“大話” 現象과 後現代 談論 硏究

Abstract

This study aims at examining Underlying logic of contemporary Chinese, by investigating the symbolic system inherent in the two different discourse patterns that comprise the phenomenon of the “A Chinese Odyssey(大話西游)” in the late 1990s. What I mean by the two different discourse patterns is the film series A Chinese Odyssey itself, which is at the center of the “Dahua(大話)” phenomenon, and the public and critical discourse on this film series. If public and critical discourse provides us with a model through which we can observe the consciousness of contemporary Chinese, the cinematic text itself can also be a model that reflects the consciousness of the contemporary Chinese, since the Chinese themselves are the actual creators of this cinematic text. In order to reveal the Underlying logic of contemporary Chinese, the narrative strategy of this study is to take a deconstructive approach towards the consciousness by focusing on something that the Chinese themselves consider as “postmodern.” In order to do this, the second section of this paper demonstrates that in contrast to the Chinese postmodernists’ argument, A Chinese Odyssey actually borrows a traditional symbolic system and uses it as its foundation. The construction of this foundation in A Chinese Odysseyis based on the traditional style of tragic drama and the principle of the mutual betterment of truth and falsehood; and the reason why many contemporary Chinese are moved by this film series is precisely because they naturally inherit the traditional cultural logics. The third section of this paper shows that the logic of tradition-modern-postmodern that is inherent in the postmodern discourse surrounding the “Dahua” phenomenon is in fact a distorted expression of the modernist ideology. In particular, this paper points out that the reason the concept of the “anti-tradition” is an expression of modernism is the desire for the “up-to-date” and the “cutting-edge.” In conclusion, by examining the Underlying logic inherent in the two different discourse patterns, this study shows the coexistence of the unconscious traditional mode of thinking and the intentional modernist logic among the contemporary Chinese who participate in the discourse.