A Study of Historical Materials of the Contemporary Literary System from the Perspectives of the Material and the Human: A Description of the Foundational Construction of an Independent Knowledge System
Wu Xiuming
School of Literature, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Abstract：Within the existing three major systems of historical materials for contemporary Chinese literature—namely, “literary institutional historical materials”, “writer and work historical materials”, and “cultural stratum historical materials”—the “literary institutional historical materials” represent a relatively prolific yet also highly contentious category. As a foundational and supportive construction for China’s “independent knowledge system”, contemporary literary institutional historical materials hold significant and undeniable value, both from the perspectives of historical existence and current development. Research on these materials, and how to conduct it, involves not only the “dual value recognition” of both the institution and the literary historical materials themselves but also necessitates acknowledging their inherent “duality”, which aligns more accurately with literary facts. Examining the over-70-year span of contemporary literary institutional historical materials through the lens of material markers reveals three distinct forms: “typical institutional historical materials”, “quasi-institutional historical materials”, and “super-institutional historical materials”. These categories overlap and exhibit distinctly political and archival characteristics. Their collection, excavation, and research often present unique difficulties not commonly found in general historical material research, especially regarding many key materials related to major political events. These materials possess their own qualitative certainty and rigid norms; their presentation and use are governed not only by their own historical and political logic but are also inseparable from direct or indirect participation in institutional practice. From the perspective of human factors, institutional historical materials contain an internal relational structure of “two-in-one”: the institution formulators and the institution implementers. This relational structure corresponds to the political power structure and encompasses various directions, aspects, and dimensions of institutional historical material research, constituting its subtle and intricate vital essence. Within this structure, institution formulators and implementers, on the one hand, must fulfill the responsibilities inherent to their roles within this “two-in-one” framework. On the other hand, in the process of fulfilling these duties, they inevitably and necessarily imprint their personal and generational marks. A complete understanding of contemporary literary institutional historical materials is formed by the coupling of these material and human elements—it is the result of their contradiction, collision, and coordination within specific historical contexts. Approaching the subject from this angle allows us to logically reduce the research on contemporary literary institutional historical materials to the study of the material and the human, thereby effectively bridging “sociology” and “human studies” (or the “study of humanity”), and deeply revealing the latent “decisive factors” contained within.
吴秀明. “物”与“人”视域下的当代文学制度史料研究[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2025, 55(9): 82-96.
Wu Xiuming. A Study of Historical Materials of the Contemporary Literary System from the Perspectives of the Material and the Human: A Description of the Foundational Construction of an Independent Knowledge System. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2025, 55(9): 82-96.
2025, Vol. 55 
