With the emergence of such new literary genres as online and mobile literature, critics should adjust their theories and then guide authors in practice.

 

Since the dawn of the 21st century, literary criticism has become increasingly vital to all forms of literature. It not only serves as a platform for writers and readers to communicate but also create guidelines for future works. Since the 1980s, literacy criticism has been developing rapidly, which is closely related to the prosperity of the cultural industry as well as literary creation.

However, literary criticism is lacking in quality and influence. Overwhelmed by the emergence of such new literary genres as online and mobile literature, literary criticism is incapable of providing timely and effective theoretical analysis. Also, there is a lack of sound communication between authors and critics.

 Moreover, literary criticism nowadays is incapable of effectively building upon valuable concepts and connotations in traditional Chinese critical discourse to adapt them to a modern context. Therefore, it is hard to construct a discourse system of literary criticism with Chinese characteristics.

One explanation for the shortcomings of literary criticism is its alienation from reality. Literary criticism can gain vitality only when it pays close attention to reality. As new genres, modes of production, themes and subjects emerge, critics should constantly adjust and update their theories, formulating new strategies to cope with the changes.

Another reason is that some critics tend to assess literary works in the new era according to outdated views due to a lack of keen observation and thinking on contemporary literary works. They cannot select excellent works and provide theoretical interpretation and evaluation.

In addition, many high-level literary resources are concentrated within professional publications, the readers of which are mainly experts, while ordinary readers can hardly access quality resources. Therefore, literary criticism cannot achieve great social effect.

 Lastly, influenced by consumerism, some utilitarian factors, like gimmicks and pursuit of sales volume and click rates are given greater consideration when judging a literary work, while spiritual pursuits are neglected. Standards for value judgments thus fostered can hardly shoulder the responsibility to guide mainstream social values and promote truth and goodness.

To produce more innovative literary criticism, we should reflect more on the current situation and explore ways to change it. Because literary creation changes with each passing day, critics should adjust their theories and then guide authors in practice. They should pay close attention to the reality and social development as well as new phenomena and trends in literary circles. They should also draw upon and innovate Chinese ancient critical discourse and Western theories to create theories suitable to modern society.

Furthermore, patterns and means of literary criticism should be innovated to be true to life and the public. To adapt to literary reforms brought by the application of advanced technology and new media, we should explore new channels targeted at different groups of readers to add vitality to literary criticism.

Lastly, we should renovate our standards for value judgement in literary criticism. Literary creation is a serious career, while literary criticism, as literary re-creation, should be taken more seriously. In an era that is tolerant of diverse values, we should advocate and improve the system for value assessment in accordance with social mainstream values, such as core socialist values, to carry forward Chinese ideals.

 
Jia Yongping is from Lanzhou City University.