The Rise of Xiaoshuo as a Literary Concept： Lu Xun and the Question of ＂Fiction＂ in Chinese Literature研究.pdfVIP

Front．Lit．Stud．China2014，8(4)：631-651 DOI10．3868／s010—003．014．0034．4 CarlosYu．KaiLIN TheRiseofXiaoshuoasaLiteraryConcept：Lu XunandtheQuestionof。Fiction inChinese Literature Abstract Originally derived from historical and philosophical writings． xiaoshuoisthemodem Chineseterm forfictionalworkofany1ength．However, how thisterm cametobeusedtotranslatetheWestem conceptsof “fiction”and “novel”isaquestionthatremainstobefullyexplored．ThisPaperofcusesonLu Xun’sseminalwork Zhongguoxiaoshuo shiliie rA briefhistory ofChinese fiction；1925)soastoinvestigatethewaVsinwhichtheWestem conceptof fictionisbuiltintoLuXun’shistoricizationofxiaoshuo．IarguethatLuXun’s articulation ofxiaoshuo isdistinguishedbyhisemphasison both thetemr ’s universalityandits“Chinese—ness．” Keywords xiaoshuo，fiction，literary history,non—referentiality,evolutionism， universality XlaoshuoasFiction：TheQuestionofTranslation Thequestionofhow toconceptualizeandevaluatefictionasaconceDtinthe Chineseliterarytraditionhasperplexedmanyscholars．Thisisespeciallytruefor thosewho search ofrageneric counterpartofrtheWestern temr “fiction”in Chinesenarratives．Asearlyasl956．JohnBishopnotedin “SomeLimitationsof ChineseFiction’’thatitmightbeproblematicto evaluateChinese literautre accordingtotheW estem stna dardsOffiction．Hewrites．“Imustadmittotake arbitrarilythefictionoftheW elstasastandardagainstwhichtomeasureworksin awhollyunrelatedliterature，aquestionableprocedureifusedmerelytoa~iveat avalueiudgment，butaiustifiablemethodifusedtolocalizeandappraisethe dif-ferentdevelopmentin comparable genresoftwo distinct1iteratures．” JohnBishop，“SomeLimitationsofChineseFiction，’’239 CarlosYu-KaiLIN(函) DepartmentofComparativeLiterature，University ofSouthernCalifornia，LosAngeles，CA 90089-0359，USA E—mail：yukailin@use．edu 632 CarlosYu．KaiL1N A1thoughBishop’smainargumentisthatChinesefctionlackstheindividual modeofstory．tellingandoriginalitythata