Abstract

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Title:: The Ceremony Imagination in Chinese Utopian Novels in Early Twentieth Century

Keywords:: in the early 20th century; utopia novels in China; ceremony imagination; theater state

Abstract:: In the early 20th century, various forms of imagined ceremonies appeared in the utopian novels in China, they embody the then intellectuals’ political beliefs and literary concepts. The ceremonies symbolize the perfect order and exemplary national images. Under the influence of the complex relationship between utopia and reality, the ceremony as a drug guide（i.e. the substance triggering the effect of the herbs） in Chinese traditional medicine often naturally melted into reality, and then the focus of imagination shifted to the exploration of roads China could take. But the significance of the ceremony has not been weakened. In the imagination of ceremony, the nation goes public and dramatic. Then, the theatricalized state moves towards reality by the influence of the metaphorical concept that the world is a stage. The utopian literature has actually become an action of reforming the reality.