The Chinese Mind-Nature Realism Paradigm: A Case Study on A Lifelong Journey

Abstract

Realist literature and art is a prominent example of a path of literature and art that combines Marxism and Chinese cultural traditions. Marxist literary realism values the role of literature and art in vividly reproducing human social activities. In China, realism has evolved into local forms such as enlightenment realism, revolutionary realism, “scar realism,” and “new realism.” The latter two have been influenced by literary trends such as modernism, as well as the classical Chinese tradition of mind-nature wisdom. A Lifelong Journey represents the maturation of the Chinese mind-nature realism paradigm. Mind-nature realism is a new Chinese aesthetic paradigm originating from the combination of Chinese mind-nature wisdom and the principles of Marxist realist aesthetics. The field of contemporary Chinese literature and art contains literary and artistic production mechanisms and aesthetic power structures that allowed A Lifelong Journey to exert an effect: national orientation, prioritized industry investment, lived experience, the desire of the audience, artistic creativity, and omnimedia support. A Lifelong Journey presents several aspects of the aesthetic paradigm of Chinese mind nature realism: the blending of truth and goodness, evocative archetypes, formation of personality through geography and contemporary trends, simultaneous praise and criticism, and a “flow-back” style. It serves as a model for current and future literary narratives in various genres.

Keywords

Chinese paradigm of mind-nature realism, A Lifelong Journey, mind-nature wisdom, realism, field of contemporature Chinese literature and art

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2022 Higher Education Press