Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s language crisis and Qian Zhongshu’s solution

Abstract

Qian Zhongshu (1910–1998) dedicated himself to reviving the reputation of ancient Chinese literature. To this end, one of his methods was to draw upon an astonishingly large number of Western sources and illuminate the commonality between Chinese and Western literature. However, no efficient analysis has been undertaken to explore the intertextual link between Qian Zhongshu and Hugo von Hofmannsthal (1874–1929). Through a comparative reading of Hofmannsthal’s ‘Ein Brief’ and Der Schwierige, and Qian’s Fortress Besieged, this essay argues that Qian proposes foreign language and literature as a solution to the crisis of language and its corresponding problems of misunderstanding and identity that Hofmannsthal raises in his works.