ABSTRACT
Qian Zhongshu (Ch’ien Chung-shu 錢鍾書) has become a monument in the history of modern Chinese culture by his exquisite literary creations and the unique academic masterpieces. In the current complex globalization context, Qian Zhongshu’s vision, standpoint, broadmindedness, and magnanimity as a cosmopolitan are of great enlightenment for our thinking about Chinese literature and Chinese academics. As a writer, Qian Zhongshu’s literary creation is sparkling with wit and ease. He not only has merciless ridicule of the social world and the world of literati but also contains his deep thinking of life, especially the novel Fortress Besieged (围城). What it expresses, from marriage to life, is “besieged castle, people outside the city want to rush in, people inside the city want to escape.” It is a universal dilemma of human existence. His insight into the world and life is consistent with Western existentialism, showing his vision as a cosmopolitan, and also endows his works with unique modern characteristics. However, as a scholar, Qian Zhongshu’s contribution and influence are far more significant than those of Qian as a writer. His works, such as On the Art of Poetry (谈艺录) and Limited Views: Essays on Ideas and Letters (管锥编), represent one of the highest academic achievements of China in the twentieth century. As a classic of comparative literature, On the Art of Poetry opens a dialogue between traditional Chinese poetics and Western poetics, seeking the common poetics and literary spirit of China and the West. Limited Views is developed around ten ancient books of China. Based on Chinese culture and integrating literary discourses and cultural discourses of different languages and disciplines, Limited Views represents the voice of Chinese academic participation in world cultural dialogue during the “Cultural Revolution.” Qian Zhongshu’s works, with a broad global vision and a robust, modern standpoint, strive to open up Chinese and Western literature and culture, open up various disciplines, and also open up literary creation and academic research, thereby deconstructing the theoretical domain and highlighting the universal aesthetic psychology and cultural laws. To a large extent, Qian Zhongshu’s works are examples of equal dialogue and exchanges between different cultures, which well embodies the dialogue principle of “harmony with diversity” (和而不同) and continually proves the rationality and inevitability of the coexistence of multiple cultures and multiple discourses. Qian Zhongshu has made a modern interpretation of Chinese and Western cultural discourses and literary concepts with all his works. Showing dialogue and integration between Chinese and Western culture and literature, Qian enlightens us with his works about what we urgently need to think about in the face of the challenges and crises in the world today, that is, how to seek the greatest common divisor through dialogue and how to seek common ground and intersubjectivity while
