Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 9, 2022

An Outline of “Holistic Poetics”

(Abstract)

Chao Gejin

Holistic poetics is a system of literary interpretation based on the essence of oral literature and built around the problems of oral literature and the introduction of a multidisciplinary perspective. At the level of technique, holistic poetics is based on Lloyd-Foley’s “oral (formulaic) theory” and partly on concepts, tools and models from schools such as “ethno-poetics” and “performance theory.” At the level of methodology, we have transposed J.C. Smuts’ concept of holism, grasping oral literature’s full picture and distinctive features in a big picture, while at the same time seeking to combine analytical and holistic methods. At the level of worldview, we take historical materialism as the foundation of our understanding and interpretation of the laws governing the inner and outer parts of literature. Holistic poetics emphasizes synchronous methods and pays attention to factor relationships and mutual functioning while introducing the dimension of historical development and thence presenting the artistic features and social role of folk oral literature activities. Compared to the nature of the “medium of writing” and the internet, “orality” is an information technique that is as old as humanity yet constantly renewed, one that has long held the dominant position and so is a rational departure point for holism.