Xiaolu Ma1; 1 Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China
Discussion
In 2011, the prominent contemporary Chinese writer Yan Lianke coined the term “mythorealism” to characterize contemporary Chinese literature. In defining mythorealism, Yan pointed to the work of Dostoevsky as demonstrating the highest realm of realism: namely “spiritual realism,” which achieves the ultimate portrayal of truth through the depiction of the human soul. Yan’s concept of mythorealism addresses the epistemological conundrum of art’s relationship to reality and suggests an alternative school of thought to realism, but one that still derives from Yan’s reading of Russian and Soviet literature. To better understand how Yan took inspiration from Doestoesky’s aesthetics to develop his own theory of mythorealism, this paper first delves into Yan’s discussions of Dostoevsky in his essays and interviews. The paper will also draw comparisons between Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground and two of Yan’s own works—The Four Books and The Day the Sun Died—to examine how Yan wove elements from Dostoevsky’s works into his own literary creation. Yan has identified Notes from Underground, with its undergroundling man-worm, as the most influential text for the theory of mythorealism. In both of his novels named above, Yan explores darker aspects of human nature and the intricate interweaving of political and personal factors that emerge in dialogized self-consciousness. Most prominently, though, Yan’s mythorealism confounds reality with absurdity, offering a unique form of opposition to the political brutality of the Mao and post-Mao era.
