“Chinese projections of Thoreau and his "Walden's" influence in China” (Publication, 2009)
Year
2009
Text
Yang, Jincai. Chinese projections of Thoreau and his "Walden's" influence in China. In : Neohelicon ; vol. 36 (2009).
http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11059-009-0006-4. (THD13)
http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11059-009-0006-4. (THD13)
Type
Publication
Contributors (1)
Yang, Jincai
(um 2005) : Professor Nanjing University
Mentioned People (1)
Thoreau, Henry David
(Concord, Mass. 1817-1862 Concord, Mass.) : Schriftsteller, Philosoph, Dichter
Subjects
Literature : Occident : United States of America
/
References / Sources
Chronology Entries (18)
| # | Year | Text | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1838.1-2012 |
Henry David Thoreau und China : allgemein Quellen : Abel-Rémusat, Jean-Pierre. L'invariable milieu, ouvrage morale Tséu-ssê, en chinois et en manchou [ID D1943]. Huc, Evariste Régis. Souvenirs d'un voyage dans la Tartarie, le Thibet et la Chine pendant les années 1844, 1845 et 1846 [ID D2107]. Iu-kiao-li, ou, Les deux cousines : roman chinois. Trad by Abel-Rémusat. [ID D5232]. The Chinese classical work commonly called the Four books. Transl. by David Collie. [ID D22647]. Marshman, Joshua. The works of Confucius [ID D1909]. Pauthier, [Jean-Pierre] Guillaume. Les livres sacrés de l'Orient [ID D2040]. Les quatre livres de philosophie morale et politique de la Chine. Trad. du Chinois par G. Pauthier. [ID D2116]. Pfeiffer, Ida. A lday's voyage round the world [ID D2109]. Lao-tseu. Le Tao-te-king. Trad. par G. Pauthier. [Eventuelle Quelle]. Sekundärliteratur 1932 Arthur Christy : Thoreau read the Confucian books, probably just as much as Ralph Waldo Emerson, but he used them in his own way. His individuality and the eccentricity which baffled the practical Concord villagers was probably never illustrated to better advantage than in the selections from the Chinese books which he chose to quote. Thoreau seems never to have divorced his interest in nature from his reading of any scripture. His Confucian reading, considered alone, emphatically suggests this. He never tried to read mystical divinity into the Chinese ; he quoted them in connection with flora and fauna. 1972 Ch'en David T.Y. : To the student of Thoreau who is familiar with Chinese culture, Walden is similar to a traditional Chinese government, Confucian in form and Taoist in spirit, for the book is full of quotations from the Confucian books, while its ideas are essentially Taoist. 1984 Yao-hsin Chang : It was intensified by Thoreau's reading of Greek and European authors and the Hindoo philosophy, which exerted a good deal of influence on his thinking. What Confucius and Confucian classics had to capture his interest relates also chiefly to the perfection of men through self-development. Thoreau was of the opinion that the culture of the mind conduces to the happiness of the individual. He believed that all reform must come from within, and that when each individual referms himself, then the reformation of society will automatically follow. This essentially transcendental stance touched the quintessential Confucianism tangentially. 1988 Chen Chang-fang : For Thoreau, the Confucian canon, though gilded by the patina of antiquity, still preserves immutable wisdom, a wisdom that captivated him all his life. In addition, Thoreau seems to imply that he is attracted by the practical way of morality as subtly inculcated in the Confucian teachings. 2004 Cheng Aimin : Thoreau's contact with nature fascinates present-day urban reader in China as it does in the West. Many Chinese critics expressed their ideas about Thoreau's contact with nature and life at Walden. Since the 1990s Chinese scholars and critics begun to study Thoreau's ecological ideas. The Chinese concept of nature in Walden lead the Chinese to reevaluate his contribution to an American philosophy of nature. 