The Comparative Study Of Wole Soyinka And Lu Hsun’ Cultural Consciousness In The Period Of Cultural Transition

Wole Soyinka is a famous African drama writer. His dramas are appreciated by thescholars from all over the world. In1986, he got the Nobel Prize in Literature. Since hegot the Nobel Prize in Literature, many scholars from different countries make manyresearches on him and his works. The main value of his literature lies in that he preservesand spreads the African culture.Lu Hsun is a great writer and revolutionist in our country. His works are theimportant part of Chinese literature. He makes a great effect on the development ofChinese culture during the culture transition period. In the chaos times of China, Lu Hsunmakes his own cultural choice. What he did is a positive role for the development of theChinese culture. His cultural consciousness affects the modern people’s cultural choice.Though Wole Soyinka and Lu Hsun don’t live in the same time or in the samecountry, they live in the similar historical background, have the similar study experienceand face the same cultural problems. Nigeria and China belong to the third world countries,and they were all aggressed by the western countries. Thus there are certain similarities intheir cultural transition. These two countries’ modernization is not driven by its owninternal force which is produced from its historical and cultural criticism and self-renewalbut by the western invasion. These two countries’ modern experiences and reaction towardsuch experiences seem to be different, but its essence is extremely similar. That is, thattheir own national characteristics of cultural civilization formed in the process of collidingand fusing the western modern civilization with its own traditional culture, and the processof transplanting and filtrating the indigenous civilization. The intellectuals make greateffect in the course of the inheritance and development of culture. Wole Soyinka and LuHsun are the most representative figures in the process of two countries’ new culturalconstruction in the age of the cultural transition and thought cataclysm.This thesis compares and analyzes these two literary giants using the theory ofParallel Study. So this thesis compares their cultural consciousness. It has a certainacademic value and practical significance. At one hand we make a deeper analysis of themin order to let people understand them. Today the topic of the communication betweencultures becomes the hot point. There are many difficulties in this process, so we can getsome advices and revelation from comparing their cultural choice.This thesis includes four chapters. The first chapter is an introduction. It introduces the present situation of the domestic and abroad analysis about Wole Soyinka and Lu Hsun,the significant of this thesis and the brief introduction to parallel study in comparativeliterature. In the second chapter, it compares the historical background and life experienceof them in order to discover the similarities and the differences between them. In chapterthree, it compares and analyzes Wole Soyinka and Lu Hsun’s cultural consciousness. Thefinal chapter makes a conclusion of the whole content.