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Kensuke

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A brief introduction to literary walking

A Literary Walk, the representative work of Taiwan Province scholar Gong Pengcheng, is a classic introduction to literature and has enjoyed a high reputation for many years. It is still very popular overseas and highly praised by academic circles. The author himself has a thorough understanding of both China and the West, and the research focuses on textual research, not limited to specialization, so he can understand the whole and explain it in simple terms. Contrary to the traditional literary theory, this book has a unique angle and viewpoint, and fresh and original viewpoints can be seen everywhere. Starting from the issues that readers are most concerned about, directly attacking the essence of literature once triggered a big discussion in the academic circles of Taiwan Province Province, and it is still a must in literary theory. Wen Rumin, director of China Studies Department in Peking University, said: The author has achieved a very academic book, but it is also quite "fun".

Speaking in the way of "walking" is like lifting weights easily, breaking through the general barrier of "getting started", and full of fresh ideas are presented everywhere, which has made a book with high academic content but quite "fun".

Although the book belongs to the introduction category, it has a strong sense of problems, and many chapters are put forward with realistic pertinence, deliberately criticizing some chaotic phenomena or controversial topics in academic circles, and it is very "thirst-quenching" to read.

-Wen Rumin (Director of Chinese Department of Peking University)

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How to appreciate literary works?

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How to appreciate literary works? What is literature? What's the use? ……

Mr. Gong Pengcheng's book, from theory to theory, breaks away from the routine of general literature introduction, and combs out the knowledge system of literature step by step from the issues that readers care about and are interested in. The theoretical system of this book is not only concise and clear, but also simple, which is "enough" for ordinary readers and easy to enter the state. With an open attitude, the author discusses the inherent knowledge law and method basis of literature. He not only extensively dabbled in and borrowed from western literary theories in theory, but also had a profound understanding of China's classical literary theories and their harmonious application, and made a thorough and incisive analysis of various literary problems.

This book completely subverts the current literary theory and criticizes various literary arguments in the workshop. It is a well-known and popular literary introduction classic overseas for many years. The book was published by World Book Publishing Company in Chinese mainland in September, 2006, and quickly received enthusiastic response from distributors and readers everywhere. The first print of 65,438+00,000 copies sold out quickly. This book was originally published by Taiwan Province Hanguang Culture Company, 1985. Compared with similar books, Literature Walking provides a brand-new perspective and viewpoint, which caused an uproar in academic circles at the beginning of its publication. There are many arguments and opinions. The focus of the debate is: whether this book inherits or subverts tradition; Whether this book can replace other literature reviews in the workshop; The applicability of this book to university education; The balance between openness and rigor in this book.

As a rare work in Mr. Gong's early years, Walking in Literature embodies the author's flexible thinking and unrestrained talent, and does not stick to tradition and makes unprecedented remarks. He believes that the presentation of literary knowledge system must be close to literary life, and should focus on "the inherent knowledge law and methodological basis of literature", rather than those "false questions" that are always debated and run repeatedly in academic circles. For example, he questioned "Does the work exist?" "Can prose be regarded as a literary type?" "Should literature talk about form?" The basic topics discussed in this book include the appreciation, form, significance and function of literature, and the relationship between literature and society, morality, history and philosophy. The discussion field is very concentrated, and the outline is comprehensive, concise and innovative, so it inevitably conflicts with the established research results. Teenagers often make "false statements" and write contradictions with their predecessors, so there are always some spicy and sharp words. As soon as this book came out, it collided with many predecessors and attracted a lot of criticism, especially the so-called "learning" and "literary spirit" But we have to admit that this book aroused widespread public concern at that time and aroused readers' pleasure in reading. After the uproar, this book won the first prize of textbook improvement of the Ministry of Education of Taiwan Province Province, and was adopted as a textbook by some schools, which was finally recognized.

Ten years after the publication of Literature Walking, the value of Mr. Gong's works has been gradually excavated by many scholars. For example, Lin Xianghua, a scholar in Taiwan Province Province, commented: "Just like Kant's Copernican turning point in the history of philosophy, Mr. Gong also intends to construct the basic cognition of literary research by questioning the foundation of literary knowledge. In fact, this is an ideal of establishing a discipline of' rigorous scholarship'. " It should be said that this kind of theoretical consciousness of Mr. Gong is very rare in previous literary theory works.

