Yue Daiyun And Comparative Literature In China

Since its revival in 1980's, Chinese comparative literature has gradually developed into an important force in world comparative literature. Such kind of prosperity could not be achieved without the painstaking explorations and endeavors of those pioneers like Yue Daiyun. From a historical perspective, this dissertation conducts academic researches on the Chinese scholar Yue Daiyun, a prominent professor of comparative literature of Peking University, tries to shed light on her conceptions of comparative literature on the basis of unscrambling her works in detail and focuses on her theoretical emphases in different periods, as well as some of her original ideas. By doing these, we can see clearly the special vision of Yue Daiyun as a leader of Chinese comparative literature and her great contribution toward the development of this discipline.The progress of Yue Daiyun's comparative literature research can be divided intothree major periods: 1. 1980's——the stage of groping. During this period ProfessorYue Daiyun mainly works at the fundamental construction, influence and receptionstudies and interdisciplinary studies; 2. 1990's——the stage of developing. Duringthis period Professor Yue gives a new definition to comparative literature, that is, the Cross-cultural and interdisciplinary literary studies. She brings forward the "New Humanism" to illuminate the contemporary comparative literature, and Chinese traditional idea of "Harmony in Diversity" as a principle for the symbiosis ofmulti-cultures in the current cultural transformation; 3. From 2000 up to now——thestage of maturity. During this period Professor Yue sets forth "Reciprocal Cognition" as the epistemology and methodology for comparative literature research, calls for the "Cultural Self-consciousness" of both the East and the West and encourages the two sides making equal conversation and searching for mutual development. She also argues that comparative literature is going to its third stage, the feature of which is conversation between heterogeneity cultures, and the center of gravity is China. Obviously, these opinions have momentous significance for the development of Chinese comparative literature.As the leader of Chinese comparative literature, Professor Yue Daiyun has made remarkable contributions to the construction of this discipline and gained high reputation both at home and abroad. Besides the analyses on Yue Daiyun's comparative literature theories, this dissertation will also explain her academic status, achievements and influence in the development of comparative literature in China.