2.1.1 Structural views
Structuralism was founded by Swiss linguist Saussure (1974) in the later period of 20th century. It gains its currency in western countries and becomes one of the most commonly used research tool of analyzing language, culture and society. Structuralism emphasizes that the whole is superior to the part, which attaches importance to the study of the inherent law of literature itself and advocates that the text should be regarded as a self-contained and closed system. Structuralism insists that in order to analyze certain phenomena, whether linguistic or social phenomena, we must first understand their internal structure as intertextuality both horizontally and vertically interwoven.
(1) View of linguistic signs
It is generally recognized that intertextuality takes its direct origin from Saussure?s linguistic theory, particularly Saussure?s view of linguistic signs. In his book Course in General Linguistics, Saussure claims that “language is a system of signs and each sign can be imagined as two sides of a coin, one side is signifier and the other side is signified” (Saussure, 1974: 131). According to Saussure, the linguistic sign will not be associated with characteristics of meaning on its own, instead it can gain meaning by virtue of its similarity to or difference from other signs, which indicates that a sign possesses meaning “not because of a referential function but because of their function within a linguistic system” (Allen, 2000: 8). Saussure also maintains that the meanings produced within language also interrelate with each other and they depend on the process of association within different sign systems. And those vast networks of similarities and differences are regarded as synchronic features of language system.
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2.2 Practical Study of Intertextuality
For a long time, scholars both at home and abroad have emphasized the theoretical study of intertextuality. In recent years, intertextuality research has become a hot topic. More attention has been paid on the applied research of intertextuality such as the field of literature, translation and linguistics, especially, the application of intertextuality theory in linguistics has opened up another important research direction besides literary criticism and translation studies.
2.2.1 Applied research in literature
Intertextuality was first proposed as a way of literary criticism and its object was “text”. According to Samoyault (2003), intertextuality should first be understood as a way of literary system and multiple forms of text. Gradually, intertextuality has become an important narrative strategy, which plays a critical&nb
