The second half of 1990s is an important period for the sustained development of foreign literature research in China. Compared with the Seventh Five-Year Plan and the Eighth Five-Year Plan, during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, the achievements of China universities in the field of foreign literature research far exceeded any period in history, both in quantity and quality. What is more gratifying is that more and more research results show that researchers in China are focusing on me instead of following western experts and scholars, but trying to examine foreign literary works from a unique perspective and analyze foreign literary trends and schools. In many aspects, the study of foreign literature in China University is gradually in line with the international academic circles.
(A) "Ninth Five-Year Plan" period, the major achievements of foreign literature research in China universities.
1. The study of the history of foreign literature has gradually developed in depth. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, the history of foreign literature remained a hot topic for China scholars. In addition to meeting the needs of teaching, the number of teachers returning from studying abroad is gradually increasing, and they bring back the latest research results from abroad, which is also the main reason why the history of literature continues to be a research hotspot. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, in addition to a number of more traditional literary histories, such as The New Edition of European Literary History edited by Li Funing and The New Edition of American Literary History edited by Liu Haiping and Wang Shouren, a large number of research results on the dynastic history of foreign literature, ethnic dynastic history, ethnic history and the development of major literary forms were also published. For example, the history of American literature in the 20th century edited by Yang, the history of English Renaissance literature edited by He Qishen, the history of European and American literature in the 20th century, the history of Australian literature edited by Shen, the history of Italian contemporary literature edited by He Qishen, the history of British drama edited by Qu Shijing and the history of Canadian English drama edited by Guo Jide. Wu Yuanmai's Series of Literary History of 20th Century Foreign Literature Countries is a series of literary history classified by countries and languages and written by linguists from various countries. Beijing Foreign Studies University has given full play to its multilingual advantages and launched a set of "Foreign Literature Research Series of Beijing Foreign Studies University", which is a set of words in the history of literature for ordinary readers and divided by country. The length of each volume is not very large, and the language is fluent and interesting, which is helpful to expand the influence of foreign literature on readers.
2. Research monographs are gradually increasing. In addition to the study of the history of foreign literature, the main research directions of China University researchers are foreign literary trends, literary schools and foreign key writers. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, at the turn of the century, foreign literary schools and important western writers in the 20th century became the first choice for research. Representative theoretical monographs include Narratology and Stylistics of Fiction, Postmodernism: Realism and Experiment by Lu Jiande, Stream of Consciousness in Britain and America by Xiao, Faulkner Studies by Zhang Jian, Eliot and the Romantic Tradition in England by Jiang. These research results are highly targeted, and some of them are developed on the basis of doctoral dissertations. Therefore, the author of the results can make breakthroughs and discoveries on the basis of summarizing the existing research results at home and abroad, and truly realize exchanges and dialogues with scholars of the same research level in the West.
3. The development trend of foreign literature is more and more sensitive, and the introduction is more and more timely. With more and more opportunities for college teachers in China to study abroad, more and more teachers are exposed to the first-hand materials of foreign literary criticism. Influenced by the active academic atmosphere in foreign literary circles, our teacher thinks it necessary to introduce the latest developments of foreign literary criticism to domestic readers in time. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, a large number of articles published in professional literary journals such as Foreign Literature, Foreign Literature and Foreign Literature Review were the result of the efforts of these teachers. The representative works of foreign literary criticism in volumes include Theoretical Research on Western Literature in the 20th Century and Humanistic Puzzlement and Reflection: Western Postmodernism Criticism edited by Wang Fengzhen.
Foreign literature research began to get rid of the shackles of pure literature. A prominent feature of China's foreign literature research during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period is that a group of researchers consciously followed the concept of culture, trying to get rid of the shackles of the old scholastic pure literature research ideas and began to study interdisciplinary topics such as literature and philosophy, literature and religion, literature and culture. This practice of combining literary works with the humanistic culture of the era that gave birth to it broadens our researchers' thinking and provides a new perspective for the analysis of works. Wang Shouren's Gender, Race and Culture, Toni Morrison's 20th Century African American Literature and He Yunbo's Dostoevsky and Russian Culture are the representative achievements of this attempt.
