Abstract
In his questioning of Chinese fiction, Howard Goldblatt suggests that, thanks to its obsession with the depiction of daily life, Chinese fiction features loosely-knit plots, which as a result deprives itself of literariness. Goldblatt's perception is problematic, because the depiction of everyday details precisely originates from the long history of Chinese literary tradition, which pursues the harmony of writing, man, and the world. Such a harmony-seeking practice bespeaks the Chineseness of modern Chinese fiction. Unlike Western literature that puts an emphasis on literary independence, Chinese literary tradition stresses "the expression of what one truly thinks", and emphasizes the unity and harmony of writing, man, and Tao. Taking Wang Zengqi as an example, this article argues that Wang's work conveys the spiritual pursuit of such a long tradition of merging "truth" and "beauty"; he also testifies to the vitality of traditional Chinese aesthetic values and creative techniques in the contemporary times. Goldblatt's misunderstanding serves as evidence that Chinese literature cannot be confined to the aesthetic conventions of Western poetics.
First Page
136
Last Page
143
Recommended Citation
Ouyang, Cancan. 2020. "The Chineseness of Chinese Fiction: Taking Wang Zengqi as an Example in Response to the Query of Howard Goldblatt." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 40, (5): pp.136-143. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol40/iss5/17
