IDENTITY ANXIETY IN “SINOPHONE LITERATURE” AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF MODERN CHINESE LITERARY HISTORY

Abstract Objectives This study aims to explore the challenges and reconstructions brought about by the introduction of the concept of “Sinophone Literature” to the writing of modern Chinese literary history. To analyze the Human Psychological Anxiety existing between the mainstream literary historical view in mainland China and the discourse of Sinophone literature; to examine the schizophrenic identity dilemmas presented by Sinophone writers and their works. Methods The theoretical genealogy of “Sinophone Literature,” and contrasts it with the traditional view of “Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature.” It employs concepts from postcolonial theory and psychoanalysis, such as the “Other,” “hybridity,” and the “split subject,” to interpret the identity narratives in the texts of representative writers. From the perspective of cultural psychology, it analyzes how the writing of literary history itself, as a cultural act, reflects the psychological anxiety of different groups when facing the cultural homeland and the reality of diaspora. Results The proposal of the concept of “Sinophone Literature” has triggered significant interpretive anxiety within mainland Chinese academia. This anxiety manifests as a defensive mentality of the cultural center, worried that the integrity of “Chinese Literature” will be deconstructed. Sinophone writers often exhibits a “split” state of cultural identity. Conclusion “Sinophone Literature” is not merely a geographical or linguistic category but a profound psychological and cultural field. It exposes the psychological anxieties and limitations of mainland-centered modern literary historiography when confronted with cultural diversity, while also highlighting the identity dilemmas and spiritual “split” experiences commonly faced by global Chinese in the postcolonial era. Acknowledgments This research was supported by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education 2021 Annual Scientific Research Plan Projects: The Study of the Concept and Impact of the Sinophone Literature (The Project No.21JK0162).