This essay reflects on problems that confront the study of Chinese classical literature today and attempts to seek out pathways that break out of these difficulties. First, taking the discourse of the ”lyric tradition” as an example, I discuss how one can deepen the discussion of a popular topic in a discursive context informed by both Chinese and the Western interpretative practices, so as to make that topic into a core topic within the domain of Chinese literature. Secondly, taking as an example the discourse of ”body” and ”space,” I discuss how we can form a dialogue across disciplines within each of our specialized domains of research and participate in topics of discussion shared by other disciplines, and how to gradually create holistic, cross-displinary research out of a shared core topic.