The historical forms of literary emotional expression are intimately bound to media conditions, as aesthetic experience and subject formation undergo continuous reconfiguration across different technological contexts. This study examines the historical evolution of literary affect from traditional societies through industrialization and digitalization to the contemporary AI environment, analyzing the structural transformation of emotional experience from holistic to fragmented modes and from collective to individualized configurations, while arguing for "aura" as a core aesthetic quality of literary emotional experience. Technological transitions have generated dual effects on emotional expression: industrialization and digital media have induced the standardization, fragmentation, and "entropic decline" of affect, while artificial intelligence further destabilizes classical paradigms of emotional authenticity and creative subjectivity. Yet technology also opens possibilities for reconstruction, as transmedia narrative and virtual reality expand new dimensions of emotional expression. This article proposes possible pathways for "human-machine collaborative creation," demonstrating that digital-age "aura" is shifting from the static "here and now" toward a dynamic "distributed presence," whose reconstruction requires dynamic equilibrium between technological enablement and humanistic values.
Jiang Chengyong's Canonical Reevaluation and Innovation in Western Literary Research Methods offers systematic explorations across three dimensions: theoretical consciousness of canonical re-evaluation, methodological construction, and practical transformation. The work transcends essentialist views of literary canon by establishing the historical generativity and cross-cultural constructiveness of classics. Methodologically, it constructs a triple framework encompassing micro-level close reading, Meso genealogy of literary trends, and macro-level theoretical reflection. In practice, it organically integrates archetypal criticism, narratology, and cross-cultural communication studies into an operational research paradigm. This monograph not only provides methodological resources for "rewriting literary history" but also contributes theoretical paradigms to the disciplinary construction of comparative literature, manifesting the academic turn from theoretical transplantation to methodological consciousness in contemporary humanities scholarship.
Rita Felski, John Stewart Bryan Professor of English at the University of Virginia, and former editor of New Literary History. She is one of the leading figures in contemporary literary theory. Her work has touched upon various fields, including theories of interpretation, literary sociology, modernity studies, and feminist criticism. She has played a pivotal role in ongoing debates about postcritique. This article features a scholarly interview with Felski by Shi Xue during her visit to the Royal Holloway University of London. This interview is presented according to the internal logic of Felski's intellectual development and the theoretical positioning of postcritique, focusing on three interrelated themes: her transformation from feminist criticism to a postcritical stance and her underlying concerns; the foundational role of literary reading and audiences within her broader framework; and the theoretical limits and methodological tensions of postcritique. In the interview, Felski looks back on her academic path and emphasizes that her intellectual trajectory does not represent a paradigmatic rupture but rather a continuous process of engagement with the sociality of literature, reading experience, and affective structures through a critical reassessment of the tradition of critique. She also responds to questions and doubts raised by other scholars, clarifying that postcritique is neither an anti-theoretical gesture nor a closed methodological system. Instead, it's better understood as an open critical stance. The conversation further discusses the crosscultural dissemination of postcritique and the institutional conditions of knowledge production, with a focus on its translation and reinterpretation in Chinese academia. For Felski, the significance of postcritique lies in its effort to reestablish a connection between everyday life and the public aspect of literary studies.
This paper explores the critical possibilities of "specters of realism" as a conceptual metaphor for realism's place in literary history, its truth-seeking spirit as well as its approach to reality. Contrary to Ren & eacute; Wellek's description of realism as a "period-concept," realism has made recurrent returns to the literary landscape, and, in a spectral gesture, disrupted the linear temporality of a literary history that sees realism as preceded by Romanticism and followed by Modernism and Postmodernism. Underlying the acts of mimesis is a realist impulse that compels writers to engage with reality through diverse representational strategies. Drawing on the "spectral turn" in cultural studies in the past three decades, this paper examines the circulation of "The Luo Cha Country and the Sea Market," a mystical story from Liaozhai, and discusses Yan Lianke's critical works such as The Veils of Liaozhai. It argues that the concept of mythorealism, proposed by Yan Lianke and exemplary of the contemporary realist enterprise, is premised on a hauntological epistemology that places the novel on the liminal position between the present and the absent, the material and the immaterial, and the visible and the invisible. The spectral metaphor, reforming and innovating the traditional realist theory which regards the writer as the observer/subject and reality as the observed/object, provides a new perspective on realism's resilience and enduring vitality.
