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Title:: China Question of Western Theory: A Discussion about CriticalParadigms, Methods and Practices

Keywords:: China question of western theory; paradigmatic mediation; theoretical pivot; China folding; formal structural-ideological criticism

Abstract:: Since Chinese reform and opening-up, western cultural theories have entered China en masse andserved as discursive tools for the debate about China. This paper takes Jameson, Althusser and Bakhtin ascase studies, to explore a new perspective to reflect on the China question intrinsic in ( western ) theories. Thefocuses will be on critical paradigms, methods and practices, through interrogating how Jameson constructshis literary hermeneutics with China question as a metaphor; how Althusser incorporates Chinese Marxism( Maoism ) into one of his core theories of ideology; and how Bakhtin’s theory of cultural transformationconstitutes a dialogic fold with China in comprehending culture history and literary criticism.