A Comparative Cross-Cultural Study of Soyinka and Mo Yan from the Perspective of Mythological Narrative—Also on the New Pathways of China-Africa People-to-People Exchange

Abstract

From the perspective of cross-cultural communication, this study selects the works of Wole Soyinka, the 1986 Nobel laureate in Literature and representative writer of Yoruba culture, and Mo Yan, the Chinese Nobel laureate in Literature, as research objects. Taking mythological narrative as the analytical vehicle and employing mythological archetypal criticism, postcolonial criticism, comparative literary criticism, and cross-cultural communication theories, this paper systematically examines the narrative systems and communicative characteristics of Yoruba mythology and ancient Chinese mythology, comparing their commonalities and differences. The study reveals the internal logic and communicative advantages of mythological narrative as a unique vehicle for China-Africa cross-cultural communication, excavating the cross-cultural resonance points between Chinese and African cultures in terms of life cognition, views of nature, and collective values. On this basis, from the dimensions of literary creation and cultural communication, it constructs innovative pathways for China-Africa cross-cultural communication with mythological narrative as a bridge, providing literary theoretical references for deepening China-Africa people-to-people exchanges.