The launch of the "Fourth Edition" in Chinese mainland has attracted the attention of many mainland scholars such as Wang Yichuan, Zhang Yiwu, Li Xiangping, Zhu Qingsheng and Liu Suli, especially the recommendation of Wen Rumin, director of the Chinese Department of Peking University. Professor Wen said: "Speaking in the way of" walking "has broken through the general barrier of" introduction ",presenting rich fresh opinions everywhere, and has made a book with great academic content but considerable. Although the book belongs to the category of introduction, it has a strong sense of problems and many chapters are put forward with realistic pertinence. It is intended to criticize some chaotic phenomena or controversial topics in academic circles, and it is very thirst-quenching to read. "

A literary walk has made Mr. Gong a topic in academic circles, which is both a genius and an alternative. In any case, Literary Walk has been an irreplaceable masterpiece of its kind for 20 years. Mr. Xu Xue from Taiwan Province Institute of Xiamen University said: "Facing the Gong Pengcheng phenomenon, we mainland scholars should have a sense of urgency. The center and edge in the cultural sense are not static. Rebuilding the' Central Plains Culture' requires us to pay more attention. " Is it a blessing that mainland readers can get a glimpse of this book now?

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The number of research paths in Gong Pengcheng

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"All knowledge-based jobs are the experience of my personal life, and I have worked hard between a book and a word. All the method consciousness is also obtained from the experience of digging mountains and mining copper. ..... I use my method, which is changed from China's traditional scholarship. It looks like foreign things like ancient times, but it is not foreign and not ancient "-Gong Pengcheng's Forty Books"

"In the process of writing, I just want to write something simple, without using a rigorous argumentation process to achieve my goal. In the use of language, some literary languages are also used to attract readers' attention. This is certainly not a formal practice. However, I think this book may clarify the general popular views or expressions, or it may be a tentative revolution in the theme of literature introduction. I hope to put forward some opinions that are different from the general literature introduction in nature, purpose and writing method. This is also the way to make progress in other disciplines. Through the reflection on methods and problems, it has caused a major earthquake and breakthrough in this discipline and moved forward. My book is just a small earthquake, so it is called' Walking'. Such a "walk" also shows that a person who grew up in a closed environment has a hard thinking process on how to think independently with little external support. Now this process is presented. Although there may not be any big scenery, there may be some small flowers and grass and small good opinions for your reference. " -Gong Pengcheng's "Postscript of Literature Walking"

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The essence of literary knowledge

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Strolling in literature;

1. The essence of literary knowledge

A person may be very knowledgeable, but it doesn't hide that he doesn't know literature. I once met a famous phonologist who studied Dongpo's poems with the method of studying Guang Yun. First, he sat quietly, circled Su's poems and notes with a brush, then summarized their rhymes, divided the topics into rhymes, copied them with a brush, and satirized them every day. Therefore, he thinks he is familiar with Su's poems, occasionally full of poetry and painting, and boasts that his poems are very Su-flavored. But an elder asked me, "Why does he insist on writing poems when there is nothing to do in the world?" If a person is really born with a "blunt root", then we have nothing to say; However, most cases come from not understanding the essence of literary knowledge, mistakenly thinking that literature can be understood with other knowledge, and ignoring the efforts needed to cross heterogeneous knowledge.

They must know for sure that the meaning and truth of art do not come from propositions or inferences, nor from facts or experiences, but only from some kind of "life value" aroused in our hearts. The so-called literary knowledge is built to realize the meaning or value of this artistic expression. Therefore, in literary knowledge, the first thing to pay attention to is not the author's personality, his party affiliation, whether he reflects the society, whether he complains about reality, whether he is practical for realistic people … but the writing style, images, viewpoints, characters, atmosphere and style of his works. As far as poetry is concerned, a qualified reader should be familiar with all kinds of "poetic methods", understand all kinds of styles and types, and understand all kinds of poetic works and history, so as not to be complacent and boast about new solutions with the cold lamp of "I think, therefore I am".

In our view, many so-called literary criticisms in modern times are actually zombies lacking literary cells. Under the mass filling and rape of non-literary knowledge, it seems difficult for them to maintain their identity and value, not to mention the graceful Ling Bo fairies. Therefore, the so-called enrichment of knowledge, the first thing is to concentrate on literature, learn the knowledge of literature, and experience the life value provided by literary works. I know it's a hard job, but I can't help but encourage travelers who walk on the road of literature.

