Discourse Study On The Compiling System Of Introduction To Literature During The Republican Period

In early 20 th century, with a trend of rapidity and fearlessness, the western civilization pushed forward Chinese culture development. Facing the unprecedented changes which had never emerged in the history before, Chinese had generated emotion of fear. Lu Xun had once raised the question of “does Chinese culture lose self-confidence”. Chinese scholars were forced to respond. In such model of “impact--response”, it could be seen that the national salvation and enlightenment responsibilities Chinese scholars taking on in the face of cultural and political crises. The introduction to literature during the Republican Period was born in such turbulent situation; it showed historical features of the transition from old to new and the coherence of west and east. Four texts are selected in this thesis. They are On Literature by Liu Yongji(1992), Introduction to Literature by Ma Zonghuo(1925), A Narrative of Introduction to Literature by Jiang Liangfu(1930), and Teaching Materials on Introduction to Literature by Lao She(1935). These texts represent three different writing patterns of introduction to literature. The first writing pattern takes classical teaching materials in transformation period as the center, for example, Introduction to Literature by Ma Zonghuo. On the basis of Chinese ancient literature, he adopted approach of Chinese-style westernization by trying to favor the status of traditional literature. In Ma Zonghuo’s opinion, Chinese literature was superior to western literature. A Narrative of Introduction to Literature by Jiang Liangfu was also compiled by combining little short of western scientific method and common Chinese materials.The second writing pattern is the one digesting the past and the present with an equal attitude toward China and West in teaching materials of transformation period, for example, On Literature by Liu Yongji. The third writing pattern is the west-regulate-China in new teaching materials of introduction to literature, for example, teaching Materials on Introduction to Literature by Lao She. In the view of modern persons and his identity of a writer, Lao She emphasized the aesthetic value of literature itself and the construction of literature discipline. The research ideas in this thesis are focusing on cultural ecology in the academy of the Republic of China, analyzing the inside thinking mode of scholars in the Republic of China, combining case study and intensive reading of texts, and then rethinking the discourse study on the compiling system of introduction to literature during the Republican Period. The introduction to literature during the Republican Period generally existed in the form of teaching materials which had dug into, selected from and arranged from ancient literary concepts materials. These teaching materials used western modern literary concept and reinterpreted the key concepts in ancient literature to find out their modern significance. “The adjunction of the new to the old” was the feature of compilers of “introduction to literature” in 1920 s. Generally speaking, the compiling of teaching materials during the Republican Period showed the academic confidence and cultural consciousness of scholar during the Republican Period.