The picture shows Tibetan people in ethnic costumes. The reading habits of different ethnic groups in China are a research topic worthy of investigation in terms of sociology of literature studies. For example, it is necessary to discuss what reading habits are common among Tibetans, given that almost all of them are Buddhists.

 

Literature has profound historical significance and it is deeply rooted in society. It is of great practical and theoretical significance when considering sociology from multiple perspectives since literary works are closely tied to economics, ideology and cultural heritage. Recently, scholars have called for more literary studies from a sociological perspective, also known as the sociology of literature.

 

Social view of ‘literary life‘
Given that literature and society are closely connected, it is essential that studies of literary works should be conducted from a sociological perspective. In recent years, sociological research methods have been increasingly used to analyze literary theories and criticism. The relationship between literature and society has prompted consideration within academia.

“As society develops, literature has embraced more functions. Literary forms and genres, as well as general aesthetic values and norms are being applied to various aspects of society,” said Fang Weigui, a professor from Beijing Normal University, “Different forms of literature echo the diversity and vitality in life.”

After World War II, some researchers started to analyze literature using different methods. In the preface to the Chinese edition of Sociology of Literature, Robert Escarpit states that literature socialization is comprehensively investigated from the perspectives of linguistics, structuralism and communication science.

“Sociology of literature as a concept refers to more than just literary aesthetics. It sets literary aesthetics against a broader social and historical backdrop,” said Chen Guo’en, a professor from the College of Chinese Language and Literature at Wuhan University. He pointed out that sociology of literature enriches literary studies and benefits its development.
 

Fang said that sociology of literature attempts to reveal social aspects of literature and to sketch different profiles of “literary life” in a comprehensive way.

 

Defining the discipline
Throughout the history of sociology of literature, its definition, research objects and methods have been debated extensively among theorists. “In order to answer the question of ‘what is sociology of literature,’ we have to know what literature is first”, Fang said. “Various analyses of sociology of literature are in fact explanations of the essence of literature.”
 

Chao Gejin, director of the Institute of Ethnic Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argued that research on sociology of literature should concentrate on certain aspects of sociology instead of the inherent laws of literature. Some classical research projects have focused on discussing the relationships between the literary development of a nation, and the regions, groups and times its writers belong to, Chao said.
 

Chao said that studies on sociology of literature have not received much attention in Chinese academia. Considering that China is a country of multiple ethnic groups and languages, reading habits in different regions in China is a research topic worthy of investigation. “For example, it is necessary to discuss what reading habits are common among Tibetans, given that almost all of them are Buddhists,” said Chao.
 

Fang said that the concept sociology of literature is not new in Chinese academia. Many foreign texts on the subject were translated into Chinese more than 20 years ago. Nevertheless, research adopting this perspective is rarely seen.
 

“However, if sociology of literature can be defined as a model of literary analysis based on experiments, many kinds of Chinese research fall into the category of sociology. But the problem is that, some researchers failed to grasp the research method, only reaching some conclusions based on assumptions, or neglecting the problems that deserve an extensive discussion,” Fang said.

 

Entwined with literature
In the past few years, some researchers have said that in the future, literary studies will witness a new turn to sociology. Some scholars said that the new forms of sociology of literature will no longer be the mere crossing of two disciplines. They will draw materials from such fields as history, anthropology, and philosophy.
 

Cross-penetration between disciplines is one dominant feature of this area of sociology. Nonetheless, scholars also indicate that research on sociology of literature cannot be split from literature itself. While adopting research methods of other disciplines, literary studies cannot violate literature itself and its literary aesthetic characteristics.
 

Chen contended that research on sociology of literature represents more than the investigation of the social context in literary works. The beauty of human nature and the richness of the social context of the literary works should also be considered, so that we can understand the aesthetic creation and the social ideals meant to be conveyed.

 

 

Ming Haiying and Sun Miaoning are reporters at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.