Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 8, 2024

 

The Restoration of Classical Literary Concepts and the Construction of Historical Theory: Reflections on the Writing of Early Chinese Literary History

(Abstract)

 

Jiang Ronggang

 

In modern times, the terminology of Chinese literary concepts has transitioned from “wenzhang” to “wenxue.” This transitional period saw the emergence of two paradigms of classical literary historiography based on these concepts, along with corresponding views on literary history: “periodical changes in content and form” and “the proper or coherent evolution of style,” versus “literary self-consciousness” and “the succession of dominant genres.” These two literary concepts their associated literary histories writings, each with their own biases, have struggled to meet the new demands of the times. The dissemination of Marxist historical materialism and literary theory in China has injected new momentum into the writing of classical literary history and its theoretical construction. This has led to the creation of outstanding and influential works of literary history, with the historical materialist view of literary history becoming the mainstream perspective in subsequent classical literary history writing. To contribute effectively to constructing a discourse and research system for Chinese literature both rooted in indigenous literary traditions and oriented towards the present and future, we should continuously take the materialist view of history as a guiding principle, reflect on the literary conceptual system and its construction of historical theory in early literary histories, and explore its valuable aspects.