Rethinking “Subjectivity” in Literature

This article delves into Liu Zaifu's theoretical construction of subjectivity and his reflections on the dominant paradigm of revolution and enlightenment in twentieth-century China. Realizing the incompleteness and insufficiency of his contemplation on individual subjectivity, Liu shifted his scholarly interests to the composition of and dialogues between multiple subjectivities and examined the complex relationship between subjects and objects, self and others, as well as the individual's psychological relationship with the self. By reframing Liu's theories on subjectivity, this article argues that he seeks to further detach literature from politics by calling for various transcendental dimensions of Chinese literary works beyond the realistic one and by paying intense attention to the literary descriptions of people's sin of complicity and their inner struggle. Liu's evocation of heart and mind formulates a new concept of interiority via connecting the Chinese traditional concept of xin with the Western concept of inner subjectivity. In this way, Liu weaves a unique discourse of interiority into Chinese literary criticism, as a complement to and critique of the enclosed narrative vision of revolution and enlightenment in modern China.