Critical History of Chinese Literature and Literary Theories in Modern Times : With Chronological History of the First Half of the 20th Century as the Material

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  • 中國文學批評史と近代の文學論 --20世紀前半の通史を材料に--
  • チュウゴク ブンガク ヒヒョウシ ト キンダイ ノ ブンガクロン : 20セイキ ゼンハン ノ ツウシ オ ザイリョウ ニ
  • 中国文学批評史と近代の文学論 --20世紀前半の通史を材料に--

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Abstract

China in the first half of the 20th century saw a number of publications on chronological history of literary critiques in premodern China. Many of those writings on critical history of Chinese literature refer to Western literary theories. Such references can often be found in those parts of the writings where the authors define what literature is and what the critique is. We also have many works writing about studies on the premodern China's writings on critical history of Chinese literature. Those studies, however, are either indifferent to the introduction of Western theories or, if concerned with, only attentive to introduction from the West, and tend to pay no attention to how the authors of critical history of Chinese literature came to know Western theories they introduced. The present paper discusses the trend of critical history of Chinese literature until the first half of the 1940s, taking up a number of cases where the critics were obviously getting aware of new literary theories. The oldest of chronological histories in this regard is Zhongguo Wenxue Pipingshi 中國文學批評史 by Chen Zhongfan, in which citations of Western literary theories can be found. If we examine those citations in detail, however, it is highly safe to say that the author made secondary citation from literary theories cited in writings by Japanese authors. Zhongguo Wenxue Pipingshi lists in its References Cited three English publications. It seems that Chen Zhongfan learned Western literary theories from those three writings, referencing Japanese writings in parallel. An ensuing publication, Luo Genze's Zhongguo Wenxue Pipingshi frequently cites in its Introduction literary critiques of men of letters and critics in the West (including Koizumi Yakumo). Though less frequently, Zhu Dongrun's Zhongguo Wenxue Pipingshi Dagang 中國文學批評大綱 likewise cites Western literary theories where his discourse relates to the definition of "critique" and the like. The trend to understand the definition of literature in the West can be found among the learned in the Meiji Japan, e. g., Natsume Soseki, earlier than in China. As China was getting modernized, Chinese critics as well made it general to discuss literature with reference to Western standards, which consequently spread to be applied to literary critiques in premodern times. In fact Luo Genze et al. mentioned Western literary theories learned in encyclopaedias and the like. They did not base their discourses on original references. This, however, indicates that they were aware of the fact that they were obliged to rely on Western theories for their definition of "critique." It is noteworthy that their such attitude to try to absorb Western theories, though incomplete, and theories thus absorbed both played a huge role in cultivating the field called critical history of Chinese literature in China.

Journal

  • 東方學報

    東方學報 94 354-332, 2019-12-20

    Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University

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