Canonization of Chinese Literature in the East and West

The evolution of China’s literary canon has had many different factors contributing to its formation. The main factors include Politics, Ideology and, Translation. Depending on the historic political clime, the views of the literati, or the in more modern times; the influence of translations of western texts; China’s literary canon would evolve to mach[1][2][3]. When compared to the canon's of ancient Greece, Egypt or Modern literary canons China's literary canon has been relatively fixed, though more flexible that the literary canon of Dark Age Catholic Europe, and the Islamic Middle East. This amount of rigidity and flexibility derives from the fact that for most of china’s literary history the Confucian works of the 4 books and five classics at its heart. While the works and supporting works of Confucius and his follower where seen near sacred they did not hold the same religiosity of the works of Mohammed or of Jesus, in the Quran and bible respectively [1].

Note to Reader: Because of the many reasons for canonization this paper will be divided into to processes of canonization then chorological, rather than primarily chronologically then topically. This is to better see the modes of canonization and their effects since so many overlap and have contributed at the same historical time.

Literary Canon

Before we continue to review the contributing factors to the canonization of Chinese literature it is important to first review several key concepts.

A literary canon denotes a canon of books and other forms of literature that are influential in shaping its target culture. Literary canons are usually works with some aesthetic value, authoritative or superb. Literary canon can extend beyond the written word and can include all forms of art, and the artist. The Canon refered to is that of Highbrow or high culture not to be confused with hihly succesful or popular works of art though some canical works infact becoma part of the popular canon.

Traditionally the works and supporting works of Confucius are seen as the canonized classis, though China’s Literary canon extends far beyond these works. Yet in ancient times almost all of the canon was in some way related to the Confucian works. Also the 4 books and five classics are traditionally said to be written by Confucius, it is almost certain that most of the work was written in fact by his followers and scholars years after his death.

Vectorizing Canons: and because of their ability to form people’s view of life and society. [5]

Vectorized Canons: conform to views of life and society that are already established before and outside of the canon. [5]

Processes of Canozation of Chinese Literature

Individuals and Entities

Many lierary canon from all over the world have been effected by this equalizer of groups or leaders dennoting a work or collection of works to be canonical. early examples included the works of cunfucus, though attributed to be written by him were more likely a construct of scholar gropus who edited and compiled his teachings. Because of this the cunfucian canon is see more as a traditinal constuct rather than the wroks of one man. This "Scribal Class" ofgen tried tto legitimize thier works. In modern time the literary canon of china (and globally for that matter)is decided on by Professors

Politics and Ideology

Since the beginning of written chinese literature the currrernt politics, history and ideologies of either the people of rulers mandadted the currrent literary canon. In early chinese history a prime exapmle is that of Qin Shi HuangDi who used the legal school to ligitimize his rule. We see this trend of new dynasties usingg literarute to ligitimize there stanidngg and create litterary canons. the han Dynasty followin the Qin dynasty used confucian works to ligitimize their rule and the 4 bbooks and 5 classics instatnly were canon. Another political drive for the cannaization of literary works especially confuscious in early chinese history was that is promoted and honor the exstitance of an emporoer or ruling body, which the governments could use to ligitimise themselves. In modern chinese history we see major examples of vecotorized canonization where communist writingg from russia when translated were very quickly canoninized reguardless of any asthetic value. if a canonized work help certian ideologies that were favored by the rruleingg party of china that came from Russia it was immediately claimed by the oligarchy to be canon.

In religiosity we see similar places where the works of cunfusism were redeily accepted by the West becuase of it's similarity to tthiere judial-christain views. ironically both the works of cunfusius and the bilical text had a very simialr juorney in thier canonization where the orrginal speak did litle to none of the writingg and where a scribal class later recoreded thier teaching. though the works of the western biblical canon have a more rigid religgiosity, the works of confusisct were still reguarded with some sense of sacredness.

"The scribal class was influential in a more subtle way. As teachers and (local) interpreters of the canon, they were responsible for maintaining social power related to the use of the canon. The scribes would have been responsible for the legitimacy perceived in the canon, its truth and value. This equilibrium between rulers and scribes was historically rooted in the fact that the material that became the Five Classics was derived from traditional material in pre-Han private and state schooling.A prime reason that Han emperors chose to canonize this tradition in the first place would have been its ability to prove itself as trustworthy for new generations of would-be officials. The canon worked, as every canon must do. For this reason, while authorization of the Confucian canon was an imperial matter, the legitimacy of the canon was secured through scribal activity."

