The forum Comparative Literature and Humanities was held in Peking University on Dec.21, 2017.

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On Dec. 21, 2017, a forum titled “Comparative Literature and the Humanities” hosted by the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University (PKU), Peking University Press and Comparative Literature and World Literature was held at PKU.

Zhang Longxi, president of the International Comparative Literature Association, said that over the last decade Western scholars often talked about the crisis and death of comparative literature in the West and the United States. In contrast, comparative literature has grown in China, India, South America and Japan. Indeed, as a traditional European-centered discipline, comparative literature faces many challenges today.

Zhang added that the emergence of world literature is to overcome Eurocentrism. This is not to say that Western literature is no longer important, but  that there are also important works in non-Western literary traditions. World literature offers ways for these non-Western classics to be discovered by readers around the world.

Che Jinshan, a professor from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at PKU, traced the history death of comparative literature may be justified in its birth place France, because in the framework of French influence studies, comparative literature has not yet become an independent discipline. Rather, it is considered a branch of literary history.

Dai Jinhua, a professor from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at PKU, said comparative literature rose in stature after the Second World War. It emerged not only as a discipline, but also exists as a manner of reasoning that has now been adopted by almost all disciplines. In this light, it can be said that comparative literature may have “died” if it is examined purely in the context of comparisons between key pieces of literature: modernism diminishes boundaries, and the inherent differences in capitalism of different areas are gradually falling away. However, the cross-contextual, cross-cultural, and cross-disciplinary nature of comparative literature that requires participants to utilize and examine subjectivity remains. Dai added that it is flawed to try to “touch the truth” within a single research field. In the new era of global knowledge production, it is essential to think about humanities as a whole.
 

 

However, the influence of comparative literature in China cannot compete with that of natural science and philosophy. Jiang Hongsheng, an associate professor from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at PKU, said this is because many researchers overemphasized the scope of disciplines and internal studies. Humanities scholars have been drawn in to the power of capital. Jiang said that the vigorous heat of culture and intangible cultural heritage are not promoted by this research dynamic.

At the same time, he also argues that the surface prosperity driven by capital does not necessarily benefit literature and art, but may lead to damage. He emphasized that researchers should maintain their subjectivity in culture and politics, reflecting a critical spirit. He also said that in the current media and internet era, artists and cultural studies need to be redefined.

Qin Liyan, an associate professor from PKU, pointed out the shortcomings of decontextualization and de-historicization that exist in parallel to comparative studies. For example, some comparisons are made randomly and have a limited ability to enrich our understanding of literature. She said that comparison can only be effective under one specific category.

Qin said that Chinese literature is gaining importance, but the subjectivity of Europe in the West has permeated the literary narrative. This framework and historical narrative has not been changed. World literature is centered on Europe, and Chinese scholars should be prepared to challenge this center. But this is not meant to overthrow the “European center” and rebuild a Chinese one.

World literature is not a field of equality. It is always related to power. Researchers should realize that Chinese literature will not be discovered all of a sudden. Rather, the discovery can be traced to the rise of China’s economy. Against this backdrop, Qin said, research on novels is considered important while poetry is not so important. Some other categories of Chinese literature cannot enter into this limited research scope.