Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 1, 2026

The Internal-External Distinction in Literary Theory and the Methodological Reconstruction of Literary Criticism

(Abstract)

Duan Jifang

The internal-external distinction in literary theory emerged from the divide between internal and external approaches to literary study and has become a significant issue in the development of literary theory. While this distinction has contributed to paradigm shifts in theoretical research, it has also generated distortions in the study of the relationship between literature and society, most notably an internal-external split in critical practice. Neither a purely internal nor a purely external approach can, on its own, sustain a robust theoretical system. The methodological reconstruction of literary criticism should therefore not seek to eliminate the differences between internal and external perspectives, but rather to bridge the gaps between them, including those between text and history and between autonomy and heteronomy, thereby generating new theoretical discourses. This reconstruction entails situating these perspectives within a broader framework of historical analysis, using historical materialism as a central axis to develop a mode of criticism with greater historical depth and a stronger sense of social totality. Overcoming the internal-external divide and achieving dynamic interaction and circulation between the two represents the most viable path for renewing research paradigms in literary theory.