Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.4, 2022

From “Text Hermeneutics” to “Material Hermeneutics”

(Abstract)

Zhang Jin

Since the beginning of the new century, the focus of Western hermeneutics has gradually shifted from textuality to materiality, along with a rethinking and critique of the “linguistic turn,” leading to a shift from “text hermeneutics” to “material hermeneutics.” The material dimension of the linguistic text continues to emerge, the natural sciences and their objects of study, which were excluded by Dilthey, re-enter the hermeneutic field, and the hermeneutic paradigm of reference gradually shifts from the “linguistic sign” modal to the “embodied perception” modal. This series of changes has expanded the horizons and boundaries of hermeneutics, enhancing its explanatory power in relation to contemporary life practices. However, the question of the inner unity and multi-modal synergy between textuality and materiality remains unresolved. The traditional Chinese concept of “text/material unity” and “this and that paradox” way of thinking may provide a reference to this problem.