A controversial concept in reading ＂third-world literature,＂ Fredric Jameson＇s ＂national allegory＂ has more often been refuted or approvingly appropriated than properly understood. Taking the ＂national allegory...A controversial concept in reading ＂third-world literature,＂ Fredric Jameson＇s ＂national allegory＂ has more often been refuted or approvingly appropriated than properly understood. Taking the ＂national allegory＂ as a convenient theoretical category describing the content of ＂third-world literature＂ misses Jameson＇s underlying problematic, i.e. his concern about ＂third-world literature＂ as an immanent deconstructive force leading to the breaking down of chains of signification of capitalist culture. Insofar as the functional concept of the ＂national allegory＂ is concerned, one must read ＂nation＂ not as a term designating a substantial entity, but as an ＂allegory＂ in itself. To read ＂third-world literature＂ through the lens of a ＂national allegory＂ thus means to deterritorialize the third world from its substantial determinants in terms of traditional geo-politics. Rather, ＂third-world literature＂ in its deconstructive force is toward what Jean-Luc Nancy calls the inoperative community.展开更多
In this essay I engage with Fredric Jameson＇s theoretical works and ideas, especially his concept of national allegory, and examine their possibilities and limits for use in literary analysis of Modem Chinese Literat...In this essay I engage with Fredric Jameson＇s theoretical works and ideas, especially his concept of national allegory, and examine their possibilities and limits for use in literary analysis of Modem Chinese Literature. In particular, I examine the themes of the nation and the passage of time in the works of Yu Dafu, Lao She, Xiao Hong, and Zhao Shuli and argue for evidence of a historical development from cyclical narrative to messianic and utopian linear time in their novels. While Yu Dafu＇s ＂Sinking＂ （Chenlun） and Lao She＇s Camel Xiangzi （Luotuo Xiangzi） both display a desire to break free from cyclical time and narration, the narratives fold back into themselves. In contrast, Xiao Hong＇s The Field of Life and Death （Shengsi chang） mediates between two different temporal schemes and marks a transition to the linear developments prevalent in Socialist Realist novels such as Zhao Shuli＇s Sanliwan Village （Sanliwan）. While Jameson＇s earlier works on Realism, Marxism, and the ＂Political Unconscious＂ all provide valuable insight into Modem Chinese Literature and the novels mentioned, Jameson＇s engagement with Chinese authors has also opened up new ways of examining Chinese literature.展开更多
文摘A controversial concept in reading ＂third-world literature,＂ Fredric Jameson＇s ＂national allegory＂ has more often been refuted or approvingly appropriated than properly understood. Taking the ＂national allegory＂ as a convenient theoretical category describing the content of ＂third-world literature＂ misses Jameson＇s underlying problematic, i.e. his concern about ＂third-world literature＂ as an immanent deconstructive force leading to the breaking down of chains of signification of capitalist culture. Insofar as the functional concept of the ＂national allegory＂ is concerned, one must read ＂nation＂ not as a term designating a substantial entity, but as an ＂allegory＂ in itself. To read ＂third-world literature＂ through the lens of a ＂national allegory＂ thus means to deterritorialize the third world from its substantial determinants in terms of traditional geo-politics. Rather, ＂third-world literature＂ in its deconstructive force is toward what Jean-Luc Nancy calls the inoperative community.
文摘In this essay I engage with Fredric Jameson＇s theoretical works and ideas, especially his concept of national allegory, and examine their possibilities and limits for use in literary analysis of Modem Chinese Literature. In particular, I examine the themes of the nation and the passage of time in the works of Yu Dafu, Lao She, Xiao Hong, and Zhao Shuli and argue for evidence of a historical development from cyclical narrative to messianic and utopian linear time in their novels. While Yu Dafu＇s ＂Sinking＂ （Chenlun） and Lao She＇s Camel Xiangzi （Luotuo Xiangzi） both display a desire to break free from cyclical time and narration, the narratives fold back into themselves. In contrast, Xiao Hong＇s The Field of Life and Death （Shengsi chang） mediates between two different temporal schemes and marks a transition to the linear developments prevalent in Socialist Realist novels such as Zhao Shuli＇s Sanliwan Village （Sanliwan）. While Jameson＇s earlier works on Realism, Marxism, and the ＂Political Unconscious＂ all provide valuable insight into Modem Chinese Literature and the novels mentioned, Jameson＇s engagement with Chinese authors has also opened up new ways of examining Chinese literature.