Translations

in respect to modern chinese literary history Translation has had the larges effect on the modern chinese litterary canon. Also translation has had the largest and almost sloe effect on caninization off chinese literarute in the west. The first aspect of translation that effect the chinese literary canon was the quality of translations. If certain chinese wroks were translated correctly into another language or skillfully the work had a cahnce to enter the global canon though if the translatorr did a poor job on it's translation it had no chance of western cannonsity.

New incoming works of literature from the west also had to get past the first obsticle of aquiring a skilful translator. Though most incomeing works bbeing western where so new and inovated to the chinese readers that china quickly attached to westrn works and quickly intergrated them into their canon. Also the translateor off western text used the litterary devises found within these western stroies and intergrated thewm into thiere own works and literature and there "innovated works" were also instantly recieve for thier newness. Aslo the new call for translation of chinese text.

“A work that endures . . . offers qualities of insight, expression, or beauty that demand repeated readings while resisting complete encapsulation by any one reader.”

canon formation=reformation

fiction late qing

may fourth wesernization

Both in theory and in concept, fiction came to be perceived in a different light, and consequently foreign, particularly

They naturally relied on translations for creative inspiration. Mo Yan once said that he was more influenced by translations than by originals.

Western, literary concepts were internalized. Both Lin Shu and Su Manshu, another translator, began to work in a narrative mode reminiscent of Western fiction: the artistic devices they borrowed from the 18 MLQ March 2008 West were refreshingly new and favorably received.

The appearance in 1920 of The Communist Manifesto, translated by Chen Wangdao, was an event of profound significance to Chinese politics and culture.

Bei Dao Gao Xingjian, who received the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature and whose important works have been translated into French, English, and Swedish, has been dismissed in China as a second-rate writer.

For example, the critic Sun Opening the Cultural Mind 19 Wang Guowei reinterpreted The Dream of the Red Chamber (Honglou meng), the definitive canonical work in Chinese literature, through Western tragic theory.

One intriguing outcome is that some overrated canonical writers, such as Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, and Zhao Shuli, are subject to revaluation, whereas writers once marginalized for political reasons, including Shen Congwen, are in various stages of canonization.

Likewise, no decanonized Soviet writer stood a chance of being translated into Chinese

Vladimir Mayakovsky’s

Stalin made a liberal gesture (a dead poet is no longer dangerous!): he declared that Mayakovsky had been, and still remained, the most talented poet of the Soviet era. Disrespect for his memory was proclaimed a ‘crime.’ In these characteristically Stalinist formulations, admitting no nuance, Mayakovsky was canonized. Henceforth, the poet’s every line was elevated to the ranks of great poetry; the weakest elements in Mayakovsky’s creative legacy were held up as models.”6

Lenin! Lenin! Lenin! In the “Ode to Lei Feng,” written in honor of a soldier in the People’s Liberation Army whom Mao Zedong urged the whole country to emulate, He adopts the same form: Lei Feng! Lei Feng! Lei Feng!

Another dramatic turn of events was the canonization of a noncanonical work, The Gadfly, by Ethel Lilian Voynich, an Englishwoman married to a Polish émigré. Voynich was obscure in the West, but her novel was very popular in the Soviet Union, partly because How the Steel Was Tempered refers to it. Since The Gadfly was already canonical in the Soviet Union, its favorable reception in China was guaranteed, particularly given the ideological trends at the time

References

1. Terje Stordalen, The Canonization of Ancient Hebrew and Confucian Literature. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 32.1 (2007)

2. Sun Yifeng, Opening the Cultural Mind: Translation and the Modern Chinese Literary Canon. MLQ March 2008

3. See Wang Ning, “Canon Formation; or, Literary Revisionism: The Formation of Modern Chinese Literary Canon,” Neohelicon 31 (2004): 161 – 74.

4. Trevor Ross, “Translation and the Canonical Text,” Studies in the Literary Imagination 33, no. 2 (2000): 1.

5. K.W. Folkert, ‘The “Canons” of “Scripture” ’, in Levering (ed.), Rethinking Scripture, pp. 69-79.

6. R. Fernhout, Canonical Texts: Bearers of Absolute Authority. Bible, Koran, Veda, Tipitaka: A Phenomenological Study (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1994);