Thinking on the Research Methods of Dialogism in Chinese and Western Literary Theories

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study of Chinese questions in Western literary theories in the twentieth century gets under way with the problem awareness to overcome the anxiety of the Westernization of Chinese questions, and then further uncovers the complex relationships between Western literary theories and Chinese questions. To this end, it is a must to comprehensively update the research methods of dialogism in Chinese and Western literary theories: transcend the “The western impact, China's response” mode, adopt the “China's demand, China's option” mode; transcend the unidirectional “The western influence, China's reception” mode, adopt the bidirectional “detour-access East–West” mode; and transcend the “comparison-opposition East–West” mode, adopt the “dialogue-consensus East–West” mode. Based upon the understanding of “vision dislocation” and “unequal dialogic relationship”, I intend to help carry out joint discussions between Chinese and Western literary theories on the platform of Chinese questions, and establish a dialogue mechanism between Chinese and Western literary theories by “make the (research) objects voice themselves”. “Studying China via the world” is the whole point of Chinese questions in Western literary theories in the twentieth century.