Chinese Journal of Literary Criticism

No.4, 2021

The Threefold Implications of the Dialectic of the Type: Revisiting the Theory of Type in 20^th-Century Chinese Literary Criticism

(Abstract)

Jin Lang

The theory of “type” had a significant influence on 20^th-century Chinese literary criticism, and once became the dominant norm in characterization in literary creation. It is based on the ideological implications of dialectic, specifically the implications about personal characters, including commonality and individuality, the historical implications including character and environment, and the political implications of nationhood and class. In terms of both external input and internal growth, these three dialectical implications have become the theoretical core of the theory of type through the practice of 20^th-century Chinese literary criticism. The interlocking and intertwining of the three dialectical implications not only provided sufficient theoretical space for the development of the theory of type, but also laid a foundation for its later development toward a one-sided emphasis on class. The correction of the theory since the New Period has been achieved by untying the threefold dialectic implications. With the reduction of the type to a creative method of characterization, the literary energy accumulated in the threefold dialectic implications is gradually fading. New efforts are needed to reactivate the realistic energy of the concept of type.