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Like artists, important writers defy unequivocal interpretations. Gao Xingjian, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, is a cosmopolitan writer, deeply rooted in the Chinese past while influenced by paragons of Western Modernity. The present volume is less interested in a general discussion on the multitude of aspects in Gao's works and even less in controversies concerning their aesthetic value than in obtaining a response to the crucial issues of freedom and fate from a clearly defined angle. The very nature of the answer to the question of freedom and fate within Gao Xingjian's works can be called a polyphonic one: there are affirmative as well as skeptical voices. But polyphony, as embodied by Gao, is an even more multifaceted phenomenon. Most important for our contention is the fact that Gao Xingjian's aesthetic experience embodies prose, theater, painting, and film. Taken together, they form a Gesamtkunstwerk whose diversity of voices characterizes every single one of them.

Selbstbehauptungsdiskurse finden stets an einem konkreten Ort statt, sie werden von Akteuren artikuliert, die in einer bestimmten Situation meinen, handeln zu müssen. Vergegenwärtigt man sich bei der Lektüre der einzelnen Beiträge des vorliegenden Bandes die große Vielfalt asiatischer Selbstbehauptungsdiskurse, so drängt sich unweigerlich der – berechtigte – Eindruck einer gewissen Beliebigkeit auf: Fast scheint es, als könne ein jedes politisches, gesellschaftliches, wissenschaftliches, kulturelles, etc., Gebiet zum Gegenstand von Selbstbehauptung werden. Die Autoren richten bei ihren Untersuchungen solcher Diskurse das Augenmerk auf die folgenden Aspekte: Wer sind die Initiatoren und Akteure der einzelnen Diskurse? An oder gegen wen sind sie gerichtet? Wem dienen sie, für wen stellen sie eine (potentielle) Bedrohung dar? Dabei werden zentrale Diskurse thematisiert und diskutiert. Mit Beiträgen von: Peter Ackermann, Iwo Amelung, Clemens Büttner, Chung Hyun-Back, John Bendix, Marion Eggert, Kai Filipiak, Joachim Kurtz, Michael Lackner, Eun-Jeung Lee, Barbara Mittler, Zhang Quing, Su Rongyu, Steffi Richter, Nora Sausmikat, Barbara Schulte, Wolfgang Schwentker, Mark R. Thompson, Jin Yan, Kimae Toshiaki, Kristina Iwata-Weickgenannt, Yvonne Schulz Zinda

This volume is about the lasting impact of new (Western) notions on the 19th and early 20th century Chinese language; their invention, spread and standardization. Reaching beyond the mere cataloguing of the thousands of lexical innovations in this period of change, the essays explore the multiple ways in which initially alien notions were naturalized in Chinese scientific and political discourse. Topics examined range from preconceptions about the capacity of the Chinese language to accommodate foreign ideas, the formation of specific nomenclatures and the roles of individual translators, to Chinese and European attempts at coming to terms with each other s grammar. By systematically analysing and assessing the lexical adaptation of Western notions in Chinese contexts, the book will serve as a valuable reference work for all those interested in the historical semantics of modern China."