A History of Contemporary Chinese Literature [1 ed.] 9789047422143, 9789004157545

Citation preview

A History of Contemporary Chinese Literature

Brill’s Humanities in China Library Edited by

Zhang Longxi City University of Hong Kong

Axel Schneider Leiden University

VOLUME 1

A History of Contemporary Chinese Literature By

Hong Zicheng Translated by

Michael M. Day

LEIDEN • BOSTON 2007

This volume, a translation of Zhongguo Dangdai Wenxueshi, is the result of a co-publication agreement between Peking University Press and Koninklijke Brill NV, and a translation of Zhongguo Dangdai Wenxueshi with financial support from Bureau Three, the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zhongguo Dangdai Wenxueshi © Hong Zicheng, 1999 Original Chinese edition is published by Peking University Press ISBN of Chinese edition 7–301–04039–3 Hong, Zicheng. [Zhongguo dang dai wen xue shi. English] A History of contemporary Chinese literature / by Hong Zicheng ; translated by Michael M. Day. p. cm. — (Brill’s humanities in China library) Summary: “A thorough overview and analysis of the literary scene in China during the 1949–1999 period, focusing primarily on fiction, poetry, drama, and prose writing”—Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-90-04-15754-5 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 7301040393 (original Chinese ed.) 1. Chinese literature—20th century— History and criticism. I. Title. II. Series. PL2303.Z566613 2007 895.1’09005--dc22 2007028768

ISSN 1874–8023 ISBN 978 90 04 15754 5 Copyright of this translation 2007 by Peking University Press, Beijing, China, and by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands

CONTENTS

Translator’s Note ................................................................................. Foreword .............................................................................................

xi xiii

PART ONE

LITERATURE OF THE 1950s1970s Chapter One The ‘Transition’ in Literature ................................. 1. The Literary Scene in the 1940s .............................................. 2. The ‘Choice’ of the Left-Wing Literary World ...................... 3. The Literary Thought of Mao Zedong ................................... 4. The Establishment of a ‘New Direction for Literature’ ........

3 3 8 12 17

Chapter Two Literary Norms and the Literary Environment ... 1. The Literary Environment of the 1950s–1970s ..................... 2. Periodicals and Literary Groups ............................................. 3. Literary Criticism and Campaigns of Criticism ................... 4. The Change in the Overall Nature of Writers ....................... 5. The Cultural Dispositions of ‘Core Writers’ ..........................

21 21 27 30 33 36

Chapter Three Contradictions and Conflicts .............................. 1. Frequent Campaigns of Criticism .......................................... 2. The Continuation of Internal Contradictions Within Left-Wing Literature ................................................................. 3. Querying the Norms ................................................................ 4. The Nature of Divergence ........................................................

41 41 47 51 56

Chapter Four Hidden Poets and Poetry Groupings ................... 1. The Choice of Paths for Poetry ............................................... 2. A Universal Artistic Predicament ........................................... 3. The Fate of the ‘Nine Leaves’ Poets ......................................... 4. The Lot of the ‘July Group’ Poets ............................................

64 64 67 72 73

vi

contents

Chapter Five The Forms of Poetry ................................................ 1. The ‘Realist’ Tendency and the Narrative Poetry Tide ........ 2. The Artistic Path of Young Poets ............................................ 3. Political Lyricism ......................................................................

76 76 81 85

Chapter Six Themes and Forms of Fiction .................................. 1. The Division of Fiction Writers .............................................. 2. The Systemization and Classification of Themes .................. 3. The State of Typology in Fiction ............................................. 4. The Trend Toward Unity in Form ..........................................

90 90 93 96 100

Chapter Seven Rural Area Fiction ................................................. 1. The Contemporary Forms of Rural Area Fiction ................. 2. Zhao Shuli and the Shanxi Writers ......................................... 3. The ‘History of the Critical Value’ of Zhao Shuli .................. 4. Liu Qing’s History of Pioneering Work ...................................

104 104 108 112 115

Chapter Eight The Narration of History ...................................... 1. Revolutionary Historical Fiction ............................................ 2. The Pursuit of ‘Epic Character’ ............................................... 3. Red Crag’s Mode of Composition ........................................... 4. Another Type of Memory ........................................................ 5. The Song Of Youth and the Discussion Surrounding It ........ 6. The Historical Novel Li Zicheng ..............................................

120 120 122 127 130 135 140

Chapter Nine The Plight of Other Forms of Fiction .................. 1. Inhibited Fiction ....................................................................... 2. In Search of New Substitutes ................................................... 3. ‘Urban Fiction’ and ‘Fiction of Industrial Themes’ .............. 4. Three Family Lane and the Discussion Surrounding It ........

143 143 146 150 153

Chapter Ten Beyond the Mainstream .......................................... 1. ‘Non-Mainstream Literature’ .................................................. 2. The First ‘Heterodoxy’ .............................................................. 3. ‘Hundred Flowers Literature’ .................................................. 4. Symbolic Narration .................................................................. 5. Permutations of Positions ........................................................

156 156 157 160 165 169

Chapter Eleven Prose ..................................................................... 1. The Concept of Contemporary Prose .................................... 2. The ‘Renaissance’ of Prose .......................................................

171 171 173

contents

vii

3. Prose Writers and Their Creative Patterns ............................ 4. The Fate of the Miscellaneous Essay ...................................... 5. Memoirs and Historical Biography ........................................

177 180 183

Chapter Twelve The Theater .......................................................... 1. A Survey of Dramatic Art ........................................................ 2. Lao She’s Teahouse .................................................................... 3. Historical Drama and Related Discussion ............................ 4. The ‘High Tide’ of Drama ........................................................

186 186 190 193 200

Chapter Thirteen Towards ‘Cultural Revolution Literature’ ..... 1. The Literary Campaign of 1958 .............................................. 2. The Radical Ideological Trend in Literature and ‹The Summary of Minutes› ...................................................... 3. Literature’s Modes of Existence ............................................... 4. Characteristics of ‘Revolutionary Literature’ ........................

203 203

Chapter Fourteen The Re-Construction of ‘Classics’ ................. 1. The Experiment in the Creation of ‘Models’ ......................... 2. ‘Revolutionary Model Opera’ .................................................. 3. The Fiction of Hao Ran and Others ....................................... 4. Difficulties in the Creation of ‘Models’ ..................................

222 222 226 230 234

Chapter Fifteen A Divided Literary World .................................. 1. The Public World of Poetry ..................................................... 2. Fiction Writing .......................................................................... 3. The Last Poems of Mu Dan ..................................................... 4. The ‘Baiyang Marshes Poetry Grouping’ ............................... 5. Hand-Copied Fiction ............................................................... 6. The Poetry of Tian’anmen ........................................................

236 236 239 242 245 249 253

208 212 218

PART TWO

LITERATURE SINCE 1976 Chapter Sixteen The Literary Environment During the 1980s ......................................................................................... 1. The Thought Liberation Tide .................................................. 2. Outside Influences During the Open Period ........................

257 257 261

viii

contents

3. Division and Regrouping Among Writers ............................. 4. Literature and the ‘Market Economy’ ....................................

267 271

Chapter Seventeen A Survey of 1980s Literature ....................... 1. Process: The First Half of the 1980s ....................................... 2. Process: The Second Half of the 1980s ................................... 3. A Variety of Literary Forms .................................................... 4. Overall Styles and Stances of Writers .....................................

275 275 279 285 290

Chapter Eighteen Fiction During the First Half of the 1980s ... 1. A Few Concepts of the Fiction Tide ....................................... 2. The Formation and Characteristics of the Tide .................... 3. Memory of the Wounds of History ........................................ 4. ‘Educated Youth Fiction’ in the Reconsideration of History .......................................................................................

293 293 297 300

Chapter Nineteen 1980s Poetry .................................................... 1. Poetry Circles After the ‘Cultural Revolution’ ...................... 2. The Poetry of the ‘Returnees’ (A) ........................................... 3. The Poetry of the ‘Returnees’ (B) ............................................

315 315 319 328

Chapter Twenty The New Poetry Tide ......................................... 1. ‘Misty Poetry’ and the Related Polemic ................................. 2. Major Writers of ‘Misty Poetry’ .............................................. 3. The ‘Newborn Generation’ of the New Poetry Tide ............. 4. Other Major Poets ....................................................................

335 335 341 349 356

Chapter Twenty-One Fiction of the Second Half of the 1980s (A) ......................................................................................... 1. ‘Root-Seeking’ in Literature .................................................... 2. ‘Root-Seeking’ and the Artistic Forms of Fiction ................. 3. Fiction of the Marketplace and Native Soil ........................... 4. Outside Groupings and Schools .............................................

366 366 370 373 379

Chapter Twenty-Two Fiction of the Second Half of the 1980s (B) ......................................................................................... 1. Literary Exploration and ‘Avant-Garde Fiction’ ................... 2. A Description of ‘New Realism’ .............................................. 3. Writers of ‘Avant-Garde Fiction’ ............................................. 4. Writers of ‘New Realism’ in Fiction ........................................ 5. Other Major Writers of Fiction ...............................................

382 382 387 390 395 398

309

contents

ix

Chapter Twenty-Three The Art of Woman Writers ................... 1. The Upsurge of Woman Writers ............................................. 2. The Fiction of Woman Writers (A) ........................................ 3. Concepts of ‘Women’s Literature’ ........................................... 4. The Fiction of Woman Writers (B) .........................................

404 404 408 413 416

Chapter Twenty-Four The Art of Prose ....................................... 1. A Survey of the Art of Prose ................................................... 2. Memory of ‘History’ ................................................................. 3. Lyric Prose ................................................................................. 4. Scholarly Prose and Informal Essays ......................................

420 420 424 428 431

Chapter Twenty-Five The Situation of Literature in the 1990s .. 1. Changes in the Literary Environment ................................... 2. Important Literary Phenomena .............................................. 3. The Overall Situation of Literature in the 1990s ...................

437 437 441 444

A Chronology of Contemporary Literature in China ...................

451

Postscript .............................................................................................

505

Glossary of Terms, Organizations, and Periodicals .......................

507

Bibliography ........................................................................................

551

Titles of Works Cited .........................................................................

573

Index ....................................................................................................

619

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE

In an effort to make this book more accessible to readers unfamiliar with “pinyin” or other romanized forms of Chinese words, I have translated into plain English all commonly used terms. This means that a term such as “Kuomintang” becomes the Nationalists or the Nationalist Party in this text. In the same vein and for the same reason, I have avoided the use of acronyms, such as “KMT” for the aforementioned “Kuomintang”, or the CCP (or CPC) for the Chinese Communist Party. I have endeavored to render the translation of this text in the same style and form as Professor Hong Zicheng wrote it in the original Chinese. This means that I have adopted his use of double-quotation marks, which appear throughout the text for a vast number of terms. These can all be found in the attached Glossary, as can phrases within quotation marks that are not attributed and which I deem of importance to the text. The text also houses a plethora of titles to Chinese texts, literary and otherwise, the original Chinese versions of which can all be found in Titles of Works Cited glossary or the Bibliography. Th is bibliography was built by myself out of the footnotes Prof. Hong provided in the original text. I have followed Prof. Hong’s irregular footnoting practice in translating his footnotes, making occasional corrections when I discovered inconsistencies with original source materials I had to hand. As to the translation of these titles and of those of periodicals, where feasible I have adopted the versions I found in Bonnie S. McDougall and Kam Louie’s The Literature of China in the Twentieth Century (C. Hurst & Co., London, 1997). One major difference is my adoption of Literary & Arts Press in place of McDougall and Louie’s Literary Gazette for the original “Wenyi Bao”. For the many titles for which I had no previous translations to hand, I have given a straight translation of their meaning. All titles of novels, other books, and periodicals (the Chinese of which can be found in the Glossary) have been rendered in italics, as in the above paragraph. Due to Professor Hong’s liberal use of double quotation marks, the titles of essays, short-stories, novellas, playscripts, and so on, have been enclosed in brackets as follows: ‹Diary of a Madman›. The Bibliography was built for this translated version of the text to allow readers of Chinese to find the bibliographical information

xii

translator’s note

rendered in Professor Hong’s footnotes in their original Chinese form. For this reason, aside from the names of authors, the Chinese for each entry is placed ahead of the English translation. Finally, the Index is another new addition to this translated version of Professor Hong’s original text and primarily lists the names of all individuals cited within it, including the footnotes and the Chronology. The Chinese versions of all these names can be found here, as can the basic biographical information (birth date—death date) for many. I hope these additions to Professor Hong’s book will make it more accessible to both scholars of Chinese literature and those individuals seeking readily accessible information about certain aspects of contemporary Chinese literature. MMD March 2007 in San Diego

FOREWORD

At the moment, with regard to twentieth century Chinese literature, several survey approaches and many methods of periodization have been proposed; furthermore, quite a few literary histories entitled “Twentieth Century Literature of China” have already appeared, or are due to appear. However, this book will continue to follow the methodology that demarcates this century’s literature of China into ‘modern literature’ and ‘contemporary literature.’ According to this division, the ‘modern literature’ period is indicative of literature from the ‘May Fourth’ New Culture Movement until the late 1940s, and ‘contemporary literature’ indicates literature since 1949. In Mainland China, the ‘contemporary literature’ formulation first appeared in the late 1950s. During the ten year ‘national construction’ period from 1949 to 1959 authoritative organizations and critics did not use this concept in describing the period, nor did the term ‘contemporary literature’ appear in the reports or documents of the Third National Congress of Literature Representatives in 1960. However, in those papers and reports1 terms that were interchangeable in meaning with ‘contemporary literature’ were used, such as “new China literature” or “literature since the establishment of the nation,” and so on. The earliest use of this concept was by literary research institutions and literary histories edited by universities in the late 1950s.2 Since that time, the linking to and differentiation from ‘modern literature’ or ‘contemporary literature’ in periodization has been accepted; although, at the same

1 Such as: Shao Quanlin ‹The Course of 10 Years of Literature› in The Literature and Arts Paper, no. 18, 1959; Mao Dun ‹The Glorious Success of Socialist Culture and Arts in New China› in The People’s Daily, 7 October 1959; the writing group of the Literature Research Center of the China Science Institute, New China Literature of the Past 10 Years, Author Publishing House, 1960; Zhou Yang ‹The Path of Socialist Literature and Arts in Our Country›, The Literature and Arts Paper, combined nos. 13–14, 1960; etc. 2 Such as: Central China Teachers’ College Chinese Department, China Contemporary Literature History Manuscripts (written in 1958, published by Science Publishing House, 1962); Shandong University Chinese Department, 1949–1959 China Contemporary Literary History (Shandong People’s Publishing House, 1960); Beijing University Chinese Department Class of 1955, China Modern Literary History: Contemporary Section Outline (Internal letterpress edition, not officially published); etc.

xiv

foreword

time, this concept of periodization has also been subject to questioning and criticism. Since the late 1970s, this concept of periodization has been broadly utilized. In the late 1950s, several factors existed that promoted the advancement of the concept of ‘contemporary literature.’ However, the ‘designation’ of Mainland China’s literature after 1949 was the most important motive. After the ‘May Fourth’ literary revolution, the description of the literature birthed by this ‘revolution’ was very quickly termed “New Literature,” and this expression was used by literary researchers in the earliest forms of ‘literary history’ to critique the writings of this literary phenomenon, such as The China New Literature Research Outline (Zhu Ziqing), The Origins and Development of China’s New Literature (Zhou Zuoren), etc.3 The advancement of the concept of ‘new literature’ and its initial usage has the following significance: From a perspective of ‘historical time,’ it was indicative of the difference between it and the literature of China’s ‘classical,’ ‘traditional’ period; from a ‘synchronic’ perspective, it demonstrates the ‘modern’ nature of this type of literature: namely, the important changes and alterations that occurred in themes, topics, language, and literary concepts. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, through his analysis of the nature of modern Chinese politics, economics, and culture in ‹On New Democracy›4 and other writings, Mao Zedong established a direct connection between the course of political society and the course of literature, with a framework of literary periodization based on the socio-political nature of literature. As a result, the term ‘new literature’ was imbued with new import for left-wing critics and literary historians. In their writings, ‘new literature’ was explained as being indivisible from the ‘new democracy revolution,’ by its nature belonging to literature of a ‘revolutionary democratic character,’ and, after 1949 when the ‘whole nature’ of Chinese society had already become ‘socialist,’ literature also necessarily experienced a

3 During the 1930s, among similar well-known writings and collections of materials, there was also The History of China’s New Literature Movement (Wang Zhefu, 1933); Historical Materials from the New Literature Movement (Zhang Ruoying, 1934); A Survey of New Literature (Wu Wenqi, 1936); The Grand Collection of China’s New Literature (Zhao Jiabi editor-in-chief, 1935–1936), etc. 4 “At the current stage,” . . . “China’s new national culture,” . . . “is neither bourgeois cultural despotism nor pure proletarian socialism, rather it is the new democracy of the masses’ anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism led by the cultural thought of proletarian socialism.” From ‹On New Democracy›, The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1966: 699.

foreword

xv

change in its ‘fundamental nature.’ In the early 1950s, authorities in the world of literature believed that “today’s Chinese literature, in its totality, is still not completely socialist literature, but socialist and democratic literature under the guidance of socialist realism;” however, they also pointed out that now “our literature has already begun to move onto the path of socialist realism.”5 The difference between the nature of literature “since the establishment of the state” and earlier literature and the judgment that literature “since the establishment of the state” was at a higher literary stage became an unassailable point of view during the 1950s. According to this relative viewpoint with regard to political, economic, and cultural (literary) forms, after China had entered into the stage of ‘socialist revolution,’ a form of literature of a new nature was bound to appear. Since the existence of two types of literature of a different nature was accepted, and their relationship appeared as an ascending process of generation, sweepingly containing that within ‘new literature’ probably leads to the inability of the ‘nature’ of either form of literature rising to prominence, with the consequence that the expression of the objective of literary development was weakened. In this way, while several literary histories in the first half of the 1950s6 still used the term ‘new literature,’ by the late 1950s, the usage of ‘new literature’ was greatly reduced and a tendency toward replacing it with ‘modern literature’ began to appear. This sort of shift in concepts was meant to leave space for the naming of post-1949 literature. Therefore, the formulation of the concept of ‘contemporary literature’ was not simply a time-based demarcation, but at the same time also contained aspects of advance preparation and acknowledgement of the nature of the current and future stages of literature. The understanding that contemporary literature is ‘socialist literature’ has been carried on into some works on the history of contemporary literature written in the 1990s. However, since the 1980s, a divergence in how this concept has been used by critics and literary historians has appeared. Some researchers have raised questions about the ‘scientific nature’ of this concept, queried

5

The Collected Works of Zhou Yang, vol. 2, People’s Publishing House, 1985: 186,

191. 6

Wang Yao, Draft History of China’s New Literature, vol. I, Kaiming Bookshop, 1951; vol. II, Shanghai New Literature and Arts Publishing House, 1953; In addition: Talks on the History of China’s New Literature (Cai Yi, 1952); A Preliminary Manuscript on the History of China’s New Literature (vol. I & II, Liu Shousong, 1954). New Literature History Outline (vol. I) (Zhang Bilai, 1955) and Wei Dingyi’s A Brief History of China’s Modern Literature (1955) use the term “modern literature.”

xvi

foreword

the division between ‘modern literature’ and ‘contemporary literature,’ and stressed the need to find another concept and method of division on the basis of a grasp of twentieth century literature in its totality. Those researchers who still use the term ‘contemporary literature,’ imbue it with differing significance. Stipulating ‘socialist literature’ as the nature of ‘contemporary literature’ based on the initial ideological literary classification methodology is still an important understanding. Based on “China’s new literature history and the history of new literary thought” “possessing a relatively independent nature in its phases and independent research significance,” some fix the time of contemporary literature “from the period of the First National Literary Representatives Congress in July 1949 until the Fourth National Literary Representatives Congress in 1979.”7 Some who use the term accept it as a concept that is widely used and difficult to dispose of for the time being, despite its flaws. Still other researchers understand contemporary literature as being of China and having occurred in the ‘discourse field’ of socialist society; this sort of understanding dodges the significance of the nature of literature inherent to this concept when it was first used, exchanging the position of literature’s internal character with the socio-historical environment of the generation of literature. Indeed, all these uses of the term carry implications of ‘expediency.’ In consideration of the actual situation of literary research now, this book continues to use the concept of ‘contemporary literature.’ Although the method of periodization could be changed and a new period concept could be used, such as the now widely utilized category of ‘twentieth century Chinese literature,’ this is by no means a simple change of name and period. In this respect, the author of this book still lacks the necessary thoroughgoing research and thus does not possess the conditions for such a shift. Another reason for continuing to utilize this concept is that it, and its attendant periodization methodology, still has reasons for its continued existence, in that it still is an efficacious viewing angle on the situation of literature in China during this century. Therefore, in this book, The History of Contemporary Literature in China, ‘China’s contemporary literature’ is primarily indicative of literature in China since 1949. Secondly, it is indicative of the literature that occurred in the specific historical discourse field of ‘socialism,’ and for that reason it is lim7 Zhu Zhai editor-in-chief, The History of Ideological Trends in Chinese Contemporary Literary, People’s Publishing House, 1987: 1, 3.

foreword

xvii

ited in scope to Mainland China; the question of how to ‘integrate’ the literature of Mainland China and that of Taiwan, Hongkong, and other regions into research into literary history requires the formulation of another model of literary history for its resolution. Thirdly, another level of significance in this book’s usage of ‘contemporary literature’ is that the literary period of ‘contemporary literature’ is the complete unfolding of the tendency toward the ‘integration’ of new literature after the May Fourth period until this tendency’s disintegration. After undergoing the ‘remolding’ of liberated area literature during the 1940s, China’s ‘left-wing literature’s’ (‘revolutionary literature’s’) literary forms and corresponding literary norms (the direction and path of literary development, regulation of literary creation, publishing, reading, etc.), based on its influence and the political power that led to its ‘institutionalization,’ became the sole possible, legitimate form and standard for literature during the 1950s–1970s. It was only in the literary configurations of the 1980s that change finally occurred and there appeared the prospect of transformation in literature under new historical conditions. In this book’s commentary and description, China’s contemporary literature is divided into two parts. The first part primarily illustrates how the specified literary norms attained a dominant position and the fundamental characteristics of this literary morphology. Part two reveals how this dominant position was gradually lost, and how in a different socio-historical discourse field China’s writers, through their arduous efforts, established a ‘pluralistic’ literary configuration. Listed below are some needed explanations with regard to principles under which this book was written and some other concrete issues: 1. As a university text, this book cannot possibly pursue a complete and exhaustive description of nearly fifty years of complicated literary phenomena and the great number of authors and their works that appeared during this period. At the same time, it is not believed that being ‘complete’ and ‘exhaustive’ is a goal of literary research. Starting out from the demands of teaching and in consideration of limitations in the writing of this book, the objects of this book’s commentary and description are primarily the important writers and their works and important literary movements and phenomena. Here, the issue to be met with is the selection of the types of literary works as objects of research, of entering into ‘literary history.’ Although the significance of ‘literary nature’ (or ‘aesthetic nature’) is diffi cult to ascertain, a prime consideration should still be the ‘aesthetic yardstick,’ or

xviii

foreword

the measure of a work’s ‘unique experience’ and the ‘unique creative nature’ of its expression. Yet this book does not consistently maintain this criterion. Deserved recognition is still given to important literary phenomena, art forms, and critical models ‘generated’ during the contemporary period, though they possess undeniable faults with regard to ‘aesthetic nature.’ Therefore, this book does not intend to overly compress the “seventeen years of literature” (1949–1966) and the “Cultural Revolution literature” (1966–1976) sections of the text; however, an effort will be made to formulate new observations with regard to these phenomena. 2. As to the commentary and description of creative literary activities, this book will focus on the traditional forms of poetry, fiction, drama, and prose. With regard to reportage fiction, romances, television and movie scripts, science fiction, and so on, for various reasons they have not fallen within the scope of commentary and description, but some of the more influential or artistically successful works have been selected for discussion. Literary theory and literary criticism were also not taken as prime objects of consideration, but a necessary portion of the critical and theoretical writing of the 1980s period has been selected in consideration of their degree of importance with regard to ideological trends in literature. 3. As to the selection and handling of concrete literary phenomena, this expresses the author’s view on literary history and value judgment criteria. However, when undertaking commentary and describing literary phenomena, including authors and their works, literary movements, theory, criticism, and so on, this book’s emphasis is not on criticizing these phenomena, nor is it to remove creative and literary issues from their specific historical circumstances and then to decide whether they are good or bad according to the author’s measure of value (political, moral, aesthetic). Instead, it is to strive to “place” the issues “back in their historical context” for examination. That is to say, on the one hand, this book will pay more attention to the description of the formal characteristics of a literary work, a literary form, a model, or a concept, including the circumstances of the development of these characteristics; on the other hand, this book will also pay close attention to the birth of the literary forms of these types and the situations and conditions of their evolution, as well as providing materials that reveal these situations and conditions and increase the possibility of us ‘getting close’ to ‘history.’

foreword

xix

4. The chronology of literature included as an appendix is primarily a reflection of the activities of authors and the publication of literary works, but also takes into consideration important literary movements and campaigns.

PART ONE

LITERATURE OF THE 1950s1970s

CHAPTER ONE

THE ‘TRANSITION’ IN LITERATURE

1. The Literary Scene in the 1940s At the end of the 1940s, Chinese society experienced a sudden, massive change. This sort of socio-political change does not necessarily lead to the transformation of the internal structures of literature. However, under circumstances of an inseparably close relationship between literature and politics and the ascendancy of the proposition that literature act as a tool of politics, the social changeover at the end of the 1940s influenced and promoted acute change in the relative positions of the constitutive elements of Chinese literature and the occurrence of a ‘transition.’ Here, the term ‘transition’ is principally indicative of the recombination of all tendencies, groupings, and power relations in the configuration of 1940s literature. Going into the 1950s, a left-wing literature primarily centered on Yan’an ‘liberated area’ literature became the sole literary fact: Dating from the latter half of the 1920s, the efforts of left-wing literature to select the most idealistic literary forms and advance ‘unitary’ literary goals entered a new stage; Mao Zedong’s opinions on literature and the arts became ‘programmatic’ guiding thought; the topics, themes, styles, and so on of literary writing formed into systematic ‘norms’ that should be adhered to; the modes of existence of writers, modes of writing, the publication of work, and the modes of literary activities such as reading and criticism, all experienced great change. The eruption of the ‘war of resistance against Japan’ in 1937 divided China into three large regions: the area controlled by the Nationalist Party, the area occupied by the Japanese invaders, and the liberated area under the leadership of the Communist Party (during the war this area was known as “the base of resistance against the Japanese in the rear of the enemy”). After the initial phase of a mass fervor of literary writing coordinated with the war, entering into the 1940s an important changed occurred in the circumstances of the literary world. Although authors in different regions faced the same issues of the times and the nation, differing social lives and cultural and spiritual circumstances led them to achieve varied modes of ‘entry’ into life and art. The war led to a

4

chapter one

crisis in living conditions, but also generated some ‘spaces’ in which there were possibilities to explore various interlocking modes of life and art, making it possible to strengthen the depth of artistic experience. It was still able to continue with the traditional motifs of new literature: the ‘modernization’ of humanity and the creation of a modern nation. Not only would the literature of this period unfold against a dire backdrop, but also it would do so in more ‘individuated’ experiential modes that touched on deep level issues of human nature. In this way, the literature of the 1940s manifested styles and features different from that of the 1930s. In bases and liberated areas, an experiment in the establishment of an ideal society on a grand scale was underway. ‘Liberated area literature,’ which reflected this social experiment, expressed the idealistic feelings of historical optimism. The simple, unaffected folk literature and arts were unearthed and remolded into being an important ‘resource’ for this literature that ‘manifested the new world’ (at the same time as being the ‘literature of a new world’). In the Nationalist-controlled and Japanese-occupied areas, the situation differed somewhat. Social topics and the use of literature to intervene in actual current affairs were still preserved in by some writers—a natural response of Chinese authors who emphasized social responsibility. However, issues exposed by setbacks in the war caused some writers to ponder the paradoxical circumstances of society and human life on deeper levels, to consider the predicament and difficult problem of Chinese society under the pounding of ‘modern civilization.’ And the psychological contradictions and struggles of intellectuals under the heavy pressures of nationality, the age, and individual character caused the strengthening of authors’ consciousness of self-examination and introspection. The calm after emotional excess and humour, in addition to embodying the advantage of wisdom, also embodied a clear-headed satirizing of one’s own weakness and limitation, and this, in the 1940s, did not only have stylistic signifi cance, but was also an expression of the aesthetic attitude achieved by the writer. Writers had the possibility and the self-awareness to make personal experience a starting-point for creation, to creatively fuse traditional and foreign influences, and on this foundation to erect their own artistic individuality. With the finish of the war, there was a universal belief that the literature of China would enter a new stage of development. A succession of different groups and powers in the world of literature, setting out from differing positions, undertook to summarize the literary situation during the wartime period and to devise future trends. Some writers were in

the ‘transition’ in literature

5

expectation of a calm environment in which to practice literary creation. Literary periodicals of every tendency were resurrected or established.1 However, the prospect of a variegated literary scene looked forward to by some writers met with difficulties in its realization. This was because of the political crisis after the war in China, and the aggravation of conflicts between literary groups closely related to political powers. The course of literary development was willingly or involuntarily channeled into the choice between “a bright destiny for China and a dark destiny for China.”2 Under these circumstances, all political powers tried to have literature serve the realization of their political positions, and literature (writers) found it difficult to avoid making political choices. In October 1945, the China National Literature and Arts World Resisting the Enemy Association changed its name to the China National Literature and Arts World Association. In the following year, with Zhang Daopan at their head, writers with close relationships with the Nationalist Party organized the China National Literature and Arts Writers Association. The existence of the two associations announced that the ‘unity’ in the literature and arts circles during the war had ended. At this time, under the slogan of “promote the establishment of Th ree People-ism literature and arts,” Literature & Arts Vanguard, a periodical operated by the Nationalist Party, stepped up attacks on left-wing literature.3 However, literary powers that formed direct alliances with political powers were neither able to establish their own concrete theories, nor did they possess literary work of comparative value, and, therefore, never had any influence on the literary world as a whole. After the war, because of disappointment in Nationalist rule in addition to the dissemination of Mao Zedong’s ‹Talks› in Nationalist-controlled regions and 1 Important literary periodicals established or reestablished after the war included: Literature Magazine (Zhu Guangqian editor-in-chief, Shanghai), Literary Sentry, Literary Alliance (Mao Dun & Yiqun, Shanghai), Literature & Arts Renaissance (Zheng Zhenduo & Li Jianwu, Shanghai), Literature Tide Monthly (Zhang Qiqu, Shanghai), Literary Scene (Wei Jinzhi editor-in-chief), China Author (Chinese National Literature & Arts Association China Author editorial committee, Shanghai), Literature & Arts Life (Sima Wensen & Chen Canyun, Guangzhou), and Central Plains, Literature & Arts Magazine, Hope, Literary Sentry Special Joint Periodical (Chongqing), etc. 2 ‹The Destiny of Two Chinas› in The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1966: 1025–1026. 3 See ‹An Outline for Another Revolution in Literature› (draft) in Literature & Arts Vanguard, vol. 12, no. 1; and Zhang Daopan ‹The Mission of the Arts in Life› (Literature & Arts Vanguard, vol. 10, no. 2) and ‹The Knowledge and Effort Writers in Literature and the Arts Should Have in the Current Age› (Literature & Arts Vanguard, vol. 11 no. 2), etc.

6

chapter one

the strength of left-wing literary work, in an age when politics was of decisive significance, the “broad middle stratum of writers”4 manifested a tendency toward universalistic understanding and was drawn to the left-wing literary line. This was clearly reflected by writers such as Lao She, Ye Shengtao, Ba Jin, Cao Yu, Zheng Zhenduo, Zang Kejia, and Feng Zhi. Wen Yiduo and Zhu Ziqing were living examples of “progressivists” whose political and literary stances underwent change: “The forward movement of history is completed by the rapid advance of the people, those with foresight, and the people’s heroes, but similarly it will be completed by all the people with their various heavy burdens trekking on toward the final arrival at their destination.”5 Under the severe political situation, the differences and disparities that existed between these writers and the stances of left-wing literature were to some degree overlooked or concealed. Some writers displayed self-awareness in blending into left-wing literature’s theory and practice, but in the eyes of others of the “middle strata” writers, the choice of this socio-political stance did not necessarily have a direct connection to their literary practice: even with some adjustments to their thought and literary practice, they were not able to completely adopt left-wing literary stances and held differing attitudes with regard to political burdens and artistic autonomy. The rather complicated thought and artistic tendencies of these writers during the late 1940s were reflected to some degree by the periodicals they managed (such as Literary Dispatches, Yellow River, Spring & Autumn of Literature & Arts, and Literature & Arts Renaissance). In the literary-political configuration of the time of the late 1940s, the grouping termed “liberal writers” was difficult to overlook for all literary powers, including left-wing literature. The views of the writers listed under this term were not entirely alike. However, they did have similar opinions with regard to the “independent nature” of literature and had suspicious and critical attitudes about literature forming ties with business and politics. Their fundamental points were that literature should not become a slave of politics or religion, writers should be loyal to art, persist in “independent knowledge and experience,” and create “outstanding works that withstand the tests of time.” Yet, although these writers strenuously opposed literature’s dependence on politics, it was 4 For usage of this idea see: Shao Quanlin ‹Opinions on the Current Literature and Arts Movement› in Literature & Art of the Masses Collection, no. 1 (Hongkong, 1948). 5 Feng Xuefeng ‹In Memory of Mr. Zhu Ziqing› in Essay Collection, vol. 1, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1952: 110, 116.

the ‘transition’ in literature

7

difficult to avoid making a choice about current politics. These writers, who for the most part possessed a background of “Anglo-American culture,” did not directly participate in political activities, and could not be simply equated with the “Third Road” on the contemporary political scene. However, with regard to political tendencies and viewpoints, most were inclined toward the ideals of “Anglo-American democratic politics,” and setting out from a stance of “ideological freedom” held critical, condemnatory stances towards both sides in the civil war. In June 1946, Literature Magazine—established in 1937 and edited by Zhu Guangqian—resumed publication. The editor-in-chief in ‹Words at the Head of the Resumed Publication› reiterated their “target” as being to “adopt a fully free, serious attitude, to bring together the power of the writers and readers of the whole nation, so as to nurture a relatively rational literary periodical, and with the aid of this establish among the general populace a healthy, pure literary atmosphere.” Zhu Guangqian had a critical, resistant attitude towards the pursuit of power of left-wing literature and their promotion of a “new direction for literature and art.” He believed they “believe literature and art moving in one particular direction suits their viewpoints or interests, so they try to force it in that direction, are only particularly good at creating binds and seduction, with the result of literature and art certainly being harmed and not having apparently benefited themselves.”6 In 1946, Shen Congwen returned to Beiping (as Beijing was then known as) to be a professor at Beijing University and at the same time take on the role of editorin-chief of the Literature Weekly supplement of Benefit the World Press in Tianjin, while also participating in editing literature and art supplements for other papers, such as Engage the World Press and Great Public Press. That same year, Xiao Qian returned to Shanghai from abroad, and aside from being a social commentary committee member of the Great Public Press society, he was responsible for the paper’s “literature and arts” supplement. The social commentary ‹Where is China’s Literature and Art Headed?› that he wrote criticized “cliquism” in literature and art and proposed “concepts that only allow one type of art work to exist should be abolished.” This and Shen Congwen’s criticism of the “other type of ‘magistracy possessed by one alone’ ” outside of “government assessment” were of course directed at left-wing literature. After the war,

6 Zhu Guangqian, ‹Liberalism and Literature and Art› in Weekly Discussions, Vol. 2, No. 4, (1948/08/06).

8

chapter one

‘liberal writers’ were fairly active and manifested a self-consciousness of having an important mission with regard to the construction of China’s literature. They strove to “rectify” literature’s strong ideological tendency and attempted to open up another possibility for 1940s literature.

2. The ‘Choice’ of the Left-Wing Literary World In the literary world of the late-1940s, though there were writers and groupings of writers with differing ideological and artistic tendencies, only left-wing literature had an obvious objective and had the power to influence the trend of literature, to impose “norms” on the literary situation. In the overall configuration of China’s literature, left-wing literature became the most influential faction, which should be said to have begun in the 1930s. By the late-1940s, it was even more of a mainstream literary power influencing the contemporary literary situation. During this period, the leaders and important writers of the left-wing literary world clearly recognized that the socio-political transition and the choice of literary direction ought to be synchronized. Their main post-war work was to work for the dissemination of the “new direction for literature and art” established by the rectification of literature and the arts in Yan’an, and, following on from political and military victory, to facilitate its popularization throughout the country until the ideal “integration” of literary forms had been realized. After the discussions on literature and the arts in Yan’an in 1942, the base area’s “ideological and active steps in the world of literature and the arts gradually tended toward unanimity. . . . the direction indicated by Comrade Mao Zedong to serve the masses of workers, farmers, and soldiers, became the road to which all gravitated.”7 The following year, the Chongqing edition of the New China Daily reported on the discussions on literature and the arts, and soon afterwards published extracts of the core contents of Mao’s ‹Talks›.8 Some of Chongqing’s left-wing

7 Ai Siqi ‹Looking at the New Direction in Literature and the Arts through Spring Festival Propaganda›, in Liberation Daily (Yan’an edition), 1943/04/25. 8 New China Daily (Chongqing edition): ‹The Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Convenes a Conference for Workers in Literature and the Arts› 1943/03/24; and ‹Comrade Mao Zedong’s Opinions on Issues in Literature and the Arts› 1944/01/01. Also see: Mao Zedong ‹Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art› in The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1966.

the ‘transition’ in literature

9

writers had read the entirety of the ‹Talks›. And, in May 1944, the central committee of the Communist Party sent He Qifang and Liu Baiyu to Chongqing to introduce and implement the spirit of the discussions on literature and the arts and the ‹Talks›. The literary and artistic thought and policies of Yan’an were gradually understood by left-wing writers in Nationalist Party-controlled areas, were agreed to by a good many of them, and became the standard by which they analyzed the situation in the literary world and established measures and methodologies in their work. In the late-1940s, there were interconnected aspects to the work of left-wing writers in establishing a leading position in the literary world for the “new direction in literature and the arts.” One was the fervent dissemination of the fundamental viewpoints of the ‹Talks›, and the introduction of and praise for the carrying out of these viewpoints in the literary and artistic creations of the liberated areas. Representative works of liberated area literature and art, such as the dance-drama ‹The WhiteHaired Girl›, Zhao Shuli’s fiction ‹Rhymes of Li Youcai› and Changes in Li Village, were enthusiastically praised by Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Shao Quanlin, and others.9 Another was to assess the literary and artistic situation since the end of the war, in particular that of the Nationalist-controlled areas during the 1940s, and the clearing up of and self-criticism over a number of important literary issues. These were prerequisites to determining the current and future direction and line of development within literature and the arts. This summing-up and clearing-out was manifest through related literary and arts conferences, and a series of essays and papers. Chief among important essays on this topic published during this period were: Mao Dun’s ‹The Results and Trends of Work in Literature and the Arts Over the Past Eight Years› (1946), Feng Xuefeng’s ‹On the Literature and Arts Movement in the Democratic Revolution› (1946), Hu Feng’s ‹On the Path of Realism›, Shao Quanlin’s ‹An Opinion on the Current Literature and Arts Campaign—Self-Criticism * Criticism * and the Future Direction›; furthermore, Mao Dun’s report to the First Congress of Literary Representatives—‹Struggling and Developing Revolutionary Literature and Arts Under the Oppression of the Reactionaries› (1949)—also was of this nature. In summing

9 Such as: Guo Moruo ‹After Reading Changes in Li Village› in Literary Collections, no. 46, 1946; Mao Dun ‹On the Fiction of Zhao Shuli› in Literary Collections, no. 10, 1947; and critiques by Guo Moruo and Mao Dun of ‹The White-Haired Girl›.

10

chapter one

up the literary situation since the war of resistance, the ideological standards these representatives of left-wing literature relied upon, and the yardsticks they used, were not entirely consistent. However, taking Mao Zedong’s thought on literature and the arts as the theoretical basis and Yan’an literature and arts as the ideal models were unshakeable principles of the representatives of the mainstream Yan’an literature and arts line among left-wing writers. Related to the above activities were the division of 1940s writers and groups into “types,” the determination of literary and artistic thought, tendency, and the “grade” of a writer’s work, and the differentiation and determination of target individuals for unification, winning over, or attack, with the purpose of eliminating obstacles to the implementation of the “new direction in literature and the arts.” The yardstick by which the world of left-wing literature differentiated the literary powers was based on the historical circumstances of new literature’s development and on their literary ideas and public political desires. At the same time, the political policies and guiding principles of literature and the arts in the Soviet Union of the 1930s and 1940s also provided an important reference for this division. The “world view” of writers (primarily indicative of their class position and class consciousness) and their attitude toward the revolutionary movement led by the Communist Party and the left-wing literary movement, and the possible political uses of their work was the most important yardstick with which the left-wing literary world differentiated the literary powers. Based on this yardstick, under ordinary conditions, writers were divided into the three categories of revolutionary writers (left-wing writers), progressive writers (or the broad range of middle ground writers), and reactionary writers. After 1947, in the wake of the Communist Party achieving major victories over the Nationalist Party in military combat, this sort of typological description tended to become more detailed, more “combative.” After the civil war began, left-wing cultural figures and “progressive writers” in nationalist-controlled areas moved to Hongkong, as arranged by the central committee of the Communist party, and Hongkong became the left-wing cultural center of the time. ‹Opinions of the Contemporary Literature and Arts Movement› “written by Quanlin, this journal’s fellow traveller” and Guo Moruo’s ‹Denouncing “Reactionary Literature and Art”› were published in the March 1948 first volume of the Mass Literature and Arts Collection, which was set up by Shao Quanlin, Feng Naichao, and others. Above it was advanced that left-wing literature, while “consolidating and broadening” the united front of literature

the ‘transition’ in literature

11

and the arts, should rally the “broad middle stratum of writers” (also termed “progressive liberal literature and arts”), believing that they and left-wing writers were identical in the tradition of “May Fourth” literature of opposing imperialism and feudalism, and also had demonstratably drawn closer to the revolution and moved toward the people. Yet, it was also pointed out that there existed a distance between them and the “literature and arts of the revolutionary masses.” Some among them, even some left-wing writers, were unable to extricate themselves from western European bourgeoisie individualism and sentimentalism, and required criticism and persuasion. As to those who “require ruthless attack and exposure in ideological battle,” the most important targets were the “accomplices of the landowner big capitalist class and the literature and arts of vacancy.” Writers made examples of under this label were: Xu Zhongnian, who advocated “life-ism literature and arts” and “further revolution in literature and the arts;” Gu Yiqiao, who flaunted a “renaissance in literature and the arts;” Zhu Guangqian, Liang Shiqiu, and Shen Congwen, who advocated “art for art’s sake;” and Yi Junzuo, Xiao Qian, Zhang Daopan, and others, who openly acted as directors of the slaves of the four big capitalist families. Otherwise, there was also pornographic comprador literature and art, and “mandarin duck and butterfly” literature of low taste and a sexual orientation. In Guo Moruo’s essay, “reactionary literature and art” was divided into “comprador” and “feudal” types, and further color-coded them red, yellow, blue, white, or black. Among those classified as targets of “utterly ruthless great counterattacks” were writers who had official contacts with the Nationalist Party, Zhu Guangqian (who had been a member of the Nationalist Party central committee control commission), Pan Gongzhan, Shen Congwen, literature that delved into sex, gods and demons, knights errant, and detectives, and their theories and works of literature and art. The typological descriptions and differentiations undertaken by the mainstream powers of left-wing literature were the realization of the elemental work of the “transition” from 1940s to 1950s literature. Th is sort of description became the discourse of political rights: it was not limited to “reactionary writers,” drew a violent backlash from some leftwing writers and “progressive writers,” and deeply influenced the course of 1940s and 1950s literature. It needs to be pointed out that the description and differentiation of literary powers by the left-wing literary world was carried out internally within left-wing literature. This relates to the issue of “purity” in proletarian literature. In the initial stage following the war of resistance,

12

chapter one

this gave rise to arguments and conflicts between differing opinions and groups, and, by the late-1940s, Hu Feng, Feng Xuefeng, and others became objects of description and differentiation. The literary views of Hu Feng and others were fingered as being the “literary and artistic thought of the petit bourgeoisie,” but were actually already seen as a “dissident power” in the left-wing world of literature.

3. The Literary Thought of Mao Zedong In studying the basic circumstances of contemporary literature, it is impossible to depart from an understanding of the literary thought of Mao Zedong. After selecting, getting to grips with, and remolding the legacy of literary theory of classic Marxist authors and the theory and practice of China’s left-wing literature movement, during the late 1930s and early 1940s Mao Zedong formed systemic viewpoints on literary and artistic issues. These were embodied in writings such as ‹The Position of the Communist Party of China in the National War›, ‹On New Democracy›, and especially ‹Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art›. The literary thought of Mao Zedong bears strong “practical” characteristics. The issues he raised in the area of literature, as well as his answers to these problems, to a very large degree were responses to pressing issues in reality. In the ‹Talks› it is clearly indicated: “when we discuss problems, we should set out from practice, not from definitions,” in analyzing “objective reality” we must “search out guiding principles, government policy, and methods.”10 Among the “current facts” he listed were the war of resistance against Japan then underway, the revolution being led by the Communist Party of China, and so on. Mao Zedong most determinedly looked at literary issues from the perspective of the demands of contemporary political tasks. The problems China has faced in establishing a modern nation since the nineteenth century and the problems faced by Mao Zedong and the political party he led in undertaking the enterprise of revolution were the jumping-off point from which Mao considered literary issues. In the view of some critics, the literary thought of Mao Zedong is a component part of Marxist literary theory, even an important “devel-

10 The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, People’s Publishing House, 1966: 854–855. Subsequent extracts from the ‹Talks› will not be footnoted.

the ‘transition’ in literature

13

opment” of this theory. China’s left-wing literary theorists usually see Marxist literary theory as a unitary whole. In March 1944, Zhou Yang in Marxism and Literature and the Arts—a book edited in Yan’an—selected expositions on literature and the arts by Marx, Engels, Plekhanov, Lenin, Stalin, Gorky, Lu Xun, and Mao Zedong, among others. 11 This editorial methodology was founded on a foundation of a consistent understanding of the selected classic authors toward important literary issues (such as the special subject areas into which the book was split, such as the special nature of literature and the arts, literature and the arts and class, and the proletariat and literature and the arts). The actual state of affairs was that discrepancies existed between the opinions of the founders of Marxist literary theory, and in the process of later dissemination, reception, and practice, due to differing explications by different nationalities, countries, and political cultures, different groups and lines appeared and led to fierce conflicts. An important instance of this occurred during 1931–1933, when the periodical Literary Heritage, put out by the Marxism Institute of the Soviet Union, for the first time made public a series of letters on literary issues by Marx and Engels.12 Translated excerpts from these letters were published in the Yan’an edition of the Liberation Daily in the early 1940s. However, they did not receive much attention at the time, in particular some of Engels’ opinions. The premise of the ‹Talks› was placed primarily on the explication of the thesis that the literary and artistic enterprise should become the “gears and screws” of the entire “machine of revolution” in Lenin’s ‹The Organization of the Party and the Party’s Literature›.13 However, this explication did not touch upon issues such as the tendentiousness and artistic nature of works of art, and the contradiction between the author’s “world view” and “creative method,” and avoided any explanation of what Lenin wrote in the same

11 In his ‹Preface›, Zhou Yang explained that the book was edited in the spirit of Mao Zedong’s ‹Talks› and was the earliest to advance the thesis that the literary thought of Mao Zedong carried out and developed the Marxist perspective on literature and the arts, indicating that the ‹Talks› “had most correctly, most profoundly, most completely, fundamentally resolved the issue of art and literature for the masses and how this would come about.” 12 Indicating separate letters written by Marx and Engels to Ferdinand Lassalle in 1859, from Engels to Karl Kautsky in 1884, and from Engels to Margaret Harkness in 1888. 13 The Chinese language version of this essay was retranslated, re-verified, and retitled as ‹The Organization of the Party and the Party’s Publications› by the translation and editorial department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in the early-1980s. Excerpts here are taken from the 1941 Yan’an Liberation Daily version.

14

chapter one

essay: “the literary enterprise is least able to endure mechanical averaging, leveling, the minority submitting to the majority;” the literary enterprise “must unconditionally guarantee the vast wilds of individual creativity and of individual inclination, and the open country of thought and imagination, form and content”. Mao Zedong set out from Marx’s viewpoint that the nature and circumstances of the “superstructure” are decided by the fixed “economic foundation” in his consideration of China’s literary issues, pointing out that: “the old politics and old economics of the people of China is the basis of the old culture of the people of China; and the new politics and new economics of the people of China are the basis of the new culture of the people of China.”14 Therefore, as a new economic foundation and a new political system appeared in China, he believed that a new culture, a new literature and arts world must also necessarily be established. Beginning in the 1930s, he marked its nature by way of descriptive phrases such as “revolutionary national culture,” “national form, new democratic content,” “fresh and lively, a Chinese style and Chinese manner happily seen and heard by the ordinary people of China,” and “literature and arts for the workers, farmers, and soldiers”. Toward the establishment of this new culture (literature), he initiated and supported a series of campaigns, fiercely criticizing the theoretical foundations and representative figures of the “old culture (literature),” clearing the ground for the establishment of a new literature. He led the rectifi cation movement in literature and the arts in Yan’an in 1942, and during the 1950s and 1960s he initiated the criticism of the movie ‹The Story of Wu Xun›, which led to a campaign against the political, philosophical, and literary thought of Hu Shi; he initiated the attacks on the “Hu Feng clique” for their differences with the ‹Talks› in literary thought; and during 1956–1957 he initiated attacks on heterodoxy in the literary world; up unto the 1960s when he instigated the ten year campaign of the “Great Cultural Revolution.” The socio-political utility (function) of literature is the core issue in the literary thought of Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong did not acknowledge the existence of literature with an independent character and position, believing that “in the world today, all culture and literature and arts

14 ‹On New Democracy› in The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, People’s Publishing House, 1966: 656–657.

the ‘transition’ in literature

15

are part of a definite class, are part of a definite political line. Art for arts sake, supra-class arts, and art parallel or in opposition to politics actually does not exist.” “The party’s work in literature and the arts,” “is subordinated to the revolutionary task stipulated by the party during a specific period of the revolution.” Setting out from this viewpoint, he necessarily attacked opinions like Trotsky’s that “art must develop according to its own methods, travel its own road”, saying this was a “binary or pluralistic theory.” Among Mao Zedong’s propositions on literature, the left-wing literature issue of literature’s relationship with politics was massively simplified and given great immediacy: current politics is the object of literature, and literature is one of the means that must be selected by political power in order to achieve its goals. So, starting with Yan’an literature of the 1940s, the writing of literature and literary campaigns were not only identical with current political tasks in overall direction, but had to be completely integrated with politics from the perspectives of organization and the pace of concrete work. Although Mao Zedong demanded that literature become a “weapon” in the political struggle, this weapon ought not to be crude, as “art works lacking an artistic nature, no matter how politically progressive, have no power.” Consequently, while opposing incorrect politic views, he “also opposes a tendency toward a so-called ‘sloganeering form’ that only features correct political opinion without artistic power.” Literature is “subordinate” to politics and “influences” political views, and so must gives rise to a demand for the “standardization” of literature. This not only stipulates “what to write” (topic), but also “how to write” (the handling of topics, methodology, artistic style, and so on). For example, writers must primarily write about the life of workers, farmers, and soldiers, placing emphasis on the formation of advanced literary characters and heroic models; must chiefly write about the “bright side” of life, with a “praise as primary” style; must expose the “essence of history,” lay out the “objective laws” of life, and manifest an optimistic view in the development of history; style and form must be easy to understand and clear, and must oppose obscurity; literary criticism must uphold “political standards as number one, artistic as number two.” With regard to literary creation, Mao Zedong placed great stress on the importance of “life,” saying it is the “sole fountainhead” of artistic creation. To a certain degree, he would have seen creative work as a form of processing of “life.” In the pre-1954 edition of the ‹Talks›, “social life” was called “raw materials,” “semi-processed materials,” or “literature and arts in the state

16

chapter one

of nature,” so literary creation was the “processing” of it.15 This expression can be seen as an emphasis on writing and literary works that correspond to real life, and as skepticism towards tendencies in the process of creative writing such as direct perception, emotionalism, and a stress on “form.” However, a stress on the function of literature and its social utility, of necessity cannot be satisfied with the “processing” and copying of “life” of creative writing. Rewriting reality by way of a priori idealism and political-utopian enthusiasm causes literary works to achieve a “romanticism” that is “higher, stronger, more concentrated, more representative, more idealistic, and therefore more universalistic than normal actual life,” which could be said to be a dominant aspect of literary views of Mao Zedong. The raising of slogans that “combined revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism” during the 1950s was a logical development and extension. The first issue to be tackled in the carrying out of the establishment of a “new culture (literature)” was that of what kind of person to rely on to do this, and what attitude was to be taken toward the “cultural heritage.” A look at his theory indicates that Mao Zedong believed the construction of this new culture must not lead to a severing of ties with the spiritual products of the history of humanity. In ‹On New Democracy›, he indicates that China “should absorb large quantities of progressive foreign culture as raw materials for the food of our own culture,” and China’s “splendid ancient culture” must be cleared out as a “necessary condition of developing the new national culture and raising the self-confidence of the nation.” The ‹Talks› also point out that we “must carry out all excellent legacies of literature and the arts” “as reference as raw materials for literature and the arts when we create works from the life of the people in this time and place,” and we “absolutely must not refuse to take lessons and inherit from the ancients and foreigners.” These expressions are safe; however, his use of the difference between “feudalistic dross” and “democratic cream” proposed by Lenin’s theory on “two types of culture,” somewhat reduced this emphasis on the importance of inheritance of legacy. Yet, if one examines the cultural policies carried out by Mao Zedong from the 1940s through to the 1970s, there is a great difference in the situation. His policies of harsh criticism “enhanced behind closed doors” of those who practiced the critical art of Lu Xun in Yan’an during the early 1940s, fixing folk songs 15 In the 1954 edition of the ‹Talks› in the third volume of The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, terms such as “raw materials” and “semi-processed materials” were changed, and “process” was replaced by “create.”

the ‘transition’ in literature

17

as the direction for development during the 1950s, the political policy of carrying out destructive attacks on “old culture” during the “Cultural Revolution,” all illustrate that the relationship of “new culture” to the culture of each period that he stressed was one of transformation and rupture, especially with regard to his attitude toward western culture. On whom to rely for the construction of the “new culture (literature)” was another difficulty. Mao Zedong had great reservations about authors as intellectuals. He believed they had primarily received feudalistic, bourgeoisie education and were divorced from the lives of workers and farmers. Therefore, in the ‹Talks› he states that although the farmers’ “hands are black, their feet are covered in cow shit, they are still all cleaner than the intellectuals of the bourgeoisie and the petit bourgeoisie;” the standpoint of some writers “is still that of petit bourgeoisie intellectuals,” and “the depths of their souls is still the kingdom of the petit bourgeoisie intellectual.” He always maintained a high level of vigilance against intellectuals of a “petit bourgeoisie background” who “stubbornly express themselves in all sorts of ways, and also through literature and the arts,” “demanding people remold the party and the world according to the features of petit bourgeoisie intellectuals.” Setting off from this type of opinion, Mao Zedong proposed that the solution to the crucial problem of the new direction of literature and the arts would come about via the thought reform of authors and a shift in their standpoint through a long period of entering deep into the life of workers, farmers, and soldiers. Despite this, Mao Zedong still doubted whether they could accomplish this task. Consequently, he made the establishment of a proletarian “literary contingent” an important strategic measure, particularly the task of discovering and nurturing authors among workers and farmers. He encouraged them to “liberate thought, dare to think and dare to act” with the statement that “the lowly are the smartest, the elitists are the stupidest.” However, this expectation did not achieve any success worth celebrating.

4. The Establishment of a ‘New Direction for Literature’ During the socio-political transition during the late-1940s and early1950s, some writers left the mainland for locations such as Taiwan, Hongkong, and the United States. These writers included Hu Shi, Su Xuelin, Zhang Ailing, and Xu Xu. But the majority of writers, imbued with the ideal of creating an independent nation, welcomed the arrival of a “new

18

chapter one

era.” Some writers who were overseas at the time, such as Lao She, Cao Yu, and Bian Zhilin, returned. Early in 1949, a large number of writers entered Beiping, as it had been determined that it be the future capital, and began preliminary discussions on convening a congress of literary and art workers from the whole country. In March, at a joint conference of the resident Beiping directors and controllers of the China National Literature and Arts World Association (National Literary Association) and the North China Literary Association directors, Guo Moruo was made committee chair and Mao Dun and Zhou Yang were made assistant committee chairs for the preparatory committee. Between July 2 and July 19, the China National Literature and Arts Worker Representatives Congress (referred to elsewhere as the First Literary Representatives Congress) was held in Beiping. In total there were 824 official and invited representatives consisting of groups representative of BeipingTianjin (two groups), North China, the Northwest, Central China, the Northeast, the military, and the South (two groups), among others. The congress was the realization of a “joint force” of writers and artists who had previously been fragmented in different areas around the country. “There is the joint force of the literary and arts troops from the old and newly liberated areas, the joint force of representatives of the new literature and arts contingent and the old literature and arts representatives who approve of reform, and the joint force of the literary and arts troops from the countryside, the city, and the military.”16 Zhou Enlai, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, and Zhou Yang were among those who read reports at the congress.17 Some representatives also spoke on special subjects. The First Literary Representatives Congress was later taken to be the starting point of “contemporary literature.” On the foundations of the summing up and self-criticism of the literature and arts campaigns and creative work in liberated and Nationalist-controlled areas, the congress agreed the literary direction represented by Yan’an literature as the direction of contemporary literature, and formulated normative outlines and

16 Zhou Enlai ‹The Political Report at the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress› in A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, New China Bookstore 1950, Beijing: 33. 17 These reports were: Zhou Enlai’s ‹Political Report›, Guo Moruo’s overall congress report ‹Fight to Construct New China’s People’s Literature and Art›, Mao Dun’s ‹Struggling and Developing Revolutionary Literature and Arts Under the Oppression of the Reactionaries›, and Zhou Yang’s ‹The Literature and Art of a New People›.

the ‘transition’ in literature

19

detailed concrete regulations for creative work, literary criticism, and the policies and the manner of implementation of literary campaigns for literature of this nature. Zhou Yang pointed out: “Mao Zedong in ‹Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art› stipulated the direction of new China’s literature and arts, literature and arts workers in the liberated areas consciously and determinedly brought this direction into practice, and through the entirety of their own experience proved the absolute correctness of this direction, deeply believing there is no second direction other than this, and if there is, that it is a mistaken direction.” Of course, the different components of the “joint forces” of the “great army of literature and the arts” did not possess equal value and status. At this congress, their individually embodied literary opinions, creative records, and their position in the literary world were divided into different rankings in accordance with the typological yardstick of a political class nature that had already become apparent during the 1940s (which also simultaneously took into account factional interests of the world of literature). This sort of ranking not only existed between “new literature” and “old literature” and between “left-wing literature” and “liberal literature,” but also between “liberated area literature” and “Nationalistcontrolled area revolutionary literature,” and was even based upon the relationships between different literary groups in the liberated areas. At this congress, the topics, characters, artistic methods, and language of Yan’an literature and the experience of literary work in liberated areas and that of undertaking literary campaigns and the literary struggle was taken on as the most important experience. At about the same time, different value rankings were applied to the publication of two large literary series of books—the China People’s Literature and Arts Book Series, which collected literary work of the liberated areas, and New Literature Selections, which collected work of authors that was written during the period between “May Fourth” and 1942. 18 The First Literary 18 The China People’s Literature and Arts Book Series was edited by Zhou Yang and began publication in May 1949 with a selection of over 200 works of literature and art from the liberated areas (including work by professional writers and by workers, farmers, and soldiers). This series was published by the New China Bookstore. New Literature Selections was edited by Mao Dun and selected the work of authors who had important pieces of literature published before 1942. There were two sets to this series, comprising 24 volumes. The first set selected the work of writers already dead, such as Lu Xun, Qu Qiubai, Jiang Guangci, Rou Shi, and Hu Yepin. The second set consisted of the work of the living authors Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ye Shengtao, Ding Ling, Tian Han, Ba Jin, Lao She, Hong Shen, Ai Qing, Zhang Tianyi, Cao Yu, and Zhao Shuli.

20

chapter one

Representatives Congress began the process of “integration” and fixed the qualifications and the status of the literary powers in “contemporary literature.” At this congress, in summarizing the work experience of literature and the arts in the liberated areas, Zhou Yang proposed, “aside from leading thought, [we] still must strengthen organizational leadership of work in literature and the arts.” In his report at the conclusion of the congress, Guo Moruo stated that a “department to specially manage work in literature and the arts” would be quickly established, calling this one of the successes of the congress. The national organization for the world of literature and the arts established by the First Literary Delegates Congress was the China National Literature and Arts World Federation (also referred to as the National Literature Federation), a structure designed by the state and the governing party to exercise control and organizational leadership over writers and artists. One after another, all sorts of associations were established under the aegis of the National Literature Federation. Of these associations, the most important was the China National Literature Workers Association (in September 1953, its name was changed to the China Writers Association). The nature, form, and functions of these structures both carried on the experience of the “League of Left-wing Writers” of the 1930s and directly borrowed from that of the Writers Association of the Soviet Union. The Literature and Arts Paper and the monthly periodical People’s Literature appeared soon after the congress and acted as important publications in undertaking leadership of thought in the world of literature by the National Literature Federation and the Writers Association.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERARY NORMS AND THE LITERARY ENVIRONMENT

1. The Literary Environment of the 1950s–1970s In 1948, looking back and making self-criticism on the revolutionary literature and arts campaign in Nationalist-controlled areas during the 1940s in ‹Opinions on the Current Literature and Arts Movement›,1 Shao Quanlin talked about the “massive influence” in China of nineteenth century European “bourgeoisie classical literature and arts:” A large quantity of classical works was translated at this time. Tolstoy and Flaubert were wildly, uncritically worshipped by people. The study of classical works was a great fad for a time. An Anna Karenina-type of temperament was yearned for by many of the young. In the name of receiving the heritage of literature and the arts, some people slowly yielded to the consciousness of a bygone century. Suddenly old realism, naturalism, and other outdated literary and artistic thought surged into the minds of people, conquering many. This situation was in truly startling contrast with the influence on us of international revolutionary literary and artistic thought before the war.

This sort of “self-criticism” is revelatory of the fundamental policy of contemporary literature toward the Chinese and foreign cultural heritage upon entry into the 1950s. At the start of the 1950s, the translation and review of “international revolutionary literature and arts,” especially the literature of the Soviet Union, was given the highest prominence. An essay written by Zhou Yang in 1952 pointed out: The task set before the Chinese people, especially workers in literature and the arts, is to enthusiastically and more broadly popularize the literature, arts, and films of the Soviet Union among the Chinese people, and workers in literature and the arts should make a greater effort to study their creative experience and artistic technique, especially research into the socialist-realism that is the creative foundation [of their work].2

1

In Literature & Art of the Masses Collection, vol. 1 (Hongkong, 1948). ‹Socialist Realism—The Road Forward for Chinese Literature›. Originally published in the Soviet literary magazine The Flag, no. 12, 1952; republished in the People’s Daily, 11/01/1953. 2

22

chapter two

During the 1950s, the major publishers of literary books and periodicals (Beijing’s People’s Literature Publishing House and China Youth Publishing House, Shanghai’s New Literature & Arts Publishing House, and so on) published great quantities of old and new translations of Soviet works of literature and literary theory. This included the fiction and literary essays of Gorky, Serafimovich’s The Iron Flood, Fadeyev’s The Rout and The Young Guard, Sholokhov’s Quiet Flows the Don, Alexey Tolstoy’s The Road to Calvary, Furmanov’s Chapayev, Kochetov’s The Zhurbins, and Gladkov’s Cement; the poetry of Mayakovsky, Isakovsky, Surkov, and Tvardovsky, the short stories of Antonov, the feature-writing of Polevoy, among much more. Soviet documents on literary and artistic policies, reports and resolutions at writers conferences, social commentaries, and specialized essays on literature published in important newspapers and periodicals in the Soviet Union of the 1950s were promptly translated and published in China’s newspapers and periodicals. The compendium of translations Literary and Artistic Issues in the Soviet Union3 was made a must-read for the study of socialist realism by workers in literature and the arts in China. Among the compiled documents were two resolutions relating to literature and the arts of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) Central Committee (1925, 1932), the bylaws of the Writers Association of the Soviet Union, Zhdanov’s speech at the first congress of Soviet writers, and four resolutions on issues relating to literature and the arts in the 1940s by the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party (Bolshevik). At this time, many theoretical works on Soviet literature and the arts were also translated and published. The system, research methods, and critical methodology of the contemporary Soviet Union were imported into China in their entirety by way of Zinoviev’s courses on literary theory, and the invitation in the early 1950s to the “Soviet expert” Bidakov to lecture at Beijing University about “guidance in the study of literature and the arts” to an audience of literature and theory lecturers from all parts of the country. The influence of all this on Chinese literary theory and criticism over the next twenty to thirty years was immense. The great quantity of translations and the high praise of Soviet literature continued until the late 1950s. In the 1950s, Soviet literature was given the status of a “model,” but the Chinese literary world did not see it as the only object of emulation. Although there was a cautious approach, western classical litera-

3

People’s Literature Publishing House, 1953.

literary norms and the literary environment

23

ture (including Russian literature) was not entirely rejected. This can be seen as a different choice of “resources” in establishing contemporary literature by left-wing writers who had been influenced by nineteenth century western realist literature. In fact, during this period, works of western “classical literature” and literary theory were also systematically translated and published, surpassing the 1940s in both quantity and variety. Established in 1950 and belonging to the “socialist camp,” the World Peace Council annually selected and launched commemorative activities for a number of “famous people of world culture.” In the early 1950s, these included foreign writers such as Hugo, Gogol, Rabelais, Schiller, Mickiewicz, Hans Christian Andersen, Kalidasa, Heine, Dostoyevsky, Schopenhauer, Ibsen, Blake, and Longfellow. Without a doubt, the commemorative activities (commemorative conferences, publication of works in Chinese translation, and the publication of review essays) promoted the further translation and introduction of foreign literature. In July 1954, the Seventh Enlarged Meeting of the Presidium of the Chinese Writers Association passed a “reference book list for workers in literature and the arts studying political theory and classical literature,”4 and under the “Russian & Soviet Section” the 17 authors and 34 works found there included the fables of Krylov, the poetry of Pushkin and Lermontov, and the fiction of Tolstoy and Chekhov. Although these were said to be “famous works of classical literature,” the works of Gorky and Mayakovsky were included. The “Other Countries” section listed 67 works of literature, from the Chinese translations of Homer’s epics and the Greek tragedies to realist novels of the nineteenth century. In Translations and Literature & Arts Studies, periodicals founded by the Writers Association in 1954, aside from republishing translations and reviews of Soviet work, a good proportion of published translations were of western and Russian classical literature. During the ‘contemporary literature’ period, the Chinese and foreign cultural “heritage,” especially the attitude towards foreign literature, was

4 Published in the No. 5 issue of Literature & Arts Studies, 1954. “Explanations about this book list” pointed out that “the drawing up of this book list is meant to help workers in literature and the arts select reading material, and to facilitate self-study in a systematic and planned fashion.” It went on to say that “this is the first book list, and, when there is a future need, second and third lists will appear.” However, there were no further lists. In explaining why the listed literature was limited to “classical works,” the “explanation” stated “modern Chinese and foreign literary works, especially those of the Soviet Union, must, of course, be read by workers in literature and the arts, but, because these works can be selected by the comrades themselves, they have not been listed.”

24

chapter two

a sensitive and important issue. It can be seen that there was a defi nite limit to “reception,” especially that of western literature. In terms of time, the limited approval of foreign literature was primarily restricted to prenineteenth century literature, and, as far as creative methodology was concerned, “realism” was the gauge of measurement; moreover, these two yardsticks acted together as one. As to twentieth century foreign modern literature, only those works deemed “realist” and “progressive” (with “socialist tendencies”) were translated, such as those of England’s Shaw and Goldsworthy; France’s Roman Rolland, Barbusse, ValliantCouturier, Aragon, and Eluard; Sinclair, Twain, Steinbeck, Fast (before he announced his resignation from the Communist Party of America), and Maltz of the US; Guillien of Cuba; Neruda of Chile; Hikmet of Turkey; and Kurahara Korehito, Kobayashi Takiji, Tokunaga Sunao, and Miyamoto Yuriko of Japan. The so-called “modernism” of twentieth century western literature, authors and works that had similar ideological and artistic tendencies (in the 1950s, Chinese theorists termed these the “various schools of decadent literature of the period of decline of the twentieth century bourgeoisie of Europe and America”), and Soviet literature that departed from the road of “socialist realism” (work by Yesenin, Bulgakov, Gumilyov, Pasternak, Tsvetaeva, Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn, and so on) was condemned as being of an ideologically and artistically reactionary or corrupt tendency, and was not translated or recommended.5 As to why the works of twentieth century “modernist” writers were repudiated, Mao Dun offered the following explanation in ‹Occasional Notes on Night Reading›:6 the ideological source of the “modernists” (this literary movement used the term “new romanticism”) was in subjective idealism, its creative methodology was anti-realism, and it reflected the frenzied spiritual state of the decadent bourgeoisie and a subjective psychology of not having the courage to face reality; and through radically twisting the “outward appearance of things,” they gave vent to individual hallucinations and fantasies. Therefore, for readers of the socialist age and writers creating socialist literature alike, this literature was harmful and unworthy of emulation.

5

In 1957 during the period of “Hundred Flowers literature,” Translations published a number of poems from the French Symbolist poet Baudelaire’s collection The Flowers of Evil, as well as an essay by Aragon praising Baudelaire. Translations of Solzhenitsyn’s fiction were published as objects of criticism for “internal distribution” only. 6 In the Literature & Arts Press, 1958 Nos. 1, 2, 8, 10. A separately published book was put out by the Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House in 1959.

literary norms and the literary environment

25

In the 1950s and 1960s, works “worthy” of translation, reading, and emulation, were not necessarily of the same grade. “The ideological foundation of socialist realism is dialectical materialism and historical materialism” and is capable of revealing the essence of society, “pointing out ideal prospects,” naturally represents the highest stage of development in literature, and is superior to all literary creation known to humanity. In nineteenth century realism, Balzac was superior to Zola because the latter had a “naturalist” tendency, and this has deficiencies in revealing the “essence” of life. The approval of “writers of critical realism,” such as Thomas Mann and Goldsworthy, involved even more reservations, as a proletarian socialist movement had already appeared and the literature of socialist realism had become the most advanced literature as a result. Based on the number of recommended works of Russian and Soviet writers on the 1954 list of reference books for workers in literature and the arts, Gorky was number one with seven works, then Gogol (four), Pushkin, Turgenev, Tolstoy (all with three), and Dostoyevsky was not listed (although translations of his fiction existed). Among English “classical poets,” the “revolutionary” Shelley and Byron came in for praise, while Keats and Wordsworth were cold-shouldered: this value judgment found its source in Gorky’s differentiation between “active romanticism” and “passive romanticism.”7 The division into “grades” did not only appear among writers, but also extended to different works by the same author and the explication of such works. The degree of ideological and artistic “representativeness,” the degree of sympathy towards workers, and the degree to which the darkness of feudal and capitalist society was exposed, were all criterion often used in determining the value of “classical works.” During the 1950s and 1960s, the recommendation and “reception” of literary heritage was directly related to the state of contemporary ideological trends and literary campaigns. After the death of Stalin in 1953, Soviet literature entered what was termed a “thaw” period. At this time, internal arguments and conflicts between ideological and artistic

7 Gorky believed one “must clearly differentiate between the differing tendencies of the two extremes.” “Passive romanticism” “either glosses over reality, striving to make people come to terms with reality, or makes people escape from reality and sink into the profitless chasm of one’s internal world, and lapse into thoughts of the ‘mystery of human destiny,’ love and death.” But “active romanticism” “endeavors to strengthen the will to live in people, calling up their thoughts of resistance with regard to reality and all that oppresses in reality.” See How I Learned to Write, Three Federations Bookstore, 4th edition, 1954: 11–12.

26

chapter two

groupings in Soviet literature were exacerbated. However, China’s literary world was told little of this situation, and Ehrenburg’s The Thaw was not translated at the time. Only during the implementation of the “let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools contend” policy in 1956– 1957 was there a limited briefing on the situation, and this produced a direct influence on changes in China’s literature. At the time in China’s literary world, there appeared a train of thought skeptical of orthodox socialist realism theory and practice. However, by the second half of 1957, the efforts to change China’s literature met with defeat, and the translation and assessment of Soviet literature returned to the pervious high praises of the orthodox line. But this situation did not last long. In the late 1950s, Sino-Soviet relations ruptured, China launched a critique of “modern revisionism,” and the recommendations of Soviet literature began to cool. After the failures of the “Great Leap Forward” economic and literary experiments, in the early 1960s literature in China was politically and artistically “adjusted.” During this period, there was a corresponding stress on the introduction of the cultural heritage, only now there appeared an upsurge in the translation and publication of famous works of ancient Chinese literature and cultural and literary works of the west. The plan to publish a Chinese Translations of Famous Works of World Academia series, begun by the Commercial Press in the 1950s, continued to be carried out—“publishing classical academic works from before the birth of Marxism, at the same time appropriately introducing the representative works of every school of a defi nite contemporary stature”—until the eve of the “Cultural Revolution,” by which time two to three hundred works had been published in the series. The People’s Literature Publishing House also began to publish a series of a similar scale, the Famous Works of Foreign Classical Literature Series. Although some works of western philosophy and literature were only published for “internal distribution” as objects of criticism, at least there was the possibility of translation and publication. Philosophical works of existentialism and empiricism were the focal point of translation. Some “modernist” works were also selected for publication. There were some changes and adjustments in the treatment of the cultural heritage and foreign influences during the 1950s and 1960s, but the overall trend was a gradual drift towards self-imposed cultural isolation. By the eve of the “Cultural Revolution,” an ideological trend in favour of an “absolute break” with the “old culture” was already widespread, and the radicals’ impulse to build a utopia of “true proletarian literature” on a blank foundation had already begun to be put into practice.

literary norms and the literary environment

27

2. Periodicals and Literary Groups For reasons of politics, morals, religion, or social order, organs of the state and society have always used all manner of methods to regulate and control the writing, publication, and reading of literature. This situation exists in countries of differing social characters. In China between the 1950s and 1970s, the literary activities of a writer, including the author him or herself, were organized to a high degree. Moreover, the regulation and control by outside forces was gradually transformed into the “self-regulation” and “self-control” of those wished to continue writing. From the 1950s until the “Cultural Revolution,” the management of writers by the state was primarily realized through the organizations of the China Literature and Arts World Union and the Writers Association. These were also the only organizations for writers in China during the period. The China Literature Federation and the China Writers Association were both established in July 1949, with their original names China National Literature and Arts World Federation and the China National Literature Workers Association being changed in September 1953. The China Literature Federation employed a group membership system, each literature and arts association was a group member, and these included the Writers Association, the Dramatists Association, the Musicians Association, the Artists Association, and the Dancers Association. Guo Moruo was successively elected chairman of the China Literature Federation throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Among the organizations of writers and artists that made up the group members of the Literature Federation, the China Writers Association was the most important. Later, branches of the association were established in each province, each city directly under the central government, and each selfgoverning region. The bylaws of the Writers Association indicate that it is a “mass group voluntarily formed from China’s authors,” but, during this period, it was not purely an organization of such a nature. It was a coordinator and guarantor of an author’s creative activities, artistic exchanges, and legitimate rights and interests, but its more important functions were to exercise political and artistic leadership and control of a writer’s literary activities, and to guarantee that literary norms were implemented. The “validity” of the association was, on one hand, admittedly based on the famous writers and theoreticians among its leadership, but, on the other, it was also bestowed by political power. From its establishment until it ceased activities during the “Cultural Revolution,” its chair for successive terms was Mao Dun; Zhou Yang, Ding Ling, Feng Xuefeng, Ba Jin, Lao She, Ke Zhongping, Shao Quanlin, Liu Baiyu, and

28

chapter two

other served as vice-chairs. The core of power at the association was the “leading Party group.” The China Literature Federation and the Writers Association, under the leadership and subject to the direct intervention of the Party Central Committee and Mao Zedong, initiated and promoted a series of literary campaigns and critical struggles, and in each period advanced the ideological and artistic lines that writers and critics should adhere to. During the 1950s and 1960s, the China Literature Federation and the Writers Association often reached conclusions that had the nature of political rulings in the form of “resolutions” on literary works and issues. Famous examples include the November 1954 joint conference of the presidiums of the China Literary Union and the Writers Association that issued the ‹Resolution on the Literature & Arts Press›, the same organization passing a resolution on the Hu Feng issue in May 1955, and in the same year the leading Party groups of the Union and the Association issuing a resolution on the “small anti-party clique” of Ding Ling and Chen Qixia (this resolution was not made public at the time, or since). This methodology was a direct “inheritance” from the methods by which Stalin and Zhdanov controlled the literary and arts circles in the Soviet Union during the 1940s.8 In modern China, literary periodicals and supplements to newspapers have been of great importance to the development of literature. During the 1950s, literary periodicals were of particular importance, and there was a great increase in their number over the 1930s and 1940s. By 1959, throughout the country there were 89 periodicals for literature and the arts (not including the literary supplements of newspapers).9 Among these, the most important were those “official periodicals” operated by the China Literature Federation and the Writers Association, especially the Literature & Arts Press and People’s Literature.10 Later a succession of periodicals under the management of the Writers Asso8

For example, the August 1946 resolution by the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party (Bolshevik) on the two magazines Star and Leningrad, the resolution on the movie ‹A Splendid Life›, and the February 1948 resolution on the play ‹A Great Friendship›. See Literary and Artistic Issues in the Soviet Union, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1953. 9 See statistics in the Literature & Arts Press, No. 18, 1959. 10 During the preparatory period for the first literary representatives congress, a weekly edition of the Literature & Arts Press was published. At the start, the Paper was controlled by the China Literature Federation, but later it was given over to the Writers Association to manage for the Federation.

literary norms and the literary environment

29

ciation was established, including New Observations, Literature & Arts Studies, Poetry Monthly, and Nationalities Literature. People’s Literature and especially the Literature & Arts Press were the “battle front” from where literary and arts policies were announced, literary campaigns were promoted, and outstanding works were promoted. The controlling powers of these periodicals, consisting of the editors-in-chief and editorial committees, were the constituent parts of contemporary struggles in the world of literature and the arts: from changes in personnel, one could glimpse clues to the fierce struggles of the time.11 Aside from the periodicals listed above, other rather important periodicals of the period were Liberation Army Literature & Arts, Translations (World Literature), Literary Studies (Literary Reviews), Literature & Arts Monthly (Shanghai Literature), Harvest (Shanghai), Beijing Literature & Arts, Yangtse Literature & Arts (Wuhan), Yan River (Xi’an), New Port (Tianjin), and Works (Guangzhou). However, at a time when it was stipulated that literature have a united line, although there may have been a great increase in the quantity of periodicals, there was little possibility for many of them to develop their own individual character. Establishing a journal that possessed individual flair or represented a literary grouping was something some of China’s writers fought for, but for this they paid a high price, and, ultimately, failed. This was demonstrated in 1957 by the tentative plans of Ding Ling, Feng Xuefeng and others to establish a “fellow-travellers periodical,” by the planning and preparation of young writers in Jiangsu province for the periodical Seekers, and the display of individual character at the start of the Sichuan poetry periodical Stars. In a time of literary innovation, literary periodicals oft en have a great effect. During the “Hundred Flowers period” in 1956–1957, some of those responsible for the editing of journals such as the Literature & Arts Press, People’s Literature, and Literature & Arts Studies, such as Qin Zhaoyang, Zhong Dianfei, Xiao Qian, Tang Yin, Tang Dacheng, and Huang Qiuyun, made efforts in their journals to loosen contemporary rigid literary norms, and all failed.

11 In 1949, Hu Feng was enthusiastic about becoming editor-in-chief of the Literature & Arts Press, but this was not approved. In the first half of the 1950s, Ding Ling was succeeded by Feng Xuefeng in managing the editorial affairs of the Literature & Arts Press and People’s Literature. Both were later moved to other posts.

30

chapter two 3. Literary Criticism and Campaigns of Criticism

In the ‹Talks› Mao Zedong says, “One of the most important methods of struggle in the world of literature and the arts is literary criticism.” Between the 1950s and the 1970s, this was the most important, and at times the only, obligation of literary criticism. Under most circumstances, literary criticism was not an individualized or “scientific” explication of a text, nor was it an exercise in appreciation, but a means of “adjudication” embodying political intentions with regard to literary activities and opinions. It took on the duty of guaranteeing the establishment and implementation of norms, and to attack all that harms or weakens their authoritative position with regard to literary thought, creation, and activity. On one side, criticism was used to support and praise the writers and works that conformed to the norms, and on the other to raise warnings to those authors and works that to varying degrees deviated or exhibited deviant tendencies. This “function” of literary criticism was figuratively summarized by Mao Zedong as “watering flowers” and “weeding.”12 Between the 1950s and 1970s, in general none of the writers who were criticized by papers and periodicals had the right to defend their positions or creative work, much less the right to “counter criticism.”13 If the criticism touched on issues of important political tendencies or literary direction, it was inadmissible to raise a contrary opinion. Not only did criticism have an important affect, even that of “depriving or bestowing life or death,” but it also produced a massive impact on the whole of the literary world. During the 1950s, the criticisms of Chen Yimen (Ah Long), Xiao Yemu, Lu Ling, Cai Qijiao, Li Helin, Wu Yan (Wang Changding), and others, were examples of this. When Mao Zedong and the powers-that-be in the literary world believed the “mistake” of a writer, a work, an ideological trend, or a phenomenon in literature was of a serious nature, and produced a challenge to the authority of the literary line, the criticism of them might evolve

12 See ‹On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People›, in The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, vol. 5, People’s Publishing House, 1977: 388–394. 13 On specific instances, such as from 1956 until the latter half of 1957, argument over differing opinions had a limited possibility to come into being. Otherwise, in the early 1950s, when Lu Ling’s fiction was criticized, the Literary & Arts Paper published a long response by him in the form of ‹Why This Type of Criticism?› (see nos. 1–3, 1955 of said journal). However, the publication of Lu Ling’s essay was part of preparations for larger scale criticism of him and Hu Feng.

literary norms and the literary environment

31

into a large-scale campaign of criticism. In such an instance, from the top down on a national scale, a large number of essays would be called for and organized; an all-encompassing “punitive expedition” would be undertaken against the object of criticism, creating immense momentum. Among the famous campaigns of this nature was the criticism of the movie ‹The Story of Wu Xun›, that of the “Dream of the Red Chamber research” of Yu Pingbo and Hu Shi, the condemnation of the Hu Feng “counter-revolutionary clique,” the “anti-rightist campaign” in the world of literature and the arts, and the struggle against Zhou Yang’s “black line in literature and the arts” during the “Cultural Revolution.” The larger part of these campaigns of criticism went beyond the scope of “literature.” However, in an age that pursued the “art-ification” of political activities and daily life and the politicization of literature, the occurrence of such a situation was unavoidable, especially in 1958 after it was proposed that literature and the arts were the “barometer of class struggle.”14 On standards of literary criticism, although in the ‹Talks› Mao Zedong acknowledged that literary criticism “is a complicated issue, requiring much specialized study,” he still proposed that it should abide by “basic critical standards,” and divided those into “political standards” and “artistic standards.” The relationship between the two was of the political standards being “number one” and the artistic “number two.” The concrete meanings of political and artistic standards would change according to circumstances, but the political standpoint exhibited by a work, the political utility of a work, and whether the creative methodology upheld “socialist realism” (or a combination of revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism) were frequently important factors in making such determinations. At the time, these standards of literary criticism were frequently manifested in questions about whether the “truth” or “essence” of life had been written, or whether the “law of historical development” had been displayed. However, whether a work reflected the “truth” of life’s “essence” was often impossible to verify and led to arguments because of temporal and personal differences. Therefore, any “conclusion” on whether the “truth” and “essence” had been written (or distorted), ultimately could only be proclaimed by the possessors of political and literary power.

14 Zhou Yang ‹A Great Debate on the Battle Lines of Literature and the Arts› in People’s Daily, 28 February 1958.

32

chapter two

Between the 1950s and 1970s, the relationship between readers of literature and literary writing and activities was fairly complex. When literary criticism led into the concept of the “reader,” it generally did not have meaning as an independent entity, but acted as an extension of authoritative criticism. The introduction of the “reader” was meant to strengthen the “validity” of the criticism. Therefore, at the time, in most circumstances the “reader” was a construct, a concept not to be concretely analyzed. Literary criticism did not acknowledge that readers of literature could be differentiated into different groups or circles, that differing social groups could have differing cultural needs, and therefore did not acknowledge literature that belonged to different groups. This was meant to cause the elimination of the multiplicity of trends in thought, artistic styles, and artistic tastes, and guarantee the movement toward “integration.” Authoritative criticism often used “the masses” and “readers” (especially “worker, farmer, and soldier readers”) to embrace a group of readers who had identical ideological outlooks and artistic tastes, and that in fact did not exist. Authoritative criticism would use the “reader” construct under several circumstances. Most frequently, the opinions of the necessary portion of readers were collected and processed, other discordant views were edited out or revised, and then a vague term such as “the reading public” would be used. Another method was to write what one wished and then to claim that the endresult was a letter or manuscript from a “reader.”15 This method was widely used on the eve of and during the “Cultural Revolution.” Another important phenomenon was that the literary environment of the time also moulded the reader’s modes of experiencing and reacting to literature, simultaneously nurturing a “reader” who was good at divining the prevailing political currents and responding to authoritative criticism. Every time a major event or a polemic occurred in literary world circles, this “reader” was always able to write the appropriate letter or essay in support of mainstream opinion, and was a constituent part of normative power in the literary world. The main function of the normative system in literature, including literary criticism, was to undertake continuous monitoring and assess-

15 An early example was published in vol. 4 no. 5 of the Literature & Arts Press (June 1951). A letter from “reader Li Dingzhong” that harshly criticised Xiao Yemu’s short story ‹Between This Husband and Wife› and the editorial comments supportive of the letter, and published together with it, were all written by the editor-in-chief at the time, Feng Xuefeng.

literary norms and the literary environment

33

ment of the writing of authors and the circulation of literary works. This assessment gradually turned into the self-assessment and self-control of the writer and reader, before finally producing a sensitive “subject” fitted to literary norms, which is good at self-criticism and self-examination. The production of this “subject” is the foundation of the structure of contemporary literary power. Aside from the large quantity of essays and treatises surrounding literary polemics and campaigns of criticism, there were other fruits of the literary criticism of this period worthy of attention, such as the debate surrounding the characteristics of various literary styles and the criticism and explication of authors and their work. There were the critiques of short stories and the writing of them by Mao Dun, Wei Jinzhi, among others; reviews of new poetry writing and issues by He Qifang and Bian Zhilin; critiques of novels by Wang Xiyan, Hou Jinjing, and Huang Qiuyun; analysis of dramatic art and characterization in Cao Yu’s ‹Thunderstorm› by Qian Gurong; Zhong Dianfei’s reviews of cinematic art; and Yan Jiayan’s critique of A History of Pioneering Work by Liu Qing, and much more.16

4. The Change in the Overall Nature of Writers At the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, the configuration of society in China underwent a massive “structural change,” and literature was no exception. The large-scale replacement of writers and groups of writers, and the shift in their positions, was an important fact of this period. In the history of literature, this sort of situation often occurs during a period of politico-social change (such as a change in governing powers) when a big shift appears in the direction of literature (such as the “literary revolution” at the beginning of the twentieth century in China). Some important writers of the 1940s were quickly “marginalized,” and those writers continuing in the tradition of Yan’an entered a “central” position in the literature of this period. 16 For more of these results see Mao Dun’s Advocacy Collection, Advocacy Collection Continued, and Miscellaneous Notes on Reading; He Qifang’s On Writing and Reading Poetry and Poetry Appreciation; Wei Jinzhi’s Personal Essays on Literature and the Arts and Collection of Talks on Writing and More; Huang Qiuyun’s Moss and Flower Collection and Ancient and Modern Collection; Selected Writings of Hou Jinjing on Literature and the Arts; Sun Li’s Literary and Artistic Studies and Brief Essays on Literature and the Arts; and Yan Jiayan’s Knowing Spring Collection.

34

chapter two

The changes and shifts in positions of writers during the 1950s were the result of the typological delineation of authors and literary groups begun in the late 1940s by the left-wing literary powers to establish a “new direction for literature.” The “marginalization” of a number of “1940s writers” came about in a number of ways. One was that the “rights” of some authors to write were restricted to varying degrees. This situation happened more often to writers termed “reactionary writers” or “liberal writers” during the late 1940s. After Shen Congwen was criticized and excluded from the first literary representatives congress, the university at which he taught did not rehire him, and he later undertook research into cultural relics. Originally, Qian Zhongshu was more than willing to devote himself to writing fiction, but there were difficulties in doing so, and he spent the rest of his life researching ancient Chinese literature.17 Other writers to be severely restricted in their writing were Zhu Guangqian, Fei Ming, Xiao Qian, Li Jianwu, Shi Tuo, Chen Mengjia, and Wu Xinghua. Writers active during the 1940s, such as Mu Dan, Zheng Min, Du Yunxie, Cheng Jingrong, and Wang Xindi, were deliberately cold-shouldered, leading them to “voluntarily disappear.”18 For those writers whose creative output was restricted, generally there was little difficulty with them entering research organizations or taking up positions as university professors. This demonstrates that literary creation was a more important, more sensitive area of “ideology,” and further demonstrates the change in the relationship between literary circles and universities and research organizations. The importance of literary creation to universities during the first half of the twentieth century was weakened, and the “institutional tradition” was held suspect and was subject to restrictions. Another changed situation was the increased self-consciousness of a writer’s own literary opinions, life experience, and artistic methods and the distance and conflicts between these and the literary norms, which 17 In 1957, after Qian Zhongshu had completed Notes on a Song Poetry Selection, he wrote a poem in the classical style that expressed his regret at being unable to exhibit his talent and interest in writing: “Writing in the morning, writing at night, detailed notations / poetry rhymes cause pain, dare not seek public favor / the blue sea controls the whales, leaving this hand at leisure / only allowing a sparse mortise, not a clearing of mud.” See Yang Jiang ‹I’ll Drink Tea›, Three Federations Bookstore, (Beijing), 1987: 137–138. 18 Between the 1950s and 1970s, none of the books on literary history, new poetry anthologies, or books on history of the development of new poetry in China mentioned these poets or their poetry. [These poets were latterly placed in a grouping called the Nine Leaves. (Translator’s note.)]

literary norms and the literary environment

35

led to efforts to give up writing or to respond to the call of the “times,” to catch up to the zeitgeist. During the early 1950s, the writers of new literature since the “May Fourth” period exhibited a general tendency toward self-examination. They criticized their own past literary practices: “there were mistakes in observations and analyses of the contemporary revolutionary situation, appraisals of the future of the revolution were pessimistic,” and the “pessimistic, hopeless” mood at the time of writing caused [me] to neglect the existence and necessary development of “characterizations of the positive type” (from Mao Dun’s discussion of Eclipse); “the 27 sonnets written in 1941 were influenced by western bourgeoisie literature and art, and their form and content was artificial” (Feng Zhi on his Sonnet Collection); “there was no foundation of historical materialism, no understanding of the revolutionary power of the land of our ancestors, yet [I] rashly took so-called ‘righteous feeling’ as the mainstay of [my] thought and wrote ‘naïve,’ ‘absurd’ works (Cao Yu on ‹Thunderstorm› and other plays); the “content was mostly some minor personal, emotional responses, superficial and unnecessary. The life [this work] reflected, no matter how one looks at it, was multifarious, a close look revealing it had nothing to do with the main theme,” and even “now, I almost dare not reread the work that was published before liberation” (Lao She on his fiction).19 The issues touched on here were the crux of “self-examination.” By way of study, remolding, and familiarity with the “new life,” they hoped to master the new objects of their literary expression, grasp the new artistic methods, and create works that would have a “clear conscience when faced with [this] great age.” During the 1950s or throughout the period of “seventeen years” after 1949, Guo Moruo, Ba Jin, Lao She, Cao Yu, Feng Zhi, Ai Qing, Tian Jian, Zang Kejia, Xia Yan, Tian Han, Zhang Tianyi, Zhou Libo, Sha Ting, Ai Wu, Bian Zhilin, Luo Binji, and others all made numerous efforts in this direction. But the relationship between the majority of these writers and the creative notions and methods stipulated by the “new direction in literature and the arts” remained tense, as they found it difficult to mix in or find harmony with the new age. Being unable to continue with their original creative line and finding it difficult to write

19 The self-examinations of writers active since “May Fourth” was part of the thought reform campaign among intellectuals and the rectification of literature and the arts, and is witnessed by their essays published in the Literature & Arts Press, Enlightenment Daily, People’s Daily, and other periodicals, as well as in the prefaces and postscripts of selections and anthologies of their “old work.”

36

chapter two

works that fully realized the “new direction,” many of these writers, and their artistic lives, were already finished upon entry into the 1950s. Of course, as an embodiment of a literary “tradition,” their influence continued into the 1950s and 1960s and produced an important constraint on the course of literary development. The contemporary “run off ” of the writers active since “May Fourth” had yet another cause: namely that of their being targets of attack during the political and literary campaigns of the 1950s, which led to their expulsion from literary circles, and often to imprisonment or death. Hu Feng, Lu Ling, Lu Li, Niu Han, Lu Yuan, Lü Ying, Feng Xuefeng, Ai Qing, Ding Ling, Xiao Qian, Xiao Jun, Wu Zuguang, Li Changzhi, Mu Dan, Xu Maoyong, Shi Zhecun, Fu Lei, and many others were among such writers.

5. The Cultural Dispositions of ‘Core Writers’ After entry into the 1950s, another group of writers—more fitted to, more reflective of the mainstream in literature—became the major powers in creative writing and occupied the central positions in literary circles. Based on authoritative literary reviews of this period and generalized appraisals of creative writing at literary representatives congress, the following list is a record of the major writers and literary works of the period:20 Fiction Liu Qing (A History of Pioneering Work), Zhao Shuli (Sanliwan), Du Pengcheng (Defend Yan’an), Liang Bin (Composition of the Red Flag), Wu Qiang (Red Sun), Yang Mo (Song of Youth), Zhou Libo (Great Change in the Hills and Countryside), Qu Bo (Tracks in the Snowy Forest), Luo Guangbin & Yang Yiyan (Red Crag), Ouyang Shan (Bitter Struggle), Feng Deying (Bitter Cauliflower), Zhou Erfu (Morning in Shanghai), Chen Dengke (Wind and Thunder), Hao Ran (Bright Sunny Skies), 20 The following list of representative writers and works of the major literary forms is primarily reliant on reports on the literature of each period given at the second and third literary representatives congresses, reviews published in the Literature & Arts Press and other periodicals, summarizing essays in literary circles in 1959 assessing the record during “the ten years since the nation’s establishment,” and a list created at the time by the People’s Literature Publishing House entitled “outstanding literature since the establishment of the nation.”

literary norms and the literary environment

37

Wang Wenshi (Nights of Wind and Snow), Ma Feng (My First Superior), Jun Qing (‹Riverbank at Dawn›), Li Zhun (Tale of Li Shuangshuang), Wang Yuanjian (‹Party Fees›), Ru Zhijuan (‹Lilies›), Hu Wanchun (Who are the Creators of Miracles); Poetry Guo Xiaochuan (‹To Young Citizens›), He Jingzhi (‹Song of Lei Feng›), Li Ji (Yumen Poetry Chapbook), Wen Jie (Pastorals of Mount Tianshan), Li Ying, Yan Zhen, Liang Shangquan, Zhang Yongmei, Gu Gong, and other young poets; Prose Yang Shuo (‹First Branch of the Eastern Wind›), Liu Baiyu (Red Agate Collection), Qin Mu (‹Flower City›), Wei Wei (Who’s the Most Loveable Person›); Drama Lao She (‹Teahouse›), Cao Yu (‹Bright Skies›), Guo Moruo (‹Cai Wenji›), Tian Han (‹Guan Hanqing›), Hu Ke (‹Growing Up In Battle›), Chen Qitong (‹Myriad Rivers and Mountains›), Shen Ximeng (‹Sentry beneath Neon Lights›), Cong Shen (‹We Must Never Forget›). During the seventeen years after 1949, theoretical criticism and explication of government policy was difficult to differentiate from “adjudication” of the value of writers and literary works. For this reason, critics often had a second role as leaders in literary circles. Zhou Yang, Mao Dun, Shao Quanlin, Lin Mohan, He Qifang, Zhang Guangnian, Chen Huangmei, Feng Mu, Li Xifan, and Yao Wenyuan were among the most active critics during this period, and several of them also held positions in literary power structures. Overall, writers from the liberated areas (including those who moved to the areas and those who matured there) and young writers who began writing in the post-1949 period formed the bulk of the writers of this period. Of course, not all the writers belonging to these two groupings were able to enter this “formation.” Aside from factors such as individual ideological and artistic qualities, these writers were “screened” by the yardstick of the “new direction in literature and the arts.” In the “great debate” over the direction of literature and literary norms during the 1950s, Ai Qing, Ding Ling, Chen Qixia, Xiao Jun, Cai Qijiao, Qin Zhaoyang, Luo Feng, and Zhong Dianfei were among those “writers from liberated areas” expelled from the literary scene, and Wang Meng, Liu Binyan, Gong Liu, Shao Yanxiang, Liu Shaotang, Gao Xiaosheng, and Lu Wenfu were among young writers who suffered the same fate. New characteristics emerged in the “cultural disposition” of the “core writers” of the 1950s and 1960s listed above. First, with regard to place

38

chapter two

of birth, life experience, and materials drawn into their work, there occurred a shift from the southeastern seaboard to the northwest and the central plains. Many of the pre-1949 writers had a “background” out of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces (Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Bing Xin, Ye Shengtao, Zhu Ziqing, Yu Dafu, Mao Dun, Xu Zhimo, Xia Yan, Ai Qing, Dai Wangshu, Qian Zhongshu, Mu Dan, Lu Ling, and so on) and Sichuan and Hunan provinces (Guo Moruo, Ba Jin, Ding Ling, Zhou Libo, He Qifang, Sha Ting, Ai Wu, and so on). On the other hand, the background and the major areas of activity of the “core writers” of the 1950s and 1960s were primarily concentrated in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, and Shandong provinces, in other words the areas known during the 1940s as “Jin-Cha-Ji,” “Shaan-Gan-Ning,” and “Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu.” This shift in “geography” was related to the choice of direction in literature. It manifested the tilt from a relative stress on knowledge, talent, and the literati tradition, to a stress on political consciousness and socio-political life experience, and a change from the previous attention given to urbanites and intellectuals to a stress on the lives of farmers. Th is would provide opportunities to observe contradictions in the process of “modernization” in China in areas overlooked by modern literature and to develop new aesthetic sentiments, not only with regard to cities and towns, but also the villages on the banks of the Yellow River, and the lives, psychology, and desires of farmers. Also worthy of notice is that for the majority of the “core writers” of this period writing and participation in left-wing literary activities were two aspects of the same thing: Literature was seen as a unique mode of serving the revolution. They maintained a high level of vigilance with regard to concepts about the independence and autonomy of literature, believing that writing cannot be differentiated from political activities and participation in society. They universally believed that, relying on an “advanced world outlook,” a writer was able to accurately recognize and master the “essence” and “laws” of the processes of objective life and the life of humanity; and that the literature and revolution they practiced were precisely the realization and explication of these developing laws. Therefore, an “essentialized” fallacious state of affairs did not exist, nor could there be any mysterious, unknowable sphere. A clear sense of purpose and an optimistic spirit were the necessary foundations of their work. The “cultural accomplishments” of the writers of this period had a different emphasis than the pre-1949 modern writers. Many of the latter had experienced a systematic education (either through traditional private tuition or new-style schools), and several had studied in Europe,

literary norms and the literary environment

39

North America, or Japan and had a good understanding of traditional culture and western literature. No matter what attitude they held toward traditional culture and western literature, this sort of deep-seated accomplishment furnished possibilities for developing the scope and depth of personal experience and artistic synthesis. For the most part, the “core writers” of the 1950s and 1960s did not have much education and were comprehensively ill-prepared as writers. Their life experience was centered on the countryside, the wars, and the revolutionary movement, and in their later life and writing, they utilized varied methods to offset cultural deficiencies and to guarantee that their writing achieved a certain standard. However, this did not fundamentally alter the situation. This led to difficulties in attaining necessary ideological and artistic lessons and reference points, and traditionally “difficult issues” (such as transforming life experience into literary works, and the ability to fictionalize and configure artistically) were even more difficult to surmount. As they had already rejected many of the traditional “resources” of writing, after the rapid exhaustion of their limited life and emotional experiences, continued development in their writing became another difficulty. Suddenly, the writer of the “high tide” in literature becoming the “finished” “one-book author” became a widespread phenomenon in contemporary literature. Du Pengcheng, Yang Mo, Liang Bin, Qu Bo, and Wei Wei were of this type. Between the 1950s and 1970s, literature was seen as lofty, an “enterprise” unrelated to financial and commercial interests. Writers were honored as “engineers of the human soul,” and their works as “textbooks of life.” Mao Zedong’s literary positions and those of left-wing literature in China all possessed a strong desire to preserve the purity of “spiritual products.” This understanding was related to the special modes of writing, dissemination, and reading of “liberated areas literature” in the 1940s. However, writers also needed the basic sureties of life, and under the contemporary economic system, the publication and sale of literary works could not be entirely free of market constraints. So, in this period an author’s economic income was still an important part of their “mode of existence.” As all writers were attached to an organizational structure (as national “cadre”), and all collected fixed salaries, “freelance writers” in the actual sense of the term did not exist. Even if a writer had not published anything for a long time, there were no worries about life. Aside from salary, contribution fees (royalties were phased out during the 1950s) were still the primary source of income for contemporary writers. Contribution fees (for original work and translation) were paid as standard rates per one thousand written characters. The size of print-runs

40

chapter two

and the number of editions of a literary work had little relation to a writer’s income; there was no obvious economic difference between a bestseller and a non-bestseller. Moreover, during the seventeen years after 1949, the standard contribution fee rate was lowered several times. Despite this, during this period, when compared from an economic standpoint with other trades, literary creation was still a very alluring profession. This was a difference with the 1930s and 1940s, when some writers were unable to live off publication fees and maintain decent living conditions. Therefore, during the 1960s, because of the then prevalent egalitarian trend of thought (expressed in contemporary theory as “criticism of bourgeoisie rights”), writers were one of the main targets of so-called “three famous and three high” accusations—the “high salaries, high contribution fees, high bonuses” of “famous writers, famous actors, famous professors.”21 During this period, there was a close relationship between literature and politics; the position of literature in socio-political life was considerably higher than it had been during the 1930s and 1940s. Well-known authors were often entrusted with political posts or titles, such as representative, committee member, or minister of all forms of social groups, government organizations, all levels of the organs of power (such as the People’s representative assemblies), and political consultative organizations (such as the Political Consultative Conference). Th is sort of appointment, though often only honorary, was an obvious reward. Moreover, literary organs themselves also erected graded systems modeled on those of political power, providing all manner of posts for allocation. Aside from the reputation and real benefits that came from writing literature, the benefits accrued through positions of political power became ever more important. Of course, these types of political and economic positions for writers were not stable. Socio-political position and money could all be lost if there were any display of divergence from, rebellion against, or challenge to the prevalent literary line or direction. The usual methods of punishment were: expulsion from the Writers Association (at this time meaning the loss of the right to publish); demotion and reduction in salary; “transfer down” to work in a factory or in farming; discharge from public employ (loss of fixed profession); and even imprisonment or “reform through labor.”

21 All of which led to a “decadent bourgeoisie lifestyle.” This criticism was a sociopolitical phenomenon on the eve of and during the “Cultural Revolution.”

CHAPTER THREE

CONTRADICTIONS AND CONFLICTS

1. Frequent Campaigns of Criticism After “May Fourth,” there were complex contradictions and conflicts between the various literary opinions and groups. From the late-1920s, the political thinking behind these conflicts and their background in political groups became more prominent, and the scale and fierceness of literary arguments grew. After 1949, struggles in literary circles increased. Due to the dominant role of politics, the character and methods of these conflicts and arguments often evolved into large-scale campaigns of criticism unique to the times. Between the 1950 and 1962, six major nation-wide campaigns of criticism1 occurred in China’s literary and artistic circles: 1. The criticism of the movie ‹The Tale of Wu Xun› (1950–1951) Written and directed by Sun Yu, ‹The Tale of Wu Xun› dealt with the “initial poverty and later establishment of schools” by the poor farmer Wu Xun in Tangyi county in Shandong province at the end of the Qing dynasty. The film had originally gone into production at the China Film Production Corporation in 1948, but was interrupted for various reasons. In early 1949, the Shanghai Kunlun Production Company bought the film that had already been shot and the rights to continue fi lming. After a complete rewrite of the script and reshooting, the film opened across the country at the end of 1950. In the beginning, although questions were raised about some sections of the film, the majority of review articles in papers and periodicals was full of praise. Mao Zedong believed this situation was a reflection of the ideological “confusion” in China’s

1 Originally, there was little obvious difference in meaning in the modern Chinese language between the two terms “piping” and “pipan” [both meaning “to criticize/criticism”]. However, in contemporary China, they took on very different meanings: “pipan” taking on the meaning of harsh criticism of severely mistaken discourse or action. [Where necessary “pipan” has been translated as “critical attack.” Translator’s note]

42

chapter three

intellectual and artistic circles. He participated in the composition and revision of the People’s Daily social commentary ‹We Should Pay Attention to the Discussion of the Movie “The Tale of Wu Xun”› (20 May 1950),2 which initiated a campaign of criticism. The article was meant as a “signal” to writers and intellectuals, indicating that they should reform their thought and maintain unanimity with the political direction established by the state. Mao’s criticism of this film seems to share a similar theoretical basis as that which Marx and Engels leveled on the historical play ‹Franz von Sickingen› by Lassalle. The criticism of ‹The Tale of Wu Xun› touched on two theoretical issues: one was the legitimacy of a different explication of “history,” and the second dealt with the “rhetorical” nature of literary creation and the author’s “power to fabricate.” At the time, there were no possibilities of questioning the basis of any such criticism. Toward the end of the campaign of criticism, Zhou Yang wrote a lengthy summarizing essay: ‹An Anti-People, Anti-Historical Ideology, and Anti-Realist Art›.3 At the same time, a Wu Xun Historical Research Group was established and sent to the area of his birth and activities in Shandong to make inquiries, the results of which were later published in serialized form under the title ‹Notes on Historical Research into Wu Xun›.4 2. Criticism of the work of Xiao Yemu and others (1951) This campaign was primarily focused on ‹Between This Husband and Wife› and other fiction by Xiao Yemu. Other works to be criticized around this time for similar “problems” were the novels Fight Till Tomorrow (by Bai Ren) and Our Power is Invincible (Bi Ye), and the movie ‹Company Commander Guan›. The problem with ‹Between This Husband and Wife› was that it “distorted and mocked the workers, farmers, and soldiers,” “catered to the low tastes of urban petty bourgeois,” and that it was used as a banner to oppose the ‘workers, farmers, and

2 The portion that was largely composed and revised by Mao Zedong was republished as an essay on literary and artistic issues in the People’s Daily on 26 May 1967, and later collected in vol. 5 of The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, People’s Publishing House, 1977. 3 People’s Daily, 8 August 1950. 4 People’s Daily, 23–28 August 1950.

contradictions and conflicts

43

soldiers’ political direction of Mao Zedong.5 In short, these criticisms were meant to safeguard the literary norms established by the first literary representatives congress. 3. Criticism of Yu Pingbo’s Dream of the Red Chamber Studies and of Hu Shi (1954–1955) In 1952, after editing and revisions, Yu Pingbo re-released his 1923 book, Interpretations of Dream of Red Mansions, as Dream of the Red Chamber Studies. During this time, he also wrote other reviews and scholarly articles on the Qing dynasty novel Dream of the Red Chamber. The young critics Li Xifan and Lan Ling criticized Yu Pingbo’s opinions and research methods in ‹Concerning “A Short Study of the Dream of the Red Chamber,” and Other Views› and other articles. When their article was first written, there were some twists and turns, but eventually it was published in their university’s Literature History Philosophy journal (no. 9, 1954, Shandong University). When the Literature & Arts Press was directed to reprint the article, the accompanying note written by editor-in-chief Feng Xuefeng displayed a lukewarm attitude (“the opinions of the writers are in places obviously neither thorough enough nor complete enough, but their way of understanding the Dream of the Red Chamber is still fundamentally correct”). All this became the basis for Mao Zedong to initiate another campaign of criticism. On 16 October 1954, he wrote a letter to Central Committee and Political Bureau members stating that Li and Lan’s essay was “the first serious attack in thirty years on the mistaken opinions of so-called authoritative Dream of the Red Chamber writers,” and he proposed the launch of an anti-“Hu Shi group bourgeois idealism struggle.”6 The focus of the criticism of the campaign against the ideas of Hu Shi was not limited to literature, but included the areas of political science, philosophy, history, and educational studies. Guo Moruo’s recorded conversation with an Enlightenment

5 See Ding Ling ‹Looking on it as a Tendency—A Letter to Comrade Xiao Yemu›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 8 (July 1951). 6 Mao Zedong ‹Letter on the Dream of the Red Chamber Research Issue›. This letter was not published at the time, but its important points were passed on via an article checked and approved by Mao: ‹Questions of the Editors of Literature & Arts Press› (Yuan Shuipai, People’s Daily, 28 October 1954). During the “Cultural Revolution,” on 27 May 1967, the letter was published in the People’s Daily and Liberation Daily, and later collected in The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, vol. 5.

44

chapter three

Daily reporter on 8 November 1954 and Zhou Yang’s long essay ‹We Must Fight› were calls for the mobilization of cultural and academic circles to throw themselves into the serious struggle between “Marxist-Leninist thought and bourgeois idealism.” At the time, papers and periodicals published a large number of critical essays by famous writers and academics.7 Between 31 October 1954 and 8 February 1955, the presidiums of the National Literature Federation and the China Writers Association held eight enlarged conferences at which there was discussion and criticism of the “bourgeois idealism” in Dream of the Red Chamber research and the mistakes of the Literature & Arts Press. The China Science Institute and the China Writers Association also held a joint conference and organized special topic criticism groups, which wrote critical essays. 4. Critical Attacks on the Hu Feng Clique (1955) The contradictions between Hu Feng and his associates and the internal mainstream group of left-wing literature were long-standing. The critical attacks of 1955 were a continuation and development of this conflict. In the beginning they were kept within the scope of literary and artistic thought, but later became a “political issue.” Hu Feng and his followers and sympathizers were seen to constitute a “counter-revolutionary clique.” Mao Zedong wrote the preface and many of the commentaries for Materials on the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique.8

7 Between March 1955 and April 1956, the Three Federations Bookstore (Beijing) published eight volumes, amounting to over two million characters, of Critiques of Hu Shi Thought, which collected the essays of this campaign. Other publishing houses put out similar “critical collections.” Prime among contributors of critical essays were: Sun Dingguo, Li Da, Hou Wailu, Rong Mengyuan, Pan Zinian, Peng Baishan, Li Shu, Feng Youlan, Ren Jiyu, Wang Ruoshui, Ai Siqi, He Lin, Jin Yuelin, Chen Renbing, Li Changzhi, You Guo’en, Lu Kanru, Feng Yuanjun, Luo Genze, Wang Yuanhua, Chen Zhongfan, Feng Zhi, Wang Yao, Huang Yaomian, He Qifang, Yiqun, Hua Gang, Zhong Jingwen, Liu Dajie, Xia Nai, Fan Wenlan, Ji Wenfu, Gao Heng, Tong Shuye, Luo Ergang, Jian Bozan, Zhou Yiliang, Chen Weimo, Chen Heqin, Chen Yousong, Zheng Tianting, Luo Changpei, Qian Duansheng, Yu Pingbo, and Gao Yihan among many others. The numbers involved were truly remarkable. Some of the collected essays of criticism manifest a serious “academic” attitude, others were crude and cutting attempts to carry out the party line, and still others were insincere efforts, avoiding important issues and dwelling on the trivial. 8 In early 1955, Shu Wu handed over 34 letters Hu Feng had written to him. On 13 May, People’s Daily published them together with Hu Feng’s ‹My Self-Criticism›, stating that Hu Feng constituted an “anti-party clique.” On 24 May and 10 June, the same newspaper published 135 letters of Hu Feng and his followers, and called Hu Feng and these individuals a “counter-revolutionary clique.”

contradictions and conflicts

45

5. The anti-rightist campaign in literature and arts circles, and critical attacks on the “anti-party clique” of Ding Ling, Feng Xuefeng, and others (1957) This campaign, together with struggle against Hu Feng and his associates, was the most important event in literary circles during the 1950s. After this, in the late-1950s and early-1960s, there were further critical attacks on bourgeoisie theories of human nature and humanism. The prime targets of these attacks and the key articles they authored were: a. Qian Gurong ‹On “Literature is the Study of Humanity”› (Literature & Arts Monthly, no. 9, 1956); b. Ba Ren ‹On Human Feeling› (New Port, no. 1, 1957); c. Wang Shuming ‹On Human Feeling and Human Nature› (New Port, no. 7, 1957) and ‹Notes Concerning Problems of Human Nature› (Literary Reviews, no. 3, 1960); and, d. Li Helin ‹A Small Problem with Critical Literary Theory of the Past Ten Years› (Hebei Daily, 8 January 1960), among other articles. 6. Eighth Session of the Tenth Congress of the Communist Party of China In September 1962, at the eighth session of the tenth congress of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong proposed: “come what may, we must never forget class struggle.” Beginning in 1963, a full-scale campaign of criticism started in areas such as philosophy, history, economics, and literature and the arts. Prime targets of criticism included Yang Xianzhen and his “two combine into one theory,” Jian Bozan and this “strategy of making concessions,” Zhou Gucheng and his “convergence theory of the spirit of the age,” Shao Quanlin and his “theory on writing ‘middle characters,’ ” as well as opinions on economics by Sun Yefang, and opinions on historiography by Luo Ergang. A large quantity of literature and works of art first published or exhibited in the 1950s was also subject to critical attacks at this time (including fiction, drama, and films). These campaigns of criticism were harbingers (or “preludes”) to the “Cultural Revolution.” The ten years of the “Cultural Revolution” amounted to one continuous campaign of critical attacks on culture. Political struggle and critical attacks riddled this period of nearly thirty years in literary circles. Differences and splits in literary opinions, artistic tendencies, and creative methodology were all handled as real “political problems,” and seen as manifestations of conflicts and tests of strength between opposing classes and political powers. Argument

46

chapter three

and criticism had increasingly less relation to “scientific principles,” and the opposing side lost their rights to hold opinions and defend them; furthermore, there was the frequent occurrence of methods of “practicing crimes and playing power games.” Campaigns of criticism of this mode could only occur in a literary environment that not only relied on the self-regulation of literature, but also on the intervention of political power to establish an “integrated” literary confi guration. The majority of these struggles and campaigns was directly initiated, or were personally supported, by Mao Zedong. This was an expression of the great emphasis of the time on ideological issues. Actions and measures as they related to literature, as well as the direction of literature itself, touched on overall designs for “cultural strategy” (undertaking a continuous “cultural revolution,” and establishing a “new culture” suited to the economic basis of socialism). Of course, the contradictions, conflicts, and campaigns of criticism in literary and arts circles encompassed other complex elements. These conflicts were the result of the extension into “contemporary times” of long-existing differences of opinion and group interests within China’s new literature circles (in particular that of leftwing literature). Amid these seemingly continuous campaigns, there were also brief respites, such as 1952–1953, 1956–1957, and 1961–1962. During these breaks, there were adjustments in literary opinions and political strategies. Opinions, creative trends, and artistic methods that had been subject to critical attack could be reformulated and raised again in different forms. Strict controls could be somewhat loosened, and there was the possibility of compromise, which allowed attempts to establish “nonmainstream” literary opinions. However, this would be quickly destroyed by an even larger-scale campaign, the opinions and methods of which would herald the advent of an even more acute situation. In these campaigns, although not all writers were targets of attacks, the scope of their effects was all encompassing, raising powerful restrictions and controls on choices and norms with regard to the thought, art, and actions of all writers. As to writing, these campaigns sought the destruction of the “bourgeois” literary concept that writing was the free expression of an individual emotional or psychological state, the destruction of the confi dence of the “individual” writer in self-knowledge and personal experience, and the destruction of the legitimacy of freely chosen methods of expressing knowledge and experience.

contradictions and conflicts

47

2. The Continuation of Internal Contradictions Within Left-Wing Literature The conflicts within literary circles during this period were initiated by contemporary political and literary issues, but also by the extension and continuance of historical contradictions and grievances. In the 1920s and 1930s, there were complex contradictions within literary circles. Initially, this was due to differing literary opinions and the interests of literary groups; but, later, upon entry of political interests, the conflicts became more acute. From the perspective of literary politics, the contradictions were due to the following reasons: a. Contradictions between writers who leaned towards the Nationalist Party-led regime and writers who had thrown themselves into the Communist Party-led revolutionary movement (these writers had starkly different political positions, but all believed that literature should serve politics); b. Contradictions between writers who attempted to remain “neutral,” or sought a “third road,” and the two other groupings of writers; and, c. Internal left-wing literary contradictions that occurred because of differing opinions and factional interests. The thread of each contradiction was not of equal value, as Guo Moruo said: the important contradictions and arguments within “China’s literary circles were between the following two lines: one representing the so-called art for art’s sake line of the liberal bourgeoisie, and one representing the proletariat and other revolutionary people’s line of art for the people.” By the late-1940s, Guo had sufficient grounds and confidence to announce that the first line of literary theory was “already completely bankrupt,” that its literary work had “already lost its audience,” and that the “art for the people line representing the proletariat and other revolutionary people” had obtained a position of absolute leadership in China’s literature and arts.9 With this, the internal contradictions within left-wing literary circles rose to occupy the most important position. In the early-1950s, although the critical attacks on ‹The Tale of Wu Xun› and on Hu Shi were intended 9 See Guo Moruo, ‹Fight to Construct New China’s People’s Literature and Art› in A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, Beijing, New China Bookstore, 1950: 38–39.

48

chapter three

to eliminate the influence of the “liberal bourgeoisie,” these struggles can be said to have been directed against a situation within left-wing culture circles of “surrendering to the bourgeoisie.” From the late-1920s until the late-1940s, the important disputes and conflicts within left-wing literary and arts circles were: a. The argument over the issue of “revolutionary literature” between Lu Xun (with Mao Dun) and Guo Moruo, Cheng Fangwu, Qian Xingcun, Li Chuli, and others of the Creation Society and the Sun Society; b. The differing attitudes of Qu Qiubai, Zhou Qiying (Zhou Yang), Feng Xuefeng, and others on how to treat the issue of the “third type of person” during the early-1930s; c. The argument within the League of Left-wing Writers over the two slogans “National Defense Literature” (proposed by Zhou Yang, Xia Yan, and Guo Moruo) and “People’s Literature of the Revolutionary War of the Nationalities” (proposed by Lu Xun, Feng Xuefeng, and Hu Feng); d. The discussion about “national form” that developed in cultural circles at the prompting of Mao Zedong in 1938, in which Hu Feng and others expressed opinions differing from those of Mao and others; e. Mao’s criticism of Zhou Yang and others over the guidelines for study at the Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature during the rectifi cation movement in Yan’an literature and the arts in 1942, and the criticism of the fiction and miscellaneous essays of Wang Shiwei, Ding Ling, Ai Qing, and Luo Feng; and, f. The criticism of Hu Feng and his followers over issues such as the “subjective,” in Chongqing and Hongkong in the mid- and late-1940s. Zhou Yang, Feng Xuefeng, Ding Ling, and Hu Feng were among those considered “heavily qualified” individuals in China’s left-wing literature. During the time of the League of Left-wing Writers, Feng, Ding, and Zhou had all held the posts of Union party or youth league secretary, and Hu Feng had held the posts of head of the propaganda ministry and administrative secretary. Ding Ling’s writing was highly acclaimed at the time. Feng Xuefeng was a “May Fourth” writer, later participated in the Long March, and in 1936 was sent by the Communist Party Central Committee in northern Shaanxi to Shanghai to lead revolutionary cultural work there. During the 1930s, Hu Feng’s position in left-wing literature and arts circles was not yet as high as that of Ding or Feng, but he later established an estimable position via the operation of periodicals, putting out series of books, writing critical essays, and liaising with and fostering a group of younger writers. Following the establishment

contradictions and conflicts

49

of the new regime, Hu Feng and his followers were already being coldshouldered and crowded out in left-wing literary circles. However, at the time they were fully confident that their line and views could win out, and never imagined that, by 1955, they would be targeted for suppression and all could be lost. Due to their experience and reputations, Feng Xuefeng and Ding Ling occupied important positions in the leadership of literary circles during the early 1950s. They were both vice-chairs of the China Writers Association, and successively took charge of the Literature & Arts Press and People’s Literature. Ding Ling also held the positions of head of the literature and arts department in the ministry of propaganda and rector of the Central Literature Research Institute (later renamed the “Central Literature Lecture & Study Institute”). However, beginning in 1954, they were directly or indirectly attacked during a series of campaigns. First, during the critical attacks on Dream of the Red Chamber research, Feng Xuefeng was accused of suppressing “unimportant people” and protecting the “authority of the bourgeoisie,” was forced to do a self-criticism, and lost his post as editor-in-chief of the Literature & Arts Press. Following on from this, in a struggle unknown to the outside world in 1955, Ding Ling and Chen Qixia were accused of organizing a “small antiparty clique” and creating their own “independent kingdom,” and were investigated and subject to critical attacks. Finally, in the anti-rightist campaign of 1957, Feng Xuefeng, Ding Ling, Ai Qing, Chen Qixia, Li Youran, Luo Feng, Bai Lang, and others, were branded rightists. They were said to be members of an existing “anti-party clique.” Not only were their present problems “exposed,” but also past historical cases were dug up. These included: a. Ding Ling “recanting and turning traitor” when arrested by the Nationalist Party Nanjing government in the early 1930s;10 b. Hu Feng and Feng Xuefeng “colluded” to split the left-wing literary movement during the period of the League of Left-wing Writers, and Lu Xun was tricked by them into falsely accusing Zhou Yang of this; and, c. During the early-1940s in Yan’an, Ding Ling and the others published anti-party articles.

10 Concerning Ding Ling’s actions after her arrest in 1933, the ‹Circular Concerning the Restoration of Ding Ling’s Reputation› from the organization department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee in 1984 stated that the “accusation” during the 1950s that Ding Ling was “a traitor, was inaccurate and should be redressed.”

50

chapter three

In early 1958, the Literature & Arts Press started a “Criticism Revisited” column and re-published and re-criticized the fiction and miscellaneous essays of Wang Shiwei, Ding Ling, Ai Qing, Luo Feng, and others that had been the subjects of critical attacks during 1942 in Yan’an. Mao Zedong wrote an “editor’s comment” for this column, stating that the subjects of criticism were “anti-party elements who were unreformed after numerous attempts,” and who “wrote counter-revolutionary essays while posing as revolutionaries.”11 At the end of the anti-rightist campaign in literary and arts circles, a long, summarizing article—‹A Great Debate on the Battle Lines of Literature and the Arts›12—was published under the name of Zhou Yang, but checked, revised (three times), and approved by Mao Zedong. At a conference on this article, Shao Quanlin, Zhang Guangnian, Lin Mohan, and Yuan Shuipai, where among those who pointed out that the paper not only analyzed and summarized the anti-rightist struggle, but also analyzed the historical and class origins of the struggle, and “provided a basis for the elimination and wrapping up of the long-lasting split and dispute within our country’s left-wing literature and arts movement.”13 The conclusion of the “elimination and wrapping up” was: a. Ding Ling, Feng Xuefeng, Hu Feng, and others were “mixed into” the “bourgeoisie elements” within the revolutionary ranks of literature and the arts; and, b. The arguments about the “two slogans” and “national form” were not differences of scholarly opinion, but a struggle between two classes and two lines in literature. In this way, the bourgeoisie literary and arts line with the left-wing face that existed from the late-1920s until the 1950s was traced as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

From the “Trotskyite” Wang Duqing; To the “third type of person;” To Hu Feng and Feng Xuefeng; To Wang Shiwei, Ding Ling, and Xiao Jun of the Yan’an period; and, Finally, to Qin Zhaoyang, Zhong Dianfei, and so on, in the 1950s. 11

See Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1958. Others who participated in the writing of this essay included Lin Mohan, Liu Baiyu, and Zhang Guangnian. It was published on 28 February 1958 in People’s Daily and in the Literature & Arts Press, no. 4, 1958. 13 ‹Sweeping the Road Clean for the Great Leap Forward in Literature and the Arts›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 6 1958. 12

contradictions and conflicts

51

3. Querying the Norms During the 1950s and 1960s, broad and complex contradictions surrounded the establishment of literary norms. In most cases, these contradictions regularly found expression in the formulation of policy, the explication of theory, and in literary writing and criticism.14 However, at certain moments, the querying and arguments would appear as a largescale “challenge.” In the 1950s, there were two important instances of this sort of questioning and challenge. One was the activity of Hu Feng and his associates around 1954, the other was the innovation undertaken during the “Hundred Flowers period” of 1956–1957. Hu Feng and his associates were already in position as targets of critical attack in the late-1940s and the early-1950s. In 1948 in the Hongkong-published Masses Literature and Arts Collection, criticism of the literary thought and works of Hu Feng and his associates was one of this journal’s prime topics. Shao Quanlin’s ‹Opinions on the Contemporary Literature and Arts Movement›, Hu Sheng’s ‹The Road of Lu Xun’s Ideological Development› and ‹Reviews of Lu Ling’s Short Fiction›, and Qiao Guanhua’s ‹Literary Creation and Objectivity› were among the articles related to this. These articles are an expression of the concerns of the mainstream group in left-wing literature at the time. Shao Quanlin believed the emphasis Hu Feng and his associates gave to the life force in literature and the arts and the personality and spirit of the writer, was to take personal objectivity and spiritual power as a priori, as transcendent of history and class. Shao stated: “Setting off from this sort of basis, it would be natural to move towards an emphasis on self, a rejection of the collective, negation of the significance of thought, a declaration of the extinction of systems of thought, a wiping away of the party- and class-nature of literature and the arts, and opposition to the direct political effects of art.” At the first literary representatives congress, without naming names, Mao Dun in his report on the revolutionary movement in literature in Nationalist-controlled areas concentrated his criticism on the opinions of Hu Feng and his associates, namely with regard to the popularization and the political nature of literature and the arts, and

14 For example, during preparations for the second literary delegates congress, in estimating the success and problems in work in literature and the arts since 1949, and in the analysis of what produced these problems, Feng Xuefeng had a difference of opinion with Hu Qiaomu, Zhou Yang, and others, and the report that Feng had drafted was rejected.