5. The study of foreign literature translation has begun to attract people's attention. The translation of foreign literature is essentially a comparative study, that is, after trying to understand and study the language of one culture, it is expressed and elaborated in the language of another culture and re-created. The translation of foreign literature in China has a history of 100 years. Since 1990s, a large number of foreign literary works have been translated into Chinese: contemporary works have been introduced to China readers in time, and many classic works have been retranslated by many or even dozens of translators. Although the translation of foreign literature has developed rapidly in recent ten years, the quality of translation is worrying. There are both practical and theoretical problems in translation. Translation criticism is a new discipline developed to solve the theoretical and practical problems of literary translation, and Xu Jun of Nanjing University is a leading figure in this field. His monographs and papers "Reflections on Translation" and "China's Translation Theory and Practice" (in cooperation with Wang Kefei) are the first time that China scholars systematically expounded translation criticism.
6. Foreign literature textbooks in colleges and universities have begun to take shape. Because of the close relationship between foreign literature research and teaching in China universities, the construction of teaching materials has always been concerned by foreign literature researchers in universities. In the early 1990s, the construction of foreign literature textbooks focused on the compilation of foreign literature history and literary anthology. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, the construction of teaching materials showed a diversified trend: the teaching materials of foreign literature history, which have been used for many years, were faced with the task of revision to adapt to the development trend of foreign literature; A number of monographs on the history of foreign literature published in recent ten years have become the first choice of foreign literature history courses in colleges and universities with their new materials and new viewpoints. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing House, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Publishing House, Yilin Publishing House, Commercial Press and other publishing houses purchase domestic reprinting rights, and then publish the original works of foreign literature masterpieces to provide original textbooks for foreign literature courses of foreign languages departments. It is particularly worth mentioning that Beijing Foreign Studies University has compiled a set of literary anthology of the original text (*** 1 1), which has been published in Spain, Latin America, Russia and South Korea, and will be published in Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Arabia and other countries. Because of its large space (nearly 1000 pages per volume) and wide coverage (selected articles to the 1990s), it is very suitable for literature or reading classes of foreign language departments in colleges and universities. The publication of this literary anthology series has filled the biggest gap in the teaching materials of foreign literature in China.
(B) the advantages of foreign literature research in China universities
In addition to being scattered in China Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Foreign Literature and Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and other provinces and cities, foreign literature researchers in China are mainly concentrated in foreign language departments, Chinese departments and foreign literature research institutions in universities. The foreign literature research team in China universities has the following advantages:
1. The number of foreign literature researchers in colleges and universities in China is unmatched by other research institutions and has become the main force of foreign literature research in China.
2. Because teaching in colleges and universities inevitably involves all fields of foreign literature, the coverage of foreign literature research in colleges and universities is very wide, and the coverage of achievements is also very wide.
3. Scientific research in colleges and universities basically serves teaching, so the topics chosen by foreign literature researchers in colleges and universities are more inclined to solve practical problems.
4. Due to the relatively stable research team in universities, some key universities, especially Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University and Nanjing University, have formed foreign literature research groups with reasonable age and academic structure, among which a group of senior professors have become academic leaders in the field of foreign literature in China, and young and middle-aged scholars have formed their own unique research direction.
With the help of foreign literature academic groups at all levels, academic exchanges between foreign literature researchers in colleges and universities have become more direct and frequent, and a good momentum of resource sharing and project cooperation has begun to appear.
(C) Problems in the study of foreign literature in colleges and universities
1. Although many achievements have been made in the study of literary history during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, due to the lack of macro-control means, many topics have been repeated, resulting in great waste of human and financial resources. In addition, most of them are individual projects, and the research power is scattered, lacking representative works like A General History of China. The achievements of individual literary history are suspected of "writing a book", that is, compiling based on the literary history published in the West.
2. There are still impetuous emotions in research methods and style of study. Hot topics and hot writers are eagerly awaited, but the difficult problems and gaps in the study of foreign literature in China are ignored, shelved and neglected. Some comments lack theoretical depth and only stay in the interpretation of literary works.
