“Integration” lies at the heart of the broad conception of literature. Photo: IC PHOTO

The “broad conception of literature” was first proposed by Chinese literary scholar Yang Yi in the 1990s. Since then, many scholars of modern Chinese literature have also advocated a broad view of literary history. Revived in the present day, the concept now carries cultural and social implications distinct to the new era and the digital age.

“Integration” lies at the heart of the broad conception of literature. This includes the integration of the refined and the popular, the constant and the changing, the textual and the digital, and the traditional and the contemporary. Yet integration is not simple addition, nor can the broad conception of literature be realized through the mechanical aggregation or deduction of theories.

The key to integration lies first in conceptually breaking through various boundaries, embracing new forms, accepting new subjects, and recognizing the necessity of cross-media expression. Second, it requires an awareness of the need to integrate literature, history, and philosophy, as well as both ancient and modern, Chinese and Western perspectives. Third, it calls for recognizing the importance of a concern that extends from the nation to the wider world, while carrying forward China’s fine traditional culture. These dimensions embody the “breadth” of the broad conception of literature in terms of boundary, vision, and intellectual scope. Yet these are only the conceptual content and goals of integration; its realization depends on rigorous and sustained research into a series of theoretical questions.

First, how can textual and digital forms be integrated? In Does Writing Have a Future?, Vilém Flusser discusses the impact of digital technology on writing. As a forward-looking media philosopher, Flusser argues that primitive images, writing, and technical images constitute the three primary media forms of human society, corresponding respectively to the pre-historical, historical, and post-historical stages. While this classification is insightful, it should not be interpreted too simplistically. A society organized around writing is not devoid of primitive images; likewise, writing does not disappear in a digital society. The transition from text to digital media is not merely a shift in medium, but a migration of civilization. Many civilizational achievements are embedded in the distinctive media forms through which they came into being.

To date, humanity’s most important achievements—especially its intellectual achievements—have been created through writing and continue to exist in written form. While embracing digital society is not conceptually difficult, the real challenge is how to carry the civilizational achievements of the image-based and textual eras into digital society.

At a time when short videos and AI-generated content are becoming pervasive, literary writing bears an important responsibility: preserving the depth and creativity of language. Neither blind innovation nor rigid conservatism is desirable. The “breadth” of the broad conception of literature lies in bridging the vast divide between textual and digital forms.

Second, how can literature’s change and constancy be reconciled? Literature as understood today is connotatively distinct from what was regarded as literature in ancient times. Literature is constantly changing, yet it also retains enduring elements—what may be called its “constancy.” In the digital age, the tension between literature’s change and its constancy has become even more acute. With the intervention of digital technology, literature is undergoing profound transformations in authorship, readership, forms of work, and modes of dissemination. The proliferation of new literary and para-literary phenomena is disrupting established literary conventions. Failing to recognize literary change risks becoming detached from society and the times, yet recognizing change does not mean uncritically embracing every new media phenomenon.

Literary constancy is a spiritual foundation that must be safeguarded. Literary change prompts reflection on literary constancy: While literature has always served entertainment and leisure functions, it is also a key means by which human beings understand themselves, perceive others, and engage with reality. Literature expands our sensibility, enabling richer lived experience. It sharpens our judgment, enabling the construction of a richer world of meaning. The “breadth” of the broad conception of literature therefore lies not only in pursuing new forms, but also in ensuring that literature does not lose sight of its mission of establishing moral orientation and cultivating the spirit.

Third, how can cultural continuity be reconciled with technological innovation? Some scholars locate the “breadth” of the broad conception of literature in “diversity,” others in “depth,” and still others in “popularization.” This article emphasizes the cultural continuity embedded in that “breadth” because digital technology is producing a form of “presentism:” Classical works are parodied and reconstructed according to contemporary technological and cultural logic, while their independent value and revelatory significance are obscured. As a result, the continuity of literature and culture is being disrupted by powerful technological forces, weakening contemporary readers’ perception of the millennia-long lineage of Chinese literary tradition.

Literature and culture are among the key repositories of a nation’s spiritual memory, the value of which lies in sustaining the continuity of national culture. Why do we need the classics? Not only because they embody wisdom, but also because classics from different eras together constitute the inner continuity of our national culture. The “breadth” of the broad conception of literature needed today therefore encompasses more than literature’s expansiveness—connecting society, historical periods, and aesthetics; its diversity—transcending the boundaries among genres; and its popularization—reaching countless non-professional writers. It also lies in connectivity: the continuation of classical tradition and the fostering of cultural continuity in the digital age.

Chen Peihao is a professor from the College of Chinese Language and Literature at Fujian Normal University.