52

chapter three

“objectivity” in literature and the arts. Mao Dun believed that if “the discussion of the issue of ‘objectivity’ in literature and the arts continues to develop, then we will have no choice but to return to the issues of the author’s stance, viewpoint, attitude, and so on, as raised in Mao Zedong’s ‹Talks on Literature and the Arts›.” These statements clearly indicate that on basic points with regard to literature and the arts, the theory of Hu Feng and his associates deviated from and were in opposition to Mao Zedong’s as they had been laid out in the ‹Talks›. In the first years of the 1950s, besides the theory of Hu Feng, Ah Long, and Shu Wu, the poetry and fiction of Hu Feng, Lu Li, Lu Ling, and others came in for much censure in the periodicals and press.15 On 8 June 1952, the People’s Daily reprinted Shu Wu’s essay of self-criticism (‹Studying “Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art” From the Beginning Again›, originally published in the Yangtse Daily, 25 May 1952). The “Editor’s Note” (composed by Hu Qiaomu) made the following judgment on the mistaken character of the “small clique in literature and the arts” “with Hu Feng as its head:” In their literary and artistic work, they one-sidedly exaggerate the effect of the subjective spirit, pursue the so-called expansion of the life force, and actually repudiate the significance of revolutionary practice and thought reform. This is a way of thinking about literature and art that actually is part of bourgeoisie and petty-bourgeois individualism.

From September until the end of the year, the Propaganda Ministry of the Central Committee of the Communist Party convoked four seminars on the literary and artistic thought of Hu Feng, all of which Hu Feng participated in. In a report written by the Propaganda Ministry for the Central Committee and Zhou Enlai, the following conclusions were given in regard to the “major mistakes” of Hu Feng’s thinking on literature and the arts: (1) Has the effect of obliterating the worldview and the class stand, replaces socialist realism with old realism, actually replaces proletarian literature and arts with that of the bourgeoisie and petit bourgeoisie. (2) Stresses the abstract “objective fighting spirit,” denies that petit bourgeois writers must remold thought and change class stands, one-sidedly emphasizes intellectual writers as the most advanced among the people, and strongly despises

15 During this period, Hu Feng’s long poems, such as ‹Time Has Begun›, and Lu Ling’s collections of short fiction, Prairies and Stories of Zhu Guihua, and his play script ‹The Land of Our Ancestors is Advancing› were all subject to criticism.

contradictions and conflicts

53

the laboring people, especially farmers. (3) Worships western European bourgeoisie literature and art, despises the national heritage of literature and art. This is a form of thought in literature and the arts that completely opposes Marxism. . . . To eliminate the influence of Hu Feng and thought of the Hu Feng variety, it has been decided that comrades Lin Mohan and He Qifang will write articles to publicly criticize it. . . .16

Representing the authoritative power of left-wing literature, Lin Mohan and He Qifang wrote essays that systematically dealt with the heterodox thinking of Hu Feng and others: ‹The Anti-Marxist Literature and the Arts Thought of Hu Feng› (by Lin) and ‹The Realist Road or the AntiRealist Road?› (by He) were published in early-1953 in the number two and number three issues of the Literature & Arts Press. Faced with these serious criticisms, Hu Feng and his associates persevered in their opinions and still believed in the prospect of gaining victory in the literary circles of China. Between March and July 1953, with the assistance of his supporters, Hu Feng wrote ‹A Report on the Situation in Literary and Artistic Practice Since Liberation›, an essay of almost 30,000 character’s length (also referred to as the “Suggestion Letter” and the “Thirty Thousand Character Letter”), and in the traditional way of China’s literati had his missive submitted to higher authorities in the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The report was broken into four parts: 1. 2. 3. 4.

A brief review of the situation in recent years; Explanatory materials concerning theoretical issues; Factual examples and comments on Party spirit; and, Proposals for consideration.

The report refutes in their entirety the criticisms in the articles of Lin Mohan and He Qifang, states some of Hu’s opinions on important theoretical issues in literature and the arts, criticizes strategies, policies, and concrete measures in literature and the arts “since liberation,” and puts forward Hu’s own proposals. In late-1954, the presidiums of the China Literature Federation and the Writers Association convoked an enlarged joint-congress to discuss the Dream of the Red Mansion studies issue and work on the self-examination of the Literature & Arts Press. Hu Feng believed that the criticisms by Mao Zedong and the Central Committee

16 Taken from Lin Mohan ‹Everything about the Hu Feng Case› in New Literature Historical Materials, no. 3, 1989, Beijing.

54

chapter three

of the Literature & Arts Press and the leadership in literature and arts circles were a result of his “suggestion letter.” Thinking that the moment to question and challenge the literary norms in their entirety had arrived, Hu made two long speeches at the congress, fiercely attacking supporters of the contemporary leadership in literature and arts circles. Suddenly, as it neared its conclusion, this congress that was being held to launch the struggle against “Hu Shi Group bourgeois idealism” and to examine the “mistakes” of the Literature & Arts Press, shifted the direction of struggle, and the Hu Feng issue became its focal point. The third part of Zhou Yang’s long speech ‹We Must Fight›—which was reviewed and approved by Mao Zedong—dealt specifically with the Hu Feng issue and proposed that “to protect and develop Marxism, to protect socialist realism, to develop the enterprises of science and literature and the arts,” “we must fight.” Not long after, Hu Feng’s “Suggestion Letter” was given by the Central Committee of the Communist Party to the presidium of the China Writers Association to deal with. The “presidium” had its second and fourth parts printed as special pamphlets, which were then distributed with the combined numbers one-two issue (1953) of the Literature & Arts Press so that “the literature and arts circles and the readers of the Literature & Arts Press can have a public discussion.” Also at this time, a memorandum from Mao Zedong asked literature and arts circles to “respond to Hu Feng’s bourgeoisie idealism and anti-party, anti-people thought on literature and the arts by carrying out a thoroughgoing critical attack.” A national campaign of criticism against Hu Feng thought in literature and the arts was now rolled out. Periodicals and papers throughout the country carried large numbers of critical articles. Guo Moruo published ‹The Anti-Socialist Programme of Hu Feng›. The “nature” of the campaign underwent an important change when Shu Wu handed over his letters from Hu Feng, and after others involved in the case handed over their correspondence, or had it “searched out.” These letters became “criminal evidence.” After excerpting and editing, and the addition of footnotes and commentary, three lots of “Hu Feng counter-revolutionary clique materials” were openly published.17 Hu Feng was arrested on 18 May. Thereafter dozens of others were imprisoned. Ultimately, 78

17 First serialized in the People’s Daily, later they appeared in book form under the name Materials Concerning the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique, People’s Publishing House, June 1955. The book’s “preface” and most of the editor’s comments were written by Mao Zedong.

contradictions and conflicts

55

people were determined to be “Hu Feng elements,” including Lu Ling, Ah Long, Lu Li, Niu Han, Lu Yuan, Peng Baishan, Lü Ying, Jia Zhifang, Xie Tao, Wang Yuanhua, Mei Lin, Liu Xuewei, Man Tao, He Manzi, Lu Dian, Peng Yanjiao, Zeng Zhuo, Ji Fang, Geng Yong, Zhang Zhongxiao, Luo Luo, Hu Zheng, Fang Ran, Zhu Guhuai, Wang Rong, and Huatie. A second attempt to change the established line in literature occurred during 1956 and the spring of 1957. Based on his ideas for the establishment of a Chinese model of a modern country, in 1956 Mao Zedong proposed a “double hundred policy” (“let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend”) for developing science and literature and the arts. After the death of Stalin in 1953, “thaws” occurred in the Soviet Union and the socialist countries of Eastern Europe during which there were calls for reform in political, economic, and cultural systems, and in ideology. Amid the tide of “liberation of thought,” writers concerned about the prospects of literature in China expressed dissatisfaction with the backward situation in recent years, pointing out “our literary scene is crowded with mediocre, gray works that are formulaic and deal in generalities,” and that works that exhibit depth of thought and are artistically attractive are in short supply. They believed the primary cause of this phenomenon were the severe restraints brought about by dogmatism and sectarianism. Furthermore, manifestations of dogmatism were concentrated in taking the unreasonable “definition” of Soviet socialist realism as the guiding principle in creative work and criticism, and, simultaneously, in the one-sided, philistine understanding of Mao’s ‹Talks›. Like Hu Feng and his associates, they questioned the basis for the existence of socialist realism, took the “authenticity” of realism as the highest standard for literary creation and theoretical criticism, and used the principle of “authenticity” to withstand interference from political concepts and policy guidelines. They proposed “write truth” and “intervene in life” as creative slogans, and wanted to daringly expose the contradictions and conflicts in life. They also criticized the crude, administrative methods of interference by which “work in literature and the arts is led,” and hoped to make it possible for writers to possess the necessary self-determination and a free environment for artistic creation. Theoretical articles of this period that raised important issues and had something of an impact included the following: 1. Qin Zhaoyang ‹Realism—The Broad Road› (People’s Literature, no. 9, 1956); 2. Chen Yong ‹Lu Xun Struggling for Literary and Artistic Realism› (People’s Literature, no. 10, 1956);

56

chapter three

3. Zhou Bo ‹On Realism in a Socialist Age› (Yangtse Literature & Arts, no. 12, 1956); 4. Liu Shaotang ‹Some of My Opinions About Current Issues in Literature and the Arts› (Literature & Arts Studies, no. 5, 1957); 5. Qian Gurong ‹On “Literature is the Study of Humanity”› (Literature & Arts Studies, no. 5, 1957); 6. Ba Ren ‹On Human Feeling› (New Port, no. 1, 1957); 7. Zhong Dianfei ‹Gongs and Drums in Film› (Literature & Arts Press, no. 23, 1956); 8. Huang Qiuyun ‹Where is the Thorn?› (Literature & Arts Studies, no. 6, 1957); 9. Yu Qing (Tang Yin) ‹The Forked Road of Literary Criticism › (Literature & Arts Press, no. 4, 1957); 10. Cai Tian ‹Realism or Formulism?› (Literature & Arts Press, no. 8 & 9, 1957); 11. Tang Zhi (Tang Dacheng) ‹Can Elaborate Formulas Guide Creative Writing?—Discussing Zhou Yang’s Arguments about the Creation of Heroic Characters› (Literature & Arts Press, no. 10, 1957); and, 12. Wu Zuguang ‹Discussing Issues of Leadership in Theatre Work› (Theatre Press, no. 11, 1957). This “challenge” also ended in failure. In the ensuing anti-rightist campaign, many writers and critics were branded “rightists:” among them were Feng Xuefeng, Ding Ling, Ai Qing, Chen Qixia, Luo Feng, Bai Lang, Qin Zhaoyang, Xiao Qian, Wu Zuguang, Xu Maoyong, Yao Xueyin, Li Changzhi, Huang Yaomian, Mu Mutian, Fu Lei, Chen Mengjia, Sun Dayu, Shi Zhecun, Xu Zhongyu, Xu Jie, Chen Xuezhao, Feng Yidai, Chen Yong, Gong Mu, Zhong Dianfei, Wang Ruowang, Wang Zengqi, Lü Jian, Tang Shi, Tang Qi, Liu Binyan, Wang Meng, Deng Youmei, Liu Shaotang, Cong Weixi, Lan Ling, Tang Yin, Tang Dacheng, Gong Liu, Bai Hua, Shao Yanxiang, Liu Shahe, Gao Xiaosheng, Lu Wenfu, and Zhang Xianliang. Many of these individuals raised objections to the literary “norms” and explored “new roads” for writers.

4. The Nature of Divergence The internal contradictions and conflicts within left-wing literature had complex causes. From the early-1930s, the close relationships between political and literary cliques and the politicization of literary movements

contradictions and conflicts

57

and literary organizations were the important reasons for the increasing fierceness of clashes. Following entry into the 1950s, the “integration” of the literary system and its configuration caused important changes in the modes and character of contradictions and conflicts. However, if only looking at literary opinions and the related principles and policies of literary campaigns, this involved differing understandings of the fundamental form and path of development of left-wing literature in China. A survey of the course of literature from the late1920s into the 1970s allows one to see the different schools of theory that existed within left-wing literature: a. One was represented by Hu Feng and Feng Xuefeng, and included Qin Zhaoyang and others in the 1950s; b. One was represented by Zhou Yang and included some of the important leaders of mainstream left-wing literature, such as Shao Quanlin, Lin Mohan, and He Qifang; c. And yet another formed on the eve of the “Cultural Revolution,” with Jiang Qing, Yao Wenyuan, and others, at its head—this group rose to prominence based on their exposition of the theories of Mao Zedong. From the 1930s until the mid-1950s, the contradictions between Hu Feng, Feng Xuefeng, Zhou Yang, and others were of greatest concern. After Hu Feng and his associates had been “erased,” the contradictions between Zhou Yang and his cohorts and a group with a more radical stance began to rise to prominence. It needs to be pointed out that the contradictions between groups were often interwoven. Furthermore, the opinions of these representative individuals of left-wing literature now and again changed. This was most apparent among Zhou Yang and his associates, sometimes they would hold a more radical opinion, but later, on several important issues, their standpoints approached those of their original opponents in debate, Hu Feng and Feng Xuefeng. Although Zhou Yang and his associates had sharp clashes with Hu Feng and Feng Xuefeng, they also had important points in common. Without exception, they all saw themselves as Marxists, upheld “true” (orthodox) Marxist views on literature and the arts, and saw it as their duty to establish the primacy of revolutionary (or proletarian) literature. Furthermore, they all expressed support for Mao Zedong’s ‹Talks›. (Though Hu Feng and Feng Xuefeng sometimes had differing views, they rarely publicly criticized Mao; when Hu emerged from prison in the late-1970s, he repeatedly expressed his loyalty to Mao Zedong and

58

chapter three

his theories.) They also all disapproved of the thesis that literature was unrelated to politics (or on a par with it), and in a broad sense believed literature should be the people’s revolutionary struggle, a “weapon” for ideological enlightenment, and that China’s literary movement should be a constituent part (or “one wing”) of the revolutionary movement. No matter whether it be Zhou Yang, Mao Dun, or Shao Quanlin, or Hu Feng or Feng Xuefeng, all had sharply attacked calls for the “selfdetermination of literature and the arts” and “pure art.”18 Also, they all believed in and advocated “realism.” For them, “creative methodologies” of realism were sometimes seen as having existed since antiquity (in China, it is said to have started with the Book of Odes), sometimes as particular trends of thought in literary history, and at other times were explained as creative principles all writers ought to follow. Jumping off from such a standpoint, they held fiercely critical attitudes toward the modernist trend in literary thought in China. Another significant position they held in common was the necessity of upholding the ideal of literary “integration,” and of the establishment of “unified norms” in literature. Generally speaking, the group in a position of being suppressed would propose that differing opinions be allowed to exist and that variant views be “resolved through practice” (like Hu Feng in the 1950s).19 However, this did not mean they respected the choice of “self-determination” by the individual, or could tolerate a “pluralistic” state. Hu Feng and his associates and Zhou Yang and his seemingly shared an identical belief that they alone expressed the “ultimate” truth and, thus, in demanding unified targets for literature. However, there were also major differences between the two groups.20 Firstly, there were differences over the relationships between literature and politics and between practice (in life and in art) and ideas. These were issues of long-standing, incessant dispute within left-wing 18 In 1954, at the congress of the combined presidiums of the China Literature Federation and the Writers Association, one of Hu Feng’s major criticisms of Zhou Yang was his surrender to the “bourgeoisie thought” of Zhu Guangqian and others. 19 Hu Feng, ‹A Report Concerning the Situation in Literary and Artistic Practice Since Liberation›, New Literature Historical Materials, no. 4, 1988. 20 Since the 1980s, the People’s Literature Publishing House (Beijing) has collected and republished in book form the theoretical and critical writings of Zhou Yang, Hu Feng, and Feng Xuefeng. To date they have published Collected Commentaries of Hu Feng (3 volumes), Xuefeng’s Collected Writings (4 volumes), and Zhou Yang’s Collected Writings (4 volumes). Not all of the following citations from these sources have been footnoted.

contradictions and conflicts

59

literary circles. Comparatively speaking, Zhou Yang and his associates put more stress on the importance of theory and ideological concepts, believing that for writers “the correct worldview” ought to be of the first order of importance. Hu Feng and Feng Xuefeng also acknowledged the importance of thought and worldview, but believed that artistic practice and life experience were more important; problems of thought and worldview were manifest in the writer’s relationship with reality, only through “practice” can they be expressed, and they “must” be resolved through “practice.” To depart from a writer’s “practice” to discuss issues of politics and ideology is always an abstraction and hollow. Hu Feng also believed “the creative method of true realism” is the “artistic practice” of realism, which is “capable of making up for insufficiencies in the author’s life experience and deficiencies in his or her worldview.” Secondly, there were differences over the concept of realism. Zhou Yang, Hu Feng, and Feng Xuefeng all stated that the “realism” they advocated was different from the “old” realism of nineteenth century western Europe and Russia, and often used qualifiers such as “new,” “revolutionary,” of “socialist.” However, in their concrete explanations of the term there were differences. Zhou Yang and his associates were more receptive of the “socialist realism” stipulated in the bylaws of the Writers Association of the Soviet Union in the 1930s, which stated that literature must reflect reality “through the historical development of the revolution,” manifest the revolution’s “long-range perspective,” and place emphasis on the educational uses of literature among the masses of the people. On the other hand, Hu Feng’s “realism” was more of a continuance of the nineteenth century French and Russian tendency to be “critical of life” and stressed the modern Chinese writer’s duty to provide “ideological enlightenment,” as advocated by Lu Xun. Hu and his associates paid more attention to the heavy burden of the “modernization” process on ancient China, believing that China’s “tradition” and the living conditions and spiritual state of the masses were, on one hand, a tenacious fighting capacity and primitive vitality, and, on the other, a lowly slavish seeking after short-lived comfort. Hu Feng raised his famous question about the “trauma of spiritual enslavement,” and asked writers “no matter the time and place, to feel grief, indignation, and embarrassment towards all apathy, all filth, all disorder, and to denounce and attack it with the greatest vigilance.” A third difference was over the relationship of the subjective and the objective in writing. Like Mao Zedong, Zhou Yang stressed the importance of “deep entry into life” and primarily understood “life” to mean

60

chapter three

the life of struggle of the “workers, farmers, and soldiers.” But Hu Feng put more emphasis on enthusiasm and creative power. Hu believed literary creation was the merging of the objective and the subjective, and if the “fusion” was exceptional, it was certain to manifest the active attitude of the subject toward the object. In describing the process of this “fusion,” he used vocabulary rich in intensity. Hu Feng believed that, although literature and the arts are products of struggle and are weapons in social and ideological struggle, “they cannot but be the product of the author’s struggle with internal contradictions,” they cannot but be things of the flesh, and cannot be separated from the spirit and flesh and blood of the individual.” As regards this “subjective fighting spirit” of the author, he stressed the pain of suffering tribulations: it would be a “tragedy of art” if this sort of “passion” was extracted from life experience and artistic creation—which was why Hu Feng and his associates highly praised works that revealed the passion of spiritual struggle, and rejected superficial eulogizing. Based on this praise of the “subjective fighting spirit,” Hu Feng also opposed sober, “observational” literature. It seemed logical that this creative ideal would resist the enforced neglect of the subjective nature of the author’s artistic creativity by the mainstream left-wing literary group. And when the left-wing mainstream used this proposition to regulate all authors and their works, and to attack the “subjective” realist writing of Sha Ting and the aesthetic distance and “sober aesthetics” of Zhu Guangqian, Shen Congwen, and others, they further manifested their inclination. Finally, there were differences over the traditions of “contemporary literature.” In 1949, left-wing writers had to deal with three “historical incidents” in twentieth century literature: a) the “May Fourth” literary revolution, b) socialist realism produced in the Soviet Union, c) and Mao Zedong’s ‹Talks› and liberated area literature. These three also touched on aspects of literary ideals, literary opinions, and literary facts and experience. Furthermore, they were intertwined and had an osmotic relationship. The ‹Talks› “naturally” inherited the fruits of the “May Fourth” literary revolution, the norms of socialist realism were one of the theoretical sources of the ‹Talks›, and the ‹Talks› and other of Mao’s works also had a part in the explication and recomposition of the “May Fourth” tradition. Although differences in opinion about socialist realism existed among left-wing writers, in most situations, this was not singled out as an issue of particular importance.21 Their debates on the 21

The situation was somewhat different in the mid-1950s. At the time, attitudes

contradictions and conflicts

61

issue of “tradition” primarily surrounded “May Fourth” new literature, especially as it concerned the unfolding of the understanding and critical valuation of the ‹Talks›. The ‹Talks› fundamental theory was made up of the development of relations between a series of oppositional contradictions. Politics and art, worldview and creative methodology, reality and ideal, the objective and the subjective, intellectuals and the working masses, light and darkness, eulogy and exposure, popularization and enhancement, and so on. “Spaces” remained in the ‹Talks› theory, and differing emphases on oppositional contradictions in a different historical-linguistic context constituted the prime content of disputes over the ‹Talks› between left-wing writers of differing ideological and intellectual backgrounds. On the relationship between “May Fourth” and the ‹Talks›, although Hu Feng, Feng Xuefeng, Qin Zhaoyang, and others, acknowledged the importance of the guidance provided by the ‹Talks›, they did not see the publication of the ‹Talks› as a pivotal incident in the development of Chinese modern literature. On the issue of “tradition” in contemporary literature, they put more emphasis on the new literature tradition of “May Fourth,” and took the “defense of the tradition of the May Fourth literary revolution” as a literary ideal and a central issue in literary practice. Furthermore, in their eyes, this “tradition” had been established by the practice of Lu Xun, its representative author. They expressed concerns about the consequences of excessively pursuing and propagating the experience of the liberated areas literature and arts movement.22 They laid more store in the tradition’s inheritance from nineteenth century western European and Russian realist literature. This is expressed by Hu Feng, in ‹On National Forms›, where he states “the May Fourth literature revolutionary movement with urbanites as leaders of an alliance of the mass of Chinese people is a new exploratory offshoot of the world progressive literature and arts tradition following on from the sudden rise of urban society after accumulating for hundreds of years;” and by Feng Xuefeng in ‹On the Literary Movement of the Democratic Revolution›, when he states that the “May Fourth” literary revolution toward socialist realism became one of the important issues of contention. In the midst of this questioning of creative methodologies and the ‹Talks›, Qin Zhaoyang, Liu Shaotang, and others, criticized contemporary literary theory and policies. 22 In ‹A Report Concerning the Situation in Literary and Artistic Practice Since Liberation›, Hu Feng wrote that when he entered the liberated areas in 1948, he felt that “literature and arts prior to and outside of the liberated areas effectively had been completely negated,” and that “the May Fourth tradition and Lu Xun effectively had been negated.”

62

chapter three

“was based on and directly influenced” by nineteenth century critical realism and rebellious romanticism, and “‘May Fourth’ is the final, distant stream of capitalist literature of this and the recent period.”23 By the 1950s, Zhou Yang and his associates had already constructed an image of themselves as the correct explicators and firm implementers of Mao Zedong thought on literature and the arts. Zhou emphasized that “the publication of the ‹Talks› and the changes this caused in the enterprise of literature” “is the continuation and development of the ‘May Fourth’ literary revolution under new historical conditions,” and “is a second greater, more profound literary revolution following on from ‘May Fourth.’ ”24 Zhou Yang and his associates stressed the connection (“inherited”) between the ‹Talks› and the “May Fourth” literary revolution, even believing that it was the most qualified inheritor of the “May Fourth tradition,” while at the same time stressing their difference (“development”) even more. Hu Feng and associates arrive by way of acknowledging the character and leadership powers of the “May Fourth” literary revolution (that is, believing that the “May Fourth” literary revolution was led by proletariat, “was developing towards socialist realism from the beginning”); on the other hand, Zhou Yang and his associates stressed the deficiencies of the “May Fourth” literary revolution and new literature (they were incapable of resolving the “fundamental crucial” issue of “integrating with masses of workers and farmers”) in order to establish a hierarchal relationship between the “May Fourth” literary revolution and the ‹Talks› (“a greater, more profound literary revolution”). This type of exposition was meant to establish the ‹Talks›, the changes they caused, and the fruits of them, as a more direct, more “truthful” “source” of “contemporary literature.” Observed from the perspective of Marxist literary theory, the differences between Hu Feng and Feng Xuefeng and Zhou Yang and his associates cannot be considered pointless arguments. The exposure and criticism of shortcomings in left-wing literature by Hu Feng and his

23 These opinions were seen as distorting the character of the leading ideology of the “May Fourth” literary revolution, and those who held them repeatedly suffered critical attacks in the 1950s. Although Hu Feng and Feng Xuefeng both revised their views, this was not an issue of specific formulations, but touched on their systems of literary thought. Therefore, in places these revisions appear questionable. See Hu Feng’s “Suggestion Letter” and Feng Xuefeng’s ‹An Outline of the Development of Chinese Literature from Classical Realism to Proletarian Realism›. 24 Zhou Yang, ‹Steadfastly Carry Out Mao Zedong’s Line in Literature and the Arts›, Enlightenment Daily (Beijing), 17 May 1951.

contradictions and conflicts

63

associates in each successive period had its positive significance. But Hu Feng, Feng Xuefeng (and even Zhou Yang), and their associates, were all “tragic figures” in the history of modern Chinese literature. This is not only because they were expelled and attacked by the “mainstream group,” but also because of the following special circumstance: they believed they were loyal Marxists up unto their deaths. As a result, it was understandable that “liberal writers” saw them as extraordinarily “leftist,” but that the left-wing “mainstream group” saw them as “heterodox,” “rightists,” “capitalist elements” who had “mixed into” the revolutionary ranks. Moreover, as Hu Feng and his followers had indeed formed a group with strong factional feelings and adopted aggressive attitudes toward all who disagreed with their literary opinions, or toward writers who differed from them in style, they appeared even more isolated than might otherwise have been the case when they were under critical attack.

CHAPTER FOUR

HIDDEN POETS AND POETRY GROUPINGS

1. The Choice of Paths for Poetry In the 1940s, left-wing poets demanded that poetry have a more direct connection with China’s turbulent society and that emotionally and linguistically it expand beyond the narrow scope of the individual. Left-wing poetry did become the strongest current in poetry circles. The influence of liberated area poetry was expanding by the day, and primarily consisted of poetry based on folk songs and narrative poems describing changes in agricultural village life, like ‹Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang›, ‹Tale of Catching the Train›, and ‹Immortal›. At the same time, the artistic thinking of some important poets who had previously been critical of left-wing poetry became more radical. In 1948, Zhu Ziqing stated that “today’s poetry is primarily for recitation”—this was not merely a reference to “pattern,” but more indicative of how poets handled language and their stance on reality: “we” replaced “I,” and language about “us” replaced language about “me.”1 Around this time, Feng Zhi also pointed out: “Today’s poets have discarded feelings of privilege, they are conscious of being ordinary people, and speak for the ordinary people, and only with this does [their poetry] become real poetry.”2 However, during the late-1940s, there were still many possible roads for poetry writing to travel. The poets who had work published in Poetry Creation and China’s New Poetry expressed strong inclinations to “firmly master the life of people in the contemporary world,” but also steadfastly refused to use poetry as a political weapon or a tool of propaganda. In 1950, the Literature & Arts Press started a column featuring exchanges on “issues in new poetry.”3 The poets featured in it seemed more 1 Zhu Ziqing, ‹Today’s Poetry—Introducing He Da’s Poetry Collection We’re Having a Meeting›, Literary Dispatches, vol. 8, no. 5, 1948. 2 Feng Zhi, ‹May Fourth Memorial at Beijing University›, Observations, no. 12, 1947. 3 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 12 (March 1950). Those who participated in the column included Xiao San, Tian Jian, Feng Zhi, Ma Fantuo, Zou Difan, Jia Zhi, Lin Geng, Peng Yanjiao, and Li Yang. Essays published around this time by Bian Zhilin, Tian Jian, Ai Qing, and He Qifang, among others, can also be seen as contributions to this conversation.

hidden poets and poetry groupings

65

concerned about formal matters, such as the rules of free-verse form and folk song form, and the architecture of lines in poetry. This probably concealed a common understanding on this, as well as other issues, such as the “status” of poets and “subjectivity” in poetry writing. However, on the matter of the choice of the line for Chinese poetry, careful expressions of concern can be discovered. One was with regard to the tendency to give emphasis to old poetry and the folk song forms so as to negate the new poetry “tradition” since “May Fourth.” Lin Geng believed “today’s poetry movement has for the most part moved into the tradition” of the five- and seven-line forms of classical and folk poetry, but “there is absolutely no form that can be boundlessly used, just as there is no tradition that can be received intact and untouched.”4 He Qifang spoke relatively clearly on this point: He opined that “because there are deficiencies in some of new poetry’s forms, all new poetry since ‘May Fourth’ is written off, or the attempt is made to simply stipulate that one form be used to unify the forms of all new poetry.” “They forget that new poetry since ‘May Fourth’ is already a tradition.” However, He clearly restricted this call for “pluralism” to the area of form: “Th e foundations of form may be pluralistic, but the content and goal of art work can only be unitary.”5 As regards the choice of “tradition” and the establishment of the line for new poetry, although the circumspect questioning of Bian Zhilin only dealt with “technique,” the other aspects it entailed were relatively complex: “Is it necessary to completely discard the technique acquired over various developmental stages of learning to write poetry in our country under the influence of western bourgeoisie poetry in order to serve the people, having grown up purely within folk literature is it also necessary to not want to study some of the skills developed in intellectual poetry of the past?”6 During the 1950s, although it was stressed that folk and liberated area poetry were the most direct “traditions” of contemporary poetry, poetry since “May Fourth” was still valued as an important “resource.” Of course, by this time new poetry had already been analyzed and classified. This analysis is reflected in a representative fashion in the essay ‹An Outline of the Development of New Poetry Since May Fourth› by

4 Lin Geng, ‹The “Architecture of Lines” Issue in New Poetry›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 12. 5 He Qifang, ‹Talking About New Poetry›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 2, no. 4 (April 1950). 6 Bian Zhilin, ‹Experiences Thought of While Lecturing on the Poetry of England›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 4 (November 1949).

66

chapter four

Zang Kejia and in China’s New Poetry Anthology, of which Zang was editor-in-chief.7 While sorting through the history of new poetry, the yardsticks Zang used were that of a poet’s “class stand,” his or her attitude to current politics, and artistic methods that were related to this. As to artistic methodology, “modernist” tendencies and the personal lyric current in romantic-style poetry were to be negated. As a result, the poets and poetry groups of the 1930s were divided into two opposing “fronts.” Guo Moruo, Jiang Guangci, Yin Fu, Zang Kejia, Pu Feng, Ai Qing, Tian Jian, Yuan Shuipai, Li Ji, Ke Zhongping, Ruan Zhangjing, and others were representatives of new poetry’s “revolutionary tradition,” while Hu Shi and his Experiments Collection (1920), Xu Zhimo of the Crescent Moon school, Li Jinfa of the symbolists, Dai Wangshu of the “modernists” (a “change” of sides was approved later on), and more were included in the bourgeoisie group “in opposition to current revolutionary literature.” The new “mainstream” in new poetry was further “narrowed” in 1958 during discussions on the road poetry was to follow: “Every period since ‘May Fourth’ has featured a struggle between two different poetry styles. One is the progressive style belonging to the people, the mainstream; one is the reactionary poetry style belonging to the bourgeoisie, the countercurrent.” “The ‘July group’ represented by Hu Feng and Ah Long (S. M.)” was added to the “countercurrent” of the “anti-realist, anti-people poetry style.” At the same time, it was pointed out that even in “revolutionary poetry” there existed the problem of not being able to unite with the masses, of still “basically using the thought, emotions, and language of revolutionary intellectuals to sing,” and it was only in the “liberated area” poetry of 1942 that a directional change occurred.8 The authoritative classifications of “mainstream” and “countercurrent” not only highlighted the correct road of poetry writing for poets, but also directly stipulated their positions on the poetry scene. During this period, in poetical theory and practice the issue of most concern to poetry circles was not the “thing-in-itself,” not the language of poetry—no theories or essays of note appeared in this area. Instead, poetry’s social “function,” the “stand” of the writer, and norms of thought and emotion were repeatedly expounded and emphasized. Poetry was in service to politics, was integrated into contemporary life, and was at one

7

Zang Kejia, ‹An Outline of the Development of New Poetry Since May Fourth›, Literature & Arts Studies, no. 2, 1955 (Beijing); and China’s New Poetry Anthology, China Youth Publishing House, 1956. 8 Shao Quanlin, ‹Talking of Poetry Outside the Door›, Poetry Monthly, no. 4, 1958.

hidden poets and poetry groupings

67

with the “masses of the people,” these were the ideas at the core of contemporary poetical concepts. Mayakovsky’s phrase “No matter where it’s poetry or song, they’re all bombs and banners” was continually cited. Creative subjects (the term universally used at the time was “lyrical protagonist”) had to be manifestations of representatives of the classes and of the people as a collective. During the 1950s and 1960s, meeting regulations of this nature and function led to the birth of two basic forms. One stressed that the expression of the experience and emotions of the creative subject be transferred to “objective life,” especially the “reflection” of the “life of the workers, farmers, and soldiers,” all of which led to the appearance of “realistic” poetry. Poetry that “communicated the sounds emitted from construction, or battle, sites in the city, the countryside, the factory, the mine, the frontier, and the coast” was extolled as successful.9 “Political lyric poetry,” the second basic form, was produced in direct response to the demands of contemporary political campaigns. This mode of poetry was born of a stress on romantic lyrical expression. The “definition” of this poetry laid out by He Qifang and Ai Qing in the early 1950s was accepted and adopted in practice by many poets. “Poetry is the literary form that most concentratedly refl ects social life, it is saturated with rich imagination and emotion, and is often expressed in a direct lyrical fashion. . . .”10 This “definition” embodied a “correction” of “the tendency of most poets toward the individual subjective lyricism of petit bourgeois intellectuals” since “May Fourth,” and clearly distinguished this poetry from the “mysticism, decadence, and formalism” of the “symbolists” and “modernists.”

2. A Universal Artistic Predicament Upon entry into the 1950s, a good portion of the writers of new poetry since “May Fourth” “vanished” from poetry circles. There were two direct causes of this situation: a. The “narrowing” of the “mainstream” that resulted from the choice of new poetry’s “tradition” and led to the removal of a number of poets from poetry circles; and,

9 Yuan Shuipai, ‹Preface›, Poetry Anthology: September 1953—December 1955, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1956. 10 He Qifang, ‹On Writing and Reading Poetry› (1953), in Collected Writings of He Qifang, People’s Literature Publishing House, vol. 4, 1983: 450.

68

chapter four

b. A clash between the pre-existing creative character and artistic experience of some poets with the norms of writing established at this time led to an artistic predicament for those poets. Not all “old poets”11 were conscious of the existence of an artistic dilemma. For Guo Moruo (1892–1978), who occupied posts of national importance during the 1950s and 1960s, poetry was a component of his social and political activities. In 1948, he stated that contemporary poetry “must be located in the people, use the language of the people, and write the consciousness, emotions, demands, and actions of the people. More concretely, it must be suited to the current state of affairs: land reform, anti-American imperialism, digging out the roots of the Nationalist Party, and work toward the realization of these goals.”12 Based on this view of poetry, in his great quantity of later poetry he had reason to directly write about all political campaigns and core political work in his poetry, to use poetry to assume the task normally filled by “social commentary” and “observations on current affairs” in the media. In 1958, in explicating the “let a hundred flowers bloom” policy and in promoting the ideas and successes of the “Great Leap Forward,” after reading books on plants and flowers and asking advice of gardeners, Guo wrote a series of 101-poem series entitled ‹A Hundred Flowers Bloom›, “raising” the descriptions of the textures and states of flowers to that of explanations of social phenomena and political topics. The political immediacy, the application of the “mass line” in his writing, and the “Great Leap Forward” speed of a hundred poems in ten days was all very much in line with the “spirit of the times.” After 1949, Zang Kejia (1905–2004) also manifests a close proximity to contemporary politics in his poetry, a tendency that dated from the mid-1940s. In the words of Xu Chi, his poetry departed from the “enthusiastic allegro” and “profound andante phrasing” of the 1930s, and the “scherzo rhythms” of the 1940s, and entered into a new phase of “joyous eulogizing,” producing enthusiastic, but straightforward and thin songs of praise. As one of the “leaders” in poetry circles during the 1950s and 1960s (he was the editor-in-chief of Poetry Monthly), Zang did his utmost to advocate that poetry should reflect the current strug-

11 This was a contemporary term that referred to writers who had published important works before the early 1940s. 12 Guo Moruo, ‹Opening up the Road for New Poetry›, in Guo Moruo on Artistic Composition, Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House, 1982.

hidden poets and poetry groupings

69

gle and should write the “magnificent revolutionary voice of the warrior.” For these reasons and the necessities of the contemporary literary environment, unlike Zhu Ziqing, Zang was not able to maintain a tolerant attitude towards different forms of poetry, instead participating in the defense of the narrow artistic configuration of the time. The Sonnet Collection of Feng Zhi (1905–1993), written in 1941 while he was teaching at the Southwest United University in Kunming, is one of the most important works of China’s new poetry, and the outstanding work of Feng’s career. However, in the late-1940s, a change occurred in Feng’s artistic and ideological inclinations. In the early-1950s, like some other poets, he undertook a self-examination of the poetry he wrote during the time of the “old China” to articulate a new beginning in the new.13 In 1955’s Selected Poetry & Essays of Feng Zhi, Feng revised two series of poems written in the 1920s—‹Songs of Yesterday› and ‹Northern Journey and Other Poems›—in order to reduce “unhealthy” and “pessimistic and decadent” elements in the collection. Because “27 ‘sonnets’ were heavily influenced by western bourgeoisie literature and arts, and their content and form was artificial,” Feng excluded them from the collection. However, Feng was unsuccessful in cautiously attempting to retain past artistic methods (restrained emotional expression, seeking agreement between concise simplicity and a weighty richness) in expressing his vision of the new life in China and eulogizing workers in the construction industry. In fact, the two resultant poetry collections, Western Suburbs Collection and Ten Year Poetry Chapbook (1959), record the process by which Feng lost his previous artistic quality and style. He Qifang (1912–1977), a poet who “loved the swiftly moving clouds,” who only strode onto the road of revolutionary life and art aft er the start of the war of resistance against Japan, was always a “mass of contradictions.” The age of The Prophecy (a poetry collection written during 1931–1937) had already been negated, and he felt he should not continue to write the “night songs” meant to express the “contradictory emotions between the old and the new” he had been writing in Yan’an. He stated he found it difficult to understand why in Yan’an he wanted to “repeatedly utter those sentimental, feeble, empty words,” “what could have been worth that sort of extreme sentimentality,” saying of these

13 Feng Zhi, ‹Preface› in Selected Poetry & Essays of Feng Zhi, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1955; and Feng Zhi, ‹Postface› in Western Suburbs Collection, Author Publishing House, 1958; and other documents.

70

chapter four

poems (which were still very popular with young poetry lovers in the early 1950s) that “when I read them now not only do I not have much similar feeling, but feel they’re a bit tiresome and laughable.”14 Personal contradictions, emotional pain, and anxiety that were produced by conflicts between the individual and society, reality and ideals, emotion and intellect, and art and politics had lost social meaning and aesthetic value in the new China. However, he found it difficult to discard individual emotion and his former mode of expression. He resisted mediocrity and continued to cherish the perfection of art: “If my glass is not brimful / of pure alcohol, how can I / present its name to you.” So, that “one character” “burning like fire” “let it become silence on my tongue” (‹The Answer›). Yet, in the 1950s and 1960s, some of his poetical theory and critical reviews, such as ‹On Writing and Reading Poetry› and Poetry Appreciation, had a large readership among poetry-loving youths. Tian Jian (1916–1985) had a large quantity of new work published during the 1950s and 1960s, and was very confident about his artistic path. He had over ten collections of short poems published, including Horse-Head Lute Song Collection and Seen and Heard at Mangshi, as well ‹Tale of Catching the Train› and many other narrative poems. Yet, critics were not enthusiastic about his work. In 1956, commenting that Tian Jian “has recently been experiencing a creative ‘crisis,’ ” Mao Dun believed the reason was that he “had not found (or was painfully seeking out) a serviceable mode of expression, and therefore often seems incapable of speaking freely.”15 Actually, the main problem probably had nothing to do with the “mode of expression.” Tian Jian was attempting to change his poetry by writing six-character lines while making broad use of symbols and other methods in an effort to enlarge the imaginative space in his poetry. It cannot be said that this exploration was effective, but it is also difficult to say that it was a mistake. More importantly, his creative “crisis” came about because of using ready-made political concepts and popular social opinions in place of the poet’s unique perception and the exploration of social life and the world of the soul. The publication in two volumes of the seven part narrative poem ‹Tale of Catching the Train› in 1959 and 1961 was a “rewriting” of a poem by the same name that Tian originally wrote in 1946. This “rewriting” sought to provide a concrete emotive expression of history and was an example

14 He Qifang, ‹Postface to the Initial Edition of Night Songs and Songs of Day› in Collected Writings of He Qifang, vol. 2, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1982: 254. 15 Mao Dun, ‹On the Poetry of Tian Jian›, Enlightenment Daily, 1 July 1956.

hidden poets and poetry groupings

71

of the conceptualized exposition of the evolution of political utopia (in Tian Jian’s poem this is termed “paradise”). In the 1930s and 1940s, Ai Qing and Tian Jian were often lumped together in efforts at comparative criticism. In the view of Wen Yiduo in 1946, Tian Jian was a poet moving toward integration with workers and farmers, and Ai Qing was a poet of the intellectual type. 16 This assessment implies classification and demonstrates the critical yardstick of left-wing poetry circles. In 1956, when Tian Jian was being criticized, Ai Qing (1910–1996) was also being censured, but far more seriously than Tian. Not only was Ai being criticized by the most authoritative literary institutions and literary critics, but that criticism touched on his class stand and ideological feeling, posing the issue of “whether or not [Ai] is capable of singing for socialism.” Ai Qing also acknowledged “there is a crisis over the road forward.”17 The critics believed that this “crisis” came from his lack of enthusiasm for socialist life, as he “had not entered into it deeply enough.” Between 1950 and 1957, Ai Qing had five poetry collections published and, as the author later said, “most [of the poetry] were shallow songs of praise.”18 Comparatively speaking, On the Straits was the most interesting collection from this period, especially poems such as ‹Twin Peak Mountain›, ‹Days of Snowfall›, and ‹On the Straits of Chile›. Ai Qing’s poetical sensitivity and handling of detail seemed to have been restored, and this poetry demonstrated a renewed search for and reconstruction of an already vague artistic individuality. However, this exploration was quickly brought to a halt. In the anti-rightist campaign, Ai and the other writers of the Yan’an “Literary Resistance” group, who had stressed the spiritual individuality of intellectuals and the special rules of literary creation, were all denounced as members of an anti-party clique and as rightists.19

16

Wen Yiduo, ‹Ai Qing and Tian Jian›, in Complete Works of Wen Yiduo, vol. 3, Kaiming Bookstore, Shanghai, 1948. 17 For criticism of Ai Qing, and Ai’s self-criticism, see Zhou Yang’s report to the second expanded conference of the board of directors of the China Writers Association and Ai Qing’s speech at the conference in the combined no. 5–6 issue of Literature & Arts Press, 1956. 18 Ai Qing, ‹Preface› in Beyond the Border Collection, Flower City Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1983. 19 These included Ai Qing, Ding Ling, Xiao Jun, Luo Feng, and Bai Lang. “Literary Resistance” is a short form for the Yan’an branch of the China National Literary & Arts Circles Resistance to the Enemy Association. Ding Ling acted as the head of this organization.

72

chapter four 3. The Fate of the ‘Nine Leaves’ Poets

In the 1940s, the poetry grouping of Mu Dan, Zheng Min, Du Yunxie, Yuan Kejia, Xindi, Chen Jingrong, Hang Yuehe, Tang Qi, and Tang Shi, was unquestionably China’s most vigorous. Possessing their own unique creative characteristics, these young poets “concentrated” around the periodicals Poetry Creation and China’s New Poetry. They faced a new social reality and a new prospect for poetry, and they advocated that poetry get close to this “serious time,” while stressing the artistic integrity of poetry. They drew sustenance from China’s classical poetry tradition, but found more useful artistic concepts and techniques of expression in twentieth century western “modernism.” The German-language poet Rilke and Anglo-American poets such as T. S. Eliot and Auden were held in high esteem and emulated by these emergent poets. In their view, China’s new poetry could no longer effectively continue to develop the romantic poetry style of the Crescent Moon poetry school; new subject matter and techniques were needed. They explored the possibilities of integrating “modernism” with Chinese reality, and undertook novel, startling experiments in poetical language and technique. They discarded sentimental, shallow cliché, employed clear, sturdy “modern vernacular.” They expressed modern experiences and a modern consciousness, and revealed the complexities and depths beneath phenomena through the creative handling of language. Together with the efforts of Feng Zhi and others during this period, these poets had the possibility of forming a different turning point in the road of China’s new poetry. However, in the 1950s, the world of poetry did not sympathize or agree with their “desire to embrace the life of history, to offer as tribute our insignificant work in the brilliance of magnificent history,” and did not leave them a space “to send out sincere prayers from out of deep subjective thoughts, to call out and respond to the sounds of the age.”20 In the late 1940s, when the idea that poetry was a tool of politics and class struggle already held an important position in poetry circles, these poets still absolutely refused to acknowledge any link between the two. They believed there was a close relationship between modern life and political life, and that poetry, as an expression of the profound experiences of people, could not free itself of the influence of political life. Yet they believed poetry has its independent character, and it could not become uniformly politicized and adopt a narrow view based on “class 20

‹Our Call› in lieu of a preface in China’s New Poetry, no. 1, Shanghai, 1948.

hidden poets and poetry groupings

73

analysis.” Naturally, this was seen as criticizing and contending with the line of revolutionary literature, and the “modernist” tendency in their work had even less possibility of being allowed by contemporary literary norms. Therefore, after 1949, although a few poems by some of these poets were published, as a poetry grouping they ceased to exist. At the time, in the many newly published books on the history of China’s new literature, in the many review essays and anthologies of new poetry “since May Fourth,” the “strategy” adopted toward this poetry grouping was to ignore it and to select none of their poetry for inclusion in anthologies. They were deliberately buried and forgotten. In 1958 Mu Dan was denounced as a “historical counter-revolutionary” and lost the right to write (although translation was permitted) because he had participated in China’s expeditionary army during the war of resistance; Tang Qi and Tang Shi were branded rightists at the time. After more than thirty years, in the 1980s, during a broad movement intent on unearthing “literary fossils,” this poetry grouping was rediscovered and named the “Nine Leaves group.”21

4. The Lot of the ‘July Group’ Poets In 1981, a poetry anthology entitled White Flowers featured the work of poets called the “July Group.” These poets were: Ah Long, Lu Li, Sun Dian, Peng Yanjiao, Fang Ran, Ji Fang, Zhong Xuan, Zheng Si, Zeng Zhuo, Du Gu, Lu Yuan, Hu Zheng, Lu Dian, Xu Fang, Niu Han, Lu Mei, Huatie, Zhu Jian, Zhu Guhuai, and Luo Luo. In the preface of White Flowers22 it states: “Even if this poetry group obtains public acknowledgement, it cannot be represented by these 20 poets. In fact, there are still other, more accomplished poets—if for non-poetical reasons—whom it was inconvenient and also unnecessary to include in this anthology, yet whose work at the time is better capable of representing the style and characteristics of the early period of this group.” These unnamed poets were Ai Qing, Tian Jian, Zou Difan, and others, and probably also included the leader of the “July group,” Hu Feng. As the literary and

21 In 1981, the Jiangsu People’s Publishing House published an anthology of the collected works of these nine poets. The name of the anthology was the Nine Leaves Collection. As a result, this 1940s poetry grouping has since been known as the “Nine Leaves.” 22 Lu Yuan & Niu Han ed., White Flowers, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1981; ‹Preface› written by Lu Yuan.

74

chapter four

artistic thought of Hu Feng and his associates was already subject to organized critical attack in the late-1940s, a commensurate amount of heavy pressure formed against this poetry group. After 1949, there was an obvious reduction in the work of the group’s members, and some of their work was criticized when it was published. The most important example is that of Hu Feng’s “five part epic poem,” over 3,000 lines in length, written between November 1949 and January 1950. The overall title of the poem was ‹Time Begun›, with other parts entitled ‹Joyous Praise›, ‹Commendation of Honor›, ‹Requiem›, and a second section called ‹Joyous Praise›. Hu Feng expounded on the significance of the birth of the new China out of a recent history of humiliation and struggle, including much praise of Mao Zedong within the poem. However, his narration of “history” and eulogizing of heroic martyrs and leaders did not entirely adopt the “discourse mode” of the time, and his extravagant introduction of personal experience and subjective emotions produced a distance between this poem and contemporary norms for poetry writing. Not long after it was published, the poem was criticized as an example of the “subjective idealism” of Hu Feng’s literary and artistic thought. Also, at this time, Lu Li, Lu Yuan, and Niu Han were very productive, but their original writing style was inferior to what it had been and publication opportunities were decreasing by the day. The poetical theory of the Hu Feng group was criticized as a component part of their literary theory in the early-1950s. Ah Long’s ‹Man and Poetry› (1948), ‹Poetry and Reality› (1951), ‹What is Poetry›, and other essays featured many disputable points with regard to his views on poetry, his assessment of modern Chinese poets, and the yardstick he used in making such assessments. The criticism of these essays in the early-1950s became part of the critical attack on Hu Feng literary and artistic thought. Work by Ah Long—such as ‹On Tendentiousness› and ‹Some Thoughts on Positive Characters and Villains›23—was subjected to harsh criticism. Furthermore, public comments Hu Feng made

23 Ah Long, ‹On Tendentiousness›, Literature & Arts Studies, (Tianjin), no. 1, 1950; and, ‹Some Thoughts on Positive Characters and Villains›, Starting Point (Shanghai), no. 2, 1950. Critics believed the former essay propagated the idealistic point that “art is politics,” that it “resisted Marxism Leninism on the party-nature of thought on literature and the arts” (see Chen Yong, ‹On the Relationship of Literature and the Arts with Politics—A Critique of Ah Long’s “On Tendentiousness”›, People’s Daily, 12 March 1950). As to the latter, accusations were made that Ah Long twisted Marx to promote his mistaken viewpoints (Shi Du & Jiang Tianzuo, ‹Oppose the Twisting and Falsification of Marxism Leninism›, People’s Daily, 19 March 1950).

hidden poets and poetry groupings

75

on poetry in 1948 were subject to continuous censure thereafter. Hu believed poetry should be the voice of the accusations of the suffering people, the voice of praise as the people progress, and that poetry should be progressing among the people as they progress. However, “progressing among the people as they progress does not necessarily mean that poetry can only exist amidst the progressing people:” . . . because history is unitary, the life environment of any person is a side of history, this side connects to another, and so it is possible for any person to enter the depths of history. . . . Wherever the people are, there is history. Wherever there is life, there is struggle, and where there are places where there is life and struggle, poetry should be able to be there.

Hu Feng went on to say: Where are the people? Around you. The progress of the poet and the progress of the people are mutually achieved. Where is the starting point? Beneath your feet. Wherever there is life there is struggle; struggle must always progress from this time and this place.24

Here Hu Feng was resisting “thematic determinism” and stressing the importance of the quality of the “subjective spirit” in writing. In light of the historical circumstances at the time, these comments were also directed against the monopolizing position of “liberation area poetry,” which had more of a connection with the “fighting life” of the workers and farmers. Just after the Hu Feng group was declared a “counter-revolutionary clique,” some attack articles pointed out that: Around this period (the war of resistance—author), the “July group” represented by Hu Feng and Ah Long appeared and opposed this style of poetry (liberation area poetry practicing the literary and arts line of the workers, farmers, and soldiers—author). Hu Feng edited the July Poetry Series, wanting to establish the group’s name. They adopted an openly hostile attitude toward liberation area poetry. The “July group” advocated that their so-called poetry should be the “burning of the subjective spirit” of the poet, but, actually, it was only the burning of ugly individualistic souls, the burning of flames of hatred towards the revolution.25

24 Hu Feng, ‹For the Singers Who Sing for the People›, written for the inaugural issue of the Poetry Federation Series, put out by the universities of Beijing in 1948. Also, see ‹For Tomorrow›, Authors Book Room, 1950. And, also, Collected Commentaries of Hu Feng, vol. 3, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1985. 25 Shao Quanlin, ‹Talking of Poetry Outside the Door›, Poetry Monthly, no. 4, 1958.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE FORMS OF POETRY

1. The ‘Realist’ Tendency and the Narrative Poetry Tide At the birth of China’s new poetry, “realistic” narrative poetry was thought highly of and encouraged. This trend was further emphasized in the poetry of the League of Left-wing Writers during the 1930s. Later, the “realistic” narrative tendency became the most important trend in “liberated area poetry” during the 1940s. In fact, however, differing styles of poetry were being written in the “liberated areas” at the time. Generally speaking, poets active in the Jin-Cha-Ji area, such as Tian Jian, Chen Hui, Shao Zinan, Wei Wei, Man Qing, Fang Bing, Yuan Qianli, and Cai Qijiao, were primarily influenced by free-verse style poetry, which stressed the emotional and psychological reactions of poets in writing about the times and the revolution. Another branch was made up of poets living in northern Shaanxi province, in the Mount Taihang region, and was more influenced by folk culture (mainly northern folk songs, adapting artistic elements of folk storytelling and—singing). They put greater emphasis on writing about the military and farmer life set against the background of the war, and narrative poetry was their favored form. The poets of the former strand were clearly ignored, and, after 1949, most of them disappeared from poetry circles. The highly productive Tian Jian aptly altered his creative path early on, while the free-verse writing Cai Qijiao, on the other hand, was often viewed as “heterodox.” Conversely, the folk poetry style narrative poetry written in the liberated areas was established as the direction of contemporary poetry composition. Works often listed as “classics” were ‹Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang› (by Li Ji), ‹Tale of Catching the Train› (by Tian Jian), ‹Trap› and ‹Waters of the Zhang River› (by Ruan Zhangjing), and ‹Wang Jiu’s Complaint› and ‹Immortal› (by Zhang Zhimin). This was the result of the demand for a shift from the emotional lyricism of intellectuals to writing about the “new world, new characters,” and for writing poetry in a “national style.” In twentieth century China, the need to develop new poetry was offered as the rational for demanding that poetry break through narrow scopes and subject matter, that it be more “realistic,” expand its contacts

the forms of poetry

77

with and show more concern for the life of Chinese people, that poets’ “imaginative sympathy” likewise expand, and that a distance be kept from the concepts and expressive modes of solipsism, sentimentalism, and “natural expression.” However, left-wing poetry’s understanding of the “realistic” and “narrative nature” was weighted towards consideration of the “social function” of poetry, and stressed a “true” reflection of “objective life” when dealing with social phenomena and facts of life. This harmed and inhibited the poet’s grasp of the world, of human emotion, and the introduction of the poet’s will and thought into the world, and caused poetry to evolve into an exercise in copying out life phenomena without any psychological insights. Another consequence was vagueness about the characteristics of poetry, fiction, and other literary forms. In the 1950s, the “author entering deeply into life, paying attention to the true reflection of realty and descriptions of the forms of characters” was seen as an important expression of progress in poetry, and led to the following proposal of a “guiding nature:” “Archetypal form is a special means by which art reflects current life and educates the people, and poetry is no exception. Even though poetry’s methods of representation have their own special nature,” “in the realm of poetry a lack of emphasis on the creation of representative forms is probably the result of an incorrect understanding of lyrical poetry, believing that to ‘lyricize’ is to express emotion, and has nothing to do with the forms of characters. This is a mistake.”1 The “realist” tendency in 1950s and 1960s poetry was, on the one hand, manifest through the unusual “flourishing” of narrative poetry and, on the other, by the fact that the majority of short lyric poems was written using the framework of character(s), setting, and incident. An “upsurge” in narrative poetry writing had already occurred in the “liberated areas” in the 1940s, and, in the 1950s and 1960s, it continued and developed. Crude statistics indicate that approximately 100 long narrative poems were published during this latter period. Notable among them were: Li Ji’s ‹Chrysanthemum Rock›, ‹Song of Life›, ‹Tale of Yang Gao› (in three parts), and ‹To Kunlun›; Ruan Zhangjing’s ‹Golden Conch› and ‹Symphonic Poem on Baiyun Ebo›; Tian Jian’s ‹Three Long Poems›, ‹Heroes’ War Song›, and ‹Tale of Catching the Train› (in seven parts); Li Bing’s ‹Zhao Qiao’er› and ‹Liu Hulan›; Zang Kejia’s ‹Li Dazhao›; Guo Xiaochuan’s ‹Song in Praise of Snow›, ‹Deep Mountain Valleys›, ‹One

1 Yuan Shuipai, ‹Preface› to China Writers Association, ed. Poetry Anthology: September 1953–December 1955, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1956.

78

chapter five

and Eight›, ‹Stern Love›, and ‹Triptych for a General›; Ai Qing’s ‹Black Eels› and ‹Story of Hidden Guns›; Wen Jie’s ‹Flames of Vengeance› and ‹The Eastern Wind Hastens On the Waves of the Yellow River›; Qiao Lin’s ‹Ma Lanhua›; and Wang Zhiyuan’s ‹Walnut Hill›. The ideological and artistic value of all these long narrative poems cannot be generalized, yet the issue of poetry carrying out the “task” of fictional and dramatic forms and not considering artistic methods in relation to the formal characteristics of different literary modes, was raised and queried by critics at the time. Comparatively speaking, narrative poetry based on rearrangements of minority nationality folk poetry reached relatively high artistic standards. These included different treatments of ‹Cloud Watching For Her Husband› by Xu Jiarui, Gong Liu, Xu Chi, and Lu Ning; Bai Hua’s ‹Peacocks›; and Wei Qilin’s ‹Hundred Bird Coat›. The narrative poems ‹Purple Lilacs› and ‹Big Snowfall›, written by Gao Ping during the mid-1950s, were based on the subject matter and art of Tibetan folk stories and poetry, and were relatively accomplished. In the early 1950s, there was a minor upsurge in the collection, rearrangement, and publication of the lyric and narrative poetry of minority nationalities, and there was the possibility of this literature becoming an important source of artistic material for contemporary poetry (a situation that has in fact occurred). Fairly influential minority nationality folk poetry published at the time included short lyric poems of Tibetan and other nationalities, and epics and narrative poems such as ‹Gada Plum Orchard› (Mongolian), ‹Ashima› (Yi people), ‹The Original Foundations of Axi› (Yi), ‹Zhaoshu Village› (Tai), and ‹Escape from Marriage Melody› (Lisu). In 1957, People’s Literature published selections of Chinese translations of the love poetry of the sixth Dalai Lama, Cangyang Jiacuo, in aid of expanding the perspectives of poets. Li Ji, Wen Jie, and Zhang Zhimin, are major representatives of the “realist” form of poetry. Li Ji (1922–1980) entered the contemporary poetry scene as a successful practitioner of the literary line established by the rectification campaign in literature and the arts in Yan’an. In the 1950s, he was set up as a “model of the integration of poetry with the working people.”2 In the early 1950s, Li Ji continued with the revolutionary

2 See Feng Mu, ‹A Judgment that Goes Against the Facts›, Poetry Monthly, no. 2, 1960; An Qi, ‹Let Exploration Progress Following the Path of Integration with the Working People›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 5, 1960; and other similar essays.

the forms of poetry

79

struggle as his subject matter, writing narrative poems such as ‹Th e Information Girl› and ‹Chrysanthemum Rock›. In the winter of 1952, he moved home and “settled” in the Yumen oilfields in Gansu province, staying there for thirty years and writing about the oil industry and workers in the oilfields. For this reason, he was (quite singularly) praised as the “oil poet.” On this subject, he published five collections of short poetry, including the Yumen Poetry Chapbook (1955) and A Salute to Oil Workers (1956), and eight long narrative poems, including ‹Song of Life› (1956), ‹Tale of Yang Gao› (1959–1960), and ‹To Kunlun› (1964). In handling this subject matter, Li always observed and experienced it from the perspectives of war and construction, binding the two themes together and shifting from one to the other. In formal and linguistic exploration, he understood the contradictions between folk forms and new poetical materials, and for a time experimented with semi-classical forms popular during the 1950s (a four-character line form). Later, in ‹Tale of Yang Gao›, he experimented with aspects of the story telling-singing form of Northern drum lyrics. However, his contemporary work never achieved the success of ‹Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang›. Ruan Zhangjing (1914–) and Zhang Zhimin (1926–1998) were similar to Li Ji in that the narrative poetry they wrote during the 1940s was based on the art of Northern folk songs. They were able to coordinate this with the handling of their subject matter of traditional countryside customs and a life of struggle. However, when the poetry trend of the 1950s demanded that they shift their subject matter to economic construction, they discovered that their original artistic methods were not suited to the new subject matter. There was a period when Ruan Zhangjing stopped using the folk song form and colloquial speech, and used the written language free-verse form (“semi-free form”). Having initially been approved of as explorers of the “integration of new poetry and the working people,” this “change in direction (stance)” could be considered a “move backwards,” but this was not the original aim of themselves and Li Ji. When Li Ji returned to borrowing aspects of the arts of folk poetry and story telling-singing, Ruan Zhangjing also attempted to find new states and linguistic patterns in folk songs and classical frontier poetry for the poems he wrote about the construction of iron and steel factories and the changes in life in Inner Mongolia (the poetry series ‹Trips Beyond the New Frontier› and ‹Wulanchabu›). But Ruan never again enjoyed good reviews like those he had received for ‹Waters of the Zhang River›. Zhang Zhimin, however, persevered with the folk

80

chapter five

song style in writing about life in the Northern countryside. Zhang constructed a picture of the countryside through dramatic details of life while using the colloquial speech of country people in writing collections such as Characters in a Cooperative and Village Wind. The poetry in his 1963 collection Silhouettes of a Journey to the West was, however, in obvious imitation of classical poetry and lyrics. The creative processes of Li Ji, Ruan Zhangjing, and Zhang Zhimin are examples of a situation where the “subjective creativity” of writers was extremely limited, and the contradictions faced in a situation when the accumulation of the customs and artistic forms of folk poetry cannot be appropriately used. Wen Jie (1923–1971) relied on different artistic sources in writing his poetry. As an embedded newspaper reporter with the military during the civil war in the 1940s, Wen was located in Xinjiang, and during the early 1950s was the New China News Agency reporter in the territory. His experience of life and art during this period had a great influence on his later choices of poetical subjects and artistic methods. In a poetical environment in which there was a relatively limited choice of “resources,” those which Wen found were serviceable and allowed him to avoid the loss of an artistic basis that Li Ji and Ruan Zhangjing suffered. Wen had a good understanding of the customs, folk legends and poetry of the Kazak, Uighur, Mongol, and other peoples that live in Xinjiang. At the same time, Soviet poets such as Surkov and Isakovsky who wrote “pastorals of life,” offered Wen some enlightenment on how to poetically refine and organize materials from life.3 In People’s Literature in 1955, Wen Jie published five series of poems all of which were concerned with the life of minority nationalities in Xinjiang, including ‹Love Song of Turpan›, ‹Bositeng Lakeshore›, and ‹Guozigou Mountain Ballad›. These poems and other pieces were brought together in the 1956 book Pastorals of Mount Tianshan. The tone and style of pastorals was utilized to deal with the topic of “songs of praise,” and gave free reign to Wen Jie’s talent in artistically handling “narrative.” In short poems such as ‹Under the Apple Tree›, ‹Aspirations›, and ‹The Hunter›, Wen Jie makes an effort to establish a circular, wholistic structure, and to increase the space for emotional expression through the refinement of “incident” and “detail.”

3 In Poetry Appreciation, in discussing Wen Jie’s ‹Love Song of Turpan›, He Qifang states: “Of course, it writes of the life of our brother nationalities, but in its method of writing it is similar to short poems about the loves of young people written by foreign poets.” Collected Writings of He Qifang, vol. 5, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1983: 464.

the forms of poetry

81

These poems . . . “were immediately noticed and welcomed upon publication. These poems are characterized by the novel feeling of the scenery, objects, and life they describe, and the depiction of the love between young people that rarely appears in our poetry.”4 In 1958 during the “Great Leap Forward,” Wen Jie and Li Ji threw themselves into political campaigns and work in Gansu; aside from writing reports and news dispatches, they also used poetry to report the local news, writing what was called “masthead poetry.” In the late-1950s, Wen Jie returned to his familiar subject matter and began writing the long narrative poem ‹Flames of Vengeance›. The first two parts of the poem—‹Age of Upheaval› and ‹Grasslands in Revolt›—were published in 1959 and 1962 respectively. Only a few stanzas of the third part—‹The People Awakened›—were published in newspapers and literary journals, as the “Cultural Revolution” made publication in its entirety impossible. The poem is a record of the 1950–1951 rebellion on the Balikun grasslands in the east of Xinjiang. Wen’s grand artistic structure sought to create a broad, imposing air; its description of the social background to the events, its arrangement of a complicated web of relationships between characters, and its stress on the depiction of the personalities of characters offered good reasons for the poem to be termed a “novel in poetical-form.”5 Moreover, “this sort of broad background, this sort of complex struggle, and this sort of colorful description of people’s lives, has seemingly never before appeared in the history of new poetry.”6 However, at the time there were still misgivings: “In the modern age when there are independent modes of the literary arts of fiction, drama, and film,” ought modes of poetry carry materials handled by narrative works of fiction and other arts? “Do not forget that the art of poetry has its strong points and its limitations.”7

2. The Artistic Path of Young Poets The poetical flavor of the social “transition” in 1949 attracted a number of youths to poetry: in fact, the upsurge in the number of young poets

4

Ibid. Xu Chi, ‹On “Age of Upheaval”›, People’s Daily, 21 July 1959. 6 He Qifang, Poetry Appreciation, in Collected Writings of He Qifang, vol. 5: 468. 7 An Qi, ‹Reading Wen Jie’s “Age of Upheaval”›, in On Narrative Poetry, Authors Publishing House, 1962. 5

82

chapter five

was one of the wonders of the time. The first poetry collections of Shao Yanxiang (Singing of Beijing), Li Ying (Poetry on Field Operations), and Han Xiao (Accusations of Blood and Tears) were all published in 1951. Gong Liu’s Short Songs from the Borderlands and Zhang Yongmei’s New Spring were published in 1954, and 1955–1956 saw the publication of Reminiscences of Jinsha River by Bai Hua, Glorious Nebula by Hu Shao, Clamorous High Plateau by Liang Shangquan, Song of the Forest by Fu Chou, Morning on Mount Daba by Yan Yi, Beneath the Himalayas by Gu Gong, Girl Beside the Huai River by Yan Zhen, Sung for the Hun River by Sun Jingxuan, Nocturne of a Farming Village by Liu Shahe, and many more. At the time, most of these writers were in the military. Moving towards poetry and moving towards revolution were two sides of the same road for them. “Because I’m a soldier, I write poetry; because I write poetry, I’m referred to as a soldier” (Gong Liu); “It is my belief fighting and writing were my earliest forms of thought and action,” “a poet’s duty is a soldier’s duty” (Li Ying)—and this occurred in an age in which the concept of art was extensively politicized. From the start, these young writers dealt with issues of artistic “tradition” and artistic experience. They primarily drew their experience from new poetry as it was handed down from “May Fourth” with the freeverse form at its core, as well as from foreign romantic poetry, which still had a great influence on poets in China. Compared to the young poets of the 1940s, this “artistic preparation” had deficiencies. This was related not only to expression and technique, but was also due to restricted poetical modes and areas of knowledge. Comparatively speaking, the standard of the poets who went with the army to western Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Tibet, was superior to the general level at the time. Aside from individual circumstances, this was not unrelated to the environment in which they lived: the tropical rain forests, the snowcovered mountains, the dull red moon and the burning stars at night, the dust of horse trains and the cooking of the mountain people . . . and the dances, legends, and songs they found there. Almost all these young writers participated in collecting and arranging the ancient songs, folk epics, and folk lyric poetry they found the China’s southwest, and some undertook the “re-creation” of them. All this spurred their imaginations and enriched their methods of expression. Although the “aspirations” of their poetry were not much different, the natural scenery and the local conditions and customs of various nationalities became a backdrop or projection for their emotions, and, with the addition of the rich metaphors and methods of expression of folk poetry, this proved a successful

the forms of poetry

83

way of avoiding shallow descriptions of phenomena and the deductive reasoning through the use of political concepts that afflicted other poetry of the time. In the 1980s, some researchers termed these poets the “southwest frontier poetry grouping,” and its membership included Gong Liu, Bai Hua, Gu Gong, Gao Ping, Fu Chou, and Zhou Liangpei. Gong Liu (1927–) was the first of these poets to win praise in poetry circles. Born in Nanchang in Jiangxi province, he joined the Liberation Army in October 1949 and travelled with it to Yunnan. In 1955, People’s Literature published three series of poems by Gong on the subject of a frontier soldier’s life: the ‹Mount Kawa Series›, the ‹Xishuangbanna Series›, and ‹Mornings in Ximeng›. This work immediately “received the praise of readers,”8 as well as that of poets and critics: “The poetry of Gong Liu is a new type of singing from the life of a soldier that is full of healthy, noble influences on our troops.”9 During this period, he had four poetry collections published: Short Songs from the Borderlands (1954), Sacred Post (1955), City Walls at Dawn (1956), and In the North (1957). A delicate sensibility, singular imaginative beauty, and a fresh linguistic style characterized Gong’s poetry of the time. His poetry featured an unusual overall artistic ability established on a foundation of emotion and imagination, a stress on the wholistic composition of poems, as well as a tendency to explore lyrical angles and expressive modes. In In the North, Gong tries to integrate the South’s “dreams and feelings” with the North’s expansiveness and “philosophical thought.” This type of writing is manifested as a structure in which the description of things becomes a “sublimation of philosophical thought.” In an age that greatly stressed the expression of concepts, this type of writing quickly evolved into a model of “poetical form” that was extensively utilized by others. Shao Yanxiang (1933–) is from Shaoxing in Zhejiang province. While at high school in Beiping, he began writing poetry, prose essays, and fiction. In 1948, he entered the French Department of the China-France University. When Beiping was liberated, Shao, after a short course of study at Northern China University, went to work at New China Radio (later renamed as Central People’s Radio). His news work allowed him many opportunities to visit important construction sites in the 1950s. In his poetry collections Going to a Distant Place (1955) and For the Comrades (1956), with the relatively unrestrained lines of the free-verse 8 Zang Kejia, ‹Preface› in 1956 Poetry Anthology, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1957. 9 Ai Qing, ‹Gong Liu’s Poetry›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 13, 1955.

84

chapter five

form, Shao wrote of seething construction scenes and the enthusiasm of youths devoting themselves to the work. The “distant place” is a “central image” in many of his poems. It is not only an object of concrete description, but also a symbol of hope, of accepting responsibility, and providing meritorious service. Shao’s poetry masters the feelings of pride and idealism of youthful workers through the expression of inner emotions: The desire of several generations to build a modernized nation appears through poetical images of the enthusiasm and purity of the dreams of youth. In the mid-1950s, there were changes in Shao Yanxiang’s work. In the “write truth” trend in literary thought of the time, feeling that poetry should assist in eliminating the “remnants of the old society that block our progress,” Shao wrote the narrative poem ‹Jia Guixiang› and some satirical pieces. ‹Jia Guixiang› reveals how a young female farm worker is slurred, attacked, and forced into suicide, and manifests the author’s criticism of outworn concepts and bureaucratism. Li Ying (1926–) is from Fengrun County in Hebei province. He began writing poetry in high school, and, together with school friends, put out a collection of poetry exercises Seedlings of Stone City (1944). Li entered the Chinese Department at Beijing University in 1945, and began to have poetry published in journals such as Literature Magazine and China’s New Poetry. His early work reveals a consciousness of living in a period of “historical transition,” as his poetry features sincere curses for the old world and hopes for a new age. This was the topic of many of Li Ying’s poems at the time, but he used more modern poetry techniques in expressing it. In early 1949, Li left school, took a job as a reporter for the military division of the New China News Bureau, and went south with the army. Afterwards, he continued in the army working in cultural and propaganda posts. From 1951 into the 1990s, Li has had over 30 poetry collections published, including Poetry on Field Operations, Red Lights on Tian’anmen, Open Country of Flowers, Red Willows, Date Orchard Village, The Northern Frontier Red Like Fire, Unforgettable 1976, I’m Proud, I’m a Tree, and Blessings of Spring, as well as a number of anthologies, such as Li Ying Poetry Selections, and Li Ying Lyric Poetry Selections. The subject matter of Li’s poetry was often related to military life and emotions. In his poetry, the “soldier” is not just a profession, but more a symbol of related responsibilities, the spirit of devotion, and an inspirational character. The poetry of Li Ying was thought of highly during the 1960s, in particular during the “Cultural Revolution.” His relatively delicate artistic sensibility and his rather good grasp of Chinese

the forms of poetry

85

and foreign poetry constituted a comparative “superiority,” and enabled his realistic descriptions of objective matter to obtain breathing space and elevation. His responses to the colors, sounds, forms, and atmosphere of the natural world, and his emotion-based stratification of the characteristics of things, were of help when he wrote on socio-political subjects, which therefore possess relatively rich emotive content that, to a degree, strengthened the element of “humanity” in his poetry. Some of Li’s short poetry in Red Willows and Mountains Covered in Red Flowers, for example, demonstrate an effort to establish a refined, simple, harmonious, yet purposeful style. Li utilized romanticized images and formal devices in an attempt to poeticize the politicized life of the times. His artistic constructs had a broad influence on poetry writing at the time. During the “Hundred Flowers Period” in 1956–1957, some young poets participated in a trend to explore new roads in art, were rebuffed in these attempts, and lost the right to write. The constitution of the ranks of young poets was greatly altered as a result. On the eve of the “Cultural Revolution” in 1963–1964, the China Writers Association organized and published individual collections of the work of young poets considered the most successful of the time in contemporary poetry circles. The prefaces were written by “old poets” such as Zang Kejia, Zhang Guangnian, and Yan Chen, while the poets themselves were Yan Zhen, Li Ying, Liang Shangquan, Zhang Yongmei, Fu Chou, Yan Yi, and even Lu Qi and Zhang Wanshu, among others. Overall, although these collections featured poetry of increased technique and more ornate and polished styles, the sincerity and vitality of the young poets in the early 1950s had already been hugely damaged or destroyed by contemporary political norms.

3. Political Lyricism Broadly speaking, from 1950 into the 1970s, the majority of poetry was political poetry: either the subject matter or the perspective was politicized. However, there still existed a more fixed model of poetry, termed the “political lyric poetry” form. This concept appeared in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but it had appeared earlier as an independent form of poetry. The earliest influential works in this form were Shi Fangshu’s ‹The Most Forte Note of Peace› in 1950, Shao Yanxiang’s ‹I Love Our Land› in 1954, Guo Xiaochuan’s seven-part series ‹To Young Citizens› in 1955, and He Jingzhi’s ‹Lift the Voice and Sing› in 1956. As regards

86

chapter five

to artistic origins, there were two sources of influence on political lyric poetry writing. One was the romantic style in new poetry; more precisely, according to Bian Zhilin,10 the grandiose, advocacy vein, like the works of Guo Moruo. Of course, a more direct inheritance was from the poetry of the League of Left-Wing Writers in the 1930s, and Ai Qing (such as ‹To the Sun›), Tian Jian (such as ‹For the Fighters›), and the great number of poems meant to stir up people during the War of Resistance. The other influence was from western nineteenth century romantic poets, as well as, and especially, the work of the revolutionary poets of the Soviet Union. During the period of the gestation and birth of China’s new poetry, the influence of “móra poets,” who were “resolved to resist and [whose] purpose laid in action,”11 such as Byron, Shelley, Petofi, and Mickiewicz, was deep and long lasting.12 The Soviet revolutionary poets, especially Mayakovsky, provided direct examples for contemporary political lyric poetry to follow in the handling of current politics and artistic expression. From the 1930s on, this “proletarian poet” held an important position in China’s left-wing poetry circles, and was even more highly appraised after 1949. China’s contemporary poets were most fascinated by one aspect of his writing: he “acted in unison with his class on all battle fronts,” “directly participated in struggle during the course of events” and “placed himself at the center of events,” he had a “majestic boldness of vision,” and a “power and voice like a bomb, like fire, like a flood, like steel.” And it was precisely due to these basic points that China’s contemporary poets believed him to be a “beloved comrade and advisor,” and his poetry was termed “arrows and banners inserted into the road.”13 10 Bian Zhilin, ‹Experiences Thought of While Lecturing on the Poetry of England›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 4 (November 1949). 11 Lu Xun, ‹On the Power of Móra Poetry›, Complete Works of Lu Xun, vol. 1, People’s Publishing House, 1959: 197. [Translator’s note: “Móra” is a Sanskrit word meaning “demon or devil.”] 12 Poetry theorists who proposed “pure delight” and “broad interest” be elements of poetry suggested young poets would do “best by learning less from Byron and Shelley, and more from Shakespeare and modern European and American poetry,” because the “the likes of Byron and Shelley of the romantic school,” while “their poetry cannot be overly blamed, they are most easily seen as role models by the young, but they are most unsuited to be such models.” See Zhu Guangqian, ‹For a Young Friend Who Writes New Poetry›, Zhu Guangqian’s Collected Essays on Aesthetics and Literature, Hunan People’s Publishing House, 1980. 13 From speeches by Yuan Shuipai, Zou Difan, and Lü Jian, and essays by Tian Jian, presented in June 1953, at a joint conference on Mayakovsky, organized by the National Literature Association (late the China Writers Association) Committee on Writing and the Literature & Arts Press.

the forms of poetry

87

In political lyric poetry, the “poet” appears as the mouthpiece of a “class” (or “the people”) expressing emotional responses to, or opinions on, important contemporary political events or trends of thought in society. Normally, it was not possible for a variety of viewpoints and voices to appear in this type of commentary and response because the creative “resources” are located in the unitary narrative of actual history as it occurs. The form of this poetry consists of a combination of strong emotional catharsis and the recounting of ideas that reads like political commentary: “actually it is abstract thought, abstract concepts, but expressed with figurative language.”14 Moreover, this “figure” gradually takes on the characteristics of an “abstract,” symbolic “sign.” Generally, political lyrics are long poems, frequently featuring a great deal of parallelism in laying out and exaggerating concepts and moods. At the same time, this form of poetry strives for distinct rhythms and sonorous sounds. Mayakovsky’s “staircase form” is frequently utilized, and a feeling of form is emphasized through an incessant infusion of methods of parallelism and antithesis common to classical Chinese poetry. This ‘agit-prop’ type of poetry appeared in huge quantities during times of large-scale political campaigns, such as the late-1950s, the eve of the “Cultural Revolution,” and during the “Cultural Revolution” itself. Its appearance was also accompanied by a mass fervor for poetry recitations.15 Many contemporary poets wrote this type of “political lyric poetry,” including Li Ying, Wen Jie, Yan Zhen, Zhang Zhimin, and Han Xiao. He Jingzhi and Guo Xiaochuan are considered the major practitioners of this form. He Jingzhi (1924–) was the primary writer of the literary scenario of the modern opera ‹The White-Haired Girl› (1945). The poetry he wrote during the 1940s in the “liberated areas” was later published in the collections There’s No Winter, Smile, and Flowers will Bloom in

See: Tian Jian, ‹Master of the New Age›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 13, 1953; and, ‹In Praise of a Sea Swallow›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 16, 1956. As further evidence of Mayakovsky’s position in contemporary poetry circles in China, between 1957 and 1961 People’s Literature Publishing House published five volumes of The Selected Works of Mayakovsky. 14 Xu Chi, ‹Some Poems by Guo Xiaochuan›, Poetry and Life, Beijing Publishing House, 1959. 15 From 1963, for two to three years, a mass fervor for poetry recitations appeared in Beijing and other major cities. In 1963 alone, there were as many as 40 “performances” of recitations in Beijing’s theaters (including recitations organized by factories, schools, and other organizations), and in some cases this developed into fi xed “weekly recitals.” The readers, or performers, were usually famous movie and theater actors.

88

chapter five

the Morning. His well-known poems from the 1950s and 1960s include ‹Return to Yan’an›, ‹Lift the Voice and Sing›, ‹Song of the Mountains and Rivers of Guilin›, ‹Ode to a Decade›, ‹Song of Lei Feng›, and ‹Window of a Train Going West›. Most can be found in the Let Out the Songs Collection16 and He Jingzhi Selected Poems. Like He Jingzhi, Guo Xiaochuan (1919–1976) travelled to Yan’an to join the revolution at the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan. The poetry he wrote while in the “base area” was very similar to the free-verse narrative form popular in the Jin-Cha-Ji area at the time (poets such as Chen Hui and Wei Wei). Around 1949, Guo worked in the news and propaganda ministry of the Communist Party, and, together with Chen Xiaoyu and Zhang Tiefu, under the collective name of “Ma Tieding,” he wrote a large number of miscellaneous commentary articles. His major works of the 1950s included ‹Advance on Difficulties›, ‹Throw Yourself Into Red-Hot Struggle›, and the poetry series ‹To Young Citizens›, ‹To the Ocean›, ‹In the Mountains›, and ‹Gazing at the Starry Sky›, and his major poems of the 1960s included ‹Three Songs on Forested Areas› (‹The Toasting Song›, ‹Song of Pines›, and ‹Song of a Blizzard›), ‹Forest of Sugar Cane—Green Gauze Curtain›, ‹The Charms of Xiamen›, and ‹Trip to Kunlun›. Also, during the mid-1950s, Guo wrote a number of narrative poems that best embody the fruits of the ideological exploration the poet undertook at the time: ‹Song in Praise of Snow›, ‹Deep Mountain Valleys›, ‹Stern Love›, and ‹One and Eight›. These poems, but especially ‹One and Eight› (together with ‹Gazing at the Starry Sky›), were controversial and subject to harsh criticism at the time.17 In the 1980s, poetry critics often discussed He Jingzhi and Guo Xiaochuan as a pair. This was because both dealt with “significant subject matter,” manifest a grand lyrical pose, and had similar modes of expression in their political poetry. However, the differences between them

16 He Jingzhi, Let Out the Songs Collection, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1961. When it was republished in 1972, the contents were rearranged, with some additions and subtractions, and some poems were revised to better suit the political situation at the time. 17 ‹One and Eight› was never officially published and, therefore, critical attacks on it were restricted to the leadership levels in literary circles. After the publication of ‹Gazing at the Starry Sky› in the November 1959 (no. 11) issue of People’s Literature, it was seen as an expression of extremely decadent and nihilistic emotions, as a “political mistake” that “cannot be countenanced.” (See: Hua Fu, ‹A Review of Guo Xiaochuan’s “Gazing at the Starry Sky”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 23, 1959.) ‹Song in Praise of Snow› and other poems were severely criticized in an essay published in the January (no. 1) 1960 issue of Poetry Monthly.

the forms of poetry

89

were also obvious. He Jingzhi’s poetry seldom, if ever, manifests conflicts or rifts in handling the relationships between the individual—the group, individuality—history, and individual perception—the essence of history. He does not acknowledge the ideological and aesthetical value of these conflicts and rifts. In his poetry the “lyrical subject” is already fully “essentialized,” as the limited life of the individual has blended into the organic whole, and because of its grasp of the “essence of history” it becomes a supremely self-confident, unlimited existence. It is difficult to find unharmonious elements in his poetry, or emotional or psychological perplexity or suffering. But in those of Guo Xiaochuan’s poems that are worthy of attention, the individual experience of contradictions in the process of being “essentialized” is carefully noted. “Overcoming” the “crisis” and realizing a transformation is the topic of Guo’s important poems (such as ‹Deep Mountain Valleys›, ‹Song in Praise of Snow›, ‹One and Eight›, and ‹Gazing at the Starry Sky›). However, because of an emotional reliance on the value of the individual and respect for the complexity of human life and emotions, there is an incomplete avoidance of displaying the concrete details and emotions of the contradictions. And this understanding and handling possesses an emotional richness that allows psychological contradictions and confusion, and the individual experience of suffering, anxiety, and happiness, to obtain aesthetical value. However, after Guo Xiaochuan was criticized in the late-1950s, his explorations were blocked and he was forced (or volunteered) to return to the specified track for literature (and social life) of the time, whereupon he entered into a writing stance close to that of He Jingzhi’s. In fact, the poems of Guo’s that were highly praised during the 1960s were becoming increasingly “formalized.”

CHAPTER SIX

THEMES AND FORMS OF FICTION

1. The Division of Fiction Writers After 1949, there were many changes in the creative circumstances of authors of “modern” fiction. Although Mao Dun had plans for writing a novel, perhaps conscious of the difficulty of doing so in the contemporary literary environment, he ultimately abandoned the attempt. Shen Congwen’s literary career met with major setbacks, and he later lost the “right” to write. After considering the difficulties he would have in altering his literary ideals and being unwilling to compromise himself,1 Shen stopped writing fiction and concentrated on research into cultural objects and ancient dress and adornments. As a representative writer of “popular fiction” (sometimes called “old fiction” by critics), Zhang Henshui and this form of fiction “died out” during the 1949–1966 period. Instead, during the 1950s, Zhang rewrote Chinese operas and folk legends into modern forms of fiction. Zhang Ailing (Eileen Chang) left Mainland China in 1952, at first moving to Hongkong, then immigrating to the United States. Xu Xu also moved to Hongkong in 1949. New works of these two writers continued to appear, but no longer were part of the Mainland literary scene. Though Qian Zhongshu wanted to continue writing fiction, the only choice the “age” left to him was in the area of literary research. As a writer of fiction, Fei Ming (Feng Wenbing) was “forgotten.” However, during the literary “thaw” in the mid-1950s, influenced by the romantic mood of the “Hundred Flowers” campaign, Fei made plans to write two novels, one on the experiences of several generations of Chinese intellectuals, and the other was to be based on his personal experiences: his “experience of changes in society since the start of the great revolution in Jiangxi and Hubei provinces, through the War of Resistance against Japan, the civil war, land reform after Liberation, up to the cooperativization of agriculture.” Yet, as quickly as

1 Shen Congwen, Congwen’s Letters Home, Shanghai Far-East Publishing House, 1996.

themes and forms of fiction

91

the “Hundred Flowers” period was aborted, so were Fei’s plans. Even if he were to continue writing, he felt he would have found it difficult to resolve problems he had already encountered: I have enthusiasm for it, but there are difficulties in the actual writing. Expressing changes in my emotions and thinking is easy, and they are expressed truthfully, but will the workers, farmers, and soldiers enjoy reading this? How to achieve the goal of universalization is a problem. Furthermore, the language I have mastered, in the Chinese it is beautiful and effectual, but whether it is suited to writing about life is also a problem.2

During the 1950s and 1960s, there was also no fiction of note by Shi Tuo and other writers. Other writers of fiction began to modify their artistic methods, the materials they selected, and their writing styles, to suit the needs of the new literary age. During the Korean War, Ba Jin lived on the frontlines for seven months and later published two collections of short stories on the subject: Stories of Heroes (1959) and Li Dahai (1961). “I so wanted to depict the features of their sublime spirit, to convey my respect and feelings of enthusiasm. But under my blunt pen, my expectations and efforts were transformed into these ineffectual words”3—a self-assessment that tallied with the actual situation. Zhang Tianyi, the author of ‹Big Lin and Little Lin› and ‹King Tutu›, mostly wrote children’s stories during the 1950s. ‹Story of Luo Wenying› and ‹Secret of the Precious Calabash›, among others, were very popular among the youth of the time. However, the Zhan Tianyi who had humorously and succinctly etched characters from all corners of society was no more to be seen. He also made plans to write a novel about the lives of intellectuals, and, like Fei Ming, nothing came of it. Ai Wu felt an “unprecedented happiness” that he “could speak to his satisfaction for the working people in [his] work.”4 In 1952, after going to the Anshan Steel and Iron Plant in the Northeast to “experience life,” Ai produced the novel Forged a Hundred Times into Steel and Return at Night, a collection of short stories. Stories in Return at Night, such as ‹Rain› and ‹Return at Night›, demonstrate clever, sensitive craftsmanship in the subtle ways in which Ai writes of feelings toward the new life

2 ‹Welcoming a Spring of Great Blossoming and Great Song—Interviews with Writers in Changchun›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 11, 1957. 3 Ba Jin, ‹Postface› to Li Dahai, Authors Publishing House, 1961. 4 Ai Wu, ‹Postface› to Return at Night, Authors Publishing House, 1958.

92

chapter six

in China. However, overall, even in Forged a Hundred Times into Steel, Ai suffered setbacks after a “change in direction” in his handling of materials and artistic concepts and methods. The readers’ deepest memories of Ai Wu are probably not of Mountain Wilderness and Hometown, but of Travels in the South from the 1930s. In 1961, he returned to Yunnan, and, after seeing the differences from the life of thirty years previously, Ai wrote Travels in the South Continued. Although he maintained his lyrical writing style and still played up frontier customs, the “status” of the narrator was entirely changed. Furthermore, the “gist” of the work was channeled into the simple conceptual frame of “contrast between the old and the new life” in China, and to a large degree the discoveries about social life and life in general that were present in the original work were not to be found in the new. Unlike Ai Wu, Sha Ting did not seek out a new “life base” and change the subject matter of his writing. The material for his work (a limited number of short stories) was still taken from Sichuan farming communities, and most of it is in two collections: Transition and Transition Collection. In the ‹Postface› to Transition, Shi Ting says of the stories collected there “although there were still many fl aws and inadequacies, yet, when compared to my earlier work, some new things were in evidence.”5 One of the “new things” was Sha’s enthusiasm for the “cadres at the basic level” and activists of the cooperativization movement in the countryside, whom he made the primary objects of his fiction. However, just as the collection’s title (“transition”) indicates, Sha’s original style and methods were not entirely abandoned, as his descriptions of the current situation in the countryside and the “advanced characters” that were his protagonists still exhibited his uncomplicated realistic writing style, and his method of calmly, pithily relating stories through the seemingly natural unfolding of daily life. This changed with the publication of ‹You Chase, I’ll Catch Up› in 1960, when Sha began to inject a bright, fervent basic tone and made an effort to shape images of new people “possessing communist style.” This short story, which tends towards superficiality and vacuity, was praised by contemporary commentators, who believed the author had broken through his originally limited style of writing, and “had made a step forward”6 on his creative path.

5 6

Sha Ting, ‹Postface› to Transition, Authors Publishing House, 1959. Yan Gang, ‹A Step Forward›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 21, 1960.

themes and forms of fiction

93

The careers as writers of Ding Ling, Xiao Jun, and Lu Ling, among others, were curtailed during the 1950s. However, for writers such as Zhao Shuli, Zhou Libo, Ouyang Shan, Zhou Erfu, and Ma Feng, this was one of their most productive periods. They also met with many difficulties, but, in nature and degree, they were not entirely of the same nature as those experienced by the former group of writers.

2. The Systemization and Classification of Themes During the “contemporary” period, the selection of subject matter for fiction (it was no different for other forms of literature) was of special importance. “Subject matter,”7 or theme, was held to relate to the degree to which the “truth” of the essence of social life was “reflected,” or mirrored, in literature, and was also related to the establishment of the “direction of literature.” A choice of subject matter based on the author’s accumulated life experience and the nature of his or her talent was questioned and ultimately negated. In the eyes of left-wing writers and literary theorists, the selection of phenomena from life as subject matter was related to the “nature” of the literature. During the literary rectification campaign in Yan’an, in his ‹Talks› Mao Zedong proposed that on the question of subject matter, revolutionary literature must shift to the expression of the “new world, new characters.” This position was implemented during the “contemporary” period (although there were limited adjustments and questioning of it at times). At the first literary representatives congress, Zhou Yang’s report saw the shift in subject matter (the phrase “new themes, new characters” was used repeatedly) as an important basis for liberated area literature being “the true new literature and arts of the people:” The struggles of nationalities and classes, and labor and production have become the themes that override all others in works of art; as in society, in works of art the workers, farmers, and soldiers have obtained the position

7 There were normally two understandings of the concept of “subject matter:” 1) The author “selects those things with which he is familiar, that he has a thoroughgoing understanding of, that he believes have value and significance, as the objects of his processing and refinement . . .” 2) It is “indicative of certain aspects of social life and social phenomena taken as materials.” In the “contemporary” period, the second explanation was the principal understanding of the term. These definitions were taken from: ‹Issues of Subject Matter›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 3, 1961.

94

chapter six of true heroes. Generally, intellectuals are working cadres in all aspects of the entire people’s liberation enterprise, and are written of as mental laborers integrated with the physical laborers. Motifs of intellectuals leaving the people’s struggle, and wallowing in lives in small circles and individual emotional worlds, have clearly become trivial and insignificant.8

Here, the differing figurative positions of the workers, farmers, and soldiers, and the intellectuals in works of art are clearly stipulated, and at the same time, the unmistakable differences between “the people’s struggle,” “production and labor,” and “lives in small circles and individual emotional worlds” were highlighted. From August until November 1949, Shanghai’s Literary Confluence Daily rolled out a debate over “whether or not the petit bourgeois class can be written” about, which also touched on an important thematic issue for fiction (and other arts). During the discussion, an essay by He Qifang was published, which during the 1980s was seen to be relatively comprehensive, dependable, and “carried conclusive characteristics:”9 In this new era, under the new direction for literature and the arts that calls for it to serve the people, but firstly the workers, farmers, and soldiers, in general art works in China must gradually change to have the workers, farmers, soldiers, and their cadres in the leading roles; furthermore, those works seeking to stress the epical nature of the major struggles of this great age also must feature representative characters of the workers, farmers, and soldiers, and their cadres, and with them as the protagonists or among the major leading roles; moreover, it is not possible for characters from the petit bourgeois class or non-worker and non-farmer classes to have leading roles. However, this does not mean that no works of literature and the arts may feature some petit bourgeois characters or characters not of the worker, farmer, and soldier classes in leading roles.10

This explanation, full of qualifications and seeming commands, is a reflection of the tense, circumspect psychology of participants during the discussion of these issues. After this, the debate surrounding subject matter carried on uninterrupted for several years. Throughout, the 8 Zhou Yang, ‹The Literature and Art of a New People› in A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, New China Bookstore, 1950, Beijing. 9 Zhu Zhai editor-in-chief, The History of Ideological Trends in Chinese Contemporary Literature, People’s Publishing House, 1987: 43. 10 He Qifang, ‹A Dispute over Issues of Production in Literature and the Arts›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 4. Also, see: Collected Writings of He Qifang, vol. 4, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1983: 183.

themes and forms of fiction

95

defenders and questioners of literary norms focused on the issue of subject matter in fiction and other arts. One of the major errors for which Hu Feng was attacked was what his critics generalized as [he] “opposes writing important subject matter, opposes creating positive characters.” In the late 1950s during the discussion of the fiction of Ru Zhijuan, the issue of subject matter was an important aspect of the debate. And during the “adjustment” in literature in the early 1960s, an “increase in types” of subject matter was the first issue to be raised. During the 1950s and 1960s, while writers and critics had differing opinions on this issue, when it came to points of view and methods of dealing with them, there was no difference. Firstly, subject matter was strictly classified. As yardsticks for classification, there were the social and life “spaces” of industry, agriculture, the military, school, and so on, as well as historical and current life subject matter. This classification in actuality included “class” background, which, at the same time, was also the fundamental basis for the differentiation of subject matter of the political life of social groups (and not “everyday life of the individual”). Secondly, different categories of subject matter were awarded differing values; namely, an acknowledgement of relationships of superior-inferior, primary-secondary, and high-low. The strict differentiation of classifications and the clear ordering of rankings were closely interrelated. As a result, the concepts of “primary subject matter” (or “significant subject matter”) and “secondary subject matter” (or “insignificant subject matter”) reappeared. In subject matter for fiction, the life of workers, farmers, and soldiers was superior to the life of intellectuals and “non-laboring people;” struggle of “significant” nature (normally indicative of contemporary political campaigns and “core work”) was superior to “personal” life such as “household matters, sexual love and family feeling;” current, urgent political tasks were superior to past historical scenarios; the modern revolutionary movement led by the Communist Party was superior to other facts and doings in “history;” and the expression of actions and struggle was superior to the depiction of “individual” emotion and psychology. Most of the fiction of the 1950s and 1960s faithfully adhered to the boundaries set out by this classification of subject matter. From the first congress of literary representatives, literary criticism also based the categorization of “inspections” of the success of fiction and literary issues on social life areas (like the factory, mine, village, and military base) and the contemporary development of political campaigns and central events

96

chapter six

(such as the Korean War, agricultural cooperativization, and the “Great Leap Forward”). Under these circumstances, classifications of subject matter unique to this period appeared, such as revolutionary historical subject matter, rural area subject matter, industrial subject matter, intellectual subject matter, and military subject matter. These concepts had their special meanings, stressing socio-political activities in these areas. So, “revolutionary historical subject matter” was not equivalent to “historical subject matter” and “historical fiction,” and “rural area subject matter” was clearly distinguished from new literature’s tradition of “native soil fiction” and “village fiction” since “May Fourth.” Looking at the fiction of this period, much of it came under the classifications of “revolutionary historical subject matter” and “rural area subject matter.” This bespoke both the numbers of such works, but also the artistic level. This situation developed because of the “importance” publicly attached to these two areas of subject matter. Moreover, there was a relationship to the experience of writers and literary “tradition.” New literature had already provided a rich experience of the descriptions of rural area life; many contemporary writers had intimate connections to rural areas; and, after the civil war, a number of intellectuals who had joined the revolution were fond of writing their “memories” of the “revolution.” Although decision-makers in literary circles strenuously promoted subject matter in other areas, such as “industrial subject matter,” expectations of work in these areas were never met. The “regulations” established by the classification and ranking of subject matter for contemporary fiction both influenced and restricted the forms of fiction and the overall situation as it related to the writing of fiction during this period: that is to say, the selection of the objects of expression and the “viewpoint” adopted in relation to these objects had consequences for the “composition” of fiction.

3. The State of Typology in Fiction In typology of fiction, this period tended toward a concentration on the “two extremes” of the novel and the short story. Mid-length fiction, or the novella, was probably considered an unstable form, and was not valued either critically or artistically. Critics of fiction paid a great deal of attention to the “boundaries” of short stories, and therefore the “novella-ization” of short stories was a phenomenon critics frequently warned about. There were approximately 400 novellas published dur-

themes and forms of fiction

97

ing the 1949–1966 period. Among the few relatively well-known ones were ‹The Story Before Ironwood› (by Sun Li), ‹In Days of Peace› (by Du Pengcheng), ‹The Visitor› (by Fang Ji), ‹Water Drops, Stone Pierced› (by Kang Zhuo), and ‹Return Home› (by Liu Shude). The emphasis on novels and short stories was based on their “function.” An important element in the value placed on novels was their grasp of the scale and volume of source materials from life. For many of those writers who felt the need to write “epical” works that “refl ect this great age,” the novel was the form best suited to realizing this majestic ambition. The value placed on the short story form at the time was grounded in the belief that it could quickly reflect life, and it was this very speed and timeliness as it related to society and politics that were the characteristics the era demanded of literature. Starting in the 1950s, a great increase in the number of literary periodicals gave impetus to the development of short story writing in the contemporary period.11 Therefore, during the 1950s and 1960s, when the success and existence of literary creativity needed to be gauged, short stories often appeared as a classification. Also, during this period the term “short story writer” bespoke the existence of specialists in the craft, and at no time previously (the 1930s and 1940s) or since (the 1980s) has the term been broadly used. Among those termed short story writers were Zhao Shuli, Li Zhun, Ma Feng, Wang Wenshi, Jun Qing, Wang Yuanjian, Ru Zhijuan, Lin Jinlan, Tang Kexin, and Lu Wenfu, though some have written novellas and novels. Although a great deal of attention was given to novels, the formal characteristics of novels were frequently considered self apparent and, therefore, not much research into its artistic forms was undertaken. On the other hand, starting in early-1950s, there was continuous discussion of the characteristics of short stories and creative issues as they related to this form. Mao Dun, Zhao Shuli, Wei Jinzhi, Ai Wu, Sha Ting, Jian Xian’ai, Luo Binji, Hou Jinjing, Zhou Libo, Sun Li, Ouyang Shan, Li Zhun, and Du Pengcheng were among those who published opinions on the subject. Some literary periodicals organized specialized seminars 11 During the 1950s and the first half of the 1960s, aside from the literary periodicals operated by the China Writers Association, every province, city, and self-governed territory had their own periodicals, and some more than one. This was a great increase in their number as compared to the 1930s and 1940s. Each issue of these periodicals had only a few dozen pages (only Harvest, founded in 1957, was large enough to publish novel-length fiction), which was most appropriate to the publication of poetry, the short story, and prose forms of literature.

98

chapter six

and study meetings on the short story. The China Writers Association also convened conferences of the subject, such as the 1962 “Conference on the Writing of Short Stories on Rural Area Subject Matter” in Dalian. (Of course, the focus of discussion at this conference was not on the short story form.) Another important event in this ongoing discussion was the written conversation on the short story form that occurred in the pages of the Literature & Art Paper during 1957. The discussants were most concerned with issues relating to the special nature of the short story form and in defining the limits of its structural form. Mao Dun believed the archetypal significance of bits of life, or selected “crosssections,” should be dealt with in discovering the special characteristics of short stories. Wei Jinzhi proposed the terms “big knot” and “little knot” be used to differentiate the short story from the novel. And Hou Jinjing was primarily concerned with the nature of characters, believing the short story tailored and expressed cross-sections of such dispositions in appropriate cross-sections of life, and so on. These disputatious opinions actually shared more in common than otherwise. They stressed characteristics of the short story such as “seeing the big through the small” and “suggesting the whole through a part” from different angles, such as the handling of the phenomena of life, the contradictory nature of composition and the degree to which it is played out, and the composition of the nature of characters. For China’s contemporary writers the goal of literature was to express the “whole” and the “essence” of life. The short story did not lose the ability to reveal the “whole” of social life and the “essence” of history because of the form’s brief reflections on life, for it did so by other means: it “could prove the steep cliffs of the stratigraphical structure, could reveal the harbingers of spring in plum buds and willow shoots, could bespeak the life of Peking Man through one molar. . . .”12 Of course, this contemporary discussion of the short story probably had a different meaning. Some writers partial to the tradition of realist fiction

12 This discussion occurred in issues no. 4, 5, 6, 26, 27, and 28 of the Literature & Arts Press in 1957. The important articles were ‹Miscellaneous Comments on the Short Story› by Mao Dun, ‹“Short” and “Deep”› by Duanmu Hongliang, and ‹Big Knots and Little Knots›, ‹Cuts and Descriptions›, and ‹Two Tendencies› by Wei Jinzhi. Other important articles on the characteristics of short stories were Jian Xian’ai’s ‹I’m Also Talking About Short Stories› (in Red Crag, no. 8, 1957), “Ma Tieding” ’s ‹Recommending Writing Short Stories›, Ba Ren’s ‹On Some Issues Concerning Writing Short Stories› (in People’s Literature, no. 3, 1959), Shao Quanlin’s ‹On the Short Story› (in Liberation Army Literature & Arts, no. 6, 1959), and Hou Jinjing’s ‹A Few Words on the Short Story› (in Literature & Arts Press, no. 8, 1961).

themes and forms of fiction

99

in the west since the nineteenth century (such as Mao Dun and Wei Jinzhi) attempted to use their experience of this literature to promote the “modernization” of techniques and ideas in fiction. Their proposal of “strict” ideas about the short story was actually an attempt to reverse the adoption of the “folk tradition” by the art of fiction since Yan’an in the 1940s and the tendencies toward popularization and story telling since that time.13 During the late 1950s and early 1960s, this discussion of the art of the short story impelled an emphasis on the pruning of stories and the need of plot development, and led to the appearance of an increasing number of short stories writing “cross-sections” of lives of “strict significance.” However, on the eve of the “Cultural Revolution,” against the background of the prevalent political ideology, a greater emphasis was again placed on the “public explication” mode, popularization, and narrative nature. Few novels of note were written during the early-1950s. Copper Walls Iron Barriers by Liu Qing, An Initial Record of a Stormy Situation by Sun Li, and Defend Yan’an by Du Pengcheng were among the more important publications. Not long after, especially during the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was a great increase in the number of published novels, including several works that set the standards for the period. As a result, contemporary and later critics often term this a period of a “bumper harvest” (or “high tide”) for the novel. Zhao Shuli’s Sanliwan was published in 1955, and this was followed by Gao Yunlan’s Spring and Autumn in a Small Town (1956), Qu Bo’s Tracks in the Snowy Forest (1957), Li Liuru’s Sixty Years of Change (vol. 1, 1957; vol. 2, 1961), Liang Bin’s Composition of the Red Flag (1957), Zhou Libo’s Great Changes in a Mountain Village (vol. 1, 1958; vol. 2, 1960), Yang Mo’s Song of Youth (1958), Feng Deying’s Bitter Cauliflower (1958), Zhou Erfu’s Morning

13 See Sun Kaidi, ‹The Development of Chinese Vernacular Fiction and its Artistic Characteristics›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 3, May 1951. Sun says: “During the Ming dynasty people would use the vernacular to write short stories in the form and tone of a recited public explication. By the time of the May Fourth new literature movement this form had been discarded, [writers] believed it was inappropriate, and chose to learn from westerners. Current literary and artistic theory respects national forms and critically accepts the literary heritage. Therefore, opinions on late-Ming short stories differ from those of May Fourth, believing that this is also a national form, an inheritance that may be made available for critical reception. This is a progressive opinion.” This opinion of Sun Kaidi’s was part of the mainstream in the 1950s. This type of “change oneself into an artist and speak to the masses,” of writing short fiction as complete stories, already had models in Zhao Shuli and others. However, it was apparent that Mao Dun et al. did not believe that this was the best direction for the contemporary short story.

100

chapter six

in Shanghai (vol. 1, 1958; vol. 2, 1962), Wu Qiang’s Red Sun (1958), Li Yingru’s Prairie Fires, Spring Winds Battle the Ancient City (1958), Feng Zhi’s Armed Workers Contingent Behind Enemy Lines (1958), Liu Liu’s Raging Flames and Adamantine Warriors (1958), Ouyang Shan’s Three Family Lane (1959), Cao Ming’s Ride the Winds Break the Waves (1959), Liu Qing’s A History of Pioneering Work (vol. 1, 1960), Red Crag by Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan (1961), Bitter Struggle by Ouyang Shan (1962), Yao Xueyin’s Li Zicheng (vol. 1, 1963), and Hao Ran’s Bright Sunny Skies (vol. 1, 1964; vol. 2 & 3, 1966).14 Comparatively speaking, novels of the contemporary period were weighted to the expression of “history,” of “days gone by,” while short stories paid more attention to “reality” and current events. A clearer impression of contemporary politics, economic life, changes in social consciousness, and the vagaries of literary thought can be found in short stories. However, governed by the restrictions of society, politics, and literary fashion, short stories suffered greater ideological and artistic damage than longer fiction. Yet, within the limited scope and degree of literary innovation allowed during the 1950s and 1960s, sometimes a more exploratory drive was exhibited in the short story than the novel.

4. The Trend Toward Unity in Form Since May Fourth, China’s modern fiction has exhibited many forms. The names of these forms have sometimes originated in an author’s “manifesto,” and sometimes they are induced by the literary critics and historians of each period. Therefore, by the yardsticks of typology, it is impossible for there to be unity in use of these terms. Yet terms such as problem fiction, native soil fiction, social analysis fiction, New Sensation group fiction, Beijing group fiction, popular fiction, urban fiction, and so on, can still be effectively relied upon in examining the appearance of contemporary fiction. In a contemporary age in which the stress was placed on the direction of literature, the fundamental tone of works, and style of a unitary nature, it was unavoidable that fictional forms should also move towards unity. This unitary trend was relative to the situation in fiction from May Fourth until 1949.

14 Some of these novels were initially published in literary periodicals. The years of publication here refer to publication in novel form.

themes and forms of fiction

101

During the late 1940s, critical attacks on major categories of modern popular fiction, such as love stories and knight-errantry fiction, led to a loss of legitimacy for these forms. They were described as “old fiction that carried a heavy whiff of feudal obscurantist policies [meant to dumb-down the people]” and consisted of “works on the supernatural and knights-errant written by bored literati.”15 Also in connection to this, proposals were made on the need to make critical attacks on writing about the “everyday life of city-dwellers” and the “tastes of the urban petty bourgeois.” As a result, this fiction that was primarily the reading matter of city dwellers lost its basis for continued growth during this period. Also, at this time, humorous and ironic fiction was not able to continue its development. Positive fiction that embodied the “most positive” life phenomena (such as heroic characters and progressive deeds) was most worthy of affirmation, but the value and position of humorous, mocking fiction that disclosed and criticized aspects of society was held in suspicion. It was never made clear whether this fiction could become a major form of acceptable fiction. Therefore, when Ouyang Shan’s “satire” ‹In the Soft Sleeper Car› appeared in the early-1960s, because of the long absence of the form it was initially welcomed, but ultimately it was refuted and criticized. Starting in the 1930s, there was steady growth in the influence of fiction theory that stressed the writing of contradictions and struggle and the portrayal of representative characters. This type of fiction, featuring the plotted conflict of antagonistic characters, was termed “dramatized” fiction. During the 1940s, this fiction theory was questioned by some authors (such as Fei Ming, Zhou Zuoren, and Shen Congwen), who pointed out that “facts all returned to their original state,” “retained the significance of raw materials,” and that it was “fiction that didn’t seem like fiction.” After 1949, the proposition that all write heroic types, the contradictions and conflicts in life, and devise plot lines that featured transformation, attained a position of absolute hegemony, and became the main yardstick against which the value of all fiction was measured. The space left for the development of “poeticized” and “prose essay-styled” fiction was rendered very narrow, and even if such work did appear, it was rarely highly evaluated (see the reception of some of 15 Mao Dun, ‹Struggling and Developing Revolutionary Literature and Arts Under the Oppression of the Reactionaries›, in A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, New China Bookstore 1950, Beijing.

102

chapter six

Sun Li’s fiction, for example). Another form of fiction that was held as suspicious and rejected was that which emphasized the psychological activity of characters, especially works that featured complex psychological contradictions. Psychological states, especially descriptions of dejection, indecision, and the internal contradictions of the individual, was held to be unhealthy. The description of them was “both unable to reflect the major struggles of the major contradictions, and often unable to fully express [matters] in accordance with objective truth,” was “fragmented and obscure” with regard to artistic form, and, thus, was a “mistaken tendency” in writing. The fiction of Lu Ling and the 1963 short stories of Lin Jinlan, which emphasized the psychology and the “stream” of consciousness of characters (‹Ambition› and ‹Shame›), were criticized for the above reasons. This type of sober, “observational,” “realist” writing style was neither sympathized with nor approved of. A grand, untrammeled “style” of writing was, of necessity, the most highly recommended. The narrative mode of Sha Ting was criticized as lacking in ideals and being “depressing and abstruse.” In 1958, critics praised Zhou Libo’s short story ‹The People on the Other Side of the Hill› as an example of “the clarity and distance of its flavor, and the leisureliness of its tone,” saying “we approve of both the untrammeled, the majestic, the vigorous, the enthusiastic, and also the unsophisticated, the solid, the fresh, and the meaningful.”16 This “praise” that failed to distinguish between primary and secondary aspects of style was quickly criticized: What connection was there between our “spirit of the times” and the proposal of a style of “clarity and distance” and “leisureliness”? Such recommendations “should primarily be for ‘the untrammeled, the majestic, the vigorous, the enthusiastic’.” The integration of form and style also raised concerns and, at times, attempts to overcome this malady. Between 1959 and 1961, the participation of Mao Dun, Ouyang Wenbin, Hou Jinjing, Wei Jinzhi, Xiyan (Wang Xiyan), and Jie Min in the discussion of Ru Zhijuan’s fiction17 was part of this effort. The summarization of the characteristics of the work of this woman writer was relatively uniform with regard to her perspective and methodology, and the descriptions of these characteristics were actually quite close to the reality. These critics concluded that the distin-

16

Tang Tao, ‹An Example of Style›, in People’s Literature, no. 7, 1959. These articles were published in Shanghai Literature during 1959, and in the Literature & Arts Press during 1960–1961. 17

themes and forms of fiction

103

guishing features of Ru Zhijuan’s fiction were based on subject matter and form: the figures of characters consisted of lofty, commanding heroes and common minor characters; life was portrayed as a process of keenly complex contradictions, as well as the ordinary incidents of daily life; stylistically, there was a combination of the intense, the lofty, and the majestic, as well as the gentle, the refined, and the fresh. Most of the critics considered the features of Ru’s fiction to belong primarily to the former set of characteristics. However, there was disagreement over their assessment of them. In their ‘discussion,’ some of the critics attempted to eliminate the distinction between heroes and “minor characters,” “major social contradictions” and the indirect expression of them, the rankings of the high and the low and the light and the heavy between the lofty intense tone and the gentle tone, and to eliminate the boundaries between “primary designs” and “secondary designs,” and the “recommended” and the “allowable.”18 However, this carried the suspicion of wavering with regard to the line on literature and, naturally, had no hope of success.19

18 Xiyan, ‹Some Problems with the Work of Ru Zhijuan—A Speech given at a Seminar›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 7, 1961. 19 Jie Min, ‹Is there a Difference?›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 12, 1961. Here, Jie states: “We cannot move towards another extreme because we oppose the opposition of heroic characters and ordinary characters and a narrow understanding of the concept of the heroic character.” “No matter what, we cannot reach the following conclusion: that creating a somewhat glorious moral quality for ordinary characters is the equivalent of creating the lofty image of heroic characters.” “Differentiation on this matter is very important. Otherwise, this could lead to the overlooking of the task demanded of us by the age of creating heroic characters that shoot their brilliant rays in all directions.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

RURAL AREA FICTION

1. The Contemporary Forms of Rural Area Fiction In terms of the numbers of authors and of works, rural area subject matter was the most popular for fiction during the 1950s and 1960s. This situation, while being an extension of the new literature “tradition” since “May Fourth,” was more closely related to the emphasis put on portraying rural life in contemporary times. In comparison to previous rural area fiction, including “native soil fiction,” there were many changes in the appearance of the contemporary form. On literature in “Nationalistcontrolled areas” during the 1940s, Mao Dun stated: “Subject matter taken from rural area life often only described the surfaces of life, incapable of getting deep to its core, it only observed its quiescent state, was imaginings within memories, that didn’t look at farmers amid their current struggles.”1 This “self-critical” summation is actually indicative of two tendencies that developed during the 1950s and 1960s in rural fiction. One featured an emphasis on the “current struggle” and required writers to concentrate on the struggles that show the “profound changes” to the face of “China’s society,” which usually meant the political campaign unfolding at the time. This shift had already begun in the fiction of the “liberated areas,” and contemporary fiction on rural areas continued this trend in choice of subject matter. The political campaigns and key events that occurred in rural areas, such as agricultural cooperativization, the “Great Leap Forward,” the “People’s Communes” movement, and the “struggle over the two roads” in rural areas, became the core of rural fiction. Everyday life, social customs, and feudal relationships in the countryside largely receded from the view of writers, or were supplemental to and corroboration of the “current struggle.” Secondly, so that

1 Mao Dun, ‹Struggling and Developing Revolutionary Literature and Arts Under the Oppression of the Reactionaries› in A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, New China Bookstore 1950, Beijing.

rural area fiction

105

descriptions “enter deep to the core,” the writer’s class stand, opinions, and emotions had to be as one with those of their subject (the farmers). This issue was highlighted in an assessment of Zhao Shuli’s fiction by Zhou Yang in 1946: He “does not stand outside the struggle, but stands in its midst, stands on the side of struggle, on the side of the farmers, he is one of them. He does not describe the farmers with the attitude of a bystander or with that of one far above them.” “Because the farmers are the object, when portraying characters and describing incidents, it is done on the basis of the direct sensations, impressions, and judgments of them.”2 Zhao was not above or outside the object, but described farmers through their own emotions and points of view—and this was not merely the acknowledgement of a writer’s characteristics, but an indication of the direction all should follow. The “equivalence” of the points of view, emotions, and responses of the author and the object (the farmers) was the “mass viewpoint in writing,” and based on this the “stance of the great mass of the people and the realist method are able to be truly integrated.” Of course, even if there was “equivalence” between Zhao Shuli and the emotions and viewpoints of the object of his descriptions, the “farmers,” it was only hypothetical. The aim of this demand by Zhou Yang and others in leadership positions was to impel writers to quickly fall into line with the “norms” on the description of rural areas. The artistic effect of this was to restrict the scope of subject matter selection, and also to “narrow” the experience of writers and the “points of view” for description. The artistic practice of contemporary rural area fiction came most directly from the writing during the 1940s of “liberated area” authors such as Zhao Shuli, Ding Ling, Zhou Libo, and Kang Zhuo, and it was obvious that a conscious separation was maintained between this trend and the “native soil fiction” of Shen Congwen, Wu Zuxiang, Sha Ting, and Luo Binji. The responses to the demand for this form of writing were different among writers of differing life experience and artistic practice, and, therefore, within this trend, there were differences and variations. Among the authors who primarily wrote rural area fiction were Zhao Shuli, Zhou Libo, Liu Qing, Sha Ting, Luo Binji, Ma Feng, Kang Zhuo, Qin Zhaoyang, Li Zhun, Wang Wenshi, Sun Qian, Xirong, Li Shuwei, Liu Shude, Guan Hua, Chen Canyun, Hao Ran, Xie Pu, Duan Quanfa,

2 Zhou Yang, ‹On the Writing of Zhao Shuli›. The Collected Works of Zhou Yang, People’s Publishing House, 1985.

106

chapter seven

and Wang Xingyuan. Among these writers there were two influential “groupings” of differing artistic tendencies: one was the Shanxi writers, of whom Zhao Shuli was the leading light, and the other was made up of Shaanxi writers, such as Liu Qing and Wang Wenshi. Comparatively speaking, the Shaanxi writers were determined to express the “new world, new characters” line in their writing, placed greater emphasis on the creation of progressive characters, had more of a flavor of romantic idealism, and had the greater ambition of capturing the “spirit of the times” and the “essence of history.” If observed from a different angle, Liu Qing and his associates were more like “outsiders” in the countryside, although they established close relationships with the soil and the workers who lived on it in their writing. On the other hand, Zhao Shuli was more like a “native,” although he had attained a transcendent outlook and position. Zhao’s fiction concentrated on and supported change in rural areas and the process of “modernization,” and keyed on the appearance of “new people” and the adjustments to and re-establishment of human relations after the civil war. Liu Qing and the grouping to which he belonged paid more attention to instilling the new value system, while Zhao Shuli and his associates were more inclined towards unearthing vital elements within the “traditions” of rural areas. As regards their fiction, Liu Qing’s grouping owed much to the “realist fiction” of the west and China’s new literature, while Zhao Shuli had a higher regard for the “native resources” of traditional story-telling scripts and public story-telling techniques. Due to differences in artistic viewpoint and methodology, the reception and valuation of the fiction of these two groupings rose and fell with the different stages of political and literary change during the contemporary period. Aside from the Shanxi and Shaanxi “groupings,” other relatively major writers of rural fiction included Zhou Libo, Li Zhun, and Hao Ran. The writing of Li Zhun (1928–) during the 1950s and 1960s exhibited a writing strategy of selecting subject matter and themes based on unfolding campaigns and the implementation of government policies in the countryside. His first piece of published fiction, ‹Don’t Take That Road›, was commended by critics because of its title.3 Li’s major works are Tale of Li Shuangshuang, ‹Record of Plowing Clouds›, and the 1980s novel The Yellow River Flows East. 3 This short story describes the “farmers who freed themselves” facing “polarization” after the division of land, and advocates that agricultural collectivization is the only correct road. It was initially published in the Henan Daily (20 November 1953), and was reprinted in the People’s Daily and other papers and periodicals throughout the country.

rural area fiction

107

Zhou Libo (1908–1979) was from Yiyang in Hunan province. He joined the League of Left-Wing Writers in the 1930s, when he also began writing and translating. After moving to Yan’an during the War of Resistance, he served as an instructor at the Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature. Zhou received the “Stalin Prize in Literature and the Arts” and a high reputation in the early 1950s for his 1948 novel Hurricane about the land reform movement in the Northeast, and for the earlier works The Sun Shines over the Sanggan River and ‹The White-Haired Girl›. In 1951, he moved into Beijing’s Shijing Hill Steel and Iron Works to “enter deep into life,” and produced River of Iron in 1954. Although this work about the Liberation Army “taking over management” of a steel and iron works and restoring production was praised at the time, in fact it was relatively flat in comparison to Zhou’s earlier works. In 1955, Zhou Libo returned to live in his home area in Hunan province and his writing shifted to the subject of the countryside life he was familiar with. Great Changes in a Mountain Village and its “sequel” were published in 1958 and 1960. As with most fiction that reflected the agricultural cooperativization movement at the time, the gist of Great Changes bore out that the individual small producer must travel the road of collectivization. The “set up” of the characters was also largely similar: There were hard-working selfless basic level cadres (Deng Xiumei and Li Yuehui), there were activists determined to move onto the collectivist road (Liu Yusheng and Sheng Shujun), there were backwards farmers vacillating between the “two roads” (such as Sheng Youting—the most lively, “comic character”), and there were concealed class enemies who were sabotaging things (such as Gong Ziyuan). There were also certain unique aspects to the handling of this material. Sometimes the author was happier letting this standardized theme play out through the everyday life of specific areas in the countryside. Moreover, the author seems to have an understanding and forgiving attitude when describing the conflicts and divisions over the “roads” among the farmers. As a result, there is a somewhat humorous, witty narrative tone, which is also applied to the aesthetic values of life, and is used to describe human emotions and customs, as well as the natural scenery, in the countryside. Some critics believed that, from Hurricane to Great Changes in a Mountain Village, there was a shift in artistic style, from something approaching “open and strong” toward the “hidden and gentle.”4 Zhou’s borrowings from classical Chinese

4 Huang Qiuyun, ‹Trivial Words on Great Changes in a Mountain Village›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1961.

108

chapter seven

fiction and his adapted use of southern colloquialisms gave this novel local color and a style of its own. However, this new artistic orientation was more fully realized in the prose essay-style short stories Zhou wrote in the late-1950s and early-1960s (collected in On the Threshing Floor and Predicting an Excellent Spring).

2. Zhao Shuli and the Shanxi Writers There are mixed opinions on whether the work of Zhao Shuli and the Shanxi writers allows them to be seen as a school of fiction. However, in the 1950s, there were efforts in literary circles to expedite just such a process. In July 1956, Zhou Yang travelled to Shanxi and clearly suggested that they develop into literary group. In October of the same year, a literary journal called Sparks was founded in Shanxi, and the creative practices of Zhao Shuli and associated writers were a frequent topic of the periodical. In May 1958 in Shanxi, the Literature & Arts Press and Sparks convened a conference to summarize the characteristics of the work of the Shanxi writers. Not long after, in a special column titled the “Shanxi Literature & Arts Special Collection,”5 the Literature & Arts Press introduced and highly assessed the fiction of the Shanxi writers. For various reasons, the efforts to establish a literary group were dropped, but the work of these writers still contained some traceable commonalities. These consisted of: 1) Regional characteristics. Zhao Shuli, Ma Feng, and the others had lived and worked in Shanxi for a long time, and their work often featured subject matter selected from the northeast of the Jin region, the basins of Taihang Mountain and Taiyue Mountain, and the drainage area of the Fen River. The conditions and customs of the Shanxi countryside were constituent elements of their fiction. 2) The Relationship between writing and “actual work” in farming communities. The artistic self-sufficiency of fiction was called into question: The literary proposition “do not be a bystander” was applied to both the narrative, but even more so to the “social function” of fiction. Zhao Shuli’s concept of “problem fiction,” the Shanxi writers’ belief that fiction is meant to

5

Literature & Arts Press, no. 11, 1958.

rural area fiction

109

“advise people,” and the expectation that it is able to “produce meaning in offering guidance in real life,”6 was both the starting point and the abode of writing. 3) Write in accordance with the “original appearance” of life. But also believe that this “original appearance” is seen, heard, and felt by a progressive-thinking farmer. 4) An emphasis on an integrated narrative and a use of common language to accommodate readers in the countryside who are not entirely literate. Critical circles termed this “school” the “Shanxi writers grouping,” the “Shanxi group,” the “Sparks group,” and the “Chinese Yam Medicine group.” Aside from Zhao Shuli, other writers in this “school” included Ma Feng, Xirong, Li Shuwei, Sun Qian, and Hu Zheng. Ma Feng (1922–) is from Xiaoyi County in Shanxi. After graduating from primary school, Ma joined the Eight Route Army. During wartime, he worked as an editor for newspapers and publishing houses in the Jinsui border area. In 1945, Ma and Xirong wrote the traditional-style novel Romance of Heroes of the Lü and Liang States. After working in Beijing during the early-1950s, Ma returned to Shanxi in 1956. During the 1950s and 1960s, aside from writing film scripts such as ‹The Young People in Our Village›, and the serialized biographical fiction Tale of Liu Hulan, most of Ma’s work consisted of short stories. Among his major works were ‹Marriage›, ‹Uncle Zhao the Stockman›, ‹It was Known Three Years Ago›, ‹The Sun’s Just Come Over the Mountain›, My First Superior, and ‹The Old Cooperative Member›. Xirong (1922–) began writing fiction while working in the Jinsui border region during the War of Resistance against Japan. During the early 1950s, he worked on the editorial committees and as editor-inchief of the West Sichuan Daily and Sichuan Literature & Arts. In 1954, he returned to Shanxi. Of his short story collections, The Secrets of Girls and Record of a Bumper Crop, the stories collected in the latter (such as ‹Corduroy›, ‹Elder Sister Lai›, and ‹Record of a Bumper Crop›) were written after 1961 and exhibit a new simplicity in style. Of these, ‹Elder Sister Lai› told in a satirical tone of a selfish, bad-tempered countrywoman who is rebuffed in all areas of life and is ultimately educated into the new life. During the 1960s, critics who advocated a “deepening of realism” initially cited this short story in support of their thesis; later it

6 Zhao Shuli, ‹This Too Can be Considered Experience›, People’s Daily, 26 June 1949.

110

chapter seven

was a focus of critical attacks as a “specimen” of the “deepening of realism” and the “theory of writing ‘middle characters’. ”7 Zhao Shuli (1906–1970) was from Qinshui County in Shanxi. During the 1940s, he won a high reputation in “liberated areas” and “Nationalistcontrolled areas” for works such as ‹The Marriage of Young Blacky›, ‹Rhymes of Li Youcai›, and Changes in Li Village. His major works after 1949 included the short stories ‹Registration›, ‹Entreating Rain›, ‹Gold Lettering› (based on reminiscences), ‹“Improve Yourself Through Training”›, ‹Old Quotas›, ‹Hands that can’t be Harnessed›, ‹Old Gentleman Yang›, ‹Zhang Laixing›, ‹Mutual Appraisals›, and ‹Selling Tobacco Leaves›, the novel Sanliwan, the film story ‹Make Your Attitude Clear›, the story-telling script Ling Spring Cavern (part one), and the biography ‹Pan Yongfu the Solid Worker›. Zhao also wrote the drum lyric ‹Shi Bulan Drives On the Cart›, the folk rhyme ‹Wang Family Hill›, the Zezhou folkdance lyric ‹Opening the Canal›, the clapper lyric ‹Ten Mile Inn›, and a rearrangement of the clapper lyric ‹Sanguan Arranges a Banquet›. Some of his works were rearranged for various other art forms. For example, ‹Registration› was renamed ‹Money for the Arhats› and rearranged into several local styles of traditional opera throughout the country. The subject matter of most of Zhao Shuli’s fiction came from his native southeast Jin region of Shanxi. He maintained close contacts with people and events in all corners of his native region and, therefore, his stories and characters preserved the characteristics of being unsophisticated and honest, characteristics that come from the “lowest rungs of society.” He continued his experiments in finding ways through barriers between “new literature” and “rural area readers.”8 Zhao also persisted in his idea of the equivalence of writing fiction with “actual work.” However, it seemed that later he did not especially insist on fiction act-

7 See: Shao Quanlin, ‹Talk at the Dalian “Rural Area Subject Matter Short Story Seminar”›, in Shao Quanlin Commentaries Collection, vol. 1, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1981; Literature & Arts Press editorial department, ‹Materials on “Writing Middle Characters”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 8 & 9, 1964; Zixi, ‹A Specimen of “Writing Middle Characters”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 11 & 12, 1964. 8 In 1963, Zhao Shuli named his short story collection Down to the Countryside (Author Publishing House), saying it was especially printed for his “comrade readers in rural areas.” Yet, he never further explained his concept of the “rural area reader.” Furthermore, he was no longer as confident as before, somewhat unconvincingly stating: “Even though I am subjectively writing things for you, how many copies will actually be distributed in rural areas, and how many of you in those places are willing to be read it and what you feel after reading it, I know little about.” From ‹Sent with Down to the Countryside to Rural Area Readers›.

rural area fiction

111

ing as a guidebook to work in rural areas, and, instead, gave even greater prominence to the “teaching” function he borrowed from traditional opera. “A popular saying has it that ‘telling stories and singing opera advises people,’ and this is correct. The fiction we write is the same as storytelling and opera . . ., it all advises people.” Writing fiction is meant to shake those accustomed but unreasonable “old influences in people’s heads from old cultures, institutions, customs, and habits.”9 Therefore, in works such as ‹Registration›, Sanliwan, and ‹“Improve Yourself Through Training”›, “campaigns” being carried out in the countryside constitute the framework of these stories, yet the deepest impressions are left by Zhao’s descriptions of the conflicts and the ripples left on the psychology of farmers, in family relationships, and relations between the public and the private as a result of changes in social customs and ethics as they play out in everyday life. Compared to the 1940s, Zhao Shuli’s fiction of this period was “slower, more restrained, tighter, more careful,” and “to some extent had lost the bold vigor of his youth.”10 This was because he was far removed from his “youth.” If the environment in which the author was situated is considered, during wartime, although political ideology established criteria for writing, there was still a fairly large “space” that offered limited accommodation for the author’s creativity and his artistic and perceptual imaginings of folk customs and culture. At that time, Zhao’s hopes for a regeneration of traditional customs and ideas in rural areas coincided in many places with the reforms being promoted by revolutionary politics in the countryside. In the 1950s, not only were literary norms tighter, but also a total assault on traditional countryside life by the process of radical economic and social change caused confl icts between “social development” and “tradition,” and this raised concerns with the observant author. Zhao’s artistic imagination was established on a foundation consisting of recognition and an understanding of folk customs and culture, and this was inhibited and not allowed free play. It was precisely these worries about the excessive destruction of traditional rural life and morals by contemporary radical economics and politics, and an interest in the protection and exploration of traditional virtues founded in labor that became the topics of Zhao’s later fiction. In contrast to works such as ‹The Marriage of Young Blacky›, ‹Family Heirloom›,

9 10

Ibid. Sun Qian, ‹About Zhao Shuli›, Tianjin Daily, 4 January 1979.

