Aesthetics of literary tourism guide the spatial construction of ‘home’

Abstract

ABSTRACT We know very little about the mechanisms of the spatial construction of aesthetic in tourism. This study takes Mo Yan's former residence, the first Chinese national to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, as an example and adopts the content analysis to explore basic characteristics and mechanisms of aesthetic guidance of ‘home’ space in literary tourism, and to dialogue with the traditional spatial construction dominated by capital, power, artistic institutions and traditional culture. The study reveals that: (1) As a conceptual manifestation of the space of ‘home’, Mo Yan's former residence is supported by three main leads: the writer, work, and hometown. The combination of ‘writer – work – hometown’ is the most significant feature of the spatial construction of ‘home’ under the guidance of aesthetics in literary tourism; (2) Mo Yan's former residence is transformed into a spatial representation of the idea of ‘home’ and becomes the core tourist attraction, responding to both the ‘aesthetic judgment’ and ‘aesthetics of participation’ emphasizing multi-sensory experiences and stimulating comprehension, imagination as well as emotion. These findings contribute to the tourism development of literary resources, the creation of literary tourism sites, and the enhancement of the sense of tourism experience.