Jiang Chengyong is Zhejiang Gongshang University Distinguished Professor, Senior Expert of Zhejiang Province, Honorary President of Zhejiang Federation of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Vice President of China Foreign Literature Association, and guest researcher at BFSU Academy of Foreign Literature Studies. He has published over 10 monographs, and 180 articles in important journals including Social Sciences in China, Foreign Literature Review, Literary Review, Literature & Art Studies, Foreign Language Teaching and Research, Foreign Literature and Foreign Literature Studies. He has received National Award for Excellent Teacher, and National First-Class Online Course for ¡°History of Foreign Literature¡± and ¡°Appreciation of Western Literary Classics¡±.
Natural Science and "Modernity" and "Avant-garde" of Realism
The great achievements of Western natural science in the nineteenth century change the spiritual and cultural climate of that period and usher in great literary reforms. The penetration of scientific spirit and scientific reason gives birth to realist literature with the characteristics of ¡°modernity¡± and ¡°avant-garde¡±. Through the application of scientific methods and concepts to literary creations, realist literature brings the authenticity feature of Western literature to a new historical scale, which not only manifests the historical contribution of realism, but also marks the transformation of modernity in Western literature.