3. The understanding of the latest development of foreign literature research is still relatively backward, and many introductory articles are still translated, lacking in in-depth and systematic research. Foreign literary theories often lack concrete and serious analysis and identification, but are mechanically copied and blindly quoted.
4. There is a lack of communication and cooperation between teachers of foreign languages department and teachers of Chinese department who are engaged in foreign literature research. They still belong to their own academic groups and stay in their own circles. Some teachers in the Chinese department are not good at foreign languages and can't understand the original foreign literature. They can only rely on Chinese translation and foreign criticism of foreign literary works, and are often misled and misinterpreted by translation.
Second, the development trend of foreign literature research during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period
The general trend of foreign literature research during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period should be to continue to develop on the existing basis, but as the first five years of the new millennium, it is facing some new development trends.
1. Reviewing and summarizing the development of foreign literature in the 20th century will be the primary task during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period. After entering the new century, foreign literature research will pay more attention to the characteristics, thoughts and schools of the literary process in the twentieth century, and this time distance makes it possible for us to make a more objective summary of the century that has just passed.
2. Strengthen the study of foreign literary theory. Theoretical research has always been a weak link in the study of China literature abroad. In recent ten years, although foreign literary theories have been introduced to readers in China through translation and criticism, there is still a lack of systematic research, let alone making it necessary and useful for me. This situation needs to be reversed.
3. Strengthen the autonomy of foreign literature research. Translating and introducing foreign literary works has a history of hundreds of years in China, and we have made remarkable achievements and accumulated rich experience in this field. However, how to combine the study of foreign literature with China culture and produce a batch of research results with independent originality and China characteristics will be our main research topic in the future, and these results will also be the greatest contribution of China critics and academic circles to the world literary world.
4. Get rid of the shackles of traditional academic literature research methods and advocate the diversification of research methods and perspectives. Follow the concept of culture and study interdisciplinary topics such as literature and people, literature and language, literature and philosophy, literature and religion, literature and culture. In terms of research methods, we should give consideration to traditional research methods and new methods and perspectives such as anthropology, structure, symbols and values.
5. Avoid duplication of work and strengthen the study of weak links in the field of foreign literature research. For example, the research on non-mainstream national literature, classical literature, drama poetry and literary translation needs to be further strengthened.
Three. Key research fields and contents during the tenth five-year plan period
(A) to strengthen the discipline construction of foreign literature
The main feature of foreign literature research in colleges and universities is that scientific research serves teaching and discipline construction. Although the foreign language department and Chinese department of most universities have offered the history of foreign literature and foreign literature elective courses for many years, the teaching of foreign literature in many universities still lacks scientificity and systematicness, and different people have different degrees of courses. Therefore, it is urgent to entrust key universities to formulate the foreign literature teaching syllabus, curriculum and training plan for foreign literature postgraduates in foreign language departments and Chinese departments of Chinese universities in China. At the same time, the training of foreign literature teachers should also be regarded as an entrusted task. Due to the alternation of new and old teachers and the poor enrollment of foreign literature graduate students in recent years, many colleges and universities have experienced the phenomenon of lack of successors in foreign literature teaching; In-service teachers also need to broaden their horizons and improve their theories. Teachers' continuing education can take the form of seminars to strengthen academic exchanges among college teachers while continuing their studies.
Research projects related to discipline construction include:
(1) Investigation Report on Foreign Literature Textbooks and Courses in Colleges and Universities in China
(2) Investigation report on literature courses and postgraduate training programs in foreign universities.
(3) Foreign Literature Teaching Syllabus of Foreign Languages Department and Chinese Department of China University (* Key Project)
(4) Basic teaching materials of foreign literature and supporting multimedia teaching AIDS.
(5) Chinese translation retrieval database of foreign documents.
(6) Classified retrieval database of foreign literature research.
(2) Pay attention to foreign literature in the 20th century.