112

chapter seven

‹Registration›, and Sanliwan, in which “youngsters” broke free of the obstacles set out by the older generation and then moved toward a new life, in ‹Hands that can’t be Harnessed›, ‹Mutual Appraisals›, and ‹Pan Yongfu the Solid Worker›, the character and morals of older farmer folk is described as the most important spiritual tradition for the younger generation. On the other hand, there was no major difference between the art of Zhao Shuli’s fiction during the 1950s and 1960s and his earlier work. However, as critics have said, these works that were “sourced from Song dynasty storytelling scripts and later imitated storytelling scripts” became increasingly slow, trivial, and shallow as a result of an increasing reliance on this form.11

3. The ‘History of the Critical Value’ of Zhao Shuli The evaluation of Zhao Shuli’s fiction and his literary ideas has always been diverse and confused, with some opinions far removed from each other. Even within left-wing literary circles, the assessment of his work has not been uniform. The earliest systematic high valuation of Zhao Shuli’s fiction is an essay by Zhou Yang published in 1946: ‹On the Writing of Zhao Shuli›.12 In this essay, Zhao was honored as “an author who was already fairly familiar before he became famous, a people’s artist with a novel, original mass style of writing;” ‹Rhymes of Li Youcai› was a “very real, very vivid description of the farmers’ struggle, it can simply be said to be a masterpiece;” and the fiction of Zhao Shuli was a “victory in the creative realization of Mao Zedong’s thought on literature and the arts.” As an extension of this valuation, at a seminar on literature and the arts in the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu border regions in August of the following year, the participants “agreed to put forward the Zhao Shuli direction” . . . “as our banner.”13 Around this time, publishing houses in the “liberated areas” published several collections of reviews of Zhao Shuli’s work, 14 select-

11

Ibid. Zhou Yang, ‹On the Writing of Zhao Shuli›, Liberation Daily (Yan’an), 26 August 1946. 13 Chen Huangmei, ‹Advancing Toward the Direction of Zhao Shuli›, People’s Daily, 10 August 1947. 14 Examples of these include: On the Work of Zhao Shuli, Ji-Yu-Lu Bookstore, July 1947; On the Work of Zhao Shuli, North China New China Bookstore, September 1947; reprinted by the Central China New China Bookstore, April 1950; and On the Work of Zhao Shuli, South Jiangsu New China Bookstore, June 1949. 12

rural area fiction

113

ing for inclusion essays from Zhou Yang, Mao Dun, Guo Moruo, Shao Quanlin, Lin Mohan, Chen Huangmei, Liqun, and Feng Mu, among others. Moreover, the work of Zhao received special handling in the two major series of new literature books published around the time of the first congress of literary representatives. Quite naturally, his work was included in the China People’s Literature and Arts Book Series, which was meant to demonstrate the success of “liberated area” literature, but he was also selected for his own volume in the New Literature Selections series (Mao Dun was editor-in-chief) together with Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ba Jin, and other authors who “had important works published prior to 1942”. In fact, ‹The Marriage of Young Blacky›, the work that first made a name for Zhao Shuli, was published in 1943. This arrangement was a reflection of the urgency to “classic-ize” the work of Zhao at the time. In 1956, at the second expanded conference of the directors of the China Writers Association, in his report to the conference, Zhou Yang termed Zhao Shuli, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ba Jin, Lao She, and Cao Yu, “great masters of the arts of language.” However, after 1949, in literary circles there was some uncertainty in the assessment of Zhao Shuli. While continuing to praise him as a “model,” there were continuous discoveries of “faults” in his fiction. These discoveries were the result of “analysis and research based on the creative principles of socialist realism.” Critics proposed that Zhao Shuli “was good at expressing backward aspects, and not good at expressing progressive aspects,” and hinted that he still lacked self-awareness in creating heroes in the new form.15 After the publication of Sanliwan, while receiving positive reviews, the issue of insufficient “typicalization” was repeatedly raised: The laying bare of the “incomparably complex and sharp struggle between two lines” in rural areas “does not achieve the depth it should have.” The author “looked relatively little” at the revolutionary power of the rural population, “was not capable of fully and realistically expressing this aspect,” and the struggle in rural areas and the contradictions within individuals and the rural population as a whole were not expressed as serious and sharp, and the resolution of these contradictions was relatively easy.16 In the late-1950s, these assessments

15 Zhu Keyu, ‹Appraising “Evil Does Not Subjugate Right” and “Family Heirloom”›, People’s Daily, 15 January 1950; and ‹More on “About ‘Evil Does Not Subjugate Right’ ”›, People’s Daily, 25 February 1950. 16 See: Yu Lin, ‹After Reading Sanliwan›, People’s Literature, no. 7, 1955; Zhou Yang, ‹The Task of Constructing Socialist Literature›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 5–6, 1956.

114

chapter seven

of Zhao’s apparent vacillation and handling of contradictions were again emphasized. In 1959, the Literature & Arts Press organized a discussion of ‹“Improve Yourself Through Training”› on the topic of “how to reflect contradictions among the people.” Although the paper published negative articles stating the short story “twists the reality of our social rural areas” and “smears working rural women and cadres in cooperatives,” the paper also published a positive article by Wang Xiyan17 stating that Zhao Shuli “sketched living people with personalities in accordance to true life” as the series’ conclusive opinion. This type of protective discussion conducted by the Literature & Arts Press can be seen as an attempt to stand up to the radical literary thought of the time. Yet, it was precisely at this time that Zhao Shuli was “internally” criticized during the “antiRight deviation opportunism” campaign for questioning the entirety of the Communist Party’s rural policies since 1957. And it was also at this time in literary circles that an emphasis of a “directional nature” was given to the more “typical,” more “idealistic” works of Li Zhun, Wang Wenshi, and Liu Qing. By 1962, while the wave of political and economic “romanticism” was receding, a call for a “deepening of realism” was raised in literary circles. At this time, the “value” of Zhao Shuli was unearthed and once again explicated by the proponents of this “deepening.” At a Dalian seminar on short stories on rural area themes, Mao Dun, Shao Quanlin, and others held that “in the past few years” the estimation of the value of Zhao Shuli’s work was insufficient, [we] “want to reverse the low valuation” . . . “because his writing is of a long-term nature, of an arduous nature,” “it is the victory of realism.” These opinions were expounded and promoted in an article by Kang Zhuo soon afterwards: In our group of writers of the older generation, it should be said that Zhao Shuli is the most outstanding, the most down-to-earth master of the short story of the past twenty years. But [the evaluation] of his success by critical circles in recent years has left one feeling it has been somewhat deficient, . . . in fact, in our literature, his work should be called the firmest realism, the profound foundation of life really seems to be made of iron. . . .

17 Wang Xiyan, ‹“Improve Yourself Through Training” and the Reflection of Contradictions Among the People›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 10, 1959.

rural area fiction

115

The charm of Zhao Shuli, at least in the rural areas I have been exposed to, truly is second to none. It is difficult to find another contemporary author who compares to him.18

As Zhao Shuli was the writer best capable of evincing the “deepening of realism,” it followed that, on the eve of the “Cultural Revolution,” he was also the first to be critically attacked over this theory. A great change occurred in the evaluation of Zhao in literary circles: “In recent years, the work of Comrade Zhao Shuli was incapable of portraying the spiritual appearance of the revolutionary rural population with full revolutionary zeal,” the Dalian conference “not only did not correctly point out” . . . “this fault” of his, “but instead took this fault as a reason to advocate the promotion of this creative direction.”19 From a “literary perspective,” the fierce attacks on Zhao during the “Cultural Revolution” did not go beyond the scope of this criticism.

4. Liu Qing’s History of Pioneering Work Liu Qing (1916–1978), from Wu Bao County in Shaanxi Province, began writing fiction after moving to Yan’an in 1938. Before he wrote the History of Pioneering Work, he wrote Record of Planting Grain (1947) and Copper Walls Iron Barriers (1951). During the 1950s, Liu spent a rather long period living in Huangfu Village, Chang’an County, in Shaanxi, and participated in the agricultural cooperativization movement there. Aside from writing prose features (collected in Three Years in Huangfu Village) and the novella ‹Hatred Pierces Iron›, Liu was preparing to write his magnum opus, History of Pioneering Work. History was originally planned in four parts. The first part was serialized in periodicals in 1960, and was published as a book the following year. The occurrence of the “Cultural Revolution” forced Liu to stop writing. After its conclusion, Liu polished the first four chapters of the first and second volumes of part two, but was unable to complete the novel as planned. The story of History occurs in Frog Sands, Xiabao Township, on the Wei River plain of Shaanxi. Part 1 tells of the consolidation and development

18 Kang Zhuo, ‹Ventured Comments on Short Stories of the Past Few Years›, Literary Reviews, no. 5, 1962. 19 Literature & Arts Press editorial department, ‹Materials on “Writing Middle Characters”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 8–9, 1954.

116

chapter seven

of a mutual-aid group led by Liang Shengbao, and Part 2 tells of the trial establishment of an agricultural cooperative. The author had this to say about the substance of the novel: This novel wants to provide the reader with the answers [to the following questions]: Why has a socialist revolution occurred in China’s rural areas, and how was this revolution carried out? The answers will be expressed through the process of the transformation of the actions, thoughts, and psychology of characters of every class in one village during the cooperativization movement. The uniting of thought on this theme and of this range of subject matter, constitutes the specific contents of this novel.20

The author’s familiarity with rural people’s historical circumstances, psychology, and feelings, made up for the shortcomings that might have been exposed by the “demonstrative form” of the plotting behind the story, but, conversely, this form of writing also severely limits the degree to which the writer’s own experience of life can be used. The first part of the novel was highly acclaimed in literary circles upon publication. In little over a year’s time, more than fifty positive review articles were published in newspapers and periodicals. Approval of the novel was focused of two aspects: One was “the profound degree to which it reflected the broad life of rural areas.” Some review articles indicated that one of the outstanding aspects of the book was the keenly sensitive exposure of an “undercurrent of life” unnoticed by most people, revealing as it did the hidden psychological tendencies and class conflicts at all levels of rural society, and the novel’s stretch into the depths of history, as it unearthed the sources of contradictions, reality, and history. The novel traces the threads of all manner of contradictions through money lending, the purchase and distribution of rice seeds, going into the mountains to cut bamboo, and a new method of rice planting. The tension created by these contradictions finally leads to the establishment of two “fronts.” On one side, there is Liang Shengbao, Gao Zengfu, and other poor farmers and farm laborers who are determined to take the road to “common wealth.” On the other, there is the rich farmer Yao Shijie who had bowed down before land reform and now wants to flex his power again, the well-off middle farmer Guo Shifu who has recovered from his panic during land reform, and the village head Guo Zhenshan who has begun to take the path toward “building a fortune” for himself. And between these two “fronts” are vacillating farmers such as Old

20 Liu Qing, ‹Raising a Few Issues for Discussion›, Yan River Literature (Xi’an), no. 8, 1963.

rural area fiction

117

Liang San. “Breadth” and “depth” were the highest yardsticks to which contemporary “epical” “realist fiction” aspired. Of course, the “deep” analysis based on the different levels of relationships in Liu Qing’s novel was based on government policy documents familiar to all during the 1950s; the creative aspect of the author’s writing was his knowledge and artistic imagination of the life and psychology of the rural population that he channeled into this framework. The high appraisal of History of Pioneering Work had another basis in Liu Qing’s creation of a group of characters that attained a “fair artistic level.” Particular attention was paid to the “brilliant image” of the “new person” Liang Shengbao. It was almost universally acknowledged that the creation of this one character was the most important “mark” of History’s success. Some critics compared Liang Shengbao to Lu Xun’s character Ah Q in discussing changes and developments in China’s modern history and literature. This form of discussion included value judgments on grades of “artistic models.”21 The narrative mode of History utilizes a combination of narration and discussion. The language of the characters consists of refined colloquial speech, but the language of narration is decidedly bookish, thus forming a contrast with the speech of the characters. The distance between the two aids the entry of the narrator into the story, where it manifests the “authoritative pose” of the “omniscient” narrator. This narrator directly exposes the emotions, psychology, and motives of the characters, “observes” and “keeps watch” over the degrees of contrariness or suitability with the “laws of history” of the characters’ thoughts, psychology, and actions, and explains and evaluates characters and events—although these assessments are often undertaken in a jocular, humorous way. The artistic form of Liu Qing’s novel does not seem to pursue the “national form” or “popular style” of Zhao Shuli’s fiction, nor does it seek his story-style or the active nature of Zhao’s fiction. But this did not prevent History from being appreciated by literary critics. In this, the complex relationship of the literature of the 1950s and 1960s with that of the Yan’an period can be discovered. There was a controversy over History of Pioneering Work (Part 1) during the 1960s. In 1960, at a meeting of the Literature & Arts Press editorial department, Shao Quanlin stated:

21 Yao Wenyuan, ‹From Ah Q to Liang Shengbao—Looking at the Historical Road of China’s Rural Population Through Characters in Fictional Works›, Shanghai Literature, no. 1, 1961.

118

chapter seven In History of Pioneering Work, Old Liang San is better written than Liang Shengbao, [he] sums up the spiritual burden of the individual farmer in China over thousands of years. But seldom do people analyze characters such as Old Liang San, and, therefore, the analysis of this novel is insufficient. . . . I feel Liang Shengbao is not the most successful [character], as a character type, [he] can be found in many works. Is Old Liang San a character type? I see him as a very high character type.22

At about the same time, Yan Jiayan wrote a number of articles on History of Pioneering Work that expressed a similar viewpoint.23 However, Yan did not agree that the greatest success of History lay in the “fashionable statement” that Liang Shengbao was the “image of the completely-new young farmer hero.” Instead, he believed that in reflecting the “depth and completeness of the great event” that is the “farmer moving onto the road of socialism,” the success of History is “most prominently manifest in the molding of the image of Old Liang San.” Yan based this conclusion on two different aspects: one was the “voluptuousness” and “solidity” of the form, or aesthetic standards; second was the value of the subject matter, the portrayal of “middle state” farmers who wavered and watched while located between the “struggle of the two roads,” and the significance of exposing the “depth and breadth” of social life. In relation to this, Yan pointed out that while Liang Shengbao was “above the norm” when compared to other “new heroic characters” in contemporary rural area fiction, the degree of the character’s success was not as great as its champions claimed. He proposed that the character possessed “three excesses and three insufficiencies” (later he added that this did not equate to having shortcomings): There is too much activity of ideas and not enough character analysis in the book; there is too much contrasting with peripheral phenomena that is set off against insufficient writing of conflicts in progress; and there is too much lyrical commentary and not enough objective description. In the ensuing debate, Yan Jiayan further indicated that the figure of Liang Shengbao was excessively idealistic. These opinions were opposed by the majority of

22 Literature & Arts Press editorial department, ‹Materials on “Writing Middle Characters”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 8 & 9, 1964. 23 Yan Jiayan, ‹The Outstanding Success of History of Pioneering Work, Part One›, Beijing University Journal, no. 3, 1961; ‹On the Form of Old Liang San in History of Pioneering Work›, Literary Reviews, no. 6, 1961; ‹About the Image of Liang Shengbao›, Literary Reviews, no. 3, 1963; and ‹The Issue of the Form of Liang Shengbao and the Creation of New Hero Characters›, Literary Reviews, no. 4, 1964.

rural area fiction

119

critics, including the author.24 In ‹Raising a Few Issues for Discussion›, Liu Qing spoke excitedly about not planning to respond to those critics who could not agree with his way of looking at things, “yet no matter what [I] cannot keep silent” about Yan Jiayan’s opinions, because among them were “raised major issues of principle.” “If I remain silent on these major issues, that would be an expression of not being serious about the enterprise of revolutionary literature.”25 On the issue of literary creation, both sides in the dispute were united in wanting to expose the “essence” of social life and to manifest “profoundly” the need for struggle in rural areas. They diverged on the aesthetic assessment of artistic forms and the value of subject matter. On the latter issue, Shao Quanlin and Yan Jiayan actually stressed the connection between the form of the characters that possessed the “spiritual burden of the individual farmer over thousands of years” and the expression of “historical truth.” To some degree on this issue, Shao Quanlin took up the stance of his old enemy in battles over literary theory, Hu Feng. On matters of aesthetics, Yan and Shao questioned Liu Qing’s work based on the artistic “established practice” of realist fi ction (objective description, characterization, full and complete figures), and Liu Qing in his retort actually proposed aesthetic standards of greater “directness.” The reasons why in History of Pioneering Work Liu arranged contradictions and conflicts in such a manner, why conflicts took such forms, why characters possessed those types of thought and personality, took those types of “temperament,” psychology, and actions, were all based in current political theory, policies, and regulations, which provided all the definitive, detailed explanations required.

24 Aside from Liu Qing’s, major articles that criticized the opinions of Shao Quanlin and Yan Jiayan included: Ai Kesi, ‹The Power of Heroic Characters›, Shanghai Literature, no. 1, 1963; Feng Jiannan, ‹More on Liang Shengbao›, Shanghai Literature, no. 9, 1963; Cai Kui & Bu Linfei, ‹Does this Type of Criticism Accord with Reality—A Discussion over “About the Image of Liang Shengbao”›, Yan River, no. 10, 1963; Wu Zhongjie & Gao Yun, ‹About the Typicalization of the Image of New Characters›, Shanghai Literature, no. 10, 1963; Zhu Zhai, ‹Looking at the Essence of the Proposition to ‘Write Middle Characters’ through the Evaluation of Old Liang San›, Literary Reviews, no. 2, 1964; and Yao Wenyuan, ‹A Theory that Transmutes Socialism—The Reactionary Essence of Advocating Writing “Middle Characters”›, Liberation Daily (Shanghai), 14 December 1964. 25 Liu Qing, ‹Raising a Few Issues for Discussion›, Yan River (Xi’an), no. 8, 1963.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE NARRATION OF HISTORY

1. Revolutionary Historical Fiction The theme of “revolutionary history” held an important position with regard to other subject matter and made up a large proportion of the fiction written during this period. The concept of “revolutionary history subject matter” appeared after 1949. In 1960, at the third (expanded) conference of the directors of the China Writers Association, when Mao Dun used the term “revolutionary history subject matter,” he was not only referring to works like the Composition of the Red Flag and Song of Youth, but also included novels about social life around the time of the 1911 Nationalist revolution, such as Liu Liuru’s Sixty Years of Change and Great Waves by Li Jieren. However, between 1949 and the 1970s, references to the “history” of modern China were generally indicative of “revolutionary history”; and in most instances, “revolution” was a reference to the revolutionary struggle led by the Communist Party. In view of this situation, during the 1980s some researchers pointed out that the works included in this category of “revolutionary historical fiction” . . . “gave an account of fixed historical subject matter within the regulatory limitations of a fixed ideology, and achieved the goals of that fixed ideology.”1 It primarily told the stories of the origins of the “revolution,” and of how the revolution was finally victorious after a long, torturous process. The major novels of the revolutionary history fiction genre included Copper Walls Iron Barriers by Liu Qing (1951), An Initial Record of a Stormy Situation by Sun Li (1951–1963), Defend Yan’an by Du Pengcheng (1954), Guerrilla Forces of the Railroads by Zhi Xia (1954), Spring and Autumn in a Small Town by Gao Yunlan (1956), Red Sun by Wu Qiang (1957), Tracks in the Snowy Forest by Qu Bo (1957), Composition of the Red Flag by Liang Bin (1957), Song of Youth by Yang Mo (1958), Youth Spent in Combat by Xue Ke (1958), Prairie Fires and Spring Winds Battle

1 Huang Ziping, Revolution History Fiction, Oxford University Press (Hongkong), 1996: 2.

the narration of history

121

the Ancient City by Li Yingru (1958), Raging Flames and Adamantine Warriors by Liu Liu (1958), Armed Workers Contingent Behind Enemy Lines by Feng Zhi (1958), Bitter Cauliflower by Feng Deying (1958), Three Family Lane by Ouyang Shan (1959), and Red Crag by Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan (1961). Sun Li, Ru Zhijuan, Liu Zhen, Jun Qing, Wang Yuanjian, and Xiao Ping were among those who wrote short stories of this genre, a few of the major works being ‹Memories of a Mountainous Region› by Sun Li, ‹Lilies› by Ru Zhijuan, ‹Riverbank at Dawn› by Jun Qing, ‹Party Fees› by Wang Yuanjian, and ‹The Girl Wan› by Hanzi. Most of the writers in this genre had personal experience of the events and circumstances they related. The reasons for this were, on the one hand, that those who had experienced these things were naturally willing to look back on that glorious stretch of “history”; and, on the other, this writing was not only the expression of the authors’ individual experience, but also of their participation in the “classic-ization” of “history.” As a result, the “truthfulness” of these accounts was strictly scrutinized; this was not an area into which just anyone had the “qualifications” and “prerequisites” to enter. As to the literary historical and contemporary political significance of writings on “revolutionary history” subject matter, critics at the time pointed out that, with regard to these struggles: During the period of reactionary rule in Nationalist-controlled areas, it was almost impossible for [these themes] to be reflected in literary works. So, now we must fill this blank in literary history to allow our people to historically understand the connection between the course of the revolution and current reality, and to [allow them] to acquire even greater confidence and enthusiasm for the construction of socialism by being inspired by these heartrending, praiseworthy struggles.2

The standardized relation of the “essence” of history was meant to prove the nature of the truth of the new society, to promote the legitimization of this fixed narration of history in the form of a symbolic tool, and provide life norms and an ideological foundation for the people living in a society going through a phase of transition. Naturally, the literary forms of fiction, prose, drama, and poetry were not the only ones that entered the relatively grand ranks of forms given over to the narration of this set “history.”3 2 Shao Quanlin, ‹The Course of Ten Years of Literature› in Ten Years of Literature, Author Publishing House, 1960: 37. 3 There were narrative poems such as ‹Tale of Yang Gao› by Li Ji, ‹Tale of Catching the Train› by Tian Jian, ‹Li Dazhao› by Zang Kejia, and ‹Triptych for a General› by Guo Xiaochuan; plays such as ‹Growing Up in Battle› by Hu Ke, ‹Myriad Rivers and

122

chapter eight

Owing to differences in life experience and artistic imagination among writers, as well as the differing narrative modes utilized by them, there were differences in the forms of revolutionary historical fiction. Some writers sought to grasp the “epic character” of history in the novel. Others employed elements from the traditional “picaresque story” form, and therefore what they wrote was not far removed from models of modern “popular fiction.” A few writers sought to raise spirits under the current, arduous situation and used this as a trigger for memories of past events. These slightly different treatments gave revolutionary historical fiction the appearance of having more literary styles than other forms of fiction at the time.

2. The Pursuit of ‘Epic Character’ Many contemporary novelists sought to infuse their work with “epic character,” and critics held this up as an important gauge in the evaluation of the ideological and artistic stature of some novels. The source of this creative pursuit can be found in the wish of contemporary fiction writers to fill the role of a “social historian” who reproduces the entire course of social events and grasps the “spirit of the times” (some narrative poetry and drama also exhibited a similar tendency). This trend toward “grand narrative” in China’s modern fiction was already in evidence during the 1930s. Mao Dun was one writer aware of “depicting China’s social phenomena on a grand scale” and “reflecting all features of China’s revolution during this period.” Th e quest to attain this artistic goal was carried on by later writers. However, this artistic pursuit and its concrete artistic practice owed much to the realist fiction of nineteenth century Russia and France and novels on revolution and war out of the Soviet Union during the twentieth century. By the 1950s, writers’ sense of the “times” was even more intense, and writing works of an “epic” nature became the lofty responsibility of the most ambitious writers. This could be seen in works on “contemporary life,” such as Liu Qing’s A History of Pioneering Work, but was primarily “realized” in works on

Mountains› by Chen Qitong, ‹Windstorm› by Jin Shan, ‹Sentry Beneath Neon Lights› by Shen Ximeng and others, and ‹Mount Azalea› by Wang Shuyuan. In prose and the area of “historical biography literature,” two large series of books appeared in the form of “memoirs”: The Fluttering Red Flag and The Fire of Stars Sets the Prairie Ablaze. And there were even more film scripts on “revolutionary history subject matter.”

the narration of history

123

“revolutionary historical subject matter.” “Epic character” in the contemporary novel was principally exhibited through the aim of revealing the “essence of history,” structurally through grand temporal and spatial breadth and scale, through the introduction of major historical events into the narrative, and through heroic characterization and a fundamental tone of heroism. Novels such as Defend Yan’an, Red Sun, Composition of the Red Flag, Red Crag, Three Family Lane, and Bitter Struggle, were among those that testified to this creative trend. The earliest revolutionary historical novels dealt with the civil war during the late-1940s and the victory of the revolution. Defend Yan’an by Du Pengcheng4 was the first contemporary novel to be assessed by critics from an “epic” perspective. When the novel’s first edition appeared in 1954, Feng Xuefeng said: “It is up to the task of being an epic novel in its description of this famous heroic battle of great historical significance. Or, in terms of higher requirements, in the sense that more work could be done on this novel, it could be the initial draft of just such a heroic epic.”5 Defend Yan’an is based on military events at Yan’an in the north of Shaanxi during March-September 1947: The assault on Yan’an by the forces of the Nationalist general Hu Zongnan, which led Mao Zedong and Peng Dehuai to abandon Yan’an and later to recapture it. Th e focus of the story is on the Qinghuabian, Panlong Town, and Shajia Inn military campaigns. After publication of the novel’s first edition, the author undertook major revisions, and second and third editions appeared in 1956 and 1958. Generally, the plot of the novel deals with military matters and characters in a concrete, if partial, manner, while keeping track of the “overall situation in the war.” The novel powerfully molds fearless heroic figures, such as Zhou Dayong, Li Cheng, and Wang Laohu, from a single ideological viewpoint and with an unrelentingly tense tempo. The heroes are placed in adverse situations in which to “test” their will to fight, such as bitter warfare, withdrawal, injury, and death, which allow the novel to maintain heroic high spirits throughout. Seldom have influential historical characters (such as General Peng Dehuai in this case)

4 Du Pengcheng (1921–1991) was a native of Hancheng County in Shaanxi Province. In 1938, he travelled to Yan’an to join the revolution. After the civil war began again in 1946, Du was employed as a reporter with the Liberation Army. For a period during the 1950s, Du lived on railroad construction sites in the Northwest. In addition to Defend Yan’an, he also wrote a novella ‹In Days of Peace›, as well as short stories such as ‹Construction Site Nights›, ‹Travelling by Night in Lingguan Pass›, and ‹Yan’an People›. 5 Feng Xuefeng, ‹On the Success and Importance of Defend Yan’an›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 14–15, 1954.

124

chapter eight

featured in a text of fictional art in contemporary China, and, therefore, this aspect drew the attention of critics. However, in circumstances where contemporary artistic fiction and “true life” was often not differentiated (the critical attacks on the ‹Tale of Wu Xun› had already clearly demonstrated this aesthetic logic), this type of “creativity” possessed the potential of “danger.” In 1959, after Peng Dehuai had been censured as a “Right deviation opportunist,” this novel sank into a difficult position for a long period, and virtually disappeared from all records of contemporary Chinese literature until the 1980s.6 Red Sun by Wu Qiang7 also combined actual war history with artistic fiction (this time the military campaign in Shandong province at Lianshui, Laiwu, and Mengliang Mesa, during the initial phase of the civil war during the 1940s). The manner in which the story unfolds and the concrete descriptions of the actions of characters are intended to reveal the source of the power of a “righteous division” of the army, as well as the basis of military victory—the gist of most revolutionary historical fiction. Critics generally believe that, compared to Defend Yan’an, Red Sun was a great advance both artistically and ideologically. The main reason for this was that, as it relates to wartime life, the novel unfolds in a comparatively open manner: Not only does it write about all aspects of armies, divisions, regiments, and ordinary soldiers, but it also possesses an artistic design that brings together in a “lateral expansion” the military and the general populace, the frontlines and the rear, and the warrelated activities and everyday life of combatants. Secondly, in the matter of the creation of characters, the author was conscious of the importance of the “richness” of characterization, and, on the premise of safeguarding (or not harming) “class characteristics,” the author was able to strengthen his depiction of thoughts, emotions, and psychological activity, and was able to give characters of the same type distinguishing, contrasting features, such as resolve, austerity, openness, and a sense of humor. While maintaining the antithetical structure of “positive charac-

6 After the appearance of the novel’s third edition, it was not reprinted. On 2 September 1963, the Ministry of Culture issued a secret circular directing that all areas of China “should immediately cease selling and stop lending” Defend Yan’an. The following year a “supplementary circular” was issued stating that now the novel should be “destroyed in situ” and that there was “no need to seal for safekeeping.” During the “Cultural Revolution,” it was subject to attacks that were even more critical. 7 Wu Qiang (1910–1990) was from Lianshui County in Jiangsu Province. He began his literary activities in the 1930s, when he also joined the Left-Wing League of Writers. In 1938, he enlisted in the New Fourth Army and undertook cultural and propaganda work. Aside from Red Sun, he wrote other novels, such as Stronghold.

the narration of history

125

ters” and “negative characters,” the novel avoids reducing “negative figures” (such as Zhang Lingfu) to caricatures, and, while describing their reactionary, hypocritical “essence,” does not eschew relating their abilities, astuteness, and resourcefulness. All this was designed to “frighten the stubborn and punish the evil,” and to highlight the “repulsive faces of reactionary characters.”8 Composition of the Red Flag by Liang Bin9 and Ouyang Shan’s Three Family Lane (including Bitter Struggle) were stories about the “origins” of revolution. This was one of the “established” themes of revolutionary historical fiction. Some pieces of fiction realized this through the portrayal of the lives and psychological motives of participants in the revolution (primarily workers and farmers), but stories like Composition of the Red Flag directly illustrated the situation during its earliest gestation and development in the countryside and cities during the 1920s and 1930s. As Liang Bin remembered it, there was a long preparatory phase before he could begin writing.10 To Liang Bin the novel seemed to require a relatively broad tableau of life and a lengthy structure to encapsulate with “epic character” the lives and destinies of China’s farmers during the “democratic revolution period.” Therefore, he planned for the story to consist of several volumes. Part one was Composition of the Red Flag (1958) and told of the struggle “against decapitating taxes” that unfolded in the rural areas around Baoding in Hebei Province during the early 1930s, and the student strike at the Baoding Second Normal School during the same time. Part two, Record of the Sowing of Fire (1963), mainly tells of the Gaoli Insurrection during 1932, and part three, Chart of Alarm Beacon Smoke (1983), tells of the state of fighting at the start of the War of Resistance against Japan. The major plotline through all three parts is the bitter life experiences of the various generations of the families of Zhu Laozhong and Yan Zhi, and the “important events” that occurred during this period are chronologically organized as the central plotlines of each of the three parts. Like A History of Pioneering Work, 8 Wu Qiang, ‹Preface to the Revised Edition› in Red Sun, China Youth Publishing House, 1959. 9 Liang Bin (1914–1996) was from Lixian County in Hebei Province. While studying at high school during the late-1920s, he began to participate in the Communist Partyled revolutionary movement. During the War of Resistance and the late-1940s, Liang was in the Central Ji area in Shanxi working on literature, propaganda, and local political rights. Besides Composition of the Red Flag, he also wrote Notes on Freeing Oneself. 10 Liang Bin, ‹On the Writing of Composition of the Red Flag›, “In Place of a Preface” in Composition of the Red Flag, China Youth Publishing House, 1959.

126

chapter eight

Composition of the Red Flag also starts with an separate “prologue” (in History it is titled “Starting Comments”), which relates the struggles of the protagonists and their forbearers: Their fathers, Zhu Laogong and Yan Laoxiang, cause big problems in Liulin Town, and Zhu Laoming takes his landlord to court, but they are “destined to lose.” This laid a foundation and provided a contrast with the “text proper”: Now their descendants “came into contact with the Party, the Party taught them to want to unite with the masses, to travel the road of the mass line,” and their struggle finally “achieved a great victory.” With this type of structural arrangement, the novel fulfilled the subsequent “narration”: “Only under the leadership of the Communist Party can the farmers of China better unite, defeat class enemies, and liberate themselves.”11 In Composition of the Red Flag, this theme was realized through the “maturation” of Zhu Laozhong and other characters (from the traditional hatred and resistance of farmers, to obtaining ideals and a collective spirit from the “age” and from the proletarian political party). Critics of the time not only believed the character of Zhu Laozhong was a symbol of the extraordinary success of the novel, but that he was also an important product of contemporary literary characterization. The conception of this character met with the basic rules for the creation of “heroic characters” of the time: One was that the character hold a central position throughout the entirety of the story, the other was that the characterization embody political class and the times, as well as meet the demand for perfect idealization. Composition of the Red Flag’s description of the farmers’ revolution and the disposition of the farmer hero under the “rules of development” in modern China had a “uniqueness” of their own. The author’s search for linkage between the theme of class and ideological struggle, and traditional literary texts and rural area customs was summarized by him as the novel’s exploration of the “national spirit.” This included a “death-defying” “vagabond spirit,” and the “national flavor” created by vignettes of life in the text. These linkages, although they were primarily expressions of concepts and the theme, sometimes made it possible for the narration to “escape” the confines of the theme and those ideas, and allowed the occasional expression of elements of human desire, daily life, habits, and rites that were drowned out in other texts by the major actions of class struggle. In Composition of the Red Flag, classical Chi-

11

Ibid.

the narration of history

127

nese fiction (such as Water Margins) provided models for techniques of expression, and had a part to play in the composition of the nature and actions of characters. The author’s use of local dialect also strengthened the element of historical continuity in the life depicted in the novel, and to some degree vitiated the stiffness and tension caused by elaborations on the theme and related concepts.

3. Red Crag’s Mode of Composition Red Crag was published in December 1961. In less than two years, it was reprinted several times and sold over four million copies. By the 1980s, it had been reprinted over 20 times and had sold over eight million copies. It can be safely said to be the best-selling novel of contemporary times. In the years between its initial publication and the outbreak of the “Cultural Revolution,” the characters and the story of Red Crag were transplanted or rewritten into western-style opera (‹Jiang Jie›), plays, movies (‹Immortality Amid the Roaring Flames› directed by Shui Hua and starring Zhao Dan), Beijing opera and other local variants of traditional opera. During the 1960s, the novel was hailed by critics as a “solemn stirring epic at daybreak,” “an inspiring textbook of communism,” and “a textbook that teaches the youth how to live, to struggle, and how to recognize and deal with enemies.”12 The accredited authors of Red Crag are Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan. They were not professional writers, and they, together with Liu Debin, among others, played an active part in the events described in the book. They were arrested in Chongqing for taking part in the Communist Party-led student movement and for underground Party work during the late 1940s. At the turn of the decade, a large number of revolutionaries struggling to overthrow the Nationalist government were incarcerated in a concentration camp termed the “Sino-American Cooperative Prison.” On the eve of the route of the Nationalist army and the occupation of Chongqing by the Liberation Army, some of these prisoners escaped (including the authors of Red Crag), but most were secretly murdered. During the 1950s, as survivors and witnesses to struggle

12 See: ‹Five-way Talk About Red Crag›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1962; Luo Sun & Xiao Li, ‹A Solemn Stirring Epic at Daybreak›, Literary Reviews, no. 3, 1962; Yao Wenyuan, ‹Fierce Eagles in a Black Prison›, Sichuan Literature, no. 5, 1962.

128

chapter eight

and massacre, in cooperation with the political campaigns being rolled out at the time, Luo Guangbin, Yang Yiyan, and Liu Debin collected material on those who died and interviewed other survivors, and in Chengdu, Chongqing and other cities made scores of reports about the “revolutionary tradition” in which they told of the bravery of the revolutionaries and the cruelty of their enemies. Although these activities were accounts of “true events,” they had actually already entered the creative stage. Recollections of listeners had it that when Luo Guangbin told the story of “little turnips” in the “white house”: Each time [he told it], it got richer, more concrete, and the details more vivid. It seemed that when he told the story, he wasn’t just searching his memory, but was continuously thinking it through, imagining himself in the position of others.13

In late 1956, they organized and annotated the oral accounts they had collected, publishing “memoirs of the revolution” Immortality Amid the Roaring Flames, which went on to sell three million copies. In 1958, the Central Committee of the Communist Party Youth League and the China Youth Publishing House suggested to Luo Guangbin and the others that the material could be written up as a novel. Liu Debin was forced to withdraw for work-related reasons as they began on the second draft. But this second draft was not successful because they had “failed to master the rules and techniques of the novel, and the underlying tone of it was downcast and oppressive, its pages were blood-drenched, and it lacked the spirit of the age of revolution.” The confidence of the writers took a hit. Under these circumstances, the Communist Party-led city council of Chongqing decided to let Luo and Yang “abort” their specialized revision of the materials, and to have the Chongqing Literature Federation organize a seminar to which figures from all areas of society were invited to “make suggestions.” During this period and after, Sichuanese writers and leaders in the Chongqing and Sichuan governments participated in this “writing” activity. In June 1960, when Yang and Luo travelled to Beijing to take advice on the revised draft from the publishers, they viewed exhibitions of “historical artifacts” in the Military Museum and the Revolutionary History Museum, including telegrams, documents, and memoranda of the late 1940s from the Communist Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, Mao Zedong,

13

From ‹Red Crag · Luo Guangbin · Sino-American Cooperative Prison›.

the narration of history

129

and others. In September, the fourth volume of The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong was published, and after they had read the relevant essays, they felt they had a deep understanding of the contemporary state of the political struggle and the characteristics of the age. “Having found an elevated tone, a bright shading, and the guiding thought for the novel, the characters became loftier, mightier,” and the story suddenly “took on an entirely new look.”14 This was in reference to the third draft completed in March 1961. During the writing of the novel, the writers and the editors responsible for the book at the publishing house maintained a continuous detailed discussion about the ongoing revision. In June 1961, the fourth draft was completed. In August, Luo and Yang again went to Beijing and completed the final revisions to the book in cooperation with the publishing house’s editors. The approximately ten-year process of writing Red Crag was a success of “organized production” in contemporary literature. This mode of “organized production” was frequently used in theatre and film productions, but was not often seen in literary forms normally dominated by “individual writing”; however, during the “Cultural Revolution,” it became one of the major modes of production for all literary works. The creative motives of the writers were fully politicized. The authors obtained a basis for the refinement and processing of original materials from authoritative texts and those who had a better grasp of ideological connotations, they discarded inappropriate “individual” personal experience, and replaced it with newly acquired understanding. Therefore, in some sense, the authors of Red Crag were a group who cooperated in writing the book in order to achieve a unitary ideological goal. The transition from the 1940s to the 1950s was a moment when darkness was superseded by brightness in the history of China, it was the birth of a new age—and this historical consciousness was established in the narratives of history and literature during the 1950s. Red Crag’s purer pursuit of “revolution” was a realization of the “essence” of this historical time. It handled this event and all its significance in ways that were more distinct, more intense, more symbolic, and carried more of a flavor of “life philosophy.” The main part of the text deals with the struggle in prison, but simultaneously touches on the revolutionary movement in the city led by the Communist Party’s underground organization, and arranges another plot line that articulates the farmers’ movement and

14

Ma Shitu, ‹Speaking of Red Crag›, China Youth, no. 11, 1962.

130

chapter eight

the armed struggle in the Huaying Mountain base area in Sichuan. The novel contains a full description of the civil war during 1948 and 1949, including the collapse of the Nationalist armies and government. The relationship between the novel’s revolutionaries (Xu Yunfeng, Jiang Jie, Cheng Gang, Hua Ziliang, and Qi Xiaoxuan, among others) and their enemies (Xu Pengfei, and others) is placed in the matrix of a trial of strength between the two political groups, two life roads, and two spiritual forces. The portrayal of the thoughts, dispositions, words, actions, and psychology of the characters is “made transparent” in their entirety. The spiritual power that radiates from the will and belief of the heroic characters, and their steadfastness and calm while suffering physical depredation and psychological torture, as well as their knowledge and experience of it, is clearly contrasted with the cunning ruthlessness, and the bluff and bluster that is reduced to fear and hopelessness of the negative characters, in a layered contrast that is pushed to “extremes.” The trials of spiritual strength in face-to-face meetings between Xu Yunfeng, Jiang Jie, and Xu Pengfei, and others, as well as their “debates” over politics and outlooks on life, strengthen the novel’s claim to be a “textbook of communism.” The plotting of these types of scenes greatly influenced fiction and drama during the 1960s and 1970s.

4. Another Type of Memory Among writers of revolutionary historical fiction, Jun Qing and Wang Yuanjian were among those who primarily utilized the short-story form. In the postface to his collection Later Generations, Wang Yuanjian stated: This happy road we travel today is precisely that which was paved with the lives and blood of these revolutionary predecessors; that sublime ideological quality about them is the most precious spiritual wealth left to this generation of ours.

This highlights the stress on historical memory of himself and Jun Qing, and the basis in reality of their narratives. They stress the arduous and brutal nature of the struggle to create this “happy road,” and created heroic characters tested by blood and fire against this backdrop. After 1954, Jun Qing15 had published a series of short stories on the subject of

15

Jun Qing (1922–) is from Haiyang County in Shandong Province. He began his

the narration of history

131

the war (including both the War of Resistance and the civil war) during the 1940s on the Jiaodong Peninsula in Shandong Province, such as ‹Riverbank at Dawn›, ‹Old Grandpa Water Buffalo›, and ‹Party Membership Registration Forms›. The perilous nature of life during these times is powerfully stressed in these stories. Their plots consist of arrangements of happenstance elements that place characters under the nonstop tribulations of rigorous circumstances. With some damage to humanistic concerns over individual lives, plotlines involving death and savage torture are often used to stress the “superhuman” will of heroic characters. This form of plotting also appears in Jun Qing’s works set in peacetime, such as ‹Petrels›. As the work of Jun Qing contained elements of this sort of “romanticism” (the creation of lofty heroic images and a tone of idealistic enthusiasm), his work was highly regarded during the 1950s and 1960s. In comparison with the descriptive extravagance Jun Qing, the narratives of Wang Yuanjian16 seem somewhat simple and clear; to some degree, they were closer to a “story” form. ‹Party Fees›, ‹Seven Matches›, ‹Story of Food›, and ‹Travels of Three›, among other stories, all write of struggles in the “Soviet areas” during the early 1930s and the Long March, none of which the author participated in. However, his life in the army during the 1940s and his editorial work on the “revolutionary memoirs” of The Fire of Stars Sets the Prairie Ablaze series of books helped Wang master the narrative principles and modes of “revolutionary history.” By comparison, the accounts of revolutionary history of Sun Li, Ru Zhijuan, and Liu Zhen, among others, were of a different mode. Their work possessed individual lyrical characteristics. Sun Li (1913–) is from Anping in Hebei Province. During the War of Resistance and throughout most of the 1940s, Sun worked as a newspaper editor and as a teacher in the Jin-Cha-Ji area. ‹Lotus Lake› and ‹Reed Catkins Marsh›

literary career in the 1940s. Riverbank at Dawn, Petrels, and Accounts of Events on the Jiaodong Peninsula are his short story collections, and his collections of prose essays include Letters from a Trip through Europe and Compositions on Autumnal Shades. In the 1980s, Jun published the novel Tsunami. 16 Wang Yuanjian (1929–1991) was from Zhucheng in Shandong Province. He enlisted in the Eighth Route Army in 1945 and held posts as a newspaper reporter and editor. In the 1950s, he helped organize and edit the “revolutionary memoirs” of The Fire of Stars Sets the Prairie Ablaze series of books. His published short story collections include Party Fees, People Dear to You, and Ordinary Laborers. During the “Cultural Revolution,” he participated in the revision of the literary script of the movie ‹Sparkling Red Stars›.

132

chapter eight

are fiction from this period. Since 1949 Sun has lived in Tianjin, and his major works include the short stories ‹Wu Shao’er›, ‹Memories of a Mountainous Region›, ‹Little Victory›, and ‹The First Month›, the novellas ‹Village Song› and ‹The Story before Ironwood›, and the novel An Initial Record of a Stormy Situation. Since the mid-1950s, he has written little fiction. An Initial Record of a Stormy Situation is Sun’s only novel. The first and second parts of the novel were published in 1951 and 1953. After revising the third part, in 1962, a book combining all three parts was published. Sun writes of the situation after the official outbreak of war between China and Japan on 7 July 1937, the changes in life in the village of Wulongtang and Ziwu Town on the banks of the Hutuo River in the central Ji region of Hebei, and the story of the Communist Party organizing military resistance and an alternative government structure. The novella ‹The Story before Ironwood› is set in a village and tells the story of the friendship, and the end of that friendship, between the carpenter Li Laodong and the ironsmith Fu Laogang. Most critics believed that this break profoundly reflected the early phase of the cooperativization movement, the complex changes in human relations, and the thought and emotions at all levels of rural society, and touched on the theme of the struggle over the two roads in rural areas. In the 1980s, when “agricultural cooperativization” was no longer a standard narrative topic and was even seen as a “mistaken” account of history, the author did not fully agree with this explanation. Sun stated: “On the surface, this book is a product of my going down to the countryside in 1953. Actually this is not so, as it is related to my childhood memories, and is a realization of my thoughts and feelings at the time.” He went on to say: “Its origin was seemingly in a thought. . . . That is, after moving into the city, relations between people, because of position or something else, experienced an unimaginable change in the difficult environment. I was very vexed over this change.”17 In his descriptions of “class division” in rural areas, the deep concern expressed in Sun’s work was indeed related to the unstoppable changes that occurred over “time” in simple, beautiful, true feelings of friendship. “Memory” is the structural framework of these stories, and is also their emotional tone: “Life in these years has been somewhat better, but I often remember the hardship of those years” (from ‹Wu Shao’er›); “This shade of blue, I don’t know what kind of blue

17 Sun Li, ‹Preface› in Collected Works of Sun Li, Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1982.

the narration of history

133

it is, but it makes me recall many things” (from ‹Memories of a Mountainous Region›); “In people’s childhood, what thing leaves behind the deepest impression?” (from ‹The Story before Ironwood›). Emotional drawbacks felt in the present decide what experiences to draw on and the form of their make up. Overall, in Sun Li’s fiction the significance of “war” and “revolution” is to provide an environment in which to fully exhibit the “typical” for the confidence in life and simple humanity among the general populace. Against the backdrop of revolution and war in the Central Ji area countryside, Sun uses an emotionally colored imagination to create “extreme” forms of life and human relations. This idealized form of life most often appears in the form of a young woman under Sun’s pen. Sun Li has not written much fiction, and the artistic qualities of it are uneven. Those works of his that possess the most individual features are those that structurally come closest to prose. They do not seek narrativity, and the heart of their art is located in the expression of the feeling and humors that flow through the processes of life. But they do not sink into sentimentalism. When the narrator’s emotional entry into a story is revealed, it is restrained by a clear, concise commentary. During the 1950s and 1960s, when the creation of typical settings and characters were being stressed, and the “direct description of the life of the great struggles of the age” was being advocated, Sun Li’s type of lyrical, prosestyle fiction could not hope to be highly assessed. Even those critics who defended his “delicate pen and exquisite sentiments” had no choice but to make these sorts of demands: “To undertake a broader portrayal of the outlook of the age,” and “undertake a more complete, deeper depiction of the nature of characters.”18 Ru Zhijuan was born in Shanghai in 1925, the daughter of immigrants from Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. In 1943, she enlisted in the New Fourth Army and, during the war years, worked in cultural troupes attached to the army. She began publishing literary work in 1950, and, in 1958, her short story ‹Lilies› drew a great deal of attention.19 Ru

18 Huang Qiuyun, ‹Some Partial Thoughts on the Work of Sun Li›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 10, 1961. 19 This was related to Mao Dun’s high appraisal of the short story at the time. Mao wrote an essay analyzing the piece in great detail, and stated: “Out of dozens of short stories I have read recently, I was most satisfied with this one, and it is also the story that most moved me. It is a short story with a tight structure and no wasted strokes of the pen, but at the same time it is rich in lyrical flavor.” See: Mao Dun, ‹On Recent Short Fiction›, People’s Literature, no. 6, 1958.

134

chapter eight

Zhijuan’s short fiction of the 1950s and 1960s were collected in Tall Aspens and The Quiet Maternity Hospital (in 1978 they were brought together under the title of Lilies). The subject matter for these stories came from two areas: One was life during the wars in the 1940s, aside from ‹Lilies›, these included ‹Big Momma Guan›, ‹Beside the Cheng River›, and ‹Three Trips to Yan Village›; the other source of subject matter was the alleys of Shanghai and nearby villages. Of these, ‹As You Wish›, ‹Spring Festival›, ‹The Process›, and ‹The Quiet Maternity Hospital›, among others, wrote of ordinary urban housewives and the psychological changes that occur when they leave home under the enticements or impulsion of the currents of life. As with much other writing of the 1950s, subject matter on the fate of women primarily came under the category of the social and political mobilization of women. Ru’s stories on wartime life unfold in a “closed” fashion without any connections being made with current life. Yet, it is not difficult to distinguish the motives for internal “memory” from the line of the narrative. They are selected and reconstituted as tissues that participate in the “unity” of life. Ru Zhijuan offered an explanation of this later on: She remembered the war years at that time because the influence of the “Anti-Rightist Campaign” on society and her family worried her very much. Every evening I “would desolately think of life during the wars, and [my] relationship with the comrades at the time”; “‹Lilies› was like this, surrounded by worries, the product of recollections and cherished memories.”20 This statement provides a clue to understanding the psychological motives for the author’s memories of “revolutionary history,” but can also be seen as an elucidation (in 1980) of something written over twenty years previously. ‹Lilies› is about an occurrence at a wound-binding station in a forward position, the emotional relationship in the middle of fierce fighting between a soldier originally from the countryside and two women. At the time of publication (and for a relatively long time thereafter), this story was approved of for chiefly two reasons. One was that this short story’s art had attained an exemplary level for the 1950s. Its stress on composition and compression, story development and characterization are all well integrated, the structure is “detailed and close” and “has a rich sense of rhythm,” “it forms a coherent whole, vivacious from beginning to end” and features “techniques that work in concert with each other from front to back.” This all conformed to the ideals of those critics

20 Ru Zhijuan, ‹My Experience of Writing “Lilies”›, in Special Collection of Ru Zhijuan Studies, Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, 1952.

the narration of history

135

(such as Mao Dun and Wei Jinzhi) who saw short story masterpieces of the nineteenth century West as models. They could brandish ‹Lilies› as an example with which to “correct” the universal crudity of the art of the short story at the time. Besides this, ‹Lilies› was approved of as a successful expression of a “standardized theme.” Critics (like Mao Dun) were quick to précis this story as “reflecting the lofty qualities of the Liberation Army (through the honorable, loveable military press correspondent), and the sincerity with which the people care for the Liberation Army (through the young woman serving at the wound-binding station),” a “topic on which many writers have poured out their heart’s blood.”21 The expository frame of the lofty qualities of the soldiers and the close relations between the people and the military “narrowed” the expository space, but also obscured the vague warm feelings between characters, allowing this short story to go unquestioned and attain legitimacy within the strict limits of contemporary subject matter. For a period after the end of the “Cultural Revolution,” Ru Zhijuan continued to write and publish short stories. Her ‹A Story Out of Sequence› and ‹The Path Through the Grassland› were among the first that exhibited the new harvest in fiction at the dawn of the “new era.” In the 1950s, other short stories written in a lyrical narrative mode included Liu Zhen’s ‹The Secret of Walnuts›, ‹Little Rong and I›, and ‹Forever Running Water›, as well as Xiao Ping’s ‹March Snow›. Liu Zhen’s ‹Musical Movement for a Hero› (1959) told the story of the heroic deeds and death in battle of a commander in the Eighth Route Army in a sentimental, reminiscent tone. This story was critically attacked as “promoting capitalist humanitarianism” in 1960.22

5. The Song Of Youth and the Discussion Surrounding It The Song of Youth is a novel that is about both “revolutionary history” and the “maturation” of an intellectual. A similar novel in the contemporary period is Spring and Autumn in a Small Town by Gao Yunlan (1910–1956). Small Town describes revolutionary activities in Xiamen,

21

Mao Dun, ‹On Recent Short Fiction›, People’s Literature, no. 6, 1958. See: Wang Ziye, ‹Assessing Liu Zhen’s “Musical Movement for a Hero”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1960; Kang Zhuo, ‹Two Poisonous Weeds of the Same Root—Brief Comments on “Musical Movement of a Hero” and “Cao Jinlan”›, Honeybee (Hebei), no. 1, 1960; and Kang Zhuo, ‹Soldiers Attack “Musical Movement for a Hero”›, Liberation Army Literature & Arts, no. 5, 1960. 22

136

chapter eight

Fujian Province, during the early-1930s. Unlike Small Town however, the publication of The Song of Youth had an important impact during the 1950s. Its author, Yang Mo (1914–1995) was from Xiangyin in Hunan Province. She later studied high school in Beiping, and worked as a teacher and home tutor in Beiping and the Hebei counties of Xianghe and Dingxian. In 1936, Yang joined the Communist Party-led revolutionary movement. Most of the short stories and prose essays that she wrote during the 1930s and 1940s have been lost. In 1950, the publication of Yang’s novella ‹Life on Reed Lake› went unnoticed. However, within six months of The Song of Youth being published in 1958, it sold 1.3 million copies, becoming the second most popular novel of the period after Qu Bo’s Tracks in the Snowy Forest. A revised edition appeared in 1960. In the same year of the novel’s initial publication, it was made into a movie,23 and was welcomed as one of the “movies presented as a gift” on the “tenth anniversary of the establishment of the state.” Throughout the 1960s, The Song of Youth had a great many readers in Japan, Hongkong, and throughout Southeast Asia. In 1960, a Japanese-language edition was published, and, over a five-year period, was reprinted 12 times and sold 200,000 copies. Yang Mo’s novel has an autobiographical flavor; the author’s life during the 1930s is the obvious basis of its source material. Aside from a few chapters and sections, the experiences of the central character Lin Daojing are the central plotline: Refusing her adoptive mother’s arrangements to marry an official, she runs away from home; being saved by Yu Yongze in Beidaihe when feeling suicidal after a series of setbacks; feeling called to take part in the student movement for resistance to Japan, and being educated into class consciousness by the Communist Party members Lu Jiachuan and Jiang Hua; recognizing the mediocrity and selfishness of Yu Yongze, and ending her relationship with him over the split in their political roads; throwing herself into the resistance movement against Japan and becoming a proletarian revolutionary. The story happens between the “September 18” Incident in 193124 and the “Decem-

23 Produced by the Beijing Film Production Company, revised for fi lm by Yang Mo, directed by Cui Wei and Chen Huai’ai, and acted by Xie Fang, Kang Tai, Yu Yang, and Yu Shizhi. 24 [Translator’s note: Japanese forces set off explosives on a railway line outside Shenyang, which led to a military crisis and, ultimately, the occupation of Manchuria by Japanese forces before the end of the year.]

the narration of history

137

ber 9” Movement25 in 1935. The socio-political storms and incidents of this period form the decisive elements in the choice of life roads for the novel’s characters. The structure of the story in the first half of the novel is relatively complete, while that of the second half is somewhat loose. The depiction of the emotions and psychology of Lin Daojing is so detailed it borders on the real. The descriptions of many scenes bring out the atmosphere and characteristics of the time and the region. However, the novel’s language lacks individuality and variation; there is a lack of awareness of the uses of various narrative techniques. And these deficiencies were pointed out by critics at the time of the novel’s publication.26 The narration in The Song of Youth of how the Communist Party of China took up the “historical responsibility” of deciding the nation’s fate and organized the masses in moments of national crisis does not shun the calamities suffered by Party members and the heroic struggle of those who were sacrificed. This is an acknowledgement of history by the victors. In the novel, this acknowledgement is achieved through the creation of heroic figures (such as Lu Jiachuan, Jiang Hua, and Lin Hong). Although Lu Jiahua and others are not major characters, their existence in the novel was the primary reason critics of the time approved of Yang Mo’s work.27 Of course, there are some special elements in the novel. Firstly, while it is a story about the road of modern Chinese intellectuals, it also touches on the theme of the fate of women. Lin Daojing’s experience of love and marriage contains complex women’s issues. However, the thematic elements that deal with the fate of women are inhibited and toned down in the novel, and are primarily dealt with as elements of contradictions and changes in class stand and class-consciousness. In choosing to negate Dai Yu, Yu Yongze, Bai Liping, and other characters, the novel uses Lin Daojing’s maturation process to reveal the way out for intellectuals: To

25 [Translator’s note: Protests against Japanese encroachments in eastern Hebei, which comes under the control of a Japanese-backed Chinese general. This is the date of a large anti-Japanese rally by students in Beijing.] 26 For example, see: Mao Dun, ‹How to Assess The Song of Youth›, China Youth, no. 4, 1959. 27 He Qifang stated that “after a cursory reading, it seems its subject matter is the life of a young intellectual.” In fact, “what attracts the broad mass of readers is those descriptions of the revolutionary struggles of the time, . . . in ‹Why I Wrote The Song of Youth› the author says her initial wish upon writing the novel was to portray the figures of those bravely sacrificed Communist Party members.” In: He Qifang, ‹The Song of Youth Cannot be Denied›, China Youth, no. 5, 1959.

138

chapter eight

undergo an arduous thought revision process, moving from individualism to collectivism, from dreams of individual heroism to participating in the collective struggle for class liberation, all under the guidance of a proletarian political party. That is to say, that the individual life can only achieve a true realization of its value through throwing itself into and merging with the revolutionary enterprise principally composed of the mass of workers and farmers. Although the unfolding of this road had been spoken of earlier and often, the grasping of the “essence” of the message by intellectuals was still a major problem during the 1950s and 1960s, and had to be repeatedly and heavily stressed. This was the “significance of the subject matter” of this novel, and why it was fulsomely approved of even though its central character was an intellectual. A year after publication of the novel, China Youth and the Literature & Art Paper carried essays critical of The Song of Youth.28 This criticism believed that there were “relatively serious defects” in the molding of the character of Lin Daojing, that the “author has a capitalist stance, and her work is a petit bourgeois expression of self.” Lin Daojing “never undergoes a profound ideological struggle, her thoughts and feelings do not undergo a change from those of one class to another’s,” “but the author crowns her with the glorious epithet of Communist Party member, and as a result seriously distorts the image of Communist Party members.” Furthermore, the articles also criticize the novel for “not describing the masses of workers and farmers well,” and Lin Daojing “from beginning to end never earnestly goes about integrating with the masses of workers and farmers.” Another article supporting these criticisms also raised stern questions about the “morality” of Lin Daojing’s marriage and love life with Lu Jiachuan, Jiang Hua, and others. Soon afterwards, papers and periodicals such as the Literature & Arts Press, China Youth, People’s Daily, and the China Youth News, started special discussion forums or published specialized articles. The majority of readers and critics (such as Ba Jin, “Ma Tieding,” Yuan Ying, He Qifang, and Mao Dun), as well as the papers and journals that organized these discussions, held a “protective” attitude toward the novel, pointing out that the criticism of those who “completely negate” The

28 See: Guo Kai, ‹Brief Words on Faults in the Description of Lin Daojing—A Critique of Yang Mo’s Novel The Song of Youth›, China Youth, no. 2, 1959; and Guo Kai, ‹On the Subject of The Song of Youth a Discussion of Issues of Principle in Literary and Artistic Creation and Criticism—Another Critique of Comrade Yang Mo’s Novel The Song of Youth›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 4, 1959.

the narration of history

139

Song of Youth was subjectivist and dogmatic. The critics of the novel stressed that literary works should manifest “class essence,” and that they should “perfectly” exhibit the “essence of history”; with the eye of “class essence,” they perceptively saw the distance between what was expressed in the novel and the “purity” and the “thoroughgoing” nature of that “essence.” But the protectors, so as to protect the “literary nature” of their cherished realist fiction from being harmed, and out of concerns over the consequences of the remolding of intellectuals (class essentialization), spoke in defense of some aspects of the impure “naturalness” of the novel’s descriptions. In 1959, those of the latter opinion attained an ascendant position. But during the “Cultural Revolution,” when “radical” literary thought was in absolute control, this “impurity” in The Song of Youth saw it denounced as a “poisonous weed”; and the critics of that time had reason to believe they had an “unprecedented” appreciation of the essence of the issue. During the time of this discussion, Yang Mo “absorbed all pertinent, practical opinions from the discussion” and revised her novel. The revised edition of the novel published in 1960 featured alterations and deletions of those parts of the book in which Lin Daojing still betrays “petit bourgeois feelings” . . . “after receiving a revolutionary education.” It also adds descriptions of Lin uniting with the workers and farmers in Chapter Seven, and in Chapter Three “strives to make Lin Daojing somewhat more mature, somewhat stronger after entering the Party”29 as well as participating in and leading the Beijing University student movement. Many critics and literary historians were critical of these revisions. There were commentators, however, who believed the revised edition made good major deficiencies in the original edition, and that the changes were necessary and successful. This division was a continuation of the 1950s argument between two standpoints on literature. There is continuity between the contents of The Song of Youth and Yang Mo’s two novels published in the 1980s and 1990s, The Song of the Fragrance of Flowers and Grass and The Song of Beautiful Plants and Flowers, and the three together have been called the “Youth Trilogy.” However, the later two volumes met with little response from readers or critics.

29 Yang Mo, ‹Postface to the Second Edition of The Song of Youth›, in The Song of Youth, Author Publishing House, 1960.

140

chapter eight 6. The Historical Novel Li Zicheng

Li Zicheng may also be termed “revolutionary history fiction,” but it certainly does not fit the definition of “established” “revolutionary history.” However, the concepts behind its writing and narrative mode have certain similarities with the category of revolutionary history fiction discussed above. When Yao Xueyin30 wrote Li Zicheng, farmer uprisings of ancient times were seen as “historical resources” for the modern twentieth century revolution. In the early 1950s, the main reason for the critical attacks on the film ‹Tale of Wu Xun› was that it “used the failure of the struggle of revolutionary farmers as a contrast” with praise for Wu Xun who “enthusiastically propagated feudal culture,” and this was “to slander the farmers’ revolutionary struggle, to slander the history of China.”31 As an extension of these attacks, a correct interpretation of “the history of China” was provided by ‹Song Jingshi›, a movie about a farmer uprising during the same period as the events in ‹Tale of Wu Xun›, which was written and filmed in 1951. Therefore, Li Zicheng, a novel that “dissects” feudal society from a “materialist and dialectical” stance,32 participated in the exposure of the essence of modern history together with the revolutionary history fiction that directly portrayed the modern revolutionary movement. Li Zicheng was originally planned to have five parts, but only three parts were completed. The first part (in two sections) was published in 1963. It tells the story of the approach of Manchu armies to the capital during the tenth month of the eleventh year of the reign of the Ming dynasty emperor Chongzhen, while the government army was at Tong Pass in Shaanxi Province fighting the farmers’ army led by Li Zicheng. It tells of the emperor’s indecision over whether to fight or sue for peace, and of the turmoil that shook the whole of Ming society. The second part (in three sections) and the third part were published in 1976 and 1981. Part two tells of how, after being defeated in battle at Tong Pass,

30

Yao Xueyin (1910–1999) was from Dengxian in Henan Province. During the 1930s and 1940s he became known for works of fiction such as the short story ‹Half a Cartload of Straw Short›, the novella ‹Niu Quande and Radishes›, and the novels In the Time of a Warm Spring and Blooming Flowers, A Love of Warhorses, and Long Nights. In 1957, Yao was denounced as a rightist, after which he devoted himself to writing Li Zicheng, which he had been preparing to write since the 1940s. 31 Mao Zedong, ‹We Should Pay Attention to the Discussion of the Movie “The Tale of Wu Xun”›, People’s Daily, 20 May 1951. 32 Mao Dun, ‹About the Historical Novel Li Zicheng›, Literary Reviews, no. 2, 1978.

the narration of history

141

Li Zicheng retreats onto Shangluo Mountain and is besieged by government troops, local tyrants, and traitorous troops from his own army; Li breaks through this encirclement and enters Henan, unites with Zhang Xianzhong and his forces, and at the height of his military strength takes Luoyang and attacks Kaifeng. Part three describes the “limitations” of an army based on a farmers’ uprising, and the process of its tragic decline. The novel features a vast array of characters and a broad structure. The author’s aspiration to write a “historical encyclopedic” novel set in the time of the transition from the Ming to the Qing empires, made it necessary for the story to unfold in a “panoramic” fashion. The descriptions of society touch on life at court and among the general populace, from the capital to the countryside, inside and outside the borders, as well as such broad topics as politics and economics, military affairs, as well as agricultural matters and the various trades. Over two hundred named characters appear in the first two parts of the novel, from the emperor, to his ministers, eunuchs, and courtesans, to scholars and the impoverished people, as well as the military leaders and foot soldiers of the uprising. The novel pays particular attention to the relationships between the various social forces of the time, such as the struggle between the rebel army and the Ming dynasty government, the conflict between the Ming and Qing forces, and the contradictions within the ruling class and those between various rebel forces. Furthermore, the novel places an obvious stress on portraying the sources of the complex class contradictions in society, and while handling these complicated relationships, takes the contradictions between the farmers’ uprising army and the feudal dynasty as the “main contradiction.” This design was mandated by the author’s goal of exposing the laws of history from a historical materialist point of view. Plotlines are handled by dividing them into major and adjunct, ensuring that they are closely coordinated and correlated, and the novel thereby attains an orderly layered, all-inclusive eff ect. Li Zicheng was approved of because it is a “heroic ode to a farmers’ revolutionary war.” The primary value of the novel was deemed to be in the descriptions of the “central character” Li Zicheng and the army he led. Li Zicheng is given the image of a highly intelligent, talented hero and leader of the rebel forces possessing lofty moral qualities. He is not merely a traditional heroic figure, but a leader with the talents of a politician and military strategist. Yao Xueyin, in his portrayal of this figure (and Gao Furen, among others) and the rebel army, obviously took the Communist Party leadership and the arming of farmers in the Jinggang Mountains base area on the border between Hunan and Jiangxi

142

chapter eight

provinces in the late 1920s as a reference. Li Zicheng’s dedication to the revolutionary enterprise, his outstanding military abilities, his strictness with himself and his lenient treatment of others, as well as the weaknesses that were his belief in a mandate from heaven and his ideology of a roving rebel band leader; the growth of the rebel army, the causes of its gains in strength, the “intimate relationship” between the army and the general populace, and the importance to the development of the army of the correctness of its political line and its organizational strength—all this was a summing-up of the lessons learned from the experience of the Communist Party’s Red Army of workers and farmers. This was at the center of the author’s thinking in his examination of this rebel army at the time of the fall of the Ming dynasty.

CHAPTER NINE

THE PLIGHT OF OTHER FORMS OF FICTION

1. Inhibited Fiction Although from a literary point of view it is difficult to distinguish between concepts such as “popular literature” and “vulgar literature,” in China’s twentieth century fiction circles still another type of literature coexisted with that termed “pure literature” or “serious literature.” Romantic, knight-errant, detective, and other varieties of popular fiction are a product of urban culture in recent times. They are primarily aimed at urban readers of tentative reading abilities, and are for reading of a “consumerist nature” as leisure or entertainment products. During the 1930s and 1940s, this type of literature was seen by the writers of new literature as an embodiment of feudalistic and comprador culture and duly discriminated against. However, as a literary fact, the writing and reading of this type of literature continued. Moreover, popular literature contained “refined” and “vulgar” forms of fiction, and while they developed along relatively independent lines, they shared a complicated situation of mutual osmosis, assimilation, and conversion. In the late 1940s, during the struggle to establish the direction of literature, “popular fiction” (sometimes referred to as “old fiction”) was critically attacked by those writers who endorsed the “revolutionary mass literature tradition.”1 These all-embracing critical attacks are evidence of

1 Such as Mao Dun in his report to the first congress of literary representatives. He stated that in Nationalist-controlled areas during the 1940s, “old fiction that carried a heavy whiff of feudal obscurantist policies [meant to dumb-down the people] and works on the supernatural and knights-errant written by bored literati under the influence of reactionary domination, disseminated their poison among the urban petty bourgeois and a portion of the laboring people.” He criticized “still a ‘third type’ of literary work.” “Under the guise of new literature and arts, on the surface it does not necessarily touch on politics, but the subject matter it selects is of a standard of backward urban petty bourgeois tastes, or it arranges love scenes in tragedies and comedies, or it advances one or two trivial contradictions in the daily life of urbanites, and constructs stories from these. . . .” See: Mao Dun, ‹Struggling and Developing Revolutionary Literature and Arts Under the Oppression of the Reactionaries› in A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, New China Bookstore 1950, Beijing.

144

chapter nine

the rejection of this type of fiction by literary circles on Mainland China after the 1950s. Yet, in the early 1950s, this issue was handled somewhat indecisively by literary circles. Not long after the first congress of literary representatives, the Literature & Arts Press called a conference for Beijing and Tianjin writers who wrote “serialized and traditional-style novels,” to “study the literary practice and the situation of readers of this type of fiction, and to discuss how to develop and modify this form.” Although the conference stressed the need for this “old form of fiction” to modify its contents and form, it did not adopt an entirely negative attitude. Furthermore, authors expressed enthusiasm for writing this type of fiction with “new contents.”2 However, if the “diversionary” nature of this type of fiction was negated, and if “new content” meant the discarding of previous romantic, chivalrous models, the desire to “develop and modify this form” was bound to come to naught. Inevitably, a few writers of “old fiction” (such as Zhang Youluan) wrote works with this “new content” (Records of a Shrine), were quickly criticized for it, and the authors had to make self-criticisms.3 Some famous writers of “popular fiction” essentially stopped writing the form and turned to adapting stories from traditional opera and folk legends: Zhang Henshui’s rewriting of the ‹Tale of Meng Jiang›, ‹Tale of Rubbing the Mirror›, and others such stories is a case in point. During the 1950s, the Popular Literature and Arts Publishing House and the Precious Literature Hall Bookstore in Beijing were among those institutions that specialized in publishing popular literature. Aside from reprinting the Tale of Shrimp Balls by Huang Guliu (1948) and a few other pieces of fiction, very little of what could be truly called new “popular fiction” was published (Zhao Shuli’s Sanliwan was published by the Popular Literature and Arts Publishing House, but it is very difficult to consider this novel “popular fiction”). The majority of the items published by these two Beijing publishing houses consisted of story-telling and ballad-singing scripts, comic dialogues, traditional opera scripts and related materials, and their so-called “mid-length fiction department” mostly produced stories rewritten from their original traditional opera, folk story, or other folk art forms. The vein of romantic and chivalrous “popular fiction” dating from late-Qing dynasty times

2 ‹Win Over Urban Petty Bourgeois Readers—Notes on the Conference for Old Serialized and Traditional-style Fiction›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 1 (October 1949). 3 Zhang Youluan, ‹An Initial Self-Criticism for Records of a Shrine›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 9, 1952.

the plight of other forms of fiction

145

was effectively severed in Mainland China, but was continued and developed in Taiwan and, especially, Hongkong. The issue of “popular literature” was raised again in 1956 and 1957. At a conference arranged by the Popular Literature and Arts Publishing house attended by Chen Shenyan, Zhang Youluan, Zhang Henshui, Li Hong, and others these “popular literature writers and artists” defended and argued for their and their works’ position in literary history. 4 Not long before, there had been a taciturn reappraisal and approval of the “popular fiction” of Zhang Henshui and other writers by literary circles, and there were expressions indicative of a widening of the literary road for fiction writers. Although critics of the time had also emphatically pointed out that Zhang’s Fate in Tears and Laughter and other writings “were not able to truly reflect the essence of social life of the times, and were also incapable of shaking the base of the foundations of semi-feudal semi-colonial rule, as their anti-feudalistic thought was very weak and not thoroughgoing.”5 However, the Popular Literature and Arts Publishing House still reprinted Fate in Tears and Laughter and other pieces of fiction in 1956, and in the “synopsis of contents” for Fate acknowledged that this fiction had some value in accordance with contemporary critical standards: “This is a love story with an anti-feudal flavor. . . . Reading this novel today, there is contemporary significance in its descriptions of the tragedies of young love in the old society and the exposure of the repugnance and corruption of the feudal warlords of that time.” The point of this assessment was to differentiate Fate and other such fiction from “obscene literature” that featured “reactionary, lewd, absurd contents.” Yet, at the same time, this also seemed a “passive” response made out of “expediency” as, at the time, writers of popular literature had yet to produce “replacement” works that could “face the masses” and replace works of “old fiction.” The motives for this were not far removed from those of some publishing houses that, under the ruse of academic study purposes, published pieces of old popular literature such as Subduing Monsters, Record of Four Journeys, A Cup that Illuminates the World, The Rock on which Drunkards Sober Up, and Beautiful Stories of West Lake. This flexibility towards “popular fiction” was “tightened up” after 1958.

4 ‹The Voices of Popular Literature Writers and Artists›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 10, 1957. 5 Li Xinghua, ‹Assessing Zhang Henshui’s Fate in Tears and Laughter›, Literature & Arts Studies, no. 2, 1956.

146

chapter nine 2. In Search of New Substitutes

That literature should be “loved” by the masses and can be read by the “laboring masses” is related to the problem of the “direction” of literature, and this had not been truly resolved in this period. People will have noticed that the readers of a majority of literary works were primarily still students and intellectuals, and new works of literature and the arts had not well “captured” the readers of “old fiction.” And, even though writers such as Zhao Shuli were determined to use their popularized fiction to win over readers in rural areas, the efficacy of this approach was questionable, not to mention its effect among the “urban petty bourgeois readers.” Around 1949, some writers from the “liberated areas” wrote novels about life during the revolution and wars, such as Romance of Heroes of the Lü and Liang States by Ma Feng and Xirong, and New Heroic Tales of Daughters and Sons by Kong Jue and Yuan Jing. These works utilized the traditional form of “old fiction” and something approaching colloquial speech as the language of their narratives, and were robustly action- and plot-centered. These works were seen as “possessing traces of old fiction,” but also to have “ ‘sublated’ China’s old fiction.”6 For a period thereafter, modified writing of “old fiction” was not strenuously promoted, yet further novels that featured popular language and strong plotlines did appear, such as Guerilla Forces of the Railroad, Armed Workers Contingent Behind Enemy Lines, and Raging Flames and Adamantine Warriors. In the 1950s and 1960s, the yardstick for fiction was primarily based on the “classics” of realist fiction; at the time, it was not felt necessary to distinguish between different forms of fiction. Therefore, some critics, after pointing out that “the degree of ideological depth was still insufficient, and the disposition of characters was somewhat thin and immature,” still discovered “value” in this type of fiction: “The story element is strong and has attractive power, the language is common and popularized, seldom possessing the foreign-sounding tone of intellectual or translated works. . . . [it is] able to enter deep to levels of readers most literary works are incapable of reaching.”7 Although this appraisal was

6 See the special review articles on New Heroic Tales of Daughters and Sons in the Morning Sun literary supplement of Enlightenment Daily, 10 October 1950. 7 Hou Jinjing, ‹A Novel that Enchants›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1958. Moreover, Feng Mu and Huang Zhaoyan had a similar appraisal: “This type of literature emphasizes adventurous plot twists, but characterization is relatively thin. However, due to the fasci-

the plight of other forms of fiction

147

on the form of this fiction, throughout this period this category of fiction was never treated as an independent form. This was a reflection of contradictions within left-wing literary circles on this issue. Moreover, as with New Heroic Tales of Daughters and Sons, these novels all depicted life in wartime. Writing about current life in the “popular literature” form was another difficult issue that was never experimented with. Zhi Xia’s8 novel Guerilla Forces of the Railroad was published in 1954. The book had many readers and was reprinted several times. The story is set during the War of Resistance against Japan, when railway workers and coalminers in the area of Linyi and Zaozhuang in Shandong Province are organized into a guerrilla force by the Communist Party and are then active on the local and Beijing-Shanghai rail lines. The novel is rich in picaresque plotlines involving night raids, ocean-going travel, stealing guns by motorcycle, digging up rail tracks, blowing up trains, sneaking into Lin City disguised as Japanese soldiers, and so on. The writing techniques and plot design owe much to traditional cloak-anddagger romances. Armed Workers Contingent Behind Enemy Lines by Feng Zhi was published in 1958. This novel describes the struggle of an armed workers contingent of the Eighth Route Army in Japaneseoccupied central Hebei Province set against the backdrop of a “mop up” operation directed against the resistance base area in 1942. Liu Liu’s novel Raging Flames and Adamantine Warriors was published in 1958 and was also set during the War of Resistance. Eighth Route Army platoon commander Shi Gengxin is injured while concealing the diversion of the bulk of the army, is saved by villagers and, together with the cadres of the revolutionary rural area government, battles the invading Japanese forces. The most prominent portions of the book are those parts of the text that deal with the army scout Xiao Fei. The picaresque coloring of the depictions of the feats of this crafty, intelligent, and brave warrior is an obvious infusion of elements of traditional swordsmen tales. The stories about Xiao Fei in the novel spread

nating plot and the strength of the storyline, it has a certain educational significance and easily obtains a popularizing effect.” See: Feng Mu & Huang Zhaoyan, ‹A Living Portrait of Life in the New Age—A Brief Discussion of the Rich Harvest of Novels in the Ten Years since the Establishment of the Nation›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 19, 1959. 8 Zhi Xia (1918–1991) was from Jixian in Henan Province. He travelled to Yan’an and joined the revolution in 1938. Aside from Guerilla Forces of the Railroad, he also had published the short story collections Laying Out Grass and Stories of Yimeng, and a collection of novellas and short stories, Stories of Yimeng Mountain. His short story ‹Red Sister-in-Law› was adapted into traditional opera, dance drama, and other art forms.

148

chapter nine

widely. Although critics believed “the excessive pursuit of the storyline, adventurous plotlines, the picaresque coloring of new-style heroes, as well as an ambiance of [traditional] folk heroes, somewhat influences the ideological significance of the work,” they still recognized the importance of the novel’s efforts toward a “nationalization” of form. The traditional story-telling form is used to write Raging Flames, and the plot and language are consciously handled according to the special requirements of this form. That is to say, the narrative is handled in part-narration part-dialogue style, the story’s structure features some chapters being formed into “major segments” of the story, and segments of the story are “buttoned together,” thereby strengthening the reader’s (listener’s) sense of suspense. Some commentators believed the appearance of Raging Flames and Zhao Shuli’s Ling Spring Cavern “not only show they are capable of winning over their targets in a broader group of readers and of increasing interest among novelists in national forms,” but “also proves the appearance and existence of new story-telling style fiction will not be a temporary, transitional phenomenon; it should become an important form of new fiction.”9 In 1958, during a discussion of Tracks in the Snowy Forest and other works, some critics pointed out “this type of fiction” . . . “should be more realistic than ordinary romances of heroes,” . . . “be richer in [such] romance than run-of-the-mill fiction that reflects the revolutionary struggle,” and therefore can be termed “romances of revolutionary heroes.”10 This category of romances of revolutionary heroes included Raging Flames and Adamantine Warriors, Armed Workers Contingent Behind Enemy Lines, and Tracks in the Snowy Forest by Qu Bo,11 which had the greatest impact and the most readers. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, this book was adapted to traditional opera, storytelling, film, and other art forms. In 1956, some of the novel’s chapters were initially serialized before publication in a single volume in 1957. The story is set

9 Yi Er, ‹National Forms of Fiction, Story-Telling, and Raging Flames and Adamantine Warriors›, People’s Literature, no. 12, 1958. 10 Wang Liaoying, ‹My Impressions and Thoughts›, Literature & Arts Studies, no. 2, 1958. 11 Qu Bo (1923–) is from Feixian in Shandong Province. He enlisted in the Eighth Route Army in 1938. At the start of the civil war in the 1940s, Qu held a post on the political committee of the second regiment in the Mudanjiang military region in what today is Heilongjiang Province, and led a platoon deep into the forests and snowy prairies. The novel Tracks in the Snowy Forest is based on these experiences. Qu Bo also wrote the novels Mountains Call and Seas Roar, Stele to Rong’e, and Qiao Longbiao.

the plight of other forms of fiction

149

during the early stages of the civil war in the 1940s: A platoon of thirtyodd soldiers from the northeast Liberation Army enters the sparsely populated Changbaishan mountain district and the Suifen plains region, and sets about suppressing remnants of Nationalist forces sometimes ten times their own strength. The novel’s plotline consists of the successive descriptions of four major skirmishes. Compared to other pieces of revolutionary history fiction, Tracks in the Snowy Forest’s narration of Chinese modern history was similar to other works of revolutionary heroism in that “it still described common characteristics of the people’s army and the general trend of revolutionary military combat.” However, “because it describes a special troop carrying out a special mission in a special region, it produces a set of special combat strategies, and therefore possesses a uniqueness that other pieces of fiction do not.”12 There are two aspects of the “uniqueness” of Tracks people paid most attention to: One was the “national characteristics” of its art, in that its structure and narrative techniques owed something to classical Chinese novels such as Water Margins, Three Kingdoms, and The Story of Yue Fei. The other was the exaggeration and mysticism with which the story is endowed, and the “picaresque nature” of characters: This included the characteristics of the environment in which the characters acted (high mountains, dense forests, and the vast snow-covered prairie), the singularity of plot elements, as well as the “romantic” tone of characterization. Although critics noticed the characteristics of “picaresque fiction” in the novel, they were reluctant to establish a critical yardstick that respected the “established narrative practice” of this type of fiction. So, while affirming the “strong storyline, as well as the attractive power, common language, and mass line” of this type of fiction that led to “great popularization and even wider readership,” and even though it “may replace old fiction that was once very popular but featured bad thought and content,” critics never failed to remember to criticize its “weak points”: “The degree of ideological depth is still insufficient, and characterization is somewhat thin and immature.” “From the demands of the higher perspective of realism. . . . Although this work correctly reflects the general trend of our past indomitable, all-conquering military struggle, there is not enough description of the arduous difficulties of the times,” and so on. More than one critic expressed concerns that “such a strong . . . picaresque

12 He Qifang, ‹I’ve Seen a Rise in the Level of Our Literature and Arts›, Literary Studies, no. 2, 1958.

150

chapter nine 13

flavor” would “somewhat obscure its fundamental ideological content.” The raising of these issues was indicative of the novel’s shortcomings, but also reflected contradictions over logical problems with this type of fiction for both critics and writers.

3. ‘Urban Fiction’ and ‘Fiction of Industrial Themes’ During the 1930s and 1940s, the expression of the urban experience in China was a burden primarily shouldered by Shanghai writers. The most representative of this type of work came from Liu Na’ou, Mu Shiying, and Shi Zhecun of the “New Sensation School” of fiction during the 1930s, and fiction centered on everyday urban life in Shanghai by Zhang Ailing, Su Qing, and others during the 1940s. This fiction was sometimes termed “Shanghai School.” In other circumstances, researchers have used the terms “townspeople fiction” and “urban fiction.” Some of this writing correlated to the “love story” of “popular fiction,” but not all could be called “popular fiction.” During the 1930s and 1940s, fiction of the “Shanghai School” was criticized by left-wing literary circles, and it unquestionably lost all legitimacy during the 1950s. In terms of cultural values, the city of recent times was seen as a “den of iniquity,” namely a breeding ground of capitalist morality and social corruption that needed the transformation that the major surgery of revolution could bring. From another perspective, urban culture (literature) was characterized by consumerism and recreation (corruption), and these aspects had to be critically attacked and eliminated. The discussion about “whether the petit bourgeois class could be written about” in 1949 and the critical attacks on Xiao Yemu’s ‹Between This Husband and Wife› in 1950, demonstrated the deep apprehension felt by the revolutionaries who had recently entered the cities and left-wing writers with regard to the “old fiction” produced in the cities. This apprehension was later to strengthen (as expressed in the 1960s plays ‹Sentry Beneath Neon Lights› and ‹We Must Never Forget›, also entitled ‹Wishing You Health›). The clear out from literary history on Mainland China of the “New Sensation School,” Zhang Ailing, and others during the 1950s and 1960s was related to this (their disinter-

13 See: Hou Jinjing, ‹A Novel that Enchants—Reading Tracks in the Snowy Forest›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1958.

the plight of other forms of fiction

151

ment would not occur until the 1980s). Under these circumstances, the setbacks and rifts suffered by “urban fiction” as a literary tradition were unavoidable. Of course, as far as left-wing literature was concerned, the city had its important objects of expression: Namely, the labor and life of the “leading class” of workers, and the struggle of contradictions in the factories, mines, and construction sites. Because this area of fiction was connected to expectations of the nation’s modernization, its importance was clearly understood. However, the scope of description was severely narrowed to so-called “industrial themes,” and this fiction never achieved the success expected of it, as most of it seemed dreary, even when produced by experienced writers. During the 1950s and 1960s, relatively important works on “industrial themes” included the novels River of Iron by Zhou Libo, Coal Mines in May by Xiao Jun, the trilogy Potentiality by Lei Jia (Spring Comes to the Yalu River, In the Foremost Ranks, and Blue Oak Forest), Daybreak in the Wind and Rain by Luo Dan, Forged a Hundred Times into Steel by Ai Wu, and Train Engines and Ride the Winds Break the Waves by Cao Ming, as well as novellas and short stories by Du Pengcheng, Lu Wenfu, Hu Wanchun, Tang Kexin, and Wan Guoru, among others. Zhou Libo’s River of Iron was “much inferior” to his other novels, Hurricane and Great Changes in a Mountain Village, and the fame of Xiao Jun’s Coal Mines in May in the 1950s was primarily due to the critical attacks on the “history” of the author. The publication of Ai Wu’s Forged a Hundred Times into Steel in 1957 was the result of his “entry deep into life” at Anshan in the northeast in 1952. The story centers on the conflict of contradictions between three furnace chiefs at the number nine open-hearth furnace in an iron and steel plant, and portrays the enthusiasm for work of the proletarian class and the lofty moral quality of sacrificing oneself for the public good. One of the major reasons this novel met with a relatively positive response was that it was not a simple description of the production process, but concentrated on comparisons and conflicts between the temperaments of characters, and united factory labor with the everyday lives, loves, and family relations of workers. Yet, when compared to the artistic level of the author’s Travels in the South, the narrative was so dull and dry it seemed to be the product of another writer’s pen. Cao Ming’s Train Engines and, especially, Ride the Winds Break the Waves feature a plotline based on the single issue of the “struggle between the two roads.” Afterwards, for a long period, this model was repeatedly utilized in fiction of all areas of subject matter. After writing Defend Yan’an, Du

152

chapter nine

Pengcheng turned to writing about the successes of the former officers and men of the Liberation Army in industrial construction (primarily in building the railroad between Baoji in Shaanxi Province and Chengdu in Sichuan Province), to prove that these warriors who had “battled across the country” through a “hail of bullets” were still mainstays of the nation in the life of construction during times of peace. Their figures and language held fast to the coarse severity and frostiness bequeathed on them by life in war in Du’s novella ‹In Days of Peace›, and his short stories ‹Yan’an People›, ‹Construction Site Nights›, and ‹Th e First Day›. During the 1950s and 1960s, Lu Wenfu wrote short stories about factory life, and his ‹Master Worker Ge›, ‹An Introduction›, and ‹Meeting Zhou Tai a Second Time›, were praised by Mao Dun and other critics at the time. This was mainly due to his fiction featuring a modern style then being championed by Mao Dun and others. There is some expansion in the scope of the tableau of city life on show in the multi-volume novel Morning in Shanghai by Zhou Erfu.14 The first and second volumes were published in 1958 and 1962 (the author had made extensive revisions when these were republished in 1979), and the third and fourth were both published in 1980. This was one of the few pieces of fiction of the 1950s and 1960s that featured capitalists as main subjects. Naturally, the narrative was carried out under the regulations of the political policy of “socialist reform of capitalist industry and business:” Under the leadership of the Communist Party, the working class begins its struggle with the “lawless capitalists,” exposing their profitseeking essence, and then unites with, educates, and reforms them. Mao Zedong’s discussions of the “two-faced nature” of the “national capitalist class” are the basis for the design of the novel’s characterizations. However, this work also contains complex expressions of certain seldom-described situations in urban life in the early-1950s, in particular portraits of the everyday life and economic activities of capitalists, and the rapid marginalization during the reform process of individuals who had once been at the center of power in cities.

14 Zhou Erfu (1914–) is from Shengde in Anhui Province. He began literary activities in the 1930s, and travelled to Yan’an in 1938. His major works of the 1940s was the piece of reportage literature ‹Passages on Norman Bethune› and the novel Doctor Bethune. Besides Morning in Shanghai, Zhou also wrote a six-volume opus about the important historical events and figures during the War of Resistance against Japan, The Ten Thousand Mile Map of the Great Wall (The Fall of Nanjing; The Yangtse Still Rolls On; Countercurrents and Hidden Currents; Daybreak on the Pacific; Night Before the Dawn; and Misty Chongqing).

the plight of other forms of fiction

153

4. Three Family Lane and the Discussion Surrounding It Ouyang Shan15 published the novel Uncle Gao in 1947. After 1949, he moved to Guangzhou and held a series of senior leadership posts in the literary circles of Guangdong Province and the South China region. During the 1950s and 1960s, Ouyang wrote the novellas ‹Three Lives of a Hero› and ‹A Future Like Brocade›, and short stories such as ‹Stranger in the Countryside›, ‹In the Soft Sleeper Car›, and ‹Gold Ox and Laughing Girl›. The short stories he wrote in the early 1960s drew much attention for their novel subject matter and special writing style. His most important work during this period was the five-volume opus, Romance of a Generation. The author says that when he got to Yan’an in 1942, after he had experienced the rectification movement in literature and the arts, he had a plan to write a novel that reflected his “relatively clear recognition” of the “origins and development of China’s revolution.” However, it was not until 1957 that he began to put this plan into practice. The first volume, Three Family Lane, and the second, Bitter Struggle, were published in 1959 and 1962. Due to the “Cultural Revolution,” the remaining three volumes—Bright Flowers among the Willow Shades, The Sacred Land, and Evergreen—were not published until the 1980s. The novel is structured around the life experiences of Zhou Bing, whose life spans the entirety of the “new democracy revolution” period from 1919 until 1949. Of the five volumes, Bitter Struggle and, especially, Three Family Lane stand out, but the writing in the other three volumes is weaker and they have not attracted much attention from readers or critics. This was the general rule for all multi-volume novels during the contemporary period. The story in Three Family Lane happens after the “May Fourth” movement, during the “Great Revolution” period in Guangzhou,16 and that of Bitter Struggle is concerned with the life of farmers and farm workers in Zhennan village near Guangzhou after the defeat of the “Great Revolution.” As to relating the “origins and development of China’s revolution,” Three Family Lane and Bitter Struggle had different characteristics from 15 Ouyang Shan (1908–) is from Jingzhou in Hubei Province. He began his career as a writer in the late-1920s. In the 1930s, he joined the League of Left-Wing Writers, and in 1941 moved to Yan’an. In 1947, Ouyang published the novel Uncle Gao, which is about life in a farming village in the liberated areas. He has lived and worked in Guangzhou since the 1950s. 16 This is a reference to the period that culminated in the Communist International (Stalin)-ordered insurrection and commune in Guangzhou in December 1927.

154

chapter nine

other “epical” novels that described “revolutionary history.” Ouyang Shan’s books took a lateral view in their description of major historical events. The events of the “May Fourth” movement, the “May Thirtieth” massacre (Shanghai, 1925), the strikes in Hongkong and Guangdong Province (1925–1926), the Zhongshan gunboat incident that led to martial law being declared in Guangzhou (1926), and the Northern Expedition of the joint Nationalist-Communist army (1926–1928), did not form the central plotline of the story, but the background, constituting a special period atmosphere in the novel. Under most circumstances, the participation of characters in the revolutionary struggle was not described in much detail (the exception being Zhou Bing’s involvement in the Guangzhou uprising). The fundamental plot of the story follows the everyday life of three households in Three Family Lane, and the complicated relationships between the elder generation and their children. The Zhous, the Chens, and the Hes belong to different social classes (handicraft workers, comprador capitalists, and bureaucrat-landlords, respectively), and have different attitudes and responses to politics and the current situation. However, they are close neighbors with intimate ties; especially the Zhous and the Chens, who are related through the husbands of sisters, and whose children are classmates. A further distinguishing feature of these two volumes can be found in the characterizations. What leaves readers with deep impressions are not the figures of the revolutionaries and Communist Party members described by the author, but those of Zhou Bing, Chen Wenxiong, and Chen Wenting, among other characters of complex disposition. These two “distinguishing features” were the crux of divisions over the assessment of first two volumes of this novel during the 1960s, and, simultaneously, they were also the “root source” of an internal structural contradiction in the novel. Controversy erupted over the appraisal of the books17 after the publication of Three Family Lane and Bitter Struggle.

17 Important critical essays, books, and other materials published at the time included: Hu Zhao, ‹A Prelude to Spring and Autumn Annals of the Revolution—Happily Reading Three Family Village›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1960; Yi Zheng & Zheng Chuo, On “Three Family Village”, Shanghai Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1961; Cai Kui, ‹The Figure of Zhou Bing and Other Matters—About the Issue of Assessing Three Family Alley and Bitter Struggle›, Literary Reviews, no. 2, 1964; Miu Junjie et al., ‹About the Problem of Assessing the Figure of Zhou Bing›, Literary Reviews, no. 4, 1964; Miu Junjie et al., ‹Petit Bourgeois Self Expression—A Summary of the Discussion about Three Family Lane and Bitter Struggle›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 10, 1964; Lu Yifan, ‹The Mistaken Ideological Tendency of Three Family Village and Bitter Struggle›, Literary Reviews, no. 5, 1964.

the plight of other forms of fiction

155

To critics, the novels stressed the description of scenes from everyday life and the entangled relations between friends, relatives, and lovers, the detailed portrayals of social customs, as well as the actions and the ideological and emotional states of Zhou Bing, Chen Wenting, and other characters, and this picture of life and customs watered down the revolutionary atmosphere, and glossed over the brutal reality of a fierce class struggle. Even those who defended the two books pointed out that this narrative mode was insufficient in reflecting the “totality” of the situation and the appearance of class struggle, that the author’s “criticism” of Zhou Bing’s weak points was inadequate, and that the description of Zhou Bing’s relations with the women in the story was of a low style. This touches on the relationship between “revolutionary fiction” and pre-1949 “love stories.” From the late Qing period until modern times, “revolution” and “love” was one of the basic models of fiction. After 1949, due to the strengthening of the lofty position of “revolution” and the “inhibiting” of modern “love stories,” authors handled this issue with increased prudence and restraint. To some extent, Ouyang Shan departed from these strict limitations. In his fiction, there were many manifestations of “revolution plus love” in plotlines and relationships between characters, as well as elements of the narrative and linguistic stylings of traditional love stories about “gifted scholars and beautiful ladies.” Precisely due to the belief of contemporary critics that basing elements of his fiction on vernacular love stories when writing about modern revolution was incongruent, Three Family Lane and Bitter Struggle were judged expressions of the author’s unhealthy infatuation with obsolete aesthetic sentiments and styles. The disputes that enfolded these books during the 1960s raised the issue of the legitimacy and prospects of “love stories” in the contemporary age. Of course, the author of Three Family Lane wanted to seriously portray and, to some extent, understand “gifted scholars and beautiful ladies” and their loves, but in modern revolutionary fiction this should not occupy too much of the text and should not stand alone—this element could only exist as positive or negative substantiation of the “revolution.” However, the strong artistic practice provided by the details and twists of love entanglements, in addition to the “tradition” of Chinese love stories, was an obviously more vibrant element in the writing, and in concrete portrayals sometimes set up a forceful contrast to the dryness and crude simplicity of “revolution.” However, the indecisive nature of the novels’ characterizations, narrative mode, and linguistic style led to internal structural contradictions.

CHAPTER TEN

BEYOND THE MAINSTREAM

1. ‘Non-Mainstream Literature’ From 1949 until the 1970s, the overall appearance of the contemporary period’s literature was one of the integrated natures of literary opinion and writing. However, at certain times and with certain writers, “heterodox” phenomena did appear. In this book, the term “non-mainstream” is used to describe those opinions and texts that depart from or run contrary to mainstream literary norms. This term has the following connotations: First, it is relative to the opinions and writings that were accepted, approved of, and being championed during different periods; in other words, it is a “historical” concept. Its scope and nature is related to the literary “norms” of the time. Therefore, the works being approved of and championed during any one period could come to be seen as heterodox and subject to critical attacks during another. Secondly, “non-mainstream literature” in a highly integrated discourse field is in a position of being suppressed: Some works were critically attacked after publication, some never had an opportunity to be published and were circulated in various forms among a restricted number of readers. Thirdly, between 1949 and the 1970s, “non-mainstream,” “heterogeneous” literature appeared in a “periodic” manner. This literature was either produced when the demands of literary “norms” were relatively relaxed and there was the possibility of multiple understandings of what they might be (such as 1956–1957 during the phase known as the “Hundred Flowers Period,” and the early 1960s when adjustments were made to political, economic, and literary policies), or it was produced when literary controls were very strict, but where space still existed for a form of individual writing and “publication” (such as towards the end of the “Cultural Revolution”). After 1949, those who were termed “liberal” writers lost their positions in literary circles. Moreover, “avant-garde” exploration, which was linked to twentieth century modern literature of the west, was seen as illegitimate. In a situation where left-wing literature was the sole literary fact, the “non-mainstream” was manifest in a relatively concentrated

beyond the mainstream

157

fashion. Conflicts often occurred over the unwillingness of some writers to discard certain mental attitudes and literary opinions. In the vast majority of situations, the ideological characteristics of “non-mainstream literature” were based on suspicions of a literature that was “approved” and expounded fixed political concepts, on the desire to protect and re-establish the “enlightened consciousness” of questioning and critical realism, and on the wish to explicate and imagine a humanistic world. These attitudes were related to these writers’ understanding of China’s social reality, and of the living conditions and spiritual state of people in China. Towards the end of the “Cultural Revolution,” the nature of some “heterodox” literature began to go beyond these limits and showed signs of transcending the conceptual frames of left-wing literature.

2. The First ‘Heterodoxy’ A series of literary works were subject to critical attacks in the early 1950s. Prime among them were Xiao Yemu’s short story ‹Between this Husband and Wife›, Bi Ye’s novel Our Power is Invincible, Bai Ren’s Fight Till Tomorrow, Hu Feng’s long poem ‹Time Has Begun›, Bian Zhilin’s poem ‹Gate of Heavenly Peace Quartet›, and the plays and fi ction of Lu Ling. The critical attack on Xiao Yemu’s1 short story was one of the most important events in literary circles during the early-1950s. The gist of ‹Between this Husband and Wife›2 was as follows: Although there are big differences in family background, educational level, and life styles, the intellectual cadre Li Ke and Zhang Tongzhi, from a worker-farmer background, are happy together after their marriage, and are seen as a “model of the merger of intellectuals and workers and farmers.” But after the war and a move into the city, cracks develop and deepen between them on ideological and emotional levels. Later, after these contradictions are ultimately resolved, there relationship is restored to its initial

1 Xiao Yemu (1913–1970) was from Wuxing in Zhejiang Province. He went to the Jin-Cha-Ji base area to join the revolution in the late-1930s. In the early 1950s, Xiao was subject to critical attacks over his short stories and novellas such as ‹Between this Husband and Wife›, ‹On the Banks of the River Hai›, and ‹Temper Steel›. In 1957, he was deemed a rightist and lost the right to write. While working at the China Youth Publishing House, he was a responsible editor for Song of Youth and Composition of the Red Flag. He was persecuted to death during the “Cultural Revolution.” See: Selected Works of Xiao Yemu, Tianjin Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1979. 2 Published in People’s Literature, vol. 1, no. 3.

158

chapter ten

emotional state. Critics censured this short story for “observing and writing about life on the basis of petit bourgeois viewpoints and tastes,” for manifesting a creative methodology that “departed from the political struggle and stressed the minutia of life,” and claimed that the author’s motive in writing was to pander to “the low grade tastes of the urban petty bourgeois.” Critics went on to say Xiao Yemu’s work “had already been taken up as a banner by a group of people,” was being used to oppose “the too dry, emotionless, dull, artless . . . literature and arts of the liberated areas,” and to endorse “the bad tastes that remain among the urban petty bourgeois and the petit bourgeois class.” 3 This criticism was endowed with the serious objective of “protecting the literature and arts of the people and the literature and arts of realism.” This was a reflection of the tests faced by “Yan’an literature” after it entered China’s cities, and reveals the fragile mindset of its “defenders.” In the early 1950s, another important bout of critical attacks fell on the work of Lu Ling. The writer of pre-1949 pieces such as ‹The Starving Guo Su’e›, In Search of Love, and Children of the Rich, in the 1950s Lu Ling worked at the Beijing Youth Arts Theatre and the China Dramatists Association, and published the plays ‹Greeting Tomorrow› (also known as ‹The People Forever›), ‹A Heroic Mother›, ‹The Land of Our Ancestors is Advancing›, and the short story collections Prairies and Stories of Zhu Guihua. Lu Ling was a hardcore member of the “Hu Feng clique” and his work exhibited “heterodox” elements. Therefore, during the early 1950s, papers and periodicals occasionally carried articles critical of his work, such as ‹The Land of Our Ancestors is Advancing›, and pieces in the short story collections In Search of Love and Stories of Zhu Guihua.4 During 1953–1954, Lu wrote a series of short stories on the topic of the Korean War: ‹Heart of a Soldier›, ‹First Snow›, ‹Your Forever Loyal Comrade›, and ‹“Battle” of the Lowlands›. ‹First Snow› tells the story of

3 See: Chen Yong, ‹Tendencies in the Writing of Xiao Yemu›, People’s Daily, 10 June 1951; Li Dingzhong (Feng Xuefeng), ‹Oppose Playing with the Attitudes of the People, Oppose New Bad Taste›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 5; Ding Ling, ‹Looking on it as a Tendency—a letter to Comrade Xiao Yemu›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 8. Later, Xiao Yemu wrote an article as self-criticism: ‹I Certainly Must Earnestly Correct Errors›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 5, no. 1. 4 Such as: Wu Qian, ‹An Assessment of Lu Ling’s Short Story Collection Prairies›, People’s Daily, no. 1, 1952; Qi Xia, ‹A Literary Work that Brazenly Sings the Praises of Capitalists—An Assessment of Lu Ling’s “The Land of Our Ancestors is Advancing”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 6, 1952; Lu Xizhi, ‹A “Realism” that Twists Reality—Assessing Lu Ling’s Short Story Collection Stories of Zhu Guihua›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 9, 1952.

beyond the mainstream

159

Liu Qiang, a driver in China’s volunteer army, and his assistant as they drive a group of North Korean civilians from the frontline area to the rear; and ‹“Battle” of the Lowlands› tells of the impossible love between reconnaissance detachment soldier Wang Yinghong and the Korean girl Jin Shengji. As with other works on the subject of the Korean War, Lu Ling’s eulogized heroic acts were undertaken in a spirit of “internationalism and patriotism.” If there was something unique about his work, it was his reliance on individual perception and life experience, and a consciousness of a shared fate in describing the thought and actions of heroic characters. In ‹“Battle” of the Lowlands›, although he was very cautious in doing so, Lu touched on the complex relationship between the war and the life of the individual. Furthermore, these short stories manifest Lu Ling’s concern for psychological states of people; connections and contrasts between present circumstances and past experience through the psychological activity of characters was an important narrative technique. These methodical, at times prolix, narratives demonstrate the attenuation of Lu Ling’s creative powers under the restrictions of contemporary literary norms, yet they were also explorations into emotions and psychology that were rarely seen at the time. The criticism of these short stories centered on ‹“Battle” of the Lowlands›, but also touched on ‹Heart of a Soldier› and ‹Your Forever Loyal Comrade›. The most authoritative of the critical articles published during 1954–1955 was Hou Jinjing’s ‹An Assessment of Three Pieces of Fiction by Lu Ling›.5 He states that, aside from ‹First Snow› and a few other pieces, Lu Ling’s fiction “contains serious deficiencies and mistakes, and misrepresents politics and life in the army.” Moreover, of ‹“Battle” of the Lowlands› he states: “This work has actually created a ‘battle’ in the souls of certain readers, where it assaults proletarian collectivism, aids excessive tenderheartedness, and allows the latter to raise its head.” The critic tries to fathom the motives of the author, saying Lu Ling knows “army regulations are not to be trifled with, but then painstakingly sets about unfolding a love story, and has Jin Shengji taking the initiative.” Hou points out that a number of Lu Ling’s works show that he “has not yet completely discarded his mistaken thinking and mistaken creative techniques.” Lu Ling published a long essay, ‹Why this type of Criticism?›,6

5 Hou Jinjing, ‹An Assessment of Three Pieces of Fiction by Lu Ling›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 12, 1954. 6 Serialized in Literature & Arts Press, nos. 1–4, 1955.

160

chapter ten

in response to this criticism. The aim of allowing this, at that time rarely seen, “counter-criticism” was not to create an atmosphere for “dialogue” in literary criticism, but to prepare for the anti-“Hu Feng clique” campaign that was about to unfold. Lu Ling excitedly refuted his critic’s accusations of featuring emotional “darkness” and “tragic” results in his fiction, repeatedly declaring that his viewpoint was consistent with the individual soldier’s life, the revolution, and the cause of righteous warfare. Taking issue with his critics, Lu Ling believed that the spiritual qualities of “patriotism” and so on were not abstract concepts, but were intimately related to the concrete perceptual life of participants in history, and were elevated aspects of the latter. Setting out from this type of understanding, Lu Ling’s literary works expressed intimate concern for individual lives, intimated at the contradictions between war and the life of the individual, and, thus, at the possibility of “tragedy” (even though Lu refused to link his fiction with the word “tragedy”). However, in his counter-criticism, Lu Ling and his critics were as one in not acknowledging that the value of the individual could also be an angle or stance on which an affective understanding and evaluation of “history” could be based.

3. ‘Hundred Flowers Literature’ During 1956 and the first half of 1957, important changes occurred in the realm of literary thought and creativity. This was a universal phenomenon throughout the “socialist camp” of nations at the time. In China in May 1956, Mao Zedong put forward the slogan “let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend,” giving impetus to and supporting latent demands for change in all areas of society. Thereupon a “thaw” like that of the time in the Soviet Union occurred featuring the breaking of rigid dogma in literary circles. The number four (April) issue of People’s Literature published Liu Binyan’s feature report7 ‹At the Bridge Site›. In the “editor’s comments”

7

Generally speaking, in contemporary China, “feature report” and “reportage literature” were interchangeable terms for this form of literature. Yet, during this period, the writings of Liu Binyan, Geng Jian, and others, were not of the type of special report that required the writing of “real people and true events,” but could be generalized, fabricated reports meant to stimulate discussion. This form was not further developed in later times.

beyond the mainstream

161

to the piece and “editor’s words” on the issue, the then assistant editorin-chief of the journal, Qin Zhaoyang evaluated the piece highly, stating: “We have awaited this sort of raising of acute issues, and its critical and satirical nature;” this work is “like a military scout, bravely exploring problems in real life.” Later, this journal also published ‹Inside News› and its sequel, works that had even greater repercussions than ‹At the Bridge Site›. In September of the same year, People’s Literature also published the short story ‹The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department›8 by the young writer Wang Meng. This work of literature incited a fierce debate on the pages of Literary Confluence Daily, Literature & Artistic Studies, and other papers and periodicals during the latter half of 1956 and early 1957. Around this time, People’s Literature and other literary periodicals throughout the country published a flood of literary works that were ideologically and artistically exploratory, featuring “new ideas” in themes and subject matter and offering new viewpoints and modes of expression. Relatively important works published during this period included the short stories ‹The General Office Manager› by Li Yi, ‹The Evening Glow Falls on the Open Country› and ‹Grass in the Western Garden› by Liu Shaotang, ‹When the Reed Catkins Go White› and ‹Gray Sails› by Li Zhun, ‹Silence› by He Youhua and Qin Zhaoyang, ‹Joining the Party› and ‹Bright Mirror Terrace› by Geng Longxiang, ‹Beautiful› by Feng Cun, ‹Red Beans› by Zong Pu, ‹A Re-election› by Li Guowen, and ‹Deep in an Alley› by Lu Wenfu; feature reports such as ‹A Besieged Village Chairman› by Bai Wei, ‹People Who Climb on the Flagpole› by Geng Jian and Liu Xi, and ‹The Degeneration of Ma Duan› by Li Qing; poetry such as ‹One and Eight› (never officially published) by Guo Xiaochuan, ‹Plants› by Liu Shahe, and ‹Jia Guixiang› by Shao Yanxiang; as well as plays, such as ‹Shared Weal and Woe› by Yue Ye, miscellaneous essays, and works of other art forms. Most of the above works are short stories because the “Hundred Flowers” period lasted just a little over a year (there were periods of uncertainty and twists in cultural policy that gave rise to misgivings during

8

Qin Zhaoyang revised the original manuscript, and at the time of publication, its title was changed from ‹A Young Person Arrives in the Organization Department› to ‹The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department›. After the “Cultural Revolution,” the original title of the short story was restored in collections of Wang Meng’s writings. For details on the short story’s revision process, see: ‹About “The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department”›, People’s Daily, 8 May 1957.

162

chapter ten

this time). As far as time and the courage of writers were concerned, these were insufficient to allow adjustments in the cultural climate to be infused into art works of a comparatively large scale. Another feature was that, while some writers were of “seniority,” such as Feng Cun and Qin Zhaoyang, most were young authors who had come onto the literary scene after 1949. In contrast to those writers who were in Yan’an during the early-1940s (such as Ding Ling, Wang Shiwei, and Ai Qing) and who stood on their reputations and influence in efforts to re-establish their rights to criticize life in China, these young writers possessed the idealistic vitality of youth. They had obtained their political beliefs and life ideals in the revolution, and had undertaken to work for the realization of an ideal society. Yet, they gradually came to see the distance between the ideal and the reality, and discovered fissures in the ideology and social system. From the older generation of writers they accepted the “tradition” of “social responsibility,” and from their Soviet colleagues they took the slogans “write truth” and “intervene in life.” On the surface, their literary works formed two different tendencies. One called for the strengthening of the “interventionist” approach to current politics, to take up more of the responsibility to expose current evils and to show more concern for faults in society. The aim of these critical works was to summon up the waning critical consciousness of contemporary writers. The second tendency was to call for the return of literature to “art,” and to discard the burdens society and politics had laid on it. In content, this literature tended towards the defense and excavation of overlooked aspects of the individual life, emotions, and values. While these two tendencies may seem to have been moving in different directions, in fact, they were interconnected by the spirit and purpose of the writers. Corruption in social life and deficiencies in the life of the individual were actually two sides of the same coin. Moreover, the rediscovery of the value of the individual was the very foundation of the exploration and thinking of the “innovator.” The author of ‹At the Bridge Site› had been working in news and propaganda for some time, so his language was not so rich in variety, nor was he particularly skilled at catching the subtleties of characterization and feeling. But Liu Binyan was good at thinking, and it was this enthusiastic thought and commentary that made up the prime moving force behind the storyline. The events written about in ‹At the Bridge Site› occurred between winter 1955 and autumn 1956. In the mode of a reporter doing interviews, Liu describes the conflict between the old

beyond the mainstream

163

cadre and bridge construction brigade chief Luo Lizheng and the young engineer Zeng Gang who works under him on the bridge site on the Yellow River. Luo Lizheng is portrayed as conservative in thought and disposition, happy in maintaining the existing situation. His approach to work and his life goals is to make every effort to “grasp the intentions of the [Party] leadership,” and to defend his own position and interests. This results in conflict with Zeng Gang, who does not follow regulations and seeks alterations to plans. In ‹Inside News›, conflicts of this nature are even more acute and unfold through the “adoption of an attitude of thinly veiled public challenges.”9 These works touch on the issue of the relationship of the individual with the group and with society, and also hint at the “essentializing” and “dogmatizing” tendencies of China’s new society. Wang Meng’s ‹The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department› tells the story of “one who stands apart” in China’s modern society. Lin Zhen, an “outsider” with a pure and true faith, arrives in a new environment but is unable to smoothly fit in, and feels perplexed about this. The story’s theme and plotline is similar to ‹In the Hospital› written by Ding Ling in Yan’an. In Ding’s short story, the young doctor Lu Ping enthusiastically joins the revolution and arrives at a base area hospital, but cannot handle the great fissure between her ideals and reality. She has run-ins with those around her, but also has the support of a good friend; however, they are powerless under the circumstances. Of course, compared to Lin Zhen, Lu Mei has already seen something of the world; Lin Zhen’s pure fantasies about life have largely already vanished in Lu’s case. Her actions are more of a challenge to authority and are more calculated. ‹The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department› and the other fiction that “intervened in life” were populated by young intellectual narrators marked by romantic enthusiasm, who describe the social “crises” they observe. In some of these works, anxious uncertainty over future prospects is expressed, and these “heroes” are placed, helpless and alone, in “tragedies.” The meticulously constructed, somewhat sentimental short story ‹Red Beans› by Zong Pu was a work in another literary form that had a relatively major impact at this time. It too is a story about the clash between

9 Li Xifan, ‹What is the True Nature of So-called “Intervening in Life” and “Writing Truth”?›, People’s Literature, no. 11, 1957.

164

chapter ten

revolution and love. The story is of the love between two university students, Jiang Mei and Qi Hong, and is set against the background of social upheaval in Beiping during the late-1940s. The choice between individual life roads and “history” is seen as “isomorphic”; the main factors constraining emotional destiny are differing stances and attitudes with regard to current politics. The main characters remold themselves within the mass movement of the time and choose revolution, including a reassessment of their own fragile, misleading emotional experiences. Yet, the story contains elements that are more complex, and there are internal contradictions in the narrative. The story unfolds in memory, and, largely, the narrator is Jiang Mei, who is already a “worker for the Party.” However, the “introspection” described is not thoroughgoing. When it emotively and in some detail describes the experience of love of the narrator, the narrative somewhat departs from its “critical” stance and sympathizes with the emotional entanglements of Jiang Mei. As a result, participation in the revolution and the individual’s emotional life is not handled consistently. This division in the narrative was pointed out by contemporary critics: “At one point the author thought . . . to portray the complicated internal struggles experienced by the capitalist class intellectual Jiang Mei, and ultimately show how after education by the Party personal interests come to serve the interests of the revolution,” . . . “However, in fact the author never takes up the stance of the working class in describing the psychological state of the petit bourgeois intellectual. As soon as she enters into concrete artistic description, the author’s emotions are completely controlled by the narrow, endless plaint of petit bourgeois individualist sentimentality,” . . . “The author does not stand on a higher plain than Jiang Mei,” and does not “see that the love of the old Jiang Mei” . . . “is absolutely not worthy of nostalgia and feeling sorry about.”10 The above literary works were critically attacked after the summer of 1957, and their appearance was described by critics as “a countercurrent in writing.”11 Over twenty years later, in a changing political and literary environment, these “poisonous weeds” were transformed into “fresh

10 Yao Wenyuan, ‹The Revisionist Ideological Trend and Creative Tendency in Literature›, People’s Literature, no. 11, 1957. 11 Li Xifan, ‹A Countercurrent in Writing that Began with “Inside News”›, China Youth News, 17 September 1957.

beyond the mainstream

165

reblossoming flowers,”12 and received quite the opposite assessment by critics. Moreover, their authors were for the most part seen as returning “cultural heroes” who had suffered for their art.

4. Symbolic Narration After the anti-rightist movement, the romantic campaign of the “Great Leap Forward” in politics, economics, and culture, brought with it a serious economic crisis and cultural problems. During the early 1960s, a full-scale “retreat” was necessary in many areas of policy during a period of “adjustment.” As a result, the state’s controls over social life and culture were somewhat relaxed. In these circumstances, the demand for pluralization was raised once again. Some writers whose critical spirit had been thwarted in 1957, and who were nostalgic of free will, began to make their voices heard once again. Creatively, this tendency was principally manifest in the work of “old writers.” Among them were Chen Xianghe, Meng Chao, Tian Han, Feng Zhi, and Huang Qiuyun, as well as historians such as Wu Han and Deng Tuo. On account of elements such as their age, experience, knowledge, and professions, also because of the “lesson of history” they had received a few years earlier, and the advocacy for “historical subject matter” in literary circles at the time (authors felt it was difficult to write about the

12 In 1979, the Shanghai Literature & Arts Publishing House produced a collection of these works (mostly fiction and feature reports) under the name of Fresh Reblossoming Flowers. Their reappraisal as “fresh flowers” was explained by the editors in their ‹Preface› in this way: In works “intervening in life” such as ‹At the Bridge Site›, ‹Inside News›, ‹Th e Young Newcomer in the Organization Department›, and ‹A Re-election›, [the reader] can see bureaucrats of every description in characters such as Luo Lizheng, Chen Lilian, and Liu Shiwu, [and that] today [they] still besmirch the honor of our Party, corrupt the body of our Party, and hinder our race toward the four modernizations. We must enthusiastically struggle together with these authors. From characters such as Zeng Gang, Huang Jiaying, and Lin Zhen, we can absorb strength to inspire [our] will and to rise up in struggle. In ‹Deep in an Alley›, ‹At the Precipice›, and ‹Red Beans›, and other works on the subject of love, through writing about socalled “household duties and events, and love between men and women” and stories about the “vicissitudes of life,” the authors praise lofty revolutionary sentiments and the new society, lash ugly selfish souls, and rail against the old world. Though the evaluation of these works has changed from that of “poisonous weeds” to “fresh flowers,” yet it can be seen that the theoretical basis and viewpoint of the critics is still relatively consistent.

166

chapter ten

serious problems at the time, and so it was proposed in literary circles that historical subject matter could be developed to this end), the work of these writers (fiction, drama, miscellaneous essays, and so on) did not, for the most part, directly touch on current life. They chose material for their work from historical stories and legends and worked assessments of current affairs into their texts. This form of writing may be termed symbolic or “allusive” narration. During August and September 1961, Deng Tuo13 began writing a regular special column in the Beijing Evening News under the title of ‹Evening Chats at Yanshan›, which featured personal essays and miscellaneous observations. By December of the next year, over 150 of Deng’s columns had been published. In September 1961, under the collective penname of “Wu Nanxing,”14 Deng, Wu Han, and Liao Mosha began contributing essays to a column entitled ‹Random Notes from the Three Family Village› in the pages of the Beijing municipal party committee’s theoretical journal Front Line. They drew their material from all manner of historical writings, legends, and stories, as well as the essays of literati, and extending the meanings of these writings into current socio-political, ethical, cultural, artistic, and academic areas and issues. ‹Theory of Cherishing the Workforce›, ‹The Property of an Egg›, ‹Special Cure for “Amnesia”›, ‹Blocking Things Up is not as Good as Guiding to Enlightenment›, ‹Magnificent Empty Words›, ‹“Sent Down and On the Spot”›, and ‹The Kingly Way and the Way of Tyrants› are some of the essays considered to contain allusions to or criticisms of current socio-political issues.

13 Deng Tuo (1912–1966) was from Minhou in Fujian Province, and worked in the news media and as a historian. He began participating in the revolution in 1930, and he served as both the chief-of-staff and editor-in-chief of the Jin-Cha-Ji Daily. In the 1950s, he served as chief-of-staff and editor-in-chief of the People’s Daily, but was removed from these positions because of Mao Zedong’s criticism: “A scholar operating a paper is the same as a dead man doing so.” After 1958, Deng was appointed a secretary in the Beijing party committee secretariat and took on the post of editor-in-chief of Front Line. Not long after the start of the “Cultural Revolution,” Deng was persecuted to death. His major literary works consist of Evening Chats at Yanshan (Beijing Publishing House, 1963), Random Notes from the Three Family Village (co-authored with Wu Han and Liao Mosha; People’s Literature Publishing House, 1979), Selected Poetry and Essays of Deng Tuo (People’s Daily Publishing House, 1976), and Writings of Deng Tuo (Beijing Publishing House, 1986). 14 Wu = Wu Han; Nan and Ma Nancun were pennames used by Deng Tuo in writing ‹Chats at Yanshan›; Xing = Fanxing, the penname used by Liao Mosha when writing miscellaneous essays.

beyond the mainstream

167

Among the important pieces of historical fiction and drama of this period were Chen Xianghe’s short stories ‹Tao Yuanming Writes “An Elegy”› and ‹Random Notes on Yangzhou›, ‹Du Zimei Returns Home› and ‹Selected Impressions of Lu Liang by His Peers› by Huang Qiuyun, and Feng Zhi’s short story ‹Black Strands Grow in White Hair›, the Beijing operas ‹Xie Yaohuan› by Tian Han and ‹Li Huiniang› by Meng Chao, and the historical drama ‹Hai Rui Dismissed from Office› by Wu Han. ‹Tao Yuanming Writes “An Elegy”› (People’s Literature, no. 11, 1961) is about the old poet Tao Yuanming travelling to Mount Lu to visit a famous Buddhist monk, and then returning home to write ‹An Elegy› and ‹Memorial for Myself›. This flat, restrained account has the main character sigh over his “life of difficulties and pitfalls,” and express no fear of death. A year later, Chen Xianghe, who had long before become a specialist in classical literary studies, wrote another short story, ‹Random Notes on Yangzhou› (People’s Literature, no. 10, 1962), also based on historical events during the Wei-Jin period (220–420 C.E.). This time the story revolves around one of the “Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove,” the poet Ji Kang, whose lack of respect for nobility, lack of self restraint, and his obstinacy, ultimately lead to his death. It is safe to say that these two short stories express the author’s feelings about the political chaos he had experienced during his life.15 Feng Zhi’s ‹Black Strands Grow in White Hair› and Huang Qiuyun’s ‹Du Zimei Returns Home› are both stories based on the life of the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu. Th e former writes of the sickly last melancholy years of Du Fu’s life; while the latter describes the ruined state of his hometown and the starvation suffered by his wife and children when he is dispatched there as a minor offi cial from the capital. The Beijing opera ‹Li Huiniang› is a rewriting of the Ming dynasty romance Red Plum (by Zhou Yiyu) and the traditional

15

Huang Qiuyun has written about Chen Xianghe during the 1950s: He was a Communist Party member, but was thoroughly disgusted with the political campaigns and struggles of the time. In one private conversation, he mournfully told me: “You really like Ji Kang, don’t you? Ji Kang says it well: ‘I want to live life alone, [but] slanderous opinions boil over; [my] natural instinct is not to harm a thing, [but I’m] often driven to hatred.’ . . . . You originally don’t want to get swept into the political maelstrom, don’t want to get involved in the unprincipled personal disputes, and don’t want to meddle in any great matters of state; you only want to go through this life without troubling people, have no argument with the world, find an area of study or a branch of literature and the arts and make an effort; but this is impossible, and the result is ‘slanderous opinions boil over,’ and ‘[I’m] often driven to hatred.’ ” See: Huang Qiuyun, Years of Wind and Rain, Oxford University Press (Hongkong), 1996: 28.

168

chapter ten

opera ‹Red Plum Pavilion›. Meng Chao’s revision places the emphasis on the ghost Li Huiniang, describing her as a vengeful spirit seeking to redress wrongs in the real world. Liao Mosha praised the opera in ‹On Ghosts that do no Harm›,16 but the opera, its writer, and its supporters were all subjected to critical attacks in 1963. The reasons given were that it propagated “feudal superstitious thought,” and that it imbued a ghost with the righteous sentiments and actions that should belong to the living.17 The most influential theatre piece of the time was Wu Han’s ‹Hai Rui Dismissed from Office›. Wu Han was a historian of the Ming dynasty, and he had written a number of essays about Hai Rui in the late-1950s. In late-1959, Wu accepted the invitation of Ma Lianliang and others at the Beijing Opera Troupe to write this play. The play covers the period between the summer of 1569 and the spring of 1570, when Hai Rui arrives as an imperial inspector and releases the wrongfully imprisoned, drives out a local tyrant, and returns land to the farmers. The assessment of ‹Hai Rui Dismissed from Office› became an important political issue on the eve of the “Cultural Revolution.” 18 These pieces of fiction and theatre described unjust social phenomena, the concerns and regrets over current affairs of literati who had no other way of requiting their country—but their words out of a sense of justice were not trusted by those in power, and they were persecuted instead. The criticisms of them during the “Cultural Revolution” were primarily attacks on their “subtle words, insinuations, and allusions to reality.” Just as ‹Tao Yuanming Writes “An Elegy”› was seen as an allusion to the “Mount Lu conference” of 1959 where Peng Dehuai was forced to resign after criticizing Mao’s “Great Leap Forward” policies and Mao was forced to roll back policies, so ‹Hai Rui Dismissed from Office› was seen as a call for Peng’s case to be reassessed. “Allusion” that does not necessarily indicate directly corresponding personages, details, or “current events,” but instead indicates the focal point of the work’s 16 Fanxing (Liao Mosha), ‹On Ghosts that do no Harm›, Beijing Evening News, 31 August 1963. 17 Liang Bihui, ‹ On “Ghosts that do no Harm”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 5, 1963. 18 On 10 November 1965, Yao Wenyuan’s long essay ‹A Critique of the New Historical Play “Hai Rui Dismissed from Office”› was published in Shanghai’s Literary Confluence Daily. Following this, the political power groups waged a fi erce trial of strength over the play and this essay, and this carried on until April-May of the following year. In the last days of December 1965, in a talk in Hangzhou, Mao Zedong stated: “Yao Wenyuan’s essay is good. . . . it’s drawback is that it hasn’t hit the heart of the matter. The heart of ‹Hai Rui Dismissed from Office› is the dismissal, the emperor Jiajing dismissed Hai Rui, we have dismissed Peng Dehuai, and Peng Dehuai is Hai Rui.”

beyond the mainstream

169

subject matter, the overall mood and intention of the piece, also has its merits. Fundamentally speaking, the intention of writers of historical drama and fiction is not to recreate “history,” but to use “history” to comment on the present.

