Abstract
As a second-generation member of the New Culture Movement, Fu Sinian put forward several remarkable propositions on the Chinese “Literary Innovation.” Although formulated at different times, these views were interconnected and mutually elucidative, thus forming a coherent whole. Fu's theory of “Literary Innovation” exhibited a distinctive philological logic. He justified the advocacy of vernacular language and the abandonment of wenyan (classical literary Chinese) by arguing that literature bore little connection to Chinese written characters (words) but was more closely tied to Chinese language. He further advocated the abolition of Chinese characters in favor of pinyin (romanized spelling), asserting that there was no necessary relationship between Chinese language and its written characters. At the same time, Fu initiated the literary revolution through language reform, viewing language as primarily a pragmatic tool. He identified incongruities between traditional language and characters, as well as between vernacular Chinese and classical texts. Grounded in the theory of “language as tool/ontology,” Fu sought to achieve the modern transformation of traditional literature via language reform. While this line of thought was undoubtedly beneficial to the development of new literature, its historical foundations and internal logic were inconsistent with certain facts and difficult to reconcile, thereby necessitating more dialectical analysis.
Keywords
Fu Sinian, theory of literary innovation, philological logic, theory of language as tool/ontology
First Page
219
Last Page
226
Recommended Citation
Zhao, Zitao. 2025. "The Philological Logic of Fu Sinian's Theory of “Literary Reform”." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 45, (5): pp.219-226. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol45/iss5/24
