Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.9, 2020

Cultural Confidence and the Establishment of a Chinese School of Comparative Literature

(Abstract)

Li Weifang

The establishment of a Chinese school of comparative literature is not only a requirement of the discipline's own development, but also a necessary outcome of historical logic. It represents our country’s academic innovation capacity and cultural consciousness, and embodies the lofty ambition of Chinese scholars to contribute to world scholarship. The debate on core issues such as cross-cultural and interpretative studies have attracted the most interest and lasted longest in the development of Chinese comparative literature. Its prominent features show that the formation, development and innovation of the theories of Chinese schools have all been achieved through fierce debate; this demonstrates the connotations, significance and deep-seated cultural self-confidence claims of the construction of the discipline of comparative literature. Examining cross-cultural and interpretative research objectively and dialectically and looking squarely at our achievements and existing shortcomings is not only conducive to the sustainable and healthy development of Chinese schools of thought, but also has important reference significance for the construction and development of other subjects in the humanities and social sciences.