Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 3, 2025

The Humanistic Tradition of Chinese Literary Criticism and Its Modern Transformation

(Abstract)

Li Zhen

Ancient Chinese literary criticism cultivated a distinctive humanistic tradition encompassing metaphysical conceptions articulated through the notion of “Dao,” literary theories grounded in human existential and developmental needs as well as perceptual and cognitive faculties, and an intuitive critical mode expressed through sensory and instinctual discourse and methodologies such as “knowing people to understand the world” and “deducing intentions from meaning.” This critical tradition, rooted in human needs and perception, exhibits an inherent affinity with Marxism’s vision of human emancipation and holistic development. The modern transformation of this humanistic tradition in Chinese literary criticism, coupled with its synthesis and complementarity with Western traditions, emerges as both a logical outcome of historical and cultural evolution and a process replete with diverse possibilities. On this basis, the pressing task for contemporary literary criticism studies is to establish a national subjectivity for modern Chinese literary criticism under the aegis of Marxist principles, while constructing a disciplinary, academic, and discursive framework distinguished by Chinese characteristics. The context of national rejuvenation, the “people-centered” literary orientation, and the advent of increasingly intelligent digital media are coalescing as new epochal forces, revitalizing the humanistic tradition in Chinese literary criticism.