2009 Ma Junhong : Henry David Thoreau, who was ignored and dismissed by his contemporaries, now has become a global figure as the saint and pioneer of environmental protection. Thoreau inquired into the rationality of science and technology, recognized the exploitation of life under the guidance of rationality and objected to the material culture in which people's lives were eroded and degraded. He tried to find an ideal solution to the crises of natural ecology and spiritual ecology of human beings. China could derive some enlightenment from Thoreau's life philosophy. First, it stimulates us to rediscover and reinterpret the Chinese classics, which have been ignored I the past 100 years, and to find our own eco-wisdom. Second, it forces us to reflect on the development of China's modernization. In Thoreau's opinion, a true life should be full of vivacity, growth and vitality. It involves perception of life, natural growth of the organism and active creation of living things and everlasting vigor and fertility of the world. Nature's exuberancy aroused Thoreau's life consciousness. Therefore, he sought to gain it through life experience in nature. He not only showed his love and concern for nature, but also showed his great solicitude for the human being. China has also encountered the problem in the process of its modernization. Thoreau's ideas could give China some insight from the perspective of culture and reflection on modernization. Thoreau's critiques on industrial civilization can still provide warning to China's modernization. It seems that the conflict he predicted between man and nature brought about by industrial civilization is impossible to avoid. China has focused its development strategy on economic construction and taken the conflict between growing material and cultural needs and backward social production as the principal contradiction since 1978. Therefore, it is the aim for China to develop the productive forces vigorously and promote the Chinese modernization as rapidly as possible. Development is no doubt the central theme of China. China has begun to recognize the ecological problems and is trying to develop in an all-round, coordinated and sustainable manner. Thoreau's cosmological beliefs of life embodied in his work remind us of the eco-wisdom in ancient Chinese philosophy. He took nature as man and liked to have dialogues with nature without any prejudice. While Thoreau who was enlightened by the ancient Chinese philosophy had a great influence on American nature writing, his ideas about nature have rich ecological meaning and have become the symbol of non-anthropocentric environment ethics now. His representative book Walden has become a classic, which continues to influence more and more people to devote themselves to environmental protection. Many scholars begin to make systematic studies on the ancient Chinese ecological thought, rediscovering and reinterpreting the ecological ideas of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. 2009 Yang Jincai : There are three different stages as regards the Chinese projections of Thoreau. The first stage from the 1920s to 1949 marks China's burgeoning interest in the American writer featured by a passion for Western literature as both cultural and intellectual nourishment. The second is mainly a period of ideological appraisals from 1949 to 1977 in which Thoreau is regarded as a champion of democracy and a critic of American capitalist civilization. The third one is known as the multiple approach period from 1978 onwards in which Thoreau studies has flourished and continues to grow in China. Focused discussions have revealed the following: (1) comparative approaches have been made into the Chinese elements in the formation of Thoreau's notion of civilization and views of Nature; (2) critical attention has been drawn on Thoreau's political thought and ecological awareness, rendering a multitude of interpretations both textually and theoretically; and (3) further discussions focus primarily on Thoreau's personal conduct raising a question of how to appraise Thoreau's withdrawal from society and giving rise to an ambiguous identity of Thoreau. |
|
| 2 | 1926 |
Zheng, Zhenduo. Meiguo wen xue [ID D29708]. Zheng mentioned Henry David Thoreau in particular and quoted his Walden and the essay Civil disobedience to examine carefully his ideas appraising him as 'one of solitude and self-reliance ' while affirming that 'Thoreau belonged to those of the radical and revolutionary '. |
|
| 3 | 1929 |
Zeng, Xubai. Meiguo wen xue ABC [ID D29706]. Zeng devoted a whole chapter to Henry David Thoreau and noticed the author's protest against American politics of his day and his act of resistance to civil authority but he did not call him 'an absolute anarchist'. According to Zeng, Thoreau is essentially as self-restrained man of individualism. What he practiced in life are no less than exercises in a political art of self-formation in which we can observe fully Thoreau's pursuit of self-culture and aims of life. |
