On The Features Of Chinese Literature From The Perspective Of Media Ecology

The emergence of Media Ecology Theory provides a fresh insight into literary study. And differences in socio-cultural context cause a wide divergence of media ecology between China and the Occident. The development of Chinese literature shows glamorous and distinguishing features, owing to its unique media ecology with Chinese characteristics.First of all, Chinese characters, which are associative and non-alphabetical, manage to keep human perceptual system in balance. The integrity of perceptual field embodied in Chinese character, rather than the linear structure and logic sequence of alphabetic writing, contributes to the vivid accomplishment of ancient Chinese literature which is characterized by verbal psycho-dynam ics.Second, it takes tens of centuries for Chinese society to technologize its hieroglyphic words. The intricacy of traditional full-form characters brings about the separation of oral and literary language, and hence highbrow and popular literature. Though the invention of typography fails to stir such a violent revolution as in the West, to a certain extent, it facilitates the prosperity of popular literature in ancient China. Since late Qing dynasty, with the spread of typography and Chinese phonetic alphabet, literacy gradually gains an overwhelming superiority, and literature grows into modernity in Chinese society.However, printing media, which just comes into drastic bursts of energy, has yet been exposed to the serious impact and deconstruction of electronic media. E-media’s brand new symbolic-perceptual environment stirs various unique cultural phenomena, and triggers the mass carnival in literature field. With the coexistence and combination of old media, new media and even new-new media, China’s media ecology has become unprecedentedly multiple; and Chinese contemporary literature, which shows a tendency to post-modern, is on the horns of a genuine dilemma.