The Beginning of the Researches on the History of Chinese Literary Criticism: The Positive Effects of Western Modern Viewpoints on Literary Criticism

In the early 20th century, researches on history of Chinese literary criticism began with the purification of literature, writing of Chinese history of literature and awakening of criticism consciousness. 1. In the field of literary creation and literary criticism, the concept of pure literature has its critical and constructive function. 2. The concept of pure literature leads to the purification of Chinese literature and its stylistic definition from the angles of emotion, imagination, thought and so on. The idea of romanticism has made a positive effect on literature scholars. Hence comes the new history of Chinese literature. 3. With the reflections on what literature is and what the real history of Chinese literature is, Chinese literary criticism became a new discipline with its own independence and modern significance. The literature scholars inherited the “remarks on poetry and prose”(诗文评) in a critical way, so the history of Chinese literary criticism was written with its practical significance.