Chinese Literature & Individualism

This study will examine Chinese literature in terms of the ways in which different writers depict the notion of "individualism" or the individual. There are a number of reasons why these differences exist, including cultural and political factors, and the author's own individual perception of human reality. These differences and the reasons for them will be explored in this study. The essential argument of the study will be that the Chinese culture as described in Chinese literature in general does not cherish as ideals the individual or individualism.

Both the traditional, Confucian-influenced culture before communism, and the communist-centered society after 1949's revolution see individualism as a threat to the cohesion and order of the community. Although the stories differ in various ways in terms of their specific depictions of individuals and individualism, the underlying assumption is that those individuals and that individualism are functioning in a context which sees them as dangers to the community.

As Hsia writes in his introduction to Modern Chinese Stories and Novellas, 1919-1949, edited by Lau et al., "Chinese story writers frequently write of modern intellectuals like themselves, who, while wishing to accomplish something big for their country, soon become aware of their individual smallness and the magnitude of the reactionary forces with which they have to contend" (Lau xvii).

What we see in many of the pieces to be examined (except for works which

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ualism are disruptive dangers---threats to the central goal of social order which the ideologies seek. As a result, the bulk of the works consulted for this study show individuals as struggling, usually in vain, against these various oppressive forces. Can Xue, in One Floating Cloud, presents an approach to reality which certainly champions individuality if in nothing else but its incredibly unique and original style. At the same time, because it is to some degree obscure, her style "may also act as a shield against condemnation by officialdom" (Xue xi-xii). In other words, since authorities do not understand her work, or because they can discern no overtly "counterrevolutionary" messages in it, they allow it to be published and read. However, if we see individualism as an expression of a unique perspective on reality, regardless of whether or not it is socially or politically dangerous, then Xue's work definitely qualifies as a work of individualistic quality. The first sentence in her book reads: "At the edge of the city was a byway called Yellow Mud Street. I remember it very well. But everyone says no such street ever existed. So I set out to find it" (Xue 3). Here in these words we find the essence of individuality. The n

Category: Literature - C