2014/2015 School of Chinese Seminar 中文學院學術講座

On Establishing Reference Systems in Literary Studies
文學研究的參照性問題

Professor Cheng Guangwei 程光煒 教授

Date and Time: November 28, 2014 (Friday); 5:30-6:45pm
Venue: Room 730, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Language: Putonghua

Abstract: Establishing “reference systems” is important for contemporary Chinese literary studies. A reference system would enable us to understand the historical significance of a literary work in a relatively objective way, and to formulate research questions from this system. Yet this frame of reference does not come from the author of a text. Rather, the researcher has to discover it through his/her in-depth study. A reference system is not established through one’s pre-assumed ideas, or preferred research data. Neither is it built upon one’s favored viewpoint. It requires one to challenge one’s usual research habits, to examine one’s viewpoint, and to respect alternative interpretations and views to which one does not quite subscribe.

在中國當代文學史研究中，建立一種“參照”的知識視野是十分重要的。它的存在，使我們得以確認文學作品大致的歷史位置，給文學一個相對客觀的“定位”，再從這種定位中找出一些問題來研究。但這種“參照”往往不是研究對象主動提供的，而需要我們在深入的研究中尋找和發現。這種尋找又不是在自己希望看到的思想狀態、資料文獻中進行，甚至不是在自己喜歡的觀點中進行。因此，這種尋找的難度首先來自對自己研究習慣的克服，來自對自己觀點的必要的反省，它包括了給自己不喜歡的思想狀態和觀點的應有尊重。

Cheng Guangwei is Professor in the Faculty of Arts at the Renmin University of China. He is the vice chairperson of the Association of Contemporary Chinese Literary Studies, and has published 14 books and more than 200 articles on modern and contemporary Chinese literature.

程光煒，中國人民大學文學院教授。中國當代文學研究會副會長。先後出版著作14部，在《文學評論》、《文藝研究》等雜誌發表論文200餘篇。

All are welcome

Poster:
https://web-archive.chinese.hku.hk/poster/20141128.pdf