5. Permutations of Positions During the “Cultural Revolution,” aside from literary works publicly issued by journals, periodicals, and publishing houses, there did exist an “underground” in which works had limited circulation—this may also be termed the “non-mainstream literature” of this period. This situation will be explained below in its the appropriate place. Another phenomenon worthy of attention is the great quantity of the approved and recommended contemporary literature that was subject to critical attack and put in a “non-mainstream” position on the eve of and during the “Cultural Revolution.” Defend Yan’an, a work published in the late 1950s but which wrote of Peng Dehuai, was banned. In the early 1960s, the novel Liu Zhidan by Li Jiantong, which met with the creative and ideological norms of the time, was critically attacked before offi cial publication.19 After this, one after another almost all orthodox, mainstream literature and authors of the 1950s and 1960s were rejected, such as the fiction of Zhao Shuli, and novels such as Red Sun, Composition of the Red Flag, Song of Youth, Great Changes in a Mountain Village, Three Family Alley, and Morning in Shanghai. They were accused of “speaking in defense of reactionary capitalists,” “establishing stories for traitors and internal spies,” “singing the praises of the mistaken [political] line,” “emphasizing middle characters, vilifying the working people,” and “defaming soldiers of the revolution.” The situation seems difficult to believe. However, if “revolution” in politics and literature and the arts is

19 This novel describes the life and struggles of Liu Zhidan in the Shaanxi-GansuNingxia base area. Before the book was officially published, individual chapters and sections were serialized in Beijing’s Workers Daily during July-August 1962. At the tenth plenum of the eighth congress of the Communist Party, the novel was attacked as “a large poisonous weed trying to reverse Gao Gang’s case,” and led to Mao Zedong’s famous comment that “using a novel to work against the Party is a great discovery.” After this, a special Liu Zhidan investigation group under the leadership of Kang Sheng was established, and “because the case implicated thousands, many people were ruthlessly persecuted” (Zhu Zhai ed., The History of Ideological Trends in Chinese Contemporary Literature, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1987: 459).

170

chapter ten

“continuous” and is heading towards an even more “pure” goal, then “with each step of the revolution’s progress, the goals of struggle will change, the ‘future’ landscape will shift correspondingly, and the arranging and narration of history, which is based on this ‘future,’ will also face adjustments.”20 By this logic, the shifting of the positions of “revolution” and “reaction,” and “progress” and “retreat” is somewhat comprehensible.

20 Huang Ziping, Revolution History Fiction, Oxford University Press (Hongkong), 1996: 28.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

PROSE

1. The Concept of Contemporary Prose From 1949 through to the 1970s, “prose” was a broad formal concept. As it seemed limitless, writers and researchers sometimes differentiated it into its “broad meaning” and its “narrow meaning.” In its narrow meaning, prose was “lyrical prose,” its characteristics similar to the term “beautiful writing” coined early in the “May Fourth” literary revolution, later termed “artistic prose” by some. And the broad sense of it, in addition to this included reports and dispatches that have literary significance and a “narrative nature” (“reportage literature” and “feature reports”), brief essays of a literary artistic nature composed chiefly of commentary, as well as “miscellaneous essays,” “random thoughts,” and so on. Moreover, at times, literary memoirs and biography were also listed as being within the scope of prose. This understanding and usage of the concept of prose implies the process of continuous literary change that affected this concept throughout the twentieth century. These changes involved two aspects: One was the scope of prose, and the other was the relationship between the different types of prose. The direction of change was related to the social ideological trends and literary ideas of the period in question. When Lu Xun made the judgment that “the success of prose essays is almost above that of fiction and theatre,” the “prose essays” he was referring to mainly were “beautiful writing,” or what would later be termed “lyric prose” and “artistic prose.” For a period during the 1930s, primarily commentary oriented “miscellaneous essays” became the mainstream of prose. In the years following the outbreak of the war with Japan, dispatches and reports that artistically “reported” facts occupied the top position in the area of prose. Although this flourishing of reportage literature did not extend to the Nationalist-controlled areas during the 1940s, it did achieve further development in the liberated areas. Left-wing literature, which included liberated area literature, was continuously enlarging the scope of prose, embracing lyric essays, miscellaneous essays, dispatches, reports, and so on. Furthermore, this evolving trend was developing away from displays

172

chapter eleven

of individuality toward commentary and “reports” on the current state of affairs. During the 1950s, the speed and breadth with which current life was being “reflected” was the “directional” demand of the literature of this period; this included subject matter based on experience of a “personal nature,” and writing of a narrative tendency that chiefly featured as “reports” on social phenomena, which together made up the main body of prose.1 In the early 1950s, dispatches, reports, and feature reports made up the bulk of prose writing. There were two main themes at the time: One sang the praises of the “new era,” describing developments in the “construction of socialism,” and the other described acts of heroism in the Korean War. Of the former type of prose, Jin Yi wrote of the work being done on the Fozi Ridge reservoir site, Li Ruobing and Hua Shan reported on the construction of industrial bases in the northwest (the Chaidamu basin, Mount Qilian, etc.), and Liu Qing and Qin Zhaoyang wrote feature reports about agricultural cooperativization during the 1950s. Dispatches and reports about the Korean War produced even greater repercussions among readers. Ba Jin, Liu Baiyu, Yang Shuo, Hanzi, and Huang Gang were among those who had such works published. Of these writers, the work of Wei Wei2 had the greatest influence. Wei Wei twice travelled to the front lines, and published works such as ‹Days and Nights on the South Bank of the Han River›, ‹Who are the Most Loveable People›, ‹Soldiers and the Land of Our Ancestors›, and ‹Push it Down›, which were later collected in one volume entitled Who are the Most Loveable People. Between the date of initial publication in 1951 and 1960, this book was reprinted three times (with additions). ‹Who are the Most Loveable People› and 1958’s ‹A Heartfelt Reluctance 1 During the 1950s and 1960s, the term “prose feature reports” was frequently used to refer to this type of prose. When collections of such work were published, this term was often used in reference to the style of work selected. For example, see the collections edited by the China Writers Association or New Observations, such as Prose Feature Reports Selections for September 1953–December 1955, Prose Feature Reports Selections for 1957–1958, Selections of Literary Work over the Ten Years since the Establishment of the State · Prose Feature Reports, and Prose Feature Report Selections for 1959–1961. However, in 1956, Prose Essay Selections and Feature Report Selections were also published. 2 Wei Wei (1920–) is from Zhengzhou in Henan Province. He enlisted in the Eighth Route Army after the outbreak of the war with Japan and lived for a long time in the Jin-Cha-Ji base area, and under the penname of “Hong Yangliu” wrote poetry that was published as a collection entitled Scenery at Daybreak. During the 1950s, collections of his prose essays and feature reports were published under titles such as Who are the Most Loveable People and Informal Essays in Springtime. Wei also had the novels The East and The Globe’s Red Ribbon published during the 1980s.

prose

173

to Leave› were widely circulated at the time, and “most loveable people” became an alternative term for the soldiers of the “volunteer army” who fought in the Korean War. These writings won over a host of readers because of their sincere emotions, their selection and refinement of “typical scenes,” and their utilization of lyrical commentary as a technique in heightening the significance of the events described. The writings of Wei Wei at the time served to raise the status of dispatches and reports in contemporary literature. Ding Ling in refuting “some people” who thought that Wei Wei’s work “was well written, but can only be said to be dispatches and do not amount to works of literature,” raised the issue of contemporary yardsticks of “literary value: Today the value of our literature is to see whether it reflects the face of the age of our country under the leadership of the Communist Party. Whether it perfectly, outstandingly expresses the grand enterprise of the newborn people of our country, of the most loveable people.3

This heralded the important position of feature reports and reportage literature during the contemporary period. There were several “high tides” of reportage literature and special reports during the 1950s and 1960s, such as in 1958 and in 1963, on the eve of the “Cultural Revolution.” Works that had a broad influence and took part in the creation of the “spirit of the times” during the 1960s included ‹Days of Drought But Not Dryland› by Guo Xiaochuan, ‹How does the Red Peach Blossom?› by Huang Gangyan, ‹Little Ya Carries the Big Flag› and ‹A Special Girl› by Huang Zongying, ‹A Register of Heroes at Dazhai› by Sun Qian, and ‹A Model County Party Committee Secretary—Jiao Yulu›.

2. The ‘Renaissance’ of Prose There was a great development of dispatches and reports dating from the 1950s, but the status of prose essays was greatly reduced because it was a time when the expression of personal experience and emotions was curbed. However, there was a demand for a “renaissance” in prose essays, and, for a time, there was a limited effort to meet this demand.4

3 Ding Ling, ‹Reading Wei Wei’s Korean Dispatches›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 3. 4 Yuan Ying states that during the 1950s, he several times heard Hu Qiaomu “call for a ‘renaissance in prose,’ repeatedly stressing the need to continue the outstanding tra-

174

chapter eleven

During the brief period in the mid-1950s while the “let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend” policy was being implemented, as there was some reduction in limitations on literary subject matter and writing styles, and a relaxation of restraints on the individual spirit and creativity of writers, there was an appearance of the beginnings of a “renaissance” in prose. The 1956 anthologies of literature put out by the Writers Association featured separate volumes for “prose essays” and “feature reports” for the first time. The ‹Preface›5 to Prose Essay Selections stated: “This anthology reflects a good phenomenon in our country’s literature and arts circles during 1956: The number of short prose essays increased,” moreover during “the first few years after liberation, these short essays were seldom seen.” Traces of this “renaissance” in prose during this period can be seen in Lao She’s ‹Growing Flowers›, ‹Notes on a Visit to Nanying› and ‹Features of Mount Lu› by Feng Zikai, ‹Jian Lake’s Scenery is like a Painting› by Qin Wen, ‹On a Path on the North Side of a Mountain› by Fang Lingru, ‹On Taking Tea at Hui Springs› by Yao Xueyin, ‹Touring Three Lakes› by Ye Shengtao, ‹An Enamel Tea Bowl› by Wan Quan, ‹Competition› by Xu Kailei, ‹Lyrical Feelings at the Temple of Land and Grain› by Qin Mu, ‹Red Leaves on Xiangshan Hills› by Yang Shuo, ‹My Teacher› by Wei Wei, ‹Legend› by Duanmu Hongliang, and ‹Reprinting a Trip to the Cavern of the Immortals› by Chuan Dao. These works show that writers were making efforts once again to write personally about their experiences and were exploring individuated language and methods of expression. However, due to the brevity of the “Hundred Flowers period” and the fact that the central issues for literary circles of the time were located elsewhere, the issue of prose did not lead to theoretical discussion, and many writers (especially those older writers active since “May Fourth”) were unable to sustain their efforts. In the second half of 1957, this “renaissance” suffered a severe setback. In 1958, the view that “prose, special reports, and reportage are in the vanguard of the literary front, are the responsive nerves of the age, the bugle call to fight” was reiterated and emphasized. Prose writers were informed that they must “immediately throw [them-

dition of prose and personal essays since ‘May Fourth,’ and placing particular emphasis on the encouragement of beautiful writings.” At the time, this demand was broadly supported by readers and writers alike. See: Yuan Ying, ‹Brief Notes on the Need for Prose›, Harvest, no. 6, 1982. 5 Lin Danqiu, ‹Preface› to Prose Essay Selections 1956, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1957.

prose

175

selves] into the flood of life,” and “with the greatest speed transform the great feats and model examples [of millions of laborers] into the shared wealth of all the nation’s people, becoming a driving force encouraging advances in life.”6 Another demand for a “renaissance” in prose occurred during the early 1960s. At the time literary circles were undergoing “adjustments,” the focal point of which was on improving the relationship between literature and politics, while there was also a limited plurality proposed in subject matter and styles. As a form that more directly displayed the author’s disposition and consciousness of style, prose was highly thought of during this period. From January 1961, a column called “Written Conversations about Prose” was started on page eight of the People’s Daily, and published essays such as Lao She’s ‹The Importance of Prose› (January 28) and Li Jianwu’s ‹The Spirit of Bamboo Slips› (January 30). The Literature & Arts Press also published comments on the importance of prose essay writing. Following from this, these periodicals and Literary Confluence Daily, Enlightenment Daily, and Goat City Evening News (Guangzhou) were among the many periodicals and papers that published essays promoting and commenting on prose writings. Bing Xin, Wu Boxiao, Fengzi, Qin Mu, Xu Chi, Huang Qiuyun, Guo Yuheng, Chuan Dao, and Xiao Yunru were among those who expressed their opinions on the subject.7 Due to the importance placed on prose and the creative harvest that followed, 1961 was termed by some as “prose year.” Over the next two years, the success of prose was exhibited in the term “prose writer” becoming a substantial concept. Prose writing was no longer just a form that writers occasionally dipped into, as there was now a group of writers who made it their “profession.” Yang Shuo, who had primarily written fiction and dispatches in the early-1950s, turned his attention to prose alone in the mid-1950s. Liu Baiyu also shifted his creative emphasis from fiction and dispatches to prose. Yuan Ying and Wei Gangyan moved from poetry to prose writing. Others who were also termed “prose writers” at the time, included Qin Mu, Bi Ye, Hanzi, Ke Lan, Guo Feng, He Wei, Chen Canyun, Lin Xia, and Yang Shi. Old writers such as Ba Jin, Bing Xin, Wu Boxiao, and Cao Jinghua, as well as

6 “Ma Tieding,” ‹Preface› to 1958 Prose & Feature Report Selections, Author Publishing House, 1959. 7 Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House collected these essays on prose into a collection called Written Conversations about Prose, which was published in 1962.

176

chapter eleven

scholars such as Wu Han, Deng Tuo, and Jian Bozan, also made contributions in this area. During this period, periodicals and journals published a number of pieces that demonstrated the level of prose writing at the time.8 A number of influential prose collections were published during this period, including Flower City by Qin Mu, First Branch of the Eastern Wind by Yang Shuo, Red Agate Collection by Liu Baiyu, Flowers by Cao Jinghua, In Praise of Cherry Blossoms by Bing Xin, The Pole Star by Wu Boxiao, Sails in the Wind by Yuan Ying, First Light by Hanzi, Shores of the Pearl River by Chen Canyun, 1959–1961 Prose and Special Report Selections from the China Writers Association (edited and preface written by Zhou Libo), and the prose essay anthology Snowy Spindrift edited by Chuan Dao. There was an expansion in the subject matter of prose during this period. “Readers can have presented to them on a page major domestic and international events, household trifles, waves that lift the nation, the subtleties of a thing, a piece of the author’s experience, an emotive touch, a pinch of sorrow or joy, a meditation on the stars, past sadness and worries, and the happiness of today.”9—Although not all that is mentioned here would come to pass, this is a clear expression of an environment beneficial to the growth of prose. In their attempts to establish artistic individuality during this period, prose writers laid great emphasis on learning lessons from the artistic practice of prose essays from the classical period through to “May Fourth.” Among all the forms of “May Fourth” new literature, prose was relatively little influenced by western literature, instead maintaining close connections with the nation’s ancient literary tradition. The prose essays of the Tang and Song dynasties, and especially those of the Ming and Qing, were of great importance in establishing modern prose forms. Ba Jin, Bing Xin, Yang Shuo, and Cao Jinghua were among those who

8 The no. 3 (March) 1961 issue of People’s Literature published ‹Boatmen’s Song› by Wei Gangyan, ‹Three Days on the Yangtse› by Liu Baiyu, and ‹Prose Poem for the Camellia› by Yang Shuo; the no. 4 (April) issue carried ‹On a Spinning Machine› by Wu Boxiao and ‹New Year’s Flower Market› by Qin Mu; and the no. 6 (June) issue featured ‹In Praise of Cherry Blossoms› by Bing Xin and ‹Up to the City of Heaven› by Feng Zikai. Among the important prose essays carried by the People’s Daily were ‹Flowers› and ‹Seems Like the First Swallow of Spring› by Cao Jinghua, ‹Red Agate› by Liu Baiyu, and ‹The Sweetness of Lychees› by Yang Shuo. During this period, even the theoretical journal of the Party Central Committee, Red Flag, published prose and other literary works, such as Yang Shuo’s ‹Snowy Spindrift›, which appeared in issue no. 20 (1961). 9 Zhou Libo, ‹Preface› to 1959–1961 Prose & Special Report Selections, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1963.

prose

177

spoke of the important influence classical poetry, lyrics, and prose had on their prose during this period. Traces of this influence could even be seen in the work of writers such as Liu Baiyu at this time. This influence could be seen more-or-less universally in the attention paid to the blending of scenes, the stress on the building of “artistic conceptions,” the design of complex plotlines, and the refi nement of language so as to give it greater expressive power. However, the space allowed for the development of prose writing was limited during this period, despite the increase in the possibility of writers injecting personal experience and knowledge into their writing. It was difficult for emotions and outlooks to transcend ideological norms, and, in fact, only a few fixed formats for prose existed. The selection of and experience drawn from artistic techniques was also greatly limited. The universal quest after “poeticization” and the management of technique in prose during this period was indicative of a rise in the artistic quality of prose, but it was artistic refinement making up for a shortcoming in creative space.

3. Prose Writers and Their Creative Patterns During the “prose renaissance” in the early-1960s, Yang Shuo, Qin Mu, and Liu Baiyu were held to be exceptionally successful and to have made considerable contributions to the art of contemporary prose. Their work constituted three important “patterns” for prose during the 1950s and 1960s, and had a wide influence during this period. From the time in the mid-1950s when Yang Shuo10 wrote ‹Red Leaves on Xiangshan Hills›, he shifted from writing fiction to prose. At the time of the publication of ‹Snowy Spindrift ›, ‹The Sweetness of Lychees›, ‹Prose Poem for the Camellia›, and other works, as well as during a period in the 1980s, these essays were seen as famous works of

10 Yang Shuo (1913–1968) was from Penglai in Shandong Province. He began to publish prose and fiction in the 1930s, and joined the revolution after the start of the war with Japan. His important short stories and novellas during the 1930s and 1940s included ‹Rivers and Mountains of the High Plateau of the Pamirs›, ‹Mountains of Red Rock›, and ‹The Black Line in the North›. In the early-1950s, Yang wrote dispatches and reports about the Korean War, as well as the novel Three Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains. After the mid-1950s, he shifted towards writing prose essays. His published collections include Cities by the Sea, First Branch of the East Wind, Spring of Life, and The Sun Rises in Asia. He also completed the first part of the novel Clean the Warhorses.

178

chapter eleven

contemporary prose and were included in a large number of anthologies and high school textbooks. “Writing them as poems” was his creative quest during this period. I’ve always loved poetry, especially those classical poems that have stood the test of time. Almost every one of these poems has its own fresh artistic conception, thought, feeling, are thought provoking, are tightly constructed, are succinct in choice of vocabulary, and cannot be overlooked. I thought: Can’t fiction and prose be written this way? So I started to work in this direction, often seeking poetic conceptions.11

The “poetic quality” he was so particular about included technically refined designs of his prose, a studied refined use of words, and the construction of the “poetic conception.” The most important aspect was a mode of thought and feeling that “through the contrast of the silhouettes of fragments of this and that can bring out the historical characteristics of contemporary humanity.”12 Examples of this are seeing camellias in bloom and connecting them with the prosperous appearance of the nation, the red leaves on the Xiangshan Hills implying the winds and frost they have experienced and the revolutionary spirit growing redder with age, the industrious honeybee as a metaphor of a laborer who only gives and does not seek recompense. During the years when Yang Shuo was writing, normal events, objects, and everyday life did not possess independent value, only through placing value in them or discovering great significance in them could there be any lyrical value. While carrying out this mode of writing that extracted grand political subject matter from all things, Yang Shuo’s prose relied on a selection of subject matter that had features of an “individual nature,” and also on establishing a link to classical prose, thus giving this somewhat stiff literary form some added “elasticity,” and preventing the expression of concepts from being too direct and simple. This type of “elasticity” struck people as making everything seem novel, and for this Yang received wide acclaim. But after the mid-1980s, when individual imaginative space was larger, the “rigidity”13 of Yang Shuo’s prose rapidly became apparent to readers, 11 Yang Shuo, ‹Postface› to First Branch of the East Wind, Author Publishing House, 1962. 12 Ibid. 13 Zhou Libo opined that Yang Shuo’s prose of this period “is simple and direct, clearly narrated, which is a strongpoint of the author; but, perhaps due to restraint, slight traces of artificiality are evident.” This restraint and artificial rigidity are not merely the result of an “excessive” pursuit of art, but originate in the contemporary period in which he wrote: In refining creative propositions based on political ideology, an anxious psy-

prose

179

and his structural pattern that “creates suspense at the start, and finishes with the revelation of the intention” was then seen as a major fault. Beginning in the late 1950s, Liu Baiyu14 mostly wrote reportage literature and prose. Red Agate Collection contains his most characteristic prose work of the early 1960s, including ‹Sunrise›, ‹Lamp Fire›, ‹Three Days on the Yangtse›, and ‹On an Abundance of Cherry Blossoms›. The author believes that, together with the somewhat later ‹Notes on Daybreak›, these were “the fruit of new explorations into beauty.” His participation in the civil war during the 1940s constitutes his emotional and imaginative “resources” and the yardstick for his appraisals of life. This experience also determined his frequently used plotting method of interweaving scenes from present life with his memories of the war years. He narrates incidents and describes scenes, but most important is the expression of intense emotions. As the author himself says: “It is not to make those years moving, to make a quick sketch, and it’s also not the hope of putting a bit of the atmosphere of that time on the page, but primarily because of an emotional charge” (from ‹Written When the Sun has just Risen›). The prose of Qin Mu15 placed a stress on “intellectual” features. The style of Qin’s prose writing during the 1960s was a mediation between personal and miscellaneous essays. His essays have clear conceptual frameworks and his expositions followed logical lines. Qin supported these concepts through an organized linked series of references to historical records, information, and legends. Widely commended works, such as ‹The Dawn of Spring on an Ancient Battlefield›, ‹Lyrical Feelings

chological state over the uses of allusion and symbolism existed for writers of poetry and prose. See: Zhou Libo, ‹Preface› to 1959–1961 Prose and Special Report Selections, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1963. 14 Liu Baiyu (1916–) is from Beijing, and began writing prose and fiction in the 1930s. He went to Yan’an in 1938, and in the mid-1940s worked at the New China Daily in Chongqing. His major works include the short story collections Six O’ clock in the Morning and Firelight Ahead, and collections of reportage literature and prose, including Making a Pledge to Peace, Sun in the Morning, Light of Dawn, People Advancing in the Dawn Light, and Red Agate Collection. 15 Qin Mu (1919–1993) was from Chenghai in Guangdong Province. He spent part of his youth in Singapore, returning to China in 1932, and later participated in the War of Resistance to Japan. Miscellaneous Essays of Qin Mu is a collection of his 1943–1944 works. During the 1950s, aside from the novella ‹Gold Coast›, he produced the prose collections Under the Stars, Conches, Flower City, and Tides and Boats, as well as a collection of personal essays on literature and the arts, Collecting Cowries on the Sea of Art. He had close to ten collections of prose published in the 1980s, including Light Signals on the Avenue, Nectar and Bee Stingers, and Notes on Clear Mornings through a Window.

180

chapter eleven

at the Temple of Land and Grain›, ‹Land›, and ‹Flower City›, benefited from greater infusions of emotion and the associative richness and calm in the organization of subject matter; moreover, the mingling of narration and commentary strengthened Qin’s tendency to talk about everything under the sun. Some success in prose writing was also enjoyed during this period by Cao Jinghua, Wu Boxiao, Hanzi, Guo Feng, Ke Lan, Bi Ye, and Chen Canyun, among others. Most of the essays contained in Cao Jinghua’s Flowers are memories of life in days gone by, such as the essays on his association with Lu Xun: ‹Remembering those Years, Going Over Trifles is not a Pointless Exercise!›, ‹In a Haze of Snow and Fog Visiting Paintings and Calligraphy›, and ‹Flowers of Wisdom Bloom Brightly like Brocade›. Cao also wrote about his remembrances of travels in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Fujian provinces in essays such as ‹Ordering a Golden Sedan Chair under Mount Cang› and ‹A Sprig of Spring by Er Lake›. Wu Boxiao’s early prose essays are collected in Letters by Feather published during the 1930s. Pieces written during the 1960s, such as ‹On a Spinning Machine›, ‹A Panorama of Cave Dwellings›, ‹Notes on a Vegetable Garden›, and ‹The Sound of Song›, are based on memories of life in Yan’an during the 1940s. Wu Xiaobo’s personal memories were a response to the contemporary social trend of exploring the spirit of the war years. Guo Feng and Ke Lan also made contributions to the writing of contemporary “prose poetry.” Guo Feng’s prose collections during the 1950s and 1960s include Leaf Flute and Mountain Streams and Islands in the Sea. Guo’s short, poeticized prose drew much of its subject matter from the geography and society of his native province Fujian, paying particular attention to the organic integration of imagery, sentiment, and feeling for language.

4. The Fate of the Miscellaneous Essay Because of the writings of Lu Xun and others, miscellaneous essays have become a literary form that cannot be entirely overlooked in China’s modern literature, and the means by which many writers express their “social undertaking.” In March 1942, writing in the Ding Ling-edited Liberation Daily ∙ Literature & Arts, Luo Feng sighed over the fact that Lu Xun, who “cut through the darkness” and “the short sword he flashed all along the road is already underground, rusting, and there are few now who can use this sort of weapon.” However, Luo maintained, “This is still the age

prose

181

of the miscellaneous essay” (from ‹Still the Age of the Miscellaneous Essay›). The way in which this proposition was raised illustrates the problem with miscellaneous essays was not only a purely literary issue. As the critics of Luo Feng pointed out, “The author is speaking on the ‘age’ issue during the time of the War of Resistance against Japan; [he] is arguing with people about what opinion is appropriate for China’s current reality, especially in a place such as Yan’an.”16 But opinions and attitudes toward “reality,” and especially the reality of “Yan’an” and “new China,” is forever a sensitive issue of political stance. Therefore, after 1949, the continued existence and development of this literary form that is closely connected to the critical spirit of writers faced numerous difficulties. During 1956–1957, when literary circles proposed the development of all forms and styles of the literary arts, tolerated and sometimes even promoted weaknesses “among the people,” and exposed and criticized the “dark side” of society, the issue of writing miscellaneous essays once again came to public attention. In July 1956, after changes at the People’s Daily, a stress was placed on the miscellaneous essay in the paper’s supplement. Following on from this, papers all over the country took the revival of the miscellaneous essay as an important aspect their own reforms. During this period, writers such as Mao Dun (penname: Xuanzhu), Xia Yan, Ba Jin (Yu Yi), Ye Shengtao (Bing Cheng), Tang Tao, Ba Ren, Wu Zuguang, Deng Tuo (Bu Wuji), Lin Danqiu, Zeng Yanxiu (Yan Xiu), Gao Zhi, Shu Wu, Qin Si, Lan Ling, and Shao Yanxiang entered the ranks of miscellaneous essay writers. Famous works of the time included ‹Remaining Doubts on “About Fei Ming”› by Xia Yan, ‹An Old Scholar with Public Opinions› by Tang Tao, ‹On Human Feeling› and ‹The Pen of Kuang Zhong› by Ba Ren, ‹What the Master Says Goes› by Ye Shengtao, ‹On Old Lady Nine Catties› by Zeng Yanxiu, ‹Ignoring All Relatives and Friends› by Zang Kejia, ‹A Low Ranking Official Before the Gate to the Ministry› by Wu Zuguang, and ‹Comparing the Big and Comparing the Small› by Qin Si. Xu Maoyong17 did the most during this period to invigorate miscellaneous essays. From 1956 until the following summer, he had over one 16 Yan Wenjing, ‹Where is Luo Feng’s “Short Sword” Pointed?›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1958. 17 Xu Maoyong (1910–1977) was from Shangyu in Zhejiang Province. He joined the League of Left-wing Writers and began to write miscellaneous essays during the 1930s. Xu moved to Yan’an in 1938, and in 1957 was classed as a rightist. He was persecuted during the “Cultural Revolution,” and died of illness in Nanjing in 1977. Xu’s important works included the miscellaneous essay collections Drudgeries, Not Frightening, and New Drudgeries, as well as translations such as Biography of Stalin (from the French, Barbusse), Critique of Dialectical Reason (French, Sartre), and Perspectives de l’homme (French, Garaudy).

182

chapter eleven

hundred miscellaneous essays published under pennames such as Fo Xian and Huichun, including ‹To Whose Home does Truth Return›, ‹Don’t be Afraid of Democracy›, ‹Don’t be Afraid of Non-Democracy›, ‹Weapons, Instruments of Torture, and Props›, and ‹This Person Song Shijie›. In ‹A New Crisis for Prose Essays›,18 Xu listed the seven big contradictions that hinder the writing of miscellaneous essays, and this led to a discussion of the fate of miscellaneous essays in the contemporary age. He believed that miscellaneous essays should be developed on a democratic foundation: “One of the meanings of democracy is that people demand plurality, and so miscellaneous essays should also be pluralistic, they can sing the praises of brightness and may also expose darkness”; “writers of miscellaneous essays ought to cultivate a sensitivity to darkness.”19 This restoration of miscellaneous essays came to end with the start of the anti-rightist campaign in 1957. The situation was just as some said before the campaign began: Miscellaneous essays are the swift vanguard of “let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend,” and also the barometer of “let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend.” When the “let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend” policy meets with resistance, that will be when miscellaneous essays also meet with resistance.20

In the early 1960s, at the time of the second “renaissance” of prose, miscellaneous essay writing was also enlivened for a period during 1961– 1962. In May 1962, the People’s Daily started a special column entitled “A Record of Strengths and Weaknesses” in its supplement. The column was administered by the miscellaneous essay writer Chen Xiaoyu, and Xia Yan, Wu Han, Liao Mosha, Meng Chao, and Tang Tao were engaged as special contributors. The column established for itself a safe, thoroughgoing aim: “Commend advances, rectify current ills, enliven thought, increase knowledge.” Also, at this time, Deng Tuo’s “Evening Chats at Yanshan” column and the “Random Notes from Three Family Village” column by “Wu Nanxing” were also being published. In one of his “Evening Chats at Yanshan” columns (‹A Third of Life›), Deng Tuo stated:

18

Published under the penname Huichun in the 11 April 1957 edition of People’s Daily. 19 From a speech by Xu Maoyong at a conference on miscellaneous essays organized by the Literature & Arts Press; published in Literature & Arts Press, no. 4, 1957. 20 From the speech by Zhang Guangnian at a conference on miscellaneous essays organized by the Literature & Arts Press; published in Literature & Arts Press, no. 4, 1957.

prose

183

The aim of my use of the night to have these types of conversations with you comrade readers is merely to draw the attention of all to this one third of life and to have you cherish it, to allow everyone to relax after a day of labor or work and to get a taste of some useful knowledge about antiquity and today.

Deng Tuo and the others were historians and scholars of other subjects at the same time as being high-level officials in the government. Under the “relaxed” “soft” cultural policy being promoted during this period, “Evening Chats at Yanshan,” “Random Notes from Three Family Village,” and “A Record of Strengths and Weaknesses” were able to feature a conversational, guiding narrative style, and place an emphasis on knowledge (especially the knowledge of history). The change from the keen satire and the driving substance of the earlier period, to the tortuous unfolding of plotlines and the mild, moderate attitudes and tones of this later period contain complex political and cultural connotations. However, among these amiable, tactful, plain texts were several essays containing “language that was not archaic, superficial, and scattered wide of the mark,” such as ‹Magnificent Empty Words›, ‹Special Cure for “Amnesia”›, ‹Theory of Cherishing the Workforce›, ‹Blocking Things Up is not as Good as Guiding to Enlightenment›, ‹A Story about Boasting›, ‹The Kingly Way and the Way of Tyrants›, and ‹The Case of Chen Feng and Wang Geng›. Even more importantly, the miscellaneous essays of Deng Tuo, Wu Han, and Liao Mosha provided readers with an ideological attitude and literary form and style: They adopted a tolerant, median literary mode to carry their sensitivity to and concern for deficiencies in contemporary life, to accommodate querulous criticism of modern dogma and the rigidified ideological order, and with this molded an upright, steadfast ideology and moral character for their narrators.

5. Memoirs and Historical Biography Memoirs and “historical biography” prose essays were especially promoted during the 1950s. Together with revolutionary historical fiction, they became a “figurative” means to establish important struts for the authoritative recounting of the modern history of China. Compared to fictional writing, the “record-of-reality form” of the memoir and historical biography has a directness and impact that it is difficult for fiction to supersede, and therefore writings in this form are not limited to the broad scope of literary circles.

184

chapter eleven

During the early 1950s, this writing featured an emphasis on the stories of heroic characters. Works of this time that had something of an impact included Give Everything to the Party by Wu Yunduo, Gao Yubao by Gao Yubao, The Immortal Wang Xiaohe by Ke Lan, and The Revolutionary Mother Xia Niangniang by Huang Gang. Soon, memoirs and historical biography became a planned, organized writing activity. One of the important works of this nature is Biographies of Heroes of the Volunteer Army (three volumes, published in 1956). In August 1956, the General Political Department of the Liberation Army began to solicit essays on the subject of “thirty years of China’s People’s Liberation Army” with the aim of “succinctly and completely” reflecting the history of the Liberation Army’s “birth, battles, growth, and development.” Later, the even more influential large-scale series of books, The Fluttering Red Flag and The Fire of Stars Sets the Prairie Ablaze, were produced. From the publication of its first book in 1957 until the “Cultural Revolution,” sixteen volumes in The Fluttering Red Flag were published by the China Youth Publishing House, and after the “Cultural Revolution” a further 13 volumes were published. The Fire of Stars Sets the Prairie Ablaze series was put out by the People’s Literature Publishing House during 1959–1963, but of its ten volumes, numbers 5 and 8 could not be published. The layouts of these series were arranged sequentially following the phases of China’s modern revolutionary history as it was construed at the time. The “publication explanation” to the second volume of The Fluttering Red Flag states: This series of books especially propagates to the many youth of our country the history of the glorious struggle of our Party and China’s people, sings the praises of the revolutionary martyrs and heroes of our country’s almost one hundred years of previous revolutionary struggles, and encourages our young generation to bravely advance toward infinitely good socialism.

Although these series also feature other literary forms, such as fiction and poetry, most of the works they contain are records of reality. Most of the writers personally experienced the events narrated, and quite a number of them were high-level officers of the state or military. This literary form, together with the status of the authors, enhanced the credibility and authoritativeness of these historical accounts in the minds of the readers. The narrative modes utilized and the assessments of these historical events and figures were naturally undertaken in strict accordance with established narrative regulations, which at the same time were being adjusted according to the state of current political struggle.

prose

185

Besides the works collected in such series of books, a large number of “memoirs of revolution” were published during this period. Those that had rather large circulations include The Times of Mao Zedong’s Youth by Xiao San, Following Chairman Mao on the Long March by Chen Changfeng, Fang Zhimin’s Life of Struggle by Miu Min, My Family by Tao Cheng (which was later adapted into the movie ‹Revolutionary Family›), Wang Ruofei in Prison by Yang Zhilin, Years of Hardship by Yang Shangkui, In the Mighty Torrent of the Great Revolution by Zhu Daonan, ‹Immortality Amid the Roaring Flames› by Luo Guangbin (later rewritten into the novel Red Crag with Yang Yiyan), Under the Tutelage of Chairman Mao by Fu Lianzhang, Fighting in the North and South by Li Li, Power and Grandeur by Li Tianhuan, Push into West Henan by Chen Geng, and The Great Turn by Yan Changlin. During this period, there was also a strain of memoir and historical biography writing not accepted as “orthodox.” These works were frequently “published internally” and circulated to a clearly restricted readership (only high-level Party cadres and concerned researchers). They did not recount “revolutionary history” and most of the writers had “dubious” backgrounds (high-level officials in the Nationalist Party, big industrialists, and so on). Therefore, they were preserved as political, military, cultural, and economic materials of the late-Qing dynasty to 1949 period to be “critically” referenced only. An example of such a work is Selections of Literary History Materials (some materials of which were of a literary nature) published by the China Book Bureau. 21 The memoir of the last emperor Puyi, The First Half of My Life, was a widely read internal publication during the 1960s.22

21 Edited by the China People’s Consultative Conference Literary Historical Materials Committee, which published 55 volumes between 1960 and 1965. 22 Initially published by the Masses Publishing House in 1964. Up to the 1990s, over one million copies were printed.

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE THEATER

1. A Survey of Dramatic Art The theater (including western-style drama, traditional opera, and western-style opera) and film were art forms of particular importance to leftwing literary circles in China. One reason for this was that the theater possessed a broad audience encompassing all segments of society and was an art form especially enjoyed by those parts of the masses that were illiterate or semi-literate. Another reason was that, unlike fiction and poetry, the theater is not merely a “tool” for exchanges between author and reader, but is a form of exchange in and of itself. Authors, directors, and actors collectively create and, together with the audience in the theater, personally experience a type of life event, join forces to construct an imaginary world, and the participation of the audience is more obvious than that in other art forms. Therefore, revolutionary writers and artists who stress the integration of literature and the arts with politics, as well as the instructional and propagandistic uses of literature and the arts, have always paid particular attention to these forms of art. During the 1930s and 1940s, left-wing literature and arts circles laid great emphasis on film and the theatre. During the Yan’an literature and arts movement in the 1940s, theater was a department that received special attention. Mao Zedong also proposed a “weed through the old to bring forth the new” reform policy for traditional opera (“old theater”) at this time. Representative fruits of this policy are the Yangge dance drama ‹Brothers and Sisters Open Up the Wasteland› and the westernstyle opera ‹The White-Haired Girl›. Theater troupes and literature and arts work troupes were frequently established in “revolutionary base areas” and “liberated areas,” and had important propagandistic and agitational roles to play. After 1949, an emphasis continued to be placed on the theatre and film. There was also a continuing stress on the notion of the direct, intimate relationship between the theatre, politics, and society. To this end, a series of organizations were established to lead and organize the creation and performance (production) of theater and film, and a system of

the theater

187

“viewing and emulation” and “joint performance”1 festivals of varying scopes was established to strengthen guidance and standardization of creative activities and performances. However, after 1949, the system of organization of the performance of western-style drama and other forms of theater also followed a “regularizing” developmental trend in the theater arts. The Central Theater Academy was established in October 1949. In 1951, the Ministry of Culture issued a decision on the “consolidation and enrichment” of literature and arts work troupes, and in June of the same year at the National Literature and Art Work Troupes Working Conference indicated that “large administrative regions and large cities under the central authorities [will] establish theaters or specialized theatrical companies” . . . “so as to steadily establish the theater arts.”2 The Beijing People’s Arts Theater was established before this, and Lao She’s ‹Dragon Beard Ditch› was performed in February 1951. All this led to the formation of the contradictory relationship between the stress placed on working in concert with contemporary politics, entering deep into factories and the countryside, and the emphasis placed on the theatrical arts of western-style drama during this period. In hindsight, very few of the dramatic works of the 1950s and 1960s have made the “repertory” of the present-day theater. Works symbolic of the “theater arts” at professional theaters in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai (such as Beijing People’s Arts Theater, Shanghai People’s Arts Theater, China Youth Arts Theater, and the Central Experimental Drama Theater) are primarily western classics or works from the 1930s and 1940s in China.3

1 From 1949 until 1965, several national (or regional) “joint performances” and “viewing and emulation” festivals of western-style drama were organized. For example: the Eastern China Region Drama Viewing and Emulation Festival in August 1954; the Ministry of Culture organized the First National Drama Viewing and Emulation Festival during March and April 1956; drama viewing and emulation performances were organized by the Ministry of Culture in April 1960; the Eastern China Drama Viewing and Emulation Festival was held in Shanghai during December 1963 and January 1964; in March 1964, the Ministry of Culture organized performances of outstanding drama since 1963 and an awards conference; in February 1965, there was the North China Region Drama, Opera Viewing and Emulation Festival; and the Northeast and East China Beijing Opera Viewing and Emulation Festival in May 1965. 2 This “regularizing” reform came under critical attack during the “Cultural Revolution,” and there was a return to a system of organization for “propaganda brigades” similar in nature to “literature and arts work troupes.” The term “theater” was changed to “theater troupe” throughout the country. 3 Such as ‹The Merchant of Venice›, ‹A Doll’s House›, ‹Uncle Vania›, and ‹Under Shanghai Eaves›. Among these, Cao Yu’s ‹Thunderstorm›, ‹Sunrise›, ‹Peking Man›, and

188

chapter twelve

Among those playwrights active during the 1950s and 1960s, a number had been practicing their art since the May Fourth period, such as Cao Yu, Guo Moruo, Lao She, Tian Han, Xia Yan, Yang Hansheng, Chen Baichen, Yu Ling, and Song Zhidi. The level of their success was variable, with great differences even between works by the same author. In general, few had success in portraying contemporary life, rather success was more often found in works based on “history.” The rest of the playwrights were theater workers who had participated in the wars and young writers who appeared in the 1950s, such as Hu Ke, Chen Qitong, Wang Lian, Shi Chao, Suo Yunping, Ma Jixing, Shen Ximeng, Du Xuan, Duan Chengbin, Cong Shen, and Cui Dezhi. As with fiction, the issue of “subject matter” was of great significance. During this period, emphasis was placed on contemporary political campaigns, struggle in the factory and countryside, and scenes from life. A stress was also placed on “revolutionary history” subject matter. During the early 1950s, works deemed successful by contemporary critics4 and which portrayed “industrial construction and the workers’ struggle” included: ‹Facing New Things› by Du Yin, Liu Xiangru, and Hu Ling; ‹It’s Not Cicadas› by Wei Lianzhen; ‹The Test› by Xia Yan; ‹Happiness› by Ai Mingzhi; and ‹Liu Lianying› by Cui Dezhi. Similarly successful works on “life and struggle in rural areas” included: ‹Spring Winds Blow on Nuomin River› by An Bo; ‹Flowers Bloom in the Spring Warmth› by Hu Danfei; and ‹Women’s Representative› by Sun Yu. Commended westernstyle dramas on “revolutionary history” and the Korean War included: ‹Growing Up in Battle› and ‹The Front Moves South› by Hu Ke; ‹Myriad Rivers and Mountains› by Chen Qitong; and ‹Transport Troops of Iron and Steel› by Huang Ti. Moreover, Lao She’s ‹Dragon Beard Ditch› and Cao Yu’s ‹Bright Skies› are usually counted as successes of the early 1950s theater scene. During 1956–1957, there were developments in the subject matter and style of dramatic works, and a discussion about works incorporating these developments played out on the pages of Literature & Arts Press, Theater Press, and other journals. These plays were Hai Mo’s ‹Vertical

‹The Family› were the most acted pieces. Of post-1949 works, only a small number, such as ‹Teahouse›, are still performed today. 4 According to Zhou Yang, ‹The Task of Constructing Socialist Literature› (report to the Second Expanded Directors Conference of the China Writers Association in February 1956, published in Literature & Arts Press, no. 5–6, 1956.); and Shao Quanlin, ‹The Course of 10 Years of Literature› in Literature & Arts Press, no. 18, 1959; etc.

the theater

189

Flutes Horizontally Played›, Yang Lüfang’s ‹The Cuckoo Calls Again›, He Qiu’s ‹Before the New Bureau Chief Arrives›, Yue Ye’s ‹Shared Weal and Woe›, Su Yiping’s ‹Like Brothers›, Zhao Xun’s ‹People Make Appointments for After Sunset›, and Lu Yanzhou’s ‹Come Back›. The discussion touched on how to expose the “dark side” of life, how to express contradictions, the value of satire and comedy, the expansion of subject matter, and so on. Also, during this time, the formulation of a “fourth type of scenario” appeared as an attempt to break through the fixed frameworks and formulas of “worker, farmer, and soldier scenarios” (“Worker scenarios—the struggle between advanced thought and conservative thought; Farmer scenarios—the struggle over whether or not to join cooperatives; Military scenarios—the military struggle between our army and the enemy”). The writing and performance of Lao She’s ‹Teahouse› was the most important event in theater circles during 1957 (and even throughout the seventeen year period to 1966). In the years immediately following 1958, all art forms, including western-style drama, were strongly required to cooperate closely with all political campaigns. During this period slogans such as “Remember the history of the revolution, sing praises of the Great Leap Forward” and “Write the center, act the center, paint the center” (in reference to central Party tasks and the Party Central Committee, among other things) were raised as guidance for creative activities. Although He Ke’s ‹Locust Tree Village› and a few other plays were at a decent artistic level, most had little of quality worth mentioning, including works highly assessed at the time, such as: ‹Raging Flames and Red Hearts› by Liu Chuan, ‹Subduing Dragons and Taming Tigers› by Duan Chengbin and Du Shijun, ‹Red Courtyard› by Lao She, ‹Carefree Song of the Thirteen Tombs Water Reservoir› by Tian Han, ‹Spring Comes to the Withered Tree› by Wang Lian, ‹People who Dare to Think and Dare to Act› by Wang Mingfu, as well as the plays termed “topical satires,” ‹On the Current Form of Paper Tigers› and ‹Aiee, Small Moon of America› by Chen Baichen. The urgency with which dramas on “real subject matter” were written in response to the demands to of contemporary politics left them with the overwhelming trait of explicating political concepts and articles of policy. The response of drama on “historical subject matter” to contemporary politics had a certain degree of indirectness, providing playwrights with a relatively larger creative space. As a result, an upsurge in the writing of “historical plays” occurred during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Of course, the occurrence of this phenomenon was directly related to advocacy within literary circles. What today are

190

chapter twelve

sweepingly termed “historical plays,” at the time were distinguished by differing concepts with implied value rankings. ‹Red Storm› by Jin Shan, ‹Overture to the Eastern Advance› by Gu Baozhang and Suo Yunping, ‹The Final Act› by Lan Guang, ‹City Under Siege› by Bai Ren, ‹Battle of Leopard Bay› by Ma Jixing, ‹July Inflammation› by Yu Ling, and ‹Azalea Mountain› by Wang Shuyuan were among works considered to be on the subject of “revolutionary historical struggle.” At the time, the term “historical play” was used in reference to another type of work, such as: ‹Guan Hanqing› and ‹Princess Wencheng› by Tian Han, ‹Cai Wenji› and ‹Wu Zetian› by Guo Moruo, ‹Sea Battle of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894› by Zhu Zuyi and Li Huang, and ‹The Gall and the Sword› by Cao Yu, Mei Qian, and Yu Shizhi. Writing of this type could also be found in western-style and traditional opera forms at the time. The upsurge in historical plays raised a number of theoretical issues with regard to writing, especially with regard to the relationship between history and narrative, and this led to debates about historical plays. Beginning in 1963, during the preparations for and the initiation of the Cultural Revolution, of all the arts the theatre, including westernstyle drama, was seen as the art form best suited to the direct expression of political enthusiasm and imagination. A seemingly endless series of national and regional joint performances and viewing and emulation festivals of western-style drama, western-style opera, and traditional opera were organized,5 leading to an upsurge in the writing and performance of theatre seldom seen before or since.

2. Lao She’s Teahouse Although during the 1940s Lao She (1899–1966) wrote western-style dramas such as ‹Lingering Fog›, ‹The Nation Above All› (in collaboration with Song Zhidi), ‹Dragons and Serpents of the Earth›, ‹An Issue of Face›, and ‹Going Back›, he was still best known for his earlier fiction,

5 The important ones among them were: the Eastern China Drama Viewing and Emulation Festival held in Shanghai during December 1963 and January 1964; in March 1964, the Ministry of Culture organized performances of outstanding drama since 1963 and an awards conference; the China People’s Liberation Army Th ird Literature & Arts Joint Performance Festival in April 1964; the National Beijing Opera Modern Opera Emulation and Viewing Festival in June 1964; in February 1965, the North China Region Drama, Opera Viewing and Emulation Festival; and the Northeast and Eastern China Beijing Opera Viewing and Emulation Festival in May 1965.

the theater

191

such as Camel Xiangzi, Divorce, and ‹The Crescent Moon›. In March 1946, Lao She accepted an invitation from the US State Department to lecture in the US for one year, and he remained in the US to write. Lao returned to China in late-1949. During the 1950s and 1960s, he abandoned fiction, and one of the reasons for his concentration on the theater was his belief that “with regard to the cultural level of a portion of the working people at present, there is still some difficulty in reading fiction,” but “watching theater is not so troublesome.”6 Starting in 1950 with ‹Fang Zhenzhu›, about the fate of a traditional storyteller, until 1965, he wrote 23 theater pieces. This included western-style dramas such as ‹Dragon Beard Ditch›, ‹Spring Flowers Autumn Fruits›, ‹Shock Brigade of Youth›, ‹Looking West to Chang’an›, ‹Teahouse›, ‹Red Courtyard›, ‹Female Shop Assistant›, ‹A Whole Family Happy›, ‹Jade Boat›, and ‹Mystical Fists›, as well as traditional ballad opera, traditional duets, Beijing opera, and song and dance drama, among other forms. In the early 1960s, Lao She began writing the novel Beneath the Red Banner, but, due to changes in the political situation, was only able to complete eleven chapters. In August 1966, not long after the start of the Cultural Revolution, after being subjected to ruthless persecution, Lao She drowned himself. The quality of Lao She’s plays during the period in question was uneven. Most of his work was evidence of his political zeal, and displayed his “risk taking”: “Sometimes risk taking is an action stimulated by zeal” . . . “regardless of success or failure.”7 Therefore, as he later stated: I considered whether or not the subject matter itself was politically strong and did not think about the degree of aptness of the subject matter to myself, so, when I was insufficiently prepared and wanted to write this subject matter, I could only stick things together.8

Among all his theater pieces, ‹Dragon Beard Ditch› and, especially, ‹Teahouse› are considered most valuable. ‹Dragon Beard Ditch› describes a low-income residential neighborhood in the Tianqiao area of Beijing, and how the governing authorities of the “old society” not only do not repair a wastewater ditch that is endangering the health of residents, but

6 Lao She, ‹Preface› to A Selection of Lao She’s Plays, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1959. 7 Lao She, ‹Writing “Dragon Beard Ditch”›, People’s Daily, 4 February 1951. 8 Lao She, ‹Subject Matter and Life›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 7, 1961.

192

chapter twelve

instead, in the name of repairing the ditch, raise taxes and extort money. But after the establishment of the “new China,” the government begins the repair work, and displays the “true people’s nature of the new government.” This three-act drama manifests the author’s long abiding concern for the little people in the lower stratum of society. However, it was held in high regard at the time for a more important reason: “The realist technique and the unique talent for humor in which Mr. Lao She is skilled is integrated with his high degree of political enthusiasm for the new society,” and this “demonstrates an artist’s most precious political enthusiasm.”9 ‹Dragon Beard Ditch› won for Lao She his initial reputation during the “contemporary era” (the Beijing municipal government gave him the title of “People’s Artist”); but this honor also possibly left him unable to make a timely self-examination and adjustments to this creative path. Unquestionably, the three-act play ‹Teahouse›, which Lao She wrote in 1957, is a masterpiece of the contemporary era. By portraying the changes in one teahouse in Beijing during three different periods (early autumn at the end of the Qing dynasty in 1898; the battles between warlords after the death of President Yuan Shikai during the early years of the Republic of China; and the mid-1940s, at the end of the war with Japan and on the eve of the outbreak of civil war), Lao She was able to portray the historical changes in China over a 50 year period. This sort of “historical outline” was a favorite technique of contemporary authors. For his portrayal of this grand topic, the author selects a path along which his life experience and artistic practice can travel. Within these changes, it was impossible to avoid politics. But I was not familiar with the high officials and great personages on the political stage, [so] it was impossible to directly describe their advances and retreats. I also do not fully understand politics. I only know some minor personages.10

Lao She chose to write from an “oblique” angle about the changes in the lives of “minor personages,” and restricted their scope of expression to the “small society” of a teahouse. He did not utilize a central plotline or a conflict that runs through the whole play—frequently used structural modes in contemporary drama—but instead utilized an original form termed “picture scroll drama” or “three sets of paintings on local cus-

9 Zhou Yang, ‹What can be Learned from “Dragon Beard Ditch”?›, People’s Daily, 4 March 1953. 10 Lao She, ‹Responding to Questions on “Teahouse”›, Playscripts, no. 5, 1958.

the theater

193

toms.”11 A multitude of characters are placed in scenes clearly located in different periods, and these characters are from all segments of urban society: the manager and attendants in the teahouse, a favored eunuch, various representatives of the dregs of society, a patriotic capitalist, old and new-style spies and thugs, storytellers, a physiognomist, deserters, kind-hearted workers, and so on, of whom three (Chang Siye, Wang Lifa, and Qin Zhongyi) are present in all scenes of the play. They are of various dispositions and social paths; Chang Siye is a straightforward Manchurian banner man; Qin Zhongyi is an ambitious factory and bank owner; and then there is the ever-courteous teahouse manager Wang Lifa. Yet, ultimately, none can find a way out and escape death. “I’ve never acted immorally or reprehensively in my life, why can’t I be allowed to live?” “I love our country, but who loves me?”—the tragic tone of the play and the despair and bewilderment with which the characters regard their own fate, reveals certain paradoxes in relation to modern history. The motive of the narrative in Lao She’s ‹Teahouse› lies in a fierce desire to establish a modern nation and an equally strong hatred of an unjust society. His structural technique consists of comparisons between the old and new societies, which also imply a perception of history. Lao’s familiarity with social life in “old-time” Beijing, his sympathy for the fate of ordinary people, his tenderness and humor, his tearful laughter, all place this play in the deep humanitarian tradition of Lao She’s literary work. The reputation of a “classic” that this play enjoys was ensured by the outstanding artists at the Beijing People’s Arts Theater who initially put this work on stage (the directors Jiao Juyin and Xia Chun, and the actors Yu Shizhi, Zheng Rong, Huang Zongluo, and Ying Ruocheng, among others).

3. Historical Drama and Related Discussion During this period, historical dramas were produced in various forms, most notably western-style drama and Beijing opera. There were about twenty western-style plays in this genre, and, for the most part, their writers were of the older generation, such as Guo Moruo, Tian Han, and Cao Yu. These playwrights often had great difficulties in dealing

11 Li Jianwu’s comments in ‹An Informal Discussion of Lao She’s “Teahouse”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1958.

194

chapter twelve

with subject matter from current life with which they were not familiar, and, comparatively speaking, “history” gave freer reign to their artistic imaginations. Historical drama was a genre Guo Moruo was enthusiastic about. During the “May Fourth” period, he wrote plays in praise of “rebellious women,” such as ‹Nie Ying›, ‹Zhuo Wenjun›, and ‹Wang Zhaojun›. During the 1940s, Guo wrote ‹Twin Blossoms›, ‹Qu Yuan›, ‹The Tiger Tally›, ‹Gao Jianli›, ‹Peacock Gall›, and ‹Nan Guancao›. However, during the 1950s and 1960s, Guo’s plays ‹Cai Wenji› and ‹Wu Zetian› were written to “reverse the verdict” for historical figures.12 The central ideas behind Guo’s historical dramas were in current politics, after which he sought out incidents or figures in “history” on which he could hang the words he wished to address to the issue. In Guo Moruo’s play, the controversial figure of the Tang dynasty empress Wu Zetian appears in the guise of a powerful, gifted, thoroughly humane ruler devoted to the well-being of the nation and wise in her appointment of officials. ‹Cai Wenji›, on the other hand, is a “rewrite” of the image of Cao Cao in traditional opera and fiction. The “white-faced treacherous official” that was Cao Cao is replaced by the figure of a great politician, military strategist, and poet. The author was fully aware that the current age held in esteem “admirable characters” who were greatly talented and who opened up a “new epoch” in history, and his highly romanticized rewriting was in response to this “spirit of the times.” Naturally, in ‹Cai Wenji›, it is the character of the Han dynasty woman poet Cai Wenji that appears most glorious. In the play, “the return of Wenji to the Han” is seen as “patriotic” and in aide of “reestablishing the culture of Jian’an,” no matter whether this was due to the efforts of Cao Cao or to Wenji’s painful resolve to leave her husband and children. The literary topic of recent times of clashes between responsibility to the nation, or society, and personal emotions reappears in this play. This type of emotional experience, including a poet’s awareness of his own talent, was capable of exciting the emotional engagement of the author. And it was in this 12

In his ‹Preface› to ‹Cai Wenji›, Guo Moruo states: My main aim in writing ‹Cai Wenji› was to reverse the verdict for Cao Cao. Cao Cao truly made contributions to the development of our nation and our culture. He was an amazing historical figure during feudal times. Yet, previously, we have been constrained by the orthodox view [of him] since Song dynasty times, the assessment of him has been too unfair. In: Guo Moruo, ‹Preface› to Cai Wenji, Historical Artifacts Publishing House, 1959.

the theater

195

regard that Guo Moruo stated: “Cai Wenji is me, is written according to myself.”13 Tian Han (1898–1968) wrote a great quantity of western-style drama, western-style opera, traditional opera, and movie scripts during the “modern age.” In the 1950s and 1960s, his major works included the western-style dramas ‹Korean Winds and Clouds›, ‹Guan Hanqing›, ‹Carefree Song of the Thirteen Tombs Water Reservoir›, and ‹Princess Wencheng›, and original work and adaptations of traditional opera pieces such as ‹The White Snake›, ‹The Western Chamber›, ‹Golden Fish Scales›, and ‹Xie Yaohuan›. ‹Carefree Song of the Thirteen Tombs Water Reservoir› is not a historical play, but the result of the author “integrating realism and revolutionary romanticism” when writing the piece. The play describes the building of the Thirteen Ming Dynasty Tombs Water Reservoir near Beijing that began in late 1957, which was seen as an event symbolic of the “Great Leap Forward” campaign. Labor competitions on the work site, clashes between the communist style and individualism, real and fictional characters from modern and ancient times, present circumstances and imaginings of the realization of communism twenty years later, all this and more are pieced together into a play something like a news report. Today it seems more like an “absurdist” piece, but there is no sense of irony permeating it; and this demonstrates the thoroughgoing contradictions that existed within literary creation and the spiritual realm of the time. After a few performances of the play, it was criticized and its performances were halted. In contemporary articles discussing the creative handling of the “integration of the two,” at times this play was held up as an example of the incorrect handling of this creative technique.14 One of Tian Han’s contemporary works that was somewhat highly praised was ‹Guan Hanqing›. This Yuan dynasty dramatist was chosen as one of the “famous people of world culture” in 1958 by the “World Peace Council” (an international organization

13

Ibid. The first performances of ‹Carefree Song of the Thirteen Tombs Water Reservoir› were praised and it was adapted for film by Jin Shan. Soon after this, the play and the film were criticized. For example, see: Ouyang Yuqian, ‹Great Cheers for “Carefree Song of the Thirteen Tombs Water Reservoir”›, People’s Daily, 16 July 1958; Chen Gang, ‹Song in Praise of Laborers›, Literary Confluence Daily, 27 July 1958; Zhu Yizu, ‹How to Look Ahead to a Communist Tomorrow?—After Seeing the Film “Carefree Song of the Thirteen Tombs Water Reservoir”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 19, 1958; Jia Ji, ‹One Must Freely Imagine the Future with Communist Thought›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1959. 14

196

chapter twelve

of the “socialist camp” at the time), and Tian Han’s play was part of the commemorative activities in Guan Hanqing’s honour. In the play, Guan Hanqing is a “fighter”: with his musical poetic drama as a weapon, he cursed and railed at ruthless, corrupt officials, acted as a mouthpiece for the wronged and the weak, and in this struggle demonstrated his bravery and high moral principles—this also revealed a shared “status recognition” by the artist. Therefore, some critics thought Tian Han was acting as “today’s leader of the pear guardian, who had been fighting all the while” in writing the “figure of the leader of the pear garden fighting during the thirteenth century.”15 ‹Guan Hanqing› demonstrates the imaginative artistic handling of historical materials by a romantic playwright. The sparse historical records are recombined and expanded by way of fabrication by the author, forming the basis of the play’s details, with the whole structure erected on an imaginative foundation. The version of ‹Guan Hanqing› first published in the 1958 no. 5 edition of Playscripts consisted of nine scenes. The booklet of the play published in the same year had 12 scenes, and, in 1961, the republished edition of the booklet had 11 scenes. The concluding section of the drama was greatly revised in 1961: where originally the character Zhu Lianxiu was allowed to move to the south with Guan Hanqing, in the revised version this was not allowed. However, Tian Han did not consider this the “definitive text,” instead feeling “there is no harm in the simultaneous existence of a happy ending” for the play.16 Another important historical drama during this period was ‹The Gall and the Sword›, a collaboration between Cao Yu, Mei Qian, and Yu Shizhi, with Cao Yu doing most of the writing. The first play written by Cao Yu (1910–1996) during the contemporary era was the four-act drama ‹Bright Skies›, published in 1954. With the Beijing Synergetic Medical Academy as a model, the play describes the thought reform of intellectuals at the Yanren Hospital, but it was not up to the level of brilliance of Cao’s earlier works, ‹Thunderstorm› and ‹Peking Man›. The 1961 fiveact drama ‹The Gall and the Sword› describes the warfare between the states of Wu and Yue in southern China during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 B.C.E.). The first and second act describe the invasion by the Wu forces and the capture of Gou Jian, while the final three acts

15 Dai Bufan, ‹A Resounding Bronze Pea—Thoughts on Reading the Script of the Play “Guan Hanqing”›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 16, 1959. 16 Tian Han, ‹Preface› to Guan Hanqing, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1961.

the theater

197

describe the anger of the common people and Gou Jian, and, after Gou’s release, their campaign to restore the state, and their ultimate success in doing so. The stress is placed on the second part of the play, on Gou Jian’s determination to wipe away the shame to his state and his arduous struggle together with the common people to re-establish their state, after “ten years of propagation, and ten years of education.” The play’s stress on “unceasing self-strengthening” is related to the political and economic crises faced by China at the time of writing. In 1978, Cao Yu completed a further historical drama, ‹Wang Zhaojun›. There were several debates about historical drama during the 1950s and 1960s that touched on the relationship between history and the present, and history and literature. In the early 1950s, out of enthusiasm for literature and the arts serving current politics and working in concert with the “core work” of the Party, some playwrights set about writing “modern” adaptations of traditional opera forms of historical dramas and legends. A large number of such works were produced on the topic of the Cowherd and the Girl Weaver (legends about the two stars, Altair and Vega), some of which had the Girl Weaver becoming mortal, undergoing labor reform, and becoming a labor hero; some propagated the idea of labor creating the world; and some “also had plough oxen symbolic of tractors, magpies symbolic of doves of peace, and wove into the story the study of the history of social development, and propaganda for the campaign to eradicate moth larvae, the campaign against the American imperialist invasion [of Korea], and the land reform campaign.”17 An influential practitioner and leader of this stress on combining “history” and “reality,” and using reality to reform “history,” was the playwright Yang Shaoxuan.18 In 1951, he wrote the article ‹On the Issue of Historical Drama and Story Drama in the Reform of Traditional Opera›,19 in which he stated, “The fundamental spirit of historical drama is reflected in the history of China’s social development,” and should especially reflect “the decisive affect of work tools in the life of the people”; therefore, in writing historical drama, “the epochal nature of history can be ignored,” and “the playscript may produce an epochal character.” In his adaptation 17

Ai Qing, ‹Reading “Cowherd and Girl Weaver”›, People’s Daily, 31 August 1951. Yang Shaoxuan (1893–1971) was from Luoxian in Hebei province. In the early1940s, Yang held the post of director of the Beijing Opera Theater in Yan’an, during which time he participated in the reform of Beijing opera and, together with Qi Yanming, wrote the opera ‹Driven onto Mount Liang›, which was praised by Mao Zedong. 19 Yang Shaoxuan, ‹On the Issue of Historical Drama and Story Drama in the Reform of Traditional Opera›, People’s Theater, vol. 3, no. 6 (1951). 18

198

chapter twelve

of ‹New Marriage on the Milky Way› during this period, the legend of Cowherd and Girl Weaver was used to describe the Korean War and the peace movement of the time. In ‹New Tale of the White Rabbit›, Yang inserts aspects of a “national war” and transforms the character of Liu Zhiyuan into something approaching a national hero. Yang Shaoxuan’s work and theory was first criticized by Ai Qing, to which Yang retorted by stating that he believed Ai’s views were “literature for literature’s sake, and art for art’s sake.”20 Following this, a series of articles critical of Yang Shaoxuan were published by writers such as Ma Shaobo, Chen Yong, Ah Jia, Guang Weiran, and He Qifang. These critics summarized his creative and theoretical mistakes as an “anti-historicism tendency” and “subjectivist formulism.” Aside from touching on Yang’s “anti-Marxist” understanding of “historical materialism” and the “class viewpoint,” their criticisms of his views on historical drama were primarily of Yang’s ideas about and use of “non-artistic, non-realist creative techniques.” The crux of this debate lay in the relationship between explicating “history” from the standpoint of the “modern age” and having “history” serve the present, and “writing according to the original appearance of history.” The critics of Yang Shaoxuan believed: No matter whether writing contemporary drama or historical drama, realist creative techniques must be used (for Marxist authors, it is even more necessary to use socialist realism). This is to say, historical drama ought to be written in accordance with the original manifestation of historical events and historical figures, allowing readers and audiences to obtain a correct knowledge of them . . . this is historical drama in service of the present.21

This conclusive opinion covered up and deferred a number of important issues (such as what the “original manifestation of history” is, the possibility of re-manifesting that “original manifestation,” and whether “realism” is the creative norm for the essential nature of things, and so on). During the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was an upsurge in the writing of historical drama, and the issue of historical drama was once more raised. The historian Wu Han felt many historical dramas were not

20

Yang Shaoxuan, ‹On the Harm of “Literature for Literature’s Sake, and Art for Art’s Sake”—Assessing Ai Qing’s “Reading ‘Cowherd and Girl Weaver’ ”›, People’s Daily, 3 November 1951. 21 He Qifang, ‹In Opposition to Subjectivist Formulae in the Reform of Theater›, People’s Daily, 16 November 1951; and republished after revision by the author in People’s Theater, vol. 3, no. 8 (1952).

the theater

199

written in strict accordance with history, proposed “historical drama is art and also history,” and insisted that historical drama “not be allowed to fictionalize and exaggerate.”22 In response to this opinion, Li Xifan stated “historical drama is art, not history,” the plotlines of historical dramas cannot be “drawn on the basis of all historical facts and details, but are loyal to the truth of the original essence of historical life and the spirit of history.”23 Others who participated in this debate included Wang Ziye, Yang Kuan, Qi Yanming, and Zhang Zhen, and the issues they discussed included the definition and function of “historical drama,” and the relationship between the truth of history and the truth of art. Mao Dun’s long essay ‹About History and Historical Drama›24 was an important document at the time. The essay analyses the repertory of close to one hundred contemporary theater troupes in criticizing the “partial and mechanical” understanding of the phrase “use the past to serve today” and the phenomenon of using “imaginative and artistic fabrications from a subjective perspective” in writing historical dramas. Mao Dun believed “historical drama should be both fabricated and comply with historical truth; facts beyond fabricated [elements] ought to conform to their utmost to history and should not be casually altered.” He draws on Kong Shangren’s ‹The Peach Blossom Fan› as an example of how to manage this: “The original true manifestation of all major historical incidents can be fundamentally preserved, and most true historical figures can be processed artistically under the condition that their original appearance is unchanged.” This was to revisit issues under debate during the early 1950s, when criticism was also directed at techniques that compare or adhere to current reality and deduce from history. Apparently, the problem of history and narrative was again perplexing contemporary writers. The opinion that held the upper hand was that of writers who, while they laid great store in the “fabricated nature” of literature, recognized that this stress should not harm the limitation that is the “original appearance of history.” No matter what other differences participants in the debate over historical drama may have had, they were united in refusing opinions about the narrative essence of “history.”

22 Wu Han, ‹About Historical Drama›, Literary Confluence Daily, 25 December 1960; and ‹Historical Drama is Art and also History›, Theater Press, no. 6, 1962. 23 Li Xifan, ‹“Historical Truth” and “Fabrication”›, Theater Press, no. 2, 1962. 24 Mao Dun, ‹About History and Historical Drama›, Literary Reviews, no. 5, 1962.

200

chapter twelve 4. The ‘High Tide’ of Drama

From 1963 until the eve of “Cultural Revolution,” there was a “high tide” for the theater, including western-style drama. During this period of over three years, several national and regional joint performances and viewing and emulation festivals were organized. According to statistics, there were 327 pieces in the repertory of regional theater viewing and emulation festivals, of which 112 were pieces of western-style drama.25 Pieces that had relatively big impacts included: ‹Second Spring› by Liu Chuan; ‹Azalea Mountain› by Wang Shuyuan; ‹Sentry Beneath Neon Lights› by Shen Ximeng, Mo Yan, and Lü Xingchen; ‹Lei Feng› by Jia Liu; ‹We Must Never Forget› by Cong Shen; ‹Arrow Shafts on the Riverbank› by Liu Houming; ‹Battle of Leopard Bay› by Ma Jixing; ‹Ode to Dragon River› by Jiang Wen and Chen Shu; ‹After the Bumper Harvest› by Lan Cheng; ‹The Great Wall of the South Sea› by Zhao Huan; ‹The Young Generation› by Chen Yun and others; ‹Snatching the Seal› by Ma Yanxiang and others; ‹The Torrent Bravely Advances› by Hu Wanchun, Zuo Lin, and Tong Luo; ‹The Whole Family› by Hu Wanchun and others; ‹War Drums at the Equator› by Li Huang and others; ‹Storm on the Congo› by Ying Ruocheng and others; ‹Women Aviators› by Feng Deying and others; ‹A Vast Picture of War› and ‹Pine Ridge› by Zhang Zhongming; and ‹Marriage of Hezhen People› by Wu Baixin. Under the creative slogan “Write Large the Thirteen Years,”26 the subject matter of the western-style drama of this period was mostly taken from contemporary life since 1949. Another portion of these works was part of the “anti-imperialism [USA] and anti-revisionism [USSR]” campaigns in “Asia, Africa, and Latin America.” “Social classes and the class struggle” was the main theme of almost all these pieces. ‹The Young Generation›, ‹Sentry Beneath Neon Lights›, and ‹We Must Never Forget› were among the plays that were highly praised during this period. ‹Sentry Beneath Neon Lights›27 was based on material about “the good eighth company of the Nanjing road” that was widely cited and propagandized at the time, and describes the experiences of a company 25 Theater Press, ‹The Great Harvest of Revolutionary Modern Theater in 1965›, Theater Press, no. 1, 1966. 26 On 4 January 1963, the Secretary of the Shanghai Party Committee and mayor, Ke Qingshi, raised this slogan in a speech at the New Years’ party for the Shanghai literary and arts circles. See related reports in the 6 January 1963 edition of Literary Confluence Daily. 27 This playscript was first published in the 1963 no. 2 edition of Playscripts and the 1963 no. 3 edition of Liberation Army Literature & Arts.

the theater

201

of Liberation Army soldiers over the period of a year after they were stationed on the Nanjing-Shanghai road in May 1949. The authors, Shen Ximeng, Mo Yan, and Lü Xingchen were military writers, and the play was first performed by a military theater troupe (the Nanjing Region Frontline Drama Troupe). The authors later stated: “After our country had experienced three years of national calamity [during the late 1950s and early 1960s], it was a time when the people of the whole country needed to promote a spirit of arduous struggle, and we were compelled by the needs of the time to take orders and throw ourselves into writing [this play].”28 In the play, the company commander Chen Xi, after heroic deeds on the battlefield, enters the city and cannot withstand “the assaults of candy-coated bullets,” is corrupted by “capitalist ways and thought,” and is in danger of being taken advantage of by class enemies. However, he is saved by socialist education. The plotline also involves related characters and contradictions. This heavily instructional work is rich in delightful details, which makes it something of a comedy. The structure of ‹We Must Never Forget› is the most rigorous of this period. A young electrical machinery factory worker, Ding Shaochun is influenced by his new wife and her mother, the boss of a fresh fruit shop. He begins to pay attention to what he eats and wears, borrows money to buy wool clothes, and after work gets into the habit of hunting wild ducks to sell, leading to his not paying attention to work, which almost results in a serious accident. Later, after being saved through the education he receives from his parents, grandfather, and friends, he recognizes the dangers of the road he is walking, turns back, and resolves to be a successor to the revolutionary enterprise. The original name of the play was ‹Wishing You Health›. After a national viewing and emulation performance in 1962, the writers made direct use of Mao Zedong’s slogan “We Must Never Forget Class Struggle” at the tenth plenary session of the eighth Party congress in autumn 1962 as the play’s name, thus stressing this theme in the play.29 The third play, ‹The Young Generation›, describes the unwillingness of a geology institute graduate, Lin Yusheng, to leave Shanghai for work

28

Shen Ximeng, Mo Yan, & Lü Xingchen, ‹A Look Back at the Writing of “Sentry Beneath Neon Lights”›, Theater Arts, no. 2, 1979. 29 ‹We Must Never Forget› was first published in the 1963 combined no. 10–11 edition of Playscripts, and in 1964, the China Theater Publishing House published a booklet containing the play. In this booklet, lines such as the following given to the character Ding Haikuan, were added: “Yes, this is a kind of class struggle easily forgotten by people, we must never forget!”

202

chapter twelve

in Qinghai province; while, on the other hand, the character Xiao Jiye is portrayed enduring his pain and spending his youth prospecting in the northwest. These two opposing views on life are revealed through how the characters deal with life, love, and ideals. Serious consideration was given to the design of the backgrounds of the characters: Lin Yusheng’s birth parents were martyrs to the revolution and his adoptive parents are old cadres who had joined the revolution in the early years, but this was still not enough to ensure him against being corrupted by “capitalist thought.” As with the other two plays, these contradictions are ultimately resolved: With the help of his elders and friends, and the inspiration of a letter written by his parents in their own blood, Lin Yusheng mends his ways. These plays handle and attempt to resolve the issue of the continuance of and adherence to the “revolutionary tradition.” From late 1962 onwards, “revolution” was put forward continuously (“continuous revolution”), and the base and ideological sources of “revolution” became an issue. In these plays, the city is portrayed as suspicious, a place of abode connected to the low and the corrupt, while placed in opposition to it is the revolutionary struggle that unfolded primarily in the countryside during the 1930s and 1940s, and the experience of life in rural areas. These works also were keenly aware of the importance of the “daily life” of the individual. The writer of ‹We Must Never Forget› makes this point: This play not only raises the point that socialist education must be carried out and should be carried out, but also raises the issue of how to organize the arrangements of social life. . . . The play lets us see that the satisfactory arrangement of eight hours work is still incapable of guaranteeing against the appearance of problems. Aside from the eight hours work, how are the other eight hours arranged?30

These plays, which were praised by contemporary critics as “encapsulating the spirit of the times and passing on the pulse of the age,” expressed the intentions of political radicals: To standardize thought and activity in social life, to endow the then peaceful living environment with the grave characteristics of class struggle, to elevate the political significance of “daily life” and thereby realize the tentative idea of organizing all aspects of individual life (life activities, and emotional and psychological space). 30 Cong Shen, ‹The Formation of the Topic of “We Must Never Forget”›, Theater Press, no. 4, 1964.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

TOWARDS ‘CULTURAL REVOLUTION LITERATURE’

1. The Literary Campaign of 1958 The literary campaign that unfolded in 1958 can be seen as an important step in the movement towards “Cultural Revolution literature.” Zhou Yang’s summarizing article ‹A Great Debate on the Literary Front› was published when the anti-rightist struggle in literary and arts circles concluded. In reviewing it, Mao Zedong added a paragraph in which he termed the anti-rightist campaign of 1957 as “a most thoroughgoing great socialist revolution on the political and ideological fronts,” and went on to state: [It] has struck a fatal blow to reactionary capitalist thought, has liberated the productive forces of literature and arts circles and their reserves, has opened the shackles and manacles put on them by the old society, has relieved the threat of a reactionary atmosphere, and has opened a broad road for the development of proletarian literature and art.

As Mao Zedong saw it, the merit of this “revolution” was in clearing away the “old base” and “opening a path” for the establishment of “proletarian literature and art,” as “before this, this historical task was as yet incomplete.” Obviously, this did not have the same point of emphasis as the words of Zhou Yang and others. In estimating the achievements of the anti-rightist campaign, Zhou placed greatest emphasis on the sorting out and summing up of China’s left-wing literature and arts movement, and the road of revolutionary literature (or “proletarian literature and art”) had already been opened up during the 1930s. It is possible neither side were deeply aware of this divergence at the time. In 1958, at the same time as the “Great Leap Forward” in economic life was initiated, a “Great Leap Forward” in literature and the arts was also proposed. During this year, Mao Zedong published two important opinions that related to literature and the arts: In one he advocated great efforts be put into collecting folk songs, and in the other he proposed “creative techniques” that integrated revolutionary realism with revolutionary romanticism. At a conference in March, Mao stated: “Th e ways

204

chapter thirteen

out for China’s poetry: The first, folk songs, the second, classical; in producing new poetry on this foundation, the form is from folk songs, the content should be an antithetical unity of realism and romanticism.”1 Afterwards, Mao referred to this emphasis on and collection of folk songs on several other occasions.2 And with this, a “new folk song movement” spread throughout the country: It was proposed that the forms of folk literature and art become important models for the creation of proletarian literature and arts. Mao Zedong’s talk about the “integration of realism and romanticism” was not officially published at the time. In the 1958 no. 7 edition of the Literature & Arts Press (published in April), in responding to a reporter’s questions about Mao’s classical-style song lyric ‹Butterflies Love Flowers›, Guo Moruo was the first to use the phrase “the integration of the models of revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism.” Immediately following this, in his article ‹New Folk Songs have Opened Up a New Road for Poetry›,3 aside from publicly stating who the originator of this proposal was, Zhou Yang expounded further on the fundamental meaning of this issue and its significance for the development of China’s literature and art. Zhou stated: Comrade Mao Zedong proposes that our literature should be an integration of revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism. This is a sci-

1 From Mao’s speech at a meeting of the Party Central Committee in Chengdu on 22 March. Mao also said: “The new poetry of the moment is not taking shape; no one reads it; anyway I don’t read new poetry. Unless I’m given a hundred silver dollars. The work of collecting folk songs: Beijing University has already done a lot. If we do it we’ll probably find tens of millions of folk songs; it won’t take much of an effort, [and it’ll be] somewhat easier than reading the poetry of Du Fu and Li Bai.” 2 In early April 1958 at a meeting of the Party Central Committee in Wuhan and on 20 May at the second session of the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party, Mao proposed that “every province do folk songs,” that “each place collect a batch; [we] want new folk songs, want old folk songs, want revolutionary ones, and also want those generally popular in society.” On 14 April, People’s Daily published the social commentary ‹Collect Folk Songs on a Large Scale›, which pointed out that this was “extremely valuable work,” . . . “that has great significance for the development of our country’s literature and arts (firstly the development of poetry and songs).” To this end, Guo Moruo wrote ‹Answering Questions from the Editorial Department of Folk Literature about the Large Scale Collection of Folk Songs› (People’s Daily, 21 April 1958). On April 26, at a seminar on folk songs organized by the Literature Federation, the Writers Association, and the Folk Literature and Arts Research Association, Zhou Yang, the chair, gave a speech entitled ‹New Folk Songs have Opened Up a New Road for Poetry›. Also, around this time, the Party Committee in each province, city, and territory issued circulars about the “collection of folk songs.” The collection of folk songs and the creation of “new folk songs” developed throughout the nation in the fashion of a political campaign. 3 Zhou Yang, ‹New Folk Songs have Opened Up a New Road for Poetry›, Red Flag, inaugural edition, 1 June 1958.

towards ‘cultural revolution literature’

205

entific summarization of the practice of all literary history, an extremely correct proposition raised in accordance with the needs and characteristics of the contemporary age, and should become the direction of the joint struggle of the totality of our literature and art workers.

From 1958 until 1960, discussions about this proposal unfolded in literature and art circles. Later, in his report to the third congress of literature and arts representatives in July 1960—‹The Path of Socialist Literature and Arts in Our Country›—Zhou Yang made this creative methodology the definitive “direction” for literature and the arts, declaring it to be “an entirely new artistic methodology” and “the best creative methodology.” In contemporary debates, most of the authors and critics who approved of this “methodology” saw it as belonging to the same system as that which produced “socialist realism” in the Soviet Union, or stated that the former was a “development” on the latter. However, the advancing of this “methodology” was seen as both a break from the “Soviet model” and as a component part in the implementation of the idea behind a radical cultural development. The year 1958 was the beginning of the conception of a new form of literature and art. During this initial period, this form of literature and art was termed “communist literature and art.”4 In creative thought and artistic methodology, it emphasized the “romanticism” that was originally part of the proposition that is “socialist realism.” After explicating “romanticism” as “revolutionary enthusiasm,” a “great, distant ideal,” and writing of “all that [you] wish for, all [you] can imagine,” it was placed in a prominent leading position and from there provided a theoretical basis for concepts, idealistic social goals, and political romantic enthusiasm from which to “fabricate” reality. This type of literature and art has a more direct relationship with “action” (especially political activity).

4 In “Words from the Editors” in Ballads for the Red Flag, Guo Moruo and Zhou Yang state: “Poetry and labor are reunited on the basis of the new thinking of socialism and communism, and it is precisely in this sense that new folk songs can be said to be the sprouts of the communism of the masses.” ‹Lift the High Tide of Literature and Arts Creation! Construct Communist Literature and Arts!›, a social commentary in the 1958 no. 19 edition of the Literature & Arts Press, in explicating the spirit of the expanded meeting of the presidium of the China Literature Federation in September, stated: “Promoting the task of constructing communist literature and art now is not too early, but is suited to the times, is necessary.” In a special column, ‹Literature and the Arts Release a Satellite› (Literature & Arts Press, no. 18, 1958), Hua Fu writes: “Constructing communist literature and arts is not a mysterious, unreachable thing,” and he goes on to say the “integration of the two” creative methodology is “of most benefit to the creation of communist literature and art.”

206

chapter thirteen

At the same time, in comparison to literature, the position of “literature and arts” (such as theater, storytelling, balladry, comic dialogues, songs, the fine arts, and poetry recitations) that have a larger audience and allow greater direct participation from that audience is strengthened. The creators of these art forms required “the lowly,” who possessed working class thought and were more supportive of workers and farmers, to “break free of superstition and liberate [their] thinking,” to enter the areas of literary creation and criticism. Moreover, in its relationship with the cultural “heritage” of humankind, this form of literature and art “stressed the present and played down the past,” for “once they had grasped truth, they looked down on antiquities.” The leaders of literary circles at the time (such as Zhou Yang, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, and Shao Quanlin) participated in the initiation and promotion of this trend in literary thought. They proposed that “literature and the arts also need a Great Leap Forward,” formulated the ‹32 conditions of a Great Leap Forward in Literary and Artistic Work (draft)›, rolled out the “new folk song movement” that was to “inaugurate the poetic practice of a generation,” edited and published Ballads of the Red Flag (which was modeled on the traditional anthology form of “three hundred poems”), initiated the discussion surrounding the “integration of the two” creative methodology, and advocated the creative subject matter and themes of “eulogizing the Great Leap Forward and remembering revolutionary history,” among other things. However, this line in literature clearly made Zhou Yang, Mao Dun, Shao Quanlin, among others, feel uncomfortable. On one hand, they supported the “integration of the two” creative methodology; while, on the other, they worried about the weakening of the “realistic nature” of literary works. On one hand, they acknowledged that serious defi ciencies existed in the work and thought of writers of “May Fourth” new literature, while on the other they enthusiastically sorted out the fruits of the left-wing literature and arts movement during the 1930s. They never relaxed the attention they paid to the non-political tendency of literature, but raised doubts about the use of literature as a political tool; their firm connections with the spiritual heritage of humanity (especially the literary heritage of Europe and Russia with which they were familiar), to literature possessing a lofty spiritual charm, made it impossible for them to treat literature as a tool. In particular, they were actually all agents of enlightenment with humanism at their spiritual core. In using the “textbook of human life” that is literature to mold some type of ideal moral quality, they also could not completely accept a “collectivism” that overlooked

towards ‘cultural revolution literature’

207

the value of the individual, even though they had previously attacked the “individualism” of Feng Xuefeng, Ding Ling, and others.5 After the “Great Leap Forward” suffered serious setbacks in economic and other areas, the state implemented “adjustment” policies instituting a retreat from radical policies in politics, economics, and social life. Taking advantage of this opportunity, with the support of practical state leaders, Zhou Yang began a series of activities aimed at adjusting the radical line in literature and the arts. These included several conferences centered on self-criticism over “left deviation” in literature and arts work,6 the publication of a special essay entitled ‹Issues of Subject Matter› in the Literature & Arts Press (no. 3, 1961, by Zhang Guangnian) and a social commentary in the People’s Daily entitled ‹Serving the Broadest Mass of the People› (23 May 1962, by Zhou Yang), and discussions about and the formulation of ‹Opinions about certain Problems in Current Literature and Arts Work› (simplified as “8 Regulations on Literature and the Arts”), issued by the Propaganda Ministry under the Party Central Committee. The above activities and articles, as well as the many fierce speeches Zhou Yang made during this period, were focused on two issues. One was the relationship between politics and literature. There was criticism of literature’s simple dependence on politics, of the custom of scholarly research and literary criticism to merely interpret the “classics” (meaning the works of Marx, Lenin, and Mao Zedong), and of the tendency to overlook the cultural heritage of humanity. All this was meant to protect the “special character” of literature, to prevent politics from “inundating” literature, and, within the framework of literature serving politics, amounted to a limited acknowledgement of a certain degree of “self-determination” and plurality of choice for authors in relation to subject matter, characterization, style, and methodology. As to the

5

As part of the debate over the road of development for literature during this period, the Literature & Arts Press organized a discussion about the novel Song of Youth and the short story ‹“Improve Yourself Through Training”›. Concerns about the current situation in literature and the arts can be found in Mao Dun’s ‹A Broad Discussion of Creative Issues› and other articles that assessed creative work during this period. 6 Prime among these were: the National Literature and Arts Work Conference in June 1961; the National Film Festival during June and July 1961; the 1962 Preparatory Conference for the 24th Anniversary in Commemoration of the Publication of Mao’s ‹Talks› (referred to as the “Xinqiao Meeting”); the National Western-style Drama and Opera Writing Seminar (referred to as the “Guangzhou Meeting”) in March 1962; and the Rural Area Subject Matter Short-Story Writing Seminar (referred to as the “Dalian Meeting”) in August 1962.

208

chapter thirteen

“object served” by literature, the concept of the “workers, farmers, and soldiers” was to be replaced with the “broadest mass of the people” so as to weaken the stipulatory nature of social class. The other issue entailed the all-round examination “revolutionary romanticism” since 1958 (when it became the core “creative methodology” and the trend in literary thought), a proposal for the “deepening of realism,” and a stress on the creation of “middle state” characters that encapsulated the complicated nature of history as part of a restatement of the “truthfulness” of literature. So, after witnessing the “cultural consequences” produced by the literature and arts line of the “Great Leap Forward,” on a number of important issues the leaders in literary circles were drawn to the positions of their former “adversaries” (Hu Feng, Feng Xuefeng, and Qin Zhaoyang, among others).7

2. The Radical Ideological Trend in Literature and ‹The Summary of Minutes› In autumn 1962, Mao Zedong raised the slogan “We must never forget class struggle.” Beginning the following year, enduring broad campaigns of criticism unfolded in cultural and academic circles (touching on philosophy, economics, history, and literature and the arts).8 During this period, Mao issued two “written comments” on literary and artistic issues in which he severely reprimanded the situation in literature and the arts since the 1949, and especially the leadership of literary and arts circles.9 In the written comment of 12 December 1963, Mao felt that

7

At the National Literature and Arts Work Conference in 1961, Zhou Yang stated: . . . Hu Feng was a counter-revolutionary and made vicious attacks on us, but always remember that when he attacked us on something, it was of benefit to us. He had two phrases I cannot forget: One was “twenty years’ rule of mechanism.” If that was calculated up to now, it’s thirty years, . . . we must earnestly consider this: Do we or don’t we have dogmatism here. Hu Feng had another phrase: After the anti-Hu Feng [campaign], China’s literary scene entered the Middle Ages. Of course, we’re not the Middle Ages, but if we make big and little “cardinals,” “nuns,” and “friars” of ourselves, rigidify our thought, whenever we speak always speak of Marxism, Leninism, and Mao Zedong Thought, it’s truly enough to irritate one. 8 Major targets of critical attacks were: the “two combine into one theory” of Yang Xianzhen (then principal of the Party school under the Party Central Committee), the economic theories of Sun Yefang, the “strategies of making concessions” proposed by Jian Bozan in his research into ancient history, Luo Ergang’s research into Li Xiucheng of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–1864), and, in the literary arts, Zhou Gucheng’s “convergence theory of the spirit of the age.” 9 They were not made public at the time. These two written comments first appeared

towards ‘cultural revolution literature’

209

in “theater, folk stage arts, music, the fine arts, dance, film, poetry and literature,” there were “not a few problems, in many people and in many departments socialist remolding has had very little effect to date. Many departments are still controlled by ‘the dead’, ” . . . “many communist party members are enthusiastic about promoting feudalist and capitalist arts, but not enthusiastic about promoting socialist arts.” In his other written comment of June 1964, Mao criticized the national Literature Federation and all its associate organizations, as well as “the majority of the periodicals they control”: over the past fifteen years, they basically (not everyone) have not carried out Party policy, hold office as if they were lords, do not get close to the workers, farmers, and soldiers, and do not reflect the socialist revolution and construction. In recent years, they have actually slipped to the brink of revisionism. If they do not earnestly reform, one day in the future they are bound to change into groups like the Petofi clubs in Hungary.

During the three years prior to the outbreak of the “Cultural Revolution,” critical attacks in the area of literary and artistic theory were focused on Shao Quanlin’s theory of “writing middle characters,” as well as propositions such as “write truth” and “deepen realism.” The campaign of criticism of creative works started with attacks on the film ‹North and South› (written by Yang Hansheng, directed by Shen Fu) and expanded to include ‹The Lin Family Shop› (adapted by Xia Yan, directed by Shui Hua), ‹City Under Siege› (adapted by Bai Ren and Lin Nong, directed by Lin Nong), ‹Grab Able-Bodied Conscripts› (written by Wu Xue and Chen Ge, directed by Chen Ge), ‹A Thousand Miles Against the Wind› (written by Zhou Wancheng and Fang Huang, directed by Fang Huang), ‹Early Spring in February› (written and directed by Xie Tieli), ‹Sisters on the Stage› (written by Lin Gu, Xu Jin, and Xie Jin, and directed by Xie Jin), and ‹City Where Night Never Falls› (written by Ke Ling, and directed by Tang Xiaodan), among other films.10 Works of fiction that came under critical attack included Three Family Alley and Bitter Struggle by Ouyang Shan, ‹Elder Sister Lai› by Xirong, ‹Tao Yuanming Writes “An in an open publication in the republication of the notes to Mao’s ‹Talks› (‹The Compass to the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution›) in the 1966 no. 8 edition of Red Flag. 10 During the “Cultural Revolution,” other movies targeted for critical attack included ‹Blazing Grasslands›, ‹Tide of Fury›, ‹Turbulent Waves of the Red River›, ‹The Red Body Guards of Hong Lake›, and ‹Revolutionary Family›. This was primarily related to the Party leadership’s narrative of the revolution, believing that these films were seeking to reverse the verdict on the “opportunistic line” of the 1930s, or were seeking to “build up the public image” of the “group in power in the Party travelling the capitalist road” (referring to Peng Dehuai, Liu Shaoqi, He Long, and others).

210

chapter thirteen

Elegy”› and ‹Random Notes on Yangzhou› by Chen Xianghe, ‹Du Zimei Returns Home› by Huang Qiuyun, ‹Beyond the History of the Factory› by Shu Qun, and so on. Dramatic works that were criticized included ‹Li Huiniang› by Meng Chao, ‹Xie Yaohuan› by Tian Han, and Xia Yan’s ‹Sai Jinhua›, a play written during the 1930s. Among the theoretical works that were critically attacked were Meng Chao’s ‹On “Ghosts that do no Harm”›, Qu Baiyin’s ‹Monologue on Bringing Forth New Ideas›, Xia Yan’s Essays about Film, and Cheng Jihua’s History of the Development of Film in China. The critical attacks on Deng Tuo’s Evening Chats at Yanshan and Random Notes from the Three Family Village by “Wu Nanxing” (Deng Tuo, Wu Han, and Liao Mosha) were directly related to the launch of the “Cultural Revolution.” Through these campaigns of criticism, and the engagement of Jiang Qing and others in the “revolution in Beijing Opera,” on the eve of the “Cultural Revolution” the radical group promoting revolution in culture already had full control of China’s literary circles. This was symbolized by the “Military Arts & Literature Work Conference” and the summary of minutes drafted at the conference. During February 1966, with the support of Lin Biao, Jiang Qing called a secret conference in Shanghai with cadres who worked in culture in the military. After the conference, two of the participants, Liu Zhijian and Chen Yading, drafted a summary of the minutes that was primarily based on the comments of Jiang Qing during the conference. Later, after several revisions by Chen Boda, Zhang Chunqiao, and others, and after further revisions and approval by Mao Zedong, it was published and circulated to a limited internal readership as a Party Central Committee document on 16 April 1966 under the title of ‹The Summary of Minutes of the Military Literature & Arts Work Conference called by Comrade Jiang Qing at the behest of Comrade Lin Biao›.11 ‹The Summary of Minutes› and other important essays and speeches12 offered a thoroughgoing

11 ‹The Summary of Minutes› was not openly published at the time. On 18 April 1966, without mentioning the conference and the ‹Summary of Minutes›, the Liberation Army Daily published the social commentary piece ‹Raise High the Great Red Banner of Mao Zedong Thought, Enthusiastically Join the Great Socialist Cultural Revolution›, in which all the viewpoints in the ‹Summary of Minutes› were published. On 29 May 1967, the entire text of ‹The Summary of Minutes› was published in the People’s Daily and other newspapers. 12 These essays included: Jiang Qing’s ‹On a Revolution in Beijing Opera› (1964), Yao Wenyuan’s ‹Assessing the Counter-Revolutionary Double Dealer Zhou Yang› (1967), ‹Advocating Capitalist Literature and Arts is to Restore Capitalism› by the Shanghai Revolutionary Heavy Criticism Group (1970), and ‹Ten Years of Revolution in Beijing Opera› by “Chu Lan” (1974).

towards ‘cultural revolution literature’

211

explication of this group’s guiding principles and strategies for undertaking a “revolution in literature and the arts.” ‹The Summary of Minutes› attacked literary and arts circles “since the establishment of the nation”: An anti-Party anti-socialist black line in opposition to Chairman Mao’s thought has held dictatorship over us, and this black line is an integration of capitalist literary and artistic thought, modern revisionist thought in literature and the arts, and the so-called 1930s literature and art.

It reiterated the judgment of Mao Zedong’s “written comments” with regard to the situation in literature since 1949: Over the past [seventeen] years, there have been good or fundamentally good literary works in service to the workers, farmers, and soldiers that have heroic characters truly eulogizing the workers, farmers, and soldiers, but not many; many have been ‘middle state’ works; and there have been still others that are anti-Party anti-socialist poisonous weeds.

Therefore, it is necessary to “resolutely undertake a great socialist revolution on the cultural front to absolutely get rid of this black line.” While attacking the “old literature and arts,” ‹The Summary of Minutes› also called for the creation of a “most glorious and resplendent new literature and arts that will open a new epoch in the history of humanity,” and declared it necessary to “make good models” to work from. In subject matter, this “revolutionary new literature and art . . . must strive to mold heroic characters of workers, farmers, and soldiers, [for] this is the fundamental task of socialist literature and art.” And the artistic methodology of this “must utilize the integrated methodology of revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism.” As to the issue of who should be relied upon to create this new literature and art, ‹The Summary of Minutes› proposed a “reorganization of the ranks of literature and the arts.” This included the “re-education” of those “cadres of literature and the arts” who “had been unable to resist [the corruption] of capitalist thought,” but was more indicative of the entry of “workers, farmers, and soldiers” into their ranks: “In the broad mass campaign on the fronts of thought and literature and the arts, the workers, farmers, and soldiers” . . . “in both form and content, have marked out an entirely new age.” ‹The Summary of Minutes› expressed the radical trend in cultural thought that had been in existence throughout the century, the advocacy of which had undergone a continuous process of selection and rupture while moving toward an ideal state of “integration.” The characteristics of the “contemporary form” of this trend in thought was the advancement of a purer yardstick in relation to both “revolution” and literature,

212

chapter thirteen

and the choice of a coercive form of political power. Based on pure standards of class spirit and literary form, the ‹Summary of Minutes› offered a list of domestic and foreign literature the superstitious belief in which had to be cleared away: this included “Chinese and foreign classical literature,” . . . “a batch of somewhat outstanding literary and artistic works of the revolution in the Soviet Union that appeared after the October Revolution,” and China’s “literature and art of the 1930s” (in reference to left-wing literature and art). Later, an essay13 explicating the theories of this group clearly indicated that: As far as the thought it contains is concerned, ancient and foreign art is the expression of the political desires, thought, and emotions of the ancient and foreign exploitative classes, and these are things that must be comprehensively criticized and comprehensively broken with; as to some aspects of the artistic form of a minority of these art works, they must be criticized and reformed with the weapon of Mao Zedong Thought before they can bring forth new fruit and be made to serve in the creation of proletarian literature and art.

This resulted in arguments that “from ‹The Internationale› until model revolutionary operas, there is over a hundred years that were a blank,” and that “the past ten years can be said to be the pioneering period of proletarian literature and art.”14 At the same time, there appeared a campaign to re-evaluate “classics” that was unprecedented in scale, resulted in almost all “classics” being “overthrown,” and left only “models” of literature and art that were still in the process of being created.

3. Literature’s Modes of Existence It was difficult to discern the demarcation lines between literary creation and political activity, and literary issues and political issues during 13 Shanghai Revolutionary Heavy Criticism Group, ‹Advocating Capitalist Literature and Arts is to Restore Capitalism›, Red Flag, no. 4, 1970. 14 The first phrase is from Zhang Chunqiao. He also said: “The revolutionary model operas personally cultivated by Jiang Qing have opened a new epoch for proletarian literature and art” (Xie Tieli, Qian Jiang, & Xie Fengsong, ‹The Gang of Four were the Butchers who Wrecked Revolutionary Literature and Arts›, People’s Daily, 10 November 1976). The latter phrase is from “Chu Lan”, ‹Ten Years of Revolution in Beijing Opera› (Red Flag, no. 4, 1974). Moreover, on 21 January 1976, in a speech to the China Arts Troupe, Jiang Qing stated: “The proletariat had not resolved its problem of the direction of literature and the arts since the Paris Commune. This problem was finally solved in 1964, [when] we started doing model operas.”

towards ‘cultural revolution literature’

213

the “Cultural Revolution.” This situation had occurred earlier in regulations that called for literature to serve politics and become a “weapon” used in struggle. During the “Cultural Revolution,” attempts were made to transform political concepts more directly into art works, the direct “aesthetic-ization” of “politics.” The ‘politics + truthfulness = art’ formula of the literary thought of Hu Feng, Zhou Yang, and others, became the direct relationship of ‘politics = art’. The “truthfulness” that modern left-wing literature used to assuage the strained relationship between politics and art was “removed” from this formula. At the same time, the act of receiving works of art was even more clearly endowed with political meaning. That is to say, the text’s production and publication, as well as the reading and assessment of it, was a type of “political act.” Famous examples of this were the evaluations of the novels Defend Yan’an and Liu Zhidan, and the new historical drama ‹Hai Rui Dismissed from Office› on the eve of the “Cultural Revolution.” These works were seen as both literary texts and as political texts. With the eradication of the “independent nature” and “self-sufficient nature” of literary production and the literary text, and by moving literary production, dissemination, and assessment into the orbit of national politics, the “Cultural Revolution” was realized to a fairly complete extent. So, after the “Cultural Revolution,” when films such as ‹Spring Seedlings›, ‹A Magnificent Holiday›, and ‹Counterattack› were termed the “literature and art of dark plots,” and the significance of the “Tian’anmen poetry [in April 1976 was said to have] . . . broken through the scope of literature and the arts and directly become a harrowing revolutionary political movement,” a direct connection to politics was revealed in these criticisms and affirmations. During the “Cultural Revolution,” a majority of writers and artists suffered all manner of persecution. Many were subjected to “criticism and denunciation” of varying degrees, during which they would have been humiliated and ravaged, and may have been imprisoned or sent to do reform through hard labor. Some lost their lives. This experience was part of the large-scale campaign of political persecution termed “sweeping away cow ghosts and snake spirits.” As the radicals during the “Cultural Revolution” accused literary and artistic circles of being under the “dictatorship of the black line” during the preceding “seventeen years,” the majority of writers and artists was seen as “black line figures” and “reactionary literati.” Writers, artists, and intellectuals were the prime recipients and disseminators of the “old culture” that had to be comprehensively eradicated, and this exacerbated the breadth and severity of the campaign of persecution they suffered. In October 1979

214

chapter thirteen

at the Fourth National Congress of Representatives of Literature and the Arts, the names of two hundred famous writers and artists were listed and read out in ‹Mourning the Writers and Artists who were Persecuted to Death and then Framed-Up by Lin Biao and the “Gang of Four”›. The writers among them included Deng Tuo, Ye Yiqun, Lao She, Fu Lei, Zhou Zuoren, Sima Wensen, Yang Shuo, Li Ni, Li Guangtian, Tian Han, Wu Han, Zhao Shuli, Xiao Yemu, Wen Jie, Shao Quanlin, Hou Jinjing, Wang Renshu (Ba Ren), Wei Jinzhi, Feng Zikai, and Meng Chao. During the “Cultural Revolution,” the writing and the publication of work required permission and requalification under the new system. During the first years of the “Cultural Revolution,” aside from a very few writers (such as Guo Moruo, Hao Ran, and some writers who were of a worker or farmer family background, such as Hu Wanchun, Li Xue’ao, and Qiu Xuebao) who could still publish their work, all lost the right to write. After 1972, there was an increase in the number who could publish (such as Li Ying, He Jingzhi, Gu Gong, Cao Ming, Zhang Yongmei, Mala Qinfu, Ru Zhijuan, Zang Kejia, and Yao Xueyin), but the majority still could not (and some would not) write. After examination, a very few literary and theoretical works published during the preceding “seventeen years” obtained permission to be reprinted, such as Wei Wei’s Who are the most Lovable People, Liu Dajie’s History of the Development of China’s Literature (volume one), He Jingzhi’s Let Out the Songs, and the poetry of Zhang Yongmei. Most of these reissued editions required revisions in keeping with the political demands of the time. Also, new writers did appear during the “Cultural Revolution,” and a portion of these were writers during the following “new period” as well, such as Mo Yingfeng, Zhang Changgong, Mei Shaojing, Wang Xiaoying, Shen Rong, Liu Xinwu, Xu Gang, Zheng Wanlong, and Liang Xiaosheng. As a “capitalist legal right,” publication fees were eliminated. In a situation under which writers, artists, intellectuals were seen as targets of control, the publication of literary work was primarily seen as a political honor. Starting in July 1966, with the exception of Liberation Army Literature & Arts (which ceased publication from November 1968 until April 1972), the nation’s literary periodicals were all forced to close, including the influential periodicals operated by the China Writers Association and the Shanghai branch of the Association: Literature & Arts Press, People’s Literature, Poetry Monthly, Harvest, and Shanghai Literature. Many provincial literary periodicals resumed publication in 1972 or thereabouts, but Poetry Monthly, People’s Literature, Literature & Arts Press, Shanghai Literature, Literary Reviews, and Harvest did not resume publication until after 1976. In January 1974, the new journal Rosy Dawn, which carried poetry, fic-

towards ‘cultural revolution literature’

215

tion, prose, and reviews, was founded in Shanghai, and was a periodical that gathered and clearly expressed the literary opinions of the radical group and their creative output during the “Cultural Revolution.” During this period, the Shanghai theoretical periodical Study & Criticism often carried essays critical of literature, and the Shanghai People’s Publishing House put out a Rosy Dawn series of publications, which appeared at irregular intervals and published short fiction, novellas, and novels. The most popular mode of literary criticism at the time was carried out by writing groups, and this expression of group opinion strengthened the authoritative position of their criticism. This method of expressing the opinions of social and political groupings was a mode practiced by newspapers in the publication of topical and social commentary in recent times before 1949 and since. Some of the long essays published in the name of Yao Wenyuan, both before and during the “Cultural Revolution,” were in fact principally written by a Shanghai writing group, including ‹A Critique of the New Historical Play “Hai Rui Dismissed from Office”›, ‹Assessing Three Family Alley›, and ‹Assessing the CounterRevolutionary Double Dealer Zhou Yang›. The writing of the most important essays of literary criticism was the responsibility of “writing groups” directly controlled by Jiang Qing, Yao Wenyuan, Zhang Chunqiao, and others, for which the names “Chu Lan” and “Jiang Tian” were often used. Essays from Shanghai’s “writing groups” were sometimes directly named as the “Shanghai Great Revolution Critical Attack Writing Group,” and sometimes took on names based on the composition of the group and the contents of the essays that were written. Names used included “Ding Xuelei,” “Fang Zesheng,” “Luo Siding,” “Ren Du,” “Fang Yun,” “Chang Feng,” and “Fang Yanliang.” Established in the latter period of the “Cultural Revolution,” Jiang Qing exercised direct control over the “Beijing University and Qinghua University Writing Group” (which sometimes went under the name of “Liang Xiao”) that occasionally wrote essays related to literature and the arts. Other well-known writing groups of the time included Beijing’s “Xin Wentong” and “Hong Guangsi.” Much poetry, prose, and fiction was still published under the names of individuals. However, “collective creation” was encouraged, especially the creative activities of “workers, farmers, and soldiers.” “Collective creation” had been advocated and practiced in 1958 as an expression of “communist thought,” and the Literature & Arts Press featured a column entitled ‹The Benefits of Collective Creation are Many›.15 There were

15

Under the name of Hua Fu in the Literature & Arts Press, no. 22, 1958.

216

chapter thirteen

several modes of collective creation, one of which was called “integration of the three” (“Party leadership,” “the masses of workers, farmers, and soldiers,” and “professional literature and arts workers”). During the “Cultural Revolution,” these “integration of the three” writing groups normally consisted of transferred workers (or farmers, or soldiers) with a relatively high level of education who were excused from work for short or long periods, and writers (or editors from literature and arts periodicals, and university lecturers), and were organized by culture and propaganda cadres. The writing process was usually preceded by studying the works of Mao Zedong, or relevant political documents, in order to ascertain the “topic,” then, in accordance with the “topic,” the people required to do the writing and the relationships between them (contradictions and conflicts) were planned for. Some of the writers from “the masses” were relatively strong writers, but, in most circumstances, the “specialists” were of crucial importance and finalized the texts. At the time, a number of influential literary works were the products of this form of “collective writing.” Examples of these are ‹Th e Song of Jin Xunhua› by Qiu Xuebao, Qian Jialiang, and Zhang Hongxi; Oxen, Fields, and Sea under the name of Nan Shao; ‹Paulownia and Cypress Heroes› under the name Qian She; The History of Hong Nan at War by The History of Hong Nan at War writing group; and ‹Song of Idealism› by the worker, farmer, and soldier students of the writing class of 1972 in the Chinese Department at Beijing University. At the time, “integration of the three” writing was considered “a newborn thing on the frontline of literature and the arts” that was of “tremendous vitality and longlasting influence.” The reasons for this were listed as “being of benefit to the Party’s leadership of work in literature and the arts” and “a good means of training proletarian warriors in literature and the arts,” as well as “furnishing beneficial conditions for eradicating capitalist thought of private creation and so on.” On this latter point, the explanation at the time was: “The participation of amateur writers who are workers, farmers, and soldiers, has led to them bringing proletarian methods of production and advanced thought into the creative collective,” and as a result the creation of literature and arts “is the same as the production of a machine part, never being thought of as a personal product, and, therefore, not demanding that their name be engraved on it.”16

16 Zhou Tian, ‹A Newborn Thing on the Frontline of Literature and the Arts—Integration of the Three Creation›, Rosy Dawn, no. 12, 1975.

towards ‘cultural revolution literature’

217

During the “Cultural Revolution,” exchanges with foreign cultures were almost completely cut off. The few exchanges there were (the visits and performances of cultural groups and the translation of literary works), were primarily allowed out of ideological considerations. For the most part, books and periodicals of foreign literature in public libraries were locked away and not available to borrowers. The translation of foreign philosophy and literature was essentially at a standstill. It was not until after 1973 that the translation and publication of foreign literature of an extremely limited scope was allowed to carry on. In Shanghai from November 1973, the periodical Abridged Translations began publication for “internal distribution,” and primarily carried fiction and literary theory from the Soviet Union (as well as some from Japan, the US, and other countries). A few major publishing houses also published a small amount of translated literary works. Of course, the overall standstill that affected translation and publishing did not lead to a stop in the reading of classical and modern literature from China and overseas. Some of the books and periodicals sealed inside public libraries leaked out to the public, and private stocks of books had a large role to play at this time. During the early 1960s, works of philosophy, the social sciences, literature, and the arts were published for the “reference” and “criticism” of “high level cadres,”17 and these circulated among some intellectuals and intellectual youths. 17 From the late-1950s until the early-1960s, the Shanghai People’s Publishing House had translated and published nearly one hundred foreign (primarily western) works of philosophy and the social sciences, and a portion of these were published for “internal distribution” (there was a “rank limitation” delimiting who was allowed to purchase them). Books of this type included John Dewey’s The Quest for Certainty and The Public and its Problems, Hook’s The Hero in History, Reason, Social Myths, and Democracy, and The Paradoxes of Freedom, C. W. Morris’s The Open Self, selections from Lectures from Modern History by Lord Acton, and Bertrand Russell’s Principles of Social Reconstruction. Between 1964 and 1966, this publishing house also published a 20-volume series of Selections from Capitalist Philosophy Materials, and a 25-volume series of Selections from Soviet Philosophy Materials. During the early 1960s in Beijing, the Commercial Printing House published many works of western philosophy and the social sciences for “internal distribution.” These works included Russell’s The Analysis of Mind and Has Man a Future?, Jean Wahl’s History of Existentialism, Lukacs’s ‹Existentialism or Marxism?›, Spengler’s The Decline of the West, John Bell’s Physics in My Generation, Bergson’s ‹Guide to Metaphysics›, R. Garaudy’s Perspectives de l’homme, Sartre’s Critique of Dialectical Reason (vol. 1), Age of Analysis: twentieth century philosophers edited by Morton White, Dewey’s Freedom and Culture and Experience and Nature, and Binkley’s Conflict of Ideals: Changing Values in Western Society. Also during this period, Commercial put out a series of books under the title of Selections from Modern Western Capitalist Philosophical Works edited by Hong Qian, and the volume Philosophy of Existentialism as part of the book series Selections from Modern Foreign Capitalist Philosophical Materials, edited by the Philosophy Research Unit of the China Academy of Sciences. During

218

chapter thirteen 4. Characteristics of ‘Revolutionary Literature’

There were two different types of literature during the “Cultural Revolution.” One consisted of officially published literary works, and the other was literary works secretly, or semi-secretly, published and circulated. Some researchers refer to the latter as “underground literature.” Officially published literature fundamentally adhered to the principles and methodologies established by the radical faction in literature. There was no great diametrical contradiction between the literary concepts and artistic methodologies of the literature of the 1950s and 1960s and those of this new literature. In fact, many of the literary works termed “models” during the “Cultural Revolution” were revisions of, and graft s from, literary works from the 1950s and 1960s, or the Yan’an period. The artistic practice of the fiction, poetry, theater, and other arts during the “Cultural Revolution,” was also principally rooted in that of the 1950s and 1960s. However, “Cultural Revolution literature” did feature some important characteristics of its own, such as the previously mentioned direct “aesthetic-ization” of politics. On the issue of “truthfulness,” the previous bewilderment of contemporary authors over the contradictions between “how it feels,” “how it should be,” and “how it actually is,”18 became an unquestionable affirmation of “how it should be” (in response to the demands of political ideology). This literary viewpoint logically led to a structure that both expounded and proved this notion of literary creation. The “thought process” of literary writing was stipulated to follow the following formula: “Presentation (the direct image of the thing)—concept (thought)—presentation (a newly created form), specifically or en masse—generality—representative.”19 The “thinking in images,” direct perception, experience, and so on, during the creative and reading processes was seen as “mysticism” and was thus

this period, the People’s Publishing House and Author Publishing House also brought out books for “internal distribution.” Among these books are Translations of Modern Literary and Artistic Theory (vols. 1–6), Selections of Modern Anglo-American Literary and Artistic Theory (2 vol.), Soviet Critics and Writers on Artistic Innovation and “SelfExpression”, Beckett’s ‹Waiting for Godot›, Kerouac’s On the Road, Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, and the poetry and fiction “fourth generation” writers in the Soviet Union, such as Yevtushenko and Aksyonov. 18 During the 1950s and 1960s, in speeches and essays Mao Dun, Cao Yu, Zhou Yang, and Shao Quanlin discussed how to “correctly handle” the relationship between these three. 19 Zheng Jiqiao, ‹The Areas of Literature and the Arts must Uphold the Marxist Theory of Knowledge—A Critique of the theory of Thinking in Images›, Red Flag, no. 5, 1966.

towards ‘cultural revolution literature’

219

rejected and eliminated. This new formula opened the way to an even more instructional form of writing. On the rhetorical level, the stress on “revolutionary romanticism” was expressed through the wide usage of symbolism. The “public” (non-personalized experience) symbol as the fixed signifier of meaning replaced the precise description of life details. This method of “typicalization” . . . “higher, more intense, more centered, more typical, more idealistic than ordinary actual life,” was a more effective means of expressing political intentions and manufacturing the romantic imaginings stimulated by “revolution.” As the 1950s and 1960s were considered the time of the “black line dictatorship of literature and the arts,” Jiang Qing and her cohorts made fierce critical attacks on the theory and work of this period. Actually, the propositions and stipulations advanced by the work and criticism of this period were not negated: What “Cultural Revolution literature” negated were the internal contradictions that originally existed within these propositions and the line on literature, and then pushed these to extremes. The gradations of subject matter were stipulated early on, and the “Cultural Revolution” made it clear that “proletarian literature” can only write the “construction and struggles of socialism” and the life of revolutionary struggle of the leadership of the Communist Party. “Socialist literature” must take the creation of figures of new people (at different periods and in different places this term could be replaced with “positive characters,” “advanced characters,” “heroic characters,” or “heroic figures of workers, farmers, and soldiers”) as the “central” and “fundamental” task, which had already been proposed during the early 1950s and before, and this became an important “principle” of criticism and creative work.20 But in the literature of the “Cultural Revolution,” this “basic task”21 became an inviolable “decree” with strict articles and

20 In March 1953, at the First National Film Making Conference, in his report on the issue of studying socialist realism, Zhou Yang advocated the creation of advanced character types so as to cultivate the noble moral character of the people: “[This] should become the most fundamental, the most central task of our film making as well as of all literary and artistic creation. What does socialist realism demand of us? The creation of the figures of advanced characters.” See: The Collected Works of Zhou Yang, vol. 2, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1985: 197. 21 In June 1964, in ‹On a Revolution in Beijing Opera›, Jiang Qing stated that the molding of the figures of workers, farmers, and soldiers and the molding of the fi gures of revolutionary heroes was a “major task” or the “chief task” of socialist literature and art. In ‹The Summary of Minutes of the Military Literature & Arts Work Conference› she stated: “[We] must strive to mold heroic characters of workers, farmers, and soldiers; this is the fundamental task of socialist literature and art.”

220

chapter thirteen

conditions. On the one hand, all works of art must principally portray heroic characters, and heroic characters in works of art must also be placed in central, absolutely ascendant positions; and, on the other hand, the heroic characters must be lofty and perfect, with no weakness in thought or character allowed. The “creative principle” advocating “the three prominents”22 (regulations about structural methodology and the arrangement of characters) was considered a “powerful guarantee” of this “fundamental task.” To a large degree, this creative principle was “medieval-esque,” for it was actually an attempt to embody the stringently safeguarded socio-political hierarchy in literary structures. During the “Cultural Revolution,” the theater clearly held the central position among all the arts. The theater was chosen as the “breakthrough point” for carrying out the political struggle (the critical attacks on ‹Hai Rui Dismissed from Office› and the “Three Family Village” miscellaneous essays), and it was also the principal form of the “models” that were to inaugurate the “new epoch of proletarian literature and art.” The theater had an important impact on other forms of literature during this period. During the 1950s, the central position of the fiction of “May Fourth” new literature was continued, and the artistic concepts and methodologies of fiction obviously permeated poetry and prose. This was proven by the prevalence of narrative and plotlines in poetry; the demand that poetry, prose, and theater also take up the task of “reflecting . . . every battle line” of social life; as well as the use of some of the critical terminology of fiction to comment on poetry and prose. However, from the late 1950s and especially from 1963, the importance of theater was emphasized. This was, of course, an extension of the “tradition” of left-wing literature and art to attach importance to theater and film. The reason for this was related to the special nature of theater. Moreover, the close relationship of theater, and local opera in particular, with the common people, made it one of the major forms of entertainment for the people. Moreover, if 22 In ‹Let the Stage of Literature and the Arts Forever be a Battlefront for the Propagation of Mao Zedong Thought› (Literature & Arts Press, 23 May 1968), Yu Huiyong states that, “according to the directives of Jiang Qing” . . . “the three prominents” creative principle was “positive characters should be prominent among all characters; major heroic characters should be prominent among the positive characters; the central characters should be prominent among the major characters.” Later, this “principle” was revised by Yao Wenyuan to become “positive characters should be prominent among all characters; heroic characters should be prominent among positive characters; major heroic characters should be prominent among heroic characters.” See: Shanghai Beijing Opera Troupe ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy› Theater Group, ‹Strive to Mold the Glorious Figures of Heroic Proletarian Characters›, Red Flag, no. 11, 1969.

towards ‘cultural revolution literature’

221

left-wing writers and artists wanted to bring the instructional functions of propaganda into play, theater was always the art form of choice. Theater also had a structural influence on other literary forms, and this could be primarily seen in the use of scenes, or settings, in fiction, poetry, and prose. The arrangement of threads of contradictions was in accordance with the design and structure of conflict in the theater, and this came close to becoming a style of literary composition. Characters in fiction were largely transformed into roles (with fixed positions in conflicts and clear character traits), and many dialogues that read like actor’s lines were arranged between characters. This movement of other literary forms toward theater doubtless aided the expression of the following worldview in literary work: A world that can be delineated into two diametrical opposites (including social strength, family relations, the contents of emotions, and psychology) requires the unfolding of struggle to resolve contradictions, and thereby change or consolidate a social structure with “ideology” as the standard of differentiation.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE RECONSTRUCTION OF ‘CLASSICS’

1. The Experiment in the Creation of ‘Models’ The large-scale criticism and overthrowing of “classics” led to the appearance of a nearly “classic-less” literary period (the classically-styled poetry of Mao Zedong and the entire body of Lu Xun’s literary output were two of the few exceptions). This was connected to the cultural radicals’ creation of their own “classics” and their intense efforts to “initiate the most glorious and resplendent new literature and art of a new epoch in the history of humanity.” During this period, “models”—a term, in the Chinese, richly connotative of the “popular style”—was used to replace the terms such as “classics” or “paradigms”; this term seemed to embody the meaning of being more obviously available for copying and reproduction. In ‹The Summary of Minutes›, the requirement of the “leaders” of the government and military to organize their powers to “make good models” was held to be a strategic task. It was stated that “with these types of models, with successful experience in this area, will [we] then be convincing, will [we] then be able to firmly occupy the battlefront, will [we] then be able to knock away the rod of the reactionaries.” The creation of “models” had already begun in the early 1960s. In 1963, making use of her special status as Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing had the Ministry of Culture, the China Beijing Opera Theater, and the Beijing Opera Troupe in Beijing rehearse in Beijing-style the Shanghaistyle opera pieces ‹The Red Lantern› (from the Shanghai Love China Shanghai-style Opera Troupe) and ‹Sparks Amid the Reeds› (from the Shanghai-style Opera Theater of Shanghai). In June 1964, the all-China Beijing Opera Modern Opera Viewing and Emulation Festival was held in Beijing. Twenty-eight Beijing opera troupes from nine provinces, cities, and self-governing regions performed 38 “modern operas” (meaning that these were traditional-style opera pieces dealing with modern life). Aside from ‹The Red Lantern› and ‹Sparks Amid the Reeds› (the name of which was later changed to ‹Shajiabang› at the suggestion of Mao Zedong), other opera pieces included ‹Raid on the White Tiger Regiment› (performed by the Shandong Beijing Opera Troupe), ‹Taking

the re-construction of ‘classics’

223

Tiger Mountain by Strategy› (the Shanghai Beijing Opera Troupe), ‹Azalea Mountain› (the Ningxia Beijing Opera Troupe), and ‹The Red Detachment of Women› (the Beijing Opera Troupe of Beijing), as well as ‹Thunderstorm over Miao Ridge›, ‹Morals Invigorate the Nation›, and ‹The Promise of Beauty›. About the time of this festival, except for the operas ‹The Red Lantern› and ‹Shajiabang›, to varying degrees Jiang Qing and her associates were involved in the creation, revisions, and rehearsals of the Beijing operas ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy›, ‹On the Docks›, and ‹Raid on the White Tiger Regiment›, the ballets ‹The White-Haired Girl› and ‹The Red Detachment of Women›, and the symphony ‹Shajiabang›. Moreover, Zhang Chunqiao and his associates enthusiastically participated in the creation and rehearsals of ‹On the Docks› and other opera pieces. By 1967, the festival of modern Beijing opera three years previously was termed the “revolution in Beijing opera” and had been endowed with the added significance of being “the mighty beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.” In the 1967 no. 6 edition of Red Flag, the speech Jiang Qing gave at the July 1964 conference for participants in the festival of the modern Beijing operas was given the title of ‹On a Revolution in Beijing Opera› and published together with a social commentary piece entitled ‹Hail the Great Victory of the Beijing Opera Revolution›. The social commentary referred to Jiang Qing’s speech as “an important document on the use of MarxismLeninism and Mao Zedong Thought to resolve problems in the Beijing opera revolution.” This social commentary also featured the first official use of the term “model opera,” stating that model Beijing operas such as ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy› “are not only excellent models of Beijing opera, but also excellent models of proletarian literature and art.” During activities commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of Mao’s ‹Talks› in Beijing and Shanghai, the then members of the “Central Cultural Revolution Group,” Chen Boda and Yao Wenyuan made a very high assessment of the significance of the “revolution in Beijing opera” and “model operas,” as well as the position and function of Jiang Qing in this revolution. They referred to Jiang Qing as “all along upholding and defending the revolutionary line of Chairman Mao in literature and the arts,” as “taking the lead in battle,” as “becoming the person who wears the thorns and nettles for revolution in literature and the arts,” and as “leading and initiating the Beijing opera revolution and the revolution in other performance arts, and in capturing the most obstinate fortresses of the reactionary literature and art of the capitalist and feudal classes, creating a brand new batch of revolutionary Beijing operas, revolutionary

224

chapter fourteen

ballets, and revolutionary symphonic music, and establishing glorious models for the revolution in literature and the arts.”1 Not long after this, the People’s Daily social commentary piece ‹Excellent Examples of Revolutionary Literature and Art›2 published for the first time the list of “eight revolutionary model operas.” They were: the Beijing operas ‹The Red Lantern›, ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy›, ‹On the Docks›, ‹Shajiabang›, and ‹Raid on the White Tiger Regiment›, the ballets ‹The Red Detachment of Women› and ‹The White-Haired Girl›, and the symphony ‹Shajiabang›. This social commentary and the speeches referred to above established the narrative mode and the fundamental assessment of this event during the course of the “Cultural Revolution.” After the announcement of “eight revolutionary operas,” the “cultivation” of models continued apace. In accordance with Jiang Qing’s demand to “take ten years to polish a sword,” the original opera pieces were under continuous revision, and, by 1972, these operas had new versions. At the same time, another group of opera pieces were publicly entered into the list, such as a version of ‹The Red Lantern› featuring piano accompaniment to arias from the opera; the piano concerto ‹Yellow River›; the Beijing operas ‹Song of the Dragon River›, ‹The Red Detachment of Women›, ‹Fighting on the Plains›, and ‹Azalea Mountain›; the ballets ‹Ode to Yimeng› and ‹Children of the Grasslands›; and the symphony ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy›. And so, in 1974, it was declared: “Now there are already sixteen, seventeen revolutionary model operas cultivated by the proletariat.”3 However, the quality of the new “models” was largely unable to match that of the first group, and the unavoidable problems of standardization and patterning were readily apparent. The performance of “model operas” reached a climax in 1970. But the performances were primarily in large cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and this greatly limited the effort to establish an authoritative position for, and the efficacy of, the “models.” As a result, it was decided that a campaign would be launched to popularize model opera. The actual measures of the campaign included: Firstly, the organization of “model troupes” (the opera troupes that had cultivated “model opera,” such as the China Beijing Opera Troupe, the Fourth Beijing Opera Troupe of 1 For the speeches of Chen Boda and Yao Wenyuan, see the 24 May 1967 edition of the People’s Daily and the 25 May 1967 edition of the Liberation Army Daily. 2 People’s Daily, 31 May 1967. 3 “Chu Lan,” ‹Ten Years of Revolution in Beijing Opera›, Red Flag, no. 7, 1974.

the re-construction of ‘classics’

225

Beijing, the Shanghai Beijing Opera Troupe, and the Shanghai Ballet Company) to be sent to tour the provinces. Aside from performing in theaters in other cities, they also performed in the workshops of factories and on the edge of fields in the countryside. According to reports, at the end of performances the audience and the performers would enthusiastically and respectfully sing ‹Rely on the Helmsman during the Ocean Voyage›,4 merging political education and propaganda with artistic appreciation. Secondly, it was arranged for opera troupes in other parts of China to come to Beijing to study revolutionary model opera. These “study classes” continued for many years. Besides “imitation” of the original model operas (“imitation” and “not straying from the model” was demanded of those studying “model opera” at the time), the transplantation of the model Beijing operas into other forms (over twenty, including Hebei clappers, Northeast opera, Hunan Flower and Drum lyrics, Cantonese opera, and Huai opera from the north of Jiangsu province) and languages (those of the minority nationalities resident in China) was also advocated. But the financial and material resources, as well as the levels of performance and direction available to local opera troupes were not on a par with those of the “model opera” troupes, and therefore this form of “popularization” could result in damage to the position of “model operas” as “classics” on the view of the public. Thirdly, this led to the feeling that a relatively reliable means of “popularization” would be through films of faithful “reproductions” (Jiang Qing put it as a “return to the original stage, higher than the stage”). Finally, a large quantity of books and periodicals were published about “model opera,”5 including popular editions, comprehensive editions, scores, and pictorials. Comprehensive editions held not only scripts, scores, and performance photos, but had explanations of dance moves, designs of the stage art, models of characters, maps of the stage, diagrams for the construction of props, and explanations about the lighting arrangements, all so as to ensure loyalty to the “models” when the operas were “reproduced” or transplanted into other art forms.

