Before the 19th century,the classical concept of realism had nothing to do with literary trends,genres,or creative methods,and it was first used as a purely philosophical term to refer to a kind of"belief in reality"as opposed to nominalism.Going back to the philosophical roots of realism from the current craze for realism is not only a historical retrospection,but also a retrogression within the concept.Retrospection is a basic perspective and theoretical method for deciphering the mystery of realism's"truth-seeking",and at the same time,it will also revitalize the"cumulative concept"of realism,which is the concept of accumulation.At the same time,it will also reproduce the coordinates of"truth-seeking"under different discursive spectrums of realism,which is a"cumulative concept"."Paradoxicality",as one of the neglected qualities of realism,is an implicit driving force in the retrospective perspective that allows reality to happen.The encounter between"retrospection"and"truth-seeking"is an answer to the question of how realism shifted from philosophical concepts to ideological genres and then to discursive symbols.Although the philosophical traceability cuts down the richness of realism as a literary concept to a certain extent,it also provides an interpretative perspective for the"loss of words"or"generalization"of realism.