2. Subjective and objective aspects of meaning

First of all, we must understand that the reader's understanding of meaning must be different from that of the author. When the author creates, he must have some intention to convey to the readers through his works, but the meaning that the readers grasp and experience through his works is often far from the original meaning given by the author. For example, there is a ballad "Mending the Broken Net" in Taiwan Province Province, which was originally just the author's lament about his feelings of lovelorn, but later it was regarded as the voice of fishermen. Wen's "Bodhisattva is lazy to draw beauty" is interpreted as "feeling that a scholar is not in the right place". Yan Shu and Ouyang Xiu's ci were interpreted by Wang Guowei as three realms of life. These explanations, even the interpreter himself has to admit: "I'm afraid you will be banned by the princes of Yan and Europe if you explain the text like this." People who can interpret literary works are still like this. Those who can't give a clear explanation, and don't need to give a clear explanation, are even more "fishing in deep water, meaning carp; I was electrocuted in the middle of the night, but I didn't know anything "(Zhou). It's really hard to say which side the author's intention is.

If the ultimate goal of literary appreciation is to trace back and conform to the author's original intention, then this kind of activity can only be said to be a guessing game. Moreover, for thousands of years, countless talented people have come to the conclusion that most of them are sure to have guessed or not. Isn't that depressing?

What is the use of literature?

A fashionable lady once said to the great painter Whistler, "I don't know what is good, I only know what I like." Westerlo bowed to him and said, "My dear lady, in this respect, what she sees is similar to a wild animal." Whenever someone asks me, "What's the use of literature?" I always think of this story of man and beast.

A person, while admiring fashionable girls, also knows that there is no lofty art except this practical hobby; Besides teaching and living, I also know that there is another kind of knowledge; Besides dealing with practicality, I also know that there is a truth. Isn't it obvious that practicality or hobbies in daily life cannot be confused with value? Why do you suddenly feel groggy in the face of literature? Unlike the rich businessman mentioned in Theophile Gautier's Les Crotesques, every time a child writes a poem, he will immediately become seriously ill, furious at the top of his brain and have abnormal nerves. Just like Pope Tertullianus in ancient Rome, he argued that literature must be eradicated if the road is bright and heaven is realized.

As for ordinary writers, faced with this harsh environment, they often appear uneasy and full of inferiority and self-pity. They look down on themselves first, so as not to be unprepared when others look down on them. Occasionally, one or two defenders of literature stammer, and they can only stammer that literature is beneficial to the world and can be used as a propaganda weapon. The more you say this, the more people believe that literature is really useless.

In fact, this problem is not difficult to solve. What is difficult is that the world asks the wrong question. For example, iron mallets were originally used for knocking things, but now they are used for cooking. Of course, they can't do well. And the world actually pointed to the iron mallet and scolded, "What's the use of asking you?" But a group of gentlemen who are keen on iron mallets have to defend them, saying that they can really cook. Isn't this-isn't this funny?

Besides, literature can't compare with iron mallet. Literature cannot be put into the consideration of "what's the use" at all.

4. Philosophy in literature

Since Wang Guowei thought China's Yuan Zaju and Orphan of Zhao were great tragedies comparable to those in the West, many scholars used the word "tragedy" to explain China literature. But in fact, from the viewpoint of China's philosophy, which is dominated by the theory of good nature, there is nothing to live about tragedy. China people simply lack the desire for death, and China literature rarely describes the primitive evil desire of the dark bottom of human nature. George steiner put it well: "As a form of drama, tragedy is not universally applicable. The tragedy of expressing pain and individualism obviously belongs to the West. This concept and implicit outlook on life are influenced by Greece. "

5. Literature and Science

Does literature really need science to support it? A noble and beautiful girl, standing in the sky, is the best proof of her existence. Insist on a bruiser with new hair, saying that she must have the nature of a bruiser to have the value of existence. Such a person is either stupid or epileptic. As for asking whether the creator (writer) of that literature is crazy or misbehaving, it is just like discussing whether Zeus committed rape, which has nothing to do with his works.

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However, is there no meaning without cognitive meaning? When we first read the novel A Dream of Red Mansions, we may not be able to understand or pay attention to historical facts. Even if there is no Jia family in history, we still have to cry and sigh when reading it, and it still has a real sense of meaning. Therefore, only some people will be enlightened when reading The West Chamber. This real meaning is the concrete truth of life that is not mentioned in scientific knowledge.

Once upon a time, Aristotle has cracked this mystery, pointing out that poetry is more real and philosophical than history, because poetry deals not with actual events that have happened, but with life that may or should happen. The historical object of cognition is always individual and denotative, while literature reveals universal and concrete things (similar to Hegel's [concrete universality]). If a writer abandons his own duty and pursues events with extensiveness, historicity and cognitive significance, he will stubbornly embed the story of the Red Chamber into Cao Xueqin's life like Zhou's New Evidence of a Dream of Red Mansions, and shape a vibrant literary world into an account book compiled by events. Nothing is more harmful to literary life.

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Difficulty of appreciation

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