Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.2, 2022

The Status, Problems and Methods of Scholarship on the Genres of Chinese Children’s Literature

(Abstract)

Zhang Guolong

The establishment of a paradigm of literary genre provides writers with a model for expression, and researchers a path and method for criticism. This paper discusses the characteristics of studies on the genres of children’s literature in China in the past century. The problem with such studies lies in the difficulty to construct theories of genre studies, which has led to repetitive elaborations of common sense issues. In particular, there are a lack of overall consideration of the evolution of the genres of Chinese children’s literature, due to a rigid application of research methods for genres of adult literature, and an absence of a comparative awareness in genre studies. This paper proposes to establish a systematic project for this study.