How to “Write China”? ——Chen Yingzhen’s “Iowa Question” and the Predicament of Left-Wing Idealism

How to “Write China”? ——Chen Yingzhen’s “Iowa Question” and the Predicament of Left-Wing Idealism

XU Jiyang LIN Ruzhen

Abstract: Chen Yingzhen’s “Iowa Question” concerning how to write about China lingered in Wang Anyi’s mind for years and profoundly shaped her literary oeuvre. Broadly speaking, Wang incorporates Chen’s idealism primarily through the utopian framework she developed in her early career, regarding Chen as a paragon of moral integrity and a spiritual benchmark. However, Wang stops the short of engaging with the anti-imperialist and anti-colonial stance, the Third World perspective, or the critique of modernity that are central to Chen’s thought. A silence that reveals a historical dislocation between intellectuals across the Taiwan Strait is exhibited. Through Wang Anyi’s reception of Chen Yingzhen, this essay gauges the outer limits that left-wing idealism can reach within the post-revolutionary context of mainland China. 

Key words: Chen Yingzhen; Wang Anyi; Left-wing idealism

【原文下載】【Download PDF】