Theory as Wen/Xue: Lyrical Tradition and Chinese Modernity

This chapter examines the theoretical discourse of China’s “lyrical tradition” through critical engagement with the work of David Der-wei Wang, particularly his monograph The Lyrical in Epic Time: Modern Chinese Intellectuals and Artists Through the 1949 Crisis. Initially approaching the lyrical tradition thesis with skepticism rooted in concerns about cultural conservatism, the author’s perspective evolved through sustained intellectual exchanges with Wang and Chan Kwok Kou Leonard to one of critical support. The chapter argues that the lyrical tradition discourse represents not a nostalgic return to cultural essence but a sophisticated “modern construct” that destabilizes conventional narratives of Chinese modernity by introducing lyricism as a third variable alongside enlightenment and national salvation. Central to the analysis is Wang’s innovative methodology of “literarizing theory” – treating theoretical discourse itself as possessing the experiential richness of literary texts. Rather than reducing theory to social-historical explanations, Wang reveals how theory emerges from temporal tensions and historical contingencies, thereby endowing it with literary vitality. The chapter explores Wang’s archaeological excavations of key figures, including Chen Shih-Hsiang, Shen Congwen, and Hu Lancheng, demonstrating how their engagement with lyricism operates simultaneously as reflective discourse and lived tradition. Particularly significant is Wang’s reconceptualization of wen (literature/pattern/culture) and xue (learning/scholarship) as foundational categories that persist beneath modern conceptions of wenxue (literature). Through detailed readings of Shen Congwen’s “abstract lyricism” and its transition to material culture studies, the chapter illustrates how wen/xue encompasses not only textual expression but extends to calligraphy, painting, music, and film – revealing a comprehensive poetics that integrates form (xing) and sound (sheng). This expanded understanding positions theory itself as wen/xue – a mode of inquiry that discovers theoretical potential through historical–literary archaeology rather than systematic philosophical construction. The chapter concludes by acknowledging both the insights and inevitable oversights of lyrical tradition discourse. While its focus on “weak thought” and heteroglossia successfully recovers marginalized voices and alternative spiritual genealogies, it risks underrepresenting the theoretical richness of grand narratives and collective dimensions of modernity. Nevertheless, the discourse’s fundamental value lies in its “warm-blooded thought” – a courageous intellectual stance that maintains productive tensions between tradition and modernity, China and the West, literature and theory, ultimately forging a reflective experiential structure capable of illuminating perennial philosophical questions through literature’s distinctive voice.