4

One of the most popular “revolutionary songs” during the “Cultural Revolution.” [“The helmsman” was a common allusion to Mao Zedong at the time.] 5 According to statistics, between 1970 and 1975, the People’s Publishing House, People’s Literature Publishing House, People’s Music Publishing House (all in Beijing), and the Shanghai People’s Publishing House printed over 32 million copies of books on “model operas.”

226

chapter fourteen

The authoritative position of the “revolution in Beijing opera” and “model operas” was ensured by the political power structure of the state: Its existence, strengthening the position of the radical group in promoting this “revolution,” meant the absolute monopoly of this faction over the power to create “classics” in literature and the arts, as well as the power to explain them, and it meant that any literature and art differing from these “models” lost the right to exist. Immediately following the establishment of the authoritative position of revolutionary model opera, a great number of essays were written by “model opera troupes” and specialized writing groups that summarized the rules and practice of “model operas,” and provided the principles that all literature and art were to observe. Moreover, any criticism or questioning of the position and actual creation of “model operas” was seen as a hostile class action of “wrecking revolutionary model operas,” and was attacked under the name of “defending the fruits of the Cultural Revolution.” It was also demanded that the creative practice of “model opera” be extended to all other art forms, such as fiction, poetry, songs, and painting. By 1974, after ten years of the “revolution in Beijing opera,” a crisis of continuity had already afflicted the experiment in the creation of “models,” the enthusiasm of the public for “models” had greatly decreased, and the attempt to induce a creative boom in literature and the arts by way of these finely crafted “models” had apparently failed. Yet, this did not prevent the following summation being made: “After ten years of brave battle, the proletarian revolution in literature and the arts initiated by the revolution in Beijing opera and symbolized by revolutionary model operas has achieved a great victory”; “The proletariat has its own models of art, its own creative experience, its own literature and art troops, and this has built a sturdy foundation and opened up a broad road for the proletarian literature and arts enterprise.”6

2. ‘Revolutionary Model Opera’ During the “Cultural Revolution,” the creation of “model operas” was described as a product of the rupture with “old literature and art,” and it was stressed that they signified the inauguration of a “new epoch in literature and the arts.” But, in actuality, the links between these works and the literature and art attacked by the radicals were readily apparent. With 6

“Chu Lan,” ‹Ten Years of Revolution in Beijing Opera›, Red Flag, no. 7, 1974.

the re-construction of ‘classics’

227

exceptions such as ‹On the Docks›, most of the opera pieces already had a substantial underpinning in subject matter and artistic practice at the time they were brought into the process of creating “models.” In a certain sense, “model operas” were revisions and transplants of pre-existent opera pieces. ‹The Red Lantern› and ‹Shajiabang› were transplanted from the Shanghai-form of traditional opera. ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy› was an adaptation of the novel Tracks in the Snowy Woods, a “bestseller” that had already been adapted for film and other forms of art. The movie ‹The Red Detachment on Women› was highly acclaimed when it first appeared in 1960. Written in the early 1940s, for a long time ‹The White-Haired Girl› was considered a model of new westernstyle opera in China. Moreover, ‹Azalea Mountain› was an adaptation of a western-style drama of the early 1960s by the same name (scripted by Wang Shuyuan), and the blueprint of ‹Fighting on the Plains› was the film ‹Guerrilla Band of the Plains›, released in 1955. Although the architects of “model operas” understood the importance of “stressing creation,” they also understood that “in the near future, it will still be very difficult for Beijing opera to directly produce an opera script,”7 and so “transplantation” (taking advantage of the works that had already met with a degree of success) became the most important creative avenue for the “models.” The scriptwriters, directors, actors, musicians, singers, dancers, set designers, and others who participated in the creation and performance of “model operas,” were all outstanding talents in their fields.8 The artistic experience they possessed led to the “models” being closely linked to artistic traditions. Neither was the use and importation of traditional art rejected during the process of creating “model operas.” According to Jiang Qing and others, Beijing opera, ballet, and symphonic music were chosen as the “breakthrough points” in the “revolution in literature and the arts” because these arts were “obstinate fortresses” of feudal and capitalist literature and arts, and the capture of these fortresses meant that “revolution” in other areas was entirely

7

Jiang Qing, ‹On a Revolution in Beijing Opera›, Red Flag, no. 6, 1967. This included the writers Weng Ouhong and Wang Zengqi; the director Ah Jia; the music master Li Muliang; the Beijing opera actors Du Jinfang, Li Shaochun, Yuan Shihai, Zhao Yanxia, Zhou Hetong, Ma Changli, Liu Changyu, Gao Yuqian, Tong Xiangling, Li Mingsheng, Li Lifang, Tan Yuanshou, Qian Haoliang (Hao Liang), Yang Chunxia, Fang Rongxiang, and Feng Zhixiao; the composer Yu Huiyong; the ballet dancers Bai Shuxiang, Xue Jinghua, and Liu Qingtang; and the pianist Yin Chengzhong; among others. When the “model operas” were made into films, a group of well-known directors, cameramen, and art designers was gathered together, such as Xie Tieli, Cheng Yin, Li Wenhua, Qian Jiang, and Shi Shaohua. 8

228

chapter fourteen

possible. But it was also quite possible that the accumulated, mature artistic practice of Beijing opera and the other arts, and the connection they had established with their audiences, acted as a foundation for the creation of the “models” and increased the possibility of their public acceptance. During the process of creation and rehearsal, Jiang Qing and her associates had old “deposed” artists demonstrate their technique for the model opera actors, and would also produce for study works of art that had been declared “feudal, capitalist, and revisionist” so as to heighten the quality of these “models” of proletarian literature and art.9 So, the rupture with past literature and arts (including the “socialist literature” of the 1950s and 1960s in China) claimed by the radical group for the “model operas” during the “Cultural Revolution,” contained elements of tactical considerations. There were a number of important characteristics of “model operas” as a symbol of the “new epoch in literature and the arts,” but the establishment of these characteristics was constrained by the contemporary situation in society and in literary and artistic thought. These constraints were related to the direct “engagement” of Jiang Qing and her associates in the revision and performance of these opera pieces, and the inclusion of the creation and performance of the “model operas” in an unfolding “campaign.”10 The most important characteristic of the “model operas” was the relationship between cultural production and the political power structure. The use of literature and the arts by political power structures as an important means to implement social change and establish new 9 During rehearsals of ‹The Red Lantern›, Jiang Qing had the Beijing opera actor Zhang Shilin, who had already be declared a “reactionary authority,” “dragged” from Tianjin to Beijing to demonstrate how to walk with opera-style quick short steps to the opera group in order to heighten the “artistic beauty” of the actors who were to play the character of Li Yuhe. While filming the “model operas,” several western movies were screened to heighten research into technique and the “boldness” of the artists participating in the filming. Also, the links between the classic ballet ‹Swan Lake› and ‹The Red Detachment of Women› and ‹The White-Haired Girl› can be easily seen in the artistic structures and the arrangements of dances of the “model operas.” 10 Jiang Qing had many concrete “directives” about the creation and revision of all the “model operas.” These “directives,” which had to be followed to the letter, touched on the titles of the operas, the arrangement of characters, major plotlines, minutia, actors’ lines, the performance of actors, makeup, costumes, stage art, lighting, music and singing, the arrangements of dances, and so on. For example, between May and July 1964, she viewed five dress rehearsals of ‹The Red Lantern›, and in 1965 and 1966 viewed several dress rehearsals and performances of ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy›. In total, she proposed well over one hundred proposals for major and minor revisions of these two pieces. The implementation of these “directives” led to major changes in the overall appearance of the “model operas.”

the re-construction of ‘classics’

229

systems of meaning started in soviet areas during the early 1930s and in the Yan’an base area during the 1940s. At the same time, complementary organizations and methods and measures to govern the production of literature and the arts were established. During the time of “model operas,” this relationship between the production of literature and art and political power structures was even more direct and intimate. The recognition of the role of writers and artists as personalized producers of meaning, and their own imagination of such a role had been destroyed, and the production of literature and art had been completely channeled into the political system. As a result, the structure of meaning and the artistic form of “model operas” was expressed as the integration of the imaginings of a political utopia and a mass art form. For the most part, famous texts were selected as the basis of the “model operas.” During the process of manufacturing the “models,” on the one hand, parts of the operas that might have muddied the “purity” of the political message were excised or altered; while on the other, great use was made of traditional stylizations (primarily those of Beijing opera) to symbolize political concepts in the design of the facial makeup of characters and in the relationships between characters. However, there were many differences in the implementation of these plans, which tended to vary from one “model opera” to the next. Some of the works more typically embodied the characteristics of the explication of political concepts (such as the Beijing opera of ‹On the Docks›), while, due to the complexity of their cultural origins, others presented multi-layered, ambiguous situations (such as the Beijing operas ‹The Red Lantern›, ‹Shajiabang›, and ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy›, and the ballets ‹The White-Haired Girl› and the ‹Red Detachment of Women›)—and this was precisely why they still preserved a degree of “aesthetic charm” during a time of great political ideological change. The important position of cultured people in the creation of “model operas,” their reliance on forms of folk literature and art, as well as the pursuit of the picaresque and the decorative in consideration of the “propaganda effect,” all made it difficult to wholly realize the sought after “purity” of the radical faction. The fact of the existence of discourse systems outside the orthodox narrative “both hinted at a different type of life” and continued the very cultural tradition the radical faction wished to negate, and this led to some of the “revolutionary model operas” forming “ambiguous” characteristics.11

11

See, Huang Ziping, Revolution History Fiction, Oxford University Press (Hongkong),

230

chapter fourteen 3. The Fiction of Hao Ran and Others

During the “Cultural Revolution,” most “models” were from the art forms of Beijing opera and ballet, as there seemed to be difficulties with models of “proletarian literature and art” that were provided by the literature (fiction and poetry). In comparison to theater, the creation of fiction and poetry was of a more “individual nature,” there was no mature “pattern” that could be relied upon, and, in reception, it was very different from the collective nature of viewing theater. This made it difficult for the work of establishing models to have its desired effects. On the eve of the “Cultural Revolution,” Jin Jingmai’s novel Song of Ouyang Hai was seen in contemporary literary circles as a “model.” The novel was initially published in the 1965 no. 7 edition of Harvest, and published in book form in October by the Liberation Army Literature & Arts Society. The main character of the story is an ordinary soldier. During a military exercise in 1963, he is killed at the age of 23 while preventing a bolting horse from charging onto the railroad tracks. The author fictionalizes elements of this true story in order to enrich it, and describes in a sentimental style how Ouyang Hai grew up—the somewhat “masochistic” process of purifying thought by which the contemporary hero attains purity of soul. After the novel was published, it received a flood of good reviews. When People’s Daily published extracts from the novel on 9 January 1966, the “Editor’s Comment” stated “It is a step forward in the revolutionization of our country’s literary work in recent years, a fruit achieved by the thoroughgoing implementation of Mao Zedong’s line in literature and art.” Jin Jingmai’s discussion of his experience of writing the novel was widely cited by newspapers and periodicals throughout the country. In April 1966, the People’s Literature Publishing House printed the second edition of the novel at the same time as the Liberation Army Literature & Arts Society, which provided the template of this second edition. Just the two editions printed by the People’s Literature Publishing House in April and June amounted to two million copies. Guo Moruo provided the calligraphy of the novel’s title 1996: 60–61. For research into this issue also see: Chen Sihe, ‹The Decline and Rise of the Popular: An Explanation of Literary History from the War of Resistance to the “Cultural Revolution”› in A Self-Selection of the Writings of Chen Sihe, Guangxi Teachers University Publishing House, 1997; Meng Yue, ‹Elucidation in the Evolution of “Th e White-Haired Girl”—Also on the Pluralistic Nature of the History of Yan’an Literature and Art› in Tang Xiaobing ed., Reinterpretation—Mass Literature and Art and Ideology, Oxford University Press (Hongkong), 1993.

the re-construction of ‘classics’

231

to these two editions, and stated: “It is a heroic epic of the age of Mao Zedong, a triumphal song for the proletarian revolution, a great red flag erected by literature and art circles, moreover it is the best literary work written since the Yan’an literature and art conference, an epoch-making work.”12 Other critics thought the novel “gave prominence to politics,” that it was an “excellent example” of the realization of the “three perfect masteries” in literature and the arts (in response to Lin Biao’s call for “perfect mastery of thought, perfect mastery of life, and perfect mastery of technique” in the creation of literature and art), “whether in molding the figures of revolutionary heroes or in utilizing the creative methodology of the integration of revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism” . . . “it has provided us with a rich and vital model.” 13 The unusual response to this novel of the literary circles controlled by Zhou Yang and his associates was doubtless due to a belief in some sort of political and literary idea, but it was also a panic-stricken response to the approaching “crisis.” During the early period of the “Cultural Revolution,” the novel continued to be affirmed, but, by late 1967, the author was subjected to persecution—apparently, the book’s position as “epoch-making” and a “model” was no longer acknowledged. This can be understood as a response to this “model” having been erected by the “black line in literature and the arts,” and, simultaneously, reflected the fact that the novel’s description of “class” struggle and other creative issues did not fully meet the norms established by the radical faction. Not long after, this “bestseller” was heard of no more. Even the critics who highly praised the group-written novels written in accordance with the radical faction’s political and literary thinking, such as The History of Hong Nan at War (by the Shanghai County The History of Hong Nan at War Writing Group) and Oxen, Fields, and Sea (by “Nan Shao”),14 could not deny their readily apparent weaknesses, which included deficiencies

12 Guo Moruo, ‹A Heroic Epic of the Age of Mao Zedong—Answering Questions from the Editors of the Literature & Arts Press about Song of Ouyang Hai›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 4, 1966. 13 Feng Mu, ‹An Excellent Example of Giving Prominence to Politics in Literary Creation—Talking about the Issue of the “Three Perfect Masteries” from the aspect of the Success of Song of Ouyang Hai›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1966. 14 The History of Hong Nan at War was intended to have two parts, but only one was completed. It described the “struggle between two lines” during the agricultural cooperativization movement of the 1950s, and was published in February 1972 by the Shanghai People’s Publishing House. Oxen, Fields, and Sea describes the struggle of a division of the Liberation Army in building agricultural fields near the sea at Nanhai in the early 1960s. It was also published in 1972 by the Shanghai People’s Publishing House.

232

chapter fourteen

in “describing the class struggle aspect,” in some places “commentary by the authors replaces the artistic molding of characters,” and “the whole book has only one type of language.”15 They could not possibly occupy the position of “classic” as well as the “model operas” could. It was under these circumstances that Hao Ran was “rediscovered.” His fiction was approved of throughout the “Cultural Revolution” period, yet around 1974 the assessment of the political and literary value of Hao’s fiction rose rapidly. It should be said that this was out of consideration for the need to promote “models” in the area of fiction. Hao Ran (1932–) is from Baodi County in Tianjin. In 1956 he published his fi rst short story, ‹Magpies Perch on Branches›, and, by the early 1960s, he had published a great number of short stories about life in the countryside and had seen the publication of over ten collections of his stories, including Magpies Perch on Branches, Apples are Ripening, and Rain of Apricot Blossoms. A relatively influential work was his novel Bright Sunny Sky. The first two volumes of this long work were published in late 1964 and early 1966, while the third and final volume did not appear until late 1971. The story of Bright Sunny Sky happens during the summer of 1957 and describes conflicts that breakout over “dividends on land shares” and grain in an agricultural cooperative on the outskirts of Beijing. The Party branch secretary and director of the agricultural cooperative, Xiao Changchun is the heroic character on which the author concentrates most of his efforts in molding characters. He leads the “poor and lowermiddle farmers” to steadfastly “travel the road to socialism.” As Xiao’s antagonists, Hao Ran provides the assistant director of the agricultural coop and “old Party member” Ma Zhiyue, the “reactionary landlord” Ma Xiaobian, in addition to “middle state characters” wavering between the “two roads.” Novels on rural area subject matter with this type of structure and form had already been produced during the 1950s and 1960s, but Bright Sunny Sky more clearly portrayed the social structure described by the radical faction and was more suited to their model of literary structure: There was greater clarity to the nature of the antagonistic class powers, the “battle lines” were more defined, the conflicts were more acute, furthermore “class struggle” was organized to engulf

15 “Fang Zesheng”, ‹We Must Still Strive to Wage War—Assessing the Figure of Hong Leisheng in The History of Hong Nan at War›, Literary Confluence Daily, 18 March 1972.

the re-construction of ‘classics’

233

all of social life. The description of this segment of “history” in 1950s rural society as described by Hao Ran during the 1960s had some similarities to Sanliwan, Great Changes in a Mountain Village, and A History of Pioneering Work, but also differences. Bright Sunny Sky was praised as an “excellent literary work” that “profoundly reflects the acute class struggle in our country’s socialist rural areas and successfully molds ‘leaders who uphold the direction of socialism’. ”16 Of course, in constructing history in accordance with the stipulations of “essential truth,” individual life experience and unique narrative diction, and the “realist” novel’s stress on the color in life (customs, language, feelings, and so on), all meant Bright Sunny Sky possessed a certain degree of readability and this led to it gaining a wide readership and listening audience.17 Immediately after completing Bright Sunny Sky, and after studying “model operas” and raising his consciousness of the “theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat,” Hao Ran began work on another novel, The Golden Road. He was more self-aware in using the “creative principles” of the “three prominents” in molding lofty, glorious figures of his heroes, and made the self-criticism that in writing Bright Sunny Sky he paid attention to the “basic level” only and lacked knowledge of “upper levels, especially the next higher level of leadership.” Therefore, in The Golden Road, the struggle of contradictions is “at the top level of the county’s leading cadres, and unfolds as a face-to-face struggle.” Compared to Bright Sunny Sky, Hao Ran is more conscious of adapting to ideological demands, and even more powerfully carried out the then advocated “typicalization” methodology of symbolism. Whether it was the significance of individual characters in the novel or the author’s own practice, all are integrated into the united historical narrative of the “Cultural Revolution,” which was shared by the novel. The praise and honors for Hao Ran at the time were meant to signpost his creative road: An author with an appreciable amount of life experience and writing ability makes self-conscious adjustments and restricts himself in order to enter into a creative system that places rather strong stipulations on a writer. Of course, it cannot be said that all the author’s personal experience and imagination was already “remolded,” for there still were some gaps, some crevices. This was a difference with more “essentialized” works such as 16 “Chu Lan”, ‹In a Clash of Contradictions Mold the Heroic Proletarian Example— Assessing the Novel Bright Sunny Sky›, People’s Daily, 5 May 1974. 17 During the “Cultural Revolution,” the broadcast of Bright Sunny Sky on national radio in serialized form was widely welcomed, especially in rural areas.

234

chapter fourteen

The History of Hong Nan at War and Oxen, Fields, and Sea. During this period, Hao Ran also wrote the novella ‹Sons and Daughters of the Xisha Islands› about a clash between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea—a work of a more graphic nature. During the 1980s, Hao Ran wrote the novel Ordinary Folk and the three volumes of his autobiography, Land of Happiness, Living Spring, and Interpreting Dreams.

4. Difficulties in the Creation of ‘Models’ Although the experiment in creating “models” carried out by the radical faction in literature and arts during the “Cultural Revolution” was declared to have “won a great victory,” it actually steadily sank into a predicament it could not shake off. Their critical attacks on both the Chinese and foreign cultural heritage and on the main transmitters of cultural heritage (intellectuals and specialists), resulted in serious blows to their plans to create models of classics for literature and art: No artistic creation worthy of attention can occur in an empty space. The result of this was to import “heritage” as the basis of creation under the slogan of “rupture,” or to make the “products” of the revolution coarse and crude. The tentative plan to discover and nurture writers among the masses of workers and farmers as the main creative force of “proletarian literature and art” never had any obvious success. The complex nature of literary and artistic creation as a labor of the spirit, made it difficult for a “proletariat” lacking the necessary cultural preparation to take up this historical responsibility. Moreover, the masses of the “workers, farmers, and soldiers” were not at all blank sheets of paper, and they also could not sever their connections with the “cultural tradition.” Therefore, during the latter period of the “Cultural Revolution,” artists who had been workers and farmers were asked to “break through the encirclement of capitalist intellectuals,” and the warning to “never let the capitalist class split us off from our own class ranks” was raised once again.18 This warning was a reflection of the radical faction’s disappointment in the purity of the “worker and farmer artists.” The hostility toward an “elite culture” primarily characterized by spiritual exploration and originality never spurred the radical faction

18 “Ren Du”, ‹Out of Petersburg—Emotions on Reading Lenin’s July 1917 Letter to Gorky›, Rosy Dawn (Shanghai), no. 3, 1975.

the re-construction of ‘classics’

235

toward creating “mass culture” or “popular literature and art” of a more entertaining and laid-back nature (although some of the “model” art works, such as the dance drama ‹The Red Detachment of Women›, and the Beijing operas ‹Shajiabang› and ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy›, stressed elements of entertainment and view-ability), because this would weaken the political nature and political aims of the artwork in question. This contained a “medieval-esque” paradox: Political concepts and religious instruction rely on art to be “figuratively” and “emotionally” conveyed to their audiences, but “aesthetics” and “entertainment” can weaken and dissipate any political message. At the same time, any work of art with even a little expressive power would find it difficult to preserve the purity and unitary nature of concepts and methodology, and the fissures and contradictions in the artwork itself holds the latent possibility of “overthrow” from within. In the “models,” humanity’s impulse to pursue “spiritual purification” can be seen as a desire to break free from inhibitions and material constraints. This moral idealism that refuses materialism is the ideology that leads to the launch of revolutionary movements. But, at the same time, the ideological concepts and emotional patterns the creators of the “models” of “proletarian literature and art” originally wanted to “thoroughly negate” can be seen in the ascetic moral beliefs and norms on action, in self-consciously enduring the application (via outside forces) of torture, and in the pursuit of masochistic self-perfection (via internal conflict). For radical literary thought, the well-known “three prominents” were a structural principle, a narrative methodology, and regulations about the arrangement of characters, but they were also the embodiment of socio-political ranking in literary and artistic form. This sort of ranking was congenital, could not be chosen by the individual, and therefore could be called “feudalistic.” As a result, researchers can probably find in the theory and art of the “Cultural Revolution” apparent components of the desire to resist materialism and to seek a spiritual way out that are common to twentieth century humanistic thought, but they will most surely discover the brutal, stale deposits of humanity’s spiritual heritage.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A DIVIDED LITERARY WORLD

1. The Public World of Poetry Owing to the special socio-political situation during the “Cultural Revolution” period, the literature of this time was in reality split into differing parts. One part was public (public literary activities and openly published materials) and was the mainstream literature of this period; another part was hidden, secret, and dispersed. The latter was the heterodox force of contemporary literature, was richer in vitality, and later proved to be a preparation for and harbinger of literary change in the “post-Cultural Revolution” period. In the public world of literature, the most important position was occupied by theater, with “revolutionary model opera” at its core. By comparison, the other forms of literature, such as poetry, fiction, and prose, appeared muted. During the first few years of the “Cultural Revolution,” the poetry of professional writers was rarely published and most published work was that of “red guards” and “worker, farmer, and soldier writers”. From 1972, a succession of poetry collections was published. According to statistics, between 1972 and 1975, a total of 390 poetry collections were put out by publishing houses throughout the country. Most of these were collections of works written by “worker, farmer, and soldier writers” in coordination with political campaigns at the time. Examples of this were Songs in Praise of the Cultural Revolution and Songs of War Castigating Lin Biao and Confucius.1 As regards poetical form, the powerful influence of the political lyrics of the 1950s and 1960s continued, and the political campaigns and political slogans promoted during the “Cultural Revolution” period were the direct basis of the themes and subject matter of this poetry. Taking the effect of literature and arts as political tools into consideration, the organizers of

1 See Ji Ge, ‹Poetry comes from Struggle, Struggle needs Poetry›, People’s Literature, no. 2, 1976.

a divided literary world

237

literature and arts circles during the “Cultural Revolution” period probably felt that song had greater “power”. Therefore, “songs of the masses”, including the quotations and poetry of Mao Zedong and Lin Biao’s ‹Preface to the Republication of The Quotations of Chairman Mao›, were composed and circulated widely. Many of these songs had a frankness and extreme rhetorical form not seen in any other period.2 At the time, any tactfulness, indirection, or obscure mode of expression was seen as lacking in “fighting spirit”. Poetry writing also developed in this direction. Jiang Qing frequently engineered the writing of “revolutionary folk songs” and “revolutionary children’s songs” in direct concert with political campaigns. Of these, the most famous was “Little Jin Village poetry”—a rhymed text of political propaganda written in doggerel and accompanied by story-telling clappers.3 Under these conditions, poetry composition was entirely unrelated to the expression of individual experience. The “intrusion” of the language of rigid political symbolism into poetry made it impossible to pass on the language and the imaginative sensitivity of the individual poet. A typical example was the publication of Zhang Yongmei’s long poem ‹War over the Xisha Islands› as a piece of socio-political commentary. The intention of the composition, the viewpoint expressed, and the artistic form of this long poem, termed a “poetry report”, was the same as Hao Ran’s ‹Sons and Daughters of the Xisha Islands›: It was entirely in line with the exercise of contemporary political power. ‹War over the Xisha Islands› also “created” a unique form of distribution in China’s new poetry: The political newspaper Enlightenment Daily printed the start of the poem on the first page and devoted several more pages to its full publication. Soon afterwards, the People’s Daily and papers in cities and provinces throughout the country reprinted the poem. Aside from paramount political intentions, this form of publication was intended to act as a “model” for

2 Such as the following widely popular songs during the “Cultural Revolution”: “Take up the pen, as a sword or gun, and concentrate your fire on the black gang; Who dares say the Party’s no good, we’ll send him to meet the King of Hell”; “The Great Cultural Revolution is great, it’s great, it’s great!”, and so on. 3 Little Jin Village (Xiaojin Village) is located in Baodi County in Tianjin. Jiang Qing often travelled here and organized poetry writing and other activities. Poetry collections published at the time included Little Jin Village Poetry Selections (Tianjin People’s Publishing House) and A Force Twelve Typhoon Can’t Blow It Down (People’s Literature Publishing House).

238

chapter fifteen

poetry composition.4 ‹Song of Idealism›5 was another long poem that had a major impact during this time. He Jingzhi’s poems of the 1960s can be seen as a major influence on its subject and form. Although the “narrator” of the poem appears in the guise of a spokesperson for working class youth, traces of “going to the countryside” and being an “educated youth” largely remain and strengthen the political expression of the actual feeling of life. ‹Throwing Yourself into Red-hot Struggle› by Guo Xiaochuan in the 1950s, ‹Song of Lei Feng› and ‹Window of a Train Going West› by He Jingzhi in the 1960s, and ‹Song of Idealism› in the 1970s, form a succession of poems genuinely describing the “life path” and “ideals” of the youth of the time. Linked by their subject matter, these “political lyric poems” reveal how the “ideals” of the individual during each period of the contemporary era were woven into the national ideology. They provided examples of the practice of writing poetry that expressed an integrated “idealism”, and a concrete form of poetry. After 1972, a small number of those poets who had been forced to stop writing were allowed to publish their poetry and poetry collections. Among these poets were Li Xue’ao, Li Ying, Zhang Yongmei, Zang Kejia, Yan Zhen, Gu Gong, Ruan Zhangjing, Liu Zhang, Ji Yu, Sha Bai, as well as a group of worker-writers from the 1950s that included Wang Enyu, Qiu Xuebao, Ning Yu, and Zheng Chengyi. Li Ying was the most productive and had the greatest influence of the poets published during this period. Between 1972 and 1976, three of his poetry collections were published: Mountains Covered in Red Flowers, Date Orchard Village, and The Northern Frontier Red Like Fire. In Li Ying’s poetry the northern countryside and the everyday life of the soldiers who garrisoned the mountainous areas and forests of the northern frontier were unsurprisingly elevated to become the starting point for his expression of the “struggle between lines” and “world revolution”. Yet, the writer’s customary sensitivity to settings and color and some novel gentle elements in his language and narrative mode offered a limited deviation

4 ‹War over the Xisha Islands› was published in the 15 March 1974 edition of Enlightenment Daily. Soon after, many essays praising the poem were published in papers and journals. These essays held that the poem was a “poem of struggle” for the proletariat, that it expressed proletarian ideals, that it established a proletarian poetical style, and that it “provided valuable practical experience.” 5 The author’s name was given as the “collective work of the worker, farmer, soldier students of the Beijing University Chinese Department Class of 1972 Creative Writing Class.” The poem was included in a collection of poetry by the same name, Songs of Idealism, published by People’s Literature Publishing House, September 1974.

a divided literary world

239

from the then universal language of poetry and the coarse, rigid emotions therein. For this reason, many readers came to love the poetry of Li Ying during this period.

2. Fiction Writing During the early years of the “Cultural Revolution”, the preexistent cultural organizations, including the journals, papers, and publishing houses of literature and the arts, were critically attacked and purged. Therefore, aside from “model operas” and poetry in concert with political campaigns, literary creation stagnated. From 1972, the power structures of literature and the arts of the time attempted to reverse this depressed situation and asked artists to “develop the creation of socialist literature and arts”,6 at which time there was a gradual limited restoration of creative activities. Short story writing continued in the pattern of its contemporary “tradition”, namely speedily reflecting present day life. With the demands for literary and artistic creation to provide “timely expressions of the Great Cultural Revolution” and “full exposures of the true nature of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution”, the short story was naturally deemed the most appropriate form. In this, the creative output organized by the Shanghai region7 most typically manifested the nature of the short story as a “language tool” of political power. These works (including those of other regions) wrote directly of the “Cultural Revolution” campaign itself, touching on the important events at its every stage, such as the Red Guard movement, the “struggle to seize power”, “worker propaganda teams” occupying the “superstructure” and moving into schools, praise for “revolutionary model operas”, the “struggle between two lines” in factories and the countryside, “educated youths” going up to the mountains and down to the countryside, “worker, farmer, soldier students”

6 On 16 December 1971, the People’s Daily published a brief article of social criticism under the front-page banner headline of ‹Develop the Creation of Socialist Literature and Arts›, and also republished the dedication Mao Zedong wrote for the inaugural edition of People’s Literature in 1949: “[I] hope even more good literary works come into the world.” 7 These works were mostly published in the literary monthly Rosy Dawn and its regular series of publications. Also, a number of collections were brought out by the Shanghai People’s Literature Publishing House, such as Overture and A Selection of Shanghai Short Stories.

240

chapter fifteen

entering the universities, the struggle against “capitalist roaders”, and the “counter-revolutionary incident” on Tian’anmen Square in 1976. At the time, these works were highly assessed in newspapers and journals. Among those commended for their creative direction were ‹A Morning in Early Spring›, ‹The Golden Bell Rings Forever›, and ‹The First Class› all by Xiao Mu under the pennames of “Qingming”, “Li Xia”, and “Gu Yu” respectively, ‹Three Times Through the School Gate› by Lu Zhaohui, ‹Special Audience› by Duan Ruixia, ‹Rosy Dawn› by Shi Hanfu, ‹A Report Exposing Contradictions› by Cui Hongrui, ‹A Typical Speech— Sequel to “A Report Exposing Contradictions”› by Duan Ruixia, ‹Supply Center Near the Square› by Zhu Minshen, ‹Female Purchasing Agent› by Liu Xuyuan, ‹A First Display of Talent› by Xia Xing, ‹War Banner of the Red Guard› by Yao Zhen, and ‹Harsh Days› by Wu Bing. There were over one hundred novels published during the “Cultural Revolution” period. Four fifths of these were on the subject of current life, and the others were on “revolutionary historical subject matter”. Nearly twenty were labeled “collective” (or “integration of the three”) creations, making up about one fifth of all novels. The collective name of the authors of Paving the Way over the Ocean was given as the “Shanghai Ship Building Company Literature and Arts Creative Group”, and that of Green Mountains after the Rain as the “Guangxi Zhuang Nationality Self-Autonomous Region White District Integration of the Three Creative Group”. Only a few of the individual writers of these “Cultural Revolution” novels could be called “writers” (or “potential” writers) as such, these being Shen Rong, Hao Ran, Li Yunde, Li Ruqing, Gu Hua, Zheng Wanlong, Guo Chengqing, and Zhang Changgong, among others. Aside from the aforementioned third volume of Bright Sunny Sky and The Golden Road by Hao Ran, among those works that had some impact (relatively speaking, as they had a comparative degree of artistic quality, or were highly regarded in critical circles) were The History of Hong Nan at War by the Shanghai County The History of Hong Nan at War Writing Group, Oxen, Fields, and Sea by Nan Shao, A Fierce Battle at a Nameless River by Zheng Zhi, Winter Jasmine in the Flying Snow by Zhou Liangsi, Paulownia and Cypress Heroes written collectively with Qian She as principal writer, The Journey by Guo Xianhong, Swords by Yang Peijin, Thousands of Waves by Bi Fang and Zhong Tao, The Swift Spring Tide by Li Kefei, Whirlwind of Iron by Wang Shimei, Wind and Snow of a Border Town by Zhang Changgong, Story of a Broadsword by Guo Chengqing, Everlasting Youth by Shen Rong, Boundary Line by Zhang Kangkang, Ten Thousand Mountains All Red by Li Ruqing, Bay

a divided literary world

241

of Echoing Waters by Zheng Wanlong, and The Whistling of Mountains and Rivers by Gu Hua. The first volume of Li Yunde’s Seething Mountain Ranges was published in late 1965, but the second and third volumes were published during the “Cultural Revolution” and were relatively well-known works during the period. The structure of the plotlines, characterization, and the narrative mode of the novels of this period all exhibit a tendency toward standardization. Given that novels have a large capacity, writers were required to adhere faithfully to the creative norms proposed at the time, and these amounted to strict, all-encompassing demands. Most novelists did their utmost to write “lofty”, “perfect” “main heroic characters”, and there were also “secondary” heroes or “positive characters” around these “main” characters to make it apparent that the “positive power” was not weak. Normally, the “hostile class powers” were in opposition to the heroic characters (during the “Cultural Revolution” the list of those in this category consisted of landlords, rich farmers, reactionary capitalists, secret agents, capitalist roaders in power in the Party, and so on). All sorts of “problem characters” were set up between the “positive powers” and their opposition (these characters’ consciousness of the “struggle between lines” was not high, they were deceived by hostile forces, or they had questions about or problems with their moral character). Characters belonging to different classes revolved around the novel’s central events (a production or construction task, or an incident involving an ideological or political trial of strength) and developed into conflict. The invariable conclusion was: the “main heroic characters”, with the support of the “masses”, educate and win over the “problem characters”, and finally isolate and defeat the hostile forces. Of course, the conflict in these novels had to be “multi-layered and tempestuous”, gradually leading toward a climax. In a literary environment in which the “essence” of society and history, as well as its concrete form (even the details), is strictly regulated, and the literature must express these “essences”, there was an inevitable trend among the characters in narrative literature toward “symbolization” and for there to be a standardization of plot structure. As with poetry and theater, the “symbol” became an important rhetorical device in fiction, especially in the description of characters and surroundings. As the “symbol” is not an individualized expression of the imagination, it severely weakens the concreteness and distinctive feeling of the narrative. “Cultural Revolution” novels gave prominence to the socio-political situation of the time, but they dealt with the concrete circumstances

242

chapter fifteen

of locality, customs, and everyday life in the coarsest, most cursory way of any period during the history of Chinese modern fiction. In these works, the narrator was generally omniscient and would frequently adopt an overemotional, vigorously intrusive posture in strictly controlling the progression of the story. The “independence” of the development of characters’ psychology, actions, and the plot, as well as the complex relationship between “narration” and “intervention”, that had generally been present in realist fiction, were either eliminated or radically simplified. What the reader heard was the “brutal” voice of ideological authority overriding the characters and the story. Of course, this overall situation did not mean that all the novels of this period were artistically and ideologically identical. Comparatively speaking, there was relatively more of a sense of real life and the author was more capable of handling and structuring materials in Hao Ran’s Bright Sunny Sky and The Golden Road, Shen Rong’s Everlasting Youth, Gu Hua’s The Whistling of Mountains and Rivers, Guo Chengqing’s Story of a Broadsword, Zhang Kangkang’s Boundary Line, and Li Ruqing’s Ten Thousand Mountains All Red, works that were above the general artistic level of the time.

3. The Last Poems of Mu Dan Aside from openly published literary works, there existed another type of literature during the “Cultural Revolution”. To varying degrees, these works possessed “heterodox” elements, and the writing and “publication” of them took place in secret or semi-secret conditions. These works frequently circulated among readers in the form of hand-copied texts. Some were preserved in the form of original manuscripts, as they could not be published in any form during the period (strictly speaking, this latter situation did not become a “literary fact” at the time, a phenomenon of a certain degree of complexity). Some researchers have used the term “underground literature”8 with regard to this type of literature, but it may also be termed “concealed literature”. These literary works were in a contrastive relationship with the public world of literature and were an

8 See: Yang Jian, Underground Literature During the Great Cultural Revolution, Zhaohua Publishing House, 1993. However, the literary phenomena dealt with here are not entirely similar to those dealt with in this book.

a divided literary world

243

important preparatory step for the literary trends that appeared during the 1980s.9 Poetry is an appropriate form to express emotional and artistic experience of a “heterodox” nature. During the “Cultural Revolution”, some of the poets who were persecuted and lost the right to write wrote about their experiences at the time. While Cai Qijiao was exiled as a “counterrevolutionary” to the mountains in northern Fujian, he wrote several romantic-styled lyrics (such as ‹Yuhua Cavern› and ‹A Prayer›) expressing his resistance to the destruction of human nature and the humiliation of the free spirit by the savage actions of despotism. Poets who suffered during the “Hu Feng Incident” in 1955, such as Niu Han, Zeng Zhuo, and Lu Yuan, also wrote poems that recorded their lives and psychology during the “Cultural Revolution”. These included ‹Rereading the Bible› and ‹Faith› by Lu Yuan, and ‹South China Tiger›, ‹Mourning a Maple Tree›, and ‹Muntjak, Don’t Run Over Here› by Niu Han. Liu Shahe, who was branded a rightist during the 1950s and lived in seclusion in the countryside making his living as a carpenter during the “Cultural Revolution”, wrote “love poetry” that was both melancholy and carefree: ‹Six Love Poems› and ‹Dreaming of Xi’an›. Huang Yongyu wrote the sequence ‹Events on Tian’anmen› in response the Tian’anmen Square Incident in early 1976. Also during this period, Guo Xiaochuan wrote political protest poems ‹Autumnal Ode› and ‹Tuan Marsh in Autumn›. After not writing poetry for many years, Mu Dan had a burst of poetic inspiration as he wrote nearly thirty poems during 1975–1976.10 Mu Dan died on 26 February 1977 and these poems may be regarded as a look back along the path of his life from old age. These include ‹Dance of Wisdom›, ‹Performance›, ‹Meditation›, ‹Friendship›, ‹After the Power Goes Out›, ‹Self›, and ‹Spring›, ‹Summer›, ‹Autumn›, and ‹Winter›. Of course, these poems are no longer as acute and on edge as those of the

9 Not described in this section of this book are a number of works that were subject to critical attacks during the “Cultural Revolution”, including the short story ‹Life› by Jing Xin; the opera ‹Song of the Gardeners›, originally a short piece by the Bixiang Neighborhood Theater in Changsha rearranged by Liu Zhongfu for the Changsha Municipal Hunan Opera Troupe; the opera ‹Thrice Up Peach Peak›, collectively composed by the Shanxi Provincial Cultural Bureau Creative Group and written out by Yang Mengheng; the film ‹Pioneering Work›, a collective work written out by Zhang Tianmin; and the film ‹Rosy Clouds at Sea›, originally written by Li Ruqing, and adapted by Xie Tieli. 10 All these poems are in Li Fang ed., The Complete Poems of Mu Dan, China Literature Publishing House, 1996. Among the book’s appendices are ‹A Simple Chronicle of the Life of Mu Dan (Zha Liangzheng)› and ‹The Collected Titles of Mu Dan’s Writings and Translations›.

244

chapter fifteen

1940s; now they are calm and simple, but painful, too. There is still a dissection of the “self ”, but this is not a repentance of the 1950s when the “self ” was denied and discarded. ‹Meditation› And today, suddenly faced with the grave, I look back coldly and briefly review, Only seeing its twisty sprinkling of grief and joy All vanish in a wilderness from antiquity to now, And I now know all my striving Merely completes an ordinary life

His experience of a tragic life of modern “conflicts” leads to the writer adopting an “ironic” spiritual attitude and linguistic mode. He understands that “Silence is the utmost witness to pain”, but ultimately will not allow the pain to disappear with his body. Reality and ideals, wisdom and suffering, emotion and intellect, language and silence . . . this all forms contradictory tensions within the poem. As to the pure pursuit of life and art, the setbacks this pursuit suffers in reality are the root of tragedy. He expresses the responsibility and hardship those wise ones who have hopes of life must shoulder, and at the same time acknowledges that at life’s “illusion’s end” there is only “a grove of trees shedding leaves”. He is proud of being “the sole tree of wisdom yet to wither”, yet callously “curses every leaf it grows”. This “curse” is not only because it “takes my bitter sap as nourishment”, because of the high cost of its gains, but can be found in that “our wisdom finally comes through questions”—about the necessity of “ideals” and “wisdom”, and the possibility of doubt. He is persisting but also doubting, and then taking a profound, close look both at himself and “not knowing if I’ve lost myself ”. These poems are “aged”, they feature “cruel” penetrating realizations when they review the past. Yet the emotions and thought still hold fast to a faith in human life, a compassionate watching over tender feelings, friendship, and youth: they “like a bright mirror reflect the world outside the window, make the coarse world seem so mild” (‹Friendship›). Then he understands, for “the permanent exile”, “beauty” will soon “escape from nature, and from the heart”, peaceful autumn days are brief as an instant. During this period, the poetry of Mu Dan, Niu Han, Cai Qijiao, and others, could not be openly published. It was the 1980s before their readers saw this poetry.

a divided literary world

245

4. The ‘Baiyang Marshes Poetry Grouping’ Another grouping secretly writing poetry was the “educated youth” of the revolutionary tide of the time. This type of poetry activity was occurring in Beijing, Hebei, Fujian, Guizhou, and other parts of China, and some groupings had taken on the nature of “communities”. These poets began writing poetry related to the contemporary social situation and their personal circumstances in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This was during the time of the decline of the “Red Guard movement” and their poetry was induced and motivated by disappointment in the “revolution”, profound spiritual shock, and individual explorations into the world of true emotions and spiritual values. Relatively early writing that had the greatest impact was that of Guo Lusheng (Shi Zhi). Guo was born in 1948, on the eve of the establishment of the “new China”, and he grew up and went to school in Beijing. The poetry he wrote during the “Cultural Revolution” was concentrated between 1966 and 1969. His major works included ‹The Sea Trilogy› ‹Fate›, ‹The Minnow Trilogy› (initially entitled ‹The School of Fish Trilogy›, ‹This is Beijing at 4:08› (also entitled ‹My Final Beijing›), ‹Faith in the Future›, ‹Smoke›, ‹Wine›, ‹Anger›, and so on. After the “Cultural Revolution”, he continued to write poems, such as ‹Mad Dog›, ‹An Ardent Love of Life›, and ‹The Stage of Human Life›. His officially published poetry collections include Faith in the Future (1988), The Shi Zhi & Hei Dachun Joint-Collection of Modern Lyrics (1993), and The Shi Zhi Volume (1998) of The Golden Storehouse of Exploratory Poetry. The organization and artistic methodology of his poetry was not greatly different from contemporary lyric poetry of the 1950s and 1960s: a four-line stanza in a “semi-regulated form” was what Guo utilized most. However, he refused to write in accordance with the commands of the unitary ideology of the time, as he turned to true feelings and experience in expressing the emotions and psychology of bewilderment, fear, and resistance when the earth beneath his feet began to shift. As did poetry written at the start of the “Cultural Revolution”, these poems undoubtedly possessed an intense rebellious character. Therefore, these poems came as a great shock to youths in a similar state of confusion at the time, and produced an important influence on later young poets.11 ‹This

11

Ah Cheng states: “I liked his poetry in the late-1960s, and, at the time, the poetry of

246

chapter fifteen

is Beijing at 4:08› writes of how “educated youth” left Beijing on their way “up to the mountains or down to the countryside”, of the psychological reaction at the “intense rocking” as the train begins to leave the station. In ‹Faith in the Future›, the certitude about the idealistic “future” comes out of a tragic understanding of present-day life, and this is where the critical power of the poem is located. These poems by Guo Lusheng were circulated in hand-copied form at the time and were not published in journals until after the “Cultural Revolution”.12 Poetry written by youths during the “Cultural Revolution” that achieved a certain mass and had the characteristics of a group was that of the “Baiyang Marshes poetry grouping”.13 After 1969, a number of Beijing high school-graduates were “sent to the countryside” in the Baiyang Marshes district (and neighboring districts) in Anxin County, Hebei Province. Among them were the poets Genzi (Yue Zhong), Duoduo (Li Shizheng), Mang Ke (Jiang Shiwei), Lin Mang (Zhang Jianzhong), Song Haiquan, and Fang Han (Sun Kang).14 Furthermore, other youths from Beijing, Shanxi, and other areas had close contact with them and often visited the Baiyang Marshes fishing villages to exchange opinions on the art of poetry. Included among these youths were Bei Dao (Zhao Zhenkai), Jiang He (Yu Youze), Yan Li, Zheng Yi, Gan Tiesheng, and Chen Kaige. Originally, the vast majority of these “educated youths” was from well-known high schools in Beijing, from the families of intellectuals and “high level cadres”, and had read relatively widely. During the “Cultural Revolution”, though their reading was not systematic, it included Guo Lusheng was widely copied out.” (‹Today Yesterday or Yesterday’s Today›, Today, #3, 1991.) Lin Mang states: “Terming Shi Zhi the first poet of the New Poetry Tide is exactly right.” (‹A Poet Not Buried—Shi Zhi›, in Poetry Explorations, #2, 1994.) Duoduo has also said: “Speaking of tradition, Guo Lusheng is our little tradition.” (From: Cui Weiping, ‹Guo Lusheng›, Today, #4, 1994.) 12 ‹Faith in the Future› was [unofficially] published in Today #2 [1979]; ‹Faith in the Future› and ‹My Final Beijing› were [officially] published Poetry Monthly in 1979. There were alterations made to the poems when they were published in different places. 13 The collection and study of the work of this “poetry grouping” began in the early 1980s. The New Poetry Tide Poetry Collection put out by the Beijing University May Fourth Literary Society (2 volumes, Lao Mu ed., internally circulated, 1985) included many poems by members of this grouping. Most poetry anthologies and researchers consider this grouping the preparatory phase, or source, of the “new poetry tide” (or “Misty poetry”) during the “new period”. Terms such as “Baiyang Marshes poetry school” and “Baiyang Marshes poetry grouping” did not appear until the latter half of the 1980s. 14 Some of the pennames Genzi, Mang Ke, Duoduo, Bei Dao, and so on, were assumed during the “Cultural Revolution, but most began to be used when their work was [unofficially] published (in Today, etc.).

a divided literary world

247

then “banned books” of Chinese and foreign literature, politics, philosophy, and so on, that had been hunted down by these youths. Aside from books that had been officially published during the 1950s and 1960s, these included books for “internal distribution” published during the 1960s by the Author Publishing House, People’s Literature Publishing House, the Commercial Press, and Shanghai People’s Literature Publishing House. From these the young poets gained the strength to transcend present circumstances emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, and artistically. Their writing had no possibility of being acknowledged or officially published, and could even prove dangerous. For this reason there was a different relationship of another time between their writing and their lives: It may even be said that writing was an important component of their mode of life. In ‹Poetry Gifted by October: Poem› (1974), Mang Ke wrote, “That cold yet majestic thought / is you reforming the wilderness of our lives”, which may be seen as highlighting the position of writing in their lives. The theme of their poetry of this period was criticism of the present social order, of despotism, and of violence, but it also recorded the setbacks they suffered, and expressed their experience of the confusion, loneliness, and pain when the earth beneath their feet cracked and shifted. Artistically, though they were influenced by the mainstream of contemporary poetry in China, they searched out subject matter and methodologies in the Chinese modern poetry and foreign poetry they had come across in the wide scope of their reading. This resulted in the entry into their poetry of many images and settings that came from the poetry and fiction they had read, and which did not have a close relationship with the writer’s life and surroundings at the time. Their modes of experience and expression were for the most part related to their reading and “accumulation of culture”. Owing to the universal feeling of being in exile, both psychologically and in their actual lives, some of these poets tended towards the lyrical mode of Russian poets (such as Pushkin, Yesenin, and Tsvetaeva). The poetry of the Baiyang Marshes poetry school (as well as poetry writing circles in other areas) had special modes of “publication” and distribution. The social controls and limitations on printing of the time made independently compiled publications (whether hand-copied or mimeographed) rarely seen commodities. Poetry was primarily passed round in small reading-circles and distributed by way of hand-written copies. In some remembrances written since the 1980s, scenes of poets sitting on heated brick-beds in the countryside and reciting their work to friends have been recorded.

248

chapter fifteen

Among the major poets of the Baiyang Marshes poetry school were Mang Ke, Duoduo, and Genzi. In early 1969 when Mang Ke was sixteen years old, together with Duoduo, he “shared a horse cart to Baiyang Marshes”, and lived there until early 1976. His earliest extant poem from this period was written in 1971. About the time of 1973, he wrote ‹Sky›, ‹Autumn Days›, and ‹Poetry Gifted by October›, which are generally accepted as representative works. His poetry was first published in the [unofficial] literary journal Today, and Mang Ke Poetry Selections was [officially] published in 1989. Critics often use the term “natural” when assessing his poetry. This embodies two levels of meaning, one is the proximity of the poet to nature, or his ability to fuse with nature, and the other is the “directness” and unadorned nature of his poetry. Such comments range from “Mang Ke is a nature poet,. . . . The ‘I’ in his poetry never wears clothing, has the feel of the flesh, has a wild nature”, “No matter if it be the actions of poetry or the language itself, throughout [his poetry] has realized what is most appropriately termed a ‘natural’ style”.15 Genzi was also “sent to the countryside” in Baiyang Marshes in 1969. According to essays of memories of the time, he wrote ‹March and Doomsday›, ‹Baiyang Marshes›, ‹Orange Mist›, ‹Bridge over the Abyss›, and other poems, during 1971–1972. Today only ‹March and Doomsday› and ‹Baiyang Marshes› are in existence. In the summer of 1973, he stopped writing after being investigated by the police. Another important poet of the Baiyang Marshes poetry grouping was Duoduo. Duoduo says the poetry of Yue Zhong (Genzi) “stimulated” him to start writing. Over forty poems from his time at Baiyang Marshes are extant. Th e influence of Russian poets can be seen in these early poems. Compared to Mang Ke and others, his lyrics have more of a “modern” flavor, a control of the world, the self, and the art of poetry, and a tendency towards examination and thought; also, his poetical pursuits were longer lasting and more self-conscious. For this reason, in 1988 he was awarded the “first Today poetry prize” by the Today Literature Society. The reason for his receiving it was given as: Since the early 1970s until now, Duoduo’s lonely and tireless explorations into the art of poetry have encouraged and influenced many poets of the same period. Through his familiarity with pain and the internal examina-

15 See: Duoduo, ‹Buried Poets of China›, Opening Up, #2, 1989; and Tang Xiaodu, ‹Mang Ke: An Individual and his Poetry›, Poetry Explorations, #3, 1995.

a divided literary world

249

tion of the life of the individual, he has laid bare the predicament of the life of humankind; and his nearly obsessive challenge to culture and language has enriched the contents and expressive power of China’s contemporary poetry.16

His published collections of poetry include The Road Travelled [unofficial, 1989] and Salute: 38 Poems [official, 1988]. Most of those who later became hardcore poets of “Misty poetry”, such as Bei Dao, Shu Ting, Gu Cheng, and Jiang He, began writing during the “Cultural Revolution”. Their situation will be described later in the text. The poetry of “educated youths” during the “Cultural Revolution”,17 especially the work of the “Baiyang Marshes poetry grouping”, has been regarded by some researchers as the preparatory phase and precursor of the later “Misty poetry movement”, but others place greater emphasis on their independent individual significance. This is because some of the poetical themes and artistic methodologies of the “Baiyang Marshes” period were developed in “Misty poetry”, while others were not vigorously pursued. Moreover, the writing for “unoffi cial poetry journals” put out by small poetry groups was an important mode of circulation for Mainland China’s poetry through to the 1990s—and it must be said that the source of this was this “underground poetry” during the “Cultural Revolution”.

5. Hand-Copied Fiction Aside from poetry, “hand-copied fiction” also circulated among readers in the secret world of literature during the “Cultural Revolution”. Zhang Yang’s novel The Second Handshake was one piece that had many readers. After the “Cultural Revolution” it was disclosed18 that Zhang

16 See: Duoduo, The Road Travelled, Today Literature Society [unofficial publication], 1989. 17 In 1998, the China Literature Publishing House put out Poetry of China’s Educated Youth (Hao Haiyan, editor-in-chief ) in which the manuscripts of 300 poems by over ninety writers were solicited. A portion of them was written in traditional poetical styles. Another portion was written in the late 1970s and early 1980s after the “Cultural Revolution”. The ‹Call for Manuscripts› for Poetry’s “sequel” proposed: “Will educated youth classmates throughout the country please endeavor to remember or look for old poems. Aside from obvious typos, no revisions will be made so as to preserve the original historical appearance”—as this involves “memory” and the solicitation of manuscripts, it can be seen that “preserving the original historical appearance” is no simple matter. 18 See: ‹Slanders about a Good Novel In Overthrowing the “Gang of Four”—On the

250

chapter fifteen

began writing the novel in 1963 and that at the start it was a work of less that 20,000 characters in length in “outline” form with the title of Ocean Spray. Later it was expanded and revised with the title of The Leaves in the Fragrant Hills are Red. In 1967, there was further revision after the author had been sent to the countryside as an “educated youth” in the Liuyang Mountain District in Hubei Province, but this copy disappeared while it was making the rounds of readers. Two years later, the fourth manuscript went out under the title of The Return, but suffered a similar fate to the previous manuscript. In 1973, while Zhang Yang was still working in the countryside, a fifth revised manuscript of the manuscript was once again widely circulated. As the copying by readers was based on different manuscripts, this led to the circulation of differing versions of the novel. During this process, one reader-copier changed the title of the novel to The Second Handshake, and it is by this title many readers came to know it. In 1974, Zhang Yang wrote a sixth manuscript version, which he preserved himself. In January of the next year however, he was arrested for “several times writing a reactionary novel” and was not rehabilitated until January 1979, and a complete, revised version of the novel was officially published in July of the same year. The Second Handshake is the story of the work and loves of the characters Ding Jieqiong, Su Guanlan, and others of the older generation of scientists. In old China, they had no way of working for the country, so they dwelt overseas. When the new China was established, they determinedly returned and threw themselves into the work of science for the nation. In its description of the path of intellectuals in the modern history of China, the novel did not deviate from the narrative framework established after 1949. The source of the sharply antagonistic evaluation it received (being secretly and widely circulated, yet, simultaneously, seen as a “reactionary novel” with a “poisonous influence on the entire nation” by the political powers of the time) was the contemporary sociopolitical environment: the position of approval and praise the novel had for knowledge, “patriotic” intellectuals, and the authority of scientific circles was deemed “harmful” and “a desire for the ‘return’ of capitalism”. Another important reason for the dread and hatred of the novel

Rehabilitation of the Hand-Copied Novel The Second Handshake and its Author Zhang Yang›, Hunan Daily, 26 January 1979; Gu Zhicheng et al., ‹Good Literary Works Must be Audaciously Protected—The Record of an Investigation into the Hand-Copied Novel The Second Handshake›, China Youth Daily, 11 March 1979; Zhang Yang, ‹About The Second Handshake from Beginning to End›, Xiangjiang Literature & Arts, no. 9, 1979.

a divided literary world

251

was its admiring description of political figures such as Zhou Enlai. When these elements in the socio-political discourse field thinned, the conditions that produced the intense appeal of this novel during the “Cultural Revolution” weakened. As a result, when the novel was openly published in the 1980s at a time when issues of a new society and a new literature were being raised, it did not receive the expected enthusiastic reception. The novellas ‹Waves›, ‹Public Love Letters›, and ‹When the Evening Glow Vanishes› were important literary works from the later period of the “Cultural Revolution”. The first draft of ‹Public Love Letters› by Jin Fan19 was completed in 1972 and circulated in hand-copied and printed forms. Following revisions made by the author in 1979, the novella was published in the literary periodical October (Beijing). This novella consists of the correspondence between youths (Zhenzhen, Lao Jiu, Lao Ga, Lao Yemen, and others) working in the mountains and on farms after graduation from university during the “Cultural Revolution”. The plot is not integrated, nor does it have the characterization common to fi ction. A flavor of thoughtful reasoned debate and the expression of intense emotions constitute important elements in the novella. These letters are divorced (consciously, or passively) from the officially approved life of young people, and instead are a consideration of the writers’ current predicament and life, and an exploration of the life of man, love, responsibility, and the future of the nation. These deliberations and debates of the unclear road into the future lend tension and a sense of impatience to the basic intensely emotional tone of this work. ‹When the Evening Glow Vanishes› by Li Ping is divided into four parts under the names of the seasons. Two youths from families of opposing class backgrounds (the children of high-ranking Communist Party military officers and of high-ranking Nationalist Party military officers) meet fortuitously four times over a period of over ten years, from the eve of the “Cultural Revolution” till its conclusion, and have discussions about history, life, love, and religion, among other subjects. Of these, the issues exposed by “vagueness” of history—doubts about the power of rationality and human control of history—are the most exciting and disputatious. The zeal with which the author lays out the

19 “Jin Fan” was the penname of Liu Lili (Liu Qingfeng) at the time of publication. The author was a student in the Chinese Department at Beijing University at the start of the “Cultural Revolution”.

252

chapter fifteen

discussions on these seductive issues in the novella often results in a disregard of the demand for “realistic” settings in realist fiction. ‹Waves› was written by Zhao Zhenkai (Bei Dao) in 1974 and initially circulated in hand-copied form. Following two revisions in June 1976 and April 1979, it was published [unofficially] in Today (1979) and [officially] in Changjiang Literature (1981, Wuhan). Taken in comparison with the other two novellas, ‹Waves› is somewhat more “mature” in its form, and is more artistically exploratory. Its polymorphous use of the first person narrative constitutes a multi-layered monologue. Th e main part of the novella revolves around the developing fate of young people, the distortion of their spirits, and their attempts to resist “absurdity”, and in so doing, the environment in which the characters exist in the novella is relatively more open than the other two. This novella discloses the following perception: “A feeling, an unbounded collapse brought about by a small touch. And this collapse was not normal—it had a peculiar tranquility, a quietness with a touch of grief, as if a mountain was slowly sinking because of the flow of a subterranean river . . .” The criticism of the irrationality of reality in these three novellas is undertaken primarily from the angle of spiritual tragedy. They all touch on the illusory nature and collapse of originally held beliefs, and argue for the legitimacy of their characters’ “spiritual rebellion”. At the time and later, when people criticized this “spiritual loss” and skeptical mood, the answer from ‹Waves› and the other novellas was that the “tragic life” of this generation should not be negated, and even less can it be contained or replaced by the experience and thinking of past generations. On the level of thought and spiritual values, at a comparatively early time these novellas touched on topics that were widely dealt with by the social and ideological trends and literary work of the 1980s. The main characters in ‹Evening Glow› believe in the value of “goodness” and the ability of humankind in bringing it about, support individual spiritual introspection in achieving the elevation of human dignity, and criticize the “presumptuousness” of “always taking the reform of society as one’s task, regarding oneself as able to manipulate other people.” They propose a perfection of the soul that carries religious overtones as the ideal road to salvation and self-redemption. For this reason, when the novella was officially published in a literary journal, it led to controversy and was criticized as disseminating a “religious miasma”. ‹Love Letters› contained the “elite consciousness” of enlightenmentism, the pride of those of foresight who think, “people in the world are all drunk, and only I am sober”. The characters in the novella who were

a divided literary world

253

seen as belonging to this circle of “spiritual leaders” declared that people “will adjudge the value of our work from” how much enlightenment “our thought can give” them. The novella places its emphasis on exploration into thought and social action. Of these three works, only ‹Waves› does not attempt to offer a program. It merely calls into question the self-confidence of those who claim they grasp history and predict the future. It expresses a pessimistic viewpoint, but simultaneously also attempts to fight against it.

6. The Poetry of Tian’anmen In January 1976, Zhou Enlai, who had been the prime minister since 1949, died, and struggle between all the political power groups in China intensified. In February and March, large-scale political protests occurred in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, and other cities in China. This wave of opinion reached its climax on Tian’anmen Square in early-April. During a few days in April, several million ordinary citizens went to the square to mourn Zhou Enlai, and to condemn and castigate the group of political leaders that later became known as the “Gang of Four”. These political acts consisted of speechmaking, the hanging and placement of wreathes of flowers and rhymed-couplets of mourning, and the pasting up of posters. Another widely used method was poetry. Hand-written poetry was glued to light standards on the square and the crowd-control railings around the memorial stele, hung from the branches of pines and cypresses, and some individuals read aloud the poetry to the crowds. This protest and mourning activity reached its climax on the Grave Cleaning Festival on 5 April. Not long afterward, these activities on the square were declared to be a “counter-revolutionary political incident”, and the poems that had been pasted up, copied, and passed around were accused of being “reactionary poetry”: “counterrevolutionary incitement through and through”.20 During the following months there were investigations into who had written, copied, passed on, and preserved these poems, and a number of people were persecuted, convicted, and imprisoned. In late 1976, when Jiang Qing and the other members of the “Gang of Four” were arrested and the

20 See: ‹The Counter-Revolutionary Political Incident on Tian’anmen Square›, People’s Daily, 8 April 1976.

254

chapter fifteen

“Cultural Revolution” was declared to have ended, Tong Huaizhou 21 pasted up a portion of the poems and eulogies they had collected and preserved around Tian’anmen Square, and distributed a proposal to collect the poetry that had been lost and was scattered among the people. This request met with a popular response. After collecting tens of thousands of these poems, they selected approximately 1,500 of them, and compiled them in Tian’anmen Poetry Transcriptions, which was published in December 1978. Some of what can be found in Poetry Transcriptions is not poetry (such as rhymed-couplets, eulogies, and memorials). Among the poetry, much is loose regulated-style classical verse, classical song lyrics, and opera lyric style poems; only a small amount is new poetry. However, this fundamentally reflected the ratio between old-style poetry and new poetry among the poems that appeared on Tian’anmen Square. To the non-professional, the ready-made forms of old poetry, it’s metaphors, allusions, even whole lines could be applied mechanically or made over, and could succinctly and allusively express political opinions and moods, all of which made these forms a better choice than new poetry styles. People undertaking political protest during the 1970s made particular use of traditional forms in which they could easily find oppositional ideological materials (clean vs. dirty, loyal vs. traitorous, virtuous vs. pernicious) to express their historical viewpoints and their evaluations of contemporary political morality. The writing, special modes of distribution and circulation, and the later collection of this poetry, as well as its publication in Tian’anmen Poetry Transcriptions (with the then Communist Party chairman [Hua Guofeng] writing the title in his own calligraphy), were all important constituent parts of this major political incident. This was another side of the typical manifestation of aesthetics as part of everyday life and the politicization of poetry during the “Cultural Revolution”. From the perspective of the creative art of modern poetry in China, these poems did not provide much practice of any value. However, it must be said that the sincere attitudes of the writers of this poetry and their dedication to independent thought and writing styles under abominable pressure are of lasting significance to contemporary poets.

21 The collective penname of 16 lecturers from the Han Chinese Language Teaching and Research Section at the Number Two Foreign Language Institute in Beijing.

PART TWO

LITERATURE SINCE 1976

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE LITERARY ENVIRONMENT DURING THE 1980s

1. The Thought Liberation Tide With the declaration that the “Cultural Revolution” was concluded in late-1976,1 important changes in China’s political, economic, social, and cultural conditions began to occur. The radical leftist revolutionary craze to establish a modern utopia was replaced by a line in “realism” that had economic construction at its core. Very quickly, the national leadership clearly refuted this “revolution” and declared it “was a bout of internal disorder that was mistakenly launched by the leadership and used by a counter-revolutionary clique to inflict severe calamities on the Party, the state, and all people’s.”2 The “Cultural Revolution” was widely referred to as the “ten years of upheaval”, “ten years of catastrophe”, and the “time of nightmares”, and the term “the second liberation” was used to stress the historical significance to the people and the individual of the end of the “Cultural Revolution”. In many essays and books at that time and later, vocabulary such as “great transition”, “new epoch”, and “new period” were indicative of the optimistic hopes of people in characterizing the period of history in the process of unfolding before them. Of these concepts, it was “new period”, which had originally been used in reference to socio-political affairs, that was most widely used in the area of literature. For a comparatively long time, “new period literature” was a term acknowledged and used as the general term for post-“Cultural Revolution” literature. 1 In August 1977, at the Eleventh National Congress in Beijing it was declared that “the smashing of the ‘Gang of Four’ was symbolic of the conclusion” of the “Cultural Revolution”. Documents from this congress termed the period following the conclusion of the “Cultural Revolution” the “new period” of China’s socialist revolution and construction. Literary and arts circles were very quick to label post-“Cultural Revolution” literature as “new period literature” (such as Zhou Yang in his report to the Fourth Literary Representatives Congress, ‹Carry on the Past and Open a Way to the Future, Make Literature of the New Period of Socialism Prosper›). 2 See the resolution of the Sixth Plenum of the Eleventh Congress (June 1981): ‹Resolution concerning Certain Historical Issues since the Establishment of the State›, in A Compilation of Important Documents since the Third Congress (vol. 2), People’s Publishing House, 1982: 811.

258

chapter sixteen

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, a “new period” consciousness was widely present at all levels of society, and at its core was a fervent yearning for “modernization” with regard to “science and democracy”.3 This type of thought was expressed on two major levels, one was the establishment of a road to the future based on a rupture with and comparison to the recent period (the “Cultural Revolution”), and the other primarily was a reassessment of questions asked by and considerations of “history”. During the “Cultural Revolution”, due to the severe disconnection between theory, beliefs, and actual life, and a profound awareness of the “ludicrousness” of social life, to varying degrees many people experienced an ideological shock and a perceived collapse of established authority, and, as a result, a current of contemplation and introspection was already in evidence. An impulse to doubt and question ideological commandments and to break through into restricted areas of ideology formed into an enormous undercurrent. By the late 1970s, under the impetus of all manner of factors, this undercurrent broke through to the surface and appeared as what was termed the “liberation of thought” movement. Initially, liberation of thought was primarily manifest in Communist Party self-criticism of political, economic, and cultural lines, and government policies. In the late 1970s, there were arguments and conflicts over these issues in the highest echelons of state power. On 11 May 1978, Enlightenment Daily printed the article ‹Practice is the Sole Criterion in Testing Truth› by a “special commentator”, and this opened up a nationwide discussion about the “criteria of truth”. In December of the same year, the Third Plenum of the Eleventh Party Congress approved of the proposition “practice is the sole criterion in testing truth” in support of the “liberation of thought”, criticized the “two whatever”4 line

3 In the postface to On the History of Thought in China in Recent Times—a book that had a great impact at the time—Li Zehou wrote: “After the ‘Gang of Four’ was overthrown, China entered into a new period of regaining consciousness: On a foundation of small-scale agricultural production and based on a variety of conceptual systems above it, the superstructure will eventually disappear and the four modernizations will be realized. The banners of people’s democracy will truly fly in the air above this ancient country and its thousand years of feudalism.” This was the expression of a relatively universal belief. Li Zehou, The History of Thought in China in Recent Times, Peoples Publishing House, 1979: 488. 4 At the time, the main leaders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party proposed “We all steadfastly support whatever policy decisions were made by Chairman Mao; we will unfailingly abide by whatever directives were made by Chairman Mao.” See the editorial: ‹Learn the Documents, Grasp the Guiding Principles›, People’s Daily, 7 February 1977.

the literary environment during the s

259

that safeguarded the restrictions of rigid dogma, decided to rescind the documents concerning the “counterattack on the Right deviationist reversal of verdicts wind” and the “Tian’anmen Counter-revolutionary Incident”, and redressed the “April Fift h” Tian’anmen Incident. The congress decided to cease using the slogan “class struggle as the guiding principle” and proposed that the focal point of all work of the Communist Party of China shift to the “construction of socialist modernization”. General opinion has it that this congress was of great significance to the shift that occurred in society in China during the 1980s. The first work undertaken in literary circles during this trend toward the liberation of thought was termed “bringing order of chaos”, and this was seen as preparation for literature to enter into the “new period”. In 1977, critical attacks began on “The Summary of Minutes of the Military Literature & Arts Work Conference” and the judgment on the “black line dictatorship of literature and the arts” put forward in the “Summary of Minutes”. An end to the “integration” of literature was the most important issue for many writers, who believed it was the crux of the issue of literary development: “Faced with practice as the sole criterion in testing truth, there cannot be ‘restricted areas’, there cannot be any ‘golden rule and precious precept’ ”, “there must be a situation of democracy in literature and the arts”.5 Following this, a succession of writers who had been unfairly treated and persecuted in literary and arts circles from the 1950s until the end of the “Cultural Revolution”, as well as works that had been mistakenly attacked, enjoyed the benefits of having the policy implemented. In May, the Central Committee of the Communist Party reversed the instructions of the Liberation Army General Political Department and rescinded “The Summary of Minutes of the Military Literature & Arts Work Conference”. In October 1979, the fourth national congress of literary representatives was convened after a period of nearly twenty years since the previous congress. At this congress, the demands for and expectations of “democracy in literature and the arts” were enthusiastically expressed. The congress rendered the following explanation on the sensitive issue of leadership and control in literature and the arts: The governing party “concerning leadership of work in literature and the arts, does not issue orders, does not demand that literature and the arts 5 See: Mao Dun, ‹How Writers Understand Practice as the Sole Criterion of Testing Truth›; Ba Jin, ‹There Must be a Situation of Democracy in Literature and the Arts›; and other essays in Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1978 (July, Resumption of Publication Edition).

260

chapter sixteen

engage in provisional, concrete, or directly political tasks, but, based on the characteristics and laws of development of literature and the arts, helps workers in literature and the arts achieve conditions for the continuous flourishing of the literature and arts enterprise”. It also reaffirmed the validity of the “let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend” policy, proposed in 1956 but never truly carried out.6 Later, at the fourth congress of representatives of the China Writers Association held from December 1984 until January 1985, the “congratulations” from the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party read out at the congress, again raised the slogan of “creative freedom”: “Writers have ample freedom to choose subject matter, themes, and expressive artistic methodologies, ample freedom to voice their own emotions and enthusiasms, and to express their own thoughts”, “Our party, government, literary and arts groups, and even society, should all staunchly guarantee this freedom of authors”.7 At the start, the great majority of writers who detested “autocracy over literature and the arts” discovered unanimity under such vague slogans as “democracy in the arts” and “creative freedom”, but soon differences between writers with differing literary opinions were gradually exposed. From the early 1980s, all manner of controversies and conflicts frequently broke out and even campaigns of criticism were rolled out. This demonstrates that after entering the “new period” the relationship between literature and politics was still an enduring problem, and that the modifications to the structure of the world of literature and the split between the goals of ideology and art increased the complexity of the problem. Controversial issues included the evaluation of “scar literature”, “Misty poetry”, and “modernist literature”, as well as opinions on theoretical and creative issues such as “alienation”, “humanism”, and “subjectivity”. Important incidents in the areas of thought and culture, as well as that of literature, during this period included, in 1981, the critical attacks on the movie ‹Bitter Love›, the novellas ‹Flying Apsaras› and ‹In the Dossiers of Society›, and the play ‹What If I Really Were?› (also known as ‹Imposter›); in 1983, the roll out of a campaign to

6 Congratulations offered to the congress by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council in: Collected Documents of the Fourth Representatives Congress of China’s Literature & Arts Workers, Sichuan People’s Publishing House, 1980: 6. 7 ‹Congratulations at the Fourth Literary Representatives Congress of the China Writers Association›, People’s Daily, 30 December 1984.

the literary environment during the s

261

“clear out spiritual pollution”, and debates about and critical attacks on “alienation” and “humanism”; as well as the campaign to “combat bourgeois liberalism” in 1987. There were important changes in the manner in which these incidents and “campaigns” unfolded and their actual effects; no longer could they achieve the scale and concerted actions of similar events during the 1950s, 1960s, and the “Cultural Revolution”. The methods of control that had long existed in literary circles and the power that had formed them were undergoing a gradual process of disintegration that was difficult to stop. The literary organizations and groups that had standardized the creative and other literary activities of writers during the 1950s and 1960s (such as the China Literature Federation, the China Writers Association and its local branches) were, in effect, forcibly abolished during the “Cultural Revolution”. In May 1978, at the third expanded congress of the third council of the China Literature Federation it was declared that the activities of the Literature Federation, the Writers Association, and other associations of literature and the arts, were to be resumed, and that Literature & Arts Press and other periodicals would resume publication. This was seen as an important measure in returning to former ways. Something of a rethink and revision of the literature, literary activities, and modes of the 1950s and 1960s, were the goals of the literary renaissance and “re-establishment” of many writers during this period. However, an ideological trend skeptical of this type of literature and literary system was everywhere to be found. Therefore, the former positions of authority held by the aforementioned organizations and periodicals in literary and arts circles were unavoidably damaged by internal and external factors, and were greatly weakened. In literary circles (as well as ideological and scholarly circles), the free space in which to do serious work was expanding, and power of an “unofficial nature” was gradually increasing. This would become an even more apparent and inescapable fact in the 1990s.

2. Outside Influences During the Open Period A highly selective policy was adopted with regard to Chinese and foreign culture in the 1950s and 1960s. During the “Cultural Revolution”, a cultural strategy of “self-imposed isolation” was implemented and, in accordance with contemporary political requirements, a tactic

262

chapter sixteen

of odd pragmatic explications was adopted with regard to portions of traditional culture.8 After the “Cultural Revolution”, both the goal and process of “modernization” required the implementation of a policy of openness to the outside world. After the long embargo, from the early 1980s there occurred an enduring large-scale fervor for the introduction of western culture and thought seldom seen in the twentieth century. Moreover, the changes that occurred in “new period literature” were directly related to the clashes and understandings produced by these influences from outside China. At the end of the 1970s, initially the theoretical and literary works translated and introduced by ideological and cultural circles were reprints of works published during the 1950s and 1960s—primarily, prenineteenth century classical literary theory and literary works. During the first half of the 1960s, some publishing houses (such as Commercial Printing House, Zhonghua Book Bureau, Author Publishing House, People’s Literature Publishing House, and Shanghai People’s Publishing House) published theoretical and literary works for “reference” or “criticism”, most of which were also reprints, such as the “Translated World Famous Scholastic Book Series” and the “Modern Foreign Bourgeois Philosophy Materials Selections”. There was a rapid increase in periodicals that specialized in the translation of foreign literature and literary research during the 1980s. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was only the one: Translations (later renamed World Literature). Since 1980, aside from the senior World Literature, a succession of new periodicals have sprung up, such as Foreign Literary Arts, Foreign Literature, Contemporary Foreign Literature, Forest of Translations, Sea of Translations, Foreign Fiction, Soviet Literature, Russian & Soviet Literature, Japanese Literature, Foreign Literary Studies, Foreign Literature Reports, Dynamics of Foreign

8 The treatment of the works of Lu Xun, of the famous classical novels Water Margins and Dream of the Red Chamber, and the activities “praising Legalists and criticizing Confucianists”, are typical cases. For example, in 1974, the well-known publisher of classical texts, the Zhonghua Book Bureau in Beijing put out Annotations and Commentary on ‘The Analects’. The commentary on a series of lines early in the book follow: “. . . [Confucius] tells his disciples to study rites, music, the Book of Odes, and Book of History especially diligently, and train oneself to become an accomplice to the restoration of the slave society. . . . [Confucius] wants them to rope in counter-revolutionary adherents from distant places and to enlarge the counter-revolutionary organization. . . . [Confucius] says do not hate those in government for not employing you; you must be good at concealing your true intentions and patiently wait for an advantageous moment, and then give it your all.” Annotations and Commentary on ‘The Analects’, Zhonghua Book Bureau, 1974: 2.

the literary environment during the s

263

Literature, and Anthology of Foreign Literary Studies.9 Many publishing houses put out translated works and, additionally, established publishing arms that specialized in foreign literature, such as Foreign Literature Publishing House (split off from People’s Literature Publishing House), Shanghai Translations Publishing House, and China External Translations Publishing Company. In the 1980s, the focal point of the translation and introduction of foreign literature conspicuously shifted toward twentieth century western theory and literature, and modern western theory and “modernist literature” became the focus of attention. This was because, since the 1930s, left-wing literary circles had distrusted “modernist” literature, and, especially since the 1949, “modernism”, or “modernist literature”, was excluded and the object of critical attacks, and, accordingly, the work of translation and introduction had fundamentally ground to halt. As a result, both readers and writers felt a pressing need to understand it. A more important reason was that, after experiencing the “Cultural Revolution”, writers in China felt they had a corresponding psychological foundation to the world view and artistic methods of western modernist writers, and they understood the urgent nature of opening up space for literary exploration so as to change the backward state of China’s contemporary literature.10 In the view of writers and readers during the 1980s, the western “modernist school” was a broad concept. From the end of the previous century until the 1970s, it included symbolism, expressionism, futurism, stream-of-consciousness literature, surrealism, existentialism, the nouveau roman, the Beat generation, the theater of the absurd, black humor, magic realism, and other forms of literature. This view was reflected in the works included in the then popular Anthology of Foreign Modernist Literature (four parts in eight volumes, Yuan Kejia editor-in-chief). Based on this understanding, in a sense so-called “modernist” literature was seen as modern western literature of the twentieth century. Between 1978 and 1982, over four hundred translations and essays of introduction, commentary, and discussions about modernist fiction were

9 There were different editions of Russian & Soviet Literature published in Beijing, Wuhan, and Shandong Province during the early 1980s. 10 In March 1982, in a letter to Li Tuo, Feng Jicai wrote: “I have an urgent need to tell you, I’ve just finished reading Gao Xingjian’s Initial Explorations into Techniques of Modern Fiction and feel as if I’ve drunk a large glass of mellow Tonghua wine. If you haven’t seen it, quickly ask Xingjian for a copy. I’ve heard it’s a bestseller. Under the current circumstances in which few people set foot in this garden of ‘modern fiction’, it’s as if a beautiful kite has suddenly been raised in a vast empty sky, it’s so exciting!”

264

chapter sixteen

published in major papers and periodicals throughout the country. Every periodical and publishing house published works of modernist fiction and related studies, and this quickly formed into a relatively largescale publishing movement. Influential book series included the “20th Century Foreign Literature Series” and the “Famous Works of Foreign Literature Series” put out by the Foreign Literature and Shanghai Translation publishing houses, the “Works of Nobel Literature Prize-winning Authors Collection” from the Lijiang Publishing House, and the “Poetry Garden Forest of Translations” from the Hunan People’s Publishing House. Moreover, the Foreign Literature Publishing House also put out a special series of “Foreign Literature Research Materials”, which, aside from special volumes on individual writers (such as Shakespeare, Balzac, Hemingway, Faulkner, Garcia Marquez, Sartre, and Kawabata Yasunari), also included volumes on “schools” (such as the theatre of the absurd and the nouveau roman). The translation and introduction of twentieth century western literary studies, as well as important works in the social sciences and the humanities, such as philosophy, aesthetics, cultural studies, sociology, and psychology, were also enthusiastically welcomed by literary circles. Freudian psychology, existentialism, phenomenology, Russian formalism, structuralism, close reading, new criticism, semiotics, post-structuralism, and feminist literary criticism were among those areas of theory that were gradually introduced and left deep marks on the development of literature in China during the 1980s. “Modern Foreign Literary & Artistic Theory Translation Series” and the “Academic Library”, put out by Three Federations Bookstore of Beijing, were the most influential academic translation book series in literary circles during the 1980s and 1990s. The enthusiasm literary circles had for “modernism”, however, gave rise to a controversy over the evaluation of “modernism” during the early 1980s.11 Aside from the introduction and importation of the fruits of western 11

In 1984, People’s Literature Publishing House put out the two-volume Collection of Essays from the Dispute over the Western Modernist Literature Issue (He Wangxian ed., internally distributed). Aside from collecting representative articles published in papers and periodicals, there was also an appendix entitled “Index of Articles concerning the Discussion of the Western Modernist Literature Issue”. The book’s ‹Publication Explanation› points out: “On the battle lines of literature and the arts, the clearing out and prevention of spiritual pollution is one of the important tasks; this is to criticize and block attempts to transplant to our nation modernist literature and arts that reflect western bourgeois consciousness, to express so-called ‘socialist alienation’ as a topic, and the mistaken opinions and mistaken literary works based on blatant individualist world views that distort the socialist reality of our nation.” Another major object of the campaign to “clear out spiritual pollution” at the time, was based on the issues of “alienation” and “humanism”.

the literary environment during the s

265

academia and culture during the 1980s, the work of reassessing the work of China’s modern writers had an important effect on the development of “new period” literature: This was yet another aspect of the “discovery” of “resources” in the creation of “new period” literature. Writers and schools that were overlooked or forgotten during the 1950s and 1960s, were expounded upon and promoted, had their position in literary history12 confirmed by scholars, and were relatively directly brought into the literary work of this period. This included the Crescent school, Symbolist school, and Modernist poetry of the 1920s and 1930s, the “New Sensation School” of fiction in Shanghai during the 1930s, the works and literary writings of the “Beijing school” writers such as Shen Congwen, Lao She, Fei Ming, Xiao Qian, Zhu Guangqian, and Li Jianwu, the “Solitary Island literature” of writers such as Qian Zhongshu, Zhang Ailing, and Shi Tuo, the “July group” fiction of writers such as Lu Ling, as well as the work of the “Nine Leaves” poets such as Mu Dan, Zheng Min, and Du Yunxie. There were important shifts and changes with regard to those writers about which there once seemed to have been a “final conclusion”, such as the recognition and evaluation of Lu Xun, Lao She, and Cao Yu. One example of this was the rediscovery of the value Lu Xun’s short stories ‹The Loner› and ‹At the Drinking Establishment› and especially his book of prose poetry, Weeds, which were overlooked or believed to be deficient ideologically or artistically during the 1950s and 1960s. Some researchers considered these works rare masterpieces of this author and even of all twentieth century literature in China. Taiwan literature and criticism since 1949 was also introduced widely. The large-scale “introduction” of western philosophy, literary theory, and literature, as well as the reassessment of twentieth century Chinese literature, all had a great effect on the field of vision and the renovation of the experiences, thought, and modes of expression of writers of the “new period” in Mainland China. These re-evaluations of the literary “tradition” demonstrate the ideological and artistic trends of writers in China during the 1980s: An emphasis on the “independence” and the “artistic self-sufficiency” of literature, and a “transcendence” of creative subjects and boundaries over contemporary socio-political issues.13

12 During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the research of some foreign scholars into modern Chinese literature produced a great reaction in Mainland China’s academic circles. These included Xia Ji’an’s research on Lu Xun and A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, 1917–1957 by Xia Zhiqing (C. T. Hsia). 13 The opinions of Wang Meng in ‹Five-way Discussion between Chinese and English Writers›, Literature & Arts Press, 10 September 1988.

266

chapter sixteen

The large-scale introduction of western culture exacerbated the “conflict” between differing literary ideals. In cultural circles, issues that had already been debated for a century once more re-emerged: The differences, similarities, and the good and the bad of the characteristics of “eastern and western cultures”; the “creative conversion” of “tradition”, and the possibilities of a contemporary merging and emergence of new ideas from “new” and “old” culture. In literary creation and criticism, this led directly to important literary movements and disputes during the 1980s, such as the debate over “Misty poetry”, the controversy over the “modernist school”, and the raising of such issues as “subjectivity” and “root-seeking” in literature. Literary renovation and “experimentation” were expressed as “heterogeneous” elements that to varying degrees induced and impelled fresh changes in the contents and modes of perception and artistic methodology. The work and literary thought of some important twentieth century western writers produced an obvious influence on the “state” of literature in China during the 1980s. Some commentators believe the foreign authors who had a comparatively great influence on the writing of China’s young and middle-aged writers were Kafka, Hemmingway, Garcia Marquez, and Akhmatova. Naturally, this list should not be limited to fiction writers, and needs to be greatly expanded to include names such as Sartre, Camus, Faulkner, Borges, T. S. Eliot, Rilke, and many more. When it comes to influence, some writers do not wish to discuss it, or deny the sources of their inspiration, others are frank about this characteristic fact of this special period in China’s literature. Mo Yan has spoken about how, in 1985, A Hundred Years of Solitude (Garcia Marquez) and The Sound and the Fury (Faulkner) had caused a number of writers “to feel terrified when faced with masterpieces, but, after the terror had passed, [they] busily prepared to act”; he also explains how his “accumulation [of culture]” and creative powers were “opened”.14 As this was an opening up to the world after a relatively long period of self-imposed isolation, the cultural fruit of over a century was practically introduced and disseminated all at once. All manner of literary opinions, literary schools, and the works of a multitude of writers flooded in and caused great excitement and trepidation among the

14 See: Mo Yan, ‹The Cry of a Guizhou Donkey› (Youth Literature, no. 2, 1986), and ‹Talking about this Old Man Faulkner› (Contemporary Writers Review, no. 2, 1995). In the latter article, he discusses how, when he read The Sound and the Fury, he promptly “felt massive inspiration and found himself pacing around the room fighting the urge to immediately ‘create a new heaven and earth’ for himself ”.

the literary environment during the s

267

many who originally knew nothing (or little) about the “outside world”. Given the lack of a relative abundance of time and a calm state of mind with which to understand and investigate all this, everything seemed comparatively hurried and perfunctory with regard to attitudes and methodologies, no matter whether they were rejected or enthusiastically accepted. Related to this was the fact that some innovative and exploratory literary activities and writing had an obvious “correspondence” with the ideological trends and works of western literature (one of the ways in which this was expressed was through so-called “mimetism”). At the same time, the proclivity of “new period” literature to establish “schools” and initiate “movements” had a definite relationship with this mode of receiving modern western literature. Of course, there is no need to question the positive significance of outside influence, as this was also an indicator of the creative enthusiasm of writers wishing to initiate a “new period” in literature. It not only promoted innovations in the artistic concepts and methods of China’s writers, but also led to the renewed activation of “tradition” and, thus, added the prospect of a “synthesis” to the foundation of writers’ experience and creative powers.

3. Division and Regrouping Among Writers After the “Cultural Revolution”, many writers felt as if they were experiencing a “second liberation”, there was a universal recognition that they were standing at a new starting point and that the opportunity of entering into a “springtime” of their artistic lives had arrived. Based on this belief, there were descriptions of an “unprecedented spectacular occasion” of a great reunion of “five generations under one roof ”.15 In fact, as a “transitional” change had already occurred in society and the literary environment, writers were necessarily faced with a situation of choosing or being chosen. Aside from natural factors such as age, the most important causes of division and replacement were literary concepts and related creative capabilities. Therefore, during the 1980s, there was a large-scale division and regrouping of writers similar to what happened

15 At the fourth congress of literary representatives in November 1979, the unprecedented spectacular occasion of “five generations under one roof ” was a widely used description of the situation in literary and artistic circles at the time. See: Compendium of Essays from the Fourth All-China Congress of Literary and Arts Workers Representatives, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1980.

268

chapter sixteen

after 1949. The difference was that during the 1980s this regrouping was not primarily carried out through the organs of political power, but was more likely (being chosen by the political powers still continued) to be undertaken in response to the demands of society (readers and the choices of the “market”). The writers approved of and commended in literary circles during the period stretching from the mid-1950s until the eve of the “Cultural Revolution” found that, with a few exceptions, they could not sustain their creative vigor in the “new period”. Gradually some ceased writing, and while others still produced a steady stream of new works, they were unwilling, or unable, to renew their modes of perception and expression, and produced an overall sense of being obsolete. Although their new work of the 1980s was praised by some critics, and they may even have won literary prizes,16 it was impossible to evade their fate of being replaced. The most influential writers of the 1980s (in particular the first half of the decade) primarily belonged to two groupings. One consisted of those who had suffered setbacks during the 1950s for political or artistic reasons (most of these had fallen prey to the “anti-rightist campaign”). They were called “re-emergent writers” or “returned writers”, and included Ai Qing, Wang Zengqi, Cai Qijiao, Niu Han, Wang Meng, Zhang Xianliang, Gao Xiaosheng, Lu Wenfu, Liu Binyan, Deng Youmei, Shao Yanxiang, Cong Weixi, Liu Shaotang, Li Guowen, Liu Shahe, Gong Liu, and Chang Yao. An easily produced misperception was that, during the “Cultural Revolution”, the majority of writers suffered varying degrees of persecution, were victims of the radical cultural line, and, therefore, were all “re-emergent” or “returned”. In fact, there were several disparities among such writers. Just among those writers who were castigated during the “Cultural Revolution”, many believed themselves to be the wronged victims of “abnormal” historical circumstances; but writers sent into exile during the 1950s were considered necessarily punished “discarded people”, who suffered through faults of their own, in what for a long time was considered “normal” society. This difference left dissimilar imprints on the psychology of writers that can be seen 16 During the 1980s, Qu Bo published Mountains Call and Seas Roar and Qiao Longbiao; Yang Mo published Dawn in the East, The Song of the Fragrance of Flowers and Grass, and The Song of Beautiful Plants and Flowers; Ouyang Shan produced the third, fourth, and fifth volumes of Romance of a Generation; Liu Baiyu wrote the novel The Globe’s Red Ribbon; and Hao Ran and others continued writing. Wei Wei’s novel The East won the inaugural Mao Dun Literature Prize, and Li Zhun’s novel The Yellow River Flows East won the second Mao Dun Literature Prize.

the literary environment during the s

269

in their understanding of the world and in their “self consciousness”. For these writers, their “exile” was not only indicative of social life, but also referent to being isolated from mainstream literary circles (their suffering was actually related to their divergent literary viewpoints). Being forced to cease writing for a relatively long period of time naturally damaged their artistic and creative powers, but it also allowed their renewed writing to maintain a certain distance from the forms of the [pre-“Cultural Revolution”] “seventeen years of literature”—that is to say the “revival” of suppressed literary innovations of the 1950s and 1960s—and thus won them access to a relatively open creative space for subject matter, and artistic methodologies and styles. The other major force of the 1980s was the group of “educated youth writers”. The everyday expression “educated youth” became a specific historical concept during the 1970s and 1980s. During the early 1960s, and especially during the “Cultural Revolution” from late 1968, under orders from Mao Zedong17 a large number of urban graduates from junior high school and high school went, either voluntarily or by force, to the countryside (or the military’s “production and construction corps”) to “join production brigades and settle” there. This was termed the “up to the mountains or down to the countryside” movement of the educated youth, and this system continued until the end of the “Cultural Revolution”. The areas to which the educated youths were sent were primarily economically- and culturally-backward provinces, especially the villages and mountainous areas of Xinjiang, northern Shanxi, northern Shaanxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hainan Island, as well as the plains of Inner Mongolia and the Great Northern Wastelands in the Northeast. During the “Cultural Revolution”, many of the educated youths experienced a drastic change in status from being the “main force of the revolution” to being the recipients of “re-education”, as well as the change from life in the city to life in the village, from life in relatively developed economic areas to life in China’s impoverished regions. Under such circumstances, the psychological pressure and the price paid by individuals in pursuit of sustenance and personal development, as well as the ponderings of some on the fate of the state and its people made from the base point

17 In December 1968, Mao Zedong issued the “highest directive”: “That educated youth go to the countryside and receive re-education at the hands of the poor and lowermiddle farmers is very necessary. The cadres and others in the city must be persuaded and mobilized to send to the countryside their sons and daughters who’ve graduated from junior middle school, middle school, and university.”

270

chapter sixteen

of such a life, formed the memories of experience and emotions that later became the motives and subject matter of their writing. In fact, some began writing literature during the “Cultural Revolution”: Some exhibited “heterodox” qualities and were in an “underground” situation, while others drew close to the literary trends of the time and had works published in official publications. Major writers with the status of “educated youth” during the 1980s include Han Shaogong, Zhang Chengzhi, Shi Tiesheng, Jia Pingwa, Wang Anyi, Zheng Yi, Zhang Xinxin, Liang Xiaosheng, Kong Jiesheng, Chen Jiangong, Li Hangyu, Zhang Kangkang, Ah Cheng, He Liwei, Ye Xin, Tie Ning, and Li Xiao. Although poets such as Duoduo, Mang Ke, Jiang He, Yang Lian, Shu Ting, and Bei Dao, also had the status and experience of being “educated youth”, in literary circles they are generally not referred to as “educated youth writers” (or “educated youth poets”), nor is their poetry discussed as part of “educated youth literature”. This dissimilar handling is related to differences in the subject matter and forms of writing of poetry and fi ction. The terms “re-emergent writers” and “educated youth writers” may effectively transmit the overall characteristics of the status and work of writers during the 1980s, but it is also possible that they blur pre-existent differences and the steadily growing divisions between writers. Therefore, the efficacy of these terms is limited, and this is even more the case with the passage of time. Aside from the two “groups of writers” described above, during the 1980s writers who were already middle-aged began to enter a busy period of writing and develop into forces that could not be disregarded. Counted among them were Zhang Jie, Feng Jicai, Gu Hua, Dai Houying, Liu Xinwu, and Gao Xingjian. A large number of woman writers also appeared and came to the attention of readers during the 1980s, and were held to be the second “high tide” of woman writers after that which emerged during the “May Fourth” period. By the mid-1980s, the creative vitality of a portion of the “re-emergent” writers and the “educated youth” writers went into obvious decline. More accurately, the changes in literary concepts that occurred at this time exposed severe deficiencies in personal cultural preparations and in contemporary modes of writing. Of course, after making adjustments, some writers transcended “re-emergent” and “educated youth” subject matter and themes, and exhibited an enduring dynamism. At the same time, younger writers and those writers who only entered “literary circles” in the mid-1980s brought with them new artistic styles and features, and exhibited the spirit of exploration and innovation of newly emerged talents in the

the literary environment during the s

271

areas of poetry, fiction, and so on. The fiction of writers such as Mo Yan, Liu Suola, Can Xue, Ma Yuan, Yu Hua, Su Tong, Ye Zhaoyan, Ge Fei, Sun Ganlu, Bei Cun, Liu Heng, and Fang Fang, constituted the most important “panorama” during the latter years of the 1980s fiction, and the socalled “third generation” (or “newborn generation”) gathered to form a majestic presence in poetry writing. Haizi, Luo Yihe, Xi Chuan, Zhai Yongming, Yu Jian, Chen Dongdong, Zhou Lunyou, Ouyang Jianghe, Wang Jiaxin, Xiao Kaiyu, and others made their initial public appearances and exhibited both quality and style in their poetry. Compared to the writers of the 1950s and 1960s, there were many changes as these writers had all had the benefit of higher education, life experience, cultural accomplishments, and had read widely. Of course, the important difference may lie in that the writers who were promoted during the 1950s and 1960s had used their writings to explicate and justify a unitary “totalistic” concept, and for some of the important writers of the 1980s, literature was an exploration of the “individual” into human existence and the complex relationship between humanity and the world.

4. Literature and the ‘Market Economy’ As regards the external environment, for a long period contemporary writers in China experienced the greatest pressure in their handling of the relationship between literature and politics. The intimate relationship between politics and literature and the tense circumstances under which it was handled, constrained and regulated the contents of what was written and modes of expression. This special relationship brought glory (not entirely literary) to some and misery to others; in suffering these setbacks and calamities, this latter group formed a lofty, solemn “self-consciousness”. This situation continued to exist to some degree during the 1980s. However, at the same time, writers in China suddenly came across pressure of another nature brought about by the social “transition” in China—the development of the “market economy” and the appearance of a consumerist society. From 1949 until the 1970s, the relationship between literature and commodities was a continuation of the “tradition” of the “base areas” and “Yan’an literature”. At the time, literature was a “state of consciousness”, a “spiritual product” unrelated to money or commodities. The literary concepts and the literary system of left-wing literary circles sketched a strict boundary between literature and “commodities”. During the

272

chapter sixteen

“Cultural Revolution”, this “pure” quality of literature achieved a state never previously seen. Manuscript fees were abolished as an expression of “bourgeoisie rights”, any understanding of or motive in reading literature that had elements of “consumption” or “recreation” was criticized. Following entry into the 1980s, many writers called for “reform” and “modernization”, but were not psychologically prepared for the “consequences” of “reform” and “modernization”—the profound influences this would have on politics, the social structure, literary forms, and concepts of value. They faced a series of perplexing and alarming phenomena and problems: The dissolution of the “unified nature” of society in the previous period (even though it had only been maintained as a facade); the rapid increase in the social importance and the position of money, wealth, and economic activity; the weakening of the supreme central position of politics and ideology; the relative reduction in the scope of state control over economic and cultural activities; the increased speed of the trend toward social stratification; the expansion of the living and thinking space of the individual; social strata formed as a result of socio-economic position and interest, and the division and pluralization of lifestyles and requirements (including cultural requirements) that resulted; the conflict between “popular culture” and “elite literature”, and the pressure placed on the latter by the former; and so on. These circumstances stipulated the literary (cultural) configurations of the 1980s, and the mid- and late 1980s in particular. Faced not only with political selection, but also with the ever-increasing selective power of the “market”, this re-establishment of an unfavorable existential situation and writing path constituted a new pressure on writers. There were great developments with regard to periodicals and the publishing industry during the 1980s. Ordinary daily newspapers and all manner of specialist papers opened special columns for literary (creative writing and criticism) contributions. Compared to the 1950s and 1960s, there was a massive increase in the number of literary periodicals. Aside from normal literary periodicals, the number of large literary periodicals that could publish novellas and novels increased in number from the one—Harvest—that existed prior to the “Cultural Revolution”, to approximately twenty.18 Of these, Harvest (Shanghai), Contemporary (Beijing), October (Beijing), China Author (Beijing), Zhongshan

18 Some remained in operation for long periods, others ceased publication quite quickly; therefore it is difficult to put an exact figure on this type of periodical.

the literary environment during the s

273

(Nanjing), Flower City (Guangzhou), and Great Masters (Nanning), founded in the 1990s, retain a relatively major presence on the literary scene. Owing to the division of reader requirements and to the rise of the nature of being a “commodity” in the publication and circulation of literary writing, there was increased competition between publishing houses and periodicals.19 Considerations about continued existence, development, and profitability necessarily gave impetus to the trend in literature towards “commodification”. Amid the expansion of the mass media, consumerist popular culture formed a powerful trend. Initially, popular culture was also “external”. Love stories, tales of swordsmen, popular music, and television programs and films from Hongkong, Taiwan, and other places began to become popular on the Mainland in the early 1980s. After the late 1990s, popular culture gradually moved from the “margins” to the “center” of the cultural market (at least in quantity and in its position in public life). The original “central” position of “pure literature”, or “elite literature”, was severely shaken. The entry of literature as a “commodity” into the market and the “commodification” of literature was not a new thing in twentieth century China, and this can also be said of modern literature. However, the situation at the end of the century had its special circumstances, and, given the “fracture” of certain historical threads, this led to especially fierce reactions to this issue by contemporary writers. Th is belated phenomenon led to differing understandings of the goals and nature of writing, and a differentiation in the status and the values of writers. From a certain perspective, there was no alternative to this differentiation (or division), and it had something of the tragic about it; but from another perspective, it can be understood as normal, “healthy”. A person can choose a certain position and achieve a certain result, but he should not aspire to choosing all positions and take possession of all results. As a reaction to this situation, there is a complex mentality and depression among some writers in literary circles. Some reminisce about the literature of the early 1980s and the “glorious scene” of that time; some worry that the ever-increasing commodification of society will lead to the annihilation of literature; some feel that values can no longer be expressed,

19 In late 1983, a document was issued by the relevant ministry in the government that stipulated that literary publications, with a few exceptions, “take responsibility for profits and losses”. Previously, the primary concerns in the publication of periodicals and books were ideological. As funds were allocated by the state, profi tability had not been a major consideration.

274

chapter sixteen

as writers have already lost their “central” social and economic position; and some continue to fabricate a unitary situation, declaring that pure literature and popular culture have merged, that there is no demarcation line . . . Some writers find themselves in a tight situation as they seek to preserve their image as the “banners of the spirit” established during the 1980s, while also wanting to win massive benefits through writing for a consumerist culture. Naturally, a clear-headed choice and the establishment of a “position” for oneself have allowed other writers to walk away from this anxiety and confusion.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A SURVEY OF 1980s LITERATURE

1. Process: The First Half of the 1980s For a period after the conclusion of the “Cultural Revolution” in late 1976, there was no great shift away from “Cultural Revolution literature”. The literary concepts, subject matter, and artistic methodology of writers still followed the practice of “Cultural Revolution literature”. A break with “Cultural Revolution” modes of practice did not begin to become apparent until 1979. As a result, many critics, when they speak of the beginning of “new period” literature, do not use the end of the “Cultural Revolution” as a dividing line.1 Of course, before this happened there were literary works that presaged this “change”, such as the short story ‹Class Teacher› (by Liu Xinwu) published in November 1977, and ‹The Scar› (by Lu Xinhua) in August 1978.2 These artistically crude literary works highlighted important characteristics of the “thaw” in literature: A concern for the fate of the individual and their emotional scars, and the authors search for “subject consciousness”. The literature of the 1980s can be broken into two parts, with 1985 as the dividing line. During the earlier period, there was a relative concentration on various issues in literary, ideological, and cultural circles. At the time, the recently concluded “Cultural Revolution” was widely seen as the “savagery” of “feudal despotism”. Therefore, fighting free of

1 Zhu Zhai, the editor-in-chief of The History of Ideological Trends in Chinese Contemporary Literature, points out that the reason they made the division for the “history of ideological trends in contemporary literature” at 1979 and not the “smashing of the ‘Gang of Four’ in 1976”, was because before 1979 “thought in literature and the arts had not yet fundamentally broken free of inhibitions”; “Bringing order out of the chaos in literary and artistic thought and new breakthroughs in literary and artistic work” began in late 1978 “about the time of the Third Plenum of the Eleventh Congress”. Moreover, “the Fourth National Congress of Literary Representatives, which implemented the spirit of the Third Plenum of the Eleventh Congress, became the milestone of this shift in the history of literature and the arts”. See: Zhu Zhai, ed., The History of Ideological Trends in Chinese Contemporary Literature, People’s Publishing House, 1987: 8–9. 2 Published, respectively, in the 1977 no. 11 edition of People’s Literature and the 11 August 1978 edition of Literary Confluence Daily (Shanghai).

276

chapter seventeen

the yoke of “cultural autocracy” and a renewal of the notion of “cultural enlightenment” (a “new enlightenment”) for the entire nation was the “main current” in ideology and culture. Related to this was the call for a resumption of the “tradition” of “realism” in literature. During these years, all literary themes were related to the “historical memory” of the “Cultural Revolution”, literature was the “testimony” provided by those who had experienced the “historical disaster”, as well as a consideration of and exploration into “historical responsibility” (“whose crime”). In fiction, there were the “scar fiction” and “introspective fiction” trends; poetry primarily consisted of the “songs of return” by “re-emergent poets” and the “Misty poetry” of young poets; and theater, especially western-style drama, was primarily made up of “social issue dramas” related to the “Cultural Revolution”. Deeper-going changes in artistic concepts and methodologies were fermenting, but had yet to become apparent and receive universal notice. Overall, the subject matter and themes of literature were directed toward the socio-political strata, and most bore qualities of “intervention” in socio-political matters. The issues touched on and the feelings expressed were in step with the thinking and mood of all social strata. This intimate relationship between literary works and society and politics, of literature with public life and feeling, was not to be seen again, and has led some to reminisce fondly about the “glory of former times”. As the “Cultural Revolution” was seen as the “darkest page” in the history of modern literature and the arts in China, and the “field” of literature and the arts had suffered grievous devastation and the “withering of a hundred flowers”, “new period literature” was seen as a “literary revival”, and this “rejuvenation” was often linked to “May Fourth” literature, and even seen as a “revisiting” of “May Fourth”. During the early 1980s, people were most inclined towards viewing the “May Fourth” era as a situation of freedom and a “symbiosis of pluralism”. However, in view of the central issues of the first half of the 1980s, the “revival” people wanted was primarily that of the enlightening spirit of “science and democracy” advocated by “May Fourth” and the literary thought that held up “May Fourth” as its banner, but had been criticized as “heterodox” from 1949 until the 1970s. Many critics and writers strove to carry on the work of Hu Feng, Feng Xuefeng, and Qin Zhaoyang during the 1940s and 1950s (as well as that of Zhou Yang and others during the 1960s) that had ended in tragedy. One aspect of this was to impel literature to free itself from obligations to diagram political concepts and

a survey of s literature

277

to produce representations of social life, and from the control of rigid artistic models, under the precondition of continuing to acknowledge the “revolutionary” nature of literature. Another aspect was to safeguard the “special character” of literature as “art” and to attach importance to the social undertaking of literature, its critical function, and to propose that writers seek a balance and unity between this and the spirit of “enlightenment”. The reaffirmation and adherence to “writing truth” and “realism”, the open publication of speeches from the early 1960s by Zhou Enlai and Chen Yi on the subject of “adjustments” to policy on literature and the arts,3 the defence of the opinions of essays like ‹Realism—The Broad Road› (by Qin Zhaoyang) that had been subject to criticism since the 1950s, and the questioning of the slogan “Literature and the arts serve politics”, all illustrated that those promoting the “rejuvenation” of “new period” literature were initially continuing the “unfi nished” work of the 1950s and 1960s, and had taken up their spiritual banners.4 In April 1979, the Shanghai Literature commentary ‹Rectifying the Name of Literature and the Arts—Refuting the Theory of “Literature and the Arts are Tools of Class Struggle”›5 questioned this long-held “fundamental” concept of China’s left-wing literary circles, and within the framework of left-wing literary opinion, opposed turning literature into a simple megaphone for politics and sought a political function for literature and the arts without departing from their “special properties”: It restated the line of thought of a group (Hu Feng, Feng Xuefeng, Qin Zhaoyang, and others) suppressed by left-wing literature. Therefore, in a certain sense, the issues handled and the debates that unfolded at the start of the “new period” were on “obsolete” topics that had been discussed in left-wing literary circles during the 1950s and 1960s, and even earlier, or were extensions of these topics. These topics included the relationship between literature and politics, “writing truth”, “modernist” literature, humanity, and humanism.

3 See: Zhou Enlai, ‹Speech at the Literature & Arts Workers Forum and at the Movie Writing Conference›, (19 June 1961); Chen Yi, ‹Speech at the National Drama, Opera, & Children’s Theater Writing Forum›, (6 March 1962); etc. 4 See the speeches of writers and critics at the Literary and Artistic Theory and Criticism Forum organized by the Literature & Arts Press in March 1979: ‹Sum Up Experience, Improve the Work of Literary and Artistic Theory and Criticism›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 4, 1979. 5 There was an enthusiastic response to this article at the time, and Shanghai Literature and other periodicals organized a large-scale discussion on the subject.

278

chapter seventeen

Zhou Yang’s ‹An Inquiry into Some Issues about Marxism›6 was an important essay that generated huge controversy during the debates over ideology and theory in the early 1980s. This essay attempts to expose and criticize the philosophical sources of the “leftist” line in political thought in China, and to give impetus to the deepening of the liberation of thought. While it had an impact on theory, it is more accurate to portray it as primarily directed against contemporary issues in society. The essay points out that Marxism is a developing theory and criticizes the viewpoint that holds it to be “ultimate truth”. It proposes that, epistemologically, the three categories of the perceptual, the intellectual, and the rational, should replace the two categories of the perceptual and the rational, and that the intellectual and the rational be differentiated; it holds that the intellectual and the rational are confused, believing that as soon as a notion is formed, the essence has been grasped, and this leads to simplification and is the source of abstraction. Another important issue raised in the essay is the relationship between Marxism and humanism. The essay does not agree with summing up the whole of Marxism as humanism, instead holding that Marxism contains humanism. In explicating the concept of “alienation” in Marx’s early work Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (one of the major theoretical bases of the “liberation of thought movement” during the early 1980s), it holds that in the ideals of Marx and Engels not only is humankind liberated from the system of exploitation, but also from the restraints of all forms of alienation. The greatest point of “bother” for the essay was the belief that “alienation” exists not only under conditions of capitalism, but also under socialism, and included alienation in the economic sphere, in the political sphere (alienation from power), and in the ideo6 It was published on 16 March 1983 in the People’s Daily. According to Wang Yuanhua in ‹The Whole Story of Drawing Up the Essay for Zhou Yang› (Southern Weekend, 12 December 1997, Guangzhou), the essay was drafted by Wang Yuanhua, Wang Ruoshui, and Gu Xiang, after a discussion between Zhou Yang and these three. Wang Yuanhua was the principal writer of the section about attaching importance to issues of epistemology, and Wang Ruoshui wrote the section about humanism. Before this, Wang Yuanhua had already written and published essays on the subject of epistemology and related methodologies (such as ‹On Intellectual Analytical Methodology› published in Shanghai’s Academic Monthly in 1979 and Shanghai Literature in 1981). During the period, Wang Ruoshui also wrote several essays on humanism, the best known of which was ‹In Defense of Humanism› (Literary Confluence Daily, 17 January 1983, Shanghai). The text of Zhou Yang’s essay was finalized by Wang Yuanhua, polished by Wang Ruoshui, and ultimately read out by Zhou Yang at the Academic Report Conference on the Hundredth Anniversary of the Death of Marx at the Central Party School of the Communist Party on 7 March 1983.

a survey of s literature

279

logical sphere (the worship of individuals, or religious alienation). Zhou Yang’s essay drew enthusiastic support and quickly became the object of fierce criticism, too.7 The most authoritative and systematic criticism of Zhou’s essay was carried out by Hu Qiaomu in ‹Concerning the Issues of Humanism and Alienation›,8 which pointed out that “propagating the humanist worldview and view of history, and the theory of socialist alienation” . . . was a “fundamentally mistaken” current of thought, and was not an ordinary issue of academic theory, but an issue that “touched on a direction away from Marxism that induces feelings of distrust in socialism”. Soon afterwards, Zhou Yang made a public self-criticism.9 The campaign to resist and clear out spiritual pollution unfolded during 1983 and 1984, and literary issues and phenomena were listed among the items considered “spiritual pollution”. Aside from the opinions of Zhou Yang and others on humanism and alienation, these included: “taking western ‘modernism’ as the direction of development and the road for our country’s literature and arts”, creatively “being fond of expressing abstract human nature and humanism”, “exaggerating all manner of gloomy psychologies of pessimism, disappointment, loneliness, and fear”, “taking ‘self-expression’ as the sole and highest goal”, and so on.10

2. Process: The Second Half of the 1980s There were some changes in the situation of literature partway through the 1980s. The literary themes of the 1980s, the fundamental make-up of authors, the modes of reception and circulation, and other issues

7 After Zhou Yang gave his speech, it was suddenly decided to extend the “Academic Report Conference” that had been originally set to conclude on 9 March, and to carry out criticism of opinions in the speech. On 16 March, when People’s Daily published Zhou Yang’s speech, it simultaneously published criticism of the speech: ‹Précis of the Speeches of Huang Nansen and Others at the Academic Report Conference on the Hundredth Anniversary of the Death of Marx›. 8 This was a speech given by Hu Qiaomu on 3 January 1984 at the Central Party School. After revisions, it was published in the 1984 no. 2 edition of Red Flag. 9 In November 1983, Zhou Yang made his self-criticism in conversation with reporters from the New China News Agency. Also in November at a forum organized by the China Literature Federation, Zhou said: “This year in March at the Academic Report Conference on the Hundredth Anniversary of the Death of Marx, I published such an essay with mistakes and defects. This was a profound lesson for me.” See: Literature & Arts Press, no. 12, 1983. 10 See a social comment piece in the 1983 no. 11 edition of Literature & Arts Press, and a report on the forum in the no. 12 edition.

280

chapter seventeen

continued in their main aspects, but new elements also appeared. This “transformation” can be understood as the result of certain aspects of literary creation and theory transcending the scope of China’s left-wing literary topics of the 1950s and 1960s, the styles and features of literary work departing from the previous relatively unitary model, greater steps in carrying forward exploration and innovation in artistic methodologies, and the relationship of literature with readers becoming much more complex. During the mid-1980s and on into the late 1980s, some of the “re-emergent” writers and poets who enjoyed some prestige after the “Cultural Revolution” made new progress in their work, but many had already passed their “peak” as creative writers. Faced with the tremendous pressure of changes to literary concepts and methodologies, they lacked the latent capacity to adjust their practice, were sluggish to change, or produced progressively less new work. Most writers of “Misty poetry” were no longer at the height of their powers, and not many of the large number of young poets who had emerged in the early 1980s were still maintaining active postures beyond the mid-1980s. The work of some “educated youth” writers of fiction appeared to stagnate. Clearly, the problem of the universal brevity of the “vitality” of contemporary writers and their work had not yet been consigned to history during the 1980s. Insufficient preparation put into the writing of literature and the rapid transformation of literary trends after China’s opening to the outside world led to the replacement of writers during this period at a speed beyond the previous norm. Of course, there were steady, persevering individuals among all “types” of writers, especially among those termed “educated youth writers”. Together with younger writers, they constituted the “hardcore strength” of late 1980s and 1990s literature. Because many events occurred during 1985, some critics have determined that this year “marked” the literary “transition” during the mid1980s. Many writers still wrote about the “Cultural Revolution” and contemporary history either directly or indirectly, but literary works featuring ideological and artistic forms different from “scar” and “introspective” literature had already appeared. Ma Yuan’s ‹The Attraction of the Ganges›, Beijingers by Zhang Xinxin and Sang Ye, Shi Tiesheng’s ‹Strings of Life›, Liu Suola’s ‹You Have No Other Choice›, Wang Anyi’s ‹Xiaobao Village›, Chen Cun’s ‹Girls and Boys, Seven in Total›, Mo Yan’s ‹Transparent Radishes›, Han Shaogong’s ‹Pa Pa Pa›, Ban Xue’s ‹Hut on the Mountain›, and Zhaxi Dawa’s ‹A Soul Tied to a Leather-Strap Buckle›, were among the notable works of fiction published during this

a survey of s literature

281

year.11 To readers and critics long accustomed to explicit thematic intentions and “realist” methods of expression, these works seemed fresh and new, and this accordingly led to differences in their evaluation and explication. The bulk of these works seemed to express an opposition to truthful appearances, and the literature of this year also made apparent two important literary trends. One was so-called “root-seeking” in literature, and the “root-seeking literature” this produced. The other was the “modernist” literary trend. The former trend was launched by a number of young writers and the substance of it was to give prominence to the significance of “culture” in literature (and oppose literature as a carrier of socio-political concepts). They attempted to give impetus to the deepening of “introspective literature”, to unearth and reconstitute the spirit of national culture, and to make this the foundation for the development of literature. At the time, Liu Suola’s ‹You Have No Choice› and ‹Blue Skies Green Seas›, Xu Xing’s ‹A Variation Without a Theme›, and some of the fiction of Can Xue, Chen Cun, and Han Shaogong, were referred to as “modernist” literature. This was because they shared similar themes with western “modernist” literature: They expressed a sense of absurdity in their worldview, wrote of the solitude of the individual, some had “anti-culture” and “anti-sublime” tendencies, and they often utilized artistic methodologies such as symbolism, stream-of-consciousness, and “black humor”. Literary “root-seeking” led to controversy, as did “modernist” literature. In comparison with the somewhat earlier debates, although the manner in which this dispute over “modernist” literature was raised was quite similar, there was a split in the opinions of supporters and hostile critics themselves. Among those who enthusiastically praised these works, some believed that contemporary China finally had its own “modernist” literature, and that this was an eruption of new literary concepts and a new aesthetic consciousness; however, some pointed out that while the nucleus of this fiction expressed the progress of the age “and is not spiritual decadence”, beneath the outer garments of the “absurd” and “magic” it was still the “authenticity of realism”. Among hostile opinions, harsh

11 These pieces of fiction were published, respectively, in the 1985 no. 2 edition of Shanghai Literature, the no. 1 and no. 7 editions of Shanghai Literature, the no. 2 edition of Moderns, the no. 3 edition of People’s Literature, the no. 2 edition of China Author, the no. 5 edition of Literature Monthly, the no. 2 edition of China Author, the no. 6 edition of People’s Literature, the no. 8 edition of People’s Literature, and the no. 1 edition of Tibet Literature.

282

chapter seventeen

accusations that these works violated the principles of socialist literature and were the “degeneration” of literature still existed; but there were also opinions that these works were insufficiently “modernist” (with certain western “modernist” works as the criteria), and some commentators applied the derogatory term “pseudo-modernist” to them.12 By 1985, or a little earlier, “Misty poetry” had already gone into “decline”. Aside from the ceaseless publication of new works by Yang Lian and Gu Cheng, there was increasingly less work from other Misty poets. At the same time, even more poets of the “newborn generation” continued to appear. These poets rebelled not only against “tradition”, but also raised banners claiming their surpassing of and “rebellion” against “Misty poetry”. They organized variously named poetry societies, which truly existed or did not. Compared to other forms of literature, the “experimentation” of the “newborn generation” was more daring and radical; given the serious split in poetry circles as a result of the divergence of opinions and other issues, in general their poetry found difficulties in gaining the acknowledgement of “mainstream” poetry circles and was given few opportunities for publication in official periodicals. Self-compiled and self-published poetry papers, journals, and collections were the main forms of this poetry’s “publication”.13 As an illustration of the achievements of the poetry of the “newborn generation”, during September and October 1986 the Poetry Press (of Hefei, Anhui Province) and the Shenzhen Youth Daily jointly mounted the “Grand Exhibition of Modernist Poetry Groups”. Successively, over nine full newspaper-sized pages, these two publications published the manifestos, brief write-ups about representative poets, and representative poems from dozens of “poetry groups” (“poetry societies”). Among these “poetry groups” and poets, there were both many serious artistic explorers as well as quite a number intent on “farce”; the planners of the

12 See: Huang Ziping, ‹Concerning the ‘Pseudo-Modernists’ and Criticism of Th em› (Beijing Literature, no. 2, 1988); Li Tuo, ‹Also About the ‘Pseudo-Modernists’ and Criticism of Them› (Beijing Literature, no. 4, 1988). 13 The advance notice of the “Grand Exhibition of Modernist Poetry Groups” in the 30 September 1986 edition of the Shenzhen Youth Daily (written by Xu Jingya) announced: In 1986, “throughout the country over two thousand poetry societies and tens if not hundreds as many self-declared poets carried out a break with tradition through their thousands of poetry collections, poetry papers, and poetry journals;” “Up to July 1986, throughout the nation there were as many as 905 irregularly printed poetry collections, 70 printed poetry journals published at irregular intervals, and 22 irregularly-distributed mimeographed poetry journals and poetry papers.” This news item did not provide an explanation of the sources for these figures.

a survey of s literature

283

“Grand Exhibition” understood this, but were unconcerned, as a “confrontational” exposition was their chief intention.14 The transformation of theory and criticism during the mid-1980s is also worthy of attention. Although it has been said that the emphasis of literary criticism of this period on “scientific methodologies” (the infiltration into literary studies of a stress on methodologies from the natural sciences and social sciences) was unusual and its most eyecatching aspect (for this reason 1985 was termed the “year of methodologies”), the emergence of a number of young and middle-aged critics and researchers is what changed the appearance and configuration of theoretical and critical circles. Their individual qualities, styles, depth of thought, and especially the merging of life experience into their criticism, were based on an intellectual background different from the previous generation.15 In this year, Liu Zaifu published his controversial long essay ‹On Literary Subjectivity›.16 Taking humanism as his theoretical base, he established his “system of literary theory and research into literary history with man at the center of thought”—the dynamic force this “system” constituted in reality came from its abhorrence and castigation of the political function of literature and mechanical 14 The chief planner of the “Grand Exhibition”, Xu Jingya, writes in ‹Post-Editing› (Shenzhen Youth Daily, 24 October 1986), “in official periodicals, people cannot possibly see the entire truth of explorations in the world of poetry; indifference, one-sidedness, and distortion—these are far from only the habits of individuals”. Following the publication of the “Grand Exhibition”, Xu Jingya, Meng Lang, Cao Changqing, and Lü Guipin made adjustments and amendments to the materials, and compiled A Grand Overview of China’s Modernist Poetry Groups 1986–1988, published by Tongji University Publishing House (Shanghai) in 1988. 15 Special collections of the writings of these young and middle-aged critics were published by Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House in the “New People Literary Writings” collection and the Shanghai Literature & Arts Publishing House “Literary Arts Exploration Book Series”. The major works in the “New People Literary Writings” series were: The Choice of Literature by Wu Liang, The World of Fiction Writers by Cheng Depei, New Opinions on Yu Dafu by Xu Zidong, Clash Between Civilization and Ignorance by Ji Hongzhen, The Art of Fiction and Poetry by Zhou Zhengbao, On the New Literature of “May Fourth” by Liu Na, The Goblin of a Meditative Old Tree by Huang Ziping, Understanding and Comprehension by Nan Fan, On Ten Fiction Writers by Zhao Yuan, The Spiritual Travels of an Idealist by Cai Xiang, Images of Pioneers by Wang Furen, In the Clash between Eastern and Western Cultures by Chen Pingyuan, The Orthodox and the Heterodox by Lan Dizhi, Solomon’s Bottle by Wang Xiaoming, Criticism and Imagination by Chen Sihe, and Personality • Self • Creation by Li Jie. The theoretical portion of the “Literary Arts Exploration Book Series” included On the Composition of Disposition by Liu Zaifu, Difficult Choices by Zhao Yuan, Explanations of the Psychology of Literature and the Arts by Lu Shuyuan, The Chain of Art by Xia Zhongyi, Inquiries of the Soul by Qian Liqun, and The Chief Trends of Ten Years of Literature by Song Yaoliang. 16 Published in Literary Reviews (Beijing), no. 6, 1985, & no. 1, 1986.

284

chapter seventeen

mirroring in literary writing. ‹On “Twentieth Century Literature in China”› by Huang Ziping, Chen Pingyuan, and Qian Liqun, and ‹The Wholistic View in Historical Studies of New Literature› by Chen Sihe were also published in 1985.17 The raising of the concept of “twentieth century literature in China” and the advocacy for a “macroscopic” or “wholistic” grasp of twentieth century literature in China not only gave impetus to a renewal in methodology and research perspectives, but also had important implications for observing and evaluating modern Chinese literature, and, as a result, the impact of this went beyond the scope of historical literary research. During the mid-1980s, “return to literature itself ” and the “literary consciousness” were hot topics for critics and writers. The advancement of these subjects expressed the deep concern of writers over the unique position of literature in the spiritual realm of human activity. They touched on issues concerning many aspects related to the existence of contemporary literature, such as sorting out whether literature had taken on too much social responsibility (the slogan “intervene in life” was regarded with widespread suspicion at this time), a questioning of the supposition that literature should only pay close attention to contemporary socio-political issues, and self-criticism over the longoverlooked issue of the literary “noumenon”. This illustrated a split with the former “tradition” of contemporary writers of paying excessive attention to socio-political issues. At this time, “literary consciousness” was an expectation but could also be described as a part of the existing situation. However, the bitter consequences of what the expected object would bring were already beginning to be appreciated. In early 1988, the essay ‹Literature: After the Loss of the Sensational Effect›,18 published in Literature & Arts Press, reflected the complex psychological responses of literary circles when faced with the diversification of writers, the “marginalization” of “serious literature” (or “pure literature”), and the trend of a decline in interest in “serious literature” among readers. As to literature “losing the sensational effect” it once had, some believed

17 The essay by Huang Ziping et al. was published in Literary Reviews (Beijing), no. 5, 1985. Also during this year, the three writers published a series of “three-way conversations” on “Twentieth Century Literature in China” in Study (Beijing). The essay and these conversations were compiled into Three-way Conversations on Twentieth Century Literature in China, published by People’s Literature Publishing House in 1988. Chen Sihe’s essay was published in the Fudan Journal (Shanghai), no. 3, 1985. 18 Published 30 January 1988 in Literature & Arts Press under the name of Yang Yu, a penname of Wang Meng.

a survey of s literature

285

this was a “state of weakness and fatigue”, the result of writers’ “divorce from reality”, and the loss of the ability to sensitively master issues of pressing concern to society. Another opinion held that this was precisely the start of literature’s move toward self-consciousness, profundity, and maturity.

3. A Variety of Literary Forms In 1980s literature, there was a comparatively full development of fiction, and its success was most apparent. Poetry had caught the eye at the start of the “new period”, especially the “Misty poetry” stage; not only the poetry itself, but its effect of giving significant impetus to the shift away from “Cultural Revolution models” in all forms of literature, and to the exploration and renewal of literary concepts and methodologies. But later, the prospects for poetry became difficult to ascertain: A multitude of difficult issues that have dogged modern Chinese poetry throughout the century, as well as sharply antagonistic evaluations based on differing gauges of the history of new poetry and the current situation, arose once again. Many still expected poetry would become a sensation and have many readers. While for others, the loneliness of poetry and the loneliness of poets were seen as a crisis in poetry. However, this belief made it impossible for them to see the existence of a number of genuine devoted pioneers during the 1980s and 1990s. During the 1960s and 1970s, all forms of literature (fi ction, poetry, prose, and even the theater) displayed a tendency toward excessive “dramatization”. This “dramatization”, which consisted of designing typified characterizations and a structure of start-development-climax-conclusion, was called into question and abandoned during the 1980s. In fiction writing, the “prose essay-stylization” advocated by the “Beijing school” during the 1940s was the earliest “means” used to win “liberation” from rigidity of style. The importance of traditional “typical characters” and “typical plots” in fiction was queried, and the prominence of the tendency toward exposure of the internal world of the individual was termed the “turn to the internal” in critical circles. Th e use of symbols, stream-of-consciousness, distortion, allegory, and other methods enriched the expressive power of contemporary fiction and changed its overall appearance. The important changes produced in fiction after the mid-1980s were related to a re-examination of the connection of fiction to the real world and recognition of the “nature” of “narrative”.

286

chapter seventeen

During the 1980s, the novella experienced great quantitative and qualitative development. No particular attention had been given to the novella form during the 1950s and 1960s. Under most circumstances, fiction writers chose one of the two extremes. But during the 1980s, there was a sudden increase in the number of novellas being written,19 and the achievements of the novella made it the most influential form of fiction. From the perspective of morphology, the chief differences between the short story, the novella, and the novel are in their internal structure, but the source of these different forms of “structure” had an important association with their differing scopes in handling the material of life. The novella is relatively quick in reflecting current issues, and, in terms of capacity, is a transitional (or borderline) form between the short story and the novel. The comparatively large capacity of the form was happily utilized by many writers in reflecting on the “Cultural Revolution”, or who had many things, feelings, and thoughts they were in a rush to express. The vigorous growth of the novella was also related to changes in conditions governing periodicals and publication. The establishment of many new large periodicals, two to three hundred pages in length, made it possible for a large quantity of novellas to be published. Furthermore, the method of manuscript payment based on the number of characters in a text—still used today—also gave impetus to this trend. It is necessary to point out that, during the 1950s and 1960s, the phenomenon of short story texts expanding, or “novella-ization”, was relatively universal and became a matter of concern for some critics: How to write “short” short stories became a frequently discussed issue. So, the flourishing of novellas during the 1980s was not a sudden occurrence. However, since the 1980s, the importance of this differentiation in the forms of fiction has weakened as a literary concept for some writers. A fair number of novels were written in the 1980s, but not many received good reviews. Those that had a moderately large impact included Hibiscus Town by Gu Hua, Leaden Wings by Zhang Jie, The Man with Moveable Parts by Wang Meng, Turbulence by Jia Pingwa, The Ancient Boat by Zhang Wei, and The Golden Pastureland by Zhang Chengzhi. Observable growth in the quantity and quality of the novel would occur in the 1990s.

