Cultural Conflicts and Multi—ethnic Writing in Contemporary Perspectives

Jia Jianqiu

Abstract：

The great changes resulting from the Tibetan cultural transformation in the new century not only has given rise to a new generation of Tibetan writers who have a more modern perspective and way of thinking，but has also enabled the Tibetan writers who were successful during the 1980s and 1990s to refresh their writing perspective，enrich the accumulative body of their literature，add a pluralistic world concept to the writing Tibetan areas，and expand their confidence and ability.They are leaping out of the “old road” of political and cultural narratives，are exploring and opening up a kind of new road of literary development which is culturally symbiotic，with more modern and humanized layered writing.With the joint efforts of both the old and new generations of Tibetan writers，Tibetan literature in Tibetan areas is ushering in a new situation in literary writing.Compared with the Tibetan literature in the past，what kind of progress does this Tibetan literature influenced by modern pluralistic culture in the new century have？ This is the question to be discussed in this paper.In looking at the creations of Tibetan writers in the new century，they generally displays a new form —the cultural conflicts that occur during the process of Tibetan cultural change is of concern and is reflected in their modern vision； a positive attitude regarding multi-ethnic literary writing has emerged，and a new dimension of Tibetan literary creation has been presented.This article will give an interpretation from the following three aspects：

I.Literary Creation and Construction from the Modern Perspective

Cultural change brings a new vision to Tibetan literary creations in the new century.On one hand，cultural change，such as the change in the form of Tibetan peoples lives，and ideology，has provided a clear cultural image，a way of thinking and resources for writing to the literary group.On the other hand，modern culture consciousness has helped to illuminate the lamp of rational thought for the writers.In dealing with cultural transformation，and reflecting upon the cultural changes in literary works，the creative thinking of Tibetan writers has shown a positive attitude in modern construction.In order to adjust to cultural change，concerns regarding social life in Tibetan areas，and preserving ethnic traditions，the writers have chosen to face the current situation and position of modern writing.Thus，the creation of Tibetan literature in the New Century reflects a modern collective vision.

Firstly，it displays a kind of progressive and open consciousness of creation and a literary emotion that is linked with human consciousness.Secondly，this kind of modern perspective also represents the borrowing of a modern artistic vision by the writers in their creations.It also shows both their transcendence and updating of traditional ethnic art，so that Tibetan literature adds a new aesthetic color，and receives an artistic expression with a more universal character.Generally speaking，the Tibetan cultural transformation，together with the modernity of the development and construction of the substrata of culture，including peoples daily life and spiritual consciousness in the New Century，provides practical references for the creations of Tibetan writers.It also promotes the construction of the modernity of creative thinking and cultural vision of the writers.In this unique and progressive way of thinking and vision，and paying attention to cultural changes，having a rational consciousness to the cultural conflicts，has become an important dimension in the literary creations of Tibetan writers.

II.A Modern review on cultural conflicts in literature

Cultural conflict is a pain experienced by a society； it is an area in the process of cultural change and development of civilization.In the entire cultural structure of the modern Chinese nation，the Tibetan cultural conflict in the New Century is mainly reflected in two aspects—regional and temporal.Regional cultural conflict refers to the conflict between outside and native Tibetan culture，such as cultural conflicts between urban and rural，between agriculture-animal husbandry and business，between the “open” centers，and the “closed areas” along the peripheries.Temporal cultural conflict refers to the conflict between modernity and tradition，between the new and the old culture，such as conflict in conception and ways of thinking，modes of life，and so on.The connotations of most of the cultural conflict included in the Tibetan literature created in the New Century focus on the conflict between conservative nature and transformation of the forms of cultural structure，including Tibetan ethical consciousness，life concepts，and lifestyle，etc.The cultural conflicts drawn by the pens of the writers are quite rich and real.The old families are gradually changing and disintegrating； there is competition between the old and new concepts of love and marriage.In the light of modern consciousness，Tibetan writers know that the cultural conflict，in a certain sense，is not necessarily a bad thing，because it is actually changing the structure of culture，improving the form and content of culture，and pushing the development of culture.Therefore，their creations not only reflect an attitude towards cultural conflict in Tibetan areas，but they are also objective，rational and prudent.

Firstly，they can look rationally at the roots of the cultural conflict，and discuss the nature of cultural conflict.Secondly，the writers can adopt an attitude of development and progress to reveal the phenomenon of cultural conflict，and evaluate the value of cultural meaning，one which transcends ethnic traditional logic of thinking，uses a vision of modernity，and has a more human nature.Thirdly，due to the limitations of various subjective and objective conditions or effects，such as affirmation of “positivity” and avoidance negativity in literary writing for a long time，or the lack of the writers delving deeply into life，or the influence of the common sense of “reunion” in the traditional creation，etc.While facing sharp or intense cultural conflicts，Tibetan writers often avoid the sharpness and complexity of the conflict with a traditional or religious attitude，and leave the work or character with a satisfied endimg by using a soft，flexible，or even simple gradual change form of culture.

III.Multi-ethnic literary writing under the eye of modern national consciousness

Ethnic exchange and fusion has become the trend of cultural development in the new century.Under such a trend，multi-ethnic literary writing has become an important dimension for the creation of Tibetan literature in Tibetan areas.As classical Chinese literature has gradually been integrated，expanded and enriched along with historical and cultural development and change，the literature created by various ethnic minority writers has been integrated into the Chinese nations literary community，forming a colorful picture of the Chinese literature.So，from a certain sense，the creation of Tibetan literature is a part of the creation of a Chinese multi-ethnic literature.Compared with the situation in the past，Tibetan writers in the New Century have taken a positive attitude with regard to their concern and blending into the creation of a multi-ethnic literature.Their multi-ethnic writing reflects not only the writers consciousness of ethnic identity based on modern rationality，but also proves that cultural conflict and cultural change will finally lead to a modern scientific rule of cultural development and progress of civilization.

The meaning of “multi-ethnic writing” presented in Tibetan literary creations in the New Century includes four aspects.Firstly，it refers to works written by Han Chinese writers or other ethnic writers whose content is related to Tibetan areas and Tibetan life.Secondly，it refers to works written by the Tibetan writers whose works are not about Tibetan areas or Tibetan life.Thirdly，it refers to the works written by Tibetan writers which are either about the Tibetan life or about the life of Tibetan together with other ethnic people.Fourthly，it refers to the works written by Tibetan writers or writers with a multi-ethnic background.This article focuses mostly on the third and fourth categories.The multi-ethnic writing of Tibetan writers is influenced by objective history and realistic situations.Moreover，the construction of a modern vision，the formation of a “harmonious and unified” national feeling，as well as the rational thinking gained after a reflection on history and reality，have contributed to the writers consciousness in multi-ethnic writing.It also frees them from a narrow literary vision and closed minded ethnic literary thoughts.

To sum up，the Tibetan cultural transformation in the New Century brings an opportunity for a breakthrough in Tibetan literary creation.Constructing a modern vision，concerning cultural change，and presenting the reality of multi-ethnic fusion have become the creative consciousness of Tibetan writers.Tibetan writers，by examining history rationally，facing reality，excavating thought，writing about human consciousness，and expressing feelings for the home country within the modern perspective，have created the rich，modern and new features which constitute Tibetan literature in the New Century.

Key Words： New Century； Tibetan literature in Tibetan areas ； modern vision； cultural conflicts； multi-ethnic writing

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