The Ship of Theseus Dilemma and Reconstruction of World Literature in the AI Era: Taking Li Yiyun's Cross-Cultural Writing as a Mirror

The advent of the AI era has placed world literature in an identity dilemma analogous to the ancient Greek "Ship of Theseus" paradox. AI technology has enacted a "component replacement" of world literature in two aspects: language translation and narrative creation. While this has brought about a revolution in efficiency, it also poses the risk of cultural homogenization, leading to the simplification of cultural symbols and the standardization of narrative patterns. However, Chinese-American cross-cultural writers represented by Li Yiyun, relying on the "cultural homogenization" of cultural memory and the "implicit experience" of emotional expression, have practiced cross-cultural writing in world literature and safeguarded the humanistic core of world literature. The essence of world literature does not depend on the tools of creation and dissemination, but lies in its core mission of carrying human cultural memory, individual emotional experience, and reflections on life. This "voyage purpose" constitutes its irreplaceable "identity anchor" in the AI era.