Exchange of Letters About Literary Theory Between Zhang Jiang and J. Hillis Miller

Abstract

January 1, 2015BeijingDear Professor Miller,As a well-known American literary theorist and critic, your theoretical and critical writings have a wide influence in China. Your great work Fiction and Repetition carries out a penetrating analysis of seven classical English novels, which forms a very important contribution to critical thoughts and provides us with an excellent model of contemporary literary theory and criticism. This book was translated and published in China several years ago. Since then its popularity has been lasting for years, and now the book is still highly praised by China's literary scholars. In recent years, I have repeatedly read this book, feeling deeply impressed and rewarded, but at the same time, I also have many questions and uncertain thoughts. Accumulating them for years, I would here venture to put them into words and send them to you in the hope of seeking your insightful advices.The question haunting me for long is whether a definite text has a relatively definite theme that could be generally identified by most people. From the information supplied in various textbooks on your ideas in China, we have learned that your theory started from new criticism, went through phenomenological criticism, and finally converted into deconstructive criticism with the influence of Jacques Derrida in the late 1960s, and you became a very important representative figure of this critical school. In the mentality of Chinese scholars, deconstruction is a powerful trend of thoughts that rejects reason, doubting about truth and trying to subvert order. Its manifestation in literary criticism is denying all the previous critical theories, advocating a sort of decentralization and anti-essentialism, and deconstructing the fixed meaning, structure and language of a given text, or to use your own words, “The word ‘deconstruction’ suggests that such criticism is an activity turning something unified back to detached fragments or parts. It suggests the image of a child taking apart his father's watch, reducing back to have also that the of In “The you that could be a by the from the text text is the or and text long of of previous of the previous the text is is trying to a of a text, the text has a of the word and its and which a that the of a text be to the text This of has the of contemporary literary criticism, criticism and in your text that the is or at is about your of of the in your Fiction and a from the of In the of that you repeatedly that many which a of of which its to the a which is or a of is the of your and you many and to a of to the question of is to and and to through the theme of theme is that is for to and is to and to to this is a then with your at the be by that the of a is that is to a which in the of the same in forms and at the same the previous of in and in to own and the of to a model which be by have to a or a would the questions that the book the questions of the of and of its also of to “The the and the the in a the of the this is your and I with you here about whether is or but to the theme of question is that the theme is then is the or of to the or by that your critical to your critical and a powerful on the of also now and then in scholars. that the language of the text is the and of the of the text be the be and the by that the language of this from the of the that is about that which in and the is Since the of the of the text be could be this that a or a the of you us that the has a this theme be of you that of an was a but the which out a out a in the of of that by the of you still that has a theme that you could “The theme of is most the of is this “The and is in question for in a fixed of to question the this and This its the its its its It is such a and about the theme that us to the of or your on this theory and question with this a text has its own definite would this theme be identified by most or the have a relatively with this theme of the to the of deconstructive criticism, a is in could at the same is unified or that deconstruction could the of a manifestation of this is that a of that by the text, to this is to and be same or in the of a in the analysis of of the you all of would that and to that and is all of in the and for that that we about the question of In of would and of we but this but a of for the of all criticism that the text have in and the is by the which is with the of that the theory is and then is also a in this that the of the text, of from the of the of representative figure of criticism, the of that the of a text is own in or of which is a by a It is this that and also the of It is that this and your of the same which an that a text have is still a definite the a we that in your of in to the of you is also an of a to the use of in a a of and of the is a that be in the text, and this Your of could also an most important of a given to in which is but in by the in which the is “The of in is with that theme of or of and a theme Professor I would to with the and of deconstructive this is a me I to your criticism from of Professor by you and by your in to to all your Fiction and Repetition has in China. from a long ago. published a great many and which I hope at I would hope that Chinese also read of recent for which I been translated into Chinese and is or the many I have given in China from to all of which have been published in China in English or in of in a book to be published in English and in a Chinese by I to to the you in your you important and could to many of be I in the of a from you in to “The question haunting me for long is whether a definite text has a relatively definite theme which could be generally identified by most is that important a question for I is at is that you that a definite in a given then most about to read the work in a of in with I would you has a of the text, or its and in a text, you that have that a theme would be the of a or about a given a work have of a that to is of the of novels, you It has several and that the and the various but also It would be to a I of in but the of the and the