The Analysis of the Status of Contemporary Chinese Literature

Abstract

In the context of globalization, as China is becoming an important character on the world stage, Chinese literature’s mission is to be known by the world, and Chinese literature is poised to change the shared cultural landscapes in the world. However, contemporary Chinese literature is not as popular in the world as Western literature in spite of the implementation of “going out” strategy. Chinese literature, in the age of globalization, is increasingly marginalized by world literature. Some scholars hold the idea that for Chinese literary seeking recognition in the realm of world literature, the most formidable challenge to improve the status of Chinese literature at present is either ensuring the proper translation into English or securing the target readers’ access to them. The most important point is that the target readers’ need to be contextually activated and to become actively present in the world literary system. Based on the current international situation, the paper introduces a brief introduction of modern Chinese literature, some performances of the marginalization of modern Chinese literature and analyses the reasons why Chinese literature is not well received as Western literature. The paper is rounded off with suggestions from certain aspects as to what we can do to improve the status of Chinese literature.