Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.3, 2021

The Participatory Forces of Literary Canonization in Modern Society and Its Value Divisions

(Abstract)

Tian Shujing

Literary canonization includes two major value divisions: the construction and interpretation of a canon. Due to the changes in social forms, the forces involved in the literary canonization in modern society are much more diverse than those in traditional society, and there are interactions among various forces, including hidden confrontations and tug-of-war, as well as reconciliation and compromise. The forces include scholars with political or social aspirations, fan scholars, professional critics with “zero involvement” in literary research, and general readership, which also show differences in value divisions and value hierarchy.