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From the moment of its June 1988 broadcast on China Central Television, the t.v. documentary series River Elegy (Heshang) aroused a great controversy over its criticisms of Chinese culture and society, which in fact overshadowed serious discussion of its unique form and literary qualities. The major scriptwriter, Su Xiaokang, has remarked on this oversight, sarcastically attributing the divergent criticism to the t.v. program's being &dquo;neither a donkey nor a horse&dquo; (fei Iii fei ma) 1, and raising the question: &dquo;Doesn't the criticism from both sides go to show that at the present we lack the appropriate aesthetic criteria to judge this new genre of television?&dquo;'To be able to offer a solution to this problem and to establish aesthetic criteria for the documentary requires a generic study. Although remaining a fuzzy and loose concept, a genre can generally be defined as a group of literary works that share significant characteristics. Genres are often said to provide a means of classification, but this is only their initial purpose. The norms of genres not only classify but also clarify works, for if the reader knows into what genre a piece of literature falls, his generic appreciation and expectation will provide an interpretive frame. For example, a person who views River Elegy as a scholarly thesis will respond differently from someone who sees it as popular entertainment.Su Xiaokang coined the term dianshi zhenglun pian (t.v. program for political discussion) for his documentary.' Some other writers, however, call it dianshi baogao weiwue (t.v. reportage literature)', indicating that it evolved from the tradition of reportage literature. Acceptance of this new label has been advanced by the fact that critics have started to include River Elegy in their discussions of reportage literatUre5, and by the fact that writers of reportage literature have continued to show an interest in writing t.v.

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