Author ｜
Jianhuan Chen
Abstract ｜
In modern Chinese literary history, Wang Guowei (1877-1927) advocates a theory of Jingjie 境界 (visionary boundaries) in his famous book Renjian cihua (Poetics of Human Realm). Well known for late Qing literary revolutions under his leadership, Liang Qichao (1873-1929) also enunciates the term Jingjie, which has rarely been discussed. Both Jingjie discourses theoretically connect Plato (427-347BC)’s “mimesis” and Aristotle (384-322BC)’s “representation,” articulating fundamental principles of literary creation and criticism and critically shaping the trends of realism in modern Chinese literature. While Wang creates jingjie by appropriating Kant’s philosophy, Liang discovers it through Buddhism, each backed by traditional cultural resources. In analysis of their Jingjie theories in comparison, this paper attempts to complicate the formation of late Qing literary discourses as well as raise questions about their different acceptances in modern China.
keywords ｜
Wang Guowei, Liang Qichao, jingjie, representation, Immanuel Kant