Since the dawn of the 21(st )century, bolstered by the growing cultural confidence of the Chinese nation, the field of foreign literature studies in China has undergone a significant paradigm shift, marking a departure from the uncritical veneration of Western theories and discourses toward an emphasis on sinicization-decentering Western-centrism to foreground Chinese characteristics and actively constructing a Chinese intellectual system. This transformation in the new era is a historical inevitability, rooted in solid theoretical frameworks, historical precedents, and contemporary realities. The achievements of this shift can be summarized in three dimensions: first, the innovation of literary theory to contribute to a Chinese theoretical framework; second, the emphasis on Chinese characteristics in building a diversified system of foreign literature scholarship and discourse; and third, a commitment to mutual civilizational learning to foster the theoretical and practical systems of a Chinese School of Comparative Literature. In the future, Chinese scholars of foreign literature studies must uphold a Chinese standpoint to further dismantle Western-centrism, strengthen the innovation of indigenous theoretical systems, and enhance China's international discursive influence in foreign literature research.
This paper systematically examines Liu Jianjun's theoretical construction and academic significance regarding the "sinicization of foreign literature." Liu Jianjun's theoretical framework is built on three pillars: first, by distinguishing between "foreign literature in its original form" and "foreign literature in China," he identifies a dynamically evolving local cultural phenomenon that truly exists in the Chinese cultural context as an independent research object, thereby fundamentally establishing the subjectivity and legitimacy of Chinese scholars in their research. Second, he pioneered the dynamic connection between the century-long history of foreign literature reception and China's grand narrative of the "three-step" modernization drive-from "standing up" and "growing rich" to "becoming strong"-endowing the disciplinary history with a profound historical materialist dimension and a national orientation. Third, he takes the theory of sinicization of Marxism as the top-level guiding ideology, reinterpreting and expounding foreign literature from the perspective of contemporary Chinese Marxist stance and discourse to better serve cultural construction in the new era. Liu Jianjun's academic contributions offer important insights into understanding the theoretical consciousness of contemporary Chinese literary research and provide a significant disciplinary example for constructing a discourse system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics.
Emerging in nineteenth-century France, sociology was intimately tied to French literature and even philosophy from its very inception. This paper examines how moral and ethical concerns shape the distinctive trajectory of the French sociology of literature ever since. Focusing on the moral ontology and ethical object of literature, it traces the evolution of the sociology of literature in the French context, analyzing its turn toward literary criticism, art, and politics before its subsequent return to the tradition of the social sciences exemplified by Bourdieu's sociology. This shift has reoriented literary studies by integrating the dissemination and reception of literary works and authors into a comparative framework, thereby opening new avenues of inquiry. Furthermore, a sociological consciousness is evident both in studies of the histoire des mentalit & eacute;s and in the literary works of Annie Ernaux, reflecting a broader transition in the focal points of moral and ethical reflection.
In his neo-Victorian novel English Passengers, contemporary British author Matthew Kneale traces the history of Tasmania over nearly half a century through a carefully constructed dual narrative. In this novel, Kneale parodies the Imperial Gothic literary tradition prevalent in late nineteenth-century England, which combines colonial adventure and gothic elements. Through this parody, Kneale reviews the mechanism by which imperialist discourse constructs racial otherness, disclosing the colonial violence and trauma wrought by the brutal system of governance in Tasmania. He also provides an alternative model of survival in the form of a pluralistic community, thereby redefining the concept of "going native" and criticizing the latent racism underlying the pervasive regression anxieties in Imperial Gothic novels.
