Le Clezio And Its Acceptance Of The Works In China

The French writer J.M.G. Le Clezio won the Noble Prize in Literature 2008. He made his shining debut in the field of French literature when he was only 23 years old by his first novel Le Proces-verbal, and he never stopped writing, created dozens of works including novels, short stories, travelogues, essays and many other forms of literature. During his writing career of nearly half a century, Le Clezio has been awarded many times and his works have been translated into dozens of languages spread throughout the world. In 1994, he was voted as the greatest living French writer. This distinguished writer, however, has limited popularity or influence in China. Even after he won the Nobel Prize, he and his works were still not widely recognized and praised in China.This thesis examines his representative works, reveals the situation of the reception of his works in China, aims to analyze, from the angle of text and reader, based on the reception aesthetics by the Constance School led by Jauss and Iser, the factors that affect the reception, and imagine the perspective of the reception in China in the future.This study first gives an introduction of the reception aesthetics by the Constance School which forms a theoretical basis of the analysis of the reception of Le Clezio in China in the following chapters. According to the reception theory, the meaning of the text is not fixed; it's derived from the dynamic process of reading which needs the active participation of readers. The "response" and the interpretation of the text by readers may vary with the cultural background and experience of readers and the socio-cultural environment of the area of reception, so there may be a different result of reception of the same writer and the same work in different countries or regions. It's necessary to analyze these factors such as the text itself, the socio-cultural environment of China and the cultural background and experience of Chinese readers for the study of the reception of Le Clezio in China.The second chapter gives a summarization of his writings, analyzes the evolution of his writing style and feature divided into pre-and-post periods by the 80s, and common themes in his works:first, the critique of western modern society too materialistic; second, the evils of colonialism; third, the humane care for the vulnerable groups; forth, the concern for non-mainstream civilization; fifth, the escape. In a word, his works are full of spirit of eco-criticism, humane care and desire of blending in the nature and exotic civilizations.The third chapter reveals the situation of translation and reception of his works in China, and analyses the reasons that cause the situation of the reception. The evaluation of Le Clezio from Chinese scholars has shown a confrontation between support and criticism. With these opposite views, based on the reception aesthetics, from the aspect of the text and the geo-socio-cultural environment of the reception areas and the experience of readers, the reasons that cause this cold reception are summarized:first, there are not enough translations of his works, plus his early works were too obscure to attract Chinese readers and thus impacted the effect of reading and reception; second, his themes and style of works do not fully meet the aesthetic motivation of Chinese general readers; third, his works are not fully consistent with the mainstream values in current socio-cultural environment of China.The fourth chapter discusses the possibility and the necessity of a better reception of Le Clezio in China in the future. According to the opinion of reception theory, reading is a historical process, reception is a diachronic behavior, so the sense of the work is not fixed, and there might be different effects of understanding and reception of the same text for readers from different times. His works might be well received in the future, because of what we can learn from his works, and also because as time goes, the environment and the situation of readers may be changed, so does the effect of understanding and reception of the same text. Therefore, it's possible and necessary that his works full of spirit of eco-criticism and humane care are widely spread and understood in China in the future.This paper has come to the final conclusion:the style and feature of Le Clezio's works don't correspond with factors such as the current socio-cultural environment of China and the aesthetic motivations of Chinese readers, thus it's difficult to gain the recognition of Chinese general readers. These are the main factors that impact the understanding and acceptance of Le Clezio's works. Furthermore, whether from a theoretical or practical point of view, it's possible that his works will be widely spread and recognized in the future of China.This study about the reception of Le Clezio in China, is actually also a thinking about the interaction between the role of literature in society and the role of society in literature. It has a practical significance for Chinese readers in the cultural globalization in pondering the condition of human existence and socio-cultural environment during the reading and reception of French literature and even the whole foreign literature.