19 According to incomplete statistics, during the seventeen years from 1949 until the “Cultural Revolution”, approximately 400 novellas were published. The few relatively influential of these included ‹The Story Before Ironwood› by Sun Li, ‹In Days of Peace› by Du Pengcheng, and ‹Return Home› by Liu Shude. In 1978 over thirty novellas appeared, in 1981–1982 over 1,100 in total, and in 1983 and 1984 more than 800 each year.

a survey of s literature

287

Having passed through “scar”, “introspective” and “root-seeking” forms of fiction, during the latter half of the 1980s, the “hot spot” of fiction writing moved on to “avant-garde fiction”20 and “new realist fiction”. They appeared to be travelling a different road: For one, there was an emphasis on “form”, raising what in the past was seen as technical “narration” to the central position of the fictional “noumenon”, with a corresponding lack of emphasis on the significance of “subject matter” (much of the subject matter came from a covert entry into “history”); another aspect was a concern over the value of “subject matter”, an emphasis on the expression of the issues and predicaments of life, and a “regression”, or “return”, to the traditional methodologies of “realism”. However, in the specific settings of society and literature in China at the time, it was no longer possible to travel the old road of “realism”, and the pursuit of “form” could not achieve “purity”; but there was a commonality between the two that was overlooked from the start. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the other hot point in fiction writing was the fiction of Wang Shuo. As quite a number of his works were adapted for film and television, and he himself participated in these revisions, Wang’s influence rapidly increased during this period, and his works were read (or watched) by all strata of society. The “significance” of Wang’s fiction was primarily located in the expression of subtle contradictions in the culture and psychology of this period: a recognition of and resistance to “mundane” life and desires, a dismissive scorn of and reluctance to part with political and intellectual “authority”, and a vacillation between the “refined” and the “vulgar” in literature. Wang Shuo’s attempts to accommodate these contradictions led to him achieving a new status and position as a writer under changing social circumstances. The “cultural position” embodied by his writing was understood and applauded by some writers and critics, but was also critically attacked by others who tenaciously defended the “elite” position: This latter group termed his fiction “hooligan literature”. During the first years after the “Cultural Revolution”, the creation and performance of theater (primarily western-style drama) was exceptionally lively. It was in concert with the times and events, expressed pressing social and political issues, and gave free reign to the form’s deliberative

20 Concerning this form of fiction, critics successively utilized the terms “avant-garde school”, “avant-garde fiction”, “avant-garde experimental fiction”, “experimental fiction”, and “contemporary new tide fiction”, among others.

288

chapter seventeen

and didactic functions—a powerful continuance of the “tradition” of contemporary theater. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, a number of “social issue dramas” created a sensation and produced an obvious “social effect”. This type of “effect” was naturally only of a brief duration. The bulk of western-style drama during the 1980s, as from 1949 through to the 1970s, consisted of exceptionally few pieces that were allowed to enter the “repertoire” and could be restaged a few years later. At the same time, the stress on the literary function of dramatic texts, such as that of modern playwrights such as Cao Yu and Ding Xilin, could not be sustained. Therefore, the vast majority of plays had not been read at the time of performance, and, of course, this was even more the case when the plays were not performed. The many problems of theater initiated an incessant discussion of a “crisis in theater” in theatrical circles.21 There were two chief aspects that these discussions touched on; one being a new understanding of the “function” of theater, the prospect of changing the notion that theater responds to social issues, that it is the best tool to propagandize and educate viewers, and overcoming abuses, such as scrambling for topical subject matter, rushing to take up political tasks, and didacticism. Another aspect was the plurality of “theatrical concepts” and artistic methodologies, changing the “Ibsen model” of contemporary dramatic composition and the integrated position of the “Stanislavsky model” of performance, and adopting an open, tolerant attitude toward other theatrical concepts and styles of theater. Not only “realistic” (creation of the illusion of life) theater was approved of, for there was also acknowledgement of “imagistic” and “symbolic” (the removal of illusion) theater, the practice of Brecht and Maeterlinck, as well as that of traditional Chinese opera. This inquiry into theatrical concepts was the resumption and development of an issue raised in the early 1960s by Huang Zuolin.22 This demand for new creative concepts was manifest in the writing of

21 A fairly concentrated discussion began with the 1983 no. 4 edition of Theater Arts, and for a year and a half, in a “discussion about theatrical concepts”, essays were published in this journal and Theater Press, Theater Circles, Playscripts, and other journals. Moreover, many articles were published in People’s Theater and Playscripts on issues such as the “nationalization” of theater. 22 In March 1962, Huang Zuolin made a speech advocating a pluralization of theatrical concepts at the National Western-style Drama and Opera Forum (Guangzhou). He later published ‹Casual Comments on “Theatrical Concepts”› in People’s Daily, 25 April 1962.

a survey of s literature

289

scripts and performances, as a number of exploratory works appeared. Among these, the work of Gao Xingjian was especially prominent. However, the reform of theater in the 1980s appeared to rely heavily on formal (artistic expression) elements, and there was not always a corresponding balance with the expansion of visual aspects.23 During the 1980s, the reduction in the excessive influence of “theater” on prose was an important achievement of prose writers and critics. Related to this was a trend towards a “narrowing” (rigorousness) of the concept of prose, the other important aspect of change in the concept of prose. The raising and redefinition of the concepts of “prose”, “beautiful writing”, “lyric prose”, and “artistic prose”, included the intention to extricate miscellaneous essays and reportage fiction (and even the “informal essay”) from the category of “prose”. This trend toward the “narrowing” of prose was a refutation of the “borderless” scope of prose and of narrativity becoming a central element of the structure of prose essays during a previous period of contemporary literature; it was also related to the emphasis on artistic characteristics during the 1980s. There were two “high tides” of reportage literature during the 1980s. One was not long after the conclusion of the “Cultural Revolution” and the other was in the late 1980s. Reportage literature often has a large number of readers. One of the reasons for this is that the restrictions placed on news reporting led reportage literature to take on some of the functions of news reports, as it “reported” the news and social phenomena readers were concerned about in the form of “literature”. How to handle this form of “investigative report” style of writing on social issues and incidents from the perspectives of literary criticism and literary history is a perplexing problem. Many contemporary works of “reportage literature” were both difficult to comment on using the standards of “literature” and difficult to judge by their characteristics as news. In recent years, some critics have handled reportage literature by placing it in the spectrum of “sub-literature”.

23

Experimentation with artistic techniques was a relatively easy aspect to implement. In fact, this type of experimentation had begun in the early 1960s. An example of this was ‹The Torrent Bravely Advances› directed by Huang Zuolin and written by Hu Wanchun at the Shanghai People’s Arts Theater, which utilized various props and artifi ces to express the psychological activity of characters.

290

chapter seventeen 4. Overall Styles and Stances of Writers

In the 1980s, while “literary consciousness” was a slogan that excited many, yet even writers who most stressed the “ascendancy of art” still had a relatively strong concern for the nation and a sense of historical responsibility, and in certain concrete circumstances were faced with questions raised by “history”. This burden of responsibility practically made clearing the accounts of “history” and writing (collective or individual) “historical memory” the conscious, or unconscious, choice of writers during the 1980s. This was not only in the sense of “subject matter”, but also with regard to creative fields of vision and conscious intentions. The consciousness of writers and the state of subject matter affected the internal structure and the tone of aesthetic perception during the 1980s. A fundamental tone of heaviness and tension could be felt in many literary works.24 Here tension and heaviness both refer to the emotional “tone” and to structural form, the “texture” of literary works. At different stages and with different authors, this “fundamental tone” was expressed in many different ways. With respect to emotional “tone”, there were so many tragic incidents that needed telling, so many longrepressed feelings that needed to be released for catharsis (“the function of intense emotion often surpassed the effect of technique”), so many social and life issues that needed to be probed into, and a number of fundamental ideas also needed to be reassessed during the 1980s. The socio-political and life problems, issues of the individual and the collective, life and culture, time and space, reality and history, tradition and innovation, the east and the west, all demanded entry into literary texts in the attempt to touch on them and discuss them in literature. Th ere was relatively little space for “style” and “structure”. The narrative tone was so tense and urgent, and a multitude of images, allusions, symbols, and allegories were often crowded together to bear the burden of excessive “significance” and “issues”. There were few writers during the 1980s who could write in a relatively effortless, relaxed style (Wang Zengqi was possibly one of these). This fairly universal fundamental tone of “aesthetic feeling” was related to the real circumstances of writers, and, in fact, was an extension of the universal mode of symbolist thought and aesthetic practice of contemporary China.

24 Huang Ziping has used the term “tense” to describe an aspect of “new period” literature. See his preface to Selections of 1990 Fiction, Hongkong Three Federations Bookstore, 1991.

a survey of s literature

291

There was a universally powerful consciousness of exploration and innovation in 1980s literary circles. Exploration, innovation, breakthrough, transcendence, and the like, were some of the terms most frequently used in literary criticism circles. The open environment provided the opportunity to compare literatures (with western modernist literature, with the “May Fourth” and 1940s literatures of China, as well as with the literature of Taiwan and Hongkong), which made writers aware of the unsatisfactory circumstances of China’s contemporary literature, and produced a universal enduring desire to “move towards the world” and the expectation that in the not so distant future there would appear a number of literary works featuring depth of thought and artistic originality. Writers of different ages and intellectual backgrounds strove from every direction to seize elements that would activate “ascendant” creative powers, pursuing an “all-encompassing leap” . . . “from the contents of subject matter to the means of expression, from literary and artistic concepts to research methodologies”.25 Differing base points in thought and art, and literary exploration at differing planes, resulted in a pluralistic appearance: The excavation of subject matter that had been banned or had been only cursorily touched upon (love, prison and labor reform brigades, sex, the commonplace trivia of life, personal experience . . .); it was difficult to distinguish standards of the “positive”, the “negative”, the “grand”, and the “insignificant”, and there were morally ambiguous characters; experimentation with various aesthetic styles (tragedy, tragicomedy, satire, narration of “zero emotions” . . .), and the utilization of artistic methods rarely seen in earlier contemporary literature (stream-of-consciousness, open structure, multiple perspectives, the interpenetration of the factual and the fi ctional). Amid all this, the most important exploration was possibly on the plane of “philosophy” and Weltanschauung. This included explorations into understandings of the “essence” of literature and the relationship between literature and the real world. Naturally, this was embodied in forms of thought and art. The strong desire to innovate was both evidence of the overflowing vigor of literary circles, but also betrayed a turbulent mental state. Many

25 From the ‹Editorial Preface› of the “Literary Arts Exploration Book Series” published by the Shanghai Literature and Arts Publishing House. This series was published in 1986–1988 and collected “literary works that had a pronounced exploratory color and had actually achieved breakthroughs and transcendence”. On the creative side, the series included the Exploratory Poetry Collection, Exploratory Fiction Collection, and the Exploratory Theater Collection, as well as volumes of theoretical works by Liu Zaifu and others.

292

chapter seventeen

writers (especially “re-emergent writers” and “educated youth writers”) were conscious of having a very limited amount of time and of the great difficulty of the task of absorbing the fruits of world culture—a situation that had been created by the long period of cultural isolation—and these pressures were the chief cause of the universal mood of restless anxiety. Literature of the 1980s continued the “tidal” tendency of contemporary literature. Moreover, this “tidal” phenomenon is one of the important characteristics of “new literature” since “May Fourth”. Th e people promoting new changes and “modernization” in literature commonly utilized the methods of organizing “movements” (or campaigns) and setting off, or raising, “tides” (or trends) to advance positions and programs, and to increase the speed with which they were achieved. Literary critics were also skilled at inducing common points in the writings of various authors, giving them prominence, and naming them, and, in turn, this would cause writers to consciously or unconsciously produce a mentality of wanting to converge with or attach themselves to such “tides”. Creatively, this tendency was expressed as a convergence and similarity of subject matter, themes, and methodologies among literary works at a particular stage. Therefore, it is possible to describe 1980s literature in terms of “tides” (such as Misty poetry, scar literature, introspective literature, root-seeking literature . . .). Although such a description is somewhat wooly, it is not far off overall. What is ironic is that the advancement of the proposal for “individuated” writing in the late 1980s and 1990s in reaction to literature of a “social nature” and “homogenization”, cannot help but transform into a new “tide”. Th is causes much sorrow among those who believe in the “self-determination” and “originality” of literary writing.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

FICTION DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 1980s

1. A Few Concepts of the Fiction Tide The literature of the late 1970s and early 1980s was referred to as “scar literature”, “introspective literature”, and “reform literature”, among other terms, in literary circles of the time. These concepts were widely accepted and used. Their appearance was both a manifestation of contemporary critics’ fondness for the “tradition” of summarizing patterns in literary trends, and reflected the actual situation in literature at the time. These terms fairly effectively described the literature of this period. Of course, this sort of description of literary trends also simultaneously played a part in constraining the directions and agendas of literature. The literary work terms such as “scar literature” referred to was chiefly fiction, especially novellas and short stories, and therefore, in many circumstances, these terms were equivalent with terms such as scar fiction, instrospective fiction, and reform fiction. For many people in China, the “Cultural Revolution” was an unavoidable historical topic during the 1970s and 1980s, and it was a focal point of the thought and expression of writers as well. As the writers of this period had personally experienced the “Cultural Revolution”, writings on this subject were seen as “testimony” to the historical wounds of those who had experienced it. The formulation of the term “scar literature” was directly related to the appearance of a great quantity of literature exposing the disaster that was the “Cultural Revolution”, and described the tragic fate of educated youths, intellectuals, and persecuted offi cials during that time. A comparatively early work that gave rise to “massive repercussions” among readers was Liu Xinwu’s ‹Class Teacher›.1 At the time, critical circles believed this short story’s chief value lay in exposing the “internal spiritual scars” caused by the “distortion” of the “souls of a fair number of educated youths”.2 Following this, Literary Confluence

1 2

People’s Literature, no. 11, 1977. Zhu Zhai, ‹Reflections of Life›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 3, 1978.

294

chapter eighteen

Daily (Shanghai) published the widely read and controversial short story ‹The Scar› by Lu Xinhua.3 It also “reflected the serious nature of the internal ideological wounds of people” and effectively “called for the healing of wounds”, and this got nods of approval from those promoting change in literature. There was a relationship between the title of this short story and the later appearance of the term “scar literature”. Other pieces of fiction exposing the historical wounds of the “Cultural Revolution” that had a relatively major impact after the publication of ‹The Scar› included: ‹A Sacred Mission› by Wang Yaping, ‹The Noble Pine› by Wang Zonghan, ‹Struggle of the Soul› by Wu Qiang, ‹Sacrifi ce› by Lu Wenfu, ‹A Destined Marriage› by Kong Jiesheng, ‹What Should I Do› by Chen Guokai, ‹Memories› by Zhang Xian, ‹A Branch Road Paved with Flowers› by Feng Jicai, ‹Red Magnolias beneath the Walls› by Cong Weixi, ‹Reunion› by Jin He, ‹Maples› by Zheng Yi, ‹A Winter Fairytale› by Yu Luojin, ‹The Road of Life› by Zhu Lin, ‹An Offering of Blood and Tears at Mount Luofu› by Zhong Jieying, ‹Legend of Mount Tianyun› by Lu Yanzhou, and ‹Xu Mao and his Daughters› by Zhou Keqin. Lao Gui’s novel, Sunset the Color of Blood,4 not published until 1986, should also be included in this category. Initially, the term “scar literature” was applied in a deprecatory sense. The tragic sentimental tone and the tendency towards revelatory subject matter was seen by some critics as a 1980s re-enactment of the “literature of exposure” and the “writing the dark side” trends of the 1950s and 1960s. As a result, there was fierce controversy over ‹The Scar› and other such works that began in the summer of 1978 and continued into the autumn of the following year. The divergence in critical opinion was centered on how to regard the ideological implications of these works, and how to assess their social effect—the raising of such issues was a continuation of a specific mode of left-wing literary criticism. Critics holding negative opinions believed there was too much exposure of “scars” in this literature, it had a “downcast tone”, and that it “influenced the will to fight for the realization of the four modernizations”; this literature was “backward looking”, and was “wicked” literary art that “treated the great

3

Literary Confluence Daily, 11 August 1978. This novel was completed in the early 1980s and describes the tragic lives of “educated youths” sent to work in the farms and pasturelands of Inner Mongolia. Due to the frankness of description, a number of publishing houses rejected the manuscript. It was finally published in 1986 by the Workers Publishing House (Beijing) and became a bestseller. 4

fiction during the first half of the s

295

enterprise of the people through a dark psychology”.5 Similarly, from the perspective of “reception”, the defenders of this literature believed it could fulfill the social function of “making people feel alert and vigorous”.6 Not long after, the deprecatory sense of the term “scar literature” gradually disappeared. This dispute had been a continuation of similar controversies about “singing praises” and “exposure”, and “writing truth” during the early 1940s (in Yan’an), the 1950s, and the 1960s. The seriousness of the negative appraisals and the strength of the dispute were obviously weakened due to changes in the circumstances of society and literature. This “serious” issue, subject to long-term never-ending argument, began to be “marginalized” in the “history of problems” of twentieth century literature in China, even though discussants who maintained their belief in the serious nature of this issue would repeatedly raise it in the future. The formulation of the term “introspective literature (fiction)” appeared not long after the concept of “scar literature (fiction)” was produced. There was something of an order to the appearance of these two concepts, and, in general, the literary works the terms refer to can be arranged chronologically. However, the characteristics that differentiate the two are not altogether clear, and it is difficult to ascertain to which tendency some literary works belong. Even those works that had the obvious characteristics of the tendency to which they belonged did not always appear in the same chronological order. These complicated circumstances show that these literary concepts only roughly describe the literature of this period. One version of the relationship between the two trends has it that scar literature was the source of introspective literature,

5 Representative articles expressing negative opinions about this literature are ‹Literary Arts, Look Forward Eh!› (Huang Ansi, Guangzhou Daily, 15 April 1979) and ‹“Singing Praises” and “Wickedness”› (Li Jian, Hebei Literature & Arts, no. 6, 1979). The latter article states, we should “sing praises” of our literature and art that “upholds the Party principles of literature and the arts”. This is because “the people of modern China do not worry about missing out on education or being unemployed, and there are also no concerns about being without clothing or food; they do not fear robbers during the day, nor do they fear black-masked thugs knocking at their doors by night. The river is bright, the lotuses are plentiful, green seas and a new land, a bright sun shines on high; with such beautiful socialism in the world of today, why not ‘sing’ its ‘praises’?” The article goes on to state that “those people with class prejudices that viciously attack the socialist system” . . . “are only suited to fill the role of worms in the decaying corpses of the great revisionists on the slag heap of history”. 6 Feng Mu, ‹A Look Back and to the Future with regard to Literary Creation›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1980.

296

chapter eighteen

and that introspective literature is a deepening of scar literature.7 In introspective fiction, there was an obvious change in the manner in which “problems” were raised. The thematic intentions and structure of this type of fiction expressed the following: The “Cultural Revolution” was not a sudden occurrence, as its ideological motives, modes of action, and psychological basis were all present in “contemporary” history, and were related to fundamental contradictions in contemporary Chinese society and the long-standing practices of “feudalism” in the national culture and psychology. As to the nature of the “Cultural Revolution”, “responsibility” for it, and the root causes in history and society that produced it, writers expressed their comparatively unanimous way of thinking in making the fervent pursuit of the modernization of the nation their stepping-off point. In this respect, “reform literature (fiction)”, which appeared at the same time, had similar thinking at its core. The former exposed and pondered the retarding effects and constraints the “Cultural Revolution” had on modernization (particularly on the modernization of people), and the latter faced the “scars” and “ruins” of the “Cultural Revolution” and called for, and described, reform in the city and the countryside. During this period, it was apparent that Jiang Zilong was a writer who paid particular attention to this theme.8 His short story ‹Manager Qiao Assumes Office›, published in 1979, is regarded as the first work in the “reform literature” style. Other works listed as “reform fiction” include Leaden Wings by Zhang Jie, ‹Seed of the Dragon› by Zhang Xianliang, and ‹Garden Street No. 5› by Li Guowen. Some critics also place in this tendency ‹Human Life› by Lu Yao, ‹Descendants of Lu Ban› by Wang Runzi, ‹Old People’s Storehouse› by Jiao Jian, as well as some of the fiction of Jia Pingwa, Zhang Wei, and others. “Reform literature”, or “reform subject fiction”, fitted in with the demand for literary creation to stick close to reality and to be in step with society, and could also balance off the trend towards the exposure of “scars” in literature. For these reasons it was highly thought of and promoted by cultural organs attempting to guide creative activity. 7 He Xilai, ‹A Look Back at and Reconsideration of the Course of History›, Contemporary Trends of Thought in Literature and the Arts, no. 2, 1982 (Lanzhou). 8 Jiang Zilong (1941–) made a name for himself with the publication of ‹A Day in the Life of the Head of the Electrical Equipment Bureau› on the reform theme. In this period after the “Cultural Revolution”, he published several other stories describing reform in factories and the city, including ‹Pages from a Factory Secretary’s Diary›, ‹A New Year’s Visit›, ‹All the Colors of the Rainbow›, ‹Symphony of Pots, Bowls, Ladles, and Basins›, and ‹Trailblazer›.

fiction during the first half of the s

297

As full-blown literary trends, “scar” and “introspective” literature reached their “high tide” during 1979–1981. Afterwards these trends weakened, although the historical memory of the “Cultural Revolution” long endured in the practice and emotions of many writers and continued to be excavated in different modes of later literature.

2. The Formation and Characteristics of the Tide The recounting of the “Cultural Revolution” in literature (especially fiction) was somewhat “unsystematic” at the start. Some works placed particular emphasis on personal experience, and there were many different approaches in terms of thought on the subject. For literary circles in which there was a deep-rooted consciousness of “direction, this situation was seen as immature and, moreover, dangerous; whether it was ideological concepts or the art of narration, “norms” were necessary. Furthermore, the limited degree of rewriting that was required by political authorities in relation to the negation of the “Cultural Revolution” and contemporary “history” drew a quick response from those writers who had a strong desire to enlighten readers. The norms and choices available to literature were expressed through a greater variety of literary modes during the 1980s. Naturally, literary criticism shouldered the most important task of constraining and “guiding” this literature. For example, the discussion and critical attacks aimed at works such as the film ‹Bitter Love› and the short stories ‹Flying Apsaras› and ‹In the Dossiers of Society› highlighted the boundaries that literary work of a critical nature should adhere to. The discussion of ‹Love Must Not Be Forgotten› questioned the value in expressing the life and feelings of the individual outside of current politics and “significant” social problems. The literary award system that began to be established in 1979, though it often revealed contradictions and confusion in its standards of evaluation (at times the prizes were the products of compromise between various literary opinions and powers), played a relatively effective part in the selection of literary “directions”.9

9 During the 1950s and 1960s, there had been awards for theatrical works and performance, but there had been no such system in place for fiction, poetry, and the other arts. Beginning in 1978, literary awards on a national level began to be organized (primarily by the China Writers Association, or by periodicals such as People’s Literature and Poetry Monthly that were operated by the China Writers Association). On an annual (or biennial) basis, these included prizes for “National Outstanding Short Stories”, “National

298

chapter eighteen

Literature that recounted the “Cultural Revolution” in a “re-evaluative” mode was actually being written before the “Cultural Revolution” was declared to have ended. From the late-1960s on, “underground” poetry by young poets, as well as later hand-copied fiction, recorded the responses of these writers toward this revolution and their personal predicaments, and their doubts and criticisms, in addition to expressing their spiritual yearnings. This is in reference to the aforementioned poetry of Guo Lusheng (Shi Zhi), Mang Ke, Duoduo, Genzi, Bei Dao, and others, and the novellas ‹Public Love Letters› and ‹Waves›, for example. At the time, as writing of this nature did not form a literary trend and its connection to the “main current” of society was relatively complex, the expression of the experiences and thoughts of these writers featured a multiplicity of tendencies. However, in the later “introspective” literary trend, those more “individualistic” portions of their work were not powerfully continued and developed. Naturally, the post-“Cultural Revolution”, re-evaluative literary works crowned with the titles of “scar”, “introspective”, and “reform” expressed the differing ideological and artistic inclinations of writers. However, most of their literary work was of a similar propensity. The fairly unanimous opinion expressed in these works was that the “Cultural Revolution” was a reversal of history, a “restoration” of “feudal autocracy”, when “barbarism replaced civilization, superstition replaced science, ignorance replaced rationality”. Based on their faith in the enlightening qualities of reason, writers summarized the social contradictions of contemporary China and the “Cultural Revolution” as “clashes between civilization and ignorance”. 10 As regards the twists in the history of contemporary China, most writers primarily took the perspective of the contemporary account of the revolutionary political power in handling these phenomena and raising related issues.

Outstanding Novellas”, “National Outstanding Reportage Literature”, “National Outstanding New Poetry”, and “National Outstanding Children’s Literature”. In addition, there was the “National Outstanding Playscripts for Drama, Traditional Opera, and Western-style Opera Awards” organized by the Department of Culture and the China Theater Association. Another important award was the “Mao Dun Literature Prize” especially for novels. In 1997, the national “Lu Xun Literature Prize” was instituted for all forms of literature (including literary theory and criticism). Furthermore, there are a plethora of prizes awarded by literary periodicals and the branches of the Writers Association in each province and city. 10 See: Ji Hongzhen, Clashes Between Civilization and Ignorance, Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1986.

fiction during the first half of the s

299

During this period, the art and forms of the majority of the fiction that re-evaluated the “Cultural Revolution” and portrayed social reforms was part of a highly developed type of “problem fiction”. Investigations into who or what bore responsibility for the occurrence of the “Cultural Revolution” and the nature and origins of current social problems were the motives of these literary works, and became their formal characteristics as well. A “conceptual structure” that revolved around the raising of an issue, followed by an analysis and proving of it, was utilized by many works. A narrative method of commentary by characters, or the narrator, in aid of expressing opinions on contemporary socio-political and life problems was also frequently used. However, the “subject consciousness” of “new period” writers, their respect for the independent nature of the perceptual experience, the disposition, and the fate of characters, and their vigilance with regard to fiction of the “Cultural Revolution” that had diagrammed concepts, prompted writers to pursue a “balance”: To persist in the keen “problem consciousness” of fiction, but to strive to avoid sinking into the old syllogistic ways of contemporary times. They fairly universally linked up the important socio-political events of each period of “new China” (such as the change of government in 1949, the Anti-Rightist Campaign and the Great Leap Forward of the 1950s, and the economic crisis of the early 1960s) through the life paths of their central characters, and through their portrayal of the fate of these characters supplied answers to the questions raised by their reconsiderations of history. This mode of handling fictional material moreor-less embraced all the following well-known works of instrospective fiction: the short stories ‹Internal Spy› (by Fang Zhi), ‹Li Shunda Builds a House› (Gao Xiaosheng), ‹Master of the “Hopper Household”› (Gao Xiaosheng), ‹A Story out of Sequence› (Ru Zhijuan), ‹Lunar Eclipse› (Li Guowen), ‹An Aristocratic Family of Pedlars› (Lu Wenfu), ‹Who am I› (Zong Pu), and ‹Small Town General› (Chen Shixu); the novellas ‹Bolshevik Salute› (Wang Meng), ‹Butterfly› (Wang Meng), ‹At Middle Age› (Shen Rong), ‹Story of the Criminal, Li Tongzhong› (Zhang Yigong), ‹Descendants of the River› (Zhang Xianliang), ‹Baptism› (Wei Junyi), and ‹The Gourmet› (Lu Wenfu); as well as novels such as Hibiscus Town (Gu Hua). Against an almost depressing backdrop, a male main character often appeared. His rough road through contemporary life would be linked to the important events of contemporary society and politics; it could even be said the absurdity of his fate is determined by these events. Yet, in fact, the artistic values of these pieces of introspective fiction were not all portrayed within a unified framework. Sometimes,

300

chapter eighteen

they might be present in “crevices” of the narrative plotline: For it was precisely here the unique perceptual experience and the depth of deliberation into history of the author could be found.

3. Memory of the Wounds of History The major writers of contemporary “historical memory” were a number of authors who had been attacked during the 1950s (in the Hu Feng Incident and the Anti-Rightist Campaign, for example) and had over twenty years of distressing life experience, such as Wang Meng, Zhang Xianliang, Li Guowen, Cong Weixi, Fang Zhi, Lu Wenfu, Gao Xiaosheng, and Zhang Xian. Critics normally do not use the terms “scar” and “introspective” to talk about poetry and other literary forms, but the work of this time by Niu Han, Zeng Zhuo, Gong Liu, Shao Yanxiang, Liu Shahe, Bai Hua, and Lin Xi, similarly had historical wounds as their subject. Most of these writers established their political beliefs and literary positions at the time of the political transition in 1949. Th ey threw themselves into the left-wing revolutionary movement, accepted the promises of an idealistic society for humankind, willingly took on “class theory” and “collectivism” as their own worldview, and accepted the opinion that literature was to “serve” politics. However, for some, the “shadow” of humanist and individualist thought had left a deep imprint on them by way of the classical works of Russian and western European, as well as the writings of “May Fourth” writers, and at certain times this became the guiding element in their thought and emotions. After their “re-emergence”, the memories of over twenty years of personal and social wounds very naturally became the core subject matter of their fiction. And for some writers, it became a subject area they found it difficult to go beyond. Wang Meng11 was a prolific writer during the 1980s and 1990s. Aside

11 Wang Meng (1934–) is from Nanpi in Hebei Province. While in middle school during the late 1940s, Wang joined the student movement organized by the Communist Party. During the first half of the 1950s, he worked in the Communist Youth League. Wang was branded a rightist during the Anti-Rightist Campaign and sent to undergo labor reform on the outskirts of Beijing. He was given a teaching post at the Beijing Teachers Academy in the early 1960s. In 1963, he voluntarily moved with his family to work in Xinjiang, and returned to Beijing after the conclusion of the “Cultural Revolution”. Wang held the post of Minister of Culture in the Central Government during 1986–1990. His major literary works include ‹Winter Rain›, ‹The Deep Lake›, ‹Purple

fiction during the first half of the s

301

from fiction, Wang also published a large quantity of prose and personal essays, discussions about writing, review articles, as well as academic articles on Chinese classical literature. Around 1980, during the time of “scar” and “introspective” fiction, the works of Wang Meng that touched on the “Cultural Revolution” (such as ‹Most Precious›, ‹An Elder Female Cousin›, ‹Bolshevik Salute›, ‹Butterfly›, ‹Motley›, ‹Voices of Spring›, ‹Dream of the Sea›, and ‹Difficult Meeting›) quickly departed from that emotional mode and the subject of exposure and accusation, and also departed from the universally utilized structural frame for historical incidents. These works expressed a greater concern for the current state of the soul, and a tendency toward philosophical considerations on historical ideas and logic. The fundamental theme of these works dealt with the individual (most were intellectuals who had thrown themselves into revolution in their youth) and the complex relationship between them and the “ideal society” they had given themselves over to. At the start, the main characters of these stories had the idealistic beliefs unique to that era and enthusiastically participated in the creation of a “new world”. However, this “ideal society” was not only incapable of fostering a powerful realization of this belief, but caused harm and led the devotee to sink into spiritual error as well. In exploring these historical phenomena, Wang Meng’s fiction expressed what he and some critics have termed a “dialectical” viewpoint. He neither attributes historical responsibility to one person or group, nor does he wish to use rigid theoretical opinions to pass judgment on individuals and incidents. He strives to seek out possibilities of establishing order out of chaos, to find some area in which understanding is possible for those who have responsibility, and sees the weaknesses in those who were wronged and were harmed, as well as the “roots of evil habits and characteristics” that require self-examination. In some of his work, history and the twisting fate of the individual end in a superficial political proposition (such as the “intimate relationship” between the revolutionary and “the people”), but in these same works and others a profound insight into life surfaces and touches on some of the basic themes of modern Chinese history (the tragic fate of the

Silk Clothes Deep in a Wooden Trunk›, and ‹In Yili—Pale Gray Eyes›, and the novels Long Live Youth, The Man With Moveable Parts, Season for Love, Season to Forget Oneself, and Assassination. Published anthologies and collected writings include A Selection of the Fiction and Reportage Literature of Wang Meng, Literary Writings of Wang Meng (four volumes), and a ten-volume set of Literary Writings of Wang Meng, published in 1993 by the Chinese Arts Publishing House.

302

chapter eighteen

“enlightener”, and so on). Wang both alertly guards against indulging in purely spiritual ideas and questions the “elite” consciousness of the educated, but also reveals nostalgia for being a “banner of the sprit” for readers. His attitude of self-examination with regard to history and himself allowed his fiction to avoid the universal sentimentality of the time; however, sometimes his ideological beliefs can become divorced from concrete historical states and lack practical content, and develop into unanalyzable, dubious dogma that becomes an oppressive: The closed nature of this ideological framework limits development in the area of thought. A variety of contradictions and complexities constitute the relatively rich content of Wang Meng’s fiction, but, at the same time, there is vague historical and spiritual attitude; moreover, the ambiguous boundary between the penetrative force of his “dialectical” opinions and spiritual strategies often make them difficult to distinguish. His novel, The Man With Moveable Parts features a persistent introspective spirit. It describes the failures in life of Ni Wucheng, and attempts to portray the predicament of the mind and body of the intellectual in the clash between eastern and western cultures. Wang Meng has said he agonized in writing this work. This agony was probably not only caused by a recognition of cultural contradictions, but more likely was related to the wounding pain of putting himself in the same position and revealing a profound sense of spiritual disappointment. In this novel, the cruel, barbaric expressions of “feudal culture” are more often born by a series of female characters. Deep memories and a lack of forgiveness lead to the “evil” dispositions of these women, and the ruthlessly detailed description of them is frightening. Wang Meng made various explorations into the art of fi ction. ‹Bolshevik Salute›, ‹Butterfly›, ‹Voices of Spring›, and ‹Eyes of the Night› of the early 1980s all feature a method similar to the western “stream-of-consciousness” in which the movements of the consciousness of the main character organize the plotline and structure of these works. This came as a pleasant surprise to some readers accustomed to reading “realist” fiction and led to censure from others, which resulted in a controversy over the issue of “stream-of-consciousness”.12 In ‹The Story of the Famous

12 In the mid-1980s, after the introduction and importation of a great quantity of western artistic concepts and methodologies, there was a re-evaluation of exploration in this area. Some critics pointed out that Wang Meng’s “stream-of-consciousness” with rationality as its organizing principle was essentially different from western stream-of-conscious-

fiction during the first half of the s

303

Doctor Liang Youzhi›, ‹High Spirits›, ‹A Happy Encounter with a Sports Star›, ‹Stubborn Porridge›, and other works, Wang employs a bantering, exaggerated allegorical style. He seems to deliberately depart from the standardized path of “realist” fiction and to discard the obsession with working out typical plots and characterizations. He was more concerned with the analysis of psychology, mood, consciousness, and impressions, and associated narration. This developed into a mode of drifting narration: Variations in diction and phrasing and their various combinations, and incessantly expanding sentence structures, fully exhibited his talent for exaggeration, cleverness, and humor. Of course, when the narrator is occasionally excessively fascinated by a sense of superiority derived from the embodiment of his own intellectual powers in his narrative, it can veer toward uncontrolled “over-emotionalism”. Zhang Xianliang13 was branded a rightist in 1957 for the publication of the poem ‹Song of the Great Wind›. A portion of what he wrote— such as The Style of a Man, and the novellas ‹Seed of the Dragon› and ‹Descendants of the River›—after he resumed writing in 1979 dealt with the changes occurring in China’s society and economy in the 1980s, while the rest of his fiction was chiefly based on materials from his nearly twenty years experience of a “life of suffering”. Critical circles have concentrated on this latter part of his fi ction and his representative works are seen as being of this form, including ‹Love in a Dungeon›, ‹The Story of Old Man Xing and a Dog›, ‹Flesh and Soul›, ‹Trees for Replanting›, ‹Half of Man is Woman›, and Getting Used to Dying and the 1990s novel My Pipal Tree (also known as Worry is Wisdom). At different times over differing issues, several of his stories gave rise to fierce ness fiction with its irrational consciousness, and believed that Wang’s had stripped out the technique and philosophical content. However, defenders of these stories by Wang Meng believed he had created a form of “oriental stream-of-consciousness”. 13 Zhang Xianliang (1936–) is from Xuyi in Jiangsu Province. In the early 1950s, he moved to Gansu to teach and began writing literature. Zhang was branded a rightist after the publication of his poem, ‹Song of the Great Wind›, in the July 1957 edition of Yan River. According to Zhang Xianliang’s account, during the eighteen years between 1958 and 1976, he was twice sent to labor reform, put under surveillance once, was once placed under “mass dictatorship” (that is given over to the “dictatorship” of the “masses of the people” for monitoring, etc), and was imprisoned once. He began to write again in 1979. He has published the novels The Style of a Man, Getting Used to Dying, and My Pipal Tree, collections of shorter fiction such as Flesh and Soul, Xiaoer Bulake, and Journey of Emotion, as well as Self-Selected Writings of Zhang Xianliang (4 volumes) and Recent Works of Zhang Xianliang.

304

chapter eighteen

controversies (over patriotism; a “religious consciousness” praising suffering; critical consciousness and obscurantism; descriptions of sex). These disputes were triggered by ‹Flesh and Soul›, ‹Trees for Replanting›, ‹Half of Man is Woman›, and the novel Good Morning, Friend. This gave Zhang Xianliang a high level of “name recognition” with the public during the 1980s. These works have an “autobiographical” flavor and there is the repeated appearance of a main protagonist who is a “scholar” discarded by society, a rightist exiled or undergoing labor reform. He experiences starvation, sexual lust, and spiritual exhaustion in an impoverished wilderness region in the northwest. While meticulously laying out the settings of their suffering and psychological contradictions, Zhang also provides his protagonists with saviors for body and mind—people who are all relatively “primitive” laborers at the lowest rungs of society, especially tempestuous, capable, yet infatuated female characters. Their tenacious vitality and the beauty of their souls comfort the protagonist’s spirit when it is on the brink of collapse and become the strength he needs to overcome his difficulties. Therefore, these works of fiction often weave moving love stories. In portraying his protagonist in these works, Zhang unconsciously reveals elements of “tradition” latent in the consciousness of China’s modern intellectuals. Whether worshipping the primitive, or reading Das Kapital and reflecting on the impact of western “humanism” (‹Trees for Replanting› and other works were termed by the author as the “record of the enlightenment of a materialist”), nothing can change the deep-seated desire of the “scholar” to become famous on the strength of his or her knowledge. This led the plots and the narrative consciousness of some of Zhang Xianliang’s fiction (such as ‹Trees for Replanting›) into an underlying correspondence with the prototype of the “son of a lord or official who has met with misfortune”14 as expressed in China’s classical opera and fiction. In Getting Used to Dying, the suffering of the “scholar” becomes an unshakeable nightmare that is entangled in the love between the protagonist and a foreign lover. Sex can no longer save the sufferer; memories of death and terror become his spiritual existence and “alienate” him to the point of dehumanization. In the 1993 novel, My Pipal Tree, the form Zhang utilizes is that of a diary and notations

14 See: Huang Ziping, ‹A Person Similarly Humbled in Remote Places—Analysis of a Sample of the “Narrative Mode”› in The Goblin of a Meditative Old Tree, Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1986.

fiction during the first half of the s

305

on diary entries, as he chronicles the frightening inside story of a life of labor reform. In his writing since the 1980s, Zhang Xianliang’s memories of those miserable days have become a “cage” of subject matter for his fiction from which he can no longer escape. ‹Broken Betrothal›, the first short story by Gao Xiaosheng,15 was published in 1954. In 1957, together with Lu Wenfu, Chen Chunnian, and other young Jiangsu writers, Gao was branded a rightist for organizing the “Seekers” Literary Society and planning the publication of a Seekers literary journal for fellow writers. Gao lost his “public employment”, was sent to work on a farm in a village in Wujin County, and did not begin to write again until after the “Cultural Revolution”. Gao flourished creatively during the years 1979–1984, when a collection of his fiction was published each year. Afterwards, there was a gradual reduction in his productivity. During the early-1980s, Gao Xiaosheng was known for fiction that described the fate of contemporary farmers, such as ‹Li Shunda Builds a House›, ‹Master of the “Hopper Household”›, ‹Chen Huansheng’s Adventure in Town›, which were influential works at the time. As in introspective fiction, the life paths of characters are linked to the socio-political incidents and policies of each period during the contemporary era, and this forms the basic structure of Gao’s work. The exposure of the “cultural contradictions” in the personalities and psychologies of contemporary farmers in this fiction caught the attention of critics and readers. They illustrated the qualities and characteristics of the actions, psychology, and modes of thought of farmers as a “cultural group” during a period of historical change: A diligence and tenacity that simultaneously embodies a resignation to adversity and a long-suffering inertia, and an obedience steeped in indifference and ignorance contained within a deep affection for the governing party and the “new society”. Some critics saw this fiction as continuing Lu Xun’s concern over “national traits” because it raised the issue of the farmers’ own responsibility in exploring the sources of the tragic fate of the farmer in the contemporary era. It is apparent that for a certain period during 15 Gao Xiaosheng (1928–) is from Wujin County in Jiangsu Province. The chief collections of his literary work include ‘79 Fiction Collection, Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1980, Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1981, Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1982, Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1983, Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1984, Chen Huansheng, A Selection of the Fiction of Gao Xiaosheng, Representative Works of Gao Xiaosheng, A Self-Selection of the Humorous Works of Gao Xiaosheng, and the novels Blue Sky Above and A Record of Chen Huansheng Going to Town and Leaving the Country.

306

chapter eighteen

the 1980s Gao Xiaosheng was bent on recording in his fiction all traces of change in the countryside during this period; he incessantly changed the settings of the activities of his characters (such as Chen Huansheng), as they went to the city, made production contracts, changed professions, or left the country, while the base point of his creative thought and art remained in its original locus. Another type of short story by Gao Xiaosheng, such as ‹The Wallet›, ‹A Fish Hook›, ‹Rope›, and ‹Rapid Milling›, were simple stories rich in folk color that implied a certain life philosophy, and these were more highly approved of by some critics. The language in Gao Xiaosheng’s fiction is natural and simple, and the narration is calm and clear. He is skilled at refining expressive plot details and in portraying the psychological characteristics of characters. The humor in his fiction is often expressed in a casual narrative mode, and his ridicule of farmers contains a rich tenderness expressive of a heartfelt understanding. Liu Xinwu16 began to write and publish literary works in 1961 when he took up a teaching post in a Beijing middle school, but his work had no impact at the time. After 1977, he published short stories such as ‹Class Teacher›, ‹The Place of Love›, and ‹Wake Up, Younger Brother›, which raised the issue of the “aftereffects” on the souls of the young of the “Cultural Revolution”, and his name shot to prominence. ‹Class Teacher› and ‹The Scar› are usually seen as the works that symbolize the beginning of “new period literature”. Liu served as the editor-in-chief of People’s Literature (1986–1990), but was criticized and suspended for a period in 1987 for approving the publication of the short story ‹Show Us the Fur on Your Tongue or Nothingness› by Ma Jian, as well as other literary works that were subjected to criticism. During the 1980s, Liu Xinwu focused on the life and plight of ordinary people as social entities from the standpoint of humanism and the consciousness of suffering common to intellectuals in China. During the latter half of the 1980s, he wrote in the “record-of-reality fiction” form, publishing works such as ‹A Long Lens on May 19›, ‹The Kalei-

16

Liu Xinwu (1942–) is from Chengdu in Sichuan Province. He attended primary school and middle school in Beijing. His major collections of fi ction since 1980 include Selections of Short Stories by Liu Xinwu, Class Teacher, There’s Gold Here, Mailing Letters from Far Away, and Big-Eyed Cats, as well as the novels The Drum Tower, Wind Past the Ears, The Four Signboard Building, The Phoenix Perch Building, and The Immortals Bearing Dew Tray. He also has an eight volume Literary Writings of Liu Xinwu.

fiction during the first half of the s

307

doscope of Wangfujing›, and ‹Arias of Public Transport›, in which he wrote the life and cultural psychology of Beijingers. All these works of the 1980s clearly had a social issue at their core and called for some form of social resolution. When this type of single-issue consciousness weakened, Liu Xinwu relatively effortlessly described a panorama of the mores, customs, and ways of Beijing society in ‹As You Wish›, ‹The Flyover›, and the novels The Drum Tower, The Four Signboard Building, and Wind Past the Ears. These pieces of fiction were termed “Beijing flavor urban fiction”. In the 1990s, Liu Xinwu raised the idea of “refinement of literature of the masses, popularization of refined literature”, a mediation between the two, and in the form of popular fiction serialized the publication of the novella ‹A Window Full of Lamplight› in a popular journal. The opinions he expressed in his discussion of culture and the actual practice of his writing exhibited the tendency toward meeting the literary tastes of urbanites of some of those writers who, during the 1980s, cried “save the children” and maintained the stance of a literary elite providing “enlightenment”. However, as expressed by the author himself, this “urbanization of taste” had certain limits. This reflects a certain “designing” of one’s own position during the process of “societal shift”: Exhibiting a mainstream cultural status and guiding “the public”, and explicating and acknowledging the reality of this “shift” through an imagined psychology of “the public”. This handling of reality and art gave rise to another set of issues. Cong Weixi, Li Guowen, and Zhang Xian were among other writers who recounted their memories of the “Cultural Revolution”. Li Guowen17 was branded a rightist for the publication of the short story ‹A Re-election›. His chief works following the “Cultural Revolution” include the short story ‹Lunar Eclipse›, the Notes on a Dangerous Building series of short stories, and the novels Springtime in Winter and Garden Street No. 5. Cong Weixi18 began publishing literary works in the early 1950s.

17 Li Guowen (1930–) was born in Shanghai to a family from Yancheng in Jiangsu Province, and began to publish fiction in the 1950s. Works published during the 1980s included his novels Springtime in Winter and Garden Street No. 5, and collections of novellas and short stories such as First Glass of Sour Wine, Notes on a Dangerous Building, Uninteresting Stories, and Nirvana. 18 Cong Weixi (1933–) is from Yutian County in Hebei Province, and began to publish literary works in the 1950s. After he was denounced as a rightist, he was forcibly sent to work in a labor reform brigade. Since 1980, he has published numerous collections of short fiction, including Memories Left at the Seashore, Pure White Water Lilies,

308

chapter eighteen

After the “Cultural Revolution”, much of the attention his fiction drew was largely a consequence of its subject matter. Before Cong Weixi, conditions in contemporary prisons and labor reform brigades were “restricted areas” for creative writing. Most of Cong’s work during this period was concerned with the bumpy life road of hard-done-by intellectuals. These works were ‹Red Magnolias Beneath the Walls›, ‹The Tenth Bullet Hole›, ‹Burning Memories›, ‹Muddy›, ‹Footsteps Left at the Seashore›, ‹White Sails into the Distance›, ‹Snow Falls Silently on the Yellow River›, ‹Broken Bridge›, and ‹Eyes Watering in the Wind›. Some of these stories occur within labor reform brigades and prison walls, with titles such as that of the novella ‹Red Magnolias Beneath the Walls›, and for this reason some critics termed this type of fiction “inside the walls” fiction, or “prison walls literature”. In their subject matter, readers easily connect this fiction with the literary writings of Solzhenitsyn, such as ‹One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich›, The Cancer Ward, and The Gulag Archipelago. However, there is a great difference between the two writers in terms of perspective, ideological standpoint, and aesthetic intentions. Taking on the historical view of China’s traditional opera and fiction, Cong Weixi saw the movement of history as a process of conflicts and trials of strength between good and evil, between loyal and treasonous political powers. Twists such as the “Cultural Revolution”, and the humiliation and wrongful persecution of the upstanding, were all the result of the traitorous or evil (in his fi ction they were the “Return the Nationalist Party to China Clique” or the “Gang of Four” and their “accomplices”) gaining power for a time. This historical moralizing idea determines the form of Cong Weixi’s fiction. Characters are handled as embodiments of morals. Powerfully depicted “positive characters” (or “heroic characters”) all exhibit “pure” souls and “perfect” morals (in ‹Snow Falls Silently on the Yellow River›, the character Fan Hanru19 is described as “no impurities could be seen about his person, he was as transparent as the distilled water often used in our medicine”).

White Sails into the Distance, Burning Memories, Paper Flowers on the Post Road, Snow Falls Silently on the Yellow River, Selections of the Fiction of Cong Weixi, Selections of the Novellas of Cong Weixi, and the Cong Weixi Collection, as well as the novels Grass of the Northlands, Escapee (vol. 1, Eyes Watering in the Wind; vol. 2, World of Opposites; vol. 3, Heartbreak Grass), Naked Snow, and his memoirs, Moving Towards the Primeval. There is also an eight-volume Literary Writings of Cong Weixi. 19 The name of this character carries the meaning of being a “model of China’s intellectuals” and the “soul of the nation”. There was controversy over the ideological assessment of this novella at the time.

fiction during the first half of the s

309

The complex phenomena of life are methodically clarified as the conflict between the embodiments of two antagonistic moralities, and this constitutes the plotline of this fiction. The lack of distance and separation between the narrator, characters, and settings frequently leads to an immoderate expression of emotions. By comparison, his fact-based memoir, Moving Towards the Primeval, is of greater value in its handling of the topic of the distressing history of intellectuals during the contemporary period. It chiefly records the author’s circumstances in 1957 and the years immediately following, and touches on the situation on the literary scene in Beijing at the time. The environment and characters are no longer abstracted and imaginatively handled, there is some consideration of the “distressed” intellectuals themselves, and a relatively credible description of circumstances at the time is provided.

4. ‘Educated Youth Fiction’ in the Reconsideration of History During the 1980s, “educated youth literature” (or “educated youth fi ction”) was a term used to describe a literary phenomenon, but the sense in which it was used within critical circles was not unanimous. A relatively universal explanation of it was, firstly, that the writers were “educated youths” who went “up to the mountains or down to the countryside” during the “Cultural Revolution”; secondly, that the contents of their literary works chiefly dealt with the plight of “educated youths” during the “Cultural Revolution”, but included their later life roads, thoughts, and feelings, such as their circumstances after returning to the cities. As with “scar literature” and other terms, people used this concept to expressly indicate literature of a narrative form (fiction, or literary works that recorded reality in the style of a narrative). Moreover, writers such as Bei Dao, Shu Ting, Mang Ke, and Shi Zhi, were normally not referred to as “educated youth writers” and their writing was rarely termed “educated youth literature” (or “educated youth poetry”). This was possibly an expression of an awareness of the “transcendent nature” of the subject matter of poetry. “Educated youth literature” was already in existence during the “Cultural Revolution”, but the term was not advanced until the 1980s, which bespoke its appearance as a literary trend at the time. Furthermore, this is not to lay particular emphasis on this explanation of the term, as there were great changes in the later literary work of many writers who had been “educated youths”. However, as a trend in literary writing, there is no doubt that “educated youth

310

chapter eighteen

literature” did exist. From the late 1970s until the early 1980s, writers who wrote fiction on educated youth subjects included Kong Jiesheng, Zheng Yi, Ye Xin, Zhang Chengzhi, Liang Xiaosheng, Zhang Kangkang, Ke Yunlu, Li Rui, Xiao Fuxing, Shi Tiesheng, Zhang Wei, Han Shaogong, and Zhu Lin. As with the work of the “re-emergent” writers who had suffered setbacks during the 1950s, educated youth literature often possessed an aspect of autobiography. Like “re-emergent” writers, exceptional life experience intimately related to the national socio-political situation led these writers to believe that writing about their personal life experience had great value. What was different was that in the period after the conclusion of the “Cultural Revolution”, in the view of the public and in their own eyes, the victims of the anti-rightist campaign during the 1950s were seen as “cultural heroes”. But the significance of the lives of the “educated youth” generation during the “Cultural Revolution”, in both their own and society’s evaluation, was held to be suspect and vague. This, however, was the motive force that impelled these youths to stand up and speak for their generation so persistently and incessantly. Compared to the “re-emergent” writers, their motives to probe the “laws” of the movement of history through the fate of the individual and to make judgments on historical incidents were relatively weak, as they were more concerned with the search for the lost youth and ideals of “this generation”. Another point of difference was that they did not possess the same “young communist spirit” and they did not have the memories of the emotions of the early 1950s when “bring on all future days and let us weave you”20 was the spirit of the age. That is to say, there was a rupture with, even a smashing of this mostly inculcated spirit during the “Cultural Revolution”. This made educated youth fiction different in both form and feeling from the writings of “re-emergent” writers. They were not intent on linking the actions of individuals to major historical events, and relatively seldom believed they had an insight into history and the truths of life. There was relatively greater sense of bewilderment, as well as comparatively more disquiet and anxiety produced by explorations within their work. Due to ambiguities about the historical position and the current plight of educated youths after the “Cultural Revolution”, that period in

20 A line in a song sung by young students in Wang Meng’s 1950s novel, Long Live Youth.

fiction during the first half of the s

311

the lives of educated youths became the object of incessant excavation and repeated investigation in an effort to determine their current position. This value orientation and mode of unearthing and searching out memory was related to time and the unique nature of the author’s personal experience. Therefore, from the start, the narration of history in educated youth fiction appeared as a plurality of approaches in terms of experience and explication. Early educated youth fi ction placed greater emphasis on the exposure of the tragic emotional wounds and denunciation of the “Cultural Revolution”: The interment of their youth and beliefs, and the process by which their spirits were distorted. In works such as Lu Xinhua’s ‹The Scar›, Chen Jiangong’s ‹Tears of Tawny Daylilies›, Zheng Yi’s ‹Maples›, Yu Luojin’s ‹A Winter Fairytale›, Kong Jiesheng’s ‹Over by the Brook›, Zhu Lin’s ‹The Road of Life›, and Lao Gui’s Sunset the Color of Blood, there is anger about the lack of guarantees for the basic rights to life and the deception of sincere beliefs, as well as deep regrets and sorrow when looking back at past events. Soon afterwards, after graduating from the initial mode of revealing and laying bare tragedies, a portion of these literary works exhibited a transformation in viewpoint, the handling of emotions, and method of narration. This change was related to the fact that the “educated youth movement” had already concluded and to the plight of a great number of educated youths after they had returned to the cities. The attitude of the city to these “travellers” was complicated, and the city was certainly not the idealized “heaven” it had formerly been thought of as being. While the city provided the possibility of opening up a new road in life, it also contained unexpected refusals, as well as difficulties in schooling, employment, housing, marriage, and interpersonal relations. Even if concrete problems over livelihood were resolved, it was not certain that smashed beliefs and values could be repaired or reestablished. In the new environment, the former life as an educated youth would be “reconstructed” in the memory. There is a universal belief among critics that the earliest works of “educated youth literature” to exhibit this shift toward expressing the new contradictions in life and spiritual confusion were the short story ‹The Terminus of this Train› by Wang Anyi and the novella ‹The Shore in the South› by Kong Jiesheng, both published in 1981. The titles of these two stories have a dual sense: “terminus” and “shore” both imply the arrival at and searching out of a home to return to, and an end to drifting; however, what is expressed in these stories is the start of an aimless wandering of a different nature. After this, a “split” in the evaluation of life began to develop in educated youth fiction. Some continued

312

chapter eighteen

to persist in their negation of the “up to the mountains or down to the countryside” movement during the “Cultural Revolution” and in their sober critique of the absurd nature of life. Others “stripped out” elements worth cherishing from the complex process of history and safeguarded the “years of youth” and the spirit of sacrifice of this generation. In his ceaseless abstraction of the spirit with which “educated youths” threw themselves into the movement and in his steadfast defence of the value of this “extremely zealous generation, a sincere generation, a generation rich in the spirit of sacrifice, the spirit to initiate new beginnings, and a sense of responsibility”,21 the work of Liang Xiaosheng is representative of this latter form of educated youth fiction. From 1968, he spent seven years in a production and construction brigade in Heilongjiang Province. In ‹A Land of Wonder and Mystery›, ‹There is a Snowstorm Tonight›, and Snow City, he wrote of how the educated youths were deceived, but he also declared “we paid out and lost much, but what we attained was still more than what we lost”. Liang persisted with a distinct moral stance and a solemn, stirring romantic style. A different tendency of excavating the life of those times was evident in the “educated youth” writing of Zhang Chengzhi and Shi Tiesheng. At the start, they clearly departed from the socio-political viewpoint in their literature and placed emphasis on the rediscovery of human nature, character, and morals that might reside in the life of ordinary people as spiritual forces that could renew the self and society. There were several changes in the views on life of “educated youths” at the beginning and towards the end of the “Cultural Revolution”. Wang Anyi has spoken contrastively of the 1969-class in junior middle schools, saying they never formed the type of social ideals and values like those of the “old three classes”.22 “Just as they yearned for knowledge, culture and knowledge was trampled; just as they stepped into society and wanted an ideal society, all things that were lofty became absurd and laughable”. Many of them never experi-

21 From: Liang Xiaosheng, ‹I Added a Brick›, (Novella Selections, no. 2, 1984). Liang Xiaosheng was born in 1949 in Harbin and worked in the Heilongjiang production and construction brigades from 1968. He began to write and publish literary works in the early 1970s. In 1977, Liang graduated from the Chinese Department of Fudan University in Shanghai. Among his major works are pieces of shorter fiction such as ‹A Land of Wonder and Mystery›, ‹There is a Snowstorm Tonight›, and ‹Father›. He has also published the short story collections If Heaven has Feelings and Lampshade of Birch Bark, and the novels Confession of a Red Guard and Snow City. 22 “Old three classes” is in reference to the years of entry (1963, 1964, 1965) into junior and senior middle school of three classes of students still studying when the “Cultural Revolution” began in 1966.

fiction during the first half of the s

313

enced the “painful extermination” that the “old three classes” had and did not need to speak in defence of the value of their own youth, and therefore lost the motive to search for spiritual riches in the villages when they were “sent to the countryside”. It is difficult to find any “love” of the land or poetic quality of imagination in the fiction Wang Anyi wrote about her life after being “sent to the countryside” in northern Jiangsu Province, such as her novel Junior Middle School Student of the Class of 69. Writing of the life of educated youths and the “up to the mountains or down to the countryside” movement with a relatively sober attitude was a change in this form of fiction that would occur later. Ah Cheng and Li Xiao did not start publishing their work until 1984. Although their fiction also dealt with the life of educated youths, it is difficult to generalize their point of view and themes as “educated youth literature”. For various causes, including family-related reasons, they were excluded from the “movement” during the “Cultural Revolution” and became “bystanders”, and as a result they observed situations that were difficult to spot or were overlooked by those in the midst of it all.23 In his short stories, Li Xiao first wrote of the circumstances of “educated youth” after their return to the cities. ‹Continue Your Drills›, ‹Anecdotes from the Office›, and ‹Gossip About Carrying Out Regulations› were among those stories that detailed the “drills” carried out by “educated youths” who had returned to the cities and were working in a variety of professions pursuing power and profit—currying favor, cheating, and the use of indiscriminate means in internecine struggles. Li then looked back and, in ‹Grass on the Roof›, ‹Romance of a Little Town›, and ‹A Seventy-Two Hour War›, recounted experiences of “stirring up waves” on these fields of power during the “Cultural Revolution”; this apparently embodied tracing the sources of the later psychology and actions of the educated youths. He employs a mocking “comedic” form to handle this “tragic state of affairs”, and his works carry strongly melancholic connotations of fatalism. Li is concerned with the process and consequences of the distortion of human nature during the struggle of educated youths to survive. Ye Xin and Zhang Kangkang were other writers who put forth an effort to write stories on the life of educated youths.24

23 From 1956 until 1957, Ah Cheng’s father, Zhong Dianfei, was branded a rightist for publishing essays such as ‹Gongs and Drums in Film› and ‹Shanghai is Deep in Thought›. Li Xiao’s father, Ba Jin, was persecuted as a “reactionary writer” during the “Cultural Revolution”. 24 Ye Xin (1949–) was born in Shanghai and “joined a production brigade and settled” in Guizhou in 1969. His novels on the subject of the life of “educated youths” include the

314

chapter eighteen

As a trend, “educated youth literature” lost significance after the mid1980s. Of course, a movement that touched the lives of tens of millions of people will not quickly vanish from the memories of many, and its impact continues into the present day. Moreover, it is difficult to judge whether the “resources” this historical event provided to literature have been fully excavated. Under such circumstances, this period of “history” will be repeatedly raised. Since the latter part of the 1980s, related literary works include Zhang Kangkang’s novel Invisible Companion, Lu Tianming’s Sun on the Sangna Highlands, Guo Xiaodong’s China’s Tribes of Educated Youths, Deng Xian’s fact-based Dreams of China’s Educated Youths, and Chen Kaige’s Dragon’s Blood Tree, as well as memoirs written by former educated youths during the 1990s, such as Looking Back at the Yellow Earth, Inspiration of the Grasslands, Souls Tied to the Black Earth, Splendor After Calamity—The Rise from Hardship of Educated Youths, Old Three Classes, and the Third Generation of the Republic. However, upon entering the 1990s, the review of personal experience by former educated youths gradually became the reminiscences of individuals who had now ‘made it’, and in constructing the “splendor” of the old days much of the thoughtful and critical hue to the earlier works vanished. In the midst of such a trend, Chen Kaige’s Dragon’s Blood Tree25 possesses special significance. In recounting his experiences and what he saw and heard during the “Cultural Revolution”, there is a base tone of remorseful introspection. Some incidents and scenes are placed in the joints of the narrative, and are composed like scenes in a film. The author has a heartfelt concern for the humanity of those who suffered and the lowly lives that were destroyed. Through concrete scenes and symbolism, Chen Kaige attempts to reveal the significance of the history of the time and of the fate of individuals.

novels Our Generation of Young People, Years of Wasting Time, Piercing Cold Wind, On the Awakened Earth, and A Vile Debt. Zhang Kangkang (1950–) is from Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. She was with the army in Heilongjiang during the “Cultural Revolution”. In 1975, she published the novel Boundary Line on the life of going “up to the mountains or down to the countryside”. During the 1980s, she published works of shorter fiction such as ‹Rights of Love›, ‹Summer›, ‹Aurora Borealis›, and ‹A Light Morning Fog›, and novels such as Invisible Companion, Four Forms of Red, and Gallery of Love. 25 Dragon’s Blood Tree, Hongkong Heaven & Earth Book Company, 1992. Chen Kaige was born in 1952 in Beijing. At the age of fifteen, during the “Cultural Revolution”, Chen went to work in the countryside in Yunnan. In 1978, he qualified to enter the Directing Department at the Beijing Film Academy, and went on to direct such films as ‹Yellow Earth›, ‹The Big Parade›, ‹King of Children›, and ‹Farewell My Concubine›. Dragon’s Blood Tree was not printed or distributed in Mainland China.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

1980s POETRY

1. Poetry Circles After the ‘Cultural Revolution’ Many poets consciously took on the responsibility of “re-establishing” poetry after the “Cultural Revolution”. However, in comparison with other literary forms, poetry confronted more difficulties. Not only did poetical theory and poetry need to undergo self-criticism, but “new poetry” also had to deal with difficult issues that had existed since its birth. Antagonistic evaluations of new poetry by all manner of people applying all types of criteria had been incessant since its birth. Therefore, the “eternal” topic of “poetry crisis” reappeared once again in the late 1970s (and it would be raised again in the late 1980s and during the 1990s). During this period, numerous complex issues were raised during the debate that ensued once a “crisis” was posited: such as poetry’s relationship with “reality”, “self-expression” and the “reflection of reality” in poetry, the characteristics of poetry and its social “function”, new poetry’s tradition and external influences, the establishment of “forms” in new poetry, the relationship of poetry to the reader, and so on. However, overall, literary circles had positive attitudes toward the poetry of the time. In contrast to the later “marginalization” of poetry’s position in literature, during the first half of the 1980s the situation in poetry was avidly followed. This was because, like theater and fiction, at the time poetry took on the important “duty” of expressing the moods of society. Poetry written at the time was approved of for the following reasons: “the literary traditions of militancy, being of the people, and truthfulness have been restored and carried forward”; poetry had “sounded the bugle for the advance of the four modernizations, sang out the strong voice of the people’s hearts, and courageously exposed contradictions in present-day life”.1 Representative works that expressed this notion of poetry 1 See the report on the National Contemporary Poetry Conference in Nanning in April 1980, in China Literary Studies Year Book (1981), China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1982: 256. At the time, poetry was also highly praised because “from exposing

316

chapter nineteen

and produced enthusiastic responses among readers included ‹Sad Thoughts of January› by Li Ying, ‹On the Crest of a Wave›, by Ai Qing, ‹Sunlight, Nobody can Monopolize It› by Bai Hua, ‹The Short Grass is Singing› by Lei Shuyan, ‹Discontent› by Luo Gengye, ‹Modernization and Ourselves› by Zhang Xuemeng, ‹General, You can’t do This› by Ye Wenfu, and ‹Please Raise Forests of Hands, and Stop It!› by Xiong Zhaozheng. Another reason for the great degree of attention poetry received at the time was the innovative spirit expressed in the artistic concepts and methodologies of this poetry, and poetry found itself in the forward position of literary trends leading the other forms of literature. Moreover, for a time after this, poetry continued to exhibit an “avant-garde” strength in exploration. Clearly there was a contradiction between these two reasons for all the attention given poetry. This disagreement gradually expanded as time passed, eventually forming into two different evaluative systems, and accelerating divisions in poetry circles. Poetry after the “Cultural Revolution” was chiefly written by two “groups” of poets. One was termed the “re-emergent poets” group. At its early stage, their writing had much in common in terms of topics and emotional tone, but later their creative vitality was judged by the degree to which their writing had “transcended” the initial unanimity of topics and artistic methods. For several different reasons, not many of the poets in this group were able to maintain their creative vigor and innovative spirit beyond the mid-1980s. The other group consisted of young poets. At the time, “young poets” were also seen as a “group” as their writing featured topics different from those of other groups and a trend towards artistic innovation. However, the “unified nature” of this “group” was in fact much more fragile than that of the “re-emergent poets”. The lines of division in poetic concepts and artistic methodologies quickly became apparent to the poets themselves. There were many improvements in the poetical environment during the 1980s. This was particularly true in the area of possible “resources” available to the writing of poetry. New poetry since “May Fourth” was re-

and castigating the crimes of the ‘Gang of Four’ to singing praises of the previous generation of revolutionaries, from recollections of the martyr Zhang Zhixin to singing the praises of heroes on all battlefronts, from throwing itself into the mighty torrent of liberation of thought to sweeping away obstacles on the road of the new Long March, through it all, poetry has stood at the forefront of the age following the advancing pace of the Party and the people”. With regard to the “art” of this poetry, it was felt that the “forms and styles . . . are growing in variety by the day, and a tentative sight of one hundred flowers blooming has appeared”.

s poetry

317

examined, and the vein of this poetry that was part of the “modernism” tendency was unearthed and elucidated in a positive way. Aside from Li Jinfa and others in the early Symbolist school, and Dai Wangshu’s “modernist” group,2 other major groups in the history of new poetry that were “discovered” again during the 1980s included the “June group” and the “Nine Leaves group”. The critical spirit of the former poets with regard to reality drew more attention, and the latter group provided messages worth noting with regard to opening up areas in the artistic handling of personal experience and psychology. While during the late-1940s the “Nine Leaves” poetry group (or “China Poetry group”) did form a prototype that had the characteristics of a poetry group, yet as a poetry group it was a “construction” of poets and literary historians of the 1980s; even the name “Nine Leaves” was given to this group during this period. The position of forgotten poets such as Mu Dan in the history of China’s new poetry was swiftly raised and their influence spread rapidly as well.3 There was also a fairly complete introduction to poetry and related theory in Taiwan since the 1950s. Of course, the great quantity of introductions and translations of foreign poetry and related theory was an even more obvious fact. During the development process of poetry during the 1980s, external influences and the vein of “modernism” in Mainland China’s poetry were placed in important positions and acted as important driving forces in stimulating the writing of 2

During the 1980s, there were several studies published on the writings of Li Jinfa, Dai Wangshu, Bian Zhilin, and others. Examples of this included: Sun Yushi, Studies into the Poetry of the Early Symbolist Group in China, (Beijing University Publishing House, 1983); and Sun Yushi, Guided Readings in the Modern Poetry of China (1917–1938), (Beijing University Publishing House, 1990), featuring poetry of the modernist tendency by poets such as Li Jinfa, Mu Mutian, Dai Wangshu, Bian Zhilin, He Qifang, Fei Ming, Jin Kemu, and Lu Yishi. 3 In 1981, the Jiangsu People’s Publishing House published The Nine Leaves Collection, a “selection of the poetry of nine poets from the 1940s”. In its ‹Preface›, Yuan Kejia termed these nine poets “the nine leaves”. Following this, “Nine Leaves” became a term almost universally used to refer to the poetry group. Some researchers still used terms such as the “China Poetry group” (China’s New Poetry was the name of the journal they published during the 1940s) and the “New Modernist group” (distinguishing it from the “Modernist group” of Dai Wangshu and others). Later, many collections of the poetry and poetry theory of these poets were published or reprinted. Examples of this include: Yuan Kejia’s collection of writings on poetry, On the Modernization of New Poetry, and Tang Shi’s New Ideas and Rules (a re-issue of an augmented edition of Ideas and Rules). In 1996, the “Twentieth Century Laureate Poetry Series” put out by the China Literature Publishing House published The Complete Poems of Mu Dan (Li Fang, ed.). The Orthodox and the Heterodox by Lan Dizhi (Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1988) was among the most influential studies of the “Nine Leaves” poets published during the 1980s.

318

chapter nineteen

contemporary poetry. Therefore, during this period, “experimentation” in poetry was to a fair degree carried out on a foundation consisting of an external poetry thought tide and the practice of major poets. However, China’s tradition of poetry and aesthetics later began to receive attention as well. There was a great increase in the number of literary journals during the 1980s. Compared to the 1950s and 1960s there was also an increase in the number of specialized poetry journals and poetry papers,4 and this, theoretically, led to an increase in opportunities to publish poetry. Yet, in fact, the distribution and publication of poetry was a difficult issue, and, especially with the trend towards the commodification of literature, the position of poetry has been weakened. This ought to have been a predictable trend. In a society dominated by consumption, the publication and distribution of poetry is, for the most part, a profitless activity, and the possibilities of gaining fame and sizable profit are very few. However, there are still a large number of persistent writers, especially the young, who are devoted to poetry with no thought of profit or loss. Another important phenomenon in poetry circles since the 1980s is the contradictions and divisions that arose out of discussions about “Misty poetry” that were never bridged and instead deepened and expanded. This “split” was rooted in differing poetical concepts and practices. In a situation in which the distribution of poetry and the publication of poetry collections were universally difficult, the circumstances of young poets who were seen as “heterodox” in terms of their poetic practice was made trickier. As a result, the fashion of forming “small groups” (or “circles”) among poets, and privately printing and distributing poetry collections and journals of individuals or groups has been strongly continued since the 1980s.

4

Besides Poetry Monthly operated by the China Writers Association, Sichuan’s Stars resumed publication and became a second major poetry journal. Th ere were several other specialized poetry papers and journals newly established in other provinces and cities during the 1980s. However, some of these were not long-lived. For example, in 1985, aside from the two publications listed above, other specialized poetry publications included Gods of Poetry (Hebei Province), Poetry Selections (Inner Mongolia), Poetry Tide (Shenyang), Poet (Jilin Province), Young Poets (Changchun), Poetry Forest (Harbin), Green Wind (Xinjiang, Shihezi), and Poetry Press (Anhui Province).

s poetry

319

2. The Poetry of the ‘Returnees’ (A) In 1980, Ai Qing entitled a collection of his poetry Songs of Return, and, at the same time, Liu Shahe and Liang Nan wrote poems with the titles ‹The Return› and ‹The Moment of Return› respectively. “Return” was a phenomenon among poets and a universal poetical theme as well at this time. The poets who were termed “returned” (or “re-emergent”) were chiefly composed of the following constituent groups: “right-wing” poets from the anti-rightist campaign in the 1950s, such as Ai Qing, Gong Mu, Lü Jian, Su Jinsan, Gong Liu, Bai Hua, Shao Yanxiang, Liu Shahe, Chang Yao, Zhou Liangpei, Sun Jingxuan, Gao Ping, Hu Zhao, Liang Nan, and Lin Xi; victims of the “Hu Feng clique” incident in 1955, such as Niu Han, Lu Yuan, Zeng Zhuo, Ji Fang, Lu Li, Peng Yanjiao, Luo Luo, and Hu Zheng; and poets who “disappeared” from the poetry scene during the 1950s for artistic ideas that were related to politics, such as Xindi, Chen Jingrong, Zheng Min, Tang Shi, Tang Qi, Du Yunxie, Mu Dan, and Cai Qijiao.5 When the poets listed above “returned” in the late 1970s after an absence of twenty years, for a time they rushed to inject into their poetry the knowledge they had gained through their experience of setbacks and tribulations in their lives. They recollected the “fatal blow” that “injured wings”, as well as the “shivers” that “fell in the wilderness” (from Lü Jian’s ‹To a Friend›), and were joyous at finally “returning alive from a far-off place” (from Liu Shahe’s ‹The Return›). As these “wanderers through the sky” (from Lin Xi’s ‹Shooting Stars›) had been sunk deep into the lowest rungs of society and had the status of “discarded people” for a long period of time, their knowledge and experience of history and life had deepened, and their experience led them to maintain a distance from the poetical practices of the 1960s and 1970s. Some among them had been divorced from the practice of their art for a long 5 In February 1944, Mu Dan enlisted in China’s expeditionary army against the Japanese, at first as a translator with the headquarters of Du Yuming, later he joined the 207th division, followed the army to Burma, and participated in the ‘Wild Man’ Mountains campaign. In late 1958, it was announced that he was a “historical counterrevolutionary”, was “under surveillance of Party organs”, and he was sent to undertake supervised labor at the Nankai University library. See the ‹A Simple Chronicle of the Life of Mu Dan (Zha Liangzheng)› in The Complete Poems of Mu Dan, Li Fang, ed., China Literature Publishing House, 1996. In fact, up to the time of Mu Dan’s death in February 1977, he had not written on the topic of “return”. Tang Qi and Tang Shi of the “Nine Leaves” poetry group were branded as rightists in 1957.

320

chapter nineteen

period and found it difficult to re-establish the sensitivity of perception and the sharp imagination they once had; however, in comparison to other poets, this made it relatively easy for them to present a new face to readers in a creative sense. In their work of this period, they merged the historical “breaks” and “inheritances” they perceived into the life of the individual, and attempted to carry on with the social ideals, aesthetic ideals, and poetical forms of theirs that had been previously blocked. Similar pursuits led to the appearance of shared characteristics in their poetry of this period; such as a “confessional” nature to the psychologies and emotions of individuals, a tendency toward rational contemplation with a “reconsideration of history” at its core, an adherence to ideals of social life, and a poetical mode of direct lyrical expression.6 After Ai Qing7 was branded a rightist in 1958, he was first sent to work on a farm in Heilongjiang Province and then to work in the production and construction corps in Xinjiang. In 1961, this rightist “hat”, or label, was removed, but he was attacked again during the “Cultural Revolution”. Ai Qing regained the right to write and publish literary works after a period of over twenty years. On 30 April 1978 in Literary Confluence Daily (Shanghai) he published ‹Red Flag›, his first poem since his “re-emergence”, and due to his “banner”-like influence in the world of poetry, this was seen as an event symbolic of the “revival” of poetry. During the 1980s, aside from reprints of earlier poetry, he published a number of new poetry collections, including Songs of Return, Poetry of Color, and Snow Lilies. Compared to the early 1950s, he had made obvious progress in his writing. External obstacles to the expression of personal experience and emotions had been eradicated, leaving him with a relatively open space in which to select his artistic techniques. His poetry featured a pose of having experienced hardships and having insights into life and the ways of the world, his expression of emotions was full of philosophical thought, and his diction and lines tended toward simplicity, directness, and concision. The many short poems of this period, such as ‹Ichthyolite›, ‹Lost Years›, ‹On the Eyes›, ‹Potted

6

Ichthyolites or Trees on the Precipice (edited and a preface by Xie Mian) is a collection of poems on this theme by “returned” poets, published in 1993 by Beijing Teachers University Publishing House. 7 Ai Qing was born in 1910 in Fantianjiang Village, Jinhua County, Zhejiang Province, and died in May 1996. In 1991, the Flower Mountain Literature & Arts Publishing House (Shijiazhuang) published The Complete Works of Ai Qing.

s poetry

321

Landscapes›, and ‹Mutual Discovery›, were all unassuming and plain, and they revealed an emotional comprehension of harsh life experience, a generosity of sorts, but there was also pain. However, Ai Qing was obviously not satisfied with mostly writing about personal experience. Unlike some “re-emergent” poets, he rarely directly wrote of the twenty years he spent away from poetry or expressed feelings about his personal fate. This was determined by the poetical standards and the status as a poet established by the poet himself. On this point, his poetry did not entirely fit it with the “confessional” characteristics universally present in the poetry of the returnees. Ai Qing always found it difficult to leave behind the burden of summarizing the agitated times, of commenting on history. During the 1930s and 1940s, poems such as ‹To the Sun›, ‹Torch›, and ‹The Age›, and his 1957 long poem ‹On the Straits of Chile›, all bore witness to his desire to write “grand poems” that encapsulated the age. Now he wrote long poems like ‹On the Crest of a Wave›, ‹Paean to Light›, ‹The Coliseum of Ancient Rome›, ‹Face the Ocean›, and ‹All Within the Four Seas are Brothers›. Wanting to grasp the course of history of the nation, and thus all of humankind, he advanced a philosophy of history based on understandings attained over the course of his life. Of these poems, ‹Paean to Light› and ‹The Coliseum of Ancient Rome› were highly praised upon publication. However, hampered by an ideology, a field of vision, and an emotional style that had already been exposed as deficient, it was not possible to put his creative ideals into practice. During the 1940s and 1950s, Ai Qing time after time championed the “freedom to write” and the “independence of creation”,8 and therefore was subject to harsh attacks during the rectification campaign in literature and the arts in Yan’an. He repeatedly proclaimed: The poet “is a symbol of the wisdom of all the ages”, he “gives his life to all”, “gives to all according to his disposition”; “They will pass judgment on everything,—even those who normally try others will be subject to their judgment”; “Aside from the freedom to write, the writer does not demand any other prerogative. One of the reasons they uphold democratic politics with their lives is that democratic politics can guarantee

8

See: Ai Qing, Poetics (initially published by the Guilin Sanhu Book Society, 1941, and was later republished in differing versions by various publishing houses. Today the most common editions are those published by the People’s Literature Publishing House in 1956 and 1980.). Also see: The Complete Works of Ai Qing (vol. 3), ‹Understand Writers, Respect Writers› (Liberation Daily, 11 March 1942), as well as works such as ‹The Age›, ‹The Reef›, ‹The Oriole›, and ‹The Song of Cicadas›.

322

chapter nineteen

the independent spirit of their artistic creation”. . . . Given the political structure of modern society in China, this understanding of the social position and duties of poets and their rights to independence in their explication and expression of the world, naturally gave rise to serious discord. This sort of “conflict between the individual and the age, and the antagonistic feelings between ‘genius’ and ‘the mundane’ ”, led to him inescapably “sinking into” . . . “a virtually unimaginable abyss” during the contemporary period.9 Although it seemed “as if a knife had cut up” . . . “its face and body”, “yet it stood there still / watching the sea with a smile. . . .” (Ai Qing ‹The Reef›). In safeguarding the extremely weakened independence of the spirit of poetry during the contemporary age, he had precisely this type of “image”. Ai Qing continued to uphold this standpoint in his poetry after the “Cultural Revolution”. However, after this idea of independent writing had been realized to some degree, the creative powers of the poet, the strength of his spirit, the unique extent of the connections he establishes with the world, his sensitivity toward life and language,. . . . all this constitutes an even sterner test. And Ai Qing was no exception. After all the successes he did achieve, there also remained profound regrets. According to Zeng Zhuo, the life road of Lu Yuan (1922–)10 has been nothing but rough; there has been neither romance nor the fragrance of roses. While at senior middle school during the late 1930s, he began a life as a refugee that did not end until the latter half of the 1940s. He was persecuted during the Hu Feng Incident in the 1950s, and this gave his poetry a quality of frostiness. During the 1980s, he published his poetry in two volumes under the title of Poetry of Man. Aside from poetry included in collections published during the 1940s (such as Yet Another Starting Point and Assembly), several of the poems in these two volumes are pieces from his “mute” days and new works since his “re-emergence”. The poems that receive the most attention are those written during his time of distress, such as ‹Another Columbus› (1959) and ‹Rereading the Bible› (1970). This twentieth century Columbus is “hunched and skeletal, with disheveled hair and a filthy face”, his “Santa Maria” is not a ship, but the greenish yellow walls of a prison; his faith in his ability to

9

Feng Zhi, ‹On the Poetry of Ai Qing›, Literary Studies, no. 1, 1958. Lu Yuan (1922–) is from Huangpo in Hubei Province. He began writing literature in the 1940s, and was persecuted during the Hu Feng Incident in 1955. Aside from his own poetical works, he has made several translations, including The Romantic School in Germany (G. Brandes, Main Currents in 19th Century Literature, vol. 2). 10

s poetry

323

“discover a new continent” is merely his awaiting the “impartial” judgment of “Old Man Time”. The situation described by the writer unintentionally delineates the historical plight that is the universal tragedy of modern man. Lu Yuan’s mid-1980s collections, Record of Gathering Grain in West Germany and Sour Grapes, also received good reviews. The first stage of Zeng Zhuo’s11 writing ended in 1944. This was followed by a fairly long period during which he wrote nothing. In 1955, after his imprisonment because of the Hu Feng Incident, poetry was his way of relieving the torment of solitude and the pain he suffered, and therefore there are many thoughts about warmth and solace amidst physical exhaustion, hunger, and thirst in this poetry. Just as Niu Han has stated, “Though his poetry is a body covered in wounds, it also brings readers warmth and beautiful feelings. . . . There is some sweetness to the misery and bleakness.”12 ‹A Gift› and ‹Tree by the Precipice›, written during the 1960s and 1970s respectively, are poems often cited by critics; the solitary tree standing at the edge of a cliff, “Seemingly about to topple into the gorge / yet looking as if about to unfurl its wing and fly”, was seen as the pose of a victim of the “contemporary period” and as the symbol of a state of mind. For a while during the “contemporary period” Huang Yongyu13 was primarily noted as a painter (although he did publish poetry in the 1940s). However, since 1980 the artistic activity that has most impressed people has been his writing: His poetry and his informal essays in the form of notations. The bulk of his poetry was written during the late 1970s and early 1980s, its style and “methodology” exhibiting a different inclination to that prevalent at the time. Sometimes he puts to use the sensitivity of a painter in capturing the states of objects, transmitting the emotions of the poet through the pithy description of objects. This

11 Zeng Zhuo (1922–) is from Wuhan in Hubei Province. He published the poetry collection Doors during the 1940s, and he was persecuted during the 1950s in connection with the Hu Feng Incident. After the “Cultural Revolution” he published collections of poetry, such as Tree by the Precipice and Songs of an Old Sailor, and collections of prose writings, such as Pursuer of Beauty and Notebook of a Flutist. 12 Niu Han, ‹A Man of Emotion›, Literary Confluence Monthly (Shanghai), no. 3, 1983. 13 Huang Yongyu (1924–) is from Fenghuang in Hunan Province, and during the 1950s and 1960s he was an instructor at the Central Academy of the Arts. During the 1980s he published the poetry collections That Time Once Was and My Heart, Only My Heart. He also published several collections of informal essays, including Miscellaneous Notes from Pot Studio, Notes from Efforts at Serious Thought, and Miscellaneous Notes from Mustard Tip Residence.

324

chapter nineteen

is a major feature of his 1976 sequence of poems on the “Tian’anmen Incident” (‹Events on Tian’anmen›). At other times, he uses a generalized vocabulary and contrasting imagery (such as “The best behaved of people swears the most vilely, / yet the best singer can’t produce a sound”) to strengthen frightening revelations of the absurd nature of “that time”. His lyrical style features both mockery and feelings of tenderness. Poems such as ‹A Girl I Know is already Dead› and ‹For the Wives› highlight a heartfelt compassion. Alongside this, he sometimes makes the creators of the catastrophe, those who sold out their friends, and the scraping, adulating “flatterers” the objects of sketches in ballad form. Satirical poems such as ‹Better to Hang Yourself with a Rope›, ‹The Powdered Old Lady Laughs›, and ‹The Bad Eggs are Ripe› feature the pose of the victorious witness to history, but also reveal troubled thoughts with regard to the present. After Gong Liu was branded a rightist, he and his family suffered a series of misfortunes,14 which led the poetry he wrote after his “return” to depart from the clear, lively style of his 1950s work to an eruption of intense, fiery emotions. He has described these matters this way: “The past thirty years, over half the time I was driven into the shifting sands; my life was tormented and muted by great hunger and thirst”; however, “beneath the shifting sands there still were fertile fields”, emotional, meaningful song “did not abandon me”, “it’s only that lacking the water needed for life, it too became fire”.15 Poems such as ‹In Defense of the Soul›, ‹Questions of Bamboo›, ‹Into the Void›, ‹O, A Forest›, ‹Execution Grounds›, ‹Studying Luo Zhongli’s Oil Painting “Father”›, ‹Concerning the “Ten Commandments of Moses”›, ‹Dissection›, and ‹Autumn Wind Song of the Imperial Tombs›, all directly confront serious issues in history and the present, and directly express his thoughts on social issues such as the superstitions in modern campaigns to create gods, on democracy and the rule of law, and poetry and politics. Practicing social

14 His wife abandoned him, leaving him with a daughter not yet a year old. Then he was dispatched to Shanxi and other areas to undergo “reform through labor” and had no choice but to leave his daughter to be raised by his mother. He was persecuted once again during the “Cultural Revolution”, but his parents could not withstand repeated attacks and passed away in quick succession. Poetry collections Gong Liu has published since 1978 include Yin Lingzhi, White Flowers • Red Flowers, Grass on the Lili Plain, Cacti, Mother—Yangtse River, Camels, Big Shanghai, and Southern Boats Northern Horses. 15 Gong Liu, ‹Preface› to Grass on the Lili Plain, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1980.

s poetry

325

criticism in poetry was the trend at the time. As Gong Liu’s discussions and criticisms were based on observations into his own soul and personal reflections, his poetry was infused with candid, moving qualities. The base tone of the emotions expressed in his poetry of this period was one of tormented iciness. Experiencing so many setbacks in life did not lead him towards a limpid calm state of mind, and he never attempts to use humor or derision to relieve his pain and indignation. He oft en uses a large quantity of parallel lines to pose questions, which goes towards constructing a “big cry, big laugh” mode of catharsis. Although his viewpoint relies too closely on current political issues, the effort to achieve the uninhibited expression of emotion leads to a lack of control. However, in some poems, his singular imagination transforms the complex connotations of his thought and his strong emotions into unique poetical images. Examples of this are poems written during the latter period of the “Cultural Revolution”, such as ‹Hometown›, ‹Wrinkles›, and ‹Pictographs›, as well as ‹Rope› and ‹Air and Gas›. Most importantly, his writing genuinely puts into practice the rules of poetry he repeatedly avows: “Poetry without soul is sham poetry.” During the 1980s, Shao Yanxiang published over ten collections of poetry,16 most of which were new works, but with some written during the period since the 1950s. Published in 1994, Selections of Poetry by Shao Yanxiang consisted of poems chosen by Shao Yanxiang himself as “selections of poetry over the greater part of my life”: They “record the good dreams and the nightmares, too; record the destruction of the good dreams and the awakening from the nightmares”.17 There is an aspect of scrupulous subtlety to the emotional experience of Shao Yanxiang’s poetry. His poetry features the “slightly chilly rain” of the south, the irretrievable echoes of footsteps in deep valleys in the mountains, the hard to pin down bewilderment of dawn in early springtime, and the restrained silence of banana plants in the rain at night. The “shards” of emotions from life in the long poetry sequence ‹Fifty Strings› feature a “classical” gentleness and bitter complaints. However, with his strong awareness of intervening in society and his uncompromising sense

16 Such as Love Songs for History, Saying Goodbye to the 1970s with a Smile, In the Distance, Witness to Youth, Blooming like Flowers, Late-Blossoming Flowers, Long Lyric Poems by Shao Yanxiang, Time and Wine, and There’s Happiness and there’s Worry. 17 Shao Yanxiang, ‹Preface› to Selections of Poetry by Shao Yanxiang, Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House (Tianjin), 1994.

326

chapter nineteen

of righteousness, the majority of Shao Yanxiang’s poetry after his “reemergence” dealt with issues of the time with a base emotional tone of passionate indignation. This was a continuation of the poetical style of his youth during the 1950s, particularly the social criticism of ‹Jia Guixiang›. The poem ‹Angry Cricket› can be seen as a description of the poet’s own circumstances: This is not chirping beneath the window, a “happy cricket” making music by the front step, nor is it singing in the night shadows, a “melancholy cricket” in the cold dew late at night, instead it is the “soul of a suffering child” five hundred years ago, who to save people, to right wrongs, has transformed into an “angry cricket”; out of anger, it has forgotten how to make its music, how to sing, and because of this anger it unfurls its wings, extends its antennae, it is attentive, it trembles, it leaps up to enter the fray and is doggedly persistent. His first poems after his “re-emergence” (such as ‹China has Poetry once Again›, ‹History’s Pillar of Shame›, ‹Concerning Metaphor›, ‹Lies of the Honest›, and ‹Are We in the Habit of Begging?›) are characterized by a tendency toward subject matter on history and current social issues, and a keen argumentativeness. Soon afterwards, this type of societal thematic interest transformed into the writing of thirteen long lyric poems rich with historical connotations, such as ‹Who am I›, ‹The Great Wall›, ‹I’ve Travelled Everywhere›, and ‹Discussing Heroes with a Stele for Heroes›. The national pursuit of material and spiritual modernization that began in the 1950s is the theme of these poems. Where this differs from poetry of the 1950s is that, in these poems, there are not only “beads of sweat crystallizing into salt”, but there are even more “teardrops” caused by the swift changes of history. The deepest impression left on readers by these poems is perhaps not chiefly of his wise comments on historical and current phenomena, but of the spirit and temperament expressed in them, of the poet’s attentive straightforward disposition towards life, and his efforts towards safeguarding the independence of thought and emotions. Shao Yanxiang put most of his energy into writing miscellaneous and informal essays during the latter half of the 1980s, perhaps after becoming aware of the difficulties for poetry in taking on the burden of addressing society in this manner (of course, he could also have encountered difficulties with other poetical issues). He found forms better suited to engagement with society and life. Because of crimes he was charged with for writing the prose poem ‹Plants› and editing the poetry journal Stars, in 1957 Liu Shahe was dispatched as a “filial descendant of the landlord class” to his home county

s poetry

327

(Jintang County in Sichuan Province) to undergo reform through labor.18 He worked for over ten years as a “manual laborer” with cleaving saws and hammers nailing together wooden crates. Once he began writing again, many of his first poems expressed sentimentality for these years and a sense of irretrievable loss over his youth. Poems such as ‹Six Love Poems›, ‹Dreaming of Xi’an›, and ‹Butterfly› are a record of the emotional solace he found during his difficult days, and are meticulously written in a serene, roundabout style; emotionally, there is a mixture of pain, desolation, and sweetness. Other poems are in a jocular ballad form (such as ‹Nine Odes on My Hometown›) with a sarcastic selfmocking tone, about the conjugal love of an impoverished husband and wife, the joys shared amidst suffering of an interdependent father and son, the unspeakable agony of being forced to burn one’s books. . . . in the midst of this understandable sorrow and anger, and in an environment where one was subject to attack, there was also the consolation of the kindheartedness of ordinary people, there are self-accusations over cowardice, and self-restraint and self-respect when one is powerless to determine one’s fate. Liu Shahe wrote progressively less poetry after the mid-1980s. Other middle-aged and older poets who wrote work worthy of attention during the 1980s and 1990s include Xindi, Tang Shi, Tang Qi, Chen Jingrong, Du Yunxie, Ji Fang, Lu Li, Lü Jian, Su Jinsan, Bai Hua, Liang Nan, Sun Jingxuan, Liu Zhanqiu, Ren Hongyuan, and Zhao Kai. The persistent, stable bases of thought and art of a relatively large proportion of the “re-emergent” poets, as well as their truly tardy “return”, led to their work producing a moving, lustrous blaze for a time, and simultaneously becoming “a bitter smile after a calamity, / poetry full of regrets that can never be completed” (Ai Qing: ‹To the Soul of My Dead Friend, Danna›).

18 In the ‹Preface› to Poetry of Liu Shahe (Sichuan People’s Publishing House, 1981), the poet states that during the 1940s his father, Yu Yingcheng, was head of the military affairs department in the Jintang County government, and that he was executed in 1951 during the “Suppression of Counter-Revolution Campaign”. Liu Shahe’s ‹Plants› was considered an attack on the new society out of “revenge for the killing of the father”. After his “re-emergence” in the 1970s, his published poetry collections included Leaving the Hometown and Footprints of My Travels. For a time, Liu Shahe devoted himself to introducing and commenting on modern poetry in Taiwan, publishing the books Twelve Taiwan Poets and Talking of Poetry Across the Sea.

328

chapter nineteen 3. The Poetry of the ‘Returnees’ (B)

Niu Han, Zheng Min, Cai Qijiao, and Chang Yao were among the “re-emergent” poets who were still creatively active and continued to develop artistically during the late 1980s and into the 1990s. Niu Han19 was imprisoned for a time because of the Hu Feng Incident in 1955. During the “Cultural Revolution” he underwent reform through labor at a “May Seventh Cadre School” in Hubei Province. After his “re-emergence”, he first published the poetry he wrote during the “Cultural Revolution”. The poems were “mostly written during the most unpoetic period, in the most unpoetic places”, yet they “preserve for us the pain and a sublime spiritual aspect of an age”.20 In most of these poems, objects from nature are imbued with the personality and emotions of the poet. Niu Han says that he labored for five years in “clouds of antiquity and swamps of dreams” and “the wounds and suffering of nature moved my soul”, but it could also be said that the wounds and suffering he experienced himself found their forms and expression in these wounds to “nature”. The eagle that is born into a nest made of dead branches, thistles, thorns, and burs (‹Birth of an Eagle›); a tree still standing upright on a desolate hilltop, despite being half blasted away by a bolt of lightening (‹Half a Tree›); an injured earthworm silently plowing its furrow (‹Earthworm›); a caged south China tiger with smashed claws dripping blood and eyes aflame (‹South China Tiger›); a beautiful, nimble Muntjak deer that falls beneath the muzzle of a rifle (‹Muntjak, Don’t Run Over Here›). . . . all are expressions of a unbending spirit and character, and feelings of grief, indignation, and distress over beautiful

19 Niu Han (1923–) is from Dingxiang in Shandong Province, and began to publish poetry in 1941. In the early 1950s, he published collections of poetry under the titles of Colorful Life, Land of Our Ancestors, Before the Land of Our Ancestors, and Love and Song. His new work since 1980 has been collected in Hot Springs, Butterflies on the Sea, The Silent Precipice, and other collections. Furthermore, selections of his poetry since the 1940s can be found in Earthworms and Feathers, Selected Lyric Poetry of Niu Han, and other anthologies. 20 Lu Yuan wrote ‹Living Songs› as a preface for Niu Han’s poetry collection, Hot Springs. The time here is given as September 1969 until December 1974; and the place is referred to as a “May Seventh Cadre School” of “clouds of antiquity and swamps of dreams” within the Hubei Ministry of Culture’s system. This is where Niu Han underwent reform through labour at the time. Lu Yuan also writes, “I remember that at the time he spent whole days pulling a cart laden with materials weighing 500 kilos or more, or spend the day carrying sacks of rice of over fifty kilos. When he returned, still gasping for breath, he’d always tell me about some poem he’d searched out, discovered, or captured.”

s poetry

329

manifestations of life that have fallen into dire straits. Th ese works feature the traditional poetic form of writing about objects. But others of these poems are more concerned with the expression of a tragic emotional state. The emotions in these poems, the relationship of these natural objects to the emotions and experiences they embody and image goes beyond that of simple metaphor. ‹Mourning a Maple Tree› describes the felling of a tall maple in autumn, when suddenly the doors, windows, and roof tiles of all houses, every tree, every blade of grass, the bees, the birds, the skiffs on the lakeshore “all begin to shiver”, and the whole village is inundated by an scent colder and gloomier that autumn rain. Here, the passing away of a noble life, the tragedy of its destruction, and its beautiful intrinsic qualities achieve release and are strengthened. After Zheng Min (1920–)21 returned to China from the United States in 1955, she did not carry on writing poetry as she had done during the 1940s. She felt that, for China, there were matters of greater concern than literature and poetry. Of course, it is a fact that the path of poetry she had previously chosen was effectively closed off to her in the literary environment of the 1950s, and this would have been an important factor in her decision to write no more poetry. In autumn 1979, on the road home from a get-together with Xindi, Cao Xinzhi, Tang Qi, Chen Jingrong, and other poets, organized by the editors of the anthology of their poetry (The Nine Leaves Collection), Zheng Min composed her first poem after over twenty years of silence: ‹When You’re by Me—O Poetry, I’ve Found You Again›. Though there are some excellent pieces among her poems from the early 1980s (most of which are in Seeking), yet, due to the influence of “political” poetry since the 1950s, in the main she had yet to rise above the unitary mode of emotional expression and poetical language. From the mid-1980s on, there were important changes in the poetry of Zheng Min. She sorted out the all-pervasive language that “deflected back off the wall of an ignorant, barbaric consciousness”, and hoped to “display purity to the world” (‹You’re a Lucky Fellow, Lotus›). The poet’s former sensitivity toward and tacit understanding of life in

21

Zheng Min (1920–) is from Minhou in Fujian Province. She graduated from the Philosophy Department at the Southwest China United University in 1943, and in 1948 travelled to the United States to study at Brown University and Illinois State University. During the 1940s, she published Poetry Collection 1942–1947. She has published the poetry collections Seeking, Images of the Heart, and Mornings, I’m Picking Flowers in the Rain since the conclusion of the “Cultural Revolution”.

330

chapter nineteen

nature and the true life of humankind were “restored”; the importance she placed on sense perception and her interest in probing into things conquered a previously narrow field of vision and deductive modes of consciousness and logic, and allowed her to establish a calm, lyrical style and a meditative philosophical atmosphere supported by a meticulous sense of perception. At a somewhat later stage of her writing, “black night” and “deep night” were important images in her poetry, and death became her core subject matter. This can be seen in poems such as ‹Morning Lotus›, ‹Images of the Heart • That Word›, ‹Whenever I Walk this Path›, and ‹A Bleeding Lotus Streamer on an Ancient Arrowhead›. This made evident her interest in the dark corners of human consciousness as well as exploration into an aspect of life not yet fully excavated by modern Chinese poets. The sequence, ‹The Poet and Death›22 should be considered one of Zheng Min’s most important poems of the 1990s, and found its inspiration in the death of Tang Qi in 1990. The tragic life of this modern poet who had loved poetry throughout his life did not only carry individual significance, but was a symbol of a group of poets from a certain period. For this reason, this poetry sequence of Zheng Min’s is not purely an elegy, as it is required to carry the burden of many emotions and thoughts. The poem amounted to a critical attack on specific socio-historical situations, a heartfelt memorial for a dead friend, and an enquiry into and conversation with death, all of which unfolded around core considerations on the fate of intellectuals in modern times in China. This intensely painful subject is laid bare serenely, at times plainly, within the poem. During the 1980s and 1990s, Zheng Min also did a great amount of work in the areas of poetics and the introduction and analyzing of modern poetry from the United States, and this had a great impact on the poetry she wrote during this period.

22 When the sequence was published in People’s Literature, it was titled ‹Death of a Poet›. According to Zheng Min, “The title of this sequence was ‹The Poet and Death›, but was changed to ‹Death of a Poet› upon publication. . . . The reason for ‘and death’ was that, for me, death itself was an important topic, it may be independent of the poet, and may also be concerned with the death of a poet.” See: ‹Reading Zheng Min’s sequence “Death of a Poet”›, Poetry Explorations, no. 3, 1996. The sequence is collected in Mornings, I’m Picking Flowers in the Rain, in which the title ‹The Poet and Death› is restored.

s poetry

331

Some of the poetry of Cai Qijiao23 during the 1940s (such as ‹Military Vehicles Advance through the Driving Rain› and ‹Zhangjiakou›) can be seen as influenced by the free verse style of Walt Whitman during the Civil War period in the United States (Cai Qijiao was translating Whitman at the time). Under the influence of the poetry style of the time in China, during the 1950s Cai wrote poetry about the new life that lacked individuality. However, when he attempted to find his own poetic path, those poems were labeled examples of “aestheticism” (such as ‹A Southern Melody› and ‹Red Beans›) and “anti-realism” (‹Song of the Sichuan Boatmen› and ‹The Han River in Fog›) and repeatedly criticized.24 He found it difficult to publish after 1960. For a time during the “Cultural Revolution” he was branded an “active counter-revolutionary element” and was exiled to the mountainous region in northwestern Fujian for eight years. However, Cai Qijiao wrote poetry throughout this period. Cai was a poet from the “liberated areas” and his artistic line was close to that of other Jin-Cha-Ji poets, such as Tian Jian during the early stages of the War of Resistance, as well as Chen Hui, Wei Wei, and Shao Zinan. This poetry was chiefly written in the free verse form, and laid stress on the expression of the poet’s experience and emotions. After 1949, this “line” either became poetry of a more political complexion (like the poetry of Guo Xiaochuan and He Jingzhi) or was subject to repression, as it could not be chosen and promoted like poetry in folk song form that described the life of laborers. Although Cai Qijiao emphasized the work of the poet ought to have the “fruits of the culture of the whole of humanity” as its backdrop, his subject matter, modes of imagination, and poetic language was primarily influenced by the western romantic school of poetry (after 1949, he also strove to absorb beneficial elements from classical Chinese poetry). He believed poetry “must be an eruption from the fountain of all our

23 Cai Qijiao (1918–) is from Jinjiang in Fujian Province. During his childhood, he lived in Indonesia before returning to China at the age of eleven. In 1938, he went to the Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature in Yan’an, and in the following year went to teach and undertake cultural work in the Jin-Cha-Ji border area. During the 1950s, he published the poetry collections Echoes, Echoes Continued, and The Sound of Waves. His principal collections since the “Cultural Revolution” include Prayers, A Pair of Rainbows, Into the Wind, Fujian, and Songs of Life. 24 See: Sha Ou, ‹A Gray Flag› (Literature & Arts Press, no. 5, 1958); Xiao Xiang, ‹What Sort of Thoughts and Feelings› (Poetry Monthly, no. 7, 1958); Lü Huiwen, ‹Assessing the Anti-Realist Tendency in the Poetry of Cai Qijiao› (Poetry Monthly, no. 10, 1958); and Xiao Xiang, ‹The Tendency of Cai Qijiao’s Poetry› (Poetry Monthly, no. 2, 1960).

332

chapter nineteen

spirit, hopes, memory, thoughts, and feelings”.25 Many of the poems he wrote during the 1960s and the “Cultural Revolution” (such as ‹The Waves›, ‹Grief›, ‹Prayer›, and ‹Yuhua Cavern›) featured a powerful social and political consciousness: He repeatedly raised the “warning” that government by brute force cannot be established over the hearts of the people. At the same time, he wrote a large quantity of love poems out of a sincere love of nature and a concern for people, as well as poetry on mountains and rivers, and on the geography, culture, and the local history and customs of Fujian. For him, the beauty of nature is illuminated by the beautiful spirit of humanity. This is indicative of the ideas in his poetry and the line along which his compositions ran. When he reveals the emotional activity of people, he often finds metaphors and images in nature, and when he describes nature, he pours the spirited life of people into it. The work of Cai Qijiao is replete with the romantic spirit of humanism. He has cited a line of Whitman’s poetry to express his own viewpoint: “Those whose hearts have unfeelingly walked the narrow path / are wearing death shrouds on the way to their own graves”.26 For him “humanism” is both a social ideal and ethical standard, as well as his writing’s dynamic. He maintains faith in the future of humankind, believes the poet has the possibility of being a bridge that, through struggle, even solitary struggle, can link reality and dreams and bring beauty and happiness into the world. Artistically, Cai Qijiao has stated that he is “midway between tradition and innovation” and his task is to act as a “transition”: that is to not “stick to tradition as if it were a model, and also not to retreat from it, but to set up one’s own realm between the two”. During the “Cultural Revolution” and the 1980s, Cai Qijiao offered his support and assistance to some young poets in their artistic explorations. In 1955, Chang Yao27 responded to the call to “open up the great Northwest”, moving from Hunan Province to take up a post as a writer at the Qinghai branch of the Literature Federation. His poetry took Qinghai as its subject, describing the primeval nature of this wilderness and his singular appreciation of the local peoples who seem to have been “sculpted

25

See: Cai Qijiao, ‹Preface› to Fujian, Fujian People’s Publishing House, 1982. Cai Qijiao, ‹Preface› to Songs of Life, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1982. 27 Chang Yao (1934–) was from Taoyuan in Hunan Province. In 1950, he gave up his studies, enlisted in the military, and took part in the Korean War. He returned wounded to China in 1953 and began writing literature soon after. 26

s poetry

333

by this land”. During this period, he edited Flowers and Young Men, a collection of Qinghai folksongs.28 In 1957, he was branded a rightist because of the publication of a sixteen-line poem, ‹Trying to Play a Flute in the Forest›, in the literary journal Qinghai Lake (Xining), and then spent the next twenty-two years of his life either imprisoned, in penal servitude, or homeless and destitute. Concerning the imprint this experience left on his thought, character, and poetry, Chang Yao has said, my “closeness to dirt and manure, [my] closeness to ‘laborers’ and the ‘people being ruled’ ”, led “me to pursue a sort of commoner-ization so as to realize social fairness, equality, a richly civilized utopia for myself, even though this was a fulcrum that existed in name only. . . . and I searched for a type of literature that had volume, a sense of intrinsic quality, instant explosive power, and maleness.”29 Once he returned to writing again, he quickly brought his subject matter and themes into line with those of the 1950s, as he expressed his love of the souls tied to the high plateau. In the long poems ‹Merciful Voyage› and ‹A Song of Snow, a Tubote Woman, Her Man and Three Children›, he tells how a young man, who has “taken off his crown of thorns” and travelled across the wilderness, finds his life and love in the life and land of the Tubote people.30 The narrator makes personal idols of these horse riders, a people who are in awe of water fleas, who love wine too much, a “free people blessed by nature” who hatch pastoral songs about the plains and farming. One aspect of the imagery in Chang Yao’s poetry is made up of the historical legends and myths of the high plateau, while the other is the events and minutia of this people’s actual everyday life. The most basic life pursuits and the loftiest spiritual qualities of humankind exist in forms of everyday life in the present—this is Chang Yao’s life philosophy and it is also transformed into the ideological and emotional mode of his poetry. Therefore, the natural panorama of the high plateau, and the events and minutia of life there, all possess profound connotations, preserving imprints of life as if they were fossils. His poetry is particularly inclined towards describing the following prospect: Composing a spatial sense of “sculpture” out of a history that stretches unendingly

28

As Chang Yao was denounced as a rightist during the 1950s, when the Qinghai People’s Publishing House published this book, his named was removed and replaced with someone else’s. 29 Chang Yao, ‹My “Professional Autobiography”›, Poetry Explorations, no. 1, 1997. 30 In early-Qing Dynasty documents, Tubote, Tuibaite, and Tufan were variations of the name given to the region of present-day Tibet and its environs.

334

chapter nineteen

through time, through showing the bravery, the great strength, and the tenacity of life, and that “instant” of conceiving the desire to make the leap towards a certain goal. The language of Chang Yao’s poetry is entirely “prose-style” with an emphasis on the dynamics of internal rhythm. To differentiate this from a routine showy flood of words, and even more to demonstrate the weight of his poetry, Chang Yao oft en deliberately (sometimes excessively) uses peculiar, rough vocabulary, as well as interlacing modern Chinese with classical Chinese vocabulary and lines to create a vigorous, broad, disharmonious effect. The artistic success of his poetry and the distance he has kept from prevalent poetry trends is commended by some. However, in sum, the real accomplishments of his poetry have not been universally accepted in poetry circles. Yet, this “is perhaps not important, as long ago when the same term was used to mean ‘art’ and ‘craftsmanship’, this point was understood by both those who chopped firewood and those who carried it”.31 To date, Chang Yao has only had two poetry collections published. Lyric Poetry of Chang Yao and Book of Destiny—The Best of Forty Years of Chang Yao’s Poetry (in annalistic style, selected by Chang Yao) were not published by well-known publishers in cultural and politic centers, but by publishing houses on China’s frontiers in Gansu and Qinghais.

31 Luo Yihe & Zhang Fu, ‹The Sun Says: Come On, Move Onwards—Critique of “One Long Poem and Three Short Poems”›, Tibet Literature, no. 5, 1988.

CHAPTER TWENTY

THE NEW POETRY TIDE

1. ‘Misty Poetry’ and the Related Polemic In the late 1970s, the appearance of a number of young poets became a major phenomenon in poetry circles. Due to the special circumstances of the “Cultural Revolution”, there was a “gap” where there would normally have been writers of a certain age group. Therefore, for a period after the “Cultural Revolution”, the term “young poets” (“young writers”) often covered writers between the ages of twenty and forty-something.1 At the time, among those listed in this grouping of “young poets” were Lei Shuyan, Ye Wenfu, Luo Gengye, Zhang Xuemeng, Yang Mu, Qu Youyuan, Ye Yanbin, Gao Falin, Chen Suoju, and Fu Tianlin, as well as those termed “Misty poets”, such as Bei Dao and Shu Ting. They were seen as a “group” from the start due to certain shared characteristics, namely becoming skeptical, or sick, of diagramming political concepts and intentions and being prepared to face up once again to the ideological and emotional worlds of contemporary people. Furthermore, the tense confrontational relationship between poets and reality and their understanding of poetry’s function of “intervening” into reality were aspects that were interlinked to some extent. Naturally, the differences among them with regard to poetical concepts and artistic methodologies were readily apparent from the start. In terms of their relationship to “contemporary” mainstream poetry, they could be divided into those who were more inclined to carry on aspects of it as opposed to those who were more inclined to “revolt” and take a different line. While this differentiation was not true for all poets, it does generally exhibit the appearance of the “poetry of the youth” of the time. As regards carrying on aspects of mainstream poetry, the contemporary “political lyric poetry” form was continued and given added impetus by some young poets of this period (but this proved to be its last throes). The nature

1 Some poets born in the early to mid-1940s, such as Zhang Xuemeng, Lei Shuyan, Fu Tianlin, and Zhou Tao, were included in the ranks of “young poets” at the time.

336

chapter twenty

and depth of the “revolt” of the other poets requires further analysis. The “new poetry tide” to which this chapter refers is precisely this trend in poetry during the 1980s, which exhibited several characteristics of “revolt” against contemporary poetical norms. Initially, it was termed the “Misty poetry” movement. After the conclusion of the “Cultural Revolution”, activities by young poets that had originally been “underground” moved into public forums and attracted the participation of more young writers. Owing to contemporary poetical concepts and the continued existence of the aesthetical habits they had nurtured, this poetry found it difficult to achieve universal acceptance in poetry circles of the time. As a result, these works continued to utilize “irregular” methods2 of “publication”. Many cities had one or more poetry publications produced in such a manner. Among these, the founding of Today in Beijing was an important symbol of this poetry movement. The inaugural edition of Today was published in December 1978. The principal figures behind the establishment of the journal were Mang Ke and Bei Dao, among others. Under the name of the “editorial department of Today”, ‹To the Reader› was published as the introduction to the periodical.3 After citing the teachings of Marx in criticizing the application of “cultural autocracy” during the “Cultural Revolution”, ‹To the Reader› expressed the understanding of the “age” of these poetry innovators, and declared their literary position: The ‘May Fourth’ movement symbolized the start of a new age, and this age must establish the significance of each individual life and further deepen people’s understanding of the spirit of liberty; the modern renewal of our

2 “Irregular” books and periodicals are in reference to publications not produced by publishing houses and periodicals approved of by the publication management organization. These publications are sometimes also referred to as “locally operated” (or “selfprinted”, “internal exchange”, and “not for sale”). 3 ‹To the Reader› was written by Bei Dao. The inaugural edition of Today carried a translation of ‹Bekenntnis zur Trümmerliteratur› (Declaration for Literature of the Ruins, 1952) by the German writer Heinrich Böll (translated by Cheng Jianli). In discussing how, after the Second World War, people gave the work of Böll’s generation of writers the title “ruins literature” Böll stated, “This term is very appropriate: There was once this war six years in length, and when we returned from the war, we discovered ruins and wrote about them. It’s only that this condemnatory, almost morbid voice was peculiar, had something of a skeptical attitude. . . .” “We described the war so, we described return, and also described the ruins we’d seen during the war as well as those we faced when we returned; this produced three titles that were given to this young literature: War literature, Return literature, and Ruins literature.” Possibly the editors of Today discovered a familiar tableau in German literature that could act as a form of enlightenment for the “design” of their literature.

the new poetry tide

337

ancient civilization must also re-establish the position of the Chinese people among the nations of the world, and our literature and art must reflect this profound essence.

‹To the Reader› went on to express a strong intention to face the “world”: “Today, when people raise their eyes once again, they no longer merely pause on the cultural heritage of a few thousand years with a sort of vertical vision, but have begun to use a sort of horizontal vision to gaze about at the horizons.” These young poets produced the following declaration: “Our today is directly rooted in the ancient fertile earth of the past, directly rooted to beliefs that live and die in it. The past is already past and the future is still far away, to us of this generation today, there is only today!” There were nine editions of Today, as publication was stopped after the No. 3 edition in 1980. It was not purely a poetry publication, as, aside from poetry, it also carried fiction, reviews, and translations of foreign literature. Its chief contributors included Bei Dao, Mang Ke, Shi Zhi, Shu Ting, Jiang He, Fang Han, Yang Lian, Gu Cheng, Yan Li, Lin Mang, and Xu Jingya, among others. Aside from the periodical, under the title of the “Today Book Series” they also printed Mang Ke’s poetry collection Matters of the Heart, Bei Dao’s poetry collection Strange Seashores, and Jiang He’s poetry collection Starting From Here. Furthermore, they also organized poetry readings and other activities.4 Although novellas made up a relatively large component in this publication,5 its influence chiefly came from its poetry. Some of the important works of what was later termed the “Misty poetry” school were first published in this journal.6 The influence of the work of Bei Dao, Shu Ting, and others gradually expanded among educated youths in the cities, and the reform trend in literature became an almost irrepressible force. Under such

4 For example, in April 1979, a poetry recital attended by hundreds of people was organized on the shores of August First Lake inside the Dragon Pool Lakes Park in Beijing, at which eighteen poems were read out by Bei Dao and others. For a report on the recital, see Today, no. 4, 1979 (published June 20). 5 Aside from the special poetry issue that was the No. 3 edition, every edition carried works of fiction, including novellas and short fiction by Bei Dao, such as ‹Waves›, ‹In the Ruins›, ‹Moon on the Manuscript›, and ‹The Homecoming Stranger›. 6 Such as Bei Dao’s ‹The Answer›, ‹Strange Seashores›, ‹Notes from the City of the Sun›, ‹Dusk: Dingjia Beach›, ‹Everything›, and ‹Grim Hope›; Shi Zhi’s ‹This is Beijing at 4:08›, ‹Faith in the Future›, ‹Mad Dog›, and ‹The School of Fish Trilogy›; Mang Ke’s ‹Matters of the Heart›, ‹Poetry Gifted by October›, ‹Autumn›, and ‹The Sky›; Shu Ting’s ‹Dusk in April› and ‹To an Oak Tree›, and Jiang He’s poetry sequence ‹Memorial Stele›, and so on.

338

chapter twenty

circumstances, beginning in 1979 a limited amount of their work was cautiously accepted by some official journals. During this year, Poetry Monthly, a periodical sponsored by the China Writers Association, published Bei Dao’s ‹The Answer› and Shu Ting’s ‹To an Oak Tree›. In the 1980 no. 4 edition of the same journal, the work of fifteen young poets was published in a feature entitled “Small Collection of New People New Work”. In August of the same year, Poetry Monthly invited Shu Ting, Jiang He, Gu Cheng, Liang Xiaobin, Zhang Xuemeng, Yang Mu, Ye Yanbin, Gao Falin, Xu Jingya, Wang Xiaoni, Chen Suoju, Cai Shulian, Mei Shaojing, and others, to participate in a “manuscript revision conference”, and in the no. 10 edition of the journal featured a special collection under the title of “Youth Poetry Conference” in which their poetry and views on poetry were published. In the inaugural edition of Poetry Explorations, a periodical specializing in poetics founded in Beijing during this year, under the low-key general title of “Please Listen to Our Voices”, the journal published a written discussion with contributions from Shu Ting, Jiang He, Gu Cheng, Liang Xiaobin, Xu Jingya, and others, on the topics of China requiring a “completely new poetry”, whether exploration should be allowed, and whether the psychologies of reception and appreciation of poetry must be adjusted and improved. The influence of a portion of the work of the young poets (that which was later termed “Misty poetry”) grew incessantly, and a sharp divergence in the assessment of this work in poetry circles began to rise to the surface. In late 1979, Gong Liu expressed his worries in writing. He proposed that “we” . . . “must strive to understand them” and give them “new questions to discuss” so as to “guide” them in relation to “repeatedly astonishing” . . . “thoughts and emotions as well as the modes by which these thoughts and emotions are expressed” in some of poetry of these young poets.7 The National Poetry Symposium held in April 1980 in Nanning, Guangxi Province, provided a forum for the expression of issues related to the evaluation of the work of these young poets. One phenomenon worth noting was that some of the poets and critics attending the symposium, no matter whether they believed poetry was vigorous and would flourish, or that poetry had sunk into a crisis from which it would be difficult to extricate itself, all considered the main reason for this to be the work of these young poets and the influence it

7 Gong Liu, ‹New Topics of Discussion—A Discussion Set Off by Poems by Comrade Gu Cheng›, Stars, no. 10, 1979.

the new poetry tide

339

had produced.8 Soon after, the critic Xie Mian published a rearranged version of his speech under the title of ‹Facing the New Rising›.9 In the pose of a “witness to history” and out of his imagination of the “free flourishing creative spirit” during “May Fourth”, the author called for “tolerance”: “Toward these ‘strange’ poems” he advocated “listen, read, think, don’t rush into ‘taking action’ ” . . . “anxious to offer ‘guidance’ ”. Following this, Sun Shaozhen and Xu Jingya wrote articles enthusiastically supporting this trend in poetry. As the titles of their essays also featured the term “rising”, on occasions when they had to be discussed in a grouping, they were later collectively termed the “three risings”.10 Another incident in the dispute over the new poetry tide occurred in Fujian Province in 1980. Fujian Literature (Fuzhou) had acquired a large number of readers at the time, and over the course of a full year conducted a discussion on “creative issues in new poetry” in which the poetry of Shu Ting was both praised and criticized. This discussion was not limited to assessments of individual poets, as it also analyzed the poetry tide and the practice and problems of new poetry over a period of sixty years. In August of that year, Poetry Monthly published Zhang Ming’s essay ‹Depressing “Mistiness”›, which opened a new angle to the debate over the poetry tide in discussing the mistiness, obscurity, and diffi culty of this poetry from the perspective of reading.11 As a result, the work of these young poets was given the collective name of “Misty poetry”. In the controversy over “Misty poetry”, supporters universally believed that youth poetry’s discarding of empty, false tones, abhorrence of obsolete shells, exploration of new subject matter, new modes of expression, and new poetical styles was a trend in artistic renewal that challenged the “sacred nature of authority and tradition” and that

8

The author has not seen an accurate written relation of the heated debates that occurred at this symposium. Some of the circumstances of the debate are provided by reports published in Literary Studies Annual 1981 (China Social Sciences Institute Literary Research Center ed., China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1982) and the essays of participants collected in New Poetry’s Current Situation and Prospects (Guangxi People’s Publishing House). 9 Xie Mian, ‹Facing the New Rising›, Enlightenment Daily, 7 May 1980. 10 Sun Shaozhen, ‹New Aesthetic Principles are on the Rise›, Poetry Monthly, no. 3, 1981; Xu Jingya, ‹A Group of Poets on the Rise›, Contemporary Trends in Literary Thought (Lanzhou), no. 1, 1983. 11 In Zhang Ming’s essay, the examples given of mistiness and obscurity were Du Yunxie’s ‹Autumn› and Li Xiaoyu’s ‹Thoughts and Feelings on Hainan • Night›, which were not works of the new poetry tide. However, the phenomena outlined in the article were for the most part present in the work of these young explorers.

340

chapter twenty

“new aesthetic principles were on the rise”; and this promoted the free artistic creation of contemporary poetry and the appearance of a pluralistic situation in artistic innovation. On the other hand, critics pointed out that the artistic and ideological tendencies of “Misty poetry” were unhealthy, that it was “anti-realist” in nature, they believed that it gathered together the opinions of the Western “modernist school”, removed everything except the expression of “self ”, and enlarged the “I” until it blotted out the entire world. According to customary analytical methodology in contemporary China, they were considered a “countercurrent” in poetry.12 Later, the criticism of “Misty poetry” primarily shifted towards the poetry critics who had a supportive attitude. During the “clear out spiritual pollution” affair during 1983–1984, the “three risings” were seen as “representative” . . . “mistaken theory”, it was held that they “to different degrees and increasingly systematically deviated from the direction and line of socialist literature and arts, were more complete and more wanton than other mistaken theories in the area of literature”, and therefore “the confusion and harm they had brought to poetry writing and poetry theory” . . . “could not be underestimated”.13 Already at

12 For the important essays of the “Misty poetry” controversy, see A Collection of Essays from the Misty Poetry Polemic (Yao Jiahua ed., Xueyuan Publishing House, 1989). Zang Kejia pointed out, “so called ‘Misty poetry’ is an unhealthy tendency in poetry writing, and is also a countercurrent in the development of socialist literature and arts during our new period”; “After the doors were opened. . . . some decadent backward trends in the literary and artistic thought of foreign capitalism flooded into our country, this is the international aspect of the influence of ‘Misty poetry’ and so on” (‹Concerning “Misty Poetry”›, Hebei Teacher’s College Journal, no. 1, 1981). Ai Qing believed the “core of the theory” of writers and proponents of “Misty poetry” . . . “has ‘I’ at the center of creation, everybody holds a mirror that only reflects the self, everybody is reveling in selfadmiration”; “This type of theory removes everything except the expression of ‘self ’, and expands the ‘I’ to obscure the entire world” (‹About “Misty Poetry”›, Literary Confluence Daily, 15 May 1981). Some critics termed these poems “eccentric poetry”, saying “current eccentric poetry is not realist, and some is even anti-realist. It is removed from reality, removed from life, removed from the people. . . . the characteristics of [this] eccentric poetry are playing about with seemingly misty imagery, expressing vague thoughts” (a series of essays by various authors in Hebei Teacher’s College Journal, no. 2, 1981). 13 The summary of minutes of the Chongqing Poetry Symposium, see Literature & Arts Press, no. 12, 1983. At this time, other major essays critical of the “rising theory” were ‹Before the Clamor of the “Risings”—An Analysis of an Ideological Trend in Literature and the Arts› (Zheng Bonong, Poetry Monthly, no. 6, 1983. This essay was later published in Contemporary Trends of Thought in Literature and the Arts, Literature & Arts Press, and Enlightenment Daily, among other journals.), ‹An Open Letter to Xu Jingya› (Cheng Daixi, Poetry Monthly, no. 11, 1983), and ‹A Dialogue on Poetry—Speech at the Southwest Teachers’ Institute› (Ke Yan, Poetry Monthly, no. 12, 1983). On 5 March 1984, People’s Daily published Xu Jingya’s essay of self-criticism, ‹Always Firmly Remember the Direction of Socialist Literature and Arts›.

the new poetry tide

341

this time, this sort of stern warning had little deterrent effect, as the influence of “Misty poetry” spread rapidly and established for itself a position in the transitional phase of China’s contemporary poetry. Th e fundamental points that innovators in poetry strove for included: To give impetus to contemporary poetry in breaking out of its self-isolation, and to explore the possibilities of establishing links and a dialogue with the broad cultural accumulation of the culture of humankind; to persevere in writing poetry on the foundation of an affirmation of the value of the life of the individual; to begin the renewal of the language of contemporary poetry, and to stimulate experimentation into language and life in modern Chinese language poetry, and so on.

