From alienated to connected : an examination of religion in the literature of Bing Xin, Su Xuelin, and Xu Dishan / Gina Elia.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Elia, Gina, author.

Contributor:

Mair, Victor, degree supervisor.

Lin, Yu-Kai, degree committee member.

Riep, Steven, degree committee member.

Thomas, Jolyon, degree committee member.

University of Pennsylvania. Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, degree granting institution.

Language:

Chinese

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--East Asian languages and civilizations.

East Asian languages and civilizations--Penn dissertations.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--East Asian languages and civilizations.

East Asian languages and civilizations--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

vi, 197 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm

Production:

[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] : University of Pennsylvania, 2018.

Summary:

The literature of Bing Xin 冰心 (birth name Xie Wanying 谢婉莹) (1900-1999), Su Xuelin 苏雪林 (1897-1999), and Xu Dishan 许地山 (1893-1941) concerning religiosity is dismissed in previous scholarship by C.T. Hsia, Lewis Robinson, Marian Galik, Chen Weihua, and Yang Jianlong as reflecting simply the personal experiences of the authors themselves rather than as political or social commentary. I argue for a reading of these three authors' literature that acknowledges its efforts to engage with contemporaneous debates on the relationship of religion and modernization. Using close-reading and intertextual analysis, I argue that within the narratives of these three authors' literature, identifying as religious or participating in religious cultural phenomena is for protagonists linked to cultivating the skill of focusing on the well-being of others. This practice in turn leads to greater happiness and contentment on an individual level for the protagonists, who form deeper connections with others and overcome their sense of social alienation. I conclude that the category "religion" is used in the narratives of Bing Xin's, Su Xuelin's, and Xu Dishan's literature to frame certain skills important to forming connections with other people as "other" than social, in other words as ostensibly existing outside of the social realm that is causing protagonists to feel alienated in the first place. This then allows protagonists to turn to these skills as a set of allegedly objective guidelines for overcoming their social alienation and becoming happier and more contented on an individual level.

Alternate abstract: 以前关于冰心（原名谢婉莹，1900-1999），苏雪林（1897-1999），还有许地山（1893-1941）文学的学术研究都以为作家们的包含宗教色彩的文学没有什么政治上或者社会上的意义，而只是他们个人关于宗教的经验和信仰的反映而已。我的论文却论述这些作家们的关于宗教的文学是跟五四运动的新思想有关系的。我使用近距离阅读和互文性分析来论述在这些作家们文学里信宗教信仰的人物之所以信宗教信仰，是因为他们通过宗教信仰学会怎么样跟其他人意义上地交流。后来，他们能更有效地跟其他人发展很好关系。因此，他们解决他们以前有的离社会被异化的感觉，甚至感到幸福。我也论述跟其他人意义上地交流这样的能力之所以在这些作家们文学里是人物信宗教才能学会的，是因为"宗教"指的是在社会之外存在的现象。因此，对这些作家们的人物来说，跟其他人意义上地交流这样的能力因为是通过宗教信仰才能学会的，所以不算是"社会"的现象。因为社会是让他们感觉被异化的，所以他们不能用任何在于所谓"社会"的现象来解决他们的异化感。但是因为跟其他人意义上地交流这样的能力是在这些作品里一种所谓"宗教"的现象，换句话说因为这样的能力好像在于"社会"之外，所以作品里的人物感觉他们可以把这样的能力视为一种客观的解决他们离社会被异化的问题。

Notes:

Ph. D. University of Pennsylvania 2018.

Department: East Asian Languages and Civilizations.

Supervisor: Victor Mair.

Includes bibliographical references.

OCLC:

1321898161