Research Article
The Three Constructive Pathways of Children’s Self-Identity in Chinese Original Picture Books
Wang Jin*
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 6, December 2025
Pages:
124-129
Received:
16 October 2025
Accepted:
26 October 2025
Published:
3 December 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijla.20251306.11
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Abstract: Self-identity, an essential and inescapable theme in children’s development, is frequently explored in original picture books. Although children’s “self-identity” is centered on the “self,” its construction, from a practical perspective, is not achieved by the self alone. This study, founded on a selective collation and curation of contemporary original Chinese picture books for children, identifies a number of influential works that engage the theme of “self-identity”. It aims to elucidate the real-world orientation of the “self-identity” question as manifested within China’s corpus of original picture books, and to examine the mechanisms by which the proposition of “self-identity” is enacted. By classifying these works, three distinct thematic propositions are distilled: the individual (self-) construction of self-identity, the social construction of self-identity, and the other-mediated construction of self-identity. Through close textual reading and comparative analysis, this paper demonstrates that whether arising from spontaneous personal reflection and the individual’s project of self-construction, from a sense of personal identification catalyzed by social recognition, or from self-identity elicited under the guidance of “others,” the series of picture books grouped under the rubric of “self-identity” uniformly seek to prompt young readers to contemplate the fundamental questions “Who am I?”, “Who do I aspire to become?”, and “By what means might I realize that aspiration?” These three pathways complement and illuminate one another, providing feasible approaches for children to achieve a coherent sense of self-identity.
Abstract: Self-identity, an essential and inescapable theme in children’s development, is frequently explored in original picture books. Although children’s “self-identity” is centered on the “self,” its construction, from a practical perspective, is not achieved by the self alone. This study, founded on a selective collation and curation of contemporary ori...
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Research Article
Poetic Archaism and Lyric Tradition in Ming Theories of Poetry: Readings on Zhou Xu, Xu Zhenqing and T’ang Shunzhi
Liu Zhiyi*
Issue:
Volume 13, Issue 6, December 2025
Pages:
130-138
Received:
22 October 2025
Accepted:
2 November 2025
Published:
3 December 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ijla.20251306.12
Downloads:
Views:
Abstract: Archaism stands as a prevailing literary ideology in the Ming Dynasty, famously proposed by the Former Seven Masters and later championed by the Latter Seven Masters. This movement established a formidable critical discourse, shaping much of the era's literary ecology. Conventionally, this archaist paradigm is positioned in stark opposition to the principles of the Gong-an School, which argued forcefully for the freedom of direct, authentic self-emotional expression in writing. This critical narrative has long posited a seemingly irreconcilable binary opposition between formal imitation and genuine lyricism. This article, however, challenges the rigidity of this established dualism. By examining several rarely scrutinized poetic theories from the Early, Middle, and Late Ming, this study uncovers nuanced perspectives beneath the mainstream paradigm that serve to deconstruct this binary. Through focused analyses of Zhou Xu’s Shi Xue Ti Hang, Xu Zhenqing’s Tan Yi Lu, and the theoretical writings of T’ang Shunzhi, this paper seeks to prove that poetic archaism in the Ming context was not fundamentally opposed to the core tenets of the lyric tradition. Instead, it demonstrates that archaism often operated within a profound intertextuality with lyricism, frequently functioning as a specific methodological or pedagogical pathway intended to recover and reinvigorate authentic poetic expression.
Abstract: Archaism stands as a prevailing literary ideology in the Ming Dynasty, famously proposed by the Former Seven Masters and later championed by the Latter Seven Masters. This movement established a formidable critical discourse, shaping much of the era's literary ecology. Conventionally, this archaist paradigm is positioned in stark opposition to the ...
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