Abstract
With the introduction of “modernity” in the 1990s, the limitation of the “modernized” model was exposed and finally replaced; thus the new turn of literary history research models from the “modernized” model to the “modernity” one has been started. Li Oufan and David Der-wei Wang’s discussion about the “modernity of the late Qing Dynasty” had a huge influence on academic circles in mainland China, after which, lots of mainland scholars began to study the literature of late Qing Dynasty from the angle of “modernity”, broadening the narrative range of modern literary history and renewing the research perspectives. The writer takes the example of Li Oufan and David Der-wei Wang to study the turn of literary history to the “Modernity” Model.
Highlights
Since the 1980s, there has been an internally dialectical development in the overseas research on Chinese Modern and Contemporary Literature, which has made outstanding achievements
David Der-wei Wang has questioned the traditional mainland narrative of modern literary history to invite us to revalue the modernity of Chinese literature, “We must ask ourselves when we are revaluing the modernity of Chinese literature, whether we are still stuck in the ‘May 4th’ model and ignorant of the colorful world except it”
Both Li Oufan’s delineation of the “modernity of aesthetics” and David Der-wei Wang’s construction of the “modernity of the late Qing Dynasty” tend to subvert the “center” from the “margin”, which can be regarded as an exploration and manifestation of the “repressed modernity” and an important approach of overseas study on Chinese modern literature—to revalue the mainstream narrative of literary history, to question the grand narrative and expose its repressed mechanism, and at the same time, to rediscover what has been repressed by the grand narrative
Summary
Since the 1980s, there has been an internally dialectical development in the overseas research on Chinese Modern and Contemporary Literature, which has made outstanding achievements. If we say that Chinese intellectual circles’ “modernized” narrative in 1980s, called “new-enlightenment” narrative, was influenced by American “modernization theories” directly or indirectly and took part in the spreading and reproducing process of the “modernized” theories (He, 2010), as for the turn of literary history research models one of its most important practical and theoretical origins was from A History of Modern Chinese Fiction of Xia Zhiqing, a Chinese-American scholar. If we say that the construction of the “modernized” model in the 1980s is directly related to the aesthetic enlightenment of Xia’s A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, the turning of the literary history research model to “modernity” was mainly from the promotion and influence of overseas scholars after Xia Zhiqing. Taking the examples of Li Oufan and David Der-wei Wang, the paper tries to demonstrate the turn of Literary History to the “Modernity” Model
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