Clumsy Flower, a novel by Tie Ning, embodies the turn toward literary localization in Chinese novel writing at the beginning of the new century. Firstly, set in the turbulent late Qing and Republican eras, the narrative centers on the residents of Clumsy Flower Village and their multifaceted ethical choices-cultural, political, religious, and personal-projecting the enduring spirit of the Chinese nation. Secondly, Clumsy Flower does not reject the Western modern civilization and the Christian tradition, meanwhile critically examines the Japanese civilization, aiming to construct a modern civilization of the Chinese nation. Thirdly, Clumsy Flower is dedicated to continuing and transforming the narrative tradition of Chinese classical novels represented by Dream of the Red Chamber, consequently promoting the contemporary construction of Chinese novel's national form. As such, the work offers significant insights for contemporary Chinese literature in the new era.
Tie Ning's novels organically integrate specific issues of their era and history with grand themes of human civilization, thereby profoundly revealing human alienation within the historical process of Chinese modernity. In dialogue with other female writers of her time, Tie Ning also attempts to counter these dilemmas through the female "Xiangchou Utopia," using it as a launching point to explore Chinese aesthetic modernity. The female "Xiangchou Utopia" encapsulates the female subject's nostalgic remembrance and yearning for an idyllic past, constituting a spiritual impetus capable of transforming reality. It embodies Chinese aesthetic modernity as both an aesthetic expression of profound social transformation, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the socialist ideal and its contemporary reconstruction, and an aesthetic articulation of the quest for female freedom and liberation within these processes.
This study conducts a corpus-based comparative study of the writing styles of Tie Ning's novels The Bathing Women and Clumsy Flower at lexical, syntactic, and narrative levels. Corpus findings reveal that although both works adopt a third-person perspective to reflect the characters' destiny, and struggles amid social changes, they exhibit distinct stylistic features. The Bathing Women, set in an urban context, is featured by psychological portrayal and emotional tension, often incorporating character perspective into the narration of the story. It often uses complex sentences to convey intricate emotions, resulting in a nuanced and rich style. In contrast, Clumsy Flower, rooted in rural life, employs lexicons with regional uniqueness to depict local customs and simple characters. It is subtle in emotional expression, objective and natural in narration, and plain and restrained in language.
Tie Ning is a significantly influential contemporary Chinese writer. Her novels fully showcase the cultural individuality of her era, characterized by unrestrained emotions and rich, nuanced psychological depictions, culminating in a unique literary style. Spanning a considerable historical period, Tie Ning's novels exhibit complex shifts in narrative style across different phases, reflecting evolving emotional orientations, individual experiences, and literary perspectives. Overall, her works employ three prominent narrative strategies: linear narration, retrospective narration, and interwoven narration. In terms of thematic depth, they profoundly explore humanity with remarkable historical depth, aesthetic height, and intellectual profundity. Tie Ning's novels vividly portray the existential value and conflicts of meaning experienced by individuals within society and history, revealing the vicissitudes of life within specific contexts. They pursue the perfection of human nature while excavating its complexities, accompanied by unyielding questioning. Collectively, they embody the reflections of an exceptional writer on China's socio-historical development.
This paper reconstructs Tie Ning's Korea-related trajectory along an exchange-translation-research axis. On the textual side, Tie Nings'Diary: Affairs in Seoul (2004) inaugurates a cross-cultural vantage point; on the institutional side, the "Korea-China Writers' Congress" (October and December 2007) and the "East Asia Literary Forum" (2008, 2010, 2015, 2018) exemplify a shift from bilateral encounters to a multilateral platform. The Korean translation chain (2002-2023) took shape through the synergy of special journal issues, forum anthologies, and publishers. Korean scholarship, evolving from an introductory/synoptic phase to phases of thematic deepening and diversified expansion, has addressed urban and gender questions, family discourse, crime narratives, becoming, ecofeminism, and translation studies. The conclusion identifies lacunae in reception history, translation-oriented analysis, and institutional archives, and calls for comparative reception studies and a documentary history of the Forum. Positioning literature as a medium, translation as a bridge, and the forum as a framework, the study offers an observable paradigm for the transnational circulation of East Asian literature.
