Faces of the Self in Modern Chinese Literature

Abstract

"A look at representations and explorations of the self in Chinese literature in the first half of the twentieth century shows not only those forces that shaped the formation of the modern Chinese self but also those tensions, anxieties, and aspirations that Chinese writers experienced in the construction of their new selves during the early days of the young republic. Examining representative literary works of this period reveals how the Chinese quest for a modern self, which is quite different from the traditional Confucian self, has been informed and enriched by the Chinese “contact” with foreign literatures and cultures since the late nineteenth century.... Using a number of representative literary works from early twentieth-century China as examples, this paper discusses the effectiveness of literature as a tool to explore the myriad facets of the self in modern Chinese literature, Chinese writers’ aspirations for an alternative self of their own, and the moral positions and writing strategies adopted by writers of the period in their conscious acts of exploring and/or shaping the self against the backdrop of Chinese modernity."