of the of to and all of the in on important or thoughts in and on the of and the of and in an in of could be from the of of but would be and from all the of the and on something that read from the of or of I have published a book that from the of of its important the of to and and in this book, by the in from the of Fiction and Repetition the was and the me to of by that but all the many that have read I a many of on of the English of Fiction and of to read a the and the Chinese in the to that Chinese that is important to generally through in new and a of is you in various Chinese textbooks and the mentality of Chinese Your about deconstruction a long but be textbooks on ideas in the of Your or the in the and about which is a and by unified from Derrida or or or of of scholars, for or or would be in the Chinese textbooks you I or was a I was that with the you from Chinese I reason, truth I and is a question of the truth of a given literary would I of denying all previous criticism, which is and me in own I to own with an with from previous for that is a work is to be to be and in a I the text and that I I the from decentralization and anti-essentialism, and deconstructing the fixed meaning, structure and language of a given I the questions of and to you have read the text in question for and literary and into for was a the of or meaning, I of such a suggests be read with or a of the I learned I was for years a in years in at I for I about a given and in the of literary that from the at I read them hope I about the back to the is I would with to and of “The which you is an of that in the in the is on the that to I on the in that in I was a and to that on the in and a at the the in or It was to be a a “The is of that has been most translated and I hope with to is to be about in of the that is to from language to I have that I is by by you of that is that you from in “The about taking apart your father's from the to the Chinese of Fiction and Professor has me the the in “The word ‘deconstruction’ suggests that such criticism is an activity turning something unified back to detached fragments or parts. It suggests the image of a child taking apart his father's watch, reducing back to This to its in by deconstruction is a child taking his father's in an of the a It to the that the word suggests such an Derrida the word on the of but in the of the word is and at the same word in “The and in that has a word in a a we the or in the of an I to I to the word is to your textbooks or in the but I by to the of in text I trying to or is and I the word that “The was given of a with and at a In to your at such is to be I also that I have has an for literary but also for the the and of such is that about a by word about your of with and with It would many to from but I be at in the with the and with and in its from that from to and the very on in that is is still in but was also important in or with your for a for a given Derrida at the of his about of of and a on which for Derrida at to a criticism, for to deconstruction or that a text has in but that from the text by a of is to or would text has in that many literary have but read a given text to of Fiction and Repetition was to out of by of of seven English that of in which in or from to in in or for is that the of of in but in that in of the or be by you with about use of the is but I put back in in the in which to be of that forms of the you from This be read in the that has the of a or with a has been in the of the the be to or that has the and could have out would be a turning on the of the word to this would be by of a or and or in of the this I in question or to that to the of in the of is by of in a in his is to a theoretical in of the the and the of you you with the of the you you with the or with the of the in which a work question is whether whether you the work by and at the same of trying to this that is the to this the and is is by of that is to and at the same From the you to with of meaning, I to about the the be in a and that is of the which a In the in Fiction and Repetition I was trying to on the the but I to to on the of is which the theory and that you in Fiction and you for your to that book of and for the you about its I hope you and that you a to or of that we I have learned from from your and from the has me to out in to an from the I I Fiction and and to the I of literary to I to theory I to the of at with Professor 2015BeijingDear Professor very to your long in to your with of you still your to questions from which I could the of a but also your and for Chinese and I have your repeatedly and the questions you and questions about Fiction and to out about this important I still have and hope that we could have and about them I have all you in the that Fiction and Repetition is a book that from a long and many of your ideas have have about this in the previous I your China is the Chinese of your Fiction and Repetition was published in China and then has a on Chinese about the theory and of could be in a of important textbooks in China. 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be an excellent in that could that be converted into and by the was writings been translated into English in the that American to about It is to all to be to the language to the ideas and thoughts. the also or the you the for the Chinese of Fiction and you also this and hope that this Chinese through the of into but also through the and use by the of this Chinese by this I through the of in English and Chinese question to be from the of whether is a of criticism that to critical to the of literary criticism, whether is that the and of the to be is about the of whether is to out text all that you on the of a that the of of meaning, its out by the text, its in in that of the of which is repeatedly Fiction and I have a is to out a and is that the of that is a you your of you out a penetrating of seven classical from a new and an theory of time, your have been at the of the text, and your theoretical and through your and is to to a is your or to a with is then you the of of which that in a 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