Modernism And The Cultural Politics Of The 1980s

The dissertation taking Li Tuo's literature practice in 1980s as the main clue, focuses on the occurrence of Modernism in 1980s and indicates that the Modernism not only came from the urgency of the literature's independence, but also midwiferied the new identity of intellectuals, constructing the new dominant ideology in 1980s as rebellion against the popularization in the Mao era.The first part discusses the criticism on "Stream of Consciousness" in the New Period and analysises on the historical conditions for the Modernism coming into being in 1980s. It points out that the occurrence of Modernism had satisfied what the new intellectuals' need in power which became the basis of Neoenlightment in the 80s.The second part studies the "Seeking Roots" movement from the view of the Modernism. It concludes that the "Seeking Roots" movement was just an effort of intellectuals for sharing political power, which could be proved by their definition of "national tradition" .The last part has an analysis of "Pioneering Literature" in late 1980s. The naming of "Pioneering Literature" shows the crisis of literary criticism and the representation of "pure literature".