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This thesis aims to shed new light on the Chinese character xia 侠 and the literature and history of the Republican Era (1912-1949) that revolves around it. Xia refers to either a concept (identifiable with kindness, altruism, righteousness, etc.) or to a person who practices this concept. Ever since its arrival in Chinese texts in the sixth century BC, it has created controversy for some and sympathy for others. In Modern China, xia became the central aspect of a literary genre that reached its zenith in production and consumption in the Republican Era, i.e. wuxia fiction 武侠小说, which can be translated as “using martial arts (wu 武) to obtain xia”. The concept of xia was an integral part of presumably the most widespread literary genre of the time, but why were Republican-era readers so interested in it? Why did they relate to xia and what do the themes of these novels say about the chaotic Republican Era? To answer these questions, this thesis presents a case study of a wuxia pentalogy written by Wang Dulu at the end of the Republican Era and attempts to identify the topics and aspects most reflective of that historical period, showing that, despite the heavy criticism of intellectuals of that time, these “easy” popular novels contain innovative and modern aspects and can become today of great historical importance. The thesis starts with two literature reviews. The first determines that the term xia has not received enough scholarly attention, calling for a reassessment. The second literature review focuses on Republican Era wuxia fiction, showing how there is a gap in scholarship on this period. This is followed by a discussion of the methodology used for the analysis of the case study on Wang Dulu’s Crane-Iron Series written in Qingdao (1938-1944), presented in the final three chapters of the thesis. Chapter one analyses the origins of the term xia in texts from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), presenting new interpretations for a more comprehensive understanding of the term. Chapter two gives a historical overview of xia¬-related literature and addresses the historical reasons for the changes that xia underwent throughout Chinese history. Chapter three includes a historiography of the Republican Era in combination with the life of the author Wang Dulu and identifies the aspects of the author’s life that will become important in the textual analysis in the chapters to follow. Chapter four focuses on xia in the Crane-Iron Series. After having collected the terms and identified the semantic spheres that include the Chinese character xia, the chapter demonstrates how the story of one of the series’ protagonist can be seen as an personification of Republican-era China, proving the historical dimension and value of these novels. Chapter five analyses yi 义 (righteousness) and represents the virtuous aspect of xia, concluding that, according to Wang Dulu, for the concept of xia, virtue is more important than being trained in martial arts (wu). Chapter six focuses on the literary figure of the baobiao 保镖 (protector) and is seen as the commercialisation of martial arts not necessarily linked to xia, showing how entrepreneurship and violence were characteristics of the time.

This thesis explores some issues related to directed change in Chinese literature and art from 1930 to 1955. The focus is on the performing arts. The main issues of concern are changes in the social organisation of literary and artistic activity, and changes in the conscious model of literature and art held by those leading these social changes. Fieldwork was done in China during the period 1974 to 1977. Since the main concern of the thesis is with an earlier period, extensive library research was done in China, the United States, and Canada. The formative period of the modern transformation of Chinese literature and art was examined by research into the changes of the Kiangsi Soviet, Yenan, and National Consolidation periods. Theoretical concepts derived from the works of Clifford Geertz on ideology, Eric Wolf on peasant political movements, Antonio Gramsci on intellectuals and hegemony, and Raymond Williams on the arts in society were synthesised to form an approach which could illuminate these problems. In this work literature and art were consistently analysed as modes of social activity rather than as purely aesthetic phenomena. The development within leading circles in China of an approach to literature and art based upon recognition of its social and political aspects and a concern with effecting change in these areas is examined, beginning with the rudimentary formulation of ideas:-on this subject in the early 1930's. The effort to transform literature and art by way of carrying out planned and organised alterations in the social practice of literary and artistic activities on the part of both professionals and amateurs is examined in detail. These efforts were found to be theoretically provocative and to have shown some signs of success, particularly in the middle and late 1940's. A partial revision of these policies is noted in the early 1950's, and some possible reasons for that are suggested. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

