A Study Of "Ah Q 's Biography" In The Perspective Of Reception Aesthetics

The readers and the condition of their acceptance of The True Story of Ah Q are the subjects in this study. Based on the comments of The True Story of Ah Q over the past century, it does an in-depth analysis from the perspective of readers’ relationship and reader acceptance in each era about this novel. Further, it also elaborates on the problems appeared during the past hundred years of reception and interpretation history, with the purpose to explore the evolution of the trajectory aesthetic taste of different readers and their respective causes in different eras. It tries to grasp the overall discipline of reception history on The True Story of Ah Q, provides reference to the researches on the history of reader reception. In addition, the reception aesthetics interpretation of The True Story of Ah Q enables people to treat this theory with an impartial attitude, take all the advantages and short comings into consideration and have a better and more flexible utilization of this theory.The thesis is divided into three parts:The first part is about the readers of The True Story of Ah Q under the vision of reception aesthetics. With reader-theory as the theoretical basis of this part, it discusses about concrete presupposition of implied reader from Lu Xun’s perspective with Iser’s theory on implied reader. Then, it analyzes the actual readers and implied readers from the angle of expectation horizon. Thus, it lays the foundation for the study of the hundred years reception history of The True Story of Ah Q after clarifying the relationships among the actual readers, implied readers and the subjects of enlightenment of this novel.The second part divides the actual readers into general readers, critics and literary historians. Then, it studies the diachronical reception situations of these three types of readers from the publication of The True Story of Ah Q since the1920 s. Some representative commentary is analyzed in this part. Later, conclusion shows that the reception based on subconscious expectation of general readers is more in line with author’s intention. However, critics’ acceptance displays the narrowing phenomenon and stability due to the influence and constraints of interpreting community. Among them, the interpretation from those authoritative readers would influence the aesthetic tendency and reading taste of general readers in direct or indirect ways; then, it would even determine the fate of the work. Because of the impact of reception restrains, the reception of literary historians is featured with obvious ideological characteristics which shows great limitations.The third part analyzes the problems appeared in the century’s history on the reception of The True Story of Ah Q. Firstly, from the starting point of unidirectional flow phenomenon among different types of readers, it explores the approaches of dialogue between general readers and the text. Secondly, from the perspective of overall links of readers’ reception around the latest 100 years, it reflects on the problems appeared during the development of expectation horizon.The fourth part reflects the enlightenment given by this interpretation case on the aesthetics theory of reception. To begin with, it reveals the problem of interpretation limitation from the contradiction between the inadequate interpretation within the reception history of The True Story of Ah Q and the over political interpretation. Then, it reflects on the theory of expectation horizon from the trend of unified politics appeared among the critics and literary historians’ interpretation of The True Story of Ah Q.From the angle of Reception Aesthetics, The True Story of Ah Q is a work of response-inviting structure and empty frameworks. It attracts comments and interpretations from readers of different ages. And readers in different times with different levels endowed this novel with various significance. From the history of effect on The True Story of Ah Q in the past century, we can clearly touch the pulse of the times. It also reflects the aesthetic taste, appreciation abilities, expectation horizon, social ideas as well as other ideological developments and changes in different eras; at the same time, those phenomena and disciplines also provide great importance in our study of the reception aesthetics.