On October 28, at the invitation of SFLL, Professor Tang Weisheng, Chief Professor and doctoral supervisor at Jiangxi Normal University (JXNU), delivered an online lecture at the SFLL Academic Forum, as part of the academic events to celebrate the 80th anniversary of SFLL. The lecture, titled “Reflections on Constructing the Theoretical System of Object Narratology and an Independent Knowledge System for Chinese Literary Theory,” was chaired by Professor Jiang Hongxia, Director of the Institute of Foreign Literature. Faculty and students attended the lecture.

Professor Tang reviewed the development of object-oriented narratology in China since the 1980s. Regarding the conceptual mismatch of “wu/object” between Chinese and Western languages, he proposed establishing “Wu/Object-oriented Narratology” as an international academic category. He also drew on traditional Chinese “ganwu/object sensing” poetics to explain human-object emotional integration, thereby supplementing Western theories. By comparing the Chinese “guanwu/object viewing” tradition with Western ontological writing, he distinguished their similarities and differences, challenging the simplistic view of Western human-object dichotomy versus Chinese harmonious unity. He concluded that object-oriented narratology, a new research system led by Chinese scholars, helps build an independent knowledge system for Chinese literary theory, thereby contributing Chinese wisdom to global narratology studies.

During the Q&A session, faculty and students exchanged views on object-oriented narratology research paths and the “retreating object.” Jiang Hongxia noted that the lecture combined theoretical depth with practical concern, offering valuable insights for Sino-Western comparative studies and the development of an independent knowledge system for foreign literature.