Tie Ning had a strong awareness of language improvement in the early stages of her creative career. Poetic characteristic is the core feature of the language in Tie Ning's novels, but its form of expression has undergone significant changes as Tie Ning's creativity has matured. The 1970s and early 1980s marked the beginning of Tie Ning's novel writing career. During this period, her novel language already showed an awareness of transcending the traces of the era's discourse, and the poetic characteristic of her language allowed many of the novels she wrote during this time to remain readable today. From the mid-1980s to the 1990s was the period of maturity for Tie Ning's novel language. The Gate of Roses showcased her linguistic achievements during this period. The features of her language in this phase were flexible and varied, free and unconstrained, with rich vocabulary and diverse sentence structures. Many expressions may seem unconventional, but they are precisely a display of free passion, a carnival of language. Many of Tie Ning's works can be regarded as linguistic models of the 1980s and 1990s, and her novel language made an important contribution to the development of and change of modern Chinese during this period.
Situated within the transforming landscape of early twentieth-century rural China, Tie Ning's Clumsy Flower explores how individuals face ethical dilemmas shaped by war, patriarchy, and social change. This paper applies ethical literary criticism to examine the novel's portrayal of relationships between the individual and the collective across four dimensions: gender identity, moral choice, generational transition, and community life. The first section considers how the male figures of Xiang Xi, Xiang Gui, and Xiang Wencheng struggle to balance family obligations with national responsibility. The second examines the ethical subjectivity of Tong Ai, Shun Rong, and Shi Yuchan, whose fates are defined by the wife-concubine hierarchy. The third focuses on Qu Deng, Mei Ge, and Xiao Aozi, younger women who experience ethical awakening amid war, desire, and spiritual change. Finally, the paper turns to Benhua village itself, showing how its flexible moral order enables survival while concealing structural injustice. By weaving together personal stories and historical ethics, this study highlights how Clumsy Flower reframes questions of ethical subjectivity and moral complexity in modern Chinese history.
This study employs the theoretical framework of social structural transformation to examine Tie Ning's literary construction of quotidian existence, revealing how her literary creation responds to three major propositions of China's modernization process: gender, rural-urban dynamics, and human nature. In terms of gender narrative, Tie Ning transcends conventional gender and urban-rural dichotomies through a distinctive "third-gender perspective," presenting the life course of the female characters in her works with cold and empathetic strokes. These textual representations illuminate the complex interplay of female body narratives, moral dilemmas, and awakening of subjectivity during periods of social model transition. Regarding the city-country narrative, Tie Ning reconstructs urban-rural relations in modernization through the conceptual lens of "rural subjectivity." Her works not only reveal the erosion of rural ethics by urban encroachment but also explore the cultural resilience of rural societies in the interstices of modernization. At the level of humanistic exploration, Tie Ning's works focus on the subtle glory of human nature, and through three-dimensional and complex characterization, she explores the dignity of human beings in the fissure of history and the eternal value of the spiritual home. Her novels serve not merely as faithful chronicles of the era, but a spiritual expedition about "what makes a man a man." Through the resonance between historical torrents and individual destinies, Tie Ning's literary creations achieve dual significance: they present both an epic portrayal of social transformation and a philosophical inquiry into the essence of humanity.
