With quantitative statistics, some problems in literary research are displayed with accuracy instead of ambiguous descriptions, and thus the scientific aspect of literature research is enhanced.

 

Since the 1980s, quantitative analysis has been gradually applied to the field of literature research. Tension between the accuracy of quantitative analysis and the richness of literary connotations, as well as the application of quantitative analysis in literary research, represent key points of debate in the field.

 

Accuracy
Quantitative analysis in a broad sense has long been used in literary studies. However, the quantitative methods applied in early literary studies were general descriptive statistics, which are relatively simple. Literary research did not adopt the quantitative statistical models commonly used in sociology today.

Liu Zunming, a professor from the School of Arts at Shenzhen University, is one of the earliest scholars to adopt quantitative analysis in studies of ancient literature. He said that since the late 1990s, quantitative analysis has been applied in this area. It is geared toward the construction of theoretical systems and perfection of methodology, Liu said.

Meng Qingshu, a professor from the School of Literature at Capital Normal University, said that in recent years, quantitative analysis has become widely used in research on ancient literature. Both macro history attempts to analyze literary history and specific stylistic research projects have made great achievements.

Zhang Lijun, a professor from Shandong Normal University, suggested that quantitative analysis has remarkable advantages in literary research. With quantitative statistics, some problems in literary research are displayed with accuracy instead of ambiguous descriptions, and thus the scientific aspect of literature research is enhanced.

 

Combinations
Is the quantitative analysis method, which is biased towards empirical evidence, applicable to the poetic connotations of literature and its aesthetics? Does the pursuit of accuracy in quantitative analysis pose problems for the richness of literary themes? These questions are often debated.

At present, there is widespread support in the academic community for this research method, but there are also doubts and criticisms. Meng said quantitative analysis can largely avoid the bias and obscurity of subjectivity, which greatly enhances the scientific aspect of literary research. To a certain extent, quantitative analysis has broadened the scope of literary history research and changed our way of interpreting materials, making it possible for us to understand the literature flow from a broad vantage point over a lengthy period.

Zhang said that literature is not a bunch of cold figures, but poetic expression of inner feelings, and a way of understanding and judging images. The richness of literature lies in the aesthetics, thus the characteristics of literature should not be ignored while using quantitative analysis. It must be clear that quantitative analysis is only an auxiliary method because literary research is inseparable from researchers’ language tastes and sensibilities.

Meng also suggested that quantitative analysis has a limited scope, and it cannot completely replace the traditional criticism-centered literary research method. Blindly using quantitative means may not  solve the real issues in literary history.

 

Prospects
Meng suggested that in the future quantitative analysis can be applied to the internal studies of the text by analyzing the words and phrases used. Breaking the text into words and phrases as units of measurement can allow for analysis of  literature in ways that traditional literary research methods cannot. This can illuminate the writer’s style of words, sentence structures, and rhetorical habits. Quantitative analysis can also be applied to philology and sociological literary research.

Liu expects that the study of ci-poetry of ancient Chinese literature will finally develop a branch of literature metrology. Collection and analysis of the basic data created by writers and their works, and literary communication and recognition should receive as much attention as has been paid to the collection of literary materials. Also, a literature database or data retrieval library should be constructed based on different schools of writers, literary works and forms, and time periods.

In addition, Meng stressed that those who use quantitative analysis must note two key issues. First, they must pay attention to data acquisition and screening. Since the quantitative analysis of literary research started late and quite often has to rely on secondary data, it is hard to determine the range of samples. Second, it is necessary to note that quantitative analysis should be combined with theoretical understanding. Valuable research hypotheses and innovative academic issues should be put forward under the guidance of theory and supplemented by qualitative research methods.

 

Zhang Jie is a reporter at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.