2. Major Writers of ‘Misty Poetry’ In general, the young writers who were termed “Misty poets” during the early 1980s began writing poetry during the “Cultural Revolution”. At the time, the five poets, Bei Dao, Shu Ting, Gu Cheng, Jiang He, and Yang Lian, were seen as the representative poets of Misty poetry.14 They all published poetry in Today, and in the grouping that built up around this publication they expressed certain common poetical pursuits. For this reason, they were later termed the “Today poetry group”. Mang Ke, Duoduo, and others, wrote many poems while assigned to work and live in the Baiyang Marshes area, and Mang Ke was one of the founders of Today. However, in the “Misty poetry” movement, people knew little about them. This was related to their relative silence during the “Misty poetry” upsurge and to the fact that few readers knew much about their work during the “Cultural Revolution”. A relatively large quantity of their poetry from the “Cultural Revolution” period finally reached readers with the publication of New Poetry Tide Poetry Collection15 in 1985. Another factor worthy of consideration is that there was a distance between the social feelings and issues of the poetry of the later period and the poetry of more “individualistic” characteristics by Duoduo and others during the 1970s. Their work was “screened out” by the choices of the trends of the time. In the social tide of retrospection that began in 14

As in the Five Poets Anthology published by Author Publishing House in 1986. New Poetry Tide Poetry Collection (internally exchanged, Lao Mu ed.), two volumes, published by the Beijing University May Fourth Poetry Society. In volume one, there is a collection of approximately thirty poems each by Mang Ke and Duoduo. 15

342

chapter twenty

the late 1970s, not all topics and expressive modes obtained conditions for comparatively fulsome continued growth. Aside from the aforementioned five poets, others, such as Liang Xiaobin and Wang Xiaoni, who did not begin writing until the late 1970s, were entered into the ranks of “Misty poets” at this time. Shu Ting was born in 1952 in Xiamen, Fujian Province. She was assigned to work in the mountainous north of Fujian during the “Cultural Revolution”, and when she began to write poetry and prose essays there, she had the guidance of Cai Qijiao, then an “exile” in the northwestern mountains of the province. In the late 1970s, she came to know Bei Dao and other northern writers, became a contributor to Today, and her poetry began to circulate widely. At the start, poetry circles were undecided over her work. However, among the controversial poets of Misty poetry, Shu Ting was the first to receive a limited form of acknowledgement, and was also the first to have the opportunity to publish a collection of her poetry.16 Her poetry “revived” the strain of new poetry that expressed the inner emotions of the individual, which had been “inhibited” since the 1950s. The poetry of Shu Ting either draws on the poet’s internal state to cast light upon the sights and sounds of the external world or captures emotional responses roused by the phenomena of life. In her poetry the “return” of tender human feeling, which had long been absent from contemporary poetry in China, as well as the techniques of relatively familiar romantic poetry, were the reasons why her poetry had a great number of readers for a time after the “Cultural Revolution”. This “line” in writing led to the entirety of her poetry expressing respect for the value of individuality. She also aspired to take on the burden of large topics, to express some form of “philosophic theory” with regard to social issues, but this form of her poetry (such as ‹Love Poem of the Land›, ‹This is also All›, and ‹Homeland, My Dear Homeland›) was always relatively inferior. The artistic sources of her lyrical style and technique may be linked to Pushkin, Yesenin, and Tagore, as well as Chinese poets such as Xu Zhimo and He Qifang, and, in fact,

16

Shu Ting’s chief poetry collections include Two-Masted Ship and Irises that can Sing, and multi-author anthologies such as Lyric Poetry of Shu Ting and Gu Cheng and the Five Poets Anthology. Two-Masted Ship was published in 1982 and was awarded the China Writer Association’s first National Outstanding New Poetry Prize (1979–1982). The first officially published collections of the poetry of Bei Dao, Gu Cheng, Yang Lian, and others, would not appear until 1986.

the new poetry tide

343

during her early period, she did read more of the work of these poets than of others. Some of Shu Ting’s poems also deal with the psychological “scars” of youths during the “Cultural Revolution”, they describe the clashes and entanglements of antagonistic emotional factors in the conflict between bewilderment and awakening, as well as the psychological process of striving to extricate oneself from such a situation. In the poetry she wrote during that period, “historical responsibility” was both something people accepted on their own initiative as well as a spiritual pressure difficult to evade. The contradiction between this type of “never regretted” . . . “burden” and the desires of a woman that required protection (“Wanting a sturdy shoulder, / on which to rest a weary head”) was a topic often touched upon. In other poems, there is a relentless pursuit of individual (especially female) value and independence. Featuring a series of metaphors emphasizing this pursuit, ‹To an Oak Tree› is oft en seen as one of Shu Ting’s most important works. From this perspective and experience, through familiar phenomena and her habitual aesthetic interests, she is able to sensitively reveal the psychological factors that lead to indifference towards human dignity. She reveals the suffering of a woman from Hui’an disregarded by others who has “become scenery, become a legend” (‹Woman of Hui’an›); similarly seen as scenery, on Goddess Peak in the Three Gorges area, a beautiful, painful dream is revived, and long-inhibited female indignation and sorrow is expressed (‹Goddess Peak›). Some of Shu Ting’s poetry is not very refined and some is insufficiently innovative. But many of her poems feature delicate, fresh language that does not descend into convention, and the images in her poetry are mostly taken from the natural scenery of the regions in which she lived. She is partial to modifiers, often employs hypothetical, compound, and transformational sentence structures, and uses linking function words to express these shifts. This is all related to her expression of tortuous emotions. After 1982, Shu Ting stopped writing for a time. When she took up her pen again three years later, there was a more obvious “modern” tendency to the content and form of her poetry. She has written increasingly less poetry and more prose essays since that time. Gu Cheng was born in 1956 and was the youngest of the writers of “Misty poetry”. He had just turned ten when the “Cultural Revolution” broke out, and not long after, he began to write short poems. He lived in the countryside in Shandong when his father (the army poet Gu Gong) was

344

chapter twenty

“transferred down”, passing a lonely life on barren riverbanks and reaching a tacit understanding with nature. There is a clear inclination toward social criticism in his early short poems. However, he quickly departed from direct observations on social reality and, based on the experiences of a “willful child” went on to create a world on “the other shore” in opposition to the city and general society. For this reason, he was called a “poet of fairytales”.17 He believed, “poetry is a glistening raindrop on the tree of idealism”, and “wanted to use the pure silver of the heart to cast a key to open the door to the heavenly kingdom” in order to express “pure beauty”.18 This view of poetry was established on the following beliefs: The unbridgeable division of the real world and the pain of disharmony will be resolved within poetry, and the “absolute freedom” of the human soul will be realized. Therefore, for Gu Cheng, the world of poetry was not only the domain of artistic creation, but also the domain of human life. In Gu Cheng’s poetry, as the model of an ideal world, the “material” from which this world was built was nature untouched by humankind and the soul and eyes of a child who had little experience of the world. In fact, the perceptive abilities of Gu Cheng, his sensitivity to poetic atmosphere and his concern for the spiritual space of humanity were “molded into shape” in the countryside, in nature. Therefore, in resisting the common world that he despised, he stubbornly insisted on telling his green stories in the gray cities full of “gears”, even if his listeners only had the sky and ocean spray. In poetry and in life, he maintained a distance from the real world, practicing “self-exile”; he refused (but was never prepared to cope with) the “intrusion” of “reality”. Like some other young poets, Gu Cheng was conscious that in the contemporary period the language of poetry had been seriously polluted and had rigidified, and he wanted to clear out the accumulated filth and, so, strove to use explicit, simple vocabulary and sentences to write poetry. On some occasions, he expressed admiration for the “purity” of the poetry of Whitman and Lorca. From Whitman, he said he learned to aesthetically appreciate the discovery of unknown links between people and the world. Setting out from this point, Gu Cheng’s inclination

17

This term was first used by Shu Ting in a poem about Gu Cheng, ‹Poet of Fairytales›. In Mainland China, Gu Cheng’s major published poetry collections include Black Eyes and the multi-author anthologies Lyric Poetry of Shu Ting and Gu Cheng, the Five Poets Anthology, and Grave Bed—The Overseas Literary Works of Gu Cheng and Xie Ye. In addition, there is also the novel, Ying’er, written in cooperation with Lei Mi. 18 ‹Please Listen to Our Voices›, Poetry Explorations (Beijing), no. 1, 1980.

the new poetry tide

345

towards technique in poetry was not of independent significance, and he held in high regard assiduous synthetical responses to the “noumenon” of things. The importance he attached to surrealistic dreamscapes and the pursuit of “pure”, plain words and expressions was an expression of this view on poetry. From 1987, Gu Cheng lived in various countries in the west. The clash between poetry and real life grew keener and the preservation of a childlike poetical atmosphere became more difficult. His poetry appeared to defend the “pose” he had established and took on increasingly unnatural characteristics; signs of impending tragedy became visible. In October 1993, Gu Cheng killed his wife, Xie Ye, and then committed suicide on Waiheke Island in New Zealand. This incident became a widely discussed topic in China’s literary circles.19 Some people allegorized and deepened this “tragedy” in the name of literature, society, poetics, philosophy, and so on, and others forthrightly pointed out that the title and status of “poet” could not be used as an excuse to conceal evil. Jiang He and Yang Lian20 are frequently grouped together in discussions of the poets of “Misty poetry”. This is chiefly because their styles of poetry initially shared certain characteristics. In the late 1970s, when “self-expression” was understood as the expression of the individual’s emotions and was promoted as an important principle by the innovators in poetry, they instead proposed the expression of the “epic” consciousness of the history of the nation. At the time, Jiang He stated, “My greatest desire is to write an epic poem”; Yang Lian also declared, “My mission is to express this age”, . . . “to express the heroic struggle undertaken by the long-humiliated and repressed people of China to win absolute freedom, as well as the massive change in the spiritual realm that this has brought.” These statements were embodied by their initial long poems (Jiang He’s ‹Homeland, Ahh Homeland›, ‹Memorial Stele›, ‹Testament›, ‹Funeral Rites›, and ‹Unfinished Poem›, and Yang Lian’s ‹Great Wild Goose Pagoda›, ‹Black-Canopied Boat›, ‹The Land›, and ‹Sun, Everyday

19 For the details of this incident and reaction and comment, both in China and overseas, see the relatively complete collection of materials in Gu Cheng Abandons the City (Xiao Xialin, ed., Unity Publishing House {Beijing}, 1994). 20 Jiang He was born in 1949 and has enjoyed the publication of the poetry collections Begin From Here and The Sun and His Reflection, and is included in the Five Poets Anthology. Yang Lian was born in 1955 and has enjoyed the publication of the poetry collections Desolate Soul and Yellow, among others, and is also a contributor to the Five Poets Anthology.

346

chapter twenty

is New›). These poems, which they term “epics”, possess a strong social consciousness. As with the main trend in the literature of the time, they considered current social issues by way of the national struggle to survive and an examination of national cultural traditions. As an angle of perception, they induce the history of the nation through the “self ”, and their lyrical mode stems from this point of view: Th e “narrator” and the objects of narration frequently coincide in these poems. Memorials, the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, the land, and mountains and rivers are often used by these poets to symbolize the temporalized spatial forms of national history. As they firmly believed a suffering, indomitable soul exists within the process of history, the gloomy, solemn lyrical tone is suffused with creativity and transformative optimism. Their favored poetic forms were long poems and cycles in free verse. The influence of Whitman, Neruda, and Ai Qing, among others, can be seen in their narrative mode, the constitution of images, and so on. Th ere is also a selective carry over from contemporary political poetry in China of the characteristics of rational thinking and poetical vocabulary and phrases, as well as the use of parallelism in the composition of lines. However, the blurring of the “self ” and the lack of depth and creativity in their perceptual consideration of “history” also exposed a vacuous aspect after a specific historical situation had been negotiated. After passing through the heroic “epic” phase, there was a change in the poets’ pursuits. Jiang He was silent for a period of four years in the early 1980s, and when he resumed writing, he shifted from his penchant for the poetry of Neruda, Paz, and Elytis toward an exploration of the aesthetic characteristics of the Han people. Published in 1985, the poetry sequence ‹The Sun and His Reflection› gathered its material from ancient mythology. The struggle with nature of Kuafu in his pursuit of the sun, Jingwei in his attempt to fill in the seas, Wu Gang in his quest to chop down all trees, and so on, embodied elements of nature as aesthetic objects. In comparison to his earlier period, there was a distinct difference in style: There was a weakening of the narrative aspect and the intensity of conflicts, and the mood shifted from noisy excitement and confusion to calm. After this, Jiang He ceased writing poetry. There was no break in Yang Lian’s writing, and his transformation occurred during the writing process. After he departed from social topics, he also began to take his subject matter from mythology and legends, historical sites, and even ancient classical texts, in an effort to bring about the “reappearance of the distant past of the nation”. He ambitiously composed a series of “systematic” long poems, such as ‹Ritual of the Soul› (consisting

the new poetry tide

347

of cycles of poems such as ‹Banpo›, ‹Dunhuang›, and ‹Norlang›), ‹Tibet›, ‹The Dead›, ‹Words of the Free›, and ‹In Symmetry with Death›. His aim in composing this philosophically and structurally complex large-scale system of poetry cycles is said to have been to explicate the relationships between the life of humankind and spiritual activity and between the existence of humanity and that of nature. For example, according to poetry critics and the author himself, ‹Ritual of the Soul› is a totality, and each cycle is a different level in that structure: ‹Banpo› describes the life of humankind, ‹Dunhuang› explores the spirit of humankind, and ‹Norlang› reveals the relationship between the existence of humankind and nature. Moreover, each cycle consists of a number of poems, each poem is broken up into sections and images, and all of these are interrelated component parts of the “totality”. ‹Words of the Free› and ‹In Symmetry with Death› each consist of sixteen poems “with the Book of Changes as the structure of the two parts of a large-scale poetry cycle”. As works deduced from ancient Chinese philosophical concepts, these dense complex compositions and images of Yang Lian’s are generally abstruse. Moreover, numerous questions were raised over the necessity and feasibility of using poetry to elucidate a poet’s understanding of philosophical concepts and texts. Of course, Yang Lian has a powerful imagination and an ability to synthesize perceptions, ideas, and moods. He is partial to ornate, decorative vocabulary and phrases, pays attention to the tones and rhythms of his poetry, and in some sections constructs solemn, stirring sentiments. These compositions of Yang Lian are seen as the earliest expression of the “root-seeking” trend of thought in 1980s literature and influenced the somewhat later poetry of “new traditionalism” and “wholism” of Sichuan’s “newborn generation”. Bei Dao21 began writing poetry in the early 1970s, and also wrote novellas and short stories such as ‹Waves› and ‹No. 13 Happiness Avenue›. He was one of the founders of Today. He is often considered the chief representative of the “Misty poetry movement”, but he is also the most controversial of these poets. The most outstanding aspect of Bei Dao’s poetry in the late 1970s and early 1980s was his expression of a skeptical

21 When Bei Dao (1949–) published his work in Today and other journals he used his original name, Zhao Zhenkai, as well as other pennames, such as Ai Shan and Shi Mo. His works have been anthologized in numerous publications, but the only personal poetry collection to his name on Mainland China is Selections of Poetry by Bei Dao, published in 1986.

348

chapter twenty

and negative spirit, he placed his hopes in the illusory and the choice of indecision, and steadfastly rejected a drifting life lacking in humanity: “I don’t believe the sky is blue; / I don’t believe in the sound of thunder; / I don’t believe that dreams are false; / I don’t believe that death has no revenge” (‹The Answer›); “I don’t want to comfort you / on a trembling maple leaf / covered in lies written about spring” (‹Red Sailboat›); “Head for winter / sing a song, / not a blessing, and not a prayer, / we’ll never go back, / to adorn those painted green leaves” (‹Head for Winter›);. . . . on a road of tragic struggle, the speaker does not accept comfort, pity, or assistance, instead exhibiting the “despair of resistance” spoken of by Lu Xun. These emotions in Bei Dao’s poetry display the internal conflict and idealistic spirit of “the awakened” during this period of “transition” in contemporary Chinese history. This type of solemn heroic feeling while searching for a road of rebirth for the individual and the nation in the midst of critical attacks and negation called forth a powerful sympathetic response from many readers after the “Cultural Revolution”. During the early 1980s, Bei Dao broke off writing for a time. This was related to the “Misty poetry” controversy at the time, but was primarily due to the need to adjust his former ideas and techniques when facing up to issues in real life and poetical art. When he again took up his pen, the critical, negative cutting edge was not lost, but there tended to be a blurring of socio-political inclinations in Bei Dao’s poetry. This was possibly the result of becoming conscious that the difference between reality and history, with regard to the essence of humanity, was merely embodied temporally; he hoped that his criticism of faults and weaknesses in society and the life of humankind could touch on the universal essence of the history of humanity. He wrote of the conflict between the heroic desires and the routine aspects of the life of man, he revealed the permanent nature of the isolation and suffering of man in the kaleidoscopic transitions of history, and touched on the various desires of humanity that lead to the blindness of history. In place of the indomitable figure of a generation as “mountains of ice” he had molded in ‹Declaration›, ‹An End or a Beginning›, and ‹Head for Winter›, was the discovery that “I” . . . “am not innocent / [I] have long been an accomplice of history / in the mirror” (‹Accomplices›). However, perceptual experiences in these poems are somewhat weaker; moreover, he still believes in the significance of history, and the tragic conception of the victim is still present. Therefore, for a time, the chief contradictions in Bei Dao’s poetry consisted of perplexing life circumstances and an adherence to a tragic spirit.

the new poetry tide

349

When Bei Dao began writing poetry, he was most indebted to the Romantic poets. The poetry of his early period possesses a clear framework of emotional expression. There is a distinct symbolic tendency to his imagery, forming what may be seen as a symbolic sign “system” in which explicit meanings can be deduced. Pigeons (or doves), flowers of all colors, stars, mountain valleys, the sky, spindrift , and other images hint at an ideal human life that is worth fighting for; the night, crows, bars (or fences), nets, the abyss, and the ruins of walls act as symbols of powers that fragment, prevent, or destroy the rational life of humankind. Although they weaken the perceptual charm of the poetry, in Bei Dao’s best works the connotations and value orientations determined by these symbols are offset by his singular imagination and the plentitude and dignity of his emotions. The comparisons and clashes between these and symbolic imagery in opposition to this value orientation construct “paradoxical situations” that are often used to express complex spiritual matters and psychological conflicts. Later, the relatively unitary structure that integrated the imagery, mood, and ideas in his early poetry was broken somewhat, the emotions became reserved, greater attention was paid to the expression of perceptual intuition, and the structure of his poetry grew more complex. However, as Bei Dao gradually departed from the sky, the sea, islands, reefs, sails, and the sun, and discovered “poetic detail” in trivial everyday life, when he discarded the heroic pose and replaced it with mockery, taunts, and a comparatively indifferent tone of voice, he was unable to be as relaxed as some poets of the “newborn generation”. Bei Dao has lived in Europe and the United States since the late 1980s, and continues to edit the literary journal Today.

3. The ‘Newborn Generation’ of the New Poetry Tide The controversy over “Misty poetry” stirringly continued beyond 1982, but the first wave of the “new poetry tide” had, in fact, already passed. In poetry circles at the time, the majority of the “re-emergent” poets had already ceased writing; they universally found it diffi cult to successfully resolve (or never became conscious of ) contradictions in their poetical art. And “Misty poetry” (or the “Today poetry group”), as a grouping, had already “dispersed”. Moreover, due to the expansion of the influence of “Misty poetry”, the poetry of Bei Dao, Shu Ting, Gu Cheng, and others, was imitated by many poetry lovers, and amid this large-scale “reproduction”, the genuine life it had originally possessed was dulled

350

chapter twenty

and it degenerated into a system of forms and techniques. This gave rise to disquiet and dissatisfaction among youths with an active interest in modern poetry. Another important factor in the new poetry tide developing towards another stage was the appearance of a collection of writers younger than the “Misty poets”. Most of them were born during the 1960s and had dissimilar memories of history, of the “Cultural Revolution”. Moreover, as the tide of “Misty poetry” receded, there occurred a subtle change in trends of thought in society. The importance of the relatively unanimous understanding of the world embodied in the socio-political and ethical view of it had been greatly reduced. For some people, the clearly defined complementary world of brightness and darkness, the beautiful and the ugly, the lofty and the vile built up since 1949, was no longer so apparent, and, based on this, the model by which the assessment of events and objects was undertaken was no longer so effective. The complex nature of the world was now more fully apparent to people and there was some degree of uncertainty in the firm belief with which people had grasped the course of the life of the individual and of history at the start of the “new period”. For the post-“Misty poetry” explorers into poetry, this burden of society and history on poetry was no longer entirely unquestioned. In the eyes of these explorers, “Misty poetry” had been merely one channel for exploration into poetry in China during the contemporary age, and the potentialities and possibilities of exploration were far from exhausted. Furthermore, it seemed an inclination to “classic-ize” . . . “Misty poetry” had come into being in contemporary poetry circles (even if, in the eyes of other poets, “Misty poetry” was still considered “heterodox”), and this concerned them. They were particularly conscious of a deficiency in the textual consciousness of poetry among contemporary poets, and that the latent resources of the Han Chinese language and the possibilities of expression were broad fields for exploration and experimentation. And so, the appearance of “a new poetry” and “new poets” different from that of “Misty poetry” was inevitable. This emergence took on the stance of confrontation with and rebellion against “Misty poetry”,22 and can be understood as a need of great force to break out from the powerful influence of the “shadow” of “the Bei Daos”. However, this was also one

22 At the time, “pass [sic] Bei Dao” (and “down with Bei Dao”) was a slogan of some these poets.

the new poetry tide

351

“tradition” in twentieth century China they could not discontinue: All “revolutionaries” utilize strategies that incline toward a radical “break”, that exaggerate and highlight differences and obscure interrelationships to the utmost (this type of situation occurred repeatedly during the 1990s as well). As a result, the post-“Misty poetry” explorers referred to themselves as “Third Generation people” and termed their work “Third Generation poetry”. Other terms used to refer to these poets include “newborn generation”, “post-Misty poetry”, the “later new poetry tide”, the “later rising”, and “contemporary experimental poetry”.23 Close attention began to be paid to the “Third Generation” as a phenomenon in poetry in 1984. However, before this time, people had already noticed the production of poetry different from that of “Misty poetry” by the likes of Han Dong. After 1984, the activities and writing of “Third Generation poetry” attained a considerable scale. Experimental poetry societies and “self-published” poetry journals were appearing every where. Of course, there were also many writers who did not join societies. Relatively well-known poetry societies (or groups) include Nanjing’s “Them” literary society, Shanghai’s “At Sea” poetry grouping, and Sichuan’s “New Traditionalism”, “Wholism”, “Not-Not-ism”, and “Macho Man-ism”. Additionally, during the 1980s after “Misty poetry”, “campus poetry” at universities was an important constituent of the poetry scene. Unique “women’s poetry” expressing female gender consciousness drew a great deal of attention due to its novel subject matter, consciousness, and modes of expression. At the time, there was a valuable description of the “spectacular occasion” that was the appearance of “Third Generation poetry”: “1986—in this so-called ‘irresistible time’, throughout the country more than two thousand poetry societies and tens if not hundreds as many self-declared poets carried out a break with tradition through their thousands of poetry collections, poetry papers, and

23 In [the unofficial poetry journal] Modern Poetry Internal Exchange Materials [English title: Modernists Federation] (produced by the Oriental Culture Research Society and the Wholism Research Society, Chengdu, 1985), the inscription to the “Third Generation Poetry Conference” section read: “With raising of the republic’s flag came the first generation / The ten years molded the second generation / Beneath the broad backdrop of a great age, we were born— / The Third Generation”. The prefaces to 38 Contemporary Chinese Poems, edited by Beiling (unofficial, 1984), and 75 Chinese Contemporary Poems, edited by Meng Lang and Beiling (unofficial, 1985), both referred to them as “the younger generation”. Niu Han, in ‹Words from the Editors› to the 1986 no. 6 edition of China, referred to them as the “newborn generation”. Tang Xiaodu and Wan Jiaxin edited a collection of their works entitled A Selection of Contemporary Chinese Experimental Poetry (Spring Wing Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1987).

352

chapter twenty

poetry journals. . . . Up to July 1986, throughout the nation there were as many as 905 irregularly printed poetry collections, 70 printed poetry journals published at irregular intervals, and 22 irregularly-distributed mimeographed poetry journals and poetry papers.”24 The modes of “irregular distribution” of self-printed poetry journals and poetry collections were doubtless intended to preserve a distance between “Third Generation poetry” and the “regular” world of poetry, but it was actually more the result of the suspicion and rejection they experienced at the hands of “regular” poetry journals and poetry papers. However, by the mid-1980s, some periodicals had begun to carry their work, and a small number of poetry anthologies and collections featuring some of their work were published.25 In view of the powerful consciousness of the restraints these experimenters in poetry were subject to, they felt it necessary to take action to bring their existence to light. This resulted in “A Grand Exhibition of Modernist Poetry Groups on China’s Poetry Scene 1986”, jointly organized by the Poetry Press and Shenzhen Youth Daily in October 1986, which introduced “over 100 ‘later-rising’ poets and over 60 self-declared ‘poetry groups’ ”, stating that this grand exhibition “assembled all the major” experimental poetry groups “on the poetry scene in China in 1986”.26 Nanjing’s “Them literature society” was established in the winter of 198427 and was an experimental poetry group of considerable size. Its core members included Han Dong, Yu Jian, Lü De’an, Wang Yin, Xiao Jun, Lu Yimin, Ding Dang, Yu Xiaowei, Zhu Wen, and Zhu Zhu. These 24 Poetry Press (Anhui Province, Hefei) and Shenzhen Youth Daily, 30 September 1986. 25 Such as the second volume of the New Poetry Tide Poetry Collection put out by the Beijing University May Fourth Literary Society (semi-official; 1985); 75 Chinese Contemporary Poems edited by Meng Lang and Beiling (unofficial, 1985); A Selection of Contemporary Chinese Experimental Poetry (Spring Wind Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1987) edited by Tang Xiaodu and Wang Jiaxin; and Pyramid of the East—Thirteen Young Chinese Poets (Anhui Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1991) edited by Niu Han and Cai Qijiao. 26 Shenzhen Youth Daily, 30 September 1986. Two years later, Xu Jingya, who had taken part in planning the Grand Exhibition, together with Cao Changqing, Meng Lang, and Lü Guipin, gathered the “Grand Exhibition” materials into a book— A Grand Overview of China’s Modernist Poetry Groups 1986–1988—published by the Tongji University Publishing House (Shanghai). 27 According to notes in A Grand Overview of China’s Modernist Poetry Groups 1986– 1988, Them literature society was established in the winter of 1984. In the ‹End Notes› of Them 1986–1996: An Anthology of Ten Years of “Them” Poetry (edited by Xiao Hai and Yang Ke), published by the Li River Publishing House in May 1998, the unofficial literary journal was established in 1985: 246.

the new poetry tide

353

contributors to the journal, Them, were from different cities and regions, and there were differences in their styles of poetry. Nine editions of Them were published between 1985 and 1995. According to Han Dong, “Them is merely a periodical and not any sort of literary school or poetry group”. “It has neither a manifesto nor other forms of unitary statements, and there is no organization or acknowledged guiding principles. Its qualities or overall style (if such a thing exists) is a result arrived at in the end, and not designed beforehand”.28 “What we are concerned about is poetry itself, is poetry becoming itself as poetry, is a life form of aesthetic perception produced by language and the movement of language. What we are concerned about is the perceptions, knowledge, and experience of individuals entering deeply into this world, and the power of destiny flowing in his (the poet’s) blood”.29 Han Dong’s poetic proposition “Poetry stops in language” gave rise to a brief controversy. The “At Sea poetry group” was founded in Shanghai in autumn 1984, and its principle members included Mo Mo, Liu Manliu, Meng Lang, Wang Yin, Chen Dongdong, Lu Yimin, and Yu Yu. The name “At Sea” is related to the experience of “isolated, helpless” poets feeling “Shanghai being pushed on them”. Their poetry tended more towards expressing the clashes and contradictions between the life of the individual and the environment in which they live. The solitude felt by the poets found its source in the spiritual anxiety of the individual living in the “rootless” confusion of the great oriental city of Shanghai, and through their poetry, they attempted to “restore the charm of humankind”. Th eir poetry “frequently possesses something of a flavor of the modern unruly ‘intellect’ ”, “the alternating operations of anxiety, despair, humor, resignation, and irony allow these poems to break free of utopian prospects and to resist the installation of one fundamental image of the individual”.30 For a few years beginning in 1984, the most active location for experimental poetry activities of the “newborn generation” was Sichuan. Attention was first drawn to the province by the writing of so-called “modern epic poetry”. Later, they used terms such as “new traditionalism” and “wholism” to summarize their artistic pursuits. The advocates of “wholism” included Shi Guanghua, Yang Yuanhong, Liu Taiheng,

28

Han Dong, ‹Sketchy Words on Them›, Poetry Explorations, no. 1, 1994. See Han Dong’s ‹Self-Explanation of the Art› of Them literature society in A Grand Overview of China’s Modernist Poetry Groups 1986–1988: 52–53. 30 From Chen Chao’s preface to With Dreams For Horses—Poetry of the Newborn Generation, Beijing Teachers’ University Publishing House, 1993. 29

354

chapter twenty

Song Qu, and Song Wei, and those of “new traditionalism” were Liao Yiwu and Ouyang Jianghe. Their poetry had many links to the artistic explorations of Yang Lian during this period. Their theoretical propositions may be examined together with the root-seeking trend of thought of this time. They held differing attitudes toward “tradition”: Some sought opportunities for modern humanity to break free of the current predicament and spiritual crisis in the “magnetic core” of the national cultural psychology; some, in a return to “tradition”, wanted to shake the stable structure formed by the power of national inertia, to smash “any alien, non-artistic morality, habits, commands, and the pressure of the nation’s inertia”. They tended to take their subject matter from the customs, myths, and legends of antiquity to construct a spiritual form of the world of the distant past that existed in their imaginations—new, modern “myths”. The South permeates mystical, magical landforms,. . . . each of those broken limbs stretching spasmodically upwards, the brown clouds plundering the sky and gorges like bandits, water returning to truth and simplicity, with the cities and people, all are overflowing with a rebellious spirit of a strong alcoholic flavor. The sun dances on the sharp mouths of deep valleys, flashing experimental, novel, strangely-born rays of light, it symbolizes all demigods from antiquity until now, it symbolizes the poetry of matter.

The poetry of the creators of “epics” were often huge structures, featured heavy concentrations of classical allusions and condensed versions of legends, and unusual, obscure, and complex linguistic usages (in both vocabulary and line forms), all of which was unprecedented in the history of the development of China’s new poetry. There were massive barriers between these works and the majority of readers, a difficult-to-resolve conundrum that writers and readers were aware of from the start.31 The experimental poetry activities of “Not-Not-ism” in Sichuan were initially organized by Zhou Lunyou, Lan Ma, and others, during the spring of 1986.32 This was the only poetry group in the Third Generation

31 These monumental “epics” included: ‹The Great Buddha› by Song Qu and Song Wei; ‹The Master Craftsman› by Liao Yiwu; ‹The Suspended Coffin› by Ouyang Jianghe; ‹A Dream-Talked Eagle› by Shi Guanghua; and ‹King of Owls› by Wan Xia. The manifestos and representative works of “wholism” and so on can be found in Han Poetry: A Chronicle of the 20th Century (an unofficial publication; two editions in 1987 and 1988). 32 According to the memories of Zhou Lunyou, as a poetry group “Not-Not” was organized and established during January–May 1986. See: Zhou Lunyou, ‹Th e Appearance of the Beauty of the Heterodox—Memories of Seven Years of Not-Not›, Poetry Explorations, no. 2, 1994.

the new poetry tide

355

to have clear-cut theoretical positions. These positions were comprehensively explicated in the inaugural edition of the Not-Not journal in the long essays ‹Structural Change: A Record of the Revelations of Contemporary Art› (by Zhou Lunyou) and ‹An Introduction to Pre-Culture› (by Lan Ma), as well as ‹Not-Not-ism Poetry Methods› written by both Lan Ma and Zhou Lunyou. These essays gave expression to “a distrust of language and the firm belief in the possibilities of poetry changing the structure of language”.33 In expressing these types of positions, “Not-Notism” came up with several concepts. Due to their belief in the control and influence of powerful cultural traditions over language and creative activity, they proposed a “return of creation to origins” that was composed of a “return of perception to origins”, a “return of consciousness to origins”, and a “return of language to origins”; furthermore, they upheld the carrying out of a “three degree program” in the Not-Not handling of language that consisted of “non-dualistic value directional-ization”, “non-abstraction”, and “non-determination”. At the same time, they also proposed a type of “creative criticism”. The theories and forms of poetry proposed by Not-Not-ism are best understood through the feelings and attitudes towards reality expressed therein. However, it is difficult to see close connections between these theories and their creative work. Aside from Zhou Lunyou, Lan Ma, and Yang Li in Sichuan, other poets in Hangzhou, Lanzhou, Yunnan, and Hubei also contributed to Not-Not. Similarly out of Sichuan, “Macho Man-ism” demonstrated a different attitude towards “culture” than “Not-Not-ism”. They took “make trouble, wreck, or blow up closed-off pseudo-open cultural and psychological strutures” as a manifesto, and their poetry displayed a “counter-cultural” pose. Members of Macho-Man-ism included Wan Xia, Hu Dong, Li Yawei, and Ma Song. They stated they were “porcupines with poetry hanging from their waists” and they were influenced by the “Beat Generation” of American poets of the 1950s and 1960s, with some of their work bearing obvious traces of imitation. Mocking, dissolute images of speakers in their poetry, the use of casual colloquial language, and the destruction of the “exquisite” and the “sublime” were the chief characteristics of their form of “deconstructive” poetry. Frequently cited “Macho Man” poems include ‹I want to Board a Slow Boat to Paris› (by Hu Dong), ‹The Coffeehouse› (by Ma Song), and ‹The Chinese Department› and

33 Wang Chao, ‹The Effort to Change the Structure of Language—A Shallow Analysis of Not-Not’s Language Consciousness›, Poetry Explorations, no. 2, 1994.

356

chapter twenty

‹Hard Men› (by Li Yawei). ‹Starve the Poets to Death› and other poems by Yi Sha during the 1990s are an extension of this style of poetry. In 1985, the May Fourth literary society at Beijing University edited and published the two-volume multi-author anthology, New Poetry Tide Poetry Collection. This collection consisted of over twenty thousand lines of poetry, the first volume collecting the poetry of thirteen poets from the earlier period, and the second volume chiefly consisting of the work of young poets who began writing in the 1980s. At the time and for a period thereafter, this was a comparatively complete collection exhibiting the actual accomplishments of the new poetry tide. The influence of the poetical explorations of the “newborn generation” on the poetry of China continued throughout the 1980s. The “campus poetry” that developed under this influence formed an undercurrent that propelled deeper exploration among newborn generation poetry from the mid1980s onwards. With the official publication of Zhai Yongming’s poetry cycle ‹Woman› in 1986 as its symbol, “women’s poetry” became an observable part of Third Generation poetry. So-called “women’s poetry” was a “return and deep entry into the female gender itself ”, expressing in poetry the depths of human nature based on their unique experience of life. Zhai Yongming’s explorations into “night consciousness” during the 1980s practically became a unique semiological field beloved of a generation of woman poets. The color black and night as backdrops became the basic hue of women’s poetry for a time. Other writers of women’s poetry included Lu Yimin, Tang Yaping, Yi Lei, Hai Nan, and Lin Xue.

4. Other Major Poets The composition of the poetry scene in Mainland China has clearly become more complex since the late 1980s. The development of a trend towards the commodification of society led to the increasingly apparent narrowing and impoverishment of the position of poetry in social and cultural life. Although poetry societies (or poetry groups and selfprinted poetry journals) were still active in large numbers “in civil society”, a subtle change had already occurred in its composition and chief modes of operation.34 The standpoint of the poetry written by

34

Since the late 1980s, poetry journals [unofficially distributed] “in civil society”

the new poetry tide

357

poetry groupings was no longer merely motivated by a consciousness of confrontation, even though their existence was subject to all manner of pressure. What more of these poets sought was artistic and spiritual independence. In the early 1990s, these poets also began to publish their work in official literary periodicals. Because of economic and cultural developments, and a boom in the publishing industry, in recent years a number of series of poetry collections have been published.35 A portion of the poets who began writing during the 1980s—they all had been activists in the poetry tide (or poetry groups) during the mid- and late 1980s—continued to be active in poetry circles during the 1990s. Corresponding to changes in social life and aesthetic orientations, their writing underwent interior adjustments and they gradually found their various individual creative styles.

have included: Not-Not, Them, Tendency, Discovery, Modern Han Poetry, Southern Poetry Chronicle, Image Puzzle, The Big Turmoil, Criteria, Apollinaire, Voices, The Front, Deviation, Sunflowers, The Tropic of Cancer, North Gate, Poetry Reference, and Small Magazine. Tendency was later published outside China, most of these journals were published at irregular intervals, and some have ceased publication. 35 Because of the multi-layered nature of poetry writing, the circumstances of the publication of poetry collections were fairly complicated during the 1990s. Quite a number of poets bought book numbers from publishing houses at their own expense and published their own collections. Therefore, without additional analysis and the selective counting of these poetry publications, it is difficult to judge the actual results of developments in poetry during the 1990s. The major poetry anthologies and series of collections during the 1990s include: Collected Post-Misty Poems published by the Sichuan Educational Publishing House in 1993 (2 vol., Wan Xia & Xiaoxiao ed.); “A Review of the Contemporary Poetry Tide · Lessons in the Art of Writing Book Series” published by the Beijing Teachers’ University Publishing House in 1993 (6 vol., Xie Mian & Tang Xiaodu ed.); Complete Poetry of Haizi, Complete Poetry of Luo Yihe, and Complete Poetry of Gu Cheng all published in 1997 by the Shanghai Three Federations Bookstore; the “Hold Fast to the Present Poetry Series” published by the Reform Publishing House in 1997 (Glass Passed Through Words by Ouyang Jianghe, Plain Songs in the Dark Night by Zhai Yongming, Secret Convergence by Xi Chuan, Wild Joys of the Zoo by Xiao Kaiyu, and Night of the Sea God by Chen Dongdong); the “Twentieth Century Chinese Poets Self-Selection Series” published by the Hunan Literature & Arts Publishing House in 1997 (The Bright Clean Part by Chen Dongdong, The Gist’s Like This by Xi Chuan, Who Goes Who Remains by Ouyang Jianghe, The Roving Precipice by Wang Jiaxin); the “Chinese Woman Poets Literary Storehouse” published by the Spring Wind Literature & Arts Publishing House in 1997 (Xie Mian editor-in-chief, eight volumes published, including Call This Everything by Zhai Yongming, My Paper Holds My Fire by Wang Xiaoni, Black Desert by Tang Yaping, What’s Behind Me by Hai Nan, Over by the Poetry by Lin Xue, Internal Life by Lan Lan, Distress and Sentence-Making by Yan Yuejun, The End and Birth by Fu Tianlin); and the “Chinese Poetry in the 1990s” series published by the Cultural Arts Publishing House in 1998 (Facts about Swallow Garden by Zang Di, Letters from Spring and Autumn by Zhang Zao, Wedding Songs for Xiao Bei by Sun Wenbo, The Checkered Coat of a Clown by Zhang Shuguang, Plato in a Snowscape by Xi Du, and Metaphors of the World by Huang Canran).

358

chapter twenty

Haizi36 began to write poetry while at university and within a period of seven years he created a great quantity of literary works, including poetry, fiction, dramas, and theoretical essays. During the five years of 1984–1989, he wrote more than two hundred lyric poems and seven long poems, the latter referred to as the “seven books of ‹The Sun›”. It was not until after his death that his works were published in a single volume, and they were highly thought of in academic circles. Haizi’s lyric poetry has a romantic, dreamlike flavor; he crystallized his experience of life in the countryside during his childhood and youth into a pure, natural world: Wheat fields, villages, the moon, and the sky are among images that appear frequently in the poetry of Haizi and have archetypal significance. Haizi bestowed new poetical meaning on these images, producing links between them and the individual’s experience of modern society. But Haizi was not satisfied with writing short poems, as he stated: “My poetry ideal is to accomplish a great collective poetry in China, I don’t wanted to become a lyric poet, or a dramatic poet, and I don’t even wish to become an epic poet; I only want to fuse the movements of China to achieve a union between nationality and humankind, a great poem in which poetry and ideals come together as one”.37 Out of this type of ideal, the latter stage of Haizi’s career as a poet was devoted to the writing of long poems. Previously published as an independent volume, the long poem ‹Land› was a part of the “seven books of ‹The Sun›” and it possessed a large-scale system of symbols composed of the life-like spirits of beasts and a genealogy of gods of poetry; the theme of these long poems touched on the contemporary fate of humankind in its entirety. What the poet wanted to say was, “owing to forsaking the land, these modern, aimlessly wandering souls must search out a kind of substitute—and that is desire, superficial desire. The great vitality of the earth itself can only be replaced and signified by desire.”38 In these

36 The given name of Haizi (1964–1989) was Zha Haisheng, and he was born in May 1964 and grew up in the countryside in Gaohe Chawan in Huaining County, Anhui Province. He graduated from the Law Department of Beijing University in 1983. On 26 March 1989, he committed suicide by lying on the railroad tracks near Shanhaiguan. Officially published collections of Haizi’s poetry include Land (Spring Wind Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1990), Literary Works of Haizi and Luo Yihe (Zhou Jun & Zhang Wei ed., Nanjing Publishing House, 1991), Poetry of Haizi (Xi Chuan ed., People’s Literature Publishing House, 1995), and Complete Poems of Haizi (Xi Chuan ed., Life • Reading • New Knowledge Three United Bookstore, 1997). 37 See: Tendency, no. 2, Spring 1990, special “Haizi and Luo Yihe One Year Anniversary Memorial” edition [unofficial publication]. 38 Haizi, ‹Poetics: An Outline› in Complete Poems of Haizi (Xi Chuan ed., Life • Reading • New Knowledge Three United Bookstore, 1997).

the new poetry tide

359

long poems, the image of the poet’s soul as that of a prince is formed as the embodiment of suffering, the acceptance of responsibility, and self-sacrifice. Even though to date there has been no further research into Haizi’s long poems by critics, his poetic ideals and the life they cost him have been identified with by many readers, and produced a certain degree of influence on poetry in China during the 1990s. The chief forms of the poetry of Luo Yihe39 were short poems, hundredline poems, poetry cycles, and long poems, including two massive works of long poetry: ‹Blood of the World› and ‹The Great Sea›. The fundamental themes of Luo Yihe’s lyric poetry were affirmation and praise of love, life, and youth, and his long poetry reflected his efforts to create a wholistic structure. As with Haizi, Luo Yihe built up his long poetry on a totalistic grasp of elements such as the history of the world, humankind, and the nation. Luo Yihe was an outstanding interpreter of Haizi’s poetry, and he raised the topic of “studying the distant” with regard to the prospects of poetry in China and the task of the poet, demonstrating his broad historical field of vision as a poet and his profound, composed character and moral qualities. Xi Chuan40 began to write poetry while at university. His early poetry laid stress on lyrical purity and its subject matter touched on simple, unadorned nature and love, and was of a sympathetic character. In 1989, Haizi and Luo Yihe, two poets who were also his close friends, passed away in rapid succession, and this and the social turbulence of the time 39 Luo Yihe (1961–1989) was born in Beijing. He graduated from the Chinese Department of Beijing University and began to publish poetry in 1983. While he was working at the Beijing literary periodical October, he was responsible for the “October Poetry” section. He died on 31 May 1989 at the age of just 28 after a massive cerebral hemorrhage. Several dozen of his poems were published while he was still alive, and there were almost 20,000 lines of unpublished poetry and poetical writings, and fiction tens of thousands of characters in length that were successively published as compilations during the 1990s. Collections of Luo Yihe’s poetry include: In Tribute (Changjiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1985), Blood of the World (Spring Wind Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1990), Literary Works of Haizi and Luo Yihe (Zhou Jun & Zhang Wei ed., Nanjing Publishing House, 1991), and Complete Poetry of Luo Yihe (Zhang Fu ed., Shanghai Three United Bookstore, 1997). 40 Xi Chuan’s given name is Liu Jun, his family is from Shandong, but he was born Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province in 1963, and graduated from the English Department at Beijing University in 1985. His poetry collections include Rose of China (China Literature Federation Publishing House, 1991), Secret Convergence (Reform Publishing House, 1997), The Gist’s Like This (Hunan Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997), Fabricated Genealogies (China Peace Publishing House, 1997), and Poetry of Xi Chuan (People’s Literature Publishing House, 1997); and the prose essay collection Let the Masked People Speak (Orient Publishing Center, 1997).

360

chapter twenty

had a direct and deep influence on Xi Chuan’s spirit, and led to a change in his writing. He was no longer satisfied with writing simple, natural poetry, and instead he sought to unfold the fate of the individual, linking time and the individual, and on this foundation revealing the process of the growth of the lyrical subjective “I”, and also that of the fabricated nature of poetry. His work also revealed a transition from poetry that is sung to narrative poetry, a tendency embodied in the poetry cycles ‹Adversity› and ‹Reputations›. But Xi Chuan believed that so-called “narration is not indicative of the possibilities of narration, but is indicative of the impossibilities of narration”, he himself termed this directional change a fusing of narrativity, sing-ability, and theatricality within a furnace of “synthetical creation”.41 Generally speaking, Xi Chuan is a poet who places a stress on the broad cultural background of poetry, he wishes to realize in his poetry complexity, ambiguity, and a contradictory nature, and through his language and imagery produces lyrically rich cultural ideas of deep significance. This lends Xi Chuan’s poetry a powerful religious feeling and an ardent lyricism, the general exalted tone of which embodies the poet’s pursuit of poetry’s charm. Xi Chuan was also one of the early promoters of the “intellectual spirit” in poetry writing. Zhai Yongming42 began publishing poetry in 1981. Completed in 1984, the cycle ‹Woman› is a wholistic composite structure of approximately twenty poems that goes deep into delicate, complex aspects of female experience, and reveals the historical make-up of internal female attributes and its unique spiritual qualities. As pointed out by critics, “as the manifestation of a complete spiritual experience, ‹Woman› actually endeavors to create a myth of the modern Oriental woman: Beginning with a rebellion against fate and ending with the inclusion of fate”.43 From the point of view of art, although the cycle was inspired by Sylvia 41 Xi Chuan, ‹Preface› to The Gist’s Like This (Hunan Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997). 42 Zhai Yongming was born in Sichuan Province in May 1955, and graduated from the Chengdu Telecommunications Engineering Institute in 1980. Her poetry collections include Woman (Lijiang Publishing House, 1986), Above All Roses (1989), Poetry of Zhai Yongming (Chengdu Publishing House, 1994), Plain Songs in the Dark Night (Reform Publishing House, 1997), and Call This Everything (Spring Wind Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997); and the prose essay collection A Construct on Paper (Orient Publishing Center, 1997). 43 Tang Xiaodu, ‹Women’s Poetry: From the Dark Night to Daylight—Reading Zhai Yongming’s Cycle “Woman”›, Poetry Monthly, no. 2, 1987.

the new poetry tide

361

Plath of the American confessional school of poetry, Zhai Yongming’s employment of language and consciousness of structure was closer to the pursuits of the contemporary poets of the time in China. Completed in 1985, the long poem ‹Peaceful Village› was another important work, and carried on the search for roots within the self and the topic of growing up of ‹Woman›, and dissolved the growth of the individual and the anxieties of youth within symbols of the ancient land and the central topic of the temporal cycle of fate. During the 1980s, Zhai Yongming published a long poem [or cycle] almost on an annual basis, such as ‹Death’s Design› (1987), ‹Call This Everything› (1988), and ‹Colors Within Colors› (1989). During the early 1990s, Zhai Yongming lived for a period in the United States, and after she returned to China in 1992, there was an important change in the style of the poems she wrote, such as ‹Café Song›, ‹Lili and Joan›, ‹Time of Grandmothers›, ‹A Life of Facial Make-up›, ‹A Topic on the Spot in a Little Restaurant›, and ‹Fourteen Plain Songs›. From a concentration on the unearthing of internal moods and life experience, there was a shift towards the depiction and appraisal of scenes in everyday reality. It is worth noting that the perspective of an independent individual and a modest consciousness of an exchange run through the poetry of Zhai Yongming, and this differentiates her from the type of women’s poetry that is exaggeratedly understood as a monologue of the self, and leads her poetry to possess a locus of intrinsic development. Ouyang Jianghe44 began to publish poetry in 1979, and at the same time as writing poetry, he also devoted himself to research and writings on contemporary poetics and criticism. During 1983 and 1984, he wrote ‹Suspended Coffin›, a long poem that demonstrated Ouyang Jianghe’s talent and ambition, although the obscurity and the heterogeneity of its content gave rise to much negative comment. Following this, Ouyang wrote a succession of cycles, long poems, and short poems. Among his outstanding works are the shorter poems ‹Between Chinese and English›, ‹The Glass Factory›, ‹Love in a Time of a Planned Economy›, ‹Crossing the Square at Nightfall›, and ‹Shoes that have been to Athens›, the cycle ‹The Final Mirage›, and the long poems such as ‹The Attentive

44 Ouyang Jianghe was born in 1956 in Luzhou, Sichuan Province. His collections of poetry include Glass Passed Through Words (Reform Publishing House, 1997) and Who Goes Who Remains (Hunan Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997).

362

chapter twenty

Listening and Conversation of People in Chairs›, ‹Coffeehouse›, ‹Summer 1991, Notes from Talks›, and ‹Snow›. Ouyang Jianghe is seen as a representative poet of the modernist tendency in contemporary poetry, and this is primarily embodied in his poetry neither being based on lyricism and philosophical topics, nor having a distinctive imaginative quality; rather it is a set of complex linguistic signs transmitting a rich, circuitous intelligence, developing his rational, analytical narrative style. A portion of his poetry features a surprisingly prolific linguistic power and a rich metaphysical poetic quality. The themes of his poetry touch on critical self-examinations and meditations on reality, death, and political morality. Wang Jiaxin45 is a poet who has experienced relatively large changes and undertaken readjustments in his career. Some of his early short poems, such as ‹Empty Valley›, ‹A Realization›, and ‹Scorpion›, feature a talent for capturing subtle conditions of life and possess the quality of reveries. This meditative dream-like quality is preserved in his later writing. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he wrote works such as ‹Ballade of Varykino›, ‹A Person Cutting Kindling to get through the Winter›, ‹Words›, ‹Pasternak›, and ‹Kafka›, which were symbolic of another shift in the style of his poetry. These poems may also be said to be expressions of the experience of “assuming [responsibility]”: They draw support from the objects of the poems in expressing a turn towards the social and experiences of difficult predicaments in the life of the individual. Inspired by developments in contemporary world poetry, Wang Jiaxin also wrote a “series of poetical fragments” that had non-poetic and nonprose characteristics (such as ‹Words›, ‹Another Sort of Landscape›, and ‹Roving Precipice›). Material from his life abroad was written into poems such as ‹The Death of Brodsky›, ‹Elegy›, and ‹Sketches of London›. Wang Jiaxin is skilled at drawing nourishment from the literary masters he loves, such as Kafka, Pasternak, Yeats, and Brodsky, and has

45 Wang Jiaxin was born in Hubei Province in 1957, and in 1978, he entered the Chinese Department at Wuhan University and began to write poetry. His collections of poetry include In Tribute (Changjiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1985), The Roving Precipice (Hunan Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997), the collection of essays on poetics Chance Meetings of People and the World (Culture & Arts Publishing House, 1989), and the collections of personal essays The Nightingale in its own Time (Orient Publishing Center, 1997) and An Enthusiasm for Secrets (Beiyue Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997). He has also edited Literary Writings of Yeats (3 vol., Orient Publishing House, 1996).

the new poetry tide

363

fixed his own literary goals on a basis of reflecting on and criticizing the age and social history. While writing his poetry, Wang Jiaxin has also written a great quantity of essays on poetics in which he ponders and appraises contemporary poetical phenomena and pursuits. Yu Jian46 began publishing poetry in 1979. In 1984, Yu, Han Dong, and others established [the unofficial journal] Them, and he was an enthusiastic participant in the poetry movement during the 1980s. When not writing poetry, Yu Jian also writes random notes on poetics and essays of poetry criticism. There is a relatively great difference in poetic tendencies between Yu Jian and poets living in the north. He persists in writing colloquial language poetry and insists on paying close attention to current “everyday life”. His poetry possesses a distinct sense of rhythm, and his combinations of words and phrases are of powerful intensity, like the hurried melodies of modern music. In his 1990s poetry collection The Naming of a Crow, there is an intensification of Yu’s creative tendency of abstracting poetic feelings of warmth and simplicity out of the phenomena of everyday life. ‹Trees for Getting Out of the Rain›, ‹Thank Father›, ‹Franz Kafka›, ‹Longings No. 2›, and ‹The Naming of a Crow› were among the works that caught the attention of readers and critics. The unique content, form, and mode of linguistic organization of his powerfully experimental long poem ‹The Dossier of 0› was admired by some readers and condemned by others. However, from the perspective of the poet’s career, this was a work of great significance. Yu Jian’s writings on poetics have been collected in Personal Notes in Brown Leather. Since the late 1980s, poets of the “new poetry tide” orientation still active in poetry circles also include Chen Dongdong, Han Dong, Zang Di, Xiao Kaiyu, Zhang Zao, Sun Wenbo, Huang Canran, Zhang Shuguang, Yi Sha, and Zhong Ming. Chen Dongdong (1961–) began writing poetry in the early 1980s, and although the great metropolis of Shanghai is the backdrop, his poetry contains the sounds and rhythms of classical poetry as an “aesthetic” flavor. Poems such as ‹In “Riding on 46 Yu Jian was born in Kunming, Yunnan Province, in 1954. He has been a worker. He graduated from the Chinese Department at Yunnan University in 1984. His published works include the poetry collections Sixty Poems (Yunnan People’s Literature Publishing House, 1989) and The Naming of a Crow (International Culture Publishing Company, 1993), and the collection of informal essays Personal Notes in Brown Leather (Orient Publishing Center, 1997). His long poem ‹The Dossier of 0› was adapted as a poetic drama and was performed in Beijing.

364

chapter twenty

Wine” Pavilion, Sitting Alone, How Should We Read Ancient Poems›, ‹A Horse in the Rain›, and ‹Formalists Love the Flute› are rich in distinctive qualities. Zhang Zao (1962–) began to write poetry in the 1980s, and now lives in Germany. Among poets of the new poetry tide, he is one of those who draws more on the inner meanings of China’s classical poetry. He does not avoid the commonly used vocabulary and images of ancient poetry, such as the mirror, flowers, and birds; sometimes he makes direct use of vocabulary from the classical literary language, but always to express a new twist. A frequently utilized technique of his is the establishment of perceptual, associative composites of words and lines that lack logical connections. As well as writing poetry, Zang Di (1964–) also undertakes criticism and research into poetry. He espouses the importance of training in rhetorical techniques in writing poetry, and promotes the ability of poetry to transmit contemporary experience into areas such as lyricism. He emphasizes a poetics of “possibility” and for this reason positively assesses the explorations of some 1990s poets in directions such as narrativity, ironic consciousness, and theatricality. His poetry records the poet’s observations into contemporary social life and a dissection of the inner world of contemporary humankind. Xiao Kaiyu (1960–) was once considered part of the “Sichuan group of poets”, but can now be seen as an independent-minded free element. In the late 1980s, he wrote the first essay to clearly raise the concept of “middleaged writing” (‹A Wide Open, Restrained, Decelerated Middle-Age›, Great River, no. 7, 1989). When the Third Generation universally took the “anti-sublime” as poetry’s objective, he persisted in taking the “beautiful” and the “sublime” as the highest plane of contemporary poetry. In his 1990s poetry, he placed particular emphasis on remaking the lyrical nature of poetry through the theatricality of rhetoric, and preserved an ample sensitivity to the everyday particulars of life. Zhang Shuguang (1956–) began his career as a poet during the mid-1980s. He was clearly conscious of serious insufficiencies with regard to the exactitude of contemporary poetry, and strove to remedy these. He also was concerned about the recovery of experience, but did not see the return to everyday things and events as the ultimate objective of poetry, believing that after the poet’s careful observation and unearthing of these matters, the more important task is to sublimate everyday experience. This type of intrinsic attitude constituted the fundamental viewing angle of his poetry: At the same time as accurately describing everyday objects and events, he constructed a meditative, sometimes even metaphysical ethos of experience. In 1984, Han Dong (1961–) was responsible for the establishment

the new poetry tide

365

of the important [unofficial] poetry journal Them. During the 1980s, he maintained a sober, individuated lyrical nature to his poetry that also has poetic quality, and which features a more direct sense of entry into everyday life. His poetical views were very influential among some young poets. The intention of his well-known proposition that “poetry stops in language” was to oppose the role of the “mouthpiece of historical truth” acted out by Misty poets, as well as their intense social consciousness. He proposed that contemporary poets should more directly, more concretely reflect the circumstances of people’s lives, that a poet’s responsibilities are to preserve an aesthetic sensitivity to the everyday routine, and to “colloquialize” the language of contemporary poetry. During the 1990s, he chiefly devoted his energies to writing fiction, but still wrote a number of poems of distinctive quality.

CHAPTER TWENTYONE

FICTION OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 1980s A

1. ‘Root-Seeking’ in Literature During the mid- and late 1980s, various creative trends emerged in fiction. They were either started by the writers themselves, or were creative tendencies induced by critics. Among the more important was “rootseeking literature” during the mid-1980s, and “avant-garde fiction” and “new realist fiction” during the late 1980s. From 1983 until 1984, “intellectual youth writers”, both young and middle-aged, such as Han Shaogong, Li Tuo, Zheng Yi, Ah Cheng, Li Hangyu, Zheng Wanlong, and Li Qingxi, had an exchange of opinions and a symposium on the issue of “root-seeking” in literature.1 In an essay published in early 1984, Li Tuo used the term “root-seeking” to express the “desire to be able one day to use the Daur language of which I’ve already forgotten so much, to have a stuttering conversation with relatives and the people of my hometown, to give expression to the inspiration Daur culture has given me”.2 In the summer of 1985, they wrote a succession of essays for periodicals, proposing and propagating views on root-seeking literature. Han Shaogong’s ‹The “Roots” of Literature›3 was later seen as the “manifesto” of this literary movement. He believed, “literature has roots, the roots of literature should be situated deep in the soil of national traditions and culture, and if the roots are not deep, it’s difficult for the leaves to flourish”; he believed our responsibility is to “release the thermal energy of modern ideas to recast and give a bright plating” to “the nation’s self ”. Other essays included ‹My Roots› by Zheng Wanlong, ‹Put Our “Roots” in Order› by Li Hangyu, ‹Culture Restricts Humankind› by Ah Cheng, and ‹Stride Across the

1 See: Li Qingxi, ‹Root-Seeking: A Return to the Thing Itself›, Literary Reviews, no. 4, 1988. 2 Li Tuo, ‹Correspondence on Writing›, People’s Literature, no. 3, 1984. 3 Han Shaogong, ‹The “Roots” of Literature›, Author, no. 6, 1985.

fiction of the second half of the s (a)

367

Fault Zone of Culture› by Zheng Yi.4 In their differing explications there was an important point in common: Chinese literature should be established within a broad, deep “exploration and expression of culture”, as there can only be a dialogue with “world literature” when there is a deep exploration of this ancient land’s “rock formations of culture”. In these theoretical elaborations, some previously published literary works (primarily fiction) were listed as models of this literary proposition by its advocates. Short stories by Wang Zengqi (such as ‹The Love Story of a Young Monk› and ‹A Tale of Big Nur›) published during the 1980s that drew their subject matter from the habits and customs of the small towns of his home area (the Gaoyou area of Jiangsu Province) in the old days were seen as successful illustrations of an emphasis on the details of national culture. Jia Pingwa’s works about the Shangzhou region in Shaanxi Province that he began publishing in 1982, and the somewhat later “Gechuan River fiction” series by Li Hangyu (such as ‹Traditions of Shazao› and ‹The Last Fisherman›) were recognized as embodiments of “root-seeking in literature”. Following this, the discussion of this topic gradually unfolded in literary circles and its influence rapidly expanded. Due to both the deliberate creative pursuits of some writers and the necessity of critics to seek out texts on which to expound their theories, within a short period, there was a rapid increase in the number of works considered “root-seeking”. Examples of this were Jia Pingwa’s “Shangzhou series”, ‹The King of Chess› and ‹Unconventional Everywhere› by Ah Cheng, ‹Distant Village› and ‹Old Well› by Zheng Yi, ‹Pa Pa Pa› and ‹Woman Woman Woman› by Han Shaogong, the “Strange Tales from Strange Lands” series by Zheng Wanlong, ‹Xiaobao Village› by Wang Anyi, and ‹A Soul Tied to a Leather-Strap Buckle› by Zhaxi Dawa, as well as some of the fiction of such writers as Zhang Chengzhi, Shi Tiesheng, Lu Wenfu, Deng Youmei, and Feng Jicai. During this period, some critical essays did not limit themselves to using the phrase “root-seeking in literature” in describing this literary trend and used concepts such as “root-seeking literature” (“root-seeking fiction”) and “root-seeking writers”. However, could the features of the recognized writers and literary works of this trend be so characterized? Moreover, most of the authors

4 Zheng Wanlong, ‹My Roots›, Shanghai Literature, no. 5, 1985; Li Hangyu, ‹Put Our “Roots” in Order›, Author, no. 6, 1985; Ah Cheng, ‹Culture Restricts Humankind›, Literature & Arts Press, 6 July 1985; Zheng Yi, ‹Stride Across the Fault Zone of Culture›, Literature & Arts Press, 13 July 1985.

368

chapter twenty-one

themselves were not willing to accept this categorization, and as a result the terms “root-seeking literature” and “root-seeking writer” were not broadly utilized. The promotion of “root-seeking” in literature was both enthusiastically welcomed and subject to censure and criticism.5 One of the principal bases of criticism was the reproach that it expressed a “return to the ancients” tendency and would lead to a return of traditional culture that required critical reflection. There were concerns that this type of selection of literary material and topics would cause writing to sink into remote, primitive, barbarous areas and states of life, and lead to a neglect of exposing current social issues and contradictions.6 Three years after the publication of the views on “root-seeking”, Li Qingxi, one of its initiators, wrote an essay in which he indicated that their initial primary intention was to “seek out the spirit of national cultural” so as to acquire the ability for the national spirit to save itself—which was actually a reply to those who censured them for being divorced from reality.7 Considered against the social and cultural backdrops and the state of contemporary literature, the proposal of “root-seeking” in literature had something of the inevitable about it. People of the time universally considered the “Cultural Revolution” a “restoration” of “pre-modern” . . . “feudalism”, and for this reason the bringing up again of slogans in support of science and democracy, learning from the West, the reconsideration of “tradition”, and “moving toward the future” were major ideological trends in society after the “Cultural Revolution”. The critical attacks on political and cultural levels during the early 1980s caused the “introspective” orientation to pass deep into the “principal” meaning of things, and the exploration of the relationship between historical mistakes and the “sediment” of the national culture and psychology. At the same time, a standpoint of “maintaining past achievements” with regard

5 Such as Tang Tao in ‹One Thought and They’re Off—About Root-Seeking› (People’s Daily, 30 April 1986), who said “I thought ‘root-seeking’ could only be a part of immigrant literature, that the issue of ‘root-seeking’ could only exist together with immigrant literature”,. . . . “Aside from this, gentlemen, are you not Chinese, do you not have a deepseated life in China? Where are you going to go for this ‘root-seeking’?” 6 In ‹Two Wishes› (Literature & Arts Press, 27 July 1985), after expressing a limited acceptance of “root-seeking”, Li Zehou stated: “Why must one go to describe those struggles, human nature, and the mysteries of life in a wooded wilderness, a cavern, or a desert, and not among the thousands of soldiers and horses, the everyday customs and traditions?” 7 Li Qingxi, ‹Root-Seeking: A Return to the Thing Itself›, Literary Reviews, no. 4, 1988.

fiction of the second half of the s (a)

369

to traditional culture was growing in gaps in the radical ethos. During the 1980s, the “collision” between Eastern and Western culture had led to the re-emergence of cultural comparisons and the assessment of differing cultural value. Some writers not only experienced the pressures of the “Cultural Revolution” and other socio-political problems, but were also taken by surprise by the perplexing conundrums produced by the process of “modernization” and “cultural conflicts”, and felt the even broader and deeper pressures of “cultural consequences”. They believed that if the “modern consciousness” were to reassess “tradition” and link the search for the self and the search for the cultural spirit of the nation, this type of “principle” (the “root” of reality) would be able to provide a reliable basis for the renovation of society and the national spirit. The advocacy of “root-seeking” in literature also had a more direct motive than literature itself. After the “Cultural Revolution”, people were keenly aware that contemporary literature was “impoverished”, and many writers who enthusiastically promoted literature’s entry into the “new period” believed they could resolve the problem of the development of contemporary literature in China by drawing on the experience of Western modernist literature. The upsurge in attention given to Western literature opened up new vistas for writers and led to the renovation of literary concepts and techniques, and also produced a phenomenon of writing based on “ideas” and texts. After there was a greater understanding of the history of modern Western literature and the circumstances of its writers, the writers urgently demanding literature “move towards the world” (“have a dialogue with the world”) were aware that following certain Western writers or “schools” could not lead to original artistic creation, no matter how well it was imitated. In their view, from the perspective of “world literature”, searching for objects of vital power in Chinese culture would be a more feasible route for the “reestablishment” of literature in China. These ideas of writers advocating “root-seeking” were stimulated and verified by Faulkner and the literary success garnered by South American literature during the past half century (especially the Nobel Prize for literature won by the Columbian writer Garcia Marquez in 1982). Anxious and ambitious young writers believed if their own writing was directly rooted in the age-old, deep soil of the national culture, and they remolded Western concepts and forms through the receptivity of Chinese people, there would be a possibility of producing results that broke fresh ground.

370

chapter twenty-one 2. ‘Root-Seeking’ and the Artistic Forms of Fiction

As a literary proposition, “root-seeking” in literature produced a multifaceted influence on literary writing, and on fiction in particular. However, the formation or emergence of certain artistic characteristics in fiction during this period cannot all be said to be the direct result of this proposition; the analogous creative tendencies of some writers did not necessarily all possess clear-cut support in these theories. During this period, interest in customs and local culture began to emerge as important phenomena in fiction writing. In contemporary Mainland China, especially in the fiction of the “Cultural Revolution”, local characteristics and social customs tended to be indistinct and received less prominence. The mainstream literary concepts were fundamentally formed by historical movements and the actions and emotions of people, and the decisive elements were class position and political ideology. Everything else was insignificant. In this way, to a great degree, fiction neglected the everyday life of people, and, naturally, elements of national culture and human nature that embodied “historical continuity” were seen as undermining class-consciousness and were rejected. A concept in fiction that was universally approved of during the 1980s was that customs and conditions of people of specific localities and their everyday lives were the rich earth that breeds art and aesthetic feeling, and held out the possibility of fusing together the profound expression of individual destiny, society, and national history. As a type of testimonial, the relation of history took on a different form: Writers with a radical view of history, but even more those who wrote works based on political concepts and class consciousness were given the cold-shoulder, and those writings that tolerantly laid emphasis on the everyday life under specific circumstances became illustrations of literature’s vitality. The rise in their positions in literary history of writers such as Shen Congwen, Zhang Ailing, and Qian Zhongshu, as well as the “Beijing school” of fiction8—all submerged from the 1950s through to the 1970s—and the trend in fiction established a mutually affective relationship. As a result, during the 1980s, many fiction writers attached importance to a strengthening of the understanding of traditional lifestyles and the expression of changes in these lifestyles during the modern age. 8 C. T. Xia’s A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, 1917–1957 had an important influence during the reappraisal and discovery of China’s modern fiction after the “Cultural Revolution”.

fiction of the second half of the s (a)

371

Some even meticulously investigated housing, food, drink, clothing, language, modes of social intercourse, the rites and ceremonies of weddings, funerals, and festivals, religious beliefs, and so on, of one locality, and this supported the extension of creative vistas. Believing that “social customs are a living lyric poem collectively created by a nation”, Wang Zengqi’s understanding of the importance of folkways in expressing the tone, atmosphere, and psychology of people in fiction have an intrinsic link to the artistic pursuits of Shen Congwen and others during the 1930s and 1940s. Writers promoting or sympathetic to “root-seeking” in literature, such as Han Shaogong, Jia Pingwa, Zheng Yi, Zheng Wanlong, and Li Hangyu, embodied a tendency to include elements of local culture in their works. Jia Pingwa described the natural and cultural landscapes of the long closed-off southern mountainous region of Shaanxi Province in a series of prose essays and pieces of fiction. Li Hangyu wrote a group of stories based on observations of the local customs and conditions in the “Gechuan River” basin. Others, such as Zheng Wanlong, who wrote of mountain villages in the border regions of Heilongjiang Province, and Wure Ertu, who described the life of the Ewenki nationality, all converged into this trend of placing a stress on the expression of folk customs induced by “root-seeking”. Of course, there was a more self-aware, more protracted expression of the pursuit of “regional fiction” in the work of Deng Youmei, Feng Jicai, and Liu Xinwu. They all underwent a shift from writing on socio-political subject matter to “local customs fiction”. In novels such as The Drum Tower and The Four Signboard Building, Liu Xinwu described social and cultural change through the lives of ordinary Beijingers. Also during this period, Lu Wenfu specialized in observing the course of change and development in social customs in Suzhou. Although a political theme runs through it, the descriptions of the culture of eating and drinking in Suzhou in his novella ‹The Gourmet› frequently depart from this track and become a colorful part of this work. In Deng Youmei’s stories about Beijing and Feng Jicai’s “Tianjin Doors series” there are detailed, vivid descriptions of the social customs and life in Beijing and Tianjin through the language, psychology, emotions, and actions of ordinary urbanites. Compared to “scar” and “introspective” fiction, in ideological tendencies and value judgments, fiction with “root-seeking” characteristics was more complex and ambiguous. The promoters of “root-seeking” with an “educated youth” background had passed their youth during the “Cultural Revolution”. After they had had the opportunity to systematically obtain knowledge about traditional culture, they were amazed by

372

chapter twenty-one

their past ignorance and this produced an adoration of “traditional culture”: “Gathered together, we felt it necessary to speak of the Confucian Way of the pre-Qin and early-Han philosophers”, which produced “a feeling that one had no culture and had to read a few more books to become less shallow”.9 However, in the fiction of writers such as Han Shaogong, Zheng Yi, Li Hangyu, and Ah Cheng, there was a tendency to differentiate “traditional culture” into the “norm” and the “non-standard”. They held a more defiant, critical attitude towards the systematized “tradition” with the “norms” of Confucianist theories at its core, and believed there was a greater cultural “quintessence” to the folkways and social customs described in unofficial histories, legends, folk songs, and remote regions, as well as Daoist thought and Zen philosophy. In general, after the “Cultural Revolution”, contemporary writers effortlessly accepted the militantly critical stance towards “traditional culture” that had been prevalent since “May Fourth”, but in the dialogue between Eastern and Western cultures, they tended to indulge in the age-old, bountiful national culture and form doubts about their original critical attitudes. In their explorations into the art of fiction, some writers were inspired by writers such as Faulkner and Garcia Marquez, and integrated their realistic descriptions of life’s circumstances and details with symbolic and allegorical elements. The technique of narrative shift was utilized in some works: Using the “present tense” and the “past present tense” to handle the narration of history, constructing a complex relationship between the narrator and characters in the story, and narrative time and story time, all in order to strengthen consciousness of narration. However, scrutinizing the artistic techniques of China’s traditional fiction through the lens of a modern consciousness and drawing upon this in writing became a trend in the mid- and late 1980s. In the first place, this type of artistic pursuit was expressed through the reappearance of the construction of a wholistic ambiance and atmosphere in fiction. Secondly, the language of fiction tended towards either blandness, moderation, and terseness or the directly blending in vocabulary and sentence forms of the classical language to reinforce the archaic abstruseness of the scenes of life and the psychology of characters to be described. Furthermore, there were observable incidences of modeling on the organization, structure, and narrative modes of classical fiction. In discussing classical Chinese fiction, Wang Zengqi believed there were “two traditions”:

9 Zheng Yi, ‹Stride Across the Fault Zone of Culture›, Literature & Arts Press, 13 July 1985.

fiction of the second half of the s (a)

373

“The short stories of the Tang and the jottings of the Song”. The former “were engrossed with the ‘practices and writings’ of those in power”, and therefore they wanted “those in power” to enjoy them and admire the talent of the writer. The latter, on the other hand, “did not have this utilitarian goal” and so were delicate and natural, and featured wit and humor.10 Clearly, the work of writers such as Wang Zengqi, Jia Pingwa, and Ah Cheng belonged to this latter vein of writing.

3. Fiction of the Marketplace and Native Soil During the 1980s, fiction on “agricultural topics”, “industrial topics”, and other such concepts were gradually discarded, and this was a manifestation of important changes in the ideas about and the writing of fiction. This change did not occur after “root-seeking” in literature was proposed, but began when the tide of “introspective” fiction receded in the early 1980s. These concepts that had been utilized for thirty years and embodied the prevailing literary practices of an age, were replaced by fiction variously termed “marketplace fiction”, “urban fiction”, “native soil fiction”, and “hometown feeling fiction”. Some of the literary work of Deng Youmei, Lu Wenfu, and Feng Jicai has been labeled “marketplace” or “urban”, and almost all authors who wrote about life in the countryside, such as Gao Xiaosheng, Wang Zengqi, Liu Shaotang, Gu Hua, Zhang Yigong, Lu Yao, Chen Zhongshi, Jia Pingwa, Zhang Wei, and Jiao Jian were labeled “native soil” or “hometown feeling” writers. Also, because locality once again became an important component in the fiction of this time, critics primarily considered locality as their basis for categorizing writers. As a result, there appeared terms such as “Beijing flavor fiction”, “Tianjin doors culture fiction”, and “Qi-Lu [Shandong] native soil writers”, or descriptions related to the relationship between the center and margins of the cultural matrix, such as “rising of the Hunan army” and “eastern march of the Shaanxi army”. 10 Wang Zengqi, ‹In lieu of a Preface›, Chinese Contemporary Writers Collections Series · Wang Zengqi, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1992. In the early 1950s, in discussing contemporary fiction writers learning from classical fiction, Sun Kaidi also belittled Tang dynasty short stories, believing “the short story was an offshoot of historical biography, the elitist literature of the intellectual and scholar-official classes”. . . . “sitting in rooms talking to themselves”. Sun Kaidi esteemed the late-Ming dynasty vernacular short stories, as their authors “embodied folk artists speaking directly to the masses”. See: Sun Kaidi, ‹The Development of Chinese Vernacular Fiction and its Artistic Characteristics›, Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 3, 1951.

374

chapter twenty-one

Deng Youmei11 began writing in the 1940s. There was controversy in 1956 upon the publication of his short story ‹At the Precipice›, which described the extramarital affair of a young man. He was branded a rightist during the anti-rightist campaign. He has had two series of fiction “writing about Beijing and outside Beijing” since the “Cultural Revolution”. The latter series includes ‹Our Army Commander›, ‹Female Soldiers Running After the Troops›, ‹Cold Mountain Moon›, and ‹Farewell, Laihu Inland Sea›. But it was the former that caught the attention of literary circles: Stories such as ‹About Taoran Pavilion›, ‹Looking for Han the Painter›, ‹Nawu›, ‹Snuff Bottles›, ‹Descendants of Suo Qi›, and ‹Anecdotes about “Four Seas Residence”›. Of these, ‹Nawu› and ‹Descendents of Suo Qi›, which describe the differing personalities and life paths of the younger generation of the Manchurian Eighth Banner, are representative works of this type of his fi ction. The lives of the main characters of these works (descendants of the imperial family, the younger generation of the Eighth Banner, artisans and craftsmen, and literati down in their luck) are, for the most part, linked to some aspect of traditional culture, and at the same time, in the drastic changes since the late-nineteenth century, were at loggerheads with social currents and found themselves relegated to the margins of society. In his descriptions of the fate of characters, Deng interweaves detailed accounts of social customs and conditions, rites and ceremonies, historical records, decrees, and regulations. In his fiction, descriptions of social customs are a component of the destiny of characters, and become the intrinsic driving force giving impetus to plotlines and character development. Woven throughout the narratives are revelations of the decline of the vapid “imperial capital” and a fascination with the romantic charm of traditional culture that contained social customs and cultural artifacts. These contradictions are sensitively handled by Deng Youmei, as he avoids excess and obviousness, allowing a balanced control of conflicting elements. However, this “serenity” can become “insipidness”, the tragic coloring of the fate of characters is weakened, and this influences the depth of the readers’ experience when faced with history and cur-

11

Deng Youmei was born in Tianjin in 1931 to a family from Pingyuan County in Shandong Province. He joined both the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and worked as a laborer in Japan. He began to publish literary works in 1946. Major collections of his work include Short Stories by Deng Youmei, Representative Works of Deng Youmei, and Self-Selected Works of Deng Youmei (5 vol.).

fiction of the second half of the s (a)

375

rent reality. The language of Deng Youmei’s fiction is a refined version of true Beijing vernacular speech that, in his narratives, he is able to implement evenly and vibrantly. The fiction of Feng Jicai12 during the period following the “Cultural Revolution” primarily dealt with “Cultural Revolution”-related topics. Relatively influential short stories and novellas by Feng Jicai include ‹The Carved Pipe›, ‹A Branch Road Paved with Flowers›, ‹Ah!›, ‹A Tall Woman and Her Short Husband›, and ‹Thanks to Life›. The “factual oral account literature” that is The Ten Years of One Hundred People, which he began in 1986, is also literature of this nature. When describing the brutality of history and inhuman treatment, he often writes of tender feelings between people as a repose from the hardships of life at the time. In an “appended note” to his 1984 novella ‹The Miraculous Pigtail›, he declared he wanted to “open up a new path to travel upon”, and this was to write about “redundant people and strange events” in Tianjin at the end of the Qing dynasty and during the early years of the Republican era, and to write a “true Tianjin flavor”. It is for this reason critics term this fiction “Tianjin flavor fiction”. Aside from ‹The Miraculous Pigtail›, there were also the novellas ‹Three-Inch Golden Lotus›, ‹Yin, Yang, and the Eight Trigrams›, and ‹Firecracker Attack on Twin Lanterns›, and a series of short stories under the title of “Characters in the Marketplace”. A considerable portion of these have “vestiges of culture” as their subject matter: For example, the pigtails of men, the bound feet of women, and the concepts of Yin and Yang and the eight trigrams of Daoism. The destinies and lifestyles of characters and these phenomena of “culture” are closely related, to the point where characters are the embodiment of a certain aspect of “culture”. Feng utilized the traditional chapter division style of Chinese fiction featuring a summarizing couplet at the head of each chapter, and the main body of the language he writes consists of Tianjin dialect and local popular sayings. In comparison to his fiction on the “Cultural Revolution”, the “Tianjin doors series” of Feng Jicai clearly received more attention. In describing these “vestiges of culture” the author was “following the path of Lu Xun in criticizing the deep-rooted bad habits of the nation”, while at the 12 Feng Jicai (1942–) was born in Tianjin to a family originally from Cixi in Zhejiang Province. After graduation from high school, he was a basketball player and specialized in painting for a time. He began writing literature in the late 1970s.

376

chapter twenty-one

same time striving to not handle the cultural ideas embodied by these practices in a simplistic or crude manner, instead hoping the viewpoint of history would purify the foundations that produced these complex, ugly phenomena. Among these stories, there was relatively greater controversy over the novella ‹Three-Inch Golden Lotus›. The work attempts to reveal the historical and cultural grounds that produced the hideous practice of binding women’s feet, to explore within a specific historical discourse field how a repulsive alteration became “beauty”, and the process by which, under the pretext of “beauty”, it became “reasonable”. However, it was difficult to prevent reflections on the “passivity” and “self-restraint” of traditional culture from disappearing into a fascination with its “appreciation of beauty”; even when it was those “ugly acts” and “corrupt customs”. While writing these “strange tales of an eccentric world”, Feng Jicai would consider strengthening entertaining romantic elements, but did not wish to write “popular fiction”. He was unwilling to discard serious ideological criticism, yet this criticism was somewhat limited. His effort to join the “refined” with the “vulgar” met with some success but also left many contradictions. Jia Pingwa13 (1953–) is from Danfeng County in Shaanxi Province. His works written during the “Cultural Revolution” and through to the early 1980s were lacking in individualistic qualities. He caught the attention of literary circles after 1983, when he started publishing a succession of stories about changes in the lives of farmers in the Shangzhou region of Shaanxi Province. Termed the “Shangzhou series”, these stories consist of ‹Before This Lunar Month›, ‹Families of Jiwowa Village›, ‹Twelfth Moon·First Moon›, ‹Wild Feelings on Distant Mountains›, ‹The Heavenly Dog›, ‹The Black Family›, ‹The Ancient Castle›, ‹Memorial Fire Paper›, and the novels Shangzhou and Turbulence. The author stated, I “wanted to experience, study, analyze, and dissect historical development, social changes, and changes in life in China’s countryside through this area around Shangzhou”.14 In his descriptions of the natural and

13 Jia Pingwa (1953–) is from Danfeng County in Shaanxi Province. He entered the Chinese Department at Northwest University and began to publish literary works in 1972. Aside from the novels Shangzhou, Turbulence, City in Ruins, White Nights, and Earthen Doors, he also has collections of his work, including Before This Lunar Month, Twelfth Moon · First Moon, and The Heavenly Hound, as well as Self-Selected Works of Jia Pingwa, Choice Fiction of Jia Pingwa, Writings of Jia Pingwa, and so on. 14 Jia Pingwa, ‹In Lieu of a Preface› in Before This Lunar Month, Flower City Publishing House, 1984.

fiction of the second half of the s (a)

377

social landscape in this mountainous southern Shaanxi region, Jia consciously provides a local cultural backdrop (housing, implements, rites, folksongs and popular sayings) to the activities and psychological characteristics of the characters in these stories. Economic reforms were carried out in China’s countryside during the 1980s, and the tremendous changes there transformed the traditional social order, leading to differing value systems, lifestyle choices, and “competition”. This gave rise to vicissitudes in villages, and this in turn became a persistently explored theme of these stories. “Tragic characters” that appeared during this period of social transition occupied important positions in these stories. Their original social positions and the images they had established in the eyes of the world were undermined, they were immersed in their own fears, but, wanting to save something of what was being lost, they still upheld their original codes of life. The author describes their fate of being inescapably “expropriated”, but does so with deep sympathy. The appreciation of life that results from social change is an issue of long-term interest to Jia Pingwa. However, for artistic reasons, together with many other contemporary writers who expressed an awareness of a burden of responsibility toward the “historical development” of society (in the city or the countryside) in China, it was difficult to break free of a single unitary field of vision, and this led to the duplication of characters and storylines. At the start of the 1990s, there was a change in the situation. Jia Pingwa placed greater emphasis on his own experience of life and resisted the lure of grand unitary motifs. This pursuit appeared in his hugely controversial novel, City in Ruins. Set in the ancient city of Xi’an (“Western Capital” in the novel), City in Ruins was published in 1993, an event that drew the attention of fiction circles and cultural circles at the time. A story the author has said expresses the indistinct, desolate consciousness of a “city in ruins”, it was praised by some critics as a work “rich in the romantic charm of Dream of the Red Chamber and Plum Blossom in a Gold Vase” and “from content to form it is truly astounding”; they believed the form and spirit of the characterizations were “near perfection” and were indicative of the author’s growing maturity. However, the strong tone of “decadence” and “decline” and the descriptions of sex in the novel were subject to the fervent criticism of other critics.15 Critics believed Jia Pingwa was

15 For discussions by Jia Pingwa on the writing of City in Ruins, as well as assessments and arguments after its publication, see: Xiao Xialin ed., City in Ruins Ruined Who, Xueyuan Publishing House, 1993.

378

chapter twenty-one

expressing “pain” at a corrupt age in decline, but that he lacked the height from where to observe all this; in all the “classical allusions” he immersed himself in, critics were not able to discover a basis for a critical spirit. As to the narrative modes, linguistic stylizations, and artistic charm of Jia Pingwa’s fiction, he strove to absorb such aspects from the art of Ming and Qing dynasty vernacular fiction, attempting to form a natural, veiled, richly intrinsic style of writing. Aside from fiction, he also promoted “beautiful writing”, and presided over Beautiful Writing magazine (Xi’an) for many years. Written while studying at the Liberation Army Arts Academy in 1985, Mo Yan’s16 ‹Transparent Radishes› was published and well received. The next year, the publication of the novella ‹Red Sorghum› had an even greater impact. Soon after, he wrote a series of novellas linked to the background and characters in ‹Red Sorghum›, which were later published as a collection under the title The Red Sorghum Clan.17 For the most part, these stories unfold against the backdrop of memories of Mo’s hometown, Gaomi. The ‹Red Sorghum› series, together with the 1995 novel Large Breasts and Big Buttocks, were expressions of the author’s search for an idealistic state of upright courageousness among his people. He also wanted to be like Faulkner in incessantly recounting stories about his construct of the “area northeast of Gaomi”. These scenes came from his childhood memories, what he had seen and heard there, as well as his own abundant imagination and perceptions. He stretched his pen into “history”, and on this tableau full of the wild vigor of life he narrated how his forbearers had lived in the past, the uninhibited enthusiasm of their (“my grandpa”, “my grandma”) lives and their quixotic experiences. Other of Mo Yan’s stories, such as ‹Transparent Radishes›, ‹The Yellow-Haired Baby›, and ‹Dry River›, describe contemporary life in

16 Mo Yan (1956–) is from Gaomi in Shandong Province. While at primary school, the “Cultural Revolution” meant the end of studies and the start of work in the fi elds. In 1976, he enlisted in the military. From 1984 until 1986, Mo studied in the Literature Department of the Liberation Army Arts Academy. He began to publish in the early 1980s, and major collections of his works include The Red Sorghum Clan, Transparent Radishes, Explosion, Songs on Heavenly Shoots of Garlic, Women Clutching Fresh Flowers, and Writings of Mo Yan, as well as novels such as A Full Garden and Large Breasts and Big Buttocks. 17 ‹Red Sorghum›, ‹Sorghum Wine›, ‹Way of the Dog›, ‹Sorghum Funeral Procession›, and ‹Dog Skin› were among the novellas collected in The Red Sorghum Clan and published by the Liberation Army Literature & Arts Publishing House in 1987. Some critics refer to this as a novel, while others call it a series of novellas.

fiction of the second half of the s (a)

379

the countryside, the emotions and living conditions of farmers, and the constraints on and distortion of the innate nature of humankind. These two sets of his work appear to form a contrast and imply criticism of the timidity, fear, and impotence of the descendants described in them. The fiction of Mo Yan features a richly perceptive style. His writing was an attack on the stylistic model formed by the overly conceptual structure of contemporary fiction. He utilized an attitude towards narrative that was uncontrolled and put a stress on feeling. In his descriptions, psychological leaps, movements, and associations, and a great number of sensory images gush towards the reader, creating a complex, resplendent world of sensation. This mode of writing based on powerful perceptive experience is related to a longing for a primitive barbaric vitality. However, due to an excessive reliance on feeling, some of these stories appear to be insufficiently controlled and deliberately tend towards ambiguous imagery.

4. Outside Groupings and Schools Amid the rise and fall of literary groups and schools during the 1980s, Wang Zengqi was one of the few writers who was “outside trends”. He wrote according to his own literary ideals of familiar memories that had accumulated after passing through his emotions and intellect. The establishment of this independent posture was supported by his relatively abundant artistic “reserves”. Although some critics have termed him a “root-seeking” writer, this is only because the spirit of his work can be seen to concur with some of the theories of “root-seeking”. Wang Zengqi18 was born into a family of gentry in Gaoyou, Jiangsu Province. In 1939, he began studying in the Literature Department of the Northwest United University in Kunming. Shen Congwen was a professor at the university at the time and had a great influence on Wang Zengqi’s later work. The translated works of writers such as Virginia Woolf, Azorin, Gide, and Proust, left traces on Wang’s writings during the 1940s: These works (such as ‹Revenge›) are collected in Chance Meetings (1948). In 1958, Wang Zengqi was branded a rightist and was 18 Wang Zengqi (1920–1997). Aside from Chance Meetings in 1948, his major collections since 1980 included Short Stories of Wang Zengqi, Dinner Flowers, Self-Selected Works of Wang Zengqi, Bridge of Cattails, Deep in a Solitary Cattail, Writings of Wang Zengqi, and Short Papers.

380

chapter twenty-one

later sent to labor in the Zhangjiakou region. During the early 1960s, he was given a post as playwright at the Beijing Opera Troupe, published fiction such as ‹Night in a Goat Shed›, and wrote librettos for the Beijing operas ‹Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam› and ‹Sparks Amid the Reeds› (later retitled ‹Shajiabang›). He reached the height of his creative powers in fiction after 1980. Unlike the majority of other fiction writers at the time, he did not write novellas or novels, and never experimented with grand panoramic or “epic” structures. “I only write short stories because I can only write short stories. That is to say, I’m only familiar with this one mode of thinking about life.”19 Most of the material for his fiction was taken from village and small town life in the old days, although some did deal with big cities such as Kunming, Shanghai, and Beijing. The feeling of a portion of my works is melancholy, such as ‹Professional› and ‹Bell of the Nether World›; there is a type of intrinsic happiness to another portion, such as ‹A Tale of Big Nur› and ‹The Love Story of a Young Monk›; and another portion of them feature a helplessness in the face of destiny that turns into frequently bitter derision, such as ‹Obituary of Yun Zhiqiu› and ‹A Strange Grasp›. But in general, I’m an optimist. My literary works are not tragedies. My work lacks in sublime, solemn beauty. What I’m after is not the profound, but the harmonious.20

His stories are not without some needling and mockery of the stiff, inflexible lives of the common people in the marketplace and lower level intellectuals and their somewhat mean and trifling psychologies and actions, but most of the time he discovers the beauties of life and the healthy attributes of people in the villages and towns. The tastes and viewpoint of the traditional Chinese “man of letters” in his fiction is “rescued” and some outmoded flavors are curbed by vibrant elements of folk life. From the late 1980s, his writing chiefly took the lives of scholarofficials and intellectuals as its object, and his style shifted from insipid to bleak. The fiction of Wang Zengqi primarily expressed social customs and conditions. Though he did not especially design plots and conflicts to strengthen the narrative, nor did he strive to form “typical characters”, yet neither did he seek to use social customs and conditions as an “organic” element to give impetus to the story and the disposition of characters. He wanted to eliminate “dramatized” design in fiction (including 19 Wang Zengqi, ‹Preface›, Self-Selected Works of Wang Zengqi, Lijiang Publishing House, 1987. 20 Ibid.

fiction of the second half of the s (a)

381

the sedulous designing of plots and characterization), and bring about the appearance in fiction of the natural forms of everyday life.21 In this respect, he was carrying on the efforts of the “Beijing school writers” of the 1940s and their questioning of “dramatized fiction”.22 The unfolding of a “prose stylization” in fiction allows the wit and humor of the narrator to naturally merge and have a gradual influence through the insipid tones of the description. The writing is succinct and plain, but not lacking in humor and refinement. Wang’s writing in this genre influenced the work of a number of contemporary fiction and prose writers.

21 For more on this see: Wang Zengqi, ‹Three Stories Beside the Bridge·Postscript›, Harvest (Shanghai), no. 2, 1986. 22 During the 1940s, writers such as Fei Ming, Shen Congwen, Zhou Zuoren, and Lu Fen, criticized “dramatized fiction” for carrying out the man-made structuring of life and reducing society and life to big waves. They advocated “do not dissimulate, restore the facts to their original appearance”, reveal the “inherent qualities” of life, and write “natural” . . . “prose-style fiction” (or “fiction in the style of informal essays”). At this time, Wang Zengqi also published similar propositions. For more on this, see: Qian Liqun, ‹Preface›, 20th Century Chinese Fiction Theoretical Materials (vol. 4), Beijing University Publishing House, 1997.

CHAPTER TWENTYTWO

FICTION OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 1980s B

1. Literary Exploration and ‘Avant-Garde Fiction’ During the mid- and late 1980s, the relationship between politics and literature was not in as “sticky” a state as it had been during the early 1980s, writers and readers no longer held approving, receptive attitudes toward literature as a carrier of political intentions and concepts. At the same time, the development of the commodity economy unavoidably altered the living conditions and lifestyles of people, and the “marginalization” of “pure literature” became more evident by the day. Under these circumstances, there was an acceleration in self-questioning and readjustments within literature, and it was possible for writers to gravitate towards “popular fiction” and other aspects of the mass literary arts, but it was also possible for them to strengthen the impetus towards further aspects of exploration into “literature itself ”. In respect to the latter, the poetry of the “third generation” had an obvious “experimental” flavor, while “root-seeking fiction”, “modernist fiction”, “avant-garde fiction”, and “new realist fiction” appeared in the field of fiction. These exploratory tendencies chiefly drew support from the practices provided by twentieth century Western literature, as they sought out all manner of new possibilities in subject matter and artistic technique. Topics transcended concrete socio-political issues, and the art of fiction broke free of its confinement to “realist” methodologies, and pursued “noumenal meaning” in form and “eternal meaning” in topics: Th ese became enticing goals at the time. This idea of a “noumenalized” state was consistent with the previously envisioned idea of “globalized literature”. At the time, critical circles variously referred to these forms of fiction that were “closely related and directly influenced by modern Western philosophical and aesthetic trends, and modernist literature” and “those works that evidently possessed a transcendental character from their philosophical trends to their artistic forms,”1 as “new tide fiction”, “modernist fiction”,

1 ‹The Whirling World of Literature—Minutes of the “Realism and Avant-Garde Literature” Symposium›, Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1989.

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

383

“experimental fiction”, and “avant-garde fiction”. By the 1990s, the terms by which people referred to new trends in fiction were relatively uniform. The meanings of “modernist fiction”, “avant-garde fiction”, and “new realist fiction”, and the scope of each of them, had been differentiated. The boom period in literary innovation occurred around 1985. In that year, “root-seeking” in literature and “modernist fiction” were the first literary phenomena of this tide in innovation to make their appearance. Among the fiction listed by critics as “root-seeking” fiction, some did not possess what at the time were considered “avant-garde” characteristics, but some, such as Han Shaogong’s ‹Pa Pa Pa› and Mo Yan’s ‹Red Sorghum›, certainly were related to this type of avant-garde exploration. However, as the literary works included within the scope of “rootseeking” in literature were diverse and complex in artistic thought and modes of expression, as a literary trend, it generally was not seen as a unitary form of “avant-garde” literature. The term “modernist fiction”, which appeared at this time, can be seen as a judgment on its nature. In 1985, the publication of Liu Suola’s novella ‹You Have No Other Choice›2 gained an enthusiastic reception and was termed “true” modernist fiction by some critics. This assessment reflected the broad hopes of literary innovators during the 1980s: That China could give birth to “modernist” literary works like those of the West. This expectation was impelled and strengthened by a series of facts during the first half of the 1980s: The application of modern techniques such as “stream-ofconsciousness” by Wang Meng and aspects of the absurd and distortion by Zong Pu;3 the publication of Initial Explorations into Techniques of Modern Fiction (1982),4 and the correspondence between Li Tuo, Liu Xinwu, and Feng Jicai; a controversy about Western modernist literature (1982–1984); and “experimentation” carried out by Li Tuo in ‹Grandma Qi› and ‹Freely Falling Bodies›. Following ‹You Have No Other Choice›, Xu Xing published ‹A Variation Without a Theme›. Moreover, during this period Can Xue published a succession of short stories, including ‹Soap Suds on Sewage›, ‹The Bull›, and ‹Hut on the Mountain›. 2 Liu Suola, ‹You Have No Other Choice›, People’s Literature, no. 3, 1985. Other fiction by Liu Suola includes ‹Blue Sky, Green Sea› and ‹In Search of the King of Singers›. No other works have since been published. 3 In reference to Wang Meng’s ‹Bolshevik Salute›, ‹Butterfly›, and ‹Eyes of the Night›, and Zong Pu’s ‹Who am I› and ‹Humble Abode›, among other pieces of fiction. 4 Gao Xingjian, Initial Explorations into Techniques of Modern Fiction, Flower City Publishing House, 1981. The appearance of this book led to the enthusiastic recommendation of it to others by some writers, and the participation of Li Tuo, Feng Jicai, Liu Xinwu, and others in a discussion concerning literary innovation.

384

chapter twenty-two

It is commonly believed that there is some link between the fiction of Liu Suola and Xu Xing and The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger), On the Road (Kerouac), and Catch-22 (Heller). In this fiction, the themes and expressive techniques are similar to those of some Western schools of modern fiction: “The absurd” and “metamorphosis”; “characters with practically no history or past”; “figurative abstraction”; “each character is a main character and therefore there is no specific central character, characters all possess one exaggerated characteristic and as a result one can only remember this characteristic”;5 and so on. Liu Suola’s story relates the lives and emotions of youths studying at a music academy. They are growing up in an environment different from that of the previous generation, are conscious of having (but also exaggerate) a different code of values to that of the “previous generation”, and wish to pursue art and life according to their own code, but come into conflict with their environment. The central character of ‹You Have No Other Choice› sees the hypocrisy of the times, wishes to be on the margins of society, and adopts a scornful, mocking attitude towards prevalent values and lifestyles. On the basis of a certain set of contemporary values, these stories adopt an exaggerated banter or a cynical mode of narration in deriding what is considered “sublime”, and at the same time express trepidation and pain concealed beneath an attitude of utter indifference. However, not long after, critics discovered the “irrational” spirit of modern society, which Liu Suola and Xu Xing said they opposed, was better stated as an “emotional history” with regard to the human nature, free spirit, and subject creativity they pursued as a generation who had just come out from under the shadow the “Cultural Revolution” during the process of modernization and democratization. Setting out from their understanding of Western “modernist” literature, critics felt these two writers differed in the discourse fields and the cultural connotations they produced in their fiction, and then declared that this “true” modernist fiction was actually not yet pure: “Strictly speaking, we do not have modernist fiction”, which thereupon led to a debate over “pseudo-modernists”.6 Furthermore, based on this understanding, in 5 Huang Ziping, ‹Liu Suola’s “You Have No Other Choice”› in The Goblin of a Meditative Old Tree, Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1986: 167–168. 6 For example, see: Ji Hongzhen, ‹Recent Chinese Fiction and Western Modernist Literature›, Literature & Arts Press, 2 January 1988; Huang Ziping, ‹Concerning the “Pseudo-Modernists” and Criticism of Them›, Beijing Literature, no. 2, 1988; Li Tuo, ‹Also About the “Pseudo-Modernists” and Criticism of Them›, Beijing Literature, no. 4, 1988.

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

385

talking about explorations in fiction during this period, some critics insist on a division between “modernist fiction” and the “avant-garde” fiction that appeared soon after. The underpinning of this differentiation is that the former placed greater emphasis on the spiritual qualities of fiction, while the latter was clearly more inclined towards experimentation in “literary form” (or the “molds” of fiction). Therefore, although Can Xue and Ma Yuan appeared and attracted the attention of readers almost simultaneously, only Ma Yuan is seen by critics as the starting point of “avant-garde fiction”. This differentiation is rooted in a belief in the purity of “literary form”. In fact, it ought to be said that “avant-garde fiction” was simultaneously inspired by both Ma Yuan and Can Xue: The self-awareness of Ma Yuan’s narration and Can Xue’s ability to calmly reveal “evil” and “violence” by way of non-realistic imagery. In its initial phase, “avant-garde fiction” (or “experimental fiction”) placed an emphasis on “awareness of literary form”, namely the “fabricated nature” of fiction, as well as the significance in and variations of narrative techniques. The grounds for the ideas and techniques of “experimentation” in fiction are related to the practice and theories of the Argentine Borges and France’s nouveau roman (but Alain RobbeGrillet’s theory on “zero degree narration” is used by some critics to describe the characteristics of the literary form of “new realist fi ction”). Another basis for this experimentation is given as the so-called “antifiction” out of the United States during the 1960s and 1970s.7 The publication of Ma Yuan’s ‹Goddess of Lhasa River› in 1984 marked the first piece of fiction published in Mainland China to place narration in an important position. The “narrative ploys”8 demonstrated in his story became a hot topic of conversation among literary innovators at the time. He later published a succession of fictional works, including ‹The Attraction of the Ganges›, ‹No Sailing Ships on the Western Sea›, ‹Fabrication›,

7 According to the accounts of writers of “avant-garde fiction” themselves, as well as research into their work, this situation can be illustrated. Ge Fei has even been referred to in critical essays as “China’s Borges”. See: Yu Hua, ‹False Literary Works›, Shanghai Literary Essays, no. 5, 1989; Ma Yuan, ‹Writers and Writing or My Booklist›, Foreign Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1991; Wang Ning, ‹Reception and Metamorphosis: The PostModernism in Contemporary Chinese Avant-Garde Fiction› in The Hydrosphere of the Game of Life, Beijing University Publishing House, 1994; Zhang Xinying, ‹Borges and Contemporary Chinese Fiction›, Shanghai Literature, no. 12, 1990; Ming Xiaomao, ‹The Variations and Prospects of Anti-Fiction›, Shanghai Literature, no. 5, 1989. 8 See: Wu Liang, ‹The Narrative Ploys of Ma Yuan›, Reviews of Contemporary Writers, no. 3, 1987. Wu Liang points out, “The chief meaning of Ma Yuan’s fiction is not in relating one (or fragments of a) story, but in relating one (or fragments of a) story”.

386

chapter twenty-two

‹Campsite of the Kangba People›, and ‹Great Master›. Hong Feng’s ‹Hastening Home for a Funeral› (1986), ‹Vast Desert› (1987), and ‹To the Side of a Polar Region› (1987) were seen as works adhering to this line of Ma Yuan’s writing. However, the fi ction of Hong Feng was not limited to experimentation with “literary form”, but also contained explorations into the relationship between “narration” and “meaning”—something Ma Yuan’s earliest fiction sought to avoid. This type of writing became a trend during 1987. Besides the work of Ma Yuan and Hong Feng, other important pieces of “avant-garde fiction” included Yu Hua’s short stories ‹Going on a Long Trip at Eighteen› and ‹Noon of the Whistling Northeast Wind›, and his novella ‹The April 3 Incident›, Ge Fei’s ‹Lost Boat›, Sun Ganlu’s ‹Letter of a Courier›, Su Tong’s ‹Message Left in a Mulberry Field›, ‹Nineteen Thirty-Four Escapes›, and ‹Story: Father and Son the Outsiders›, and Ye Zhaoyan’s ‹Dusk in May›. In the years that followed, these writers published many literary works, such as Yu Hua’s ‹A Sort of Reality›, ‹Worldly Things are like Smoke›, and ‹Inexorable Doom is Difficult to Escape›, Su Tong’s ‹Home of the Poppy›, ‹Completion of a Rite›, and ‹A Flock of Wives and Concubines›, Ge Fei’s ‹Nobody Sees the Grass Grow› and ‹A Flock of Brown Birds›, and Sun Ganlu’s ‹Visiting a Dreamscape› and ‹Ask the Women to Guess the Riddle›. The stress on “narration” was the most noticeable commonality at the start of “avant-garde fiction”. These writers were concerned about the “form” of stories, or in how to handle the story. They took narration itself as an object of aesthetic appreciation, utilizing fabricated and imaginative means to carry out experiments in narrative technique, and some even wrote the experiments directly into their stories. Contrary to traditional fiction’s all out efforts to create an illusion of “truth” corresponding to the real world, Ma Yuan explicitly indicates that his fiction is an invention, and the sentence “I’m that Han Chinese person called Ma Yuan” frequently appears in his fiction. “Fabrication” is the title of one of his stories, and within it, he reveals the sources of the material he uses to construct it. While relating the story, there is only the impression of superficial sensual contact, while connections between the real world and events and details are forcefully taken to pieces. The reader finds it difficult to locate suggestions about cause and effect and intrinsic qualities, or “meaning” related to politics, society, morality, or human nature. This writing was a great challenge to fiction circles, and other writers offered up accomplished “experimental” texts. They extended the expressive power of fiction and strengthened writers’ explorations into individuated emotion and experience; at the same time, they also

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

387

restrained and balanced the trend towards the inflation of the “self ” in contemporary fiction. On this point, the significance of “avant-garde fiction” went beyond “form”. Of course, in their “revolution in form” the noteworthy works of “avant-garde fiction” invariably contain intrinsic “ideological meanings”. In the final analysis, their deconstruction of “content” and “meaning”, and their attention to topics such as sex, death, and violence, could not help but touch upon the discourse field of contemporary China and memories of the violence and spiritual scars of the “Cultural Revolution”. Generally speaking, it is not futile to look for symbols, metaphors, allegories, and “meaning” in the stories of “avantgarde fiction”. It is merely that historical and contemporary memory related to social and human experience is unfolded in a different way. However, overall, “avant-garde fiction” tended to take form and narrative technique as its main objective, and later its limited nature became increasingly apparent and it unavoidably tended towards exhaustion of form. “Avant-garde fiction writers” quickly spilt up and their writing was no longer described as a trend with conspicuous characteristics.

2. A Description of ‘New Realism’ At the same time or a bit later than the appearance of “avant-garde fiction”, so-called “new realist fiction” became another important phenomenon in fiction circles. The attention paid to fiction of a “realist” tendency came about for two main reasons. One was that during the mid-1980s, although avant-garde fiction explorations occupied an important position, many writers were still writing on the “realist” track, and amid the incessant readjustments of literary ideas and artistic techniques, there appeared a “realist” fiction (or fiction of “realism”) different from what had previously existed. The other reason was that there were individuals in literary circles who were dissatisfied with the already excessively played-up “avant-garde fiction”. Criticism of “avant-garde fiction” chiefly held that it was “estranged” from the plight of present-day life in China and was “estranged” from the “mass of readers”. Under these circumstances, the publication of fiction by writers such as Fang Fang, Chi Li, Liu Heng, and Liu Zhenyun,9 led some critics to feel as “pleased as if

9 Texts seen as representative of “new realist” fiction, such as Liu Heng’s ‹Fucking Food› (China, no. 9, 1986), Fang Fang’s ‹Landscapes› (Contemporary Authors, no. 5,

388

chapter twenty-two

[they] had let out a sigh of relief ”. They paid close attention to this writing tendency and made use of it to promote and elucidate their creative propositions. In the earliest critical essays, some commentators referred to this writing tendency as a “return” to realism.10 Also at this time, there appeared other terms such as “post-realism”, “modern realism”, “new realism fiction”, and the “new fiction school”, but that of “new realist fiction” was used most widely. The Nanjing literary journal Zhongshan launched a series of activities to publicize and popularize “new realist fi ction”. In October 1988, together with Literary Reviews, it sponsored a “Realism and Avant-Garde Literature” symposium. Starting with the 1989 number 3 edition of Zhongshan, the journal opened a new section called “The Great Joint Exhibition of New Realist Fiction”, declaring that “in a pluralistic literary setup, Zhongshan emphatically champions new realist fiction in 1989”. ‹Words at the Front of the Volume› of this edition states: Simply put, so-called new realist fiction is different from the realism of the past, is also different from modernist ‘avant-garde’ literature, and is a new literary tendency that appeared out of the deep valley fiction writing has found itself situated in recent years. The main characteristic of the creative techniques of this new realist fiction is still realism, but it places special emphasis on restoring the primary patterns of current life to their original states, honestly facing reality head on, and facing the life of man head on. Although, seen from the perspective of the totalistic spirit of literature, new realistic fiction is still part of the great category of realism, yet it undoubtedly possesses a new openness and inclusiveness, and is adept at absorbing and drawing on the artistic strengths of all schools of modernism.

In October of the same year, together with Tianjin’s Free Literary Conversations, Zhongshan jointly organized the “New Realist Fiction” conference. At about this time, a large number of essays assessing and commenting on this creative tendency (some essays termed it a “school”) appeared, and within a few years amounted to over one hundred in total. Moreover, aside from Chi Li, Fang Fang, Liu Zhenyun, and Liu Heng,

1987), Chi Li’s ‹Vexing Life› (Shanghai Literature, no. 8, 1987), and Liu Zhenyun’s ‹Ta Pu› (People’s Literature, no. 8, 1987), appeared during 1986–1987, at the same time as the appearance of “avant-garde” fiction. However, it was noticed as a literary phenomenon and aroused enthusiastic discussion somewhat later than “avant-garde” literature. 10 Lei Da, ‹Probing Deeply into the True Features of Existence, Revealing the Charms of Primary Colors›, Literature & Arts Press, 26 March 1988.

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

389

other writers considered to be of this tendency included Ye Zhaoyan, Su Tong, Fan Xiaoqing, Li Rui, Li Xiao, Yang Zhengguang, and Chi Zijian. However, opinions on this matter were not uniform.11 Typically, the representative works of “new realist fiction” are seen as Liu Zhenyun’s ‹Ta Pu›, ‹A New Company of Soldiers›, ‹The Unit›, and ‹A Place Covered in Chicken Feathers›, Chi Li’s ‹Vexing Life›, ‹Don’t Speak of Love›, ‹Sun comes into the World›, and ‹No Matter Whether it’s Hot or Cold, Living is Good›, Fang Fang’s ‹Landscapes›, and Liu Heng’s ‹Fucking Food› and ‹The Obsessed›. It can be seen that the appearance of “new realist fiction” was the result of both the summing up of a literary tendency and also a literary phenomenon formed by the “manipulation” of critics and literary journals. Under such circumstances, differing descriptions of the meaning of the concept of “new realist” and the characteristics of the literature listed as of this tendency were inevitable. Some “new realist” writers were not happy with this appellation.12 Even though the existence of “new realist” writing and the activities of critics and literary journals were closely related, yet as a literary phenomenon possessing unique characteristics it could not be denied. The “new” in “new realist fiction” was relative to the state of affairs in contemporary realist fiction. Differing from contemporary realist fiction’s emphasis on “typicalization” and the advocacy of the expression of the essence of history, the writers of “new realism” showed a great interest in commonplace, mundane “reality”. They laid stress on writing the everyday trivial life of common people (“minor characters”), the troubles and desires that are part of their life, displaying the difficulties of their existence, individual loneliness and helplessness, while utilizing a so-called “objective” narrative mode intended to restore life to its original state. The narrator seldom intervenes in the story, and it is relatively rare to find commentary or direct emotional assessments by the narrator. This reveals what the “new realist” writers were attempting: Do not subjectively prearrange the appearance of the “original” appearance of life. The view on reality and the attitude towards

11 In other essays at the time, Ye Zhaoyan, Su Tong, and these others were termed “avant-garde fiction” writers. This situation reflected the contradictions that existed between literary works and typological research in critical circles. 12 Fan Xiaoqing: “Writers like us can’t write new tide fiction, but neither can we travel the old road of realism to its end; so we tried some new methods of writing . . . . . . I doubt whether or not new realist writing really exists . . . . . .”. Ye Zhaoyan: “New realist writing was manufactured by critics”, . . . “A writer must take a steady position, he cannot be confused by these exciting sights”. See: Fiction Reviews, no. 1, 1991.

390

chapter twenty-two

writing of “new realist” authors led their writing to penetrate the “blind zone” of past “realist” fiction, yet it could also produce a fragmentization and dispersal of the writer’s grasp of reality. Descriptions of “new realist” characteristics diff er from critic to critic, and similarly there is a great difference in which writers and literary works are listed as “new realist”. As a result, other critics believe these theoretical definitions should not be forced. In a similarity to the situation of “avant-garde” fiction, due to changes in the writings of these authors during the 1990s, the terminology used to describe “new realist” writing as a tendency gradually grew dubious. After 1990, many of the “new realist” writers took identical action without previous consultation and turned toward “history”, and this overjoyed sensitive critics who then had the term “new historical fiction” to coin.

3. Writers of ‘Avant-Garde Fiction’ Can Xue13 is usually seen as a writer of “modernist” fiction, and she is discussed here as “avant-garde” in the interests of simplicity. Can Xue published her first piece of fiction in 1985. Her major works include ‹Hut on the Mountain›, ‹Old Floating Cloud›, ‹The Bull›, ‹My Affairs in that World›, ‹Worries of Ah Mei on a Sunny Day›, ‹Yellow Mud Street›, ‹Conversation in Heaven›, and ‹Performance of a Breakthrough›. Her fiction is not of the style usually characterized by critics as that of women’s writing (graceful, delicate, emotional, and so on). She “mixes up” reality and illusions, and creates a weird world out of the cold perceptions and visions of a mentally unstable person. In this world, there are many evil and ugly images and an unstinting flow of somniloquy and delirious speech. Her descriptions of perverse psychologies take the reader into an internal world of the spiritual desires of humankind, revealing the degrading, repulsive defects of human nature under certain social and cultural conditions. Can Xue unfolds psychological reality through dreams, and is chiefly concerned with the substance of relations between people: The rivalry, indifference, and hostility between them. This situation not only exists in the broad environs of life, but also between 13 Can Xue was born in 1953 in Changsha, Hunan Province. In 1957, her father was removed from his official post as a “ringleader” of an “anti-Party clique”, and was sent to labor in the countryside. After graduation from high school, Can Xue worked as a “barefoot doctor” and a worker, and opened a dressmaking business.

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

391

family members linked by blood and familial attachments. When Can Xue creates this world, she does not employ “allegory”: From a rational standpoint, she implies certain vague meanings through distortion and exaggeration. She is more prone to bring before the reader personal perceptions and hidden experience and memory. Unsettled, nervous people live in a gloomy environment redolent of a southern dampness and the smell of mildew. Coexisting with these people are inky rain, cracking walls, flies, rats, worms, white ants, and bats. People are terrified because they have no self-certainty and cannot escape death’s “expropriation”, and continuously torture themselves and each other. However, the scope and depth of Can Xue’s world is limited, and this is even more the case when considered from the angle of the exploration of human life and nature. This leads to the appearance of one-track and repetitious phenomena in her fiction. Su Tong14 began to publish in 1983 but was not noticed until the publication of ‹Nineteen Thirty-Four Escapes› in 1987. Other of his major works include the short stories and novellas ‹Home of the Poppy›, ‹A Flock of Wives and Concubines›, ‹Cosmetics›, ‹Gardening›, and ‹Directions to Divorce›, and the novels Rice, My Career as an Emperor, The Area North of the City, and Red Sandalwood Balls. Most of his fiction is on historical subject matter. He pays special attention to organizing “imagery”, and is particularly adept at expressing the delicate psychology of female characters. In narratives about families set during the old days in China, he reveals a melancholy tone and an atmosphere of decline. In ‹A Flock of Wives and Concubines›, he describes the marital tragedy of modern women, and takes a fresh approach to a topic that has been frequently dealt with since the “May Fourth” era. The main character willingly enters an old-style family, and although she has a literary disposition and talent, she cannot resist succumbing to her fate. Though in his fiction Su Tong lays emphasis on modern narrative techniques, he does not discard “classical” plotting, and seeks harmony between the readability and flow of the story he relates and experimentation with narrative technique. In fact, from the start of ‹A Flock of Wives and

14 Su Tong (1962–) is from Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. He graduated from Beijing Teachers’ University in 1984. His major works include ‹Nineteen Thirty-Four Escapes›, ‹A Flock of Wives and Concubines›, Rice, ‹Paradise of Women›, ‹Memorial Ceremony for a Red Horse›, My Career as an Emperor, and ‹Cosmetics›. He has also published Literary Works of Su Tong.

392

chapter twenty-two

Concubines› the experimental “avant-garde” elements are clearly weakened. In dealing with history and human feeling, his fiction manifests the harmonizing attitude of traditional literati, he writes appealingly on subjects such as the ill-fated beautiful woman, and this undermines the cultural connotations of his fiction’s creativeness. Of course, this latter effect probably was not what the author was seeking. The fluent, elegant narrative style, the skillful handling of his subject matter, and the adaptation of ‹A Flock of Wives and Concubines› and ‹Cosmetics› into films led to Su Tong gaining the greatest number of readers among “avantgarde writers”. In contrast to Su Tong and his more readable, traditional literati-flavored fiction, the work of Ge Fei15 has a greater “avant-garde character”. His first piece of fiction, ‹Recollections of Mr. Wu You›, was published in 1986. The general reader often feels his work to be ambiguous and difficult to understand, featuring a structure that has been termed a “narrative of vicious circles”. This was given profound expression in early works such as ‹Lost Boat› (1987) and ‹A Flock of Brown Birds› (1988). In ‹Lost Boat›, there are “breaks” at crucial points in the traditional story structure (is Xiaoqu Yuguan passing on information or meeting his lover), which causes the progression of the story to become confusing and cuts off the reader’s imaginative and interpretive line. The substance and narrative technique of ‹A Flock of Brown Birds› is even more obscure. These pieces of fiction are influenced by Borges, but they are not crude imitations. Ge Fei’s work after this is carried out along the same “line”; it confronts concrete reality and historical scenes, and continues to ponder a series of perplexing issues relating to the life of humankind. Due to the intellectual background of the narrator and the contemplative nature of the mode of narration, during the 1990s Ge Fei’s fiction was termed an “intellectual mode of narration” by some critics. Aside from short stories and novellas, he also published novels such as Enemies, The Brink, and Banners of Desire during the 1990s.

15 Ge Fei (1964–) is from Dantu in Jiangsu Province. He entered the Chinese Department at East China Teachers’ University, and after graduation remained at the university to teach. His major works include the short stories ‹Lost Boat› and ‹Rainy Season Sensations›, and the novels Enemies, The Brink, and Banners of Desire. He has also published Literary Writings of Ge Fei.

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

393

Others termed “avant-garde fiction writers” included Sun Ganlu, Ye Zhaoyan, and Zhaxi Dawa. Ye Zhaoyan16 gained fame through the novella ‹Story of a Jujube Tree›, which relates the story of a girl named Xiuyun. With regard to artistic technique and genres of fiction, he was actually more wide-ranging, and this posed a problem for researchers deeply interested in classifying writers. His novellas ‹World of Top Scholars›, ‹Chasing-the-Moon Tower›, and ‹One Side of the Camp› were part of a series entitled “Mooring at Qinhuai by Night”, which have a heavy “scholarly” flavor. His other major works include ‹Love Songs›, ‹Elegy›, ‹Shaking Off Shadows›, and ‹Green Snares›. Aside from novellas, Ye Zhaoyan also wrote novels such as Stagnant Water and Love in Nineteen Thirty-Seven. During the latter half of the 1980s, the 1986 story ‹Visiting a Dreamscape› by Sun Ganlu,17 as well as ‹Letter of a Courier› that appeared soon after, were often discussed as typical texts, together with Ge Fei’s ‹Lost Boat›, with regard to the experimentation in literary form of “avant-garde fiction”. Stories such as ‹Letter of a Courier› adopt “extreme” “anti-fiction” literary forms and exhibit the thoroughgoing “experimental”, “avant-garde nature” of Sun Ganlu’s fiction. These literary works lack analyzable plots and themes; the aesthetic perceptions of partial sentences and paragraphs are located within a similar structure as a general “confusion”. Owing to the “extreme nature” of this experimentation, some people doubt whether these works can still be called “fiction”, while others term them China’s “post-modern fiction”. Later literary works by Sun Ganlu include ‹Ask the Women to Guess the Riddle›, ‹Language of the Night›, ‹Gazing Out Over the Disappearance of Time›, and ‹Remembering a Pretty Woman from Qin›, as well as the novel Breath published in the 1990s. Compared to many other writers since 1980, Yu Hua has not published much work. He has a scrupulous, even exacting, attitude towards writing. Yu Hua18 began to publish his literary work in 1983, but did not

16 Ye Zhaoyan (1957–) is from Nanjing. He graduated from the Chinese Department at Nanjing University, and later obtained a Masters degree. His collections of fi ction include Love Songs, Mooring at Qinhuai by Night, Stories of Jujube Trees, Moon by the Side of the Road, Green Snares, and Gathering Red Water Chestnuts. 17 Sun Ganlu was born in Shanghai in 1959, and worked for a time as a postman. He began to publish fiction in 1982. 18 Yu Hua was born in 1960 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and later moved with his parents to Haiyan County in the same province. After graduation from high school, he worked as a dentist for five years. He began to publish literary work in 1983, and

394

chapter twenty-two

attract attention at the start of his career. “Before 1986, all my thoughts were just floating about among numberless pieces of common knowledge”, and it was not until the 1987 short story ‹Going on a Long Trip at Eighteen› and the 1988 novella ‹A Sort of Reality› that he “found a completely new approach to writing” and his “thought broke free of the siege of common knowledge”. In these works (together with ‹The April 3 Incident› and ‹Worldly Things are like Smoke›), his cool and precise accounts of “violence” and “death”, and the great rage behind his “composure” shocked many readers at the time. Some critics even termed the writing of this “very young” author a “cruel talent” (Liu Shaoming). These stories are told from the perspective of “an outsider” who, with a calm composed narrative attitude, constructs “deceitful forms” that “depart from the order and logic the present state of the world has provided me with”.19 He refuses shared conclusions about “reality”, and breaks free of the encirclement of “everyday life experience” through the power of imagination. ‹Fresh Blood and Plum Blossoms›, ‹Mistake by the Riverside›, and ‹Classical Love›, works commonly seen as playful imitations of martial arts, detective, and love stories, also participate in this subversion of common experience of the order of reality. In fact, Yu Hua is merely unearthing the portion of “reality” that had been obscured or buried in the past. In his eyes, violence that is driven by the desires of humankind, as well as the chaos in the real world, has not yet been earnestly and attentively observed. He persists in building belief and exploration into “truth” by way of the unique discoveries of an artist in the language and structures of this world. This “tense” relationship Yu Hua has with “reality” and everyday experience grew somewhat warmer, or he attempted to find a new resolution, starting with Shouting in the Drizzle in the early 1990s. He was aware that the imagination of the author and exposure of the “truth” did not necessarily have to be at variance with everyday experience. More importantly, this change originated in an adjustment to his attitude towards reality.

attended a literary studies class jointly run by the Lu Xun Literature Institute and Beijing Teachers’ University. Major collections of his literary works include collections of short stories and novellas such as Going on a Long Trip at Eighteen, Fortuitous Incidents, and Mistakes by the Riverside, and novels such as Shouting in the Drizzle, The Story of Xu Sanguan Selling Blood, and Alive. In December 1994, a collection of all his fiction between 1987 and 1994 was published in a three volume set entitled Literary Works of Yu Hua. 19 Yu Hua, ‹False Literary Works›, Shanghai Literary Essays, no. 5, 1989.

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

395

With the passage of time, my inner anger gradually subsided, . . . . . . the task of the writer is not to vent, it’s not to accuse, or expose, he should reveal the noble to people. The noble I speak of is not that type of simple beauty, but the detachment after all things are understood, seeing goodness and evil as equals, seeing the world through sympathetic eyes.20

Before this, his short stories and novellas featured time and space that was closed off, they were abstracted, lacking in malleability, and excluded “everyday experience”. In his novels of the 1990s (Alive and The Story of Xu Sanguan Selling Blood), everyday experience (“realistic experience”) was no longer located in an antagonistic position in relation to the “essential truth” he was seeking. His narratives were still cool, plain, and very controlled, but contained more subtle humor and tender feeling. Penetrating the chaos, dangers, and ugliness of reality, within the experience of apparent disasters and the innermost being of ordinary people, at the core of these works was the discovery of simple and wholistic reasons for living.

4. Writers of ‘New Realism’ in Fiction The 1987 short story ‹Vexing Life› by Chi Li21 has been expounded by critics as a major text of “new realist fiction”. Together with the later ‹Don’t Speak of Love› and ‹Sun comes into the World›, this story is part of what is termed a “new realist trilogy”. Among “new realist” writers, Chi Li was the most unequivocal about expressing the “new” reality. ‹Vexing Life› was commended for handling the perplexities of middleaged life in a completely different way than the idealist way in which it was dealt with in ‹At Middle Age› (Shen Rong).22 She describes the

20 Yu Hua, ‹Preface to Alive› in Literary Works of Yu Hua, vol. 2, China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1994: 292. 21 Chi Li (1957–) is from Wuhan in Hubei Province. She was an educated youth in the countryside, and has worked as a teacher, a doctor, and a magazine editor. She entered the Chinese Department at Wuhan University in 1983. Major collections of her literary work include Vexing Life, Sun Comes into the World, and The Green River Flows on Forever, as well as Literary Writings of Chi Li. 22 ‹Words from the Editors› of the 1987 no. 8 edition of Shanghai Literature in which this story appeared, stated that Lu Wenting, the main character in ‹At Middle Age›, “often relieved herself from the troubles of real life through idealistic spiritual roaming”, but Yin Jiahou in ‹Vexing Life› “lacks this sort of spiritual disposition”, “he is more ‘encumbered’ by reality”.

396

chapter twenty-two

state of life in the mundane world with a considerate, approving attitude, describing the marriages, families, and everyday life of ordinary people (primarily residents of Wuhan). However, after 1990, her understanding of contemporary urban life tended towards the complex and there was an adjustment to her previously approving attitude towards commonplace “reality”: There was a shift in form towards a pursuit of the smooth fluency and tastes of urban love stories. This can be seen in works such as ‹Purple Footpaths Red Dust›, ‹I’ll Never Return›, and ‹Let Dreams Pass Through Your Heart›. Chi Li also wrote stories on “historical subject matter” such as ‹You are a River›, ‹Plotting a Murder›, and ‹Fixed Stare›. In 1982, Fang Fang23 published ‹On a Covered Truck›, a story rich in idealistic enthusiasm. Soon after, in the stories ‹A White Dream›, ‹A White Mist›, and ‹A White Foal›, she began to shift towards expressing the gray, depressing life of ordinary people. In 1987, the novella ‹Landscapes› received an enthusiastic response in critical circles and was deemed a representative piece of “new realist” fiction, and was actually Fang Fang’s best work. Compared to other “new realist” fiction, her portrayal of the miserable, brutal living conditions of the lowest social strata in the cities was far more complex, and her unique perspective and the “critical character” of the tone of her narratives was even more prized by some critics. Fang Fang’s fiction of the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as ‹Grandfather is in Father’s Heart›, ‹Floating Clouds and Flowing Water›, and ‹One Sings and Three Join In›, chiefly described the lives and spiritual poverty of contemporary intellectuals, and her cool, meticulous narratives still carried an onerous, helpless mood. Liu Heng24 gathers his subject matter from a relatively wide field. He writes stories about farmers, city dwellers, and urban intellectuals, all of which are of a considerable artistic level. In ‹Fucking Food›, ‹The

23 Fang Fang was born in Nanjing in 1955 to a family from Pengze in Jiangxi Province, and moved with her parents to Wuhan in 1957. After graduating from high school, she worked as loader. In 1982, she graduated from the Chinese Department at Wuhan University. Collections of her works include On a Covered Truck, One Sings and Three Join In, and Floating Clouds and Flowing Water. 24 Liu Heng (1954–) is from Beijing. He served in the military after graduation from high school, and then worked as a fitter in an automobile plant. His chief collections include Loss of Strength, East West North South Winds, and Interrelated Matters, novels such as Black Snow, Daydream of a Heavenly River, and Ode to Being Carefree, as well as Self-Selection of the Work of Liu Heng.

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

397

Obsessed›, and ‹Whirlpool›, the author’s interest in the fundamental desires of life (such as food, sex, power) can be observed, and reveal how difficult it is for people to break free of fatalistic feelings brought on by the pitfalls of desire. The subject matter of ‹The Obsessed› possesses factors that could be extended into the solemn theme of ‹Genesis›. Yet, the life of poverty and extreme sexual repression leads to the distortion of human nature, and the deformations and pettiness over the course of life completely dissolve any possibility of a sense of sublimity or dignity. Liu Heng’s meticulous, leisurely narratives, and the intrinsic fear and tension located in the actions and psychologies of his characters, form a contrast. This fear and tension not only originates in the contradictions between desire and powerful external inhibitions, but also in the fear of the destructive power of desire itself. But Liu Heng does not explore human nature in an abstract sense, as the living environment and psychologies of characters possess clearly defined temporal and spatial features (the odious living conditions of contemporary farmers, the merciless clan system, the psychological distortions created by the sexual inhibitions of traditional culture, and so on). For this reason, a reader does not have to be especially sensitive to discern the critical coloring of this fiction with regard to current politics, culture, and psychology. Liu Zhenyun25 began to publish literary works in 1982. ‹Ta Pu›, ‹A Place Covered in Chicken Feathers›, ‹The Unit›, ‹Officialdom›, and ‹Officials› all emphasize the relationship between man and his surroundings, or the unfavorable situation of man in the social structure. His descriptions of the special contemporary social mechanism that is the [work] “unit”, as well as the restraints on people produced by this mechanism, are novel and innovative. In the world of ordinary people’s lives that Liu Zhenyun creates, uncontrollable desires, human weakness, and the tight-knit social power mechanism constitute a matrix from which it is difficult to break free. The characters who live within it confront powerful “environmental” pressures and have an incomprehensible defeatist attitude towards destiny; but at the same time, during the process of adapting 25 Liu Zhenyun (1958–) is from Yanjin County in Henan Province. He served in the military during the “Cultural Revolution”. After graduating from the Chinese Department at Beijing University, he worked as a newspaper editor. He has published collections of novellas, such as Ta Pu, A Place Covered in Chicken Feathers, and Officialdom, novels such as Chrysanthemums Under Hometown Skies, Hometown Getting Along is Passed On, and Friendly Faces of Hometown Flowers, as well as Literary Writings of Liu Zhenyun.

398

chapter twenty-two

to this living environment, their natures are distorted. His fiction dispassionately, yet also profoundly, exposes and criticizes the actions of these characters, such as mutually inflicted torment and factional strife, as well as their pettiness, selfishness, and cruelty. In some works, this criticism is more powerfully expressed through comedic and mocking modes. Compared to other “new realist” fiction, Liu Zhenyun’s work more clearly seeks “philosophical depth”, specifically with regard to his sustained exposure of the “absurd” and the alienation that is omnipresent in everyday life. Aside from short stories and novellas, after 1990 Liu Zhenyun turned his strengths to writing lengthy novels, such as Chrysanthemums Under Hometown Skies, Hometown Getting Along is Passed On, and Friendly Faces of Hometown Flowers.

