A Survey of Twentieth-century Literary Theory and Criticism in Chinese
In their article "A Survey of Twentieth-century Literary Theory and Criticism in Chinese"
Xiaoming Chen and Anfeng Sheng survey Chinese-language scholarship that for the reason of the East-
West divide is less known in the West. Although heavily influenced by both Western and Soviet Marxist
thought, twentieth-century Chinese literary theorization and criticism produced much incisive
scholarship based on the vast knowledge existing in Chinese culture and literary scholarship. Chen and
Sheng survey pioneering works by numerous Chinese literary theorists and critics who have been
influential in their own time and exerted persistent modeling influences until today and the article is
meant to adjust the anonymous position of Chinese literary theorization in the West and thus to
contribute to the diversity of literary studies.
World Literature(s) and Comparative Literature: A Book Review Article of Books Published in English and German 2011-2013
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Shoeless Joe: Fantasy and the Humor of Fellow-Feeling
In his essay on Jean Paul Friedrich Richter, Thomas Carlyle writes of a humor that manifests itself in smile rather than laughter. "Richter is a man of mirth," says Carlyle, whose humor is "capricious . . . quaint . . . [and] heartfelt" (15). The three adjectives represent for Carlyle the essence of what he terms "true humor" because they suggest Richter's enormous respect for humanity. "True humor," he goes on to say, "springs not more from the head than from the heart; it is not contempt, its essence is love; it issues not in laughter, but in still smiles, which lie far deeper" (17). These smiles are not Hobbesian smirks of superiority1 but genuine signs of compassion for, sympathy toward, and empathy with the object of the humor. Carlyle further provides a direct link between humor and both pathos and nobility; the link is the smile of the caring man. For Carlyle, this smile is one of "fellow-feeling":