The past twentieth century was the most active, if not the most brilliant, period of world literature. Especially because we all live in it, we feel more cordial about this literary period. Because of the short interval, the understanding of literary schools often needs historical precipitation to make a comprehensive evaluation. However, it should be an important work during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period to systematically summarize the writers who made important contributions and the ideological trends with great influence in the twentieth century. Of course, emphasizing the study of twentieth-century literature does not mean ignoring the influence of literary tradition, because this source relationship cannot be cut off.
The research projects of foreign literature in the 20th century include
(1) A Study of Western Literary Trends in the 20th Century (*)
(2) the 20th century western literary theory research (*)
(3) Postmodernism and postmodern literature.
(4) Literature research of various countries in the second half of the 20th century.
(5) the 20th century novel art research (*)
(6) 20th century drama art research (*)
(7) 20th century poetry art research (*)
(8) Re-evaluate Russian literature in the 20th century.
(9) Study on the historical experience of world socialist literature.
(10) Tracking Research on Contemporary Foreign Literature
(C) to strengthen the study of literary theory and broaden the field of literary research
Compared with the study of foreign key writers, especially the study of literary history, the study of foreign literary theory has always been our weakness. During the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, it is necessary to increase investment in literary theory research, organize forces to conduct special research on important western literary theories and literary trends of thought in the 20th century, and understand several issues, so that China researchers can truly realize dialogue and exchanges with western scholars in this regard.
During the Eighth Five-Year Plan and the Ninth Five-Year Plan, we have invested a lot in the study of literary history, and a number of gratifying achievements have also appeared. During the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period, we should reduce the investment in this area and no longer support repeated projects. However, the project can still choose the history of literature, the history of dating literature and the history of the development of major literary forms in non-mainstream countries. Unless there is a major breakthrough in the theoretical study of literary history, rewriting literary history should not be encouraged at present to avoid wasting manpower and material resources.
To broaden the field of foreign literature research, we must first fill the gaps in research work and strengthen the weak links. At present, China is still weak in early literature, non-mainstream national literature, drama art research and poetry art research. In addition, researchers should be encouraged to study literary works within the framework of culture, and analyze and study literature with the help of research results in the fields of religion, philosophy, history, aesthetics, psychology, sociology and linguistics, so as to enhance their understanding of literary works.
The research projects that need to be further strengthened include:
(1) monographic study on foreign literary theory (*)
(2) Special research on important literary critics.
(3) History of 20th Century Literary Criticism (*)
(4) Western Marxism and literature
(5) Comments on the history of foreign literature
(6) History of foreign literary thoughts (*)
(7) Foreign literature and quality education of China students.
(8) Special studies on literature in developing countries.
(9) Ancient Greek and Roman literature
(10) European medieval literature
(1 1) European Renaissance Literature
(12) Special Study on Drama Art
(13) Special Study on Poetry Art
(14) monographic study on novel art
(15) Research on Narrative Perspective
(16) Religion and Literature
(17) Philosophy and Literature
(18) monographic study of classical writers
(19) film and television literature research
(20) The study of representative national literature in major western countries.
(D) to strengthen the comparative study of Chinese and foreign literature and translation criticism
It has been hundreds of years since foreign literature was introduced into China, and the study of translation and reception of foreign literature in China should be an important topic during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period. During the Eighth Five-Year Plan and the Ninth Five-Year Plan, the study of comparative literature in China developed rapidly, but the existing research results were still unsatisfactory. Many achievements are superficial and far-fetched, which does not greatly promote the literary complementarity, mutual proof and mutual knowledge between the two cultures.
Projects related to comparative studies and translation criticism;
(1) China's translation of foreign literature (*)
(2) Foreign literature translation and modern and contemporary literature in China.
(3) The study of foreign literature in China in the 20th century.
(4) literary translation and cultural exchange
(5) Theoretical research on literary translation (*)
(6) Research on Literary Translation Criticism (*)
(7) Research on the relationship between contemporary Chinese and foreign literature.
(8) Comparison of Chinese and foreign dramas
(9) Comparison of Chinese and foreign novels
(10) Comparison of Chinese and Foreign Cultures