"The Writing Of Diseases And Medicine" In Contemporary Minority Literature(1949-2016)

This thesis attempts to take a large number of "the writing of disease and medicine" in contemporary minority literature as the research object,and explore the intertextual relationship among the history of disease and medicine,life politics and literature in contemporary China(1949-2016).This is also a literary research in the perspective of social history.Social history does not only refer to macro-social history such as politics history,military history,but also include micro-social history such as history of daily life,history of disease and medicine,history of science and technology.Therefore,this thesis will roughly follow the time frame of the mainstream literary history closely related to social history.The theme of contemporary minority literature has gone through the different periods of "country subject","individual subject","minority subject" and the coexistence of former three "cacophony" in more than 60 years after the foundation of new China,in which "the writing of disease and medicine" also presents different features.It is the consistent theme of the conflict and dialogue between modern and tradition since modern times.Chinese nation was often likened to a sick and weak body because of its own weakness and internal and external troubles,and its nationals were also known as "Sick Men of East Asia".After the founding of new China,the narrative strategy of "Chinese nation was the object of medical treatment",which prevailed in the international context of competition of the countries in modern times,has been transformed into "the minorities is the object of medical treatment" in the country.Therefore,large numbers of modern imagination on "disease and medical metaphor" appeared in minority literary works in early new China.As a result,"the writing of disease and medicine" in the minority literature in 1950s-1970s is a kind of modern narrative of "country subject",which takes the imagination and construction of modern nation-state as the main appeal,and embodies the nation-state modern transformation on minorities."The writing of disease and medicine" in this period see minority tradition which is heterogeneous from modern nation-state as "disease"."The writing of disease and medicine" in this period mainly embodies modern revolution and transformation on tradition,and reflects intense conflict between modern and tradition through the change of space,perceptual body and daily life.Nevertheless,we can still see the vagueness of minority folk medicine."The writing of disease and medicine" in minority literature in "new period" takes humanism as the main appeal,which pursues democracy,fairness and justice,as well as the freedom,value and dignity of human being.This is a kind of modern narrative of "individual subject".Disease is an inhumane metaphor of indiscriminate killing,trampling on dignity and deprivation of freedom;Medicine is a humanitarian metaphor of caring for life,respecting human dignity and giving freedom."The writing of disease and medicine" in minority literature from middle and late 1980s to early 21st century takes reshaping minority traditional culture as the main appeal,which embodies the efforts of constructing minority subjectivity.This is a kind of cultural narrative of "minority subject"."The writing of disease and medicine" in this period shows the critique on modernity and the conversion to minority traditional culture through "persistence of nature","religious belief" and "pursuit of maternal/ethnic branch and local tradition".It regards modernity as the cause of modern disease,and takes the conversion to minority traditional culture as the treatment strategy."The writing of disease and medicine" in minority literature in latest ten years shows a situation of multiple coexistence.There are appeals of imaging and constructing modern nation-state,appeals of humanism,and appeals of imaging and constructing minority subjectivity.These writing of disease and medicine inherit the previous connotation and have some new characteristics.They coexist,contend,"cacophony".They together embody"pluralistic integration" pattern of Chinese nation,and reflect the dialogue,consultation and integration between modern and tradition.