China and the West

John Donne and China : general
Yan Kui : Donne was briefly introduced in the 1930s, his entrance into China's academic world had to wait until the 1980s. Most of the publications in the 1980s were introductory in nature, they were all instructive and authentic. When the Chinese scholars began their study of Donne, they found themselves stuck in two traditions : modern Western theories and traditional Chinese training. One of the results of Donne studies in the 1990s was an increase of the perspectives from which to investiage Donne's works. The most original was comparatist studies, which were to develop right into the new century. Insofar as Donne was concerned, the basic trends of such studies were to compare him with either a Chinese poet or an English poet. The most significant studies were by Zhang Xuechun from 1995 to 1998. Besides comparative study, other integral contributions to Donne studies in China include thematic, textual, and theoretical inquiries. Most Chinese scholars choose to be part of the mainstream, though they differ in the ways they conduct their research. Some of them focus on individual ideas, some on a given genre, and some on a chosen poem. Donne studies quickly developed to be one of China's top academic priorities in the field of English literature. A most significant aspect os this interest is evinced in the change of textbooks. An other development that confirms the growth of Donne studies in China is serial studies. After 2000, critical evaluations of Donne expanded to include not only studies of more of his poems but also relevant criticisms of his poems. Compared with earlier studies, these evaluations were more scholarly and more responsive to the schools and approaches of Donne studies in the West. There is a lack of translation of Donne's complete works into Chinese, the absence of conversation among Donne scholars and the difficulties of getting acess to recent publications from outside China.