Introduction to the International Association for Ethical Literary Criticism

In 2004, the concept of ethical literary criticism, informed by ethical criticism in America, was proposed by Prof. Nie Zhenzhao in China and thereafter was soon widely accepted and employed as theory and methodology in literature studies among Chinese scholars. In December 2012, the 2nd International Symposium on Ethical Literary Criticism was held in the city of Yichang. One of the major achievements of this conference is the establishment of the International Association for Ethical Literary Criticism (IAELC）.

IAELC is an international literary and cultural organization which aims to link all those working in ethical literary criticism in theory and practice and to encourage the discussion of ethical value in literary creation and criticism. Currently, Professor Nie Zhenzhao of Zhejiang University is the President of IAELC. The Vice-Presidents are as follows: Professor Vladimir Biti of the University of Vienna, Professor Lucia Boldrini of Goldsmith, University of London, Professor Youngmin Kim of Dongguk University, Professor Shang Biwu of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Professor Igor Shaytanov of the Russian State University for the Humanities, Professor Su Hui of Central China Normal University, Professor Jüri Talvet of the University of Tartu, and Professor Galin Tihanov of Queen Mary, University of London. The Secretary-General is Professor Yang Gexin of Zhejiang University. The Deputy Secretary-Generals are Professor Pik Wah Fan of the University of Malaya, Professor Péter Hajdu of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Professor Lim Daegeun of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, and Professor Wang Songlin of Ningbo University.

The establishment of IAELC is one of the first fruits of the development of ethical literary criticism. It aims to deal with the dispute over the value of literature and to encourage the application of ethical literary criticism in literature studies. About decades ago, there was a dispute over the death of literature in Chinese academia, centering around the value of literature—or in other words, the questions of why we need literature and of what are the functions of literature. For those who believe in the death of literature, literature in the age of postmodernism has run its course and will inevitably be replaced by digital media. This plausible claim does not explain the disappearance of literature in the modern age of media, although it does signify that the form of literature (or the mode of transmission) has changed. The history of literature has proved that as long as the ethical value of literature exists, literature will not come to its end.

The fact that literature will not die is defined by the ethical dimension of literature. Darwin formulates a scientific argument for the theory of human evolution from apes by means of natural selection. Although natural selection, as the first selection of human civilization, reveals the process of how human beings have acquired their current physical traits in adaptation, it is inadequate in explaining the nature of human as embodied in Sphinx’s riddle. It is in this sense that ethical selection becomes the second selection in the development of human civilization, as human beings must cultivate rationality through ethical choice.

These are the footsteps of the development of human civilization. Natural selection is the process of human evolution by which biological traits become common in a population through hereditary variation, while ethical selection is the process of human edification made possible by the production and consumption of literature. All human beings without exception must go through the process of ethical selection after acquiring human form. Although the birth of a baby is the result of natural selection, its transformation into a rational human being is conditioned by the enlightenment from literature and accordingly the experience of ethical selection. When making ethical choices in life, mankind relies on the teachings from literature. As long as mankind exists on the earth, they must constantly make ethical choices guided by the messages from literature. In is in this sense that the value of literature is bound up with the fate of men.

Under the cloak of the differences in country, region and language, the function and nature of literature remains constant. As Professor Wu Yuanmai states, “Ultimately, ethical literary Criticism is value criticism, which is built on the pursuit of goodness.” Ethical literary criticism, which explains the ethical value of literature from the logic of human civilization, reflects the efforts to examine moral models in the literary text when confronted with ethical dilemma and to discuss the ethical message of learning virtue while abstaining from vice. It is in the analysis of admirable heroes as well as despicable villains that we understand the ethical function of literature.