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| 4 | 1929 |
Zeng, Xubai. Meiguo wen xue ABC [ID D29706]. Zeng regarded the birth of Walt Whitman as 'one of the glorious pages in the history of American literature' and believed the poet 'wove his whole life into an excellent poem'. Zeng devoted a whole chapter to Henry David Thoreau and noticed the author's protest against American politics of his day and his act of resistance to civil authority but he did not call him 'an absolute anarchist'. According to Zeng, Thoreau is essentially as self-restrained man of individualism. What he practiced in life are no less than exercises in a political art of self-formation in which we can observe fully Thoreau's pursuit of self-culture and aims of life. "American critics usually hold that Hawthorne represents Puritanism in his works. Personally, I do not agree with this idea because Puritanism cannot produce but destroy arts. The reason that arts came into being in New England is nothing but the fact that Puritanism began to decline there. We can find after a thorough examination of Nathaniel Hawthorne's works that he has completely broken away from Puritanism. His works are purely artistic, immune from social problems such as Abolition and reform movements at the time. His purpose is not to elucidate morality, but artistically represent souls." |
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| 5 | 1937 |
Lin, Yutang. The importance of living [ID D14759]. [Henry David] Thoreau is the most Chinese of all American authors in his entire view of life, and being a Chinese, I feel much akin to him in spirit. I discovered him only a few months ago, and the delight of the discovery is still fresh in my mind. I could translate passages of Thoreau into my own language and pass them off as original writing by a Chinese poet, without raising any suspicion. |
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| 6 | 1949 |
[Thoreau, Henry David]. Hua'erteng. Suoluo zhu ; Xu Chi yi. [ID D29712]. Xu Chi about his experience of translation : 'I have drawn inspiration largely from Thoreau while translating his Walden. The experience is really gratifying, for I have absorbed not only his ideas but also his way of writing. I owe him a great debt. That's why I am often regarded as the right translator of Thoreau. |
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| 7 | 1978 |
Dong, Hengxun. Meiguo wen xue jian shi [ID D29603]. The editors maintained that Henry David Thoreau played a progressive role emphasizing individual resistance to civil government while neglecting the power of the masses. |
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| 8 | 1986 |
Hai Zi about Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau expresses his deep concerns about life and being in his writing. "I have been inspired by his ideas which have become my life long pursuit and ideal objective for poetic writing. Critics have valued this highly maintaining that turning to life and being marks a new beginning of Chinese poetry". |
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| 9 | 1988 |
He, Huaihong. Suoluo he ta de hu [ID D30711]. He Huaihong's reading of Walden by Thoreau arousing the Chinese interest in Thoreau's ecological thought, appraising Henry David Thoreau's retreat and insightful reflection upon nature and human conduct. |
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| 10 | 1990 |
Chang, Yaoxin. Meiguo wen xue jian shi [ID D29709]. Chang Yaoxin devoted a lengthy chapter to Henry David Thoreau and set his eye on Thoreau's citation from Mencius [Walden, Spring]. He calls Walden a work of convergence which accommodates streams of various ideas and a milestone in the history of American culture. |
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| 11 | 1998 |
Wei, An. Wo yu Suoluo [ID D29769]. Wei An admits that it is Henry David Thoreau's Walden that has made him turn to prose from poetry : "I can still recall vividly my excitement at my first reading of the book. My love of the book has been far unparalleled and I almost feel like giving up my poetry writing." |
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| 12 | 2000-2002 |
