Chinese Theories of Fiction: A Non-Western Narrative System
Ming Dong Gu
(Author)
Description
In this innovative work, Ming Dong Gu examines Chinese literature and traditional Chinese criticism to construct a distinctly Chinese theory of fiction and places it within the context of international fiction theory. He argues that because Chinese fiction, or xiaoshuo, was produced in a tradition very different from that of the West, it has formed a system of fiction theory that cannot be adequately accounted for by Western fiction theory grounded in mimesis and realism. Through an inquiry into the macrocosm of Chinese fiction, the art of formative works, and theoretical data in fiction commentaries and intellectual thought, Gu explores the conceptual and historical conditions of Chinese fiction in relation to European and world fiction. In the process, Gu critiques and challenges some accepted views of Chinese fiction and provides a theoretical basis for fresh approaches to fiction study in general and Chinese fiction in particular. Such masterpieces as the Jin Ping Mei (The Plum in the Golden Vase) and the Hongloumeng (The Story of the Stone) are discussed at length to advance his notion of fiction and fiction theory.Product Details
Price
$39.04
Publisher
State University of New York Press
Publish Date
June 01, 2007
Pages
286
Dimensions
6.06 X 0.73 X 8.92 inches | 0.91 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9780791468166
BISAC Categories:
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About the Author
Ming Dong Gu is Associate Professor of Chinese and Comparative Literature and Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Texas, Dallas. He is the author of Chinese Theories of Reading and Writing: A Route to Hermeneutics and Open Poetics, also published by SUNY Press.
Reviews
"The author's efforts to theorize and to place Chinese fiction in the 'transnational' context are refreshing and should be applauded. Many of his arguments are provocative or thought-provoking, compelling us to rethink many important issues in the study of Chinese literature and particularly Chinese fiction and to confront some thorny questions, such as that of the generic nature of Chinese fiction."