Critical Theory: Chengdu Review (Vol. 1), edited by Professor Fu Qilin and published in 2024, is a significant contribution to the field of contemporary critical theory and aesthetics. This Chinese-language volume compiles five essays and one translation, offering sustained exploration of themes ranging from the rediscovery of Marxist critical theory to its modern-day applications. Through these discussions, the text provides a distinct unique Chinese perspective on contemporary social and cultural dynamics.

The volume opens with Fu Qilin’s essay, “Towards Twenty-First-Century Critical Theory.” He argues that 21st-century critical theory must be rooted in a new beginning, returning to the authentic texts of Marx’s MEGA² to revive the tools of critique that Marx created. This theory must confront new realities, expand the global scope of critical theory, and engage with a rich tradition of critique that broadens its historical span. Fu emphasizes the need for critical theorists to immerse themselves in new sensibilities, recognizing the infinite possibilities and crises that deepen the quality of critical theory. According to Fu, critical theorists should probe new realities, recognize and change them, and develop new concepts, categories, and propositions. This process constructs new tools and powers for critical theory, enabling it to return to reality and realize its potential. Eastern critical theory, particularly in its Chinese interpretation, adds significant energy to critical theory, leading to the rediscovery and penetrating exploration of historical traditions. This establishes a new tradition that enriches Marxist critical theory with new content, breaking free from Western-centric limitations and characterizing a truly global theory. Thus, 21st-century critical theory researches new realities, understands new sensibilities, and internalizes the logics and legitimations of capital operation and power distribution, renewing itself in the process. This new critical theory represents a transformation, embodying a global theoretical paradigm that integrates textuality, reality, historicity, and sensibility. It aims at fulfilling popular aspirations for a good life, combining critique and construction, and incorporating critical spirits from both Chinese and Western cultures. In essence, it seeks a genuinely global theory.

Professor He Zhijun’s essay, “On the Sinicization of the Construction of Literature and Art System in the Early Period of the CPC,” further enriches this discussion. He argues that over the century-long construction of the CPC’s literature and art system, the party’s lines, principles, and policies, along with the cultural management system and the formation of literature and art organizations, have been crucial components. The “Sinicization” of Marxism played a pivotal role in shaping the early literary and artistic system of the CPC. Since the First Congress of the CPC in 1921, a literature and art system centered on publicity gradually formed alongside the party’s political development. This “Sinicization” was a comprehensive result of the exploration achievements of classical Marxist writers, the research and practical lessons from Soviet Russia and Leninism, the translation and dissemination of Japanese Marxism, and the complex influences of Chinese tradition and conditions. Active engagement in modern publishing and media, along with efforts to establish literary societies to oversee and manage literary activities, were key aspects of this early construction. Thus, the organized system of literature and art laid an institutional foundation for the leadership of the cause of literature and art, the organization of literature and art associations, the implementation of literature and art policies, and the extension of literature and art education.

Dr. Li Huiwen provides a comprehensive analysis of Ivan Svitak’s social critical poetics in “Art, Technology, Industrial Society, and Utopia.” Svitak, the prominent, if marginal, Eastern European neo-Marxist theorist, is known for his substantive aesthetic thoughts and unique social and artistic critical theories, which hold significant value for the aesthetic construction of Eastern European neo-Marxism and the understanding of contemporary society. Like other neo-Marxists, Svitak was deeply concerned with the engagement with social reality, paying a heavy price for his efforts to transform it through theory and practice. However, Svitak stands out for his focus on issues of art and poetics, particularly the diminishing role of poetry in modern industrial society. Drawing from pre-modern society, Svitak traces the original harmonious relationship between reason and imagination, science and art, and technology and poetry to critique the alienation of modern industrial society. Behind his sharp criticism lies a vision of a future utopian world where technology and poetry coexist harmoniously. Svitak’s critical poetics, centered around art, technology, industrial society, and utopia, offers a profound critique of modern society and culture.

In “On Henri Wald’s Critique of Contemporary Symbolic Culture,” Associate Professor Zhu Hongxu explores Romanian Neo-Marxist Henri Wald’s analysis of the crisis in language symbols. Wald identifies three aspects of this crisis: first, the questioning of the legitimacy of language symbols as rational carriers by irrational ideologies, which view language as an obstacle to truth; second, the impact of new audio-visual communication methods on the perception of language symbols, leading to a shift from text reading to image viewing, and from deep to superficial perception; and third, the hollowing out and infinite proliferation of symbols, resulting in the loss of their meaning and their degradation into mere signals. Wald reflects on the irrationalism, mass media, and consumer culture of contemporary society, arguing that the crisis of language symbols threatens human rationality, critical spirit, and creative thinking. He believes that the fundamental way out of this crisis is to re-establish a higher-level balance between human reason, emotion, morality, and aesthetics.

In “Chinese Interpretation and the Formation of Agnes Heller’s Aesthetics,” Associate Professor Zhang Chenghua examines how Heller’s aesthetics developed in China through the work of Chinese scholars. Compared to György Lukács’s emphasis on aesthetics, Heller, his student, has written less on the subject. However, her aesthetics were constructed through Chinese interpretation. In the 1990s, scholars like Yi Junqing translated and interpreted her works, such as Everyday Life, in response to the modernization process of China. Scholars like Fu Qilin subsequently explored the aesthetics of Heller’s thought, conducting research on her overall philosophy through aesthetics. Chinese scholars discovered and elaborated extensively on Heller’s aesthetics before she and her foreign researchers did. Her visits to China in 2007 and 2018, invited by Fu Qilin, further confirmed and helped develop her aesthetics, as well as the legitimacy of Chinese interpretations. Zhang argues that Chinese scholars, together with Heller, foregrounded her aesthetics into the core of her thought, achieving a mutual confirmation and development in aesthetics.

“Karl Marx’s Bonner Hefte I/II,” translated by Ph.D. Chen Haodong from MEGA 2, is the first Chinese version of this text. It showcases Marx’s insights into the development of Western art, particularly Christian and Hellenistic paintings as discussed in Italianische Forschungen und Malerei der Griechen. Marx critiques Christian art as both the lowest point of ancient art and the first germ of modern art, while highlighting Hellenistic painting’s focus on form, line, light, and shadow. The Bonner Hefte demonstrates Marx’s interest in art history, with significant extracts on religious traditions, media changes, and technological advancements in Western art. These excerpts suggest a gradual materialist turn in Marx’s thinking about art history.

In summary, the debut issue of Critical Theory: Chengdu Review offers a profound exploration of Marxist critical theory and aesthetics with global relevance. It offers fresh perspectives on contemporary critical theory, engaging with the transformation of art, language and society. The essays are concerned with how Marxist aesthetics can be applied to contemporary social and cultural studies, representing a new development and great prospects for the Chengdu Group of Critical Theory.