Subjectivity and Realism in Modern Chinese Fiction

Xiaoping Wang

doi:10.5771/9781498566209

Summary

The questions of subjectivity and the literary style of realism, as manifested in Hu Feng's theoretical writings and Lu Ling's fictional writings, occupy a unique position in modern China. By looking more closely into the theoretical and fictional texts and the social-historical subtext, and through a re-examination of the issue of subjectivity and individualism, this book argues that individualism should not be treated as an ahistorical value-system, but understood within changing historical contexts; subjectivity should not be treated as an issue of personal choice, but as class-based and derived from collective community. To differentiate different subjectivities and the diversified foci of individualism in differing historical periods, Xiaoping Wang finds we need to explore the intellectuals' cultural-political strategy by situating them in the particular historical conjuncture and in the particular cultural fields. With this hermeneutical practice, the politics of recognition and the politics of style are mutually illuminated.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-1-4985-6619-3
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4985-6620-9
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 204
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. 1. SOCIAL-POLITICAL SITUATION ANDTHE CHANGING CULTURAL FIELD No access
  2. INTELLECTUAL DEBATES OF CULTURAL PRODUCTION No access
  3. STUDIES OF HU FENG’S THEORY ANDLU LING’S FICTIONAL WRITING No access
  4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ANDSTRUCTURAL OUTLINE No access
  5. NOTES No access
  6. REFERENCES No access
1. 1. AMASSING CULTURAL CAPITAL ANDFIGHTING FOR CULTURAL LEADERSHIP No access
  2. REALISM IN CRISIS? No access
  3. FOUR STAGES OF CREATION No access
  4. “WEAPON OF THOUGHTS” IN“PSYCHOLOGICAL STRUGGLE” No access
  5. WHAT IS “REALISM” AND AHUMANISTIC DISCOURSE No access
  6. TYPICALITY AND HISTORICAL IMPERATIVE No access
  7. “ZEITGEIST” AND “HISTORICAL TRUTH” No access
  8. CONCLUSION No access
  9. NOTES No access
  10. REFERENCES No access
2. 1. FUNCTION OF CRITICAL REALISMIN THE NEW EPOCH No access
  2. “REVOLUTIONARY MIDDLE CLASS” OR“BOURGEOIS CLASS” AS THE LEADER No access
  3. “DUAL PERSONALITY” OF MODERNCHINESE INTELLECTUALS No access
  4. TO BUILD A BOURGEOIS SUBJECTIVITYAND CIVIL SOCIETY? No access
  5. CONCLUSION No access
  6. NOTES No access
  7. REFERENCES No access
1. 1. LU LING AS A SECOND-GENERATIONLEFT-WING WRITER No access
  2. A FAMILY CHRONICLE AS THENATIONAL ETHNOGRAPHY No access
  3. ADULTERY AS THE TOKEN OF BETRAYAL No access
  4. A FEMININE SUBJECTIVITY?FEMININITY AND SEXUALITY No access
  5. PRIMITIVE UNCONSCIOUSNESSAND POLITICAL ANXIETIES No access
  6. THE REVOLTS AGAINST PATRIARCHALRULE AND MORALISTIC NIHILISM No access
  7. CONCLUSION No access
  8. NOTES No access
  9. REFERENCES No access
2. 1. THE FORMATION OF MORAL RELATIVISM No access
  2. THE SELF-IMAGE AS A FALSE,FICTIONAL IMAGINARY No access
  3. ENTERING THE WILDERNESS ANDEMBRACING AMORALITY No access
  4. “THE WILD AMBITION OFMANIPULATING THE HUMANITY” No access
  5. LUMPEN-PROLETARIAT AS HERO AND “THE PEOPLE” No access
  6. WHO ARE “THE PEOPLE”? No access
  7. CONCLUSION No access
  8. NOTES No access
  9. REFERENCES No access
3. 1. THE DEMISE OF AN UNENLIGHTENEDICONOCLAST AND IMMATURE SUBJECT No access
  2. INCAPABILITY OF ARTICULATINGTHEORY AND PRAXIS No access
  3. A FABLE OF THE JOURNEY OF MODERNCHINESE INTELLECTUALS No access
  4. A FABLE OF THE FAILURE OF VARIOUSBOURGEOIS SOCIAL REFORMS No access
  5. CONCLUSION No access
  6. NOTES No access
  7. REFERENCES No access
4. 1. SOCIAL WEAKLINGS’ SELFDELUSIONBY FALSE HEROISM No access
  2. REBELLIONS OF SOCIAL PARIAHS ANDINCOMPETENT INTELLECTUALS No access
  3. CONCLUSION No access
  4. NOTES No access
  5. REFERENCES No access
1. 1. HEGEL’S ANALYSIS OF THE “PHENOMENOLOGYOF MIND” AND ITS CRITIQUE No access
  2. SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS AND THEPOLITICS OF RECOGNITION No access
  3. WEIZU AND STOICISM No access
  4. SHAOZU AND SCEPTISM No access
  5. CONCLUSION No access
  6. NOTES No access
  7. REFERENCES No access
2. 1. CHUNZU AND UNHAPPY CONSCIOUSNESS No access
  2. THE OTHER AS THE PEOPLE No access
  3. NARRATIVE VOICE AS ALTER EGOOF THE CHARACTERS No access
  4. CONCLUSION No access
  5. NOTES No access
  6. REFERENCES No access
3. 1. LU LING’S LITERARY VIEWS FROM THECULTURAL-POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE No access
  2. SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCEBETWEEN LU LING AND HU FENG No access
  3. THE AUTHOR AS THE ALTER EGOOF THE CHARACTERS No access
  4. LU LING’S FICTION AS A FALSIFICATIONOF HU FENG’S THEORY No access
  5. CONCLUSION No access
  6. NOTES No access
  7. REFERENCES No access
Conclusion No access Pages 187 - 194
Index No access Pages 195 - 202
About the Author No access Pages 203 - 204