Chinese factors in the Routledge encyclopedia of narrative theory

Abstract

Abstract The Routledge encyclopedia of narrative theory is the first encyclopedia of narrative theory in the world to reference the practices of the Chinese narrative tradition and theory. However, the editors have compiled the encyclopedia from the systemic perspective of their knowledge of contemporary Western narratology, focusing on the characteristic differences between contemporary Western narratology and the narrative theories of the so-called ancient non-Western societies. To help overcome this shortcoming, this paper introduces the Chinese narrative tradition from the standpoint of Sinology, attending to the oral/written and history/narrative dichotomies that represent the editors’ academic preferences; additionally, it also provides insights into the characteristics of the varied Chinese narrative theories recorded in the encyclopedia from the perspective of contemporary Western narrative theory, and highlights the Chinese contributions to the construction of the knowledge system of narrative theory.