Don't Believe a Word I Say: Metafiction in Contemporary Chinese Literature

Datum

2011-06

Zeitschriftentitel

ISSN der Zeitschrift

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Verlag

University of Oregon

Zusammenfassung

This thesis focuses on the metafictional elements in selected works of the contemporary Chinese authors Gao Xingjian, Huang Jinshu, and Wang Xiaobo. I define metafiction as both a formal feature inherent in the text and the result of an approach towards that text. I argue that metafiction confronts us with the (postmodern) issues of 1) the ontological status of the text, 2) the figure of the author and reader, and 3) the (ambiguous) relationship between fiction and reality. Simultaneously, it accepts and celebrates this self-conscious and ambiguous character, encouraging readers to do the same. By combining elements from the indigenous literary tradition and international literary movements, contemporary Chinese metafiction is a valuable contribution to the study of metafiction. Ultimately, it shows what it means to write and read in a Chinese as well as in a global context.

Beschreibung

ix, 106 p.

Schlagwörter

Asian literature, Modern literature, Contemporary Chinese literature, Gao, Xingjian, Huang, Jinshu, 1967-, Wang, Xiaobo, 1952-1997

Zitierform