High Ground, The Literary Myth

In a sense, the novels on western China represents the creative standard of contemporary Chinese literature of recent 30 years. So we say, to take the novels on western China as a research window makes the project not only show the significance of integrating and deepening the former researches regard to the novels on western China, but also show that it is to witness the overall trend and existing problems of contemporary Chinese literature in a unique way. The keywords such as spirit structure, culture gene, conflict patterns and literature accepting grasped by the project in the operation all relate to the profound contradictions and complicated disputes in the development of contemporary Chinese literature as well as in the construction of contemporary Chinese culture during the transition periods, also relate to how to release the great tension formed by the influence of global trends to native demand of Chinese literature or culture. The existence of issue consciousness and picking of research vision show the project researcher's deep anxiety, thinking and exploring to the contemporary situation of Chinese literature.This project's final research result manifests five chapters respectively being The Introduction, The Theory of Spirit Structure, The Theory of Culture Gene, The Theory of Conflict Patterns and The Theory of Literature Accepting. The Introduction (the first chapter) looks back into the research history and the present research situation of the novels on western China and points out that the research area still has big re-research space and the research of the novels on western China meeting the reforming time to deep development. Then it clarifies the concept, naming and the academic basis of the novels on western China. Based on tracing the cultural linguistic environment which the novels on western China begin, it distinguishes different historical periods. It distinguishes the novels on western China into three stages:the period from 1942 to 1976 which called formative period, the period from 1976 to 1993 which called prosperous period and the period from 1993 to 2010 which called independent period. After that, it generalizes the performance characteristics of the novels on western China in each historical period one by one and does some academic explanations to the naming of final research result. Finally,it elaborates the project's research values, the research contents and the research ideas, and so on.The Theory of Spirit Structure (the second chapter) is for the purpose of revealing Chinese western writers'literature spirit, the creation spirit and the personality spirit, and further revealing the evolution intrinsic mechanism of spirits. The spiritual altitude is the premise for China's western writers to great success,but the former researches have not been able to form a holistic view on the spirit structure of Chinese western writers. So we hope to form a holistic view on the spirit structure and make a whole description to it. Finally, we try to present an overall image of Chinese western writers' spirit structure. This chapter includes three sections. Section one is Re-building Soul of the National Literature: the Literature Spirit of Chinese Western Writers, section two is Writing for whom:the Underclass Awareness of China's Western Writers and section three is Literature Signifiers in the Reforming Time:the Spirit Structure and Historical Circumstances for China's Western Writers Born in the Sixties.The Theory of Culture Gene (the third chapter) works for inquires about the novels on western China essential regulated.In other words, it should find the intrinsic essential factors which make the novels on western China become the novels on western China. The novels on western China are profoundly impacted by geography humanities environment, region culture and folk cultural spirit, otherwise, the novels on western China deeply reflect them, these are the main causes that make the novels on western China trend and form localilzation narrative characteristics. It is important to research the relationship between local literature and cultural spirit beyond macroscopic observation and description, so the chapter takes contemporary Shanxi writers and Xihaigu writers of Ningxia as two view angles. The former analyzes how the cultural spirit traditions to influence contemporary Shanxi writers from historical dimension and the latter investigates from realistic dimension how folk cultural spirit to form standards to Xihaigu writers. The chapter includes three sections. They are section one Rural, Wilderness and Rangeland:the Novels on Western China with the Geographical and Cultural Environment, section two From Ancient Times'Influence:Chang'an Cultural Spirit Deeply Influencing Contemporary Shanxi Writers and section three From Reality to Esthetics:Xihaigu Writers'Inheritance and Surmounting to Local and Folk Cultural Spirit.The Theory of Conflict Patterns (the fourth chapter) tries to show the major conflict patterns that present repeatedly in the novels on western China. It is an attempt to study the novels on western China from representation to depth, so that we can deeply grasp the essential rules which the novels on western China operate. The study of the conflict patterns is a scotoma in former researches of the novels on western China. Though few researchers touch upon to it, in fact they have not paid enough attention to it. Therefore,we highlight the originality as far as possible in the research. The chapter includes three sections. They are section one Possible Depth of the Novels on Western China: Conflict between Soul Purification and Bodily Desire, section two Geographical Features of the Novels on Western China:The Conflict between Man and Nature and section three Motif Evolution of the Novels on Western China:Traditional and Modern Conflict.The Theory of Literature Accepting (the fifth chapter) discusses the destiny circumstances of the novels on western China from the view angles of appraisal of literature history and reader acceptance. The appraisal of literature history mirrors literature historians to approbate it or not, as well as that the condition of reader acceptance reflects what social value significance they may produce. But significantly, the appraisal of literature history and reader acceptance can not always achieve consistently, this kind of contradiction even sometimes displays prominently to Chinese western writers. Therefore, to study the novels on western China from above two view angles not only can reconsider and re-examine creative problems of Chinese western writers, but also can reconsider and re-examine the history ideas, the value standpoints and the appraisal criterions of the entire contemporary history of literature narrative as well as reception system. In the research history of the novels on western China, this research space is still a blind spot, so the proposition contains more exploratory efforts. This chapter includes three sections. They are section one "Pioneering History":a Literature Classics Repeatedly Discussed and Unpredictably Swayed, section two Lu Yao "Ordinary World" Phenomenon:Mentioning a Case in Contemporary Literature Again, and section three "Bailu Plateau":a New Historical Novel, a Family Novel or a Novel on Western China.The project seeks to achieve a breakthrough on the research of the novels on western China, but the so-called breakthrough inevitably embodies in literature and culture renewal ideas.Therefore, we focus of attention to some hot issues concerned and forefront issues discussed in academic circles recent years, on the basis of absorption and integration to these hot and forefront issues, we introduce them to our concrete research so as to construct the research dimensions. These are introduced such as underclass issue, modernity issue, humanistic spirit issue, writing issue of literary history, literary spirit issue, "body" issue, ecology issue, literature fate in the age of consumption, and so on. In some kind of significance, the project activates and expands the possible research space in great degree. At a higher sense, to introduce and operate the research dimensions aims at clearing and describing the destiny vision of the novels on Western China in the consumption era with sharp transformation, at releasing and clarifying the anxiety and confusion that China's western writers are facing, and ultimately, at providing solid and reliable theoretical basis for the creation of the novels on western China to move towards classics comprehensively. Literature has never been a personal thing, also can't be a "private form" thing. It needs all the people who take it as a career to advance together so as to create a possible spiritual home outside the "absurd" common secular life. Only in this way, literature can be more likely to become our final poetic dwelling place.