In the early modern period, literary Sinitic (also known as classical Chinese) was a shared writing system and cultural asset in East Asia. The Sinitic text, while being voiced in various local languages, remained largely the same across the region. The shared Sinitic writing enabled educated people in East Asia who spoke different languages to engage in conversation through writing. It was the silence of literary Sinitic that enabled it to be a trans-local communicating system. However, where is the place for the Chinese sound in the neat picture of the Sinitic writing system versus its various local vocalizations in different countries? Focusing on the effort of Japanese scholars in restoring Chinese sound to the Sinitic text, this dissertation brings the conceptualization and practice of spoken Chinese in the eighteenth century Japan into the supposedly silent Sinitic culture. The early modern Japanese learners of contemporary spoken Chinese intended to vocalize the written Sinitic. When they realized that contemporary spoken Chinese and literary Sinitic writing were actually not compatible, they solved the problem by resorting again to writing. One solution was to propose a new form of Sinitic writing using colloquial expressions, the zokugo (colloquial [Chinese]) writing. The other was to retreat to the comfortable zone of how to pronounce individual sinographs and Sinitic terms—the phonological study of tōon (contemporary Chinese sound). This dissertation studies vocality as the interrelation and interaction of speaking and writing, to illuminate an early modern East Asian concept of language that cannot be contained in the modern, Western phonocentric view. Through examining the language learning and fiction writing that related to contemporary spoken Chinese in eighteenth-century Japan, this dissertation argues that spoken Chinese and literary Sinitic were not the two opposites of a binary, nor was the spoken language the preliminary to the colloquial Chinese writing. In both the spoken language and the colloquial writing, vocality was a spectrum of speaking and writing, the proportion of which was attuned to the preferences of different speakers, social settings, and literary genres. The chapters of this dissertation delineate the trajectory of early modern Japanese engagement with contemporary spoken Chinese in relation to writing. It begins with chapter 1 on Chinese popular fiction—the primary learning material for the study of contemporary spoken Chinese—and its colloquial style that imitates storytelling performance. Chapters 2 and 3 are devoted to the study of contemporary spoken Chinese in early modern Japan. Chapter 2 contextualizes the study of contemporary spoken Chinese in the early to middle Tokugawa (1600–1868) period—a time when Chinese language study gradually gained attention. Chapter 3 reconstructs the learning of tōwa (contemporary spoken Chinese) in eighteenth-century Japan by pointing out its spectrum of vocality. Chapters 4 depicts the contemplation of the incompatibility of contemporary spoken Chinese and literary Sinitic writing, as well as the transformation from the language learning tōwa to the phonological study tōon. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with the other transmutation of the tōwa study from language study to the zokugo writing, as showcased in the spread of colloquial Chinese fictions in early modern Japan. Chapter 5 examines how Chinese popular fiction was conceptualized and approached in early modern Japan. Chapter 6 shows how eighteenth-century Japan witnessed a gradual increase in the attention paid to the literary format of colloquial Chinese fiction, despite a general emphasis on the colloquial vocabulary. The epilogue discusses colloquial Chinese fiction in nineteenth-century Japan. Together, these chapters delve into the vocality of early modern Japan, as a fascination with speaking that is complexly entangled with writing. The early modern era offers illuminating cases of vocality, with fiction writing intending to capture the essence of oral performance and spoken language, and speech making full use of the literary Sinitic to enhance its cultural flavor. Whereas the eighteenth-century study of contemporary spoken Chinese did explore the spoken language, it was not based on modern phonocentric concepts but to seek to vocalize the written language in its most authoritative version. The multiple efforts to invite speaking into a conversation with writing reveal an early modern perception of language that could not be fully comprehended without considering writing-centered literacy.

