Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.3, 2020

On “Boundless Realism” in Cyberliterature: 20 Years of Realist Themes in the “Boundless Realism” in Cyberliterature

(Abstract)

Xia Lie and Duan Tingjun

In recent years, the realist theme and realist writing in cyberliterature have become hot spots of research. According to the guidelines of national ideology, realism is also a sign of the maturity of cyberliterature. What kind of standards of realism should we adopt to these works of cyberliterature? This ought to be considered comprehensively in the tradition of cyberliterature and the evolution of the theory of realism. In terms of the characteristics of the literary works and the power of the literary field, the creation of realist themes of cyberliterature can be divided into the “spontaneous period” and the “conscious period”, while the openness of “boundless realism” has provided three possible routes of realism for today’s cyberliterature.