Xin bian Meiguo wen xue shi [ID D 30668]. Kapitel über Henry David Thoreau : The main trajectory of approaching Thoreau reveals the following : Comparative approaches have been made into the Chinese elements in the formation of Thoreau's notion of civilization and views of nature. In Wang Shouren's article he argues that Thoreau's advocacy of simplicity is attributed in part to the influence of Confucianism. He quotes widely from Walden and compares it with The Analects reiterating that the philosophy of Confucius played an important role in shaping Thoreau's life, thought and expression. |
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| 13 | 2001 |
Cheng, Hong. Xun gui huang ye [ID D29710]. Cheng analyzes Henry David Thoreau's call of the wild, highlighting the significance of his return to nature and his farsighted ecocentric concerns. |
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| 14 | 2002 |
Su, Xiangui. Suoluo de zi ran si xiang ji qi sheng tai lun li yi yun [ID D30713]. Su argues that Henry David Thoreau strived for a balance between civilization and wilderness generating sparkling ideas full of ecocentric elements that appeal to the ecological and ethical concerns of contemporary Chinese critics. |
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| 15 | 2003 |
Ge, Hongbing. Sha chuang [ID D29713]. Ge Hongbing acknowledges his indeptedness to Henry David Thoreau. He explains the origin of the novel's title affirming that it originates from Walden. In the title page he quotes from Walden the lines : 'Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it ; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains.' |
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| 16 | 2004 |
Yang, Jincai. Suoluo de dun shi yu rushi shi qing huai [ID D30717]. About Thoreau's views of democracy and personal challenge to society, holding that Thoreau's writings despite their didactic features foresee his far sighted political thought, non-violence besides his unique individual consciousness. Thoreau, the incarnation of wood spirit, is not passive but an activist of political thought. |
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| 17 | 2005 |
Yang, Jincai ; Pu, Lixin. Suoluo de ge ren zhu yi li xiang yu ge ren de dao de liang xin [ID D30718]. About Thoreau's moral and ethical concerns, that Thoreau strived for an ideal man and cultivated the relations of human beings to nature, to each other, and to themselves, offering an indispensable part of American thought. |
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| 18 | 2006 |
Zhu, Xinfu. Meiguo wen xue zhong de sheng tai si xiang yan jiu [ID D29711]. Detailed study of American literature from an ecocritical perspective in which Henry David Thoreau's eco-concerned thoughts are fairly approached. |
Sources (9)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1926 |
Zheng, Zhenduo. Meiguo wen xue. In : Xiao shuo yue bao ; vol. 17, no 12 (1926). [Outline of American literature]. 美国文学 |
Publication / THD18 |
|
| 2 | 1988 |
He, Huaihong. Suoluo he ta de hu. In : Du shu ; vol. 5 (1988). [Thoreau and his Walden]. 梭罗和他的湖 |
Publication / THD72 |
|
| 3 | 1997 |
He, Huaihong. Shi guang Suoluo. In : Du shu ; vol. 3 (1997). [Things that concern Thoreau]. 事关梭罗 |
Publication / THD75 | |
| 4 | 1998 |
Wei, An. Wo yu Suoluo. In : Shi jie wen xue ; vol. 5 (1998). [Thoreau and I]. 我与梭罗 |
Publication / THD71 | |
| 5 | 2002 |
Su, Xiangui. Suoluo de zi ran si xiang ji qi sheng tai lun li yi yun. In : Beijing da xue xue bao ; vol. 2 (2002). [Thoreau's thought of nature and its implications for ecological ethics]. 梭罗的自然思想及其生态伦理意蕴 |
Publication / THD73 |
|
| 6 | 2003 |
Cao, Yajun. Te li du xing : zai Zhongguo xian dai yu jing zhong jie shou Suoluo. In : Shenzhen da xue xue bao ; vol. 5 (2003). [A life with principle : understanding Thoreau in the context of China's modernity]. 特立独行 : 在中国现代语境中接受梭罗 |
Publication / THD74 | |
| 7 | 2004 |
Yang, Jincai. Suoluo de dun shi yu rushi shi qing huai. In : Nanjing she hui ke xue ; vol. 12 (2004). [Henry David Thoreau's social withdrawal and political concerns] 梭罗的遁世与入世情怀 |
Publication / THD77 | |
| 8 | 2005 |
Yang, Jincai ; Pu, Lixin. Suoluo de ge ren zhu yi li xiang yu ge ren de dao de liang xin. In : Nanjing shi fan da xue shi xue bao ; vol. 5 (2005). [Thoreau's ideal individualism and moral construction]. 梭罗的个人主义理想与个人的道德良心 |
Publication / THO78 | |
| 9 | 2997 |
Cheng, Aimin. Lun wa er deng hu de sheng tai xue yi yi : ji nian "Wa te deng hu". In : Wai yu yan jiu ; vol. 4 (2007). [On the ecological significance of Walden by Thoreau]. 论瓦尔登湖的生态学意义——纪念《瓦尔登湖》 |
Publication / THD76 |
Cited by (1)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2000- | Asien-Orient-Institut Universität Zürich | Organisation / AOI |
|