style are fused ably and harmoniously.