5. Other Major Writers of Fiction In the assessments and narratives of the literary history of the 1980s and 1990s, writers such as Han Shaogong, Shi Tiesheng, Zhang Wei, and Zhang Chengzhi, are frequently attributed with many “affiliations”. Sometimes they are placed in the ranks of “educated youth writers”, and some went under the label of “root-seeking writers” for a time. In the discourse field of 1990s literature, some similarities in their writing tendencies were again given prominence and they were seen by some critics as a group who pursued and defended spiritual ideals. Han Shaogong26 was an “educated youth writer” and a major advocate of “root-seeking” in literature. In the early 1980s during the tide of literature reflecting on the “Cultural Revolution”, his short-stories ‹Looking West onto a Field of Cogongrass› and ‹Crossing a Blue Sky› transcended the universal state of accusation and exposure in literature, and received attention due to his deep interest in experiences of and thoughts on history. His 1985 article ‹The “Roots” of Literature› expressed a num-

26 Han Shaogong (1953–) is from Changsha in Hunan Province. After graduating from junior high school in 1968, he was sent to live and work in the countryside. During the latter phase of the Cultural Revolution, he worked in the Boluo County cultural department in Hunan Province. He graduated from the Chinese Department at the Hunan Teachers’ Institute in 1982. He has published collections of short stories and novellas, including Yuelan, Crossing a Blue Sky, Temptation, Empty Cities, Premeditated Murder, and Pa Pa Pa, as well as the novel Maqiao’s Dictionary and Self-Selected Works of Han Shaogong.

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

399

ber of important opinions of the “root-seeking” group. After this, he published stories such as ‹Pa Pa Pa›, ‹Woman Woman Woman›, ‹Going Back›, and ‹Home of Fire›, which can be seen as practical applications of “root-seeking” propositions. In these stories the “realistic character” of detailed descriptions of life are combined in various ways with techniques of distortion and the absurd, and moral messages, revealing the nearly static, closed-off “protoculture” of the Hunan and Hubei area and the “collective” disposition this culture fostered. The character of Bingzai in the novella ‹Pa Pa Pa› is an idiot dwarf who never grows up, but also cannot die. He lives in an environment of ignorance and narrow-mindedness, is hideous to look at, thinks chaotically, does not speak clearly, and acts dreadfully. This is all meant to be symbolic of the national culture’s “deep-rooted bad habits”. A lethargic narrative tone and a general atmosphere of gloom and inhibition reveal a pessimistic view of a defeated, corrupt “race”. The 1996 novel Maqiao’s Dictionary is a compilation of commonly used vocabulary and phrases in the village of Maqiao. Toward these words that “in specific actual circumstances pass lives that are either long or short”, the author “repeatedly made appraisals and sized them up, interrogated and investigated, . . . . . . and discovered the stories hidden behind these words”.27 The artistic conception behind this novel indicates that the author’s original ideas on “root-seeking” in literature have been extended and deepened. Han Shaogong’s prose writings during the 1990s, such as ‹Holy Wars and Games›, ‹Loss of Anything Beyond Sex›, and ‹The World›, express his concerns over the loss of the spiritual and values, as well as criticism of a variety of cultural phenomena in an age of consumption. The novella ‹The King of Chess› by Ah Cheng28 was published in 1984 to widespread acclaim. Following this he published a series of works, including ‹The King of Trees›, ‹The King of Children›, and ‹Unconventional Everywhere›. Although much of what he wrote at this time took the lives of “educated youth” as its subject matter, it was difficult to categorize it as “educated youth fiction” in a general sense, as political incidents and social contradictions are given less prominence. Ah Cheng

27 Han Shaogong, ‹Postscript› in Maqiao’s Dictionary, Author Publishing House, 1996. 28 Ah Cheng (1949–) is from Beijing. During the “Cultural Revolution”, he was an “educated youth” in the countryside in Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, and was a worker on a farm in Yunnan. He has published the collection The King of Chess.

400

chapter twenty-two

provided a different point of view, portraying the basic activities of life of “ordinary people and all living things” during the “Cultural Revolution”. In the literary works of Ah Cheng, “root-seeking” was primarily expressed as a search for the idealistic spirit in traditional culture, which allows one to transcend the vulgar world. The characters in ‹The King of Chess› and these other stories all unflaggingly pursue freedom of heart and soul. The connotations of the spiritual state they establish are closer to traditional Daoist thought: In a chaotic world they maintain indiff erence to worldly concerns; physically situated in a secular world, they are not humiliated by social conventions, but also transcend these, as well as suffering. The “action by inaction” approach to life of the philosophy of Zhuangzi, an awareness of life that esteems the plain, the unadorned, and origins, as well as the perceptual mode of learning from direct experience stressed by Zen, are all given expression in Ah Cheng’s fiction. However, as some commentators have pointed out, these characters do not sustain a pure spirit of renouncing human society, for there is also a strong desire to progress, to strive to achieve their life values. But in fact, the exaggeration of the spiritual state of this “philosophy of detachment” in these works possesses a true “critical character” in and of itself. Ah Cheng’s fiction attaches importance to carrying on national literary traditions. He employs a slightly humorous, simple, straightforward narrative mode, and his language is natural and unadorned, not shallow and vulgar. He allows characters and incidents in the narrative to appear directly, and avoids excessive displays of emotion. Later, he wrote quite a few pieces of brief “short sketch form” fiction that can be seen as a variant on ancient fictional sketches and jottings. After Shi Tiesheng29 graduated from junior high school in 1969, he was sent to live and work in the countryside in the region of Yan’an in Shaanxi Province. Three years later, he was returned to Beijing because his legs were paralyzed. He began to publish literary works in 1979. The fiction of his early period (such as ‹Half an Hour for Lunch›) featured characteristics of “dark side” literature. His 1983 short story ‹My Faraway Qingpingwan› was considered an important piece of literature at the time. It has been interpreted on many levels: It is said to have

29 Shi Tiesheng (1951–) is from Beijing. Collections of his short stories and novellas include My Faraway Qingpingwan, Sunday, Stage Effects, and Literary Works of Shi Tiesheng.

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

401

expanded the field of vision of “educated youth fiction”, and also that it belongs to the “root-seeking” tendency. On this “root-seeking” issue, the author has expressed the following view: “ ‘Roots’ and ‘root-seeking’ are two completely different issues. One is merely about where we came from and why. The other: Where are we going, and how are we going there”. On this latter point, he believes, “This is seeing the absurdity in life, and setting about finding a reliable foundation for the spirit”.30 Shi Tiesheng’s personal experience of physical handicaps led him to write of the practical and spiritual predicaments of people with physical disabilities in a portion of his fiction. But he transcended pitying the fate and the self-pity of the handicapped and was able to elevate his fiction to a concern for all life, but especially that of spiritually “damaged” phenomena. In variance with other writers, he did not persistently write about the perceptual characteristics of national and regional life, rather he saw writing as a narrative and exploration of an individual’s spiritual experience. “The universe will refine singing and dancing into eternity through its unrelenting desire. Whatever name this desire takes in the world of humankind is of no importance” (Shi Tiesheng ‹The Temple of Earth and I›). This sustained attention to the lives of “disabled people” (for Shi Tiesheng, all people have handicaps and deficiencies) led his fiction to take on a strong philosophical flavor. Owing to his personal experience, his narratives are permeated by a tender, yet also fatalistic sentimentality; however, there is also resistance to fate and the absurd. ‹Strings of Life› is an allegorical tale about finding meaning in life through struggle against the absurd. Other major works by Shi Tiesheng include ‹Granny’s Star›, ‹Original Sin—Fate›, ‹Notes on a Discussion about Principles›, and ‹The Temple of Earth and I›. Zhang Wei31 began publishing literary works in 1973. His fiction of the early 1980s described romantic feelings between young men and women in the countryside. There was an increased complexity to the life he described starting with the novellas ‹Autumnal Reflections› and

30

Shi Tiesheng, ‹In Lieu of a Postscript› to Sunday, Huaxia Publishing House, 1988. Zhang Wei was born in 1956 in Huang County, Shandong Province. He entered the Chinese Department at the Yantai Teachers Training School in 1978, but began publishing literary works in 1973. He has published collections of short fiction that include Luqing River Told Me, Romantic Autumn Nights, and The Anger of Autumn, the novels The Ancient Boat, Parables of September, and The Wisdom of Cedars, as well as Essential Famous Works of Zhang Wei, Self-Selected Literary Works of Zhang Wei, and Self-Selected Works of Zhang Wei. 31

402

chapter twenty-two

‹The Anger of Autumn›, and including the novels The Ancient Boat and Parables of September. Often against a broad historical backdrop, he uses relationships between characters intertwined with family and class contradictions to lay bare political, economic, and ethical conflicts during the historical changes in the countryside on the Shandong peninsula. After 1990, Zhang Wei wrote a series of novels, such as Reminiscences and Recollections, My Fields and Gardens, Family, and The Wisdom of Cedars, in which the fundamentally realistic style of his earlier works was replaced by strong lyrical flavor and a “poeticized” narrative mode with philosophical connotations. Together with prose works (such as ‹A Return Journey of Worry and Anger›, ‹Melting Into the Wilds›, ‹Magnificent and Free Folk Literature›, and ‹A Gaze of Pure Beauty›) he wrote at the same time, these pieces of fiction featured powerful critical standpoints with regard to social and cultural realities. With an idealistic spirit of culture as a yardstick, he wrote of the sentiments of “the earth”. The “Luqing River”, “vineyards”, “wilds”, and “fields and gardens” in these works no longer exist in reality, but are a repose, an idealized “place to vent grievances”,32 a location where the ugliness of reality can be forsaken and the troubled soul can find peace. Some critics believe the spiritual world of Zhang Wei is both in the vein of Russian literature and possesses the “compassion” of traditional Chinese culture.33 However, the direct entry of this type of imperative, argumentative cultural stance into fiction takes some of the focus off the literary form itself; it is more difficult to unfold explorations of spiritual complexity, and to some extent is an expression of a “declamatory” tendency. The fiction of Zhang Chengzhi34 has a prose-stylization tendency in addition to a quality of “romanticism”. This refers to the unremitting defence

32 In talking of The Wisdom of Cedars, Zhang Wei stated, “here ‘fields and gardens’ are simply places to vent grievances. The story of the ‘fields and gardens’ themselves are not the focal point, they are gone in a flash and become a symbol”. Zhang Wei, ‹Postscript› to My Fields and Gardens in Self-Selected Works of Zhang Wei, Author Publishing House, 1996. 33 Gao Yuanbao, ‹The Fury, Retreat, and Predicament of Zhang Wei—Reviewing The Wisdom of Cedars›, Writers Press (Ji’nan, Shandong), 27 May 1995. 34 Zhang Chengzhi (1948–) is a Hui Muslim from Beijing. He was one of the first members of the “red guards”, and he was sent to live and work in the countryside in Inner Mongolia during the “Cultural Revolution”. He graduated from the History Department at Beijing University in 1975, then became a graduate student at the China Social Sciences Institute, and obtained a Masters degree in history. His major publications include the collections Old Bridges, Rivers of the North, Huts of Yellow Mud, The Speeding

fiction of the second half of the s (b)

403

and pursuit of ideals in his fiction, and his unreserved lyrical mode of expression. Almost all of his important works, such as ‹Why Herdsmen Sing about Mother›, ‹Black Steed›, ‹Rivers of the North›, ‹Huts of Yellow Mud›, The Golden Pastureland, and History of the Soul, are related to life on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, and the history and present day lives of the Mongols and Hui Muslims on the loess highlands of the northwest. In particular, in his work since the late 1980s, Zhang Chengzhi has been even more unflagging in extolling the Hui farmers and herders living on the barren fringes of deserts in Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai, their steadfast faith when confronting hardships, as they peacefully lie down on a sacrificial altar to Allah for their beliefs and fellow villagers. There had been religious overtones to the work of his early period, but now it is further developed and apparent, and has become a basis to resist the defeat of ideals and morality at the hands of the modern money-obsessed society. Zhang Chengzhi entitled one of his fiction collections Poems of Divine Inspiration, and in its preface he writes: I have truly experienced an instant; it was not some literary fad but due to an insistence in my blood, I could not restrain a desire in my flesh—it demanded that I move forward half a step and give myself up, it demanded that I race up a winding mountain path . . . . . . When such a moment occurs, the pen is not writing, but is rather painting a brightly-colored picture, it’s directing a song of obsession.35

This explains his spiritual experience and also highlights the “spontaneous style” of writing that he upholds. As a result, he creates a sincere outpouring of emotions, but the narrative and smooth flow of language sometimes becomes complicated and confused, and when he strives for color, he tends to create an overly dense morphological totality.

Goddess of Beauty, Black Steed, and Poems of Divine Inspiration, the novels The Golden Pastureland and History of the Soul, as well as Writings of Zhang Chengzhi and Representative Works of Zhang Chengzhi. He also has prose writing collections, such as Green Conditions and Ways and The Overgrown Road of Heroes. 35 Zhang Chengzhi, ‹Preface› to Poems of Divine Inspiration, Hongkong Three Federations Bookstore, 1990.

CHAPTER TWENTYTHREE

THE ART OF WOMAN WRITERS

1. The Upsurge of Woman Writers There was a great upsurge in woman writers during the 1980s in terms of both numbers and quality, a phenomenon that drew the attention of observers. The literary works of woman writers of differing ages and differing experience appeared at each stage and in each literary trend to differing reactions, leading to the work of woman writers becoming an important component of 1980s literature. The use of gender (“woman writers”) as one way of describing this literary phenomenon during this period was related to literature’s historical situation. As some critics have pointed out, there were two “high tides” of woman writers during the twentieth century: One was during the “May Fourth” period, and the other during the 1980s.1 The woman writers of the “May Fourth” period, such as Chen Hengzhe, Bing Xin, Lu Yin, Feng Yuanjun, Ling Shuhua, Bai Wei, and Luo Shu, and, somewhat later, writers such as Ding Ling and Su Xuelin, participated in the “liberation of the self ”, “freedom of marriage”, and other social campaigns through their literary writings as part of the enlightenment trend of thought that had intellectuals at its core. This writing not only accorded with the need of women to “discover” themselves, but also received attention as a social issue concerning “women’s liberation”. Moreover, their writing, in so far as it promoted innovative forces, was supported and guided by intellectual circles. However, precisely because the work of woman writers primarily received attention for participating in “social movements”, the setbacks met by the enlightenment movement they followed and the shift of attention in society from culture to politics led to a decrease and divisions in this form of writing by women with “oneself ” as its object. In fact, during the 1930s and 1940s, only Ding Ling, Xiao Hong, Zhang Ailing, and a few other woman writers were active on the literary scene. 1 See: Li Ziyun, ‹The Vanguard Effect of Woman Writers in the History of Contemporary Chinese Literature›, Contemporary Writers Review (Shenyang), no. 6, 1987.

the art of woman writers

405

From the 1950s through to the 1970s, this situation continued, with only Yang Mo, Ru Zhijuan, Cao Ming, Liu Zhen, and Hanzi among the few woman writers to enjoy relative success. As a result, the great upsurge in the number of woman writers during the 1980s marked a stark contrast with the previous era. This new situation was primarily aided by transformations in the whole of society and in the literary environment. The social and cultural rediscovery of the “female gender” and the tendency toward the “opening up” of literary subject matter and style eliminated certain obstacles to woman writers wishing to enter the realm of literature. Furthermore, the special social position of women in Mainland China during the contemporary age—the reduction in inequality with men and other circumstances in the workplace and society, and a weakening of gender prejudice—was also of assistance to women entering the realm of literature. For women, “writing” was no longer a special right that required protection. Considering the age (natural age and literary age) of woman writers during the 1980s, it is possible to make the following delineations. Firstly, there were those writers who were already well known during the 1950s and 1960s (or even earlier), and those who were middle-aged when they first demonstrated their creative powers after the “Cultural Revolution”. The former group of writers included Yang Jiang, Wei Junyi, Zong Pu, Ru Zhijuan, Zheng Min, Chen Jingrong, and Huang Zongying, and the latter group included Zhang Jie, Shen Rong, Dai Houying, Dai Qing, Cheng Naishan, Hang Ying, Ye Wenling, Ling Li, and Huo Da. The most influential piece of work by Dai Houying2 was the novel Ah, Humanity!, published in 1980. It reflected on the repression of human nature by politics during the contemporary period from a humanistic standpoint in describing the tragic plight of intellectuals. The controversy over this novel was a part of the debate over humanism during the “liberation of thought” movement in the early 1980s. Another group of woman writers during the 1980s was the so-called “educated youth” writers. Most of this group, which included Wang Anyi, Zhu Lin, Qiao Xuezhu, Lu Xing’er, Shu Ting, Zhang Kangkang, Zhang, Xinxin, Tie Ning, Zhai Yongming, Tang Min, Huang Beijia, and

2 Dai Houying (1938–1996) graduated from the Chinese Department of the East China Teachers’ Institute (now the East China Teachers’ University) in 1960. Her major works include the novels Ah, Humanity!, Death of a Poet, Footsteps in an Empty Valley, and Brain Fissure, and the short story and novella collection The Shackles are Soft.

406

chapter twenty-three

Xu Xiaobin, were born during the first half of the 1950s and had experience of the “up to the mountains, down to the countryside” movement during the “Cultural Revolution”. Other writers such as Liu Suola, Can Xue, and Jiang Zidan, were of a similar age but had no experience of “up to the mountains, down to the countryside”. Zhang Kangkang3 spent eight years as an “educated youth” on a farm in the Great Northern Wilderness in Heilongjiang Province during the “Cultural Revolution”. Her major works include the novellas and short stories ‹A Light Morning Fog›, ‹Aurora Borealis›, ‹Summer›, and ‹Red Poppies›, and the novels Invisible Companion and Gallery of Love. Much of her fiction are set against the backdrop of “educated youth” life, and her other works, such as ‹Summer› and ‹Aurora Borealis›, dealt with issues such as women’s position in society and independent consciousness. Most of the fiction of Zhang Xinxin4 during the 1980s was related to “inquiries” into women’s issues and introspection from a woman’s perspective. In narrative methodology, although she did not persevere in a pursuit of “modern techniques”, some critics believe her stories ‹Thirty Minutes in the Morning› and ‹Crazy Kaffir Lilies› convey the loss of “subject” status and the anxiety and alarm brought about by disconnection among urbanites. In another group of Zhang Xinxin’s writings, the conflicts between the burdens of profession and the independent moral qualities of young educated women and traditional women’s familial and marital duties are raised in concentrated forms; these works touch on the psychological contradictions of the “modern female” and the “paradoxical” plights in which they find themselves. On the surface, as husband and wife, a male artist and a female theater director are on the “same level”, but the female character is deeply aware of inequalities: If she inflexibly pursues professional success, it is difficult to avoid watering down her female roles as a wife and mother, and this would not be acceptable; if she only plays the part of a dutiful wife and good mother, she would lose the conditions that allow a “professional and spiritual dialogue” with “him”, and she “would still lose him” (‹On the Same 3 Zhang Kangkang was born in 1950 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Major collections of her works include Summer and Collected Novellas of Zhang Kangkang, as well as the novels Invisible Companion, Four Forms of Red, and Gallery of Love. 4 Zhang Xinxin was born in 1953 in Nanjing, and spent her childhood in Beijing. During the “Cultural Revolution”, she served in a military construction brigade in Heilongjiang Province, and worked as a hospital nurse when she returned to civilian life. In 1979, she began studies in the Central Theater Academy and began to publish fiction.

the art of woman writers

407

Horizon›). In ‹Dreams of People Our Age›, the setbacks suffered by a female proofreader ultimately lead her to abandon efforts at betterment in her profession, and to identify with the position of women in the “traditional family”. However, her internal conflicts continue, and she can only comfort herself and free herself of a keen sense of the mundane and insipid nature of life through the fragile dreams of her youth. In these works of fiction, the fundamental conundrum of the “awakened female” is that she is still unable to locate a true, dependable “destination”—and this conundrum is not only caused by the external environment, but also by women themselves (‹A Final Moorage›). A further constituent part of woman writers were younger authors born in the late 1950s and during the 1960s. Naturally, a difference purely in age cannot form the basis of categorization, but there were definite alterations in the concepts and ways in which history and reality were dealt with in the works of writers such as Fang Fang, Chi Li, Zhang Xin, Bi Shumin, Xu Xiaobin, and Chi Zijian. Most of these writers began publishing during the 1980s, but were not noticed until the turn of the decade; writers such as Chen Ran, Lin Bai, Hai Nan, Xu Kun, and Xu Lan did not come to the attention of literary circles until the 1990s. In the early 1980s, woman writers did not make their appearance as a “female” grouping. In the eyes of readers and critics, there were no obvious differences between the writing of female and male writers. The women similarly participated in building the “scar”, “introspective”, and “root-seeking” literary trends, and were termed “Misty poets” and “educated youth writers” together with the men. Neither did the works of woman writers explicitly pursue a distinctive “female” position. The linking of the gender of woman writers with their work, seeking out intrinsic connections between the two, and the raising of the concepts of “the work of woman writers” and “women’s literature”, did not occur until the mid-1980s. This was related to the writings of a number of critics (especially female critics) at the time.5 Moreover, a contradictory tendency appeared in women’s literature during the 1980s. On one hand, because of the emphasis of “the times are different, men and women 5 Such as Li Ziyun, Wu Daiying, and Yue Daiyun. Li Ziyun’s book Purifying Souls (Beijing Three United Bookstore, 1984) dealt especially with creative issues from the angle of “woman writers” in the fiction of woman writers of the “new period”. Other essays that dealt with “women’s literature” were Wu Daiying’s ‹An Informal Discussion of “Women’s Literature” during the New Period› (Lanzhou, Contemporary Trends of Thought in Literature and the Arts, no. 4, 1983) and ‹Women’s World and Women’s Literature› (Beijing, Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1986).

408

chapter twenty-three

are the same” and other concepts prevalent from 1949 into the 1970s, society and literature universally overlooked and obscured gender difference, and as a result, it was no longer a “special” “right” for women to write. At the same time, the “non-gendered” manner with which woman writers handled subject matter and writing styles was generally encouraged; furthermore, most woman writers were deeply interested in writing works that dealt with “significant” social subjects and featured an “imposing” style. On the other hand, the totality of the cultural psychology during the 1980s was a refutation of the radical culture of the “Cultural Revolution”, and this resulted in the existence of a latent orientation towards “traditional” culture and a tendency among woman writers to “hang back”. In terms of gender, there was a rediscovery of “female” identity and the appearance of “common sense” (but actually very “traditional”) female cultural thinking and demands. Purity, lyricism, and delicacy were among the habits believed to be part of a particular “female” style of writing and were welcomed by some critics and readers, and these were reflected in the work of some woman writers. Therefore, in the work (primarily fiction) of woman writers during the 1980s, there was a “paradoxical” situation: The “feminized” style of woman writers accepted and welcomed by readers was to the advantage of these writers, but their social position, education, and experience spurred them to “transcend” this gender characteristic. This situation was both a contradiction in the work of woman writers and a partial source of the vitality of their writing.

2. The Fiction of Woman Writers (A) Shen Rong6 began writing fiction in the early 1970s. She wrote about the “struggle between the two roads” in the countryside in the novel Everlasting Youth in 1975, and it had a comparatively great influence at the time. Her 1980 novella, ‹At Middle Age›, is seen as one of the works symbolic of the “rejuvenation” of literature during the “new period”. Shen Rong is a writer who seeks to express “social depth”, and during the

6 Shen Rong was born in Wuhan in 1936 to a family from Wushan County in Sichuan Province. Collections of her works include At Middle Age, Spring Forever, Novellas of Shen Rong, Secrets of Crown Prince Village, Studies into Yang Yueyue and Sartre, Selection of the Humorous Fiction of Shen Rong, Lazy to Divorce, and Famous Novellas of the New Period Series, Shen Rong. Her novels include Everlasting Youth, Brightness and Darkness, At Old Age, and River of Death.

the art of woman writers

409

early 1980s she set herself the goals of “placing the tragedies and comedies of humanity within a certain historical scope, exploring the historical origins of that which decides the fate of characters, and writing literary works of a more profound, more essential historical aspect”.7 She analyzed social phenomena and often based her plots on social issues of concern to people. ‹At Middle Age› dealt with the plight and treatment of middle-aged intellectuals, and works such as ‹Spring Forever›, ‹Secrets of Crown Prince Village›, and ‹Unfettered People› embody explorations into “historical tragedies”. After the mid-1980s, there were alterations in the style of her fiction. Her mildly sentimental, lyrical narrative technique was somewhat weakened, and there was an increase in absurd, comical elements of theatricality in works such as ‹Ten Years Deducted› and ‹Concerning the Problem of Piglets Getting Th rough the Winter›. ‹Lazy to Divorce›, a story revealing universal contradictions in familial relationships, also clearly exhibits an increase in satirical elements. Zhang Jie8 made a name for herself on the 1980s literary scene for works that embodied a female consciousness and reflected women’s issues, but many of her writings were not simply restricted to expressing these issues. Her tranquil, smooth narrative tone drew attention upon publication in 1979 of ‹The Child from the Forest›, her first piece of fiction. Many of her early works, such as ‹Love Must Not Be Forgotten›, ‹Grandmother Green›, and ‹The Ark›, had women as their main characters, and wrote of a delicate female, sentimental psychology of love rich in a spirit of benefiting others, as well as social issues faced by single women. ‹Love Must Not Be Forgotten› was a relatively early treatment of contradictions in love and marriage, and led to great controversy at the time. The main character, Zhong Yu’s unfailingly faithful and transcendent love of the main male character’s misfortunes at the hands of history was to a large degree a vehicle to soothe the wounds of the “Cultural Revolution” at the time, and therefore, while this story did not directly touch on the theme of “scar” fiction, it became a representative work of “scar literature”. This method of transcending the pain of historical memory through the near 7

Shen Rong, ‹Striding Towards the Future›, Literature & Arts Press, no. 5, 1981. Zhang Jie was born in 1937 in Beijing to a family from Fushun, Liaoning Province. She graduated from People’s University in 1960, and in 1980 was employed to write scripts at Beijing Film Studio. Major collections of her works include The Ark, Red Mushrooms, Flare Up, A Little Onion, a Little Garlic, a Little Sesame Salt, Contemporary Chinese Authors Collection Series, Zhang Jie, and A Chinese Woman in Europe, the novels Leaden Wings and There’s Only One Sun—A Dream About Romance, and The Person Who Loved Me Most in the World is Gone, a book of prose. 8

410

chapter twenty-three

sacred “love” of women was further developed in ‹Grandmother Green›; the determined figure of the main female character, Zeng Ling’er assuming the heavy pressures of life, became a symbol of women’s independence and consciousness. On the other hand, ‹The Ark› describes three divorced women, and the unequal treatment they face because they are women is treated as a social problem. It is in these aspects that Zhang Jie’s work embodies “female consciousness” and her status as a forerunner of “women’s literature”. In a portion of her works, such as Leaden Wings, ‹Conditions are not yet Ripe›, ‹Tail Lights›, and ‹What’s Wrong With Him›, Zhang Jie attempts to handle “significant subject matter”. Her novel, Leaden Wings was praised as a “masterpiece” that was “in step with life”. The manuscript was completed in April 1981 and describes controversies that broke out in 1980 over economic reforms while, at the same time, writing about the highest stratum of society (officials in the national Ministry of Heavy Industry). Since the mid-1980s, there has been an obvious change in some of Zhang Jie’s writing, as there was a shift from a pursuit of the poetic to the anti-poetic and from romanticism toward an exaggerated coarsening in narrative technique. Yet, this was actually another form of safeguarding an idealistic poetic charm in her fiction. She fiercely excoriates and ridicules the dreadful low tastes of some male characters, and the cursing of their lust causes disgusting “red mushrooms” to bloom in the life of female characters. The novel There’s Only One Sun—A Dream About Romance describes the experiences and perceptions of contemporary Chinese when they are faced with the “true” West; she particularly keenly portrays the anxiety, depression, and material difficulties of male intellectuals (women enter the West through marriage) when they confront the West. Among women writers, Wang Anyi9 is seen as a writer with an exceptionally wide field of vision and the ability to harness many forms of life

9 Wang Anyi was born in 1954 in Nanjing and moved with her mother, the writer Ru Zhijuan, to Shanghai in 1955. She went to live and work in the countryside in northern Anhui Province upon graduation from junior high school. In 1972, she was accepted into a cultural troupe in the Xuzhou region of Jiangsu Province. In 1978, she moved to Shanghai to work as an editor at Childhood Years, a journal operated by the China Welfare Association. Major collections of Wang Anyi’s work include Xiaobao Village, Love on a Barren Mountain, Utopian Poems, A Century On Guard, Sisters, and Self-Selected Works of Wang Anyi. Her novels include The 1969 Class of Junior High School Students, Thirteen Chapters of Running Water, Mini, Records of Actual Events and Fabrications— One Way to Create a World, The Grieving Pacific, and Song of Eternal Regret. Collections of her prose include Stories and Telling Stories, Touring by Train, Rebuilding the Ivory Tower, and World of the Soul—Lecture Notes of Wang Anyi on Fiction.

the art of woman writers

411

experience and literary subject matter. She has adopted various styles of writing and has been prolific since the outset of her career. In the early 1980s, her fiction primarily consisted of the “Wenwen series” in Wang Anyi’s “expression of self ” stage, in which she wrote of the suffering and hopes of a young woman called Wenwen who looks at the world through the eyes of a pure, enthusiastic girl. Soon, Wang’s attention turned to broader topics of society and life as she wrote about the contradictions and frustrations experienced by “educated youths” returning to the cities (‹The Terminus of this Train›), conflicts within a theater troupe during the years of reform (‹Coda›), and experiences of the rise and fall of the economic and social positions of ordinary people against the backdrop of a society in turmoil (‹Passage of Time› and ‹Going Back›). Wang Anyi was strongly moved by her cultural experience of the United States during a trip in 1983–1984, an experience that made her conscious of national and global viewpoints. After a year away from writing, she published ‹Xiaobao Village› and ‹Daliu Village›, and these works were considered part of the literary “root-seeking” upsurge in 1985. ‹Xiaobao Village› is a fictional description of the characteristics of the age in a small village that expresses the author’s understanding of the spirit of “benevolence and virtue” in Confucian culture and the crumbling of this spirit. In 1986–1987, Wang Anyi published the very controversial “three loves” (‹Love in a Small Town›, ‹Love on a Barren Mountain›, and ‹Love in Beautiful Brocade Valley›), as well as later works in the same vein, including ‹A Century on Guard› and ‹Anecdotes of the Cultural Revolution›, all of which dealt with the then “hot spot” subject of sex. At the turn of the decade, she expressed bewilderment and concern in recounting the experiences and family backgrounds of individuals in stories such as ‹Uncle’s Story›, ‹Utopian Poems›, Records of Actual Events and Fabrications, and The Grieving Pacific, in which she pondered the influence on the life of such individuals of factors such as the times and culture, contradictions between the present and the future, and issues such as the efficacy of ideals and faith. During the 1990s, in works such as Song of Eternal Regret, ‹Emotions and Love in Hongkong›, and ‹I Love Pierre›, she further developed the expression of the characteristics and deep level nature of an urban culture without a “foundation” that she had initially dealt with in the 1980s stories ‹War Between Turtledoves and Sparrows›, ‹The Good Wife and Comrade Li›, and ‹A Grief-Stricken Place›. Since 1990 there has also been a great change in her narrative method, as she no longer recounts stories from a unitary, purely subjective or objective point of view: Instead, the narrator’s commentary .

412

chapter twenty-three

incessantly interrupts and participates in the process of the narrative, thus locating the story’s fictional elements and the factual accounts of the author’s handling of materials in the midst of the story itself. The meticulously planned, intricate psychological impetus given to characters, the thought in the form of commentaries given to the fate of characters, and the exaggerated, complex long sentence forms serve to construct a unique narrative tone. The “female consciousness” in Wang Anyi’s fiction is expressed in revelations of delicate dominative relations between men and women. ‹Fight for Domination of the Street› describes the competition for and against domination between a husband and wife in the form of a comedy, and ‹A Century on Guard› describes the struggle between the basic natural desires of men and women and social power relationships against the backdrop of the life of “educated youths”. These works not only reveal social relationships, but some of the basic attributes (natural attributes) of people and their profound constraining power over the fate of individuals. Wang Anyi also moved further away from explorations into the material (and into areas such as marital and sexual relationships), stating “just the spiritual can sustain it [fiction] a great distance” (‹Brothers› and ‹Sacred Sacrificial Altar›), as well as “the enormous power of sex: It can extinguish the spirit” and “preserve love between men and women” (‹Love in a Small Town› and ‹A Century on Guard›). On issues such as women’s self-determination and awareness, her viewpoints and methods of handling these issues were different from those of Zhang Xinxin and Zhang Jie. Compared to Zhang Xinxin’s “engrossment” with the subject and expression of the narrator’s female standpoint in stories, Wang Anyi appears as a calm bystander. As in ‹The Ark›, ‹Brothers› also describes how three women break free of male-centric social controls through their friendship. But Wang Anyi does not attach a “bright tail” to their bitter struggle, as does Zhang Jie, for they are ultimately defeated by a “pincer attack” by their maternal and wifely instincts. Tie Ning10 began to publish fiction while still at high school and was one of the youngest of those considered “educated youth” writers. Tie Ning uses a calm realistic writing style to display contradictions between the 10 Tie Ning was born in 1957 in Beijing. After graduation from high school, she went to live and work in the countryside. Her major publications include the fiction collections Red Shirts Without Buttons, Red Rooves, Haystacks, Encountering an Eighth Day of the Week, Face-to-Face, and Sweet Taps, as well as the novels The Rose Gate and City Without Rain, and Women of the River, a collection of prose writings.

the art of woman writers

413

traditional and the modern, the unsophisticated and the sophisticated, the civilized and the barbaric, and female self-determination and dependency. In her work, the contradictions and predicaments of women are frequently entwined with considerations of social progress, and only those women who have not been contaminated by modern civilization, or have some experience of life in its primitive forms, exhibit calm, serene, well-developed lyrical elements, such as fragrant snow in ‹O, Fragrant Snow›, Dizhi’s mother in ‹Haystacks›, the pregnant woman and pregnant cow in ‹The Pregnant Woman and the Cow›, and the country women in Women of the River. Tie Ning’s The Rose Gate has been praised as a serious work that portrays the historical fate of women. The character of Si Qiwen is representative of the fate of several generations of Zhuang family women and reveals the profound contradictions between the life of women and modern history and the social order. Throughout her life, Si Qiwen makes every effort to enter into the traditional clan and the modern social order, but is persistently excluded and rejected, and all these efforts merely lead to her becoming a snobbish, ruthless person detested by others. Yet, the writer’s narrative mode reveals a certain sympathy for her. The author makes the female descendants of Si Qiwen (Su Mei and Su Mei’s mother) the story’s narrators and those that reflect on history, and the shared plight of several generations of women leads them to see the shadow of Si Qiwen in their own experiences.

3. Concepts of ‘Women’s Literature’ The successes of woman writers in the 1980s are plain for all to see. However, there are varying opinions about whether what some critics call “women’s literature” exists or not, and if it does, what it refers to. During the 1980s, many female writers stated that they did not wish a gender marker placed before their status as writers, and neither did they believe that “women’s literature” existed as a literary category. It was their common belief that referring to them as “woman” writers, saying their work was “women’s literature”, was deprecatory, or at least implied a “consideration” that carried a lowered standard for their literary activities. Furthermore, they were usually unwilling to refer to themselves as “feminists”.11 However, following the introduction of contemporary

11 Zhang Xinxin, Zhang Jie, Zhang Kangkang, and Wang Anyi were among those who expressed such an opinion.

414

chapter twenty-three

Western feminist theory and other contemporaneous developments in women’s literature, as well as the eager attention given to women’s issues in China as a result of the Fourth International Women’s Congress convoked in Beijing during the 1990s, there were changes in attitudes towards the idea of “women’s literature” in literary circles. The major controversy was no longer over whether “women’s literature” exists, but over the actual meaning of this concept, and a number of related “new” descriptive categories began to appear. Some critics wished to replace the term “feminist literature” with “woman-ist literature” in order to eliminate certain negative connotations the term “feminism” has in the Chinese language, and to strengthen the theoretical connotations of “woman-ism”.12 A larger number of researchers were inclined to use the broader concept of “women’s writing” to discuss issues related to the work of female writers. During the 1980s, there were varying understandings of the connotations and referents of “women’s literature”. Some were defined from the perspective of the “object of expression”, holding that as long as a literary work portrayed women, no matter whether the writer was male or female, it could be termed “women’s literature”; another opinion was based on the gender of the creative subject, broadly indicative of all literary works written by women writers. Zhang Kangkang once held the following opinion: “The concept of ‘female literature’ merely refers to the works of woman writers”13 (she excluded writings on the lives and imagery of women by male writers). The basis of this opinion was that the specific biological and psychological characteristics of women writers influence literary style, but it did not raise doubts or questions over these specific characteristics. In fact, this was a representative traditional view of “women’s literature”. The third form of understanding not only emphasized the writer’s gender, but also stressed that the contents, subject matter, and theme of a literary work must be female, that is to say they should be works by women writers describing the life of women. During the 1980s, this latter understanding grew in importance, although it was also the most contentious view. Under the precondition of regarding woman writers writing on women’s subject matter as

12

Among the important critics who held this opinion were Zhang Jingyuan, Dai Jinhua, and Meng Yue. 13 Zhang Kangkang, ‹We Need Two Worlds›, Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1986.

the art of woman writers

415

a positive, it proposed that female writers must possess a “female consciousness” with which to describe and probe deeply into the historical circumstances, the current plight, and the life experiences of women; furthermore, they should exhibit opinions, attitudes, and modes of expression differing from those of male writers, and also should manifest an “independent” female subject consciousness. This understanding of the term was established on the foundation of the discerning grasp of critics of the characteristics of the subject matter, themes, and narrative styles of a number of female writers. Conversely, the raising of the concept of “women’s literature”, and the critical activity connected to it, impelled a number of female writers to explore the plight and destiny of women in their writing. However, the difficulty with this theory is based in the belief that it has clearly defined “women’s literature”, when it may be better to say that it places an extrapolative theoretical limitation on the writing of women authors. Since the latter half of the 1980s, on the foundation of the generalizations made on the specific nature of writings of woman writers, a number of critics have realized that the gender of female writers is not merely a matter of literary characteristics, but also touches on the predicament of women within society and culture in their entirety. Does “women’s liberation” require women to live life in the same way as men? What is the influence on women’s writing of a cultural psychology and cultural status both of which are formed in a traditional male-centric society? And is there any possibility of female writers both breaking free of the “virilization” of women and transcending traditional role assignations? The raising of these theoretical issues goes toward partially clarifying ambiguities in “women’s literature” as it was understood during the 1980s. As a result, the understanding of “women’s literature” primarily tends toward two points. One is a more obvious emphasis on the gender differences of women: This was directed against the “neutering” or virilization of the work of woman writers, encouraging woman writers to write unique female physical and psychological experiences and their experience of gender-related constraints in traditional literature. The other aspect was the increased discussion of issues from a cultural angle, holding that female status is not a product of biology, but is related to the cultural constructs of a traditional male-centric society. The significance of these theories lies in impelling writers and critics to attain a more conscious attitude towards the exploration of the relationship between literature and gender. During the 1990s, writers such

416

chapter twenty-three

as Chen Ran, Lin Bai, Xu Kun, Xu Xiaobin, and Jiang Zidan clearly acknowledged their gender standpoint in their writing; their work also featured several experiments into the possibilities of writing by female authors.

4. The Fiction of Woman Writers (B) Other woman writers appeared around 1990. In the beginning, they were termed “new realist” writers (Chi Li and Fang Fang), “avant-garde writers” (Chen Ran, Lin Bai, Hai Nan, and Xu Kun), “new urban” fiction writers (Zhang Xin), “new love story” writers (Xu Lan), and so on. But the comparatively explicit expression of gender attitudes in their work quickly led to them being placed in the category of “women’s literature”. During the 1990s, Lin Bai, Chen Ran, and Xu Xiaobin were controversial representatives of “individuated writing” among female authors. Lin Bai14 was born in a small town in Guangxi, and when her parents divorced, she lived with her mother. Lives in small towns in the tropics and her childhood experiences have become the primary content (or backdrop) of Lin Bai’s fiction. She began publishing fiction on the mid1980s, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s ‹You Can’t Part with Those You Love› and ‹The Bullets Went Through Apples› established her later narrative style and women’s themes. With a poeticizing, lyricizing pen, and a female narrative voice powerfully imbued with a sense of selfidentity, she describes women isolated amid the banality and confusion of social life. The contrast of these flawless images of women with their plights within a male-centric society, and their tragic clashes with it, builds a powerfully emotive style. One Person’s War recounts the maturation process of a woman called Duomi, and Lin Bai’s descriptions of female sexual experience and physical feelings in this novel gave rise to great controversy.

14 Lin Bai was born in 1958 in Guangxi with the given name of Lin Baiwei. She was an “educated youth” in the countryside following high school graduation. In 1978, she was accepted into the Library Department of Wuhan University, and later worked as a library manager, a movie studio editor, and a newspaper reporter. Her major literary publications include the novels One Person’s War, Standing Watch Over Hollow Years, and Speak, Rooms, the fiction collections The Bullets Went Through Apples, Fatal Flights, and Literary Writings of Lin Bai, and the collection of prose essays Moonlight at De’erwo.

the art of woman writers

417

The writing of Chen Ran15 has exhibited several changes. At university, she wrote poetry, but began to write fiction in the mid-1980s. Her early fiction described the spiritual states of modern youths on university campuses, represented by the 1986 short story ‹Millennium Bug›. After this, she wrote a series of stories with “magical” and symbolic elements that principally described the strange life of the residents of a small town called “Crossing [or “irregular flow”] Town”. Starting with ‹Drinking with the Past› in 1990, her writing shifted towards describing the lives and sexual experiences of modern urban women, and she is especially skilled at describing the lives and emotional experiences of unmarried intellectual women. This type of story frequently features a female first person narration of the damaging emotional experiences of family, marriage, and society in the secluded lives of intellectual women. As the narrative form adopted in these stories features an autobiographical hue, Chen Ran’s fiction is termed “personal writing”. Her novel Personal Life is a concentrated expression of her theme of female maturation, ironic narration, and her rebellious standpoint. Chen Ran is meticulous over literary form, as she pays particular attention to expressive forms of “estrangement”. Xu Xiaobin16 began to publish her fiction in the early 1980s. The 1989 short story ‹Investigation of a Psychotic Person›, which described the unique spiritual experiences and mysterious psychology and illusions of a girl seen as mentally ill, caught the attention of readers. Her major works during the 1990s include ‹Psychedelic Garden›, ‹Pisces—An Old Story of One Woman and Three Men›, and The Feather Boa. In her fiction, the psychological experiences of characters and the narrative content are imbued with mystery, and a readable story oft en envelops the author’s thoughts on fate, life, and culture. The deliberate mystification

15 Chen Ran was born in 1962 in Beijing. She studied music as a child, and entered the Chinese Department at Beijing University in 1982. After graduation, she worked as a university lecturer, a newspaper reporter, and an editor at a publishing house. Her major publications include collections of fiction such as Scraps of Paper, Sunlight in the Lips, Hidden Anecdotes, and Literary Writings of Chen Ran, the novel Private Life, and the collection of prose essays Stray Fragments. 16 Xu Xiaobin was born in 1951 in Beijing. She was accepted into Central Public Finance and Banking Academy and, after graduation, worked as an instructor at Central Television University. Today she is employed as a scriptwriter at the Television Drama Series Production Center. Her major publications include the novels Fire at Sea, Forgotten Dreams of Dunhuang, and The Feather Boa, and collections of fiction such as Psychedelic Garden, Following like a Shadow, and Ni City by the Sea.

418

chapter twenty-three

of her fictional materials is a characteristic of her writing, and is a manifestation of her strong interest in exploring certain unknowable circumstances. Hai Nan17 began writing literature in 1982. At the start, she primarily wrote poetry, but later turned her hand to fiction. The thematic imagery, structure, and language of her fiction are strongly poetic. She frequently enters into her fiction through somewhat archetypical memories about death, her writing is usually in the form of incomplete stories and dialogues, and it is organized around abstract metaphysical themes such as death, poetic sentiments, and life. Her work is packed with fragments of situations and descriptions of imagery and moods, and constructs obvious characteristics of “dispersed” fiction. Chi Zijian18 was born in Mohe in the north of Heilongjiang Province. Most of her fiction takes its subject matter from the countryside in the Northeast, and there is a certain similarity in content and narrative style with the fiction of Xiao Hong. Stories such as ‹Yangge› and ‹East Lane› adopt the perspective of a child in recounting the social customs and living conditions of the countryside in the Northeast, and frequently convey a sense of the vicissitudes of life over a long period. Other woman writers include Xu Kun and Xu Lan. Xu Kun19 came to the attention of literary circles with the publication of stories such as ‹Vanguard›, ‹Plain Speech›, and ‹Demonstrations›. In her fiction, she places a stress on the re-arrangement of pre-existing fictional materials, and pays particular attention to a form of ridicule she uses to dispel forms of central discourse produced during the 1980s. In stories such as ‹As If›, ‹Red Hardwood Clappers›, and ‹In Memory of Music Master

17 Hai Nan was born in 1962 in Yunnan with a given name of Su Lihua. She graduated from the graduate student class at the Lu Xun Literature Academy in 1991, and works as a magazine editor. Her major publications include the poetry collections Organs and Women and Fabricated Roses, the novel My Lovers, the fiction collections Fragrances and Crazy Pomegranate Trees, and the prose essay collection The Sound of Screens. 18 Chi Zijian was born in 1964 in Mohe in Heilongjiang Province. Her major publications include the novels Under the Trees and Morning Bells Reverberate at Dusk, and the fiction collections Fairy Tales of North Pole Village, Trip Toward the White Nights, and Snowy Graveyard. 19 Xu Kun was born in Shenyan in 1965. She was awarded a Masters Degree in literature in 1989, and now works in literary research. Her major publications include the fiction collections Vanguard, Nüwa, Demonstrations, and Travellers are Charming.

the art of woman writers

419

Liang Xiao›, Xu Lan20 shows herself skilled at recounting the states of mind and fates of historical figures in the midst of particular historical circumstances, in portraying the spiritual states of those who have suffered profoundly painful injuries. She refers to these stories as “heard stories”.

20 Xu Lan was born in 1968 in Shanghai. Her major publications include A Selection of the Fiction of Xu Lan and Longing for a Secular Life.

CHAPTER TWENTYFOUR

THE ART OF PROSE

1. A Survey of the Art of Prose During the 1980s, the development of prose faced an obstacle formed by the model for prose form established during the 1950s and 1960s. This model was commonly described as “seeing the big through the small” and “expressing beliefs through things” in an effort to get close to the “spirit of the times”, the themes of the ideological trend in society, and structural orientations, as well as pursuing the “poetization” and artistic conception of prose. This form of writing, which was taken to be symbolic of the “rejuvenation” of prose in the early 1960s by writers such as Yang Shuo, Liu Baiyu, and Qin Mu, produced a powerful influence on both writers and readers, and for a time after the “Cultural Revolution” was followed by some prose writers as a path worthy of commendation in rebuking “Cultural Revolution” prose. However, viewed in the context of the overall trend, the work of some writers already exhibited the initial stages of a “return to” individual experience and the description of everyday developments and moods. During the early 1980s, elder writers such as Ba Jin, Sun Li, and Yang Jiang, and young and middleaged writers such as Zhang Jie, Jia Pingwa, Wang Yingqi, and Tang Min, tended to emphasize the “free” writing of their “own” experience, shifting from responding to social topics toward the expression of individual moods and states of mind, as well as the pursuit of the writer’s “individual character” in language and linguistic technique. From the mid1980s, prose writers such as Liu Yeyuan, Zhao Mei, Zhou Peihong, and Heihai, propelled the writing of prose into greater depths, into facing up to areas of human emotion, the public mood, and stream-of-consciousness, as they strove to describe the complex internal world of modern people. These works were termed “new prose” and “Misty prose”. 1

1 Liu Yeyuan, ‹Exiting a Predicament: What actually is Prose›, Literature & Arts Press, 23 July 1988; and ‹Notes of the New Artistic Prose›, Yalu River, no. 7, 1993. Zhao Mei, ‹My Views on Contemporary Prose›, Tianjin Literature, no. 5, 1986.

the art of prose

421

Another aspect of the development of prose during the 1980s was the tendency towards the “narrowing” of prose form, namely the peeling off from prose of narrative forms such as reportage literature and argumentative forms such as miscellaneous essays, and a renewed interest in concepts such as “lyric prose”, “artistic prose”, and “beautiful writing”. For many critics and prose writers, forms such as reportage literature, memoirs, and historical biography literature were no longer considered to be in the category of “prose”. During the early 1980s, reportage literature such as ‹Suppositions about Goethe and Bach› (Xu Chi), ‹Wild Goose Feelings› (Huang Zongying), and ‹The Ship’s Captain› (Ke Yan) in particular, as well as the lengthy “reports” on social issues that created a great commotion during the mid- and late 1980s, were already no longer seen as prose. At the same time, the naming of a mixed literary genre formed from the permeation and mingling of elements of other forms in certain works of prose was taken as a reference point in a movement toward the “standard characteristics” of the genre of prose. The fusing of certain prose elements into the fiction of writers such as Wang Zengqi, He Liwei, and Zhang Chengzhi constituted the “prosestylization of fiction” and “prose-style fiction”; and the work of writers such as Guo Feng, Ke Lan, and Liu Zhanqiu was “a genre of lyrical literature that both embodied the intensions of poetry and accommodated poetic prose details, combining the techniques of poetic expression with certain characteristics of the descriptive techniques of prose”, and was thus listed independently as “prose poetry”.2 During the early 1980s, in the discourse field of the re-evaluative ideological trend that enveloped all of society and literature, the major representatives of prose writing were elder writers such as Ba Jin, Sun Li, Yang Jiang, Chen Baichen, and Huang Shang. The majority of their work dealt with personal perceptions and experience, memories of old friends and family, and castigation of the injuries caused by tyranny during the “Cultural Revolution”. Some young and middle-aged writers, such as Zhang Jie, Zong Pu, Jia Pingwa, Han Shaohua, Tang Min, and Wang Yingqi, frequently expressed warm, sentimental, yet refreshing emotions while displaying a simple, emotive aspect of “humanity” from the perspective of children. In the main, their efforts may be seen as a response to the style of the lyric prose of “May Fourth” (primarily

2 Wang Guangming, The World of Prose Poetry, Changjiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1987. This book is a broad study of the aesthetic characteristics, the historical formation, and the writers and their works of “prose poetry”.

422

chapter twenty-four

during the 1920s), with an emphasis on the belief that prose should “solely express the soul” and be the free writing of internal experience. However, as the accumulated practice of contemporary prose writing was deeply ingrained, the shackles of the 1960s prose model could still be seen in the language and structure of many essays. An excessive concern for “poeticization” and the creation of an “artistic conception” of prose was an expression of an aspect of this continued confinement. Overall, in comparison to the progress achieved by poetry, fiction, and the theater during the 1980s, the prose-writing situation appeared quite pedestrian. Given the critics’ high expectations of prose over the decades, they became dissatisfied with the “laggard” and “pedestrian” nature of prose writing, and, as a result, during 1986–1988, they expressed deep concerns about the circumstances of prose, categorically asserting “without a doubt, prose is going downhill, it is certainly in dire straits”,3 even proposing a theory on the “collapse of prose”. This sparked a discussion over the development and renewal of prose that touched on the issues of “self-sufficiency” and the “standardization” of prose as a genre, the relationship between prose and other literary genres, and the expansion of the contents of prose. The positive significance of this discussion primarily lay in promoting the awareness of the genre among writers, and in setting out new initiatives for prose writing. Upon entry into the 1990s, without any premonition or planning, a passionate, exuberant situation suddenly developed in the prose genre. All manner of prose anthologies and collections began to “sell well” in the book market; periodicals specializing in prose writing, such as Prose, Prose Selections, and Hundred Schools of Prose, were popular with readers; literary magazines, such as October and Harvest, opened sections for prose; and newspaper supplements made space available to prose writing and casual essays: All of which led to a “prose fever”. In the anthologies, there was a rediscovery of prose essays from the 1920s and 1930s about everyday life advocating a leisurely mood. Not only did collections of prose essays by writers such as Zhou Zuoren, Lin Yutang, and Liang Shiqiu, and those of writers from the 1940s, such as Zhang Ailing and Qian Zhongshu, sell extremely well, but they also had an important influence on the direction of prose writing during the 1990s. Although different writers had differing value orientations during the

3 Huang Hao, ‹Contemporary Chinese Prose: From Resurgence toward a Dead End›, Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1988.

the art of prose

423

1990s, and the contents of their writing and their personal stylistic characteristics gradually grew more prominent, the phenomenon of “prose fever” was closely linked to an orientation toward cultural consumption in the developing market economy. Even if these prose essays were “leisurely”, there were differences between those of the 1990s and those of the 1920s and 1930s. The “leisurely” of Lin Yutang and others during the 1930s was termed “passive resistance and a deliberate individual course”, and what was seen as leisurely expression embodied the author’s rebellious standpoint and cultural stance; while the “leisurely” of many prose essays during the 1990s were expressive of a greater inclination to approve of the growing prevalence of the commonplace, a responsive tendency towards convergence with the material pursuits of society and the needs of a consumerist culture. It was for this reason prose writings published in newspaper supplements were termed “cultural fast food”. While there were some authors who specialized in writing prose essays, such as Zhou Tao, Liu Yeyuan, and Si Hao, most writers took on several roles as many academics, fiction writers, and poets began to write prose. This phenomenon demonstrated the new orientation of developments in the prose genre during the 1990s. Some critics and writers persisted with the 1980s topic of “genre awareness”, but this issue had already been set aside by most writers. There was a weakening in the emphasis on the “standard characteristics” of prose; a broadness and simplicity appeared in the genre, and the argumentativeness and lyricism of prose rose to prominence. The entrance of academics was particularly eye-catching, as it increased the intellectual quality and cultural content of prose writing, and led to the “informal essay” becoming the principal variety of the prose form. The work of writers such as Zhang Zhongxing, Jin Kemu, Yu Qiuyu, Shi Tiesheng, Zhang Chengzhi, and Han Shaogong, started in personal experience and led into considerations of culture and life philosophy, and was termed “cultural prose” or “great prose”. The informal essays of many scholars were published in periodicals such as Study, Informal Essays, Ends of the World, and Prose and People, as well as book series such as the Bookish Diversions Series, the Study Series, the Nocturnal Reading Series, and the People Today Book Talk Series. This type of prose was the opposite of that which deliberately pursued the “narrowing” of prose writing, and was not excessively concerned about the “literary nature” of prose, and this made this form an important mode for writers to express their concerns about current events. It is possible that the appearance of these essays has opened up a new road for the writing of prose and has bred the possibility of genre and linguistic renewal.

424

chapter twenty-four 2. Memory of ‘History’

Reflecting on China’s “contemporary” history, including the “Cultural Revolution”, has been an important theme of literature since the 1980. During the early 1980s, “historical reflections” literature formed a trend of thought and was primarily confined to fiction, while, for the most part, its writers were “returned” authors and young authors who had been “educated youths”. This form of “introspective fiction” gave prominence to fictionality and typicality, but due to the specifi ed literary discourse of the time, the depth to which reflections on history could go was restricted. As a result, the ideological tendency and artistic structure of most literary works that considered historical events shared great similarities, the majority of which was concerned with high level political figures and the evolution of major events, and posed questions from the angle of the contemporary fate of political power. Yet, there was something of a difference in prose writing, as the prose of this period emphasized “truthfulness” and “individuality”. Some writers, primarily the older ones, wrote a number of prose pieces based on their memories of past events. They were the mourning of deaths and the remembrance of friends and family, fragments of memories of personal experiences, or the transmission of unformed dignified personal perceptions about incidents they had witnessed. It is probable that these writers no longer had the ability to write poetry, fiction, or plays, but had readily available subject matter fit for writing prose and casual essays. Sun Li states: “Oldsters are suited to writing prose and miscellaneous essays, and this is not only acting according to ones capabilities, but also a path toward safeguarding and extending life”4—which partially explains why elder and middle-aged writers favor prose. As a result, these works of prose were termed the “prose of old age” in literary circles. In a positive sense, this literary form had its benefits for the direct expression of the author’s emotions, experience, and reflections. Chief among these works are Casual Thoughts and Second Thoughts by Ba Jin, Six Chapters from a Cadre School and Drinking Tea by Yang Jiang, the Later Years, Beautiful Dew, and Inaction collections by Sun Li, Essays on “Cowsheds” by Ding Ling, Memories of Clouds and Dreams by Chen Baichen, and A Past like Smoke by Mei Zhi. The 1990s also saw the publication of Wei Junyi’s Painful Thoughts, Ji Xianlin’s Miscellaneous Notes on Cowsheds, and Li Rui’s

4

Sun Li, ‹Masterpieces are produced in the Prime of Life›.

the art of prose

425

Experiences of “The Great Leap Forward”. Some works written during the 1950s and 1960s were published during the 1980s and 1990s, such as Fu Lei’s Letters Home, Shen Congwen’s Letters Home and Zhang Zhongxiao’s Casual Notes from the Dreamless Building, both of which were part of the “Phoenix Book Series”, June Snow, Road of Brambles and Thorns, and Grass on the Plain, which were “memories of the Anti-Rightist Campaign” and other matters in the “Thought and Memory Book Series”, and other “materials” that provided perceptive accounts reflecting on history. Between 1978 and 1986, Ba Jin5 wrote more than 150 casual essays that were published under the collective title Casual Thoughts. In discussing his motives for writing, the author stated: The ten-year calamity taught some people the habit of silence, but the blood debts of ten years pressured those who are normally silent to emit a series of loud shouts. I have a bellyful of words, and also a bellyful of fi re, as well as a body of bones that have been repeatedly fried in oil for ten years. The fire does not die and the words are burnt to ashes, piling up in my heart, if I don’t pour them out, clean them all out, I can’t help but have nightmares, and then I will not peacefully pass the last days of my old age, you could even say I’ll never be able to close my eyes.6

These words amount to a summary of the contents of Casual Thoughts and the nature of their mode of expression. Ba Jin’s reflections on history, his memories of the painful loss of friends and family, his tortured interrogations of himself, and particularly his criticisms of opinions and viewpoints he cannot agree with, are all plainly and straightforwardly related with a powerful sense of responsibility. His language is natural, his account is fluid, and there is no trace of ornamentation. His enthusiasm is not dulled because of old age, and in stern self-examinations and social criticisms, he manifests the moving, beautiful dignity of an old artist. He adopts an unwavering pose of involvement and intervention with regard to the historical calamity that was the “Cultural Revolution”,

5 After the “Cultural Revolution”, from 1978 Ba Jin published his “casual thoughts” in Hongkong’s Great Public Press and Literary Confluence Daily, which were successively published by the People’s Literature Publishing House as Casual Thoughts, Explorations, True Words, In Sickness, and Untitled. These five volumes were collectively entitled Casual Thoughts. In 1996, he also published Second Thoughts as part of the “Phoenix Book Series”, which is a collection of personal essays written after the publication of Casual Essays. 6 Ba Jin, ‹Postscript› to Explorations, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1997.

426

chapter twenty-four

adheres to a world view holding that human reason is capable of being cognizant of and in control of all things, and maintains a persistently steadfast faith in the ideals and prospects of humankind. He is not merely a witness who personally experienced a historical calamity and is voicing accusations and criticisms of history in order to alert society to prevent a “Cultural Revolution” from reoccurring; as, with an intellectual’s sense of responsibility and a powerful introspective consciousness, he exposes and condemns the barbarity and absurdity of the “Cultural Revolution”, while he ruthlessly dissects his own psychology and actions. ‹Missing Xiao Shan› and ‹The Puppy Baodi› are two of his best-known essays on this subject. This set of essays had a big impact during the 1980s, and was termed a “great book of spoken truth”. The literary production of Sun Li7 gradually fell away after a major illness in 1956. However, after the “Cultural Revolution”, he entered another “peak” period and produced ten collections of prose essays before 1995. His prose “takes what I see and what I experience as its subject matter; I write in a modeled or typical way; I have the goal of helping people to reflect on things and to educate later generations; and I reflect true situations with the didactic purpose of eliminating gratitude and resentment.”8 His style of writing is simple and unaffected, very different from Ba Jin’s enthusiastic, impetuous pose. Sun Li spoke of his own writing as “having survived adversity, pain has determined that I think of pain”,9 “its contents are about small, shallow, brief, and near things”.10 In his reminiscences of past affairs and people, he reveals sorrowful feelings about the impermanence of life and a “dilapidated” consciousness of having had his fill of hardship. But the narrator is not immersed

7

Sun Li (1913–) is from Anping in Hebei Province, with a given name of Sun Shuxun. In 1927, he gained entrance to the Yude High School in Baoding, Hebei Province. After graduation, he roamed about Beijing (then called Beiping) for three years before returning to his home province to take up a post as a primary school teacher. He began to publish literary works in 1939. Sun moved to Yan’an to work and study in 1944, and his unique style of fiction such as ‹Lotus Lake› and ‹Reed Catkins Marsh› was widely noticed and established his position in literary history. He moved to Tianjin in 1949. After the “Cultural Revolution” he primarily wrote prose and published ten collections of essays, including Later Years, Beautiful Dew, Inaction, and Finale. 8 Sun Li, ‹Postscript› to Inaction, People’s Literature Publishing House, 1989. 9 Sun Li, ‹A Career as a Writer› in Later Years, Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1979. 10 Sun Li, ‹Postscript› to Chize Marsh, Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1982.

the art of prose

427

in a whirlpool of emotions, instead brilliance is transformed into the pedestrian, as he often offers insights into the joys and sorrows of life through calm, detached eyes, concealing his own feelings in his cool words. Sun Li utilizes several forms of prose in his writing. Six Chapters from a Cadre School by Yang Jiang11 records the author’s experience of life in a “May Seventh Cadre School” in Henan Province from late 1969 until spring 1972. What she writes about is mostly “trivial matters” she heard of or experienced: Records of people being sent to the school, of boring wells, of learning gardening, and of other leisure activities, recording feelings during “minor outings”, the happiness at surviving dangers, as well as absurdities and misrepresentations. Th e title, writing style, and the narrative “standpoint” of the author are all to some degree in the style of the Ming Dynasty writer Shen Fu and his Six Chapters of My Floating Life. Yang Jiang’s other collection of prose, Drinking Tea, in part describes her plight during the “Cultural Revolution”, but does not seem as calm as Six Chapters from a Cadre School. What is of greater value in this collection are the parts that involve memories of family and past events. Yang Jiang’s writing is concise and reserved, its tone is mild, and for the most part, she places herself outside historical events and adopts a placid, observational attitude. She concentrates on minor episodes during the events of a great age and writes her personal observations and experiences. In the final essay of Drinking Tea—‹Clothes of Invisibility (Balderdash, in lieu of a Postscript)›—she states that “weakness” is the “clothes of invisibility” in the human world, “only the lowly have the best opportunity to see the true appearance of the state of affairs and human nature, and not the artful performances given when facing an audience”. This may be seen as the basis upon which Yang Jiang looks back on history. She does not pause to ruminate on personal joys and sorrows or loudly lash out in the pose

11 Yang Jiang (1911–) was born in Beijing into a family from Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, under the given name of Yang Jikang. She graduated from Eastern Wu University in Suzhou in 1932. During 1935–1938, she studied in England and France, and after returning to China, took teaching posts in the Women’s Writing Academy at Shanghai’s Zhendan University and at Qinghua University in Beijing. After 1949, she worked at the Literary Research Institute and the Foreign Literature Institute in the National Social Sciences Academy. Her major literary works include the playscripts ‹Speaking Your Heart as You Please› and ‹Making the False True›, the novel Bathing, and prose collections such as Six Chapters from a Cadre School and Drinking Tea. She has also published Translations by Yang Jiang.

428

chapter twenty-four

of a “cultural hero”, but is able to coolly exhibit all aspects of the lives and souls of individuals and their environs, while frequently revealing the secret anguish in her heart as she describes the absurd nature of events.

3. Lyric Prose Given the broad nature of the genre of prose, there have been continuous efforts to establish “norms” for “prose”. Yet, no matter whether in writing circles or critical circles, it has been difficult to describe the “essential characteristics” of prose to the satisfaction of a large number of people. A relatively influential proposal was the concept of “artistic prose”, which stated that “artistic prose” is a “method by which the creative subject writes a ‘monologue’ in the first person, a truthful, free ‘personal’ form of prose essay used to convey emotion, to expose the soul, and to express life experience”.12 There was also a reiteration of the concept of “beautiful writing”, which stated that “beautiful essays” wish a “return to the original form of prose”.13 Similar opinions all chiefly sought to fix the “essential stipulations” for prose as the expression of “self ” and the “lyrical”. This was closely related to the emphasis on “subjectivity” in literary writing during the 1980s. One aspect was the stress on the literary “selfawareness” of prose, but more important was the prominence given to the “inward turn” of literature that emphasized the expression of the “individual character” and “soul” of the creative subject. As a result, a form termed “lyric prose” was relatively well developed. Zhou Tao, Jia Pingwa, Liu Yeyuan, and Zhou Peihong are among those who achieved comparatively prominent success as writers of “lyric prose”. Initially, Zhou Tao14 primarily wrote poetry and was once

12 Liu Xiqing, ‹Artistic Prose›, the sixth chapter in A Brief History of New Chinese Literature, Beijing Teachers’ University Publishing House, 1997. In the ‹Preface› to Essential Selections of Contemporary Artistic Prose (Liu Xiqing & Cai Yujia ed., Beijing October Publishing House, 1989), Liu Xiqing makes a similar proposal, inducing four points: “First, every essay has an ‘I’ and a clear personality”, “secondly, external matters are ‘internalized’, leading to the large being seen through the small”, “thirdly, an honest, natural freedom in the writing”, and “fourthly, short essays of great charm and interest”. 13 ‹Introductory Words› to the journal Beautiful Writing, Beautiful Writing, no. 1, 1992. 14 Zhou Tao was born in Lucheng, Shanxi Province, in 1946. He moved to Xinjiang in 1955 because of his father’s work transfer. He entered the Chinese Department of Xinjiang University in 1965, and later specialized in literary writing in the military. His major literary works include the poetry collections Mountains of the Gods and Herds of

the art of prose

429

an advocate and practitioner of “new frontier fortress poetry”, but he turned to prose writing in the mid-1980s. His works primarily depict the natural, social, and cultural prospects of the western frontier, and his language is dense (but somewhat confused) and full of feeling. He often employs descriptions of the vast, barren natural landscape of the frontier regions to praise the courage, sturdy, masculine qualities, and unruly vitality of life there. Lengthy prose pieces such as ‹Herding by the Great Wall›, ‹The Wriggling Roof›, and ‹Notes on Autumn in Yili› are constructed out of a number of loose prose pieces that are unified by his eccentric imagination and outpouring of emotion, which oft en merges commentary, lyricism, and narration into one body, and features a broad train of thought in a free style. The prose of certain woman writers frequently exhibits “lyrical” characteristics. They are skilled at excavating poetic meaning from the details of everyday life, and, in the sensitive expression of their moods, create a delicate, richly emotive tone. The most prominent of these woman writers include Wang Yingqi, Tang Min, Ye Meng, Su Ye, Si Hao, and Huang Yin. There are various stages to the prose writings of Wang Yingqi,15 all of which take her perceptions of her experience of life as source material. She made her name with ‹There’s a Small Town›, in which she writes of her memories of the pure, simple ways of the people and events in the town as she expresses her admiration of the warm emotions among people during the special era of the “Cultural Revolution”. A relatively influential work by Tang Min16 was ‹The Flower of Girls›, which delicately transmits the complex experience of being born a woman in describing how a pregnant woman uses a narcissus to divine the sex of her child and her fears that the child will suffer because of being female. The prose of many woman writers was collected and published during “prose

Wild Horses, and collections of prose essays, including Rare Birds, Autumn Winds and Old Friends, Herding by the Great Wall, and High Tables. 15 Wang Yingqi was born in 1954 in Shouxian, Anhui Province. At the age of fourteen, she went to the countryside to work, and in 1972, she began publishing literary works. Later, she held posts as a writer in Anhui and Henan Province. Her major works include the prose collections Native Earth, A Solitary Traveller on a Never-Ending Journey, What have I Lost, and Living Beautifully, and the fiction collection Mansions of Love. 16 Tang Min was born in Shanghai in 1954 to a family from Shandong. She went to live and work in the mountains of Fujian Province during the “Cultural Revolution”. Later she worked in the Fujian Provincial Library, the Fuzhou Literary Federation, and the Xiamen Municipal Literary Federation. Chief among her collections of prose are Longing for Dusk, Nature in the Heart, A Pure Falling of Leaves, and The Flower of Girls.

430

chapter twenty-four

fever” of the 1990s. Under the influence of a consumer-orientated market, there were simplifying and unifying tendencies in the expression of emotions, selection of subject matter, and the writing style of woman prose writers. “Prose of little women”, manipulated and promoted by publishers and journals, also appeared at this time. Many novelists and poets have been writing prose since the 1980s. Some saw this as a form of “amateur” writing, as “basic training” in literary writing,17 but prose could also bear the weight of the expression of experiences that could not be given full rein in poetry or fiction. At the same time Zhang Jie was publishing fiction such as ‹The Child from the Forest› and ‹Love Must Not Be Forgotten›, she was recollecting childhood memories through the eyes of a young girl called “Great Wild Goose” in prose pieces such as ‹Digging Up Shepard’s Purse›, ‹Gathering Ears of Wheat›, and ‹Shadowing People›, which are replete with sentimental feelings of longing for lost “love” and “pure” tender feelings. Jia Pingwa also made considerable contributions in the area of literary prose. Early essays such as ‹Trace of the Moon› and ‹A Peach Tree› describe the beauty and simplicity of the world seen through the eyes of a child, as he paid particular attention to creating a poetic state in his prose. In analyzing ‹A Peach Tree›, Sun Li stated: “This tone doesn’t last long; in the past many famous writers wrote this way. It is the sound of the heart, and also the longing of desires”,18 as he brings to light the connections of this style with the lyrical prose of Zhu Ziqing, Bing Xin, and others during the early period of “May Fourth”. During the mid-1980s, in works such as ‹Initial Notes about Shangzhou› and ‹More Notes about Shangzhou›, Jia Pingwa turned to writing about local customs and circumstances, as he portrayed the landscape, culture, and living conditions in places like Shangzhou and Jingxu Vil-

17 For example, Yu Qiuyu researches the theater and film and has often stated that the writing of literary prose is not his “specialty”. Furthermore: “Today the term ‘professional prose writer’ sounds a little funny, doing something else, responding to a feeling, and writing a couple of prose essays—this should be natural” (‹Concerning Prose, Studying, and Artistic Self-Cultivation—Responding to New People Evening News, Liberation Daily, and Others› in Shen Wei & Wu Hong ed., Interviews with Chinese Writers, Xinjiang Youths & Children’s Publishing House, 1997). Xiao Qian stated: “No matter if it be novelists, poets, dramatists, or reporters writing dispatches and feature reports, literary prose is not a basic skill that can be done without”. Zhang Wei has claimed: “If a person has good literary attainments, writing literary prose is one of his basic abilities” (both essays published in the ‹Casual Visits to 1990s Prose Writing› section in Beautiful Writing, no. 9, 1998). 18 Sun Li, ‹About a Piece of Prose›, in Literary Writings of Sun Li, vol. 4, Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1982.

the art of prose

431

lage in the Shaanxi countryside. Afterwards, he devoted himself to the production of a “leisurely” style of writing similar to that of writers such as Lin Yutang and Liang Shiqiu during the 1930s, as he described the state of the everyday world and human affairs. In its ideological implications, cultural interests, language, and mode of expression, Jia Pingwa’s prose tends to draw on elements of China’s literary tradition, with an outward appearance alternating between a state of “emptiness” and “quiet”, and a succinct, unaffected writing style. Among fiction writers, other examples of highly regarded prose included Wang Zengqi’s Bridge of Cattails, Zhang Chengzhi’s Green Conditions and Ways and The Overgrown Road of Heroes, Shi Tiesheng’s ‹The Temple of Earth and I›, Han Shaogong’s ‹Dream Talk of a Nightwalker›, Zhang Wei’s ‹Melting into the Wild›, and Wang Anyi’s ‹Drifting Words›. Wang Anyi believes that prose writing is the “writer’s truthful record of the self ” after the fiction writer “lays aside the weapons of fabrication”,19 Zhang Wei also believes that in prose one can “directly express sentiments”,20 and most writers saw prose as a mode of writing closer to their personal feelings. For this reason, the prose of fiction writers is of a relatively strong lyrical nature. Since the late 1980s, there has also been no shortage of poets writing literary prose and informal essays. Works of relative influence included Brown Leather Notebook by Yu Jian, Let the Masked People Speak by Xi Chuan, A Construct on Paper by Zhai Yongming, and Holding a Chrysanthemum by Wang Xiaoni, as well was works by others, such as Wang Jiaxin, Zang Di, Hai Nan, and Chen Dongdong. The literary prose and casual essays of these poets frequently features fastidiousness over the accurate expression of imagery, are meticulously thought out, and demonstrate a talent for recording and discussing profound spiritual issues and internal experience.

4. Scholarly Prose and Informal Essays An important phenomenon in prose writing during the 1980s and 1990s was the appearance of a form termed the “prose of scholars” or “cultural

19

Wang Anyi, World of the Soul—Lecture Notes of Wang Anyi on Fiction, Fudan University Publishing House, 1997: 361. 20 Zhang Wei, ‹Casual Visits to 1990s Prose Writing› section in Beautiful Writing, no. 9, 1998.

432

chapter twenty-four

prose”. Most of these writers were scholars in the humanities and social sciences, and, in essays on topics outside their areas of research, they successfully fused the rational thought of scholars and the expression of individual perceptions. The appearance of the “prose of scholars” demonstrated the attention brought to bear by intellectuals on current issues and a new trend towards participation in cultural exchanges. In China’s antiquity, there was not always a clear distinction between the “writing of literati” and the “writing of scholars”. Following the specialization of modern knowledge and developments in establishing fields of study, the demarcation line between “academicians” and “writers” became ever more apparent. Literature was universally seen as a realm of “imagistic thought” within which perceptive experiences such as emotions are expressed, and was seen as being in a different “category” to the “abstract thought” studied in academia. However, this form of clear demarcation was probably damaging to the development of both literary creation and the humanities. For this reason, the phenomenon of academicians “overstepping the boundary” and writing artistic prose is worthy of attention. Veteran academics such as Jin Kemu and Zhong Zhongxing were among the first to begin writing prose in the 1980s. During the early 1990s, Yu Qiuyu—a scholar of art and cultural history—published a series of essays in a special column in the literary journal Harvest, which were later re-published in the collections Arduous Journey through Culture and Shards of Civilization, and had a great impact. Some major journals and publishing houses consciously advocated this form of writing and gave impetus to a boom in the “prose of scholars”. Most writers of the “prose of scholars” are relatively accomplished scholars, who frequently fused academic knowledge and rational thought into their prose. They pay no particular attention to the “norms” of the prose genre, regarding prose as another form of self-expression or an expression of concern over current affairs outside their specialized research. For example, Yu Qiuyu terms himself an “amateur performer”,21 and Chen Pingyuan sees the short reviews he writes as a “special avenue through which to maintain ‘feelings for the world of man’ ”.22 By comparison with many similar pieces of prose, the subject

21 Yu Qiuyu, ‹Casual Visits to 1990s Prose Writing› section in Beautiful Writing, no. 10, 1998. 22 Chen Pingyuan, ‹Preface› to Scholars Feelings for the World of Man, Zhuhai Publishing House, 1995: 2. Zhu Xueqin has a similar theory: “The left hand produces an

the art of prose

433

matter and contents initially drew the attention of readers rather than the narrative form. However, as this content is integrated with the writer’s cultural concerns and personal experiences, a dynamic individuality is manifest through the written expression of this. As a result, the writing of these scholars is relatively free and has actually contributed new elements to prose. Stylistically, most of the “prose of scholars” was comparatively controlled and commonly deployed intellectual humor to balance emotional elements. The permeation of knowledge of theory gave this form a particular ideological depth and emotional breadth. The difference between this type of personal essay and the “miscellaneous essay” form is its greater concern is frequently not with “knowing”, but with “emotion” and “reason”. Therefore, some critics term it “cultural prose”, “philosophical prose”, or the “ ‘intervention of theory’ into the writing of prose”.23 Zhang Zhongxing24 graduated from Beijing University during the 1930s, and in the early 1980s wrote a succession of personal essays of reminiscence, primarily about people and events during the first half of the 1930s at Beijing University. These caught the attention of readers when published as a book under the title of Trivial Words on Sunning Oneself in Winter. His later personal essays were successively collected and published as More on Sunning Oneself in Winter, A Third Time on Sunning Oneself in Winter, and Fleeting Time and Scattering Shadows. Zhang Zhongxing borrowed the classical term “sunning oneself in winter” as the title of his books, and this more-or-less summarizes the writing style he pursued: Transmitting a leisurely, warm temperament and taste by way of a writing technique that incorporates both “poetry” and excess of scholarship, no matter whether winter, spring, summer, or fall; the right hand produces social commentary that is much in demand and that does no harm in getting wrapped up in the world of today” (see The Forgotten and the Criticized—Comments on Books by Zhu Xueqin, Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, 1997). 23 Yu Shusen, Studies into the Contemporary Prose of China, Beijing University Publishing House, 1993. 24 Zhang Zhongxing (1909–) is from Xianghe in Hebei Province. He graduated from the Chinese Department at Beijing University in 1936, and taught at high schools and universities. After 1949, he held the post of editor at the People’s Education Publishing House. His major works include The Literary Language and the Vernacular, Methods of Studying the Literary Language, Buddhism and Chinese Literature, and On Moving Along with Life, and the prose collections Trivial Words on Sunning Oneself in Winter, More on Sunning Oneself in Winter, A Third Time on Sunning Oneself in Winter, and Fleeting Time and Scattering Shadows.

434

chapter twenty-four

“history”.25 Zhang Zhongxing chiefly researches the written language, but he has broad interests that touch on the literary classics and histories and the past and the present both inside and outside China, which has led to him being called an “eclectic”. Not only do his personal essays exhibit a familiarity with all types of knowledge and “anecdotes” about people and events, but his assessments of these people and events reveal reasoned, quietly elegant cultural tastes. These essays of his were widely praised at the time, with some critics acclaiming his work to be a “modern New Account of Well-Known Tales.26 Jin Kemu27 is a scholar and translator of Sanskrit, and has carried out indepth research into Indian religions, philosophies, literatures, and languages. During the early years of his literary life, he was an important poet of the “modernist school”. Since the 1980s, his prose essays have featured remembrances of old friends and past matters, but they are primarily essays on thought that touch on notes about his reading, random comments about culture, and even textual research. These essays are usually targeted on one topic, infused with a wealth of knowledge, exhibit a lively intelligence, and are replete in both wisdom and a calm, jocular literary style. The majority of the issues he discusses is of academic concern and based on his own experience, as well as the history, philosophies, religions, and literatures of the East and West. However, the materials he cites and the conclusions he reaches are rigorous. This characteristic has been termed the “academic-izing of prose essays”.28 The language of his prose is simple and unadorned, close to colloquial, but he introduces the vocabulary and sentence structures of the classi-

25 Zhang Zhongxing, ‹Introductory Note› to Trivial Words on Sunning Oneself in Winter, Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House, 1986. 26 Lü Jiping, ‹Preface› to Trivial Words on Sunning Oneself in Winter, Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House, 1986. 27 Jin Kemu (1912–) is from Shouxian in Anhui Province. He entered an old-style tutorial school as a child, and later went to high school. In 1930, he went to Beijing, and began to publish poetry in 1933. In 1935, he began to work in the Beijing University Library. He traveled to India to study in 1941, and took up a teaching position in the Eastern Language Department at Beijing University in 1948. His major works include the translations Selections of Writings on the Theory of Ancient Indian Literature and the Arts and Selections of Ancient Indian Poetry, the treatises History of Sanskrit Literature, Essays on Indian Culture, and Essays on Cultural Comparisons, the prose collections Past Affairs in India, Explanations of Culture, Questions of Culture, and Essays by Jin Kemu, as well as the poetry collections Bats and Rain and Snow. 28 Xie Mian, ‹Preface› to Selections of the Prose Essays of Jin Kemu, Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1996.

the art of prose

435

cal literary language in a natural way. He does not casually divulge his feelings; instead, in a writing style that always seems undisciplined, he reveals the open-mindedness and penetrating mind of the worldly. Most of the essays in Arduous Journey through Culture and Shards of Civilization by Yu Qiuyu29 are meditations on culture carried out in the manner of notes about journeys he has undertaken. At the same time as relating the details of his experience of a historical site, he also introduces related cultural and historical knowledge, passing on thoughts about the national culture, and in the process “chaotically blending together people, history, and nature”.30 The prose of Yu Qiuyu features a strong sense of cultural introspection: In recollections of past times he sighs over the rise and fall of culture and landscapes, and in his visits to the last vestiges of ancient culture, he considers the undertakings and fates of intellectuals. Although he makes use of great quantities of knowledge about cultural history, his prose is not the simple addition of “culture” to “landscape”; instead, he stresses “quality and style”, namely the penetration of the writer’s meditations on culture and personal experience into the sights he faces, which he terms the “engagement of the individual and the landscape”.31 Yu Qiuyu seeks elegance in the language of his prose, as can be seen in the titles of essays such as ‹Pavilion on a Stormy Day›, ‹A Mountain as a Lonely Pillar of Heaven›, and ‹Silhouette of a Dynasty›. His style often features direct expression of sentiments, but occasionally these emotions can be over-exaggerated. The structure of his essays tends to be repetitious. The vigorous style of the informal essays and the rational, liberal cultural standpoint of Wang Xiaobo32 caught the attention of readers during the

29 Yu Qiuyu (1946–) is from Yuyao in Zhejiang Province. In 1966, he entered the Theatrical Literature Department of the Shanghai Theater Academy, and remained as an instructor after graduation. His major works include the treatises Draft History of Dramatic Theory, Aesthetic Psychology of the Theater, A Historical Account of Theater Culture in China, and The Project of Artistic Creation, and the prose essay collections Arduous Journey through Culture, Shards of Civilization, and The Prose of Qiuyu. 30 Yu Qiuyu, ‹Preface› to Arduous Journey through Culture, Knowledge Publishing House, 1992. 31 Yu Qiuyu, Concerning Prose, Studying, and Artistic Self-Cultivation—Responding to New People Evening News, Liberation Daily, and Others› in Shen Wei & Wu Hong ed., Interviews with Chinese Writers, Xinjiang Youths & Children’s Publishing House, 1997. 32 Wang Xiaobo (1952–1997) was a native of Beijing. In 1968, he went to work and live in Yunnan Province, where he worked as a teacher at a privately run school and

436

chapter twenty-four

1990s. His short essays were closer to being “miscellaneous essays”, his “issue consciousness” was strong, he frequently wrote about concrete cultural or ideological issues, and he revealed his mind despite mocking laughter and curses. His line of thinking was unique, as he frequently entered into the issue he wished to discuss by way of a story or an interesting personal experience, and whenever necessary, dexterously and vividly interjected commentaries and explications of related issues. Wang Xiaobo principally stressed the need to make writing “interesting”. He wrote humorously, and often injected Beijing dialect into his prose to shape a unique narrative form. Other major works of the “prose of scholars” included Scholars’ Feelings for the World of Man and ‹The Will and Spirit of Students› by Chen Pingyuan, ‹The “Fears” and “Loves” of this Generation› by Liu Xiaofeng, ‹Under the Window› by Zhao Yuan, ‹Illusions of an Observer› by Geng Zhanchun, ‹The Chirping of Swallows› by Lu Jiande, and ‹Man and Eternity› by Zhou Guoping.

as a worker. He was accepted as a student in the Trade and Economy Department of People’s University in 1978. In 1984, he went to the USA as a student and completed a Masters Degree in literature. After returning to China, he taught at Beijing University and People’s University. He became a freelance writer in 1992, and died from an illness in Beijing in 1997. His major works include the fiction collections Golden Age, Bronze Age, and Silver Age, the prose collections Joys of Thought, My Spiritual Home, and Silent Majority, as well as the sociological treatise Their World—Perspectives on Male Homosexuals in China (co-written with Li Yinhe).

CHAPTER TWENTYFIVE

THE SITUATION OF LITERATURE IN THE 1990s

1. Changes in the Literary Environment The most important event in the People’s Republic of China during the 1990s was the systemic legitimacy won for the full rollout of the market economy. The development goals for China’s “modernization” that were proposed during the early 1980s, though fundamentally oriented towards market-ization, were primarily adjustments made to the planned economy in the direction of a market economy, and there was still a close relationship between state organs, the lifestyles of writers, and the production and circulation of their works. The 1992 suggestion that a market economy replace the planned economy in Chinese society,1 led directly to the proposal of a cultural policy calling for reform of the literary system. In principle, writers, literary journals, and publishing houses would enter the market and no longer rely on state subsidies. The salaries writers received from state organs such as the Writers Association and the Literature Federation, as well as the manuscript fees they were able to garner from “pure literature” (or “serious literature”) periodicals and publishing houses,2 were no longer as generous as they had been in comparison to other segments of society. As a result, there were writers who “put out to sea”—meaning that they became businessmen; a

1

The talks Deng Xiaoping gave in places like Wuhan and Shenzhen during his 1992 inspection tour of the reform situation in China’s southern cities have been termed “talks of the inspection tour of the South”. 2 “Pure literature” periodicals is a term primarily indicative of periodicals that continued to uphold “literary” standards and specialized in publishing literary works such as poetry, prose essays, and fiction. At variance with these were periodicals that principally published literary works of a commercial tendency, most of which are operated by individuals or business enterprises. The manuscript fees of the former were much lower than those of the latter. According to one information source, the state-stipulated manuscript fees of state-operated periodicals were approximately 30 Yuan RMB per 1,000 characters, while those of commercial newspapers and periodicals were mostly over 100 Yuan RMB per 1,000 characters. See: Chen Li, ‹Predicaments and Breakthroughs—An Investigation into the Conditions of Shanghai Writers during the Period of Economic System Change›, Social Sciences, no. 1, 1995.

438

chapter twenty-five

greater number of writers began to write better paid forms of “sub-literature”, such as scripts for television series, fact-based literature, popular fiction, and advertising literature. Market-ization not only changed the lifestyles of writers, but also led to the appearance of “high demand” hot spots for books brought about by the coordination of publication activities, advertising, and literary works themselves. Examples of these were the publication of the Literary Writings of Wang Shuo, as well as A Beijinger in New York, A Chinese Woman in Manhattan, and other examples of the “immigrant literature” fad, and City in Ruins, White Deer Plain, and other works of the “eastern march of the Shaanxi Army”. These phenomena illustrate that the existence of literary works is not merely an activity of “individual” writers, but has become subject to market selection at every point, including writing, publication, and circulation, as well as the intervention of “collective” activities. During the 1990s, “modernization” was fully realized and rolled out in concrete socially organized forms, while changes occurred in attitudes and the cultural imagination of “modernization” in intellectual circles that differed from those of the 1980s. During the 1980s, “modernization” was a new development program that saw off the “historical tyranny” of the “Cultural Revolution” and served as a resolution to social contradictions, and the thoughts of intellectual circles were full of hope and optimistic prospects. In general, the idealistic mood that enveloped the cultural atmosphere of the 1980s was built on this imagined foundation. However, when it came time for concrete practice, people discovered differences between their ideals and reality; in particular, the appearance of all manner of negative effects during the modernization process made them conscious of contradictions inherent in these developments. The most important of these was the “marginalization” of the influence and position of intellectuals in society following the formation of the regulatory mechanism of the market and the maturing of a consumer culture. They began to have doubts about personal value and the cultural ideas they once held. As a result, the evolutionistic, optimistic mood of the 1980s was greatly weakened in the cultural consciousness and literary content of the 1990s, and a tone of hesitation, confusion, criticism, and introspection gained prominence. Among those elements that influenced opinions about modernization during the 1990s, it is worth noting the development of “globalization”. One aspect of this influence was a change in the knowledge of “the West” in intellectual circles. At the conclusion of the “Cultural Revolution”, the term “the West” was usually taken as a byword for the “world”. To some

the situation of literature in the s

439

degree, the understanding of “modernization” during the 1980s took an imagined “West” as a reference frame, and the West was seen to be both materially and culturally superior to China. For this reason, discussions about modernization frequently featured the entwining of the West and China, past and present, in the same topic.3 This form of thinking was most prevalent in literary circles. As an imaginative space, the modern literature of “the West” surreptitiously became the “future” of literary development in China. However, as understandings of countries in Europe and the Americas became more “truthful” and thoroughgoing, the differences between the “true” “West” and the imagined “West” came as a great shock. This shock was not merely the result of conflicts between different cultures, but chiefly due to the ruthless destruction of cherished notions. With an increase in the number of similar experiences, the “true” “West” gradually appeared. In the discussion of modernization, there were also changes in the understanding of the temporal issue of “past and present” as the spatial idea of “China and the West”. On the other hand, as a form of capitalist economic expansion, “globalization” has already become a reality for China after the opening to the West and economic reforms. It has keenly revealed the problems and contradictions of the expansion of capital. Therefore, it is not only an issue of market-ization, for the contradictions of the modern rationalization project and issues such as nationality are all revealing themselves to the people of China as facts of the realization of “modernization”. Another characteristic of the literary environment during the 1990s was the public appearance of differing cultural forms and standpoints. During the 1980s, although there were cultural controversies over issues such as “alienation”, “humanism”, and “culture fever”, the cultural groups that were in mainstream positions in society were able to achieve a certain convergence of understanding. But in the 1990s, terms that appeared with a relatively high frequency included “pluralization” and “individualization”. The understandings of concepts originally seen as collective or unitary, such as “modernization”, “development”, and “historical criticism”, tended to display divisions. These divisions were not only in terms of descriptive understanding, but were also rooted in social reality. Because of the political incident in 1989, the relationship

3 For details, see: Gan Yang, ‹Some Issues in the Cultural Discussions of the 1980s› in Culture: The World and China (vol. 1), Life · Reading · New Knowledge Three United Bookstore, 1987.

440

chapter twenty-five

between literature and politics was relatively tense for a time during the early 1990s, and there was an increase in political controls over literary creation and criticism. After the proposal of the market economy policy in 1992, readjustments were made to literary and artistic policies. 4 The development and establishment of a market economy system made possible a distancing in the relationship between culture and politics. Even if state politics interfered with literary works, they could be distributed through a “second circulation channel” (namely, unofficial publication and sales). At the same time, China’s consumer culture had fundamentally taken form by the 1990s. “Mass culture” became the chief cultural demand of people, and had already fundamentally formed a set of operational industrial modes. As a result, cultural differentiations during the 1990s became even more apparent. There are several descriptions of this division. One of the more typical differentiates between three forms: “mainstream culture” (also called state ideological culture, official culture, and orthodox culture), intellectual culture (also known as refined culture), and mass culture (also referred to fashionable or popular culture). Yet, in fact, this delineation is not entirely appropriate, and the relationships between the three are not so simple or consistent, as the various cultural forms frequently overlap and penetrate each other. The diversification of culture led to increased diversification among intellectuals as a group. Among the first issues that required a resolution by intellectuals were what form participation in current cultural practices should take and the cultural standpoint from which to speak. But this differentiation did not progress in a simple and direct manner, as it was undertaken in a situation of incessant cultural exchanges and controversies. The dispute that was most important, of the largest scale, and the most far-reaching influence was the 1993–1995 controversy about the “spirit of the humanities”. Some researchers in the humanities5 raised

4

See: ‹Liberate Thought, Strengthen Unity, Reform the System, and Promote Creation—The China Literature Federation and the China Writers Association respectively hold Symposiums Studying the Fourteenth Congress›, Literature & Arts Press, 7 November 1992; ‹Welcome the Victorious Convocation of the Party’s Fourteenth Congress, Intensively Study Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s Talks on his Inspection Tour of the South›, China Author, no. 6, 1992; ‹Put the “Left” in its Place, Promote Creation—Beijing Writers and Critics Study the Minutes of the Symposium on Documents of the Fourteenth Congress›, Zhuhai Special Zone Press, 7 November 1992. 5 The first to raise the issue were Shanghai scholars such as Wang Xiaoming, Li Jie, and Chen Sihe. The article that gave rise to the controversy was a record of a five-way conversation, ‹Ruins in the Wilderness—The Crisis of the Spirit of the Humanities›,

the situation of literature in the s

441

this issue in a critique of social and literary phenomena, and this set off a dispute. The core of the discussion primarily revolved around the issues of the value and social function of intellectuals, and major topics were over what is the “spirit of the humanities”, how to treat phenomena of the commercial culture, as well as the social realities of the 1990s. Even though this discussion did not end in “consensus”, major cultural differences and contradictions were exposed during this dispute. It was an obvious fact that the principal conflict of 1990s-literature had shifted towards that between literary creation and commercial manipulation from the 1980s advocacy of the “independence” of literature with regard to the relationship between literature and politics. Differentiating between the “refined” and “vulgar” and between “pure literature” and “popular literature” was proposed once again. However, under the market system, neither “refined” nor “vulgar” literature could depart from the machinations of the publishing industry and the choices of the market for cultural consumption. As a result, the difference between the “refined” and the “vulgar” became ambiguous.

2. Important Literary Phenomena There was a universal awareness in literary circles of the changes that were occurring in society and literature during the 1990s. Yet, there were a multitude of opinions about how to understand and assess this transformation. Comparatively influential among them were the end of the “new period” theory and the proposal of the concept of the “postnew period”.6 While seeing “new period literature” as a totality, some critics believed that upon entry into the 1990s, because of the “shift” in society, literary themes, the overall writing style, and the relationship between readers and literature had all begun to change, and it was for

published in the 1993 no. 6 edition of Shanghai Literature. Wang Xiaoming and Zhang Hong were among the participants. 6 Materials about the “conclusion of the new period” theory and the “post-new period” concept primarily consist of: Xie Mian & Zhang Yiwu, Patterns of the Great Turn—Post-New Period Cultural Studies, Heilongjiang Educational Publishing House, 1995; Feng Jicai, ‹The End of an Age›, Free Literary Conversations, no. 3, 1993; Zhang Yiwu, ‹“Fissures” and “Shifts”—Current Prospects of the Changing Patterns of China’s “Post-New Period” Culture›, Orient, no. 4, 1994; Wang Ning, ‹The “Post-New Period”: A Theoretical Description›, Flower City, no. 3, 1995.

442

chapter twenty-five

this reason “new period literature” had “ended”. They saw “new period literature” as a socio-political form of literature, and 1990s literature as a form of writing in a “commercial society”. However, this “post-new period” concept was not universally acknowledged. Proposing the “1990s” as a literary period was not because it possesses the characteristics of an independent period. Compared to the changes that occurred within contemporary literature during the late 1970s and early 1980s, the “continuities” between the 1990s and 1980s literature were greater than the “discontinuities”. This was because the social “shift” at the turn of the decade was chiefly due to the broad rollout of the market economy, and society and culture had not made a conscious comprehensive readjustment (as had occurred at the end of the “Cultural Revolution”). The literary norms that had been established during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s were inclined to disintegration during the 1980s, and this was given further impetus during the 1990s. Of course, the commercial nature of literary works and writing was already plain for all to see, and this was linked with the developing culture market and culture industry. That is to say, as a social backdrop that could not be overlooked, the constraining powers of the market economy gradually became apparent and constituted the “substantial” contents of literature. The weakening of literary trends was another phenomenon of the 1990s. After “new realist” fiction, literary circles attempted to promote further trends with names like “new historical fiction”, “new situation fiction”, “new experience fiction”, and the “shock wave of realism”. However, due to the differences between the explication of these theories and the concrete practices of these concepts, even though some works of these types did exist, writers lost interest in the formation and promotion of trends, and as a result, these concepts did not gain broad acceptance. In the process of the development of 1990s literature, it is diffi cult to locate traces of the trend forms that promoted literature during the 1980s (especially during the early and mid-1980s). In a society that had steadily lost its sole “theme”, and in a more “pluralistic” situation with regard to understandings of the world and literature, there had already been a change in the fundamental ideas about and demands of literature. The choices and demands of the market had smashed the “orderly” progress of literature, and the reassessment of history also led to doubts over demands for historical development and the corresponding historical view of the new tide in literature. As a result, the weakening of “tide”-like trends was inevitable.

the situation of literature in the s

443

“Novel fever” and “prose fever” were indicative of the comparative prominence of these forms (see Chapter 24). There was a great increase in the number of novels during the 1990s, a universally noticed phenomenon. During the 1990s, almost all active fiction writers wrote at least one novel, and almost all the most influential works of writers such as Wang Meng, Wang Anyi, Jia Pingwa, Zhang Wei, Han Shaogong, Zhang Chengzhi, Yu Hua, Liu Zhenyun, Su Tong, and Ge Fei, were novels. This increase in the number of novels may be seen as a symbol of the “maturity” of writers and literature. In novel writing, a writer can concentrate on one literary work for a relatively long time, and can express a broader range of more complex issues. In their novels, writers such as Wang Anyi, Zhang Chengzhi, and Yu Hua exhibited distinct individual artistic characteristics. However, the flourishing of novels was also closely linked to the commercialized literary market, and this frequently led to the production of an even greater number of unsuccessful novels. Novels possess a “literary form of an economic nature”, and manuscript fees based in the number of characters led to the increasing length of works, and the publication of novels frequently had a great commercial impact. Readers have only to make sense of the relationships between characters to read through a novel, not having to start over from the beginning each time as is the case with short stories and novellas. Adaptation for television and film also primarily requires novels. Another phenomenon of 1990s literature was the role of criticism in literary circles, which grew more independent, but also found itself in a great predicament. A number of important literary incidents occurred in critical circles, such as the issue of “academic standards”, the discussion about “young scholars”, and the debate about the “spirit of the humanities”. The theoretical nature of criticism was an important characteristic of literary criticism during the 1990s. Now literary criticism is not entirely given over to the evaluation of literary works, but seeks the integral nature of its own theory, carrying out its own “creation” on the foundation of the literary work. This is closely related to the introduction of literary theory and criticism of the last forty years from Europe and the Americas. New Criticism, narrative theory, structuralism, deconstruction, post-modernism, post-colonialism, feminism, and other theories found their expression in the literary criticism of the 1990s. The development of theory was not only a cognitive precondition for the enrichment of criticism, but also led to criticism obtaining a degree of independence, while providing an unprecedented space for the explication and understanding of literature.

444

chapter twenty-five

The relationship between literary criticism and cultural criticism was also an issue that caught the eye during the 1990s. The changes in the ways by which literature was produced and disseminated, as well as the emergence of diversification in cultural standpoints, led to the corresponding appearance of a “cultural criticism” form in the field of literary criticism. This form of criticism does not place an emphasis on making judgments about the “aesthetic” qualities of literary works, but deals with the cultural properties of such works and the processes by which they are produced and received, and as a result, more efficiently explains the market-ization of literature. The increasingly theoretical nature of criticism has begun to give it an importance equivalent to literary creation, and has allowed it to participate in the process of literary development. However, as criticism has become increasingly divorced from literary creation, this phenomenon has led to questions being raised by a large number of literary scholars; moreover, setting out from a traditional conception of literary criticism, writers have been highly critical of the situation in criticism during the 1990s. This has resulted in talk about the “absence of criticism”. These issues are indicative of the embarrassing predicament in which criticism finds itself.

3. The Overall Situation of Literature in the 1990s During the 1990s, the expressive “content” of literature was prominent and held to be of importance, and formal experimentation was in a comparatively “marginal” position. As a literary trend, “avant-garde fiction” of the mid- and late 1980s was not carried over into the 1990s. However, this did not mean that formal experimentation was discontinued. The conscious stress placed on “narrative” and language by “avant-garde fiction” and some “avant-garde” poets was essentially accepted as a form of literary “common sense” and fused into universal creative pursuits. There are also some writers, such as Han Dong, Zhu Wen, Lu Yang, Shuping, Dongxi, and Li Feng in fiction, and Ouyang Jianghe, Xi Chuan, Wang Jiaxin, Zhai Yongming, Sun Wenbo, and Zang Di in poetry, who have carried out new explorations of an “avant-garde character” in literary form. However, the attention they garnered in literary circles was far less enthusiastic than that enjoyed by avant-garde experimentation during the 1980s.

the situation of literature in the s

445

Reflection on “history” was still a theme of literary work during the 1990s, but there was a difference in standpoints and depth, as well as the actual “history” dealt with in these reflections. From the early 1990s, the writers of what had been termed “avant-garde fiction” and “new realist fiction” almost universally turned to writing about “history”. Examples of this include Shouting in the Drizzle,7 Alive, and The Story of Xu Sanguan Selling Blood by Yu Hua, Rice and My Career as an Emperor by Su Tong, Enemies and The Brink by Ge Fei, the Mooring at Qinhuai by Night series and Love in Nineteen Thirty-Seven by Ye Zhaoyan, Chrysanthemums Under Hometown Skies, Hometown Getting Along is Passed On, and Friendly Faces of Hometown Flowers by Liu Zhenyun, Daydream of a Heavenly River by Liu Heng, ‹Plotting Murder› and ‹You are a River› by Chi Li, and ‹Where is My Home› by Fang Fang. These stories do not only touch on Chinese history since 1949, such as the “Anti-Rightist” campaign and the “Cultural Revolution”, which had previously been dealt with by “scar literature” and “introspective fiction”, but also took a greater interest in the history of the entire twentieth century. These stories did not handle major historical incidents, but instead describe the fate of individuals or families against the backdrop of “orthodox history”. In some stories (such as Su Tong’s My Career as an Emperor) “history” is merely a space that overlooks the limitations of time and is different from current reality. A sense of the author having experienced the vicissitudes of life permeates all these stories. History is frequently handled as a series of violent incidents, and individuals always have difficulty mastering their own fates and become victims of the violence of history. Compared to the epic nature of the fiction of the 1950s and 1960s and the “political re-evaluations” of early-1980s fiction, these stories placed greater stress on a lyrical form of individual experience and destiny. It is for these reasons that some critics have termed this “new historical fiction”.8 Of course, during the 1990s “contemporary” history, including retrospective themes on the “anti-rightist” campaign and the “Cultural

7

Yu Hua’s novel Shouting in the Drizzle was initially published in the literary journal Flower City in 1991 under the title of Shouting and Drizzle. 8 “New historical fiction” was a concept proposed by critics such as Chen Xiaoming and Chen Sihe to epitomize some stories that described history, such as Mo Yan’s ‹Red Sorghum› and Ge Fei’s ‹A Good Year›. But this concept lacked clear limits and was not broadly accepted in literary circles.

446

chapter twenty-five

Revolution”, continued to be dealt with in other works, such as ‹A Tree with No Wind› and ‹A Thousand Miles Without a Cloud› by Li Rui, ‹Ferocious Beasts› by Wang Shuo, and Golden Age by Wang Xiaobo. In the area of prose, a succession of factual memoirs dealing with the history of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s were published, chief among which were texts such as those collected in the “Phoenix Literary Storehouse”, examples of which are Second Thoughts by Ba Jin and Scanning the Life of Man by Li Hui. In the area of criticism, there were discussions on subjects such as the re-evaluation of twentieth century “radicalism”. Also related to this were important novels and collections from the 1950s1970s, such as republished versions of Composition of the Red Flag and Literary Writings of Hao Ran, and the initial publication of unearthed manuscripts of that time, such as Shen Congwen’s Letters Home, Informal Essays from the Dreamless Building, and Diary of Gu Zhun. All these were examples of the varied responses to the demand for a reassessment of history at the end of the century. The “shift” that occurred in both culture and society upon entry into the 1990s, the change in the position and function of intellectuals, and the orientation towards consumption in the new commercial society led a number of writers to feel a pressing need to concentrate their attention on the spiritual issues of life. These writers had already established their individual artistic characteristics and literary positions during the 1980s, and most had a background as “educated youths”. To varying degrees, their work during the 1990s was expressive of a concern for spiritual issues and themes critical of current affairs. Examples of this included the novel History of the Soul and the prose works The Overgrown Road of Heroes and With the Pen as a Banner by Zhang Chengzhi, the novels Family and The Wisdom of Cedars and the prose piece ‹Melting into the Wilds› by Zhang Wei, the novel Maqiao’s Dictionary and the prose work ‹Dream Talk of a Nightwalker› by Han Shaogong, the fictional piece ‹Notes on a Discussion about Principles› and the prose ‹The Temple of Earth and I› by Shi Tiesheng, and the novels Utopian Poems and Records of Actual Events and Fabrications and the prose work ‹Rebuilding Utopia› by Wang Anyi. These works frequently upheld an “elite” standpoint and, while stripping away the political implications of the idealistic spirit of the 1980s, attempted to search out spiritual resources with which to oppose the pragmatism and utilitarianism of a commercial society. For this reason, in these works there is a strengthening of “metaphysical” themes such as the meaning and value of the existence of man, and philosophies of life, religions, historical traditions, and “folk” culture were

the situation of literature in the s

447

the chief locations in which spiritual resources were sought and ultimately unearthed. Realistic expressions of the material nature of life in the modern city were rolled out as never before in the literary work of the 1990s. As they maintained a clear-cut “synchronous” attention to developments in society, these works were often brought together by theories of literary “realism”. For example, developments in “new realism” during the 1990s, and the naming of “new situation fiction”, “new experience fiction”, and the “shockwave of realism”, all demonstrated this orientation. However, the disintegration of an integrated political ideology during the 1980s and the prominent material emergence of a commercial society led to changes in the basic techniques and contents of literature when this “reality” was being portrayed. “Individual” experience in literature had a new, special meaning. It implied a departure for the independent pose of the collective politicized thought of the 1980s, and also meant that in an as-yet-unformed (“shifting”) society, individual experience had become the chief basis upon which writers relied to describe reality. The former trend was more apparent in poetry, while the latter was more evident in fiction. A frequently utilized fictional structure was built out of the organization of the experiences and “fragmentary” impressions of individuals. The autobiographical fiction of woman writers such as Chen Ran and Lin Bai, and the fiction of “new situation” and “new experience” writers, who intruded into the story in the guise of “one having personal experience”, were all of this nature. For this reason, “individuated writing” (or “personalized writing”) was a frequently visited topic of writers and critics during the 1990s. The fiction of Zhang Min9 can be viewed as an example of this “individuated writing”. For the most part, pieces such as Taboo on Love, ‹Delusions of Lust›, and ‹Stories of My Own› revolve around the lives of characters on university campuses, with the story unfolding from the viewpoint of a principal character who relates his story in the first person. The contents of his work are often primarily related to characters’ individual experience of emotions and desire, through which he strove

9

Zhang Min was born in Shanghai in 1959, but lived and worked in the countryside during the “Cultural Revolution”. He began teaching in institutions of higher education after graduating from the Chinese Department of the Shanghai Teachers College in 1982. He began publishing literary works in 1987, his major publications numbering the short story collections Delusions of Lust and Stories of My Own and the novel Taboo on Love.

448

chapter twenty-five

to express the internal conflicts and experience of characters. Compared to much of the frequently moody narrative style of fiction on similar themes, Zhang Min’s tone is calm and tactful, featuring a precise grasp of details and feelings. The daily emergence of “new” phenomena in areas such as urban life and the taste of urbanites was another major object of expression in literature during the 1990s. The objects of the literature of “realism” during the 1980s were chiefly people and affairs within the “regime”, and this writing was usually able to obtain a degree of ideological legitimacy. But in the 1990s, people and affairs “outside the system”, such as white-collar workers, small-scale private business people, and ordinary city-dwellers, quickly became important objects of literary expression. As the old ideology could neither contain nor explain these phenomena, and writers still had a hesitant, uncertain grasp of these matters, they generally tended to ponder the massive influence of material existence on the life of the individual. Examples of such fiction include I Love American Dollars and Single-Edged Eyelids by Zhu Wen, Hello Little Brother and Life is No Crime by He Dun, New People of the Cities and Starlight on Hands by Qiu Huadong, and Absolutely No Coincidence and Head of the Table by Zhang Xin. Although in their contents these stories featured new explorations, the thought that went into them appeared to be comparatively weak. Zhu Wen10 initially wrote poetry, but in 1991, he turned to fiction, which primarily exhibits the unfolding of individual desire and the forms of its expression in a society of swelling material desires. His fiction usually has themes with characteristics of “moral” rebellion, as well as a coarsened narrative language and descriptions of events, but he is able to calmly control the rhythm of this narrative and as a result manifest a unique dynamism. He Dun,11 on the other hand, is skilled in writing about the urban petit bourgeoisie, primarily “small private business operators”, and portrays the life experiences of people moving from “inside the system” to “outside the system” as if they are “duty-bound to move into another world made up of money, violence, and bewitching temptation”. He fur-

10 Zhu Wen was born in Fujian Province in 1967, and graduated from the Power Department at Southeast China University in 1989. His chief publication to date is the fiction collection I Love American Dollars. 11 He Dun is from Changsha in Hunan Province, and his major publication to date is the fiction collection Hello Little Brother.

the situation of literature in the s

449

ther develops the lives of urbanites originally portrayed in the fiction of Wang Shuo, concretely laying bare their pursuit of money and desires, and weaving this into lively, readable stories. He uses the Hunan dialect in relating these stories, and this further increases the “primordial” tone of his fiction.

A CHRONOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE IN CHINA

1949 24 March

Publication of the story ‹Exhortation› by Sun Li in Progress Daily.

2 April

‹Resolution of the Northeast Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Issue of Xiao Jun› is published in the Northeast Daily.

21 June

Zhao Shuli’s discussion about writing, ‹This Too Can be Considered Experience› is published in People’s Daily.

2–19 July

The China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress is convoked in Beijing and establishes the China National Literature and Arts World Federation (simplified as the “Literature Federation”) and its affiliated associations, such as the China National Literature Workers Association (simplified as the “Literature Association”). Guo Moruo is the chair of the Literature Federation, with Mao Dun and Zhou Yang as vice-chairs.

August

The Magnetic Force supplement of Shanghai’s Literary Confluence opens a debate under the title of ‹Can the Petit Bourgeoisie Class be Written›. Xi Qun, Chen Baichen, and He Qifang are among those who participate. Sun Li’s collection of fiction and prose Lotus Lake is published by the Life·Reading·New Knowledge Shanghai United Distribution Center.

August

September The inaugural edition of Literature & Arts Press, the official publication of the National Literature Federation, is published in Beiping. September New Heroic Tales of Daughters and Sons by Kong Jue and Yuan Jing is published by the Petrel Bookstore. October

The inaugural edition of People’s Literature, the official publication of the China National Literature Workers Association, is published.

452

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

October

The novel Romance of Heroes of the Lü and Liang States by Ma Feng and Xi Rong is published by the Beijing New China Bookstore.

15 November The Beijing municipal government establishes the Mass Literature & Arts Study Society. Zhao Shuli and fourteen others are proposed as executive committee members. On January 20 of the following year, the popular literature and arts monthly Speaking and Singing is inaugurated. This year

The 54 volumes of the post-Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art selection of outstanding literary works, the China Peoples Literature and Arts Book Series, is published. This includes 23 plays, including ‹The WhiteHaired Girl› by He Jingzhi and others, 16 works of fiction, including ‹Rhymes of Li Youcai› by Zhao Shuli, 7 works of reportage, including ‹Fragments of Norman Bethune› by Zhou Erfu, 5 books of poetry, including ‹Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang› by Li Ji, and 2 books of story-telling texts, including ‹The Reunion of Liu Qiao› by Han Qixiang.

1950 January

Xiao Yemu’s short-story ‹Between This Husband and Wife› and Zhu Ding’s short-story ‹Company Commander Guan› are published in the no. 3 edition of People’s Literature.

28 February February

Dai Wangshu dies of an illness in Beijing. The inaugural edition of Tianjin’s Literature & Arts Studies publishes Ah Long’s essay ‹On Tendentiousness›, which initiates a discussion about the relationship between literature and politics in literary and artistic circles. The inaugural edition of Northeast Literature & Arts is published.

February 12 March

Gu Yu’s short-story ‹New Matters New Methods› is published in the People’s Daily.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

453

April

The official publication of the China National Theater Workers Association, People’s Theater (monthly) is officially published, and at the head of the issue is a reproduction of the handwritten letter from Mao Zedong to Yang Shaoxuan and Qi Yanming after watching ‹Driven onto Mount Liang› in 1944.

June

Zhao Shuli’s short-story ‹Registration› is published in Speaking and Singing.

22 September Sun Li’s novel An Initial Record of a Stormy Situation begins serialization in the Tianjin Daily. September The official publication of the Beijing branch of the Literature Federation, Beijing Literature & Arts, is inaugurated. The first edition publishes Lao She’s play ‹Dragon Beard Ditch›.

1951 February

Qi Xia, Wu Fu, Zhang Liyun are among those who write articles critical of the novel Our Power is Invincible by Bi Ye.

April

Wei Wei’s prose essay ‹Who are the Most Loveable People› is published in People’s Daily.

12 May

Zhou Yang makes his ‹Steadfastly Carry Out Mao Zedong’s Line in Literature and the Arts› speech at the Central Literary Research Institute (later renamed the Literature Institute). It is published on May 17 in Enlightenment Daily. Publication of Mao Zedong’s social commentary piece ‹We Should Pay Attention to the Discussion of the Movie “The Tale of Wu Xun”› in the People’s Daily leads to a roll out of critical attacks on the film ‹The Tale of Wu Xun›.

20 May

June June

The inaugural edition of Liberation Army Literature & Arts (monthly) is published. The People’s Daily publishes Chen Yong’s article ‹Tendencies in the Writing of Xiao Yemu› in which he criticizes the “petty bourgeoisie opinions and tastes” of Xiao

454

a chronology of contemporary literature in china Yemu in his stories ‹Between This Husband and Wife› and ‹Beside the Cheng River›. On 20 June, the Literature & Arts Press publishes ‹Oppose Playing with the Attitudes of the People, Oppose New Bad Taste› by “reader Li Dingzhong” (a penname of Feng Xuefeng).

July

July

8 August

August

September September

Originally published in China Youth, Ma Feng’s shortstory ‹Marriage› is recommended to readers and reprinted by the People’s Daily. The second series of 24 volumes of New Literature Selections edited by Mao Dun is published by the Kaiming Bookstore. The 24 selected authors include Lu Xun and Qu Qiubai. People’s Daily publishes Zhou Yang’s essay ‹An AntiPeople, Anti-Historical Ideology, and Anti-Realist Art— Criticism of the Film “The Tale of Wu Xun”›. Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin on Literature and the Arts is published by the People’s Literature Publishing House. The novel Copper Walls Iron Barriers by Liu Qing is published by People’s Literature Publishing House. Wang Yao’s Draft History of China’s New Literature (vol. 1) is published by the Kaiming Bookstore.

23 December The Beijing Municipal Party Committee awards Lao She the title of “People’s Artist”.

1952 January

The inaugural edition of Playscripts is published.

15 March

Soviet newspapers publish the list of writers and artists who have won Stalin Prizes for 1951. Ding Ling’s novel The Sun Shines over the Sanggan River wins a second prize, as does the opera ‹The White-Haired Girl› by He Jingzhi and Ding Yi, and Zhou Libo’s novel Hurricane is awarded a third prize.

10 May

In its nos. 9–16 editions, Literature & Arts Press rolls out ‹Discussions on the Issue of Creating New Heroic Characters›.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 25 May

May

455

Shu Wu publishes Mao’s ‹Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art› in Changjiang Daily, and undertakes self-criticism over errors in his essay ‹On the Subjective›. This essay, with annotations by the editors, is reprinted in the People’s Daily on 8 June. Literature & Arts Press begins the serialization of Feng Xuefeng’s long essay ‹Outline of the Development from Classical Realism to Socialist Realism in Chinese Literature›.

September

Yu Pingbo’s Dream of the Red Chamber Studies (revised edition) is published by Tangdi Publishing House.

October

Yang Shuo’s novella ‹Three Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains› begins serialization in the no. 10 edition of People’s Literature. People’s Literature Publishing House plans to collate and republish annotated versions of China’s famous classical literary works. This includes the publication of Water Margins, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, Unofficial History of the Literati, Notes on Strange Matters from Idleness Studio, and The Story of the Western Chamber, the complete or selected works of poets such as Qu Yuan, Cao Zhi, Tao Yuanming, Li Bai, and Du Fu, as well as biographies of famous writers. Cai Yi’s Lectures on the History of China’s New Literature is published by the New Literature & Arts Publishing House.

October

October

December

The National Literature Association organizes a “Symposium on Hu Feng Thought in Literature and Art”. Lin Mohan’s speech ‹The Anti-Marxist Literature and Artistic Thought of Hu Feng› and He Qifang’s speech ‹The Realist or the Anti-Realist Road› are published in the no. 2 and no. 3 editions of Literature & Arts Press.

This year

The writer Zhang Ziping is convicted of being a “traitor to China” and sentenced to 18 years in prison during the “three-anti” and “five-anti” campaigns (against former Nationalist government officials and private industry and commerce respectively). He dies of illness on a laborreform farm in Anhui Province some years later.

456

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 1953

11 January

January 22 February

February

People’s Daily reprints Zhou Yang’s ‹Socialist-Realism— The Road Forward for Chinese Literature› after its original publication in the Soviet literary magazine The Flag, no. 12, 1952. The inaugural edition of Literature & Arts Monthly is published. The Beijing University Literature Research Institute is established with Zheng Zhenduo as director. In 1956, it becomes the Literature Research Institute of the Philosophy and Social Sciences Department of the Chinese College of Sciences. Ba Jin’s collection of prose essays and feature articles Living Among Heroes is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

April

The Creative Committee of the National Literature Association convokes in Beijing a symposium for over 40 writers, critics, and leaders in literature and arts work to study socialist-realist theory and to assign 22 books on literary and artistic issues by Marx, Engels, Stalin, Mao, and others as must-reads.

July

The inaugural edition of Translations is published.

August

The inaugural edition of Changjiang Literature & Arts is published.

23 September– The Second Congress of Representatives of National 6 October Literature and Arts Workers is convoked in Beijing, the name of the “Literature Federation” is fixed as the “China National Literature and Arts World Federation” and the name of the “Literature Association” is changed to the “China Writers Association”. 20 November

Li Zhun’s story ‹Don’t Take that Road› is published in the Henan Daily. It is reprinted in People’s Daily on 26 January of the next year.

This year

Issues in Soviet Literature & Arts (translated by Cao Jinghua et al.) is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

457

1954 January January March March

Theater Press, the official publication of the China Dramatists Association, publishes its inaugural edition. Zhi Xia’s novel Guerrilla Forces of the Railroad is published. The inaugural edition of Enlightenment Daily’s scholarly supplement Literary Heritage is published. Lu Ling’s ‹“Battle” of the Lowlands› is published by People’s Literature.

April

The inaugural edition of Literature & Arts Studies, a publication for the popularization of literature and arts edited by the China Writers Association, is published.

May

People’s Literature reprints the long poem ‹Ashima› of the Sani nationality that was originally serialized from 3 January in the Yunnan Daily.

30 June

The no. 12 edition of Literature & Arts Press publishes Hou Jinjing’s critical article ‹An Assessment of Three Pieces of Fiction by Lu Ling›, which raises criticisms about the stories ‹“Battle” of the Lowlands›, ‹Heart of a Soldier›, and ‹Your Forever Loyal Comrade›. Du Pengcheng’s novel Defend Yan’an is published by People’s Literature Publishing House. Ba Ren’s Manuscripts on Literature is published by the New Literature & Arts Publishing House.

June June 17 July

July

The seventh expanded council of the presidium of the China Writers Association discusses and passes the reference booklists for the study of political theory and the classical literary heritage for workers in literature and the arts. These booklists are published in the no. 5 edition of Literature & Arts Studies. Hu Feng passes on his 30,000-character “suggestion letter” on problems in literature and the arts—‹A Report Concerning the Situation in Literary and Artistic Practice Since Liberation›—to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

458

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

September

‹Concerning “A Short Study of the Dream of the Red Chamber,” and Other Views› by Li Xifan and Lan Ling is published in Shandong University’s Literature History Philosophy. Literature & Arts Press reprints it in the no. 18 edition with added annotations by the editors.

16 October Mao Zedong writes the ‹Letter on the “Dream of the Red Chamber Research” Issue› for Politburo members and others. Not long after, a campaign of criticism of Dream of the Red Mansion research is rolled out nationwide. December December This year

Cultural circles nationwide unfold a campaign of criticism of Hu Shi thought. The short-story ‹Party Fees› by Wang Yuanjian is published by Liberation Army Literature & Arts. Other major literary works published include: ‹Motive Force› by Cao Ming, ‹Dyke of Living People› by Chen Dengke, and Coal Mines in May by Xiao Jun, and the plays ‹Bright Skies› by Cao Yu, ‹The Test› by Xia Yan, and ‹Myriad Rivers and Mountains› by Chen Qitong.

1955 January

January 5 February

February March

Zhao Shuli’s novel Sanliwan begins serialization in People’s Literature. It is published as a book by the Popular Reading Materials Publishing House in May. Gorky’s ‹On Roman Rolland› is translated by Ge Baoquan and published by Translations. The second and fourth sections of Hu Feng’s “Suggestion Letter” are published as an accompanying pamphlet in the combined nos. 1–2 edition of Literature & Arts Press as criticism of Hu Feng thought in literature and the arts begins. In the same edition, Literature & Arts Press begins serialization of Lu Ling’s ‹Why This Type of Criticism?›. Jun Qing’s story ‹Riverbank at Dawn› is published by Liberation Army Literature & Arts. Wen Jie’s lyric poetry sequence ‹Love Song of Turpan› is published by People’s Literature.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 13 May

May

459

Shu Wu’s ‹Some Materials about the Hu Feng Anti-Party Clique› and Hu Feng’s ‹My Self-Criticism› are published in People’s Daily. On 24 May and 10 June the second and third collection of materials are made public. These three collections of materials are published by People’s Publishing House in June as the book Materials on the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique. Mao Zedong writes the preface and most of the annotations. The inaugural edition of Beijing Literature & Arts is published.

27 June

People’s Daily publishes ‹Steadfastly Dispose of Reactionary, Lewd, and Absurd Books›, which proposes that steps be taken to prevent the borrowing and rental of lewd and absurd old fiction, old librettos, old picture-story books, old printed pictures, and so on.

29 August

The playwright Hong Shen dies.

8 October

The poem ‹Throw Yourself Into Red-Hot Struggle› by Guo Xiaochuan (under the penname of Ma Tieding) is published in People’s Literature.

This year

Other major literary works published include: The shortstory collection Don’t Take That Road by Li Zhun, the novel River of Iron by Zhou Libo, Yumen Poetry Chapbook by Li Ji, the poetry collection Going to a Distant Place by Shao Yanxiang, and the play ‹Myriad Rivers and Mountains› by Chen Qitong.

1956 January

“Socialist transformation” begins to be carried out in literature and arts circles, which primarily consists of changing all forms of privately-run theater troops, bookstores, and publishing houses to public-private joint-ventures or state enterprises.

February

The China Writers Association edits and publishes selections of outstanding literary works since the Second Congress of Literary Representatives (September 1953–

460

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

February

27 February

February–April

17 April April April April 26 May

May

May

December 1955), including Poetry Selection, ShortStory Selection, One-Act Play Selection, Prose and Feature Writing Selection, and Children’s Literature Selection. Wang Wenshi’s short-story ‹Night of Wind and Snow› is published by Literature Monthly, and later reprinted by People’s Literature. The second meeting of the executive council (expanded) of the China Writers Association is convoked in Beijing. Zhou Yang presents his report ‹The Task of Constructing Socialist Literature›. The no. 3 edition of Literature & Arts Press (published 15 February) reprints the special essay ‹On the Issue of Models in Literature and the Arts› from the Soviet magazine Communist Party Member. Beginning with the no. 8 edition, Literature & Arts Press begins to roll out a discussion on the “issue of models”. The playwright Song Zhidi dies. The inaugural edition of Yan River is published. Liu Shousong’s Draft History of China’s New Literature is published by Author Publishing House. Liu Binyan’s feature report ‹At the Bridge Site› is published in the no. 4 edition of People’s Literature. Lu Dingyi makes his report on ‹Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom, Let a Hundred Schools of Thought Contend› in the Huairen Hall of Zhongnanhai in Beijing. Geng Jian’s feature report ‹People Who Climb on the Flagpole› is published in the no. 5 edition of People’s Literature. From May 1956 until June 1957, journals such as People’s Daily, Literature & Arts Press, New Construction, and Academic Monthly publish a series of essays by writers such as Cai Yi, Zhu Guangqian, and Li Zehou in an ongoing discussion of aesthetic issues.

June

Liu Binyan’s feature report ‹Inside News› is published in the no. 6 edition of People’s Literature.

1 July

He Jingzhi’s long poem ‹Lift the Voice and Sing› begins serialization in Beijing Daily.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china July July September

September September

September September

461

The (fortnightly) journal Sprouts, put out by the Shanghai Writers Association, publishes its inaugural edition. The inaugural edition of New Port (monthly) journal is published. The September edition of People’s Literature publishes the essay ‹Realism—The Broad Road› by He Zhi (Qin Zhaoyang) and Wang Meng’s story ‹The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department›. Deng Youmei’s short-story ‹At the Precipice› is published by Literature Monthly. Beijing Daily begins serialization of Li Liuru’s novel Sixty Years of Change, which is published as a book by Author Publishing House in 1957. Author Publishing House publishes the poetry collection Herder’s Song of Tianshan Mountain by Wen Jie. Lu Wenfu’s short-story ‹Deep in an Alley› is published in the no. 10 edition of Sprouts.

November

Literature & Arts Press publishes Zhong Dianfei’s essay ‹Drums and Gongs in Film› (under the name of a “reviewer of this journal”).

December

Sun Li’s novella ‹The Story Before Ironwood› is published in the no. 12 edition of People’s Literature, and is published as a book by Tianjin People’s Publishing House in 1957. Zhou Bo’s ‹On Realism and its Development in the Socialist Age› is published in the no. 12 edition of Changjiang Literature & Arts; and Zhang Guangnian’s ‹Socialist-Realism Exists and Develops› is published in the no. 24 edition of Literature & Arts Press. Shortly after, a discussion about socialist realism begins in journals such as Literature & Arts Press and Literary Reviews. Gao Yunlan’s novel Spring and Autumn in a Small Town is published by Author Publishing House.

December

December

1957 7 January

People’s Daily publishes ‹Some of Our Opinions about Work in Literature and the Arts at this Time› by Chen Qitong, Chen Yading, Ma Hanbing, and Lu Le.

462

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

9 January January January January

January

Bing Xin’s prose essay ‹Little Orange Lantern› is published by China Youth Press. The inaugural edition of the poetry journal Stars (Sichuan) publishes Liu Shahe’s prose poem ‹Plants›. Ba Ren’s ‹On Human Feeling› is published in the no. 1 edition of New Port. The inaugural edition of the China Writers Associationoperated Poetry Monthly is published. A letter to Poetry Monthly and 18 poems by Mao Zedong are published in the first edition. Yang Lüfang’s play ‹The Cuckoo Cries Again› is published in the no. 1 edition of Playscripts.

February

Guo Xiaochuan’s lyric poem ‹To the Ocean› and narrative poem ‹Deep Mountain Valleys› are published in the no. 2 and no. 4 editions of Poetry Monthly.

March

Selected volumes of Selected Writings of Guo Moruo begin publication. The inaugural edition of the Literature Institute’s Literary Studies (quarterly) is published. The journal’s name is changed to Literary