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Abstract

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the imperative to “enlightening the people” positioned “brain transformation” as a central concern among writers. In cross-cultural practice, the integration of “qi theory” and the reinterpretation of neural theory provided an ideological foundation and discursive resources for constructing the literary concept of “power” in the “new fiction”. Utilizing tropes such as medicine, magic, and universal electricity, novelists employed concepts of mechanical force and vitality to explore the human. Through aesthetic composites, they reconciled internal contradictions within science discourse and evoked the intrinsic beauty of science. Liang Qichao's aesthetic integration of “power” enabled a dialogue with modern Western scientific aesthetics and facilitated the conceptual emergence of the new fiction. The fiction and theories of “brain transformation” not only uncovered the beauty and romance of science but also inspired the practical pursuit of enlightenment in China.

Keywords

early modern era, brain transformation, science, new fiction, Liang Qichao

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76

Last Page

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