"In this ambitious study, which should prove central to further work on these topics, Ming Dong Gu challenges the notion of a fundamental opposition between Western and Chinese aesthetics and undertakes a comparative study of a series of important issues in literary aesthetics, illuminating similarities and differences." ( Jonathan Culler , Class of 1916 Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Cornell University, USA) "Professor Ming Dong Gu has offered a most comprehensive investigation of Chinese and Western studies. His latest book sets a new ground for conceptual and scholarly inquiries into China-West humanities in language, metaphor, representation, aesthetics, and metaphysics, and proposes a paradigm shift from ethnocentric criticism to global aesthetics. Both erudite and provocative, Gu demonstrates a methodology that will inspire anyone interested in comparative studies." ( David Wang , Edward C. Henderson Professor of Chinese Literature, Harvard University, USA) "This is a timely study showing how to get beyond cultural nationalism in search of the most compelling values of civilizations, aesthetic values. In Chapters devoted to language, writing systems, metaphor, and mimesis, Professor Gu reveals the profound value of genuine dialogue, 'with due respect paid to the distinctiveness of each tradition.' Alongside choice insights into core aesthetic concepts, East and West, Gu offers a blueprint for a comparative method rooted in the sober recognition of a shared human condition.

" ( Martin Powers , Sally M. Davidson Professor of Chinese Arts and Cultures, University of Michigan, USA) "Comparative studies placing Chinese cultural productions in conversation with those emanating from "the West" all too often fall into simplistic and self-serving dichotomies. The bold ambition of this rigorously argued and wide-ranging study is to historicize and ultimately transcend dichotomous frameworks in order to establish common ground for more inclusive and eclectic visionings of literary and aesthetic theory. In its thorough and systematic analysis of deep-seated methodological habits, it provides both a timely corrective and an invaluable guidepost for future comparative work." ( David Porter , Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of Michigan, USA).