This study employs methods of computational literary criticism to conduct a digital humanities analysis of Tie Ning's novel, Clumsy Flower, examining the characteristics of the urbanization process it portrays. Through text preprocessing, word-frequency statistics, LDA topic modeling, and recurrent neural network-based sentiment analysis, the novel is partitioned by historical period into four stages of urbanization for quantitative analysis. The findings indicate that the urbanization process in Clumsy Flower exhibits a nonlinear, fluctuating trajectory of "isolation-emergence-interaction-return," with war functioning as the key rupture variable. Sentiment analysis shows that text related to urbanization is dominated by negative sentiment, and the degree of negativity intensifies as urbanization advances. This study provides data-supported literary evidence for understanding the complexity of rural urbanization in China during the first half of the twentieth century.
The drowning of Quan is the core of the story in The Bathing Women. The author uses a montage narrative to piece together the clues of the incident, exposing the fact that it is a crime intentionally committed by juvenile girls. From a criminological perspective, this paper begins with the dialogues of the unique inner monologues of characters and the complex growing environment, focusing on the significance and far-reaching influence of the nuclear family form on the development of underage individuals, examining Fei and Tiao's consideration of the right to life of illegitimate children when confronted with the natural conflict between the inherent ethical issues of illegitimacy and the social concept of monogamy, and analysing the reasons for the crimes committed by Fei and Tiao from depictions of their characters, plots and scenes. At a time when the legal and political order of the country as a whole has been hard hit, social mores, values, conflicts and problems become a source of normative acquisition for juvenile, and illegitimate child and the parent would not be understood by society. When Wu cheated on Yixun, Tiao was forced into a parentification dynamic, taking on an overly helpful role within the family, finding the legitimacy excuse in the death of her illegitimate sister, Quan, who fell into a sewage well and died. Growing up as an illegitimate child, Fei lacks the social support of her family, school, and society. She is lured by a married dancer into an unmarried pregnancy and then coerced into a clandestine abortion. Since her friendship with Tiao becomes a rare and supportive social interaction in her life, she designs Quan's death. The novel reflects social undercurrents and related ethical dilemmas from the comparative discussion of the fate of illegitimate children, probing the good and evil of human nature.
Set within the narrative space of Beijing's hutong neighborhoods, Tie Ning's short story How Long Is Forever portrays emotional tensions and cultural representations in everyday urban life. This study adopts computational literary criticism, applying a Naive Bayes classifier to quantitatively analyze the distribution and intensity characteristics of "Beijing-flavor culture" in the text. Through constructing a cultural lexicon, conducting feature engineering, and training the model, we generate a "Beijing-flavor heat curve," extract key cultural symbols, and elucidate their functions within the narrative structure. The computational approach provides a quantitative perspective for Beijing-flavor literary studies, revealing a non-uniform distribution pattern where intensity peaks cluster significantly in passages of dialogue and scene description. Quantitative evidence demonstrates precise alignment between cultural zeniths and narrative turning points, highlighting Tie Ning's anchoring of locality through traditional symbols while constructing a comparative framework of modern psychological detachment. This methodology confirms computational models' efficacy in capturing diffuse cultural elements, establishing an objectively quantifiable paradigm for regional literary research.
This paper traces the artistic evolution of Tie Ning's fiction, identifying four distinct phases: the pure "Xiangxue" period, the complex "The Rose Door" period, the stage of "complex simplicity" represented by The Bathing Women, and the integrative "Clumsy Flower" period. The purity, optimism, and serenity of the "Xiangxue" period resonated with the pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty in the early years of China's reform and opening-up. By contrast, the turbulence and restlessness from the mid-1980s to the 1990s, as seen in The Rose Door, reflected Tie Ning's efforts to fully reveal the complexities of human nature and to deepen literary expression, while also corresponding to the pluralization of Chinese society and culture during that era. Published in the new century, The Bathing Women investigates into the soul through a metaphorical process of "bathing," achieving a unity of spirit and body and moving from complexity toward a purified clarity and serenity. Clumsy Flower marks Tie Ning's new stage of integration: through historicized yet quotidian narratives, it seeks enduring forms of beauty-emotional, folkloric, and moral-while affirming both the goodness of human nature and the vitality of the national spirit.