現時對於「唐宋派」的研究，學者往往以流派論爭的角度，把唐宋派置於復古派的對立面，認為四人的文論主要都是針對「前、後七前子」而發。此說固有道理，問題是，王、唐、茅、歸都是獨當一面的作家，但在流派的框架下，則只著重他們的一致性，以及與「復古派」針鋒相對的情況，而四人的差異，及其現實關懷，都在此大敘述中隱而不見了。故本文將把四人的文學主張，結合社會、政治制度及生平經歷加以考察，希望呈現出他們文學思想的差異性。並以此為基礎，說明王、唐、茅、歸四人當時是不同角度出發，希望在「文必秦漢」的風氣下，建立一道從「唐宋」上達「秦漢」的學文路徑。全文分成六章。第一章是緒論，說明研究動機及價值。第二章則先說明歸有光不與王、唐、茅三人結交的原因，並藉以呈現歸有光與王、唐、茅三人在文壇的不同佔位，以此為基礎，重新探討「唐宋派」作為一個流派的特質，提出以「陣營」取代「流派」來描述四人的關係，從而說明「唐宋派」文論主張的產生，除了為回應擬古風氣，其實還針對著當時八股文衰落的問題。第三章則討論唐宋派四人的主張，如何建構從「唐宋」到「秦漢」的復古路徑。第四章則討論唐宋派「以古文為時文」的理論內涵，探討四人從不同的角度理解時文的衰落，何以最後都得出「以古文為時文」的結論。第五章則討論唐宋派如何面對當時古文創作的困境，到了明中葉，明代立國已近百年，但古文創作一直較為沉寂，台閣文人及「復古派」先後領導文壇，但是問題始終未能解決。「唐宋派」各人為了提升古文創作的水平，提出師法唐宋，希望把古文從剽竊的困境中解救出來，由於各人對古文問題的定性不同，故以不同的策略嘗試提升古文創作的水平，本章即以此為中心，旨在呈現出四人文論主張的差異性。第六章為餘論，旨在討論文學史的撰寫方式與及唐宋派文論的局限。 In the field of researching "Tang-Song School" (唐宋派) now, scholars tend to view the object via an angle that they are just debate and struggle between schools, juxtaposing "Tang-Song School" with "Classical school" (復古派) in a binary opposition and thinking that literary claims of four leaders' are pinpointed on the "Classical school". This discourse undoubtedly has its plausible proof yet the main overlook is that Wang(王慎中), Tang（唐順之）, Mao（茅坤） and Gui（歸有光） are independent writers and literary theorists whose differences and human concerns are neglected in such a grand narrative which only puts emphasis on their homogeneity and their countering role against "Classical school". This thesis, hence, is going to examine the four's literary claims altogether with their relations to the society, the institution and the individual life respectively so as to show the difference of literary claims among the four. With the foundation of knowing their differences, it is proved that amidst the social atmosphere of "QinHan is the best for learning prose"(文必秦漢), Wang, Tang, Mao and Gui indeed aspired to found a literary learning path that approaches QinHan's level through studying Tang-Song prose from their respective angles. The thesis is divided into 6 chapters. Chapter 1 is introduction which shows the motive and value of this research. Chapter 2 will firstly discuss why Gui You Guang does not make acquaintance with Wang, Tang, Mao so as to show the different nature and occupations of theirs in the Ming literary community. Based on this clarification, the features of Tang-Song School as a school is called into re-examination that "a camp which shares similar belief" is more suitable to define their relationship, and subsequently, it is hoped to show that claims of Tang-Song Camp also aim to react to the decline of "Eight-part Essay" (八股文) except echoing to the literary trend of imitating the ancient classics. Chapter 3 discusses the fours' claims of how to construct a renaissance path from TangSong to QinHan. Chapter 4 discusses the theoretical idea of Tang-Song Camp's "regarding classic work as present work" (以古文為時文), telling how four theorists view the decline of "Eight-part Essay" in their respective angles and why they finally too share this same conclusion. Chapter 5 discusses how Tang-Song Camp faces the plight of classical prose writing. Until the period of Mid-Ming, Ming Dynasty has been found for almost a hundred year, classical prose writing however remains silent and is not actively embraced. Taige School (台閣派) and "Classical school" have led the literary community once but the problem of decline have never been solved. For levitating the level of classical prose writing, Tang-Song Camp then raises the idea of learning Tang-Song prose with the hope of saving classical prose writing from the plight of plagiarism. Due to the four have their own understandings and perspectives on the decline issue, they suggest different strategies to enhance the quality of classical prose writing. This chapter then focuses on these strategies to manifest the differences among four literary claims. And lastly, Chapter 6 is remark which aims to discuss ways of writing literature history and limits of Tang Song Camp's theories.

