From Ah Q to Lei Feng: Freud and Revolutionary Spirit in 20th Century China

When Freudian sexual theory hit China in the early 20th century, it ran up against competing models of the mind from both Chinese tradition and the new revolutionary culture. Chinese theorists of the mindboth traditional intellectuals and revolutionary psychologists steadily put forward the anti-Freud: a mind shaped not by deep interiority that must be excavated by professionals, but shaped instead by social and cultural interactions. Chinese novelists and film directors understood this focus and its relationship to Maos revolutionary ethos, and much of the literature of twentieth-century China reflects the spiritual qualities of the revolutionary mind.From Ah Q to Lei Fenginvestigates the continual clash of these contrasting models of the mind provided by Freud and revolutionary Chinese culture, and explores how writers and filmmakers negotiated with the implications of each model. .

Author: Wendy Larson

Language: English

Binding: Hardcover

Pages: 336

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Publication Date: 2008-10-16