This thesis seeks to map out the development of literary modernism in the 1930s and 1980s People's Republic of China (PRC). Despite the long temporal halt, these two periods are innately and historically related to each other. Much as Chinese literary modernism was a literary legacy of Western modernism, its decades-long development provided it with the conditions for a second life. When it reemerged in the 1980s, it bore unique national characteristics that, in turn, enriched the realm of global modernism. In short, the distinct historical and national context of the twentieth century China dictated that Chinese literary modernism could not be a mechanical reproduction of its Western counterpart. The importation and translation of Western modernist creative and critical works, together with the modernist practices of modern Chinese intellectuals, contributed to the formation and rise of modernist literature in the 1930s, as well as its revival in the 1980s PRC. Structurally, this thesis identifies three localities of global modernism in the works and literary theory of Fei Ming, Mu Dan, and Wang Zengqi. It argues that these writers' modernist practices and distinct writing styles not only represented the characteristics of Chinese literary modernism, but also added diversities to modernist literature in the global context. Methodologically, I pair the Chinese modernists with their Western counterparts, including Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot. This comparison helps to find similarities between modernist works across time and place, and to identify the unique features of Chinese literary modernism. In practice, when studying the three modernists' first encounters with literary modernism in Republican China, as well as their respective experience in the PRC, I seek to (i) present three modes of initiation of literary modernism at the beginning of the twentieth century; (ii) trace the development of literary modernism both in the republican era and its revival in the PRC; (iii) show the process of Chinese literary modernism growing its distinct characteristics and evidence its second life. In short, Chinese modernists' participation in the building of global modernism and their contributions to the enrichment of literary modernism in the global context are two foci of my thesis. In the final analysis, this thesis engages research on Chinese literary postmodernism. No matter the literary movement's status in the PRC, then and now, how and why it differs from the development of postmodernism in Western literature and culture are valuable research questions.

The focus of this study is on portrayals of religious awakening in four short works of literature: a Chinese play, two Chinese short stories, and an American short story. In all of these works, the protagonists attain religious awakening, but only do so because they experience suffering and loss. The experience of suffering and loss in these works helps to bring about the protagonists’ willingness to leave the worldly life. This is because the experience of suffering and loss clears the minds of the protagonists and helps them to realize the bitter nature of worldly existence. In addition, these works portray worldly concepts from the perspective of a mystical, transcendent order of reality. Things that appear normal from a worldly perspective are abnormal from the mystical perspective, and vice versa. Thus, the wise may appear foolish, the sane crazy, and the successful materially destitute, to name a few examples. In these works, religious heroism (a characteristic of the protagonists) also appears unheroic because of this distorted perspective. Religious heroism may appear cowardly, for example, and religious success may appear to be a failure or a tragedy. These literary portrayals of religious awakening through suffering and loss may thus help to shed light on religious concepts common to Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity, and also on the differences between the worldly and mystical perspectives.

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In this work, I trace and reconstruct Taiwan's nation-formation as it is reflected in literary texts produced primarily during the country's two periods of colonial rule, Japanese (1895-1945) and Kuomintang or Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) (1945-1987). One of my central arguments is that the idea of a Taiwanese nation has historically emerged from the interstices of several official and formal nationalisms: Japanese, Chinese, and later Taiwanese. In the following chapters, I argue that the concepts of Taiwan and Taiwanese have been formed and enriched over time in response to the pressures exerted by the state's, colonial or otherwise, pedagogical nation-building discourses. It is through an engagement with these various discourses that the idea of a Taiwanese nation has come to be gradually defined, negotiated, and reinvented by Taiwanese intellectuals of various ethnic backgrounds. I, therefore, focus on authors whose works actively respond to and engage with the state's official nationalism. Following Homi Bhabha's explication in his famous essay "DissemiNation," the basic premise of this dissertation is that the nation, as a narrated space, is not simply shaped by the homogenizing and historicist discourse of nationalism but is realized through people's diverse lived experience. Thus, in reading Taiwanese literature, it is my intention to locate the scraps, patches, and rags of daily life represented in a select number of texts that signal the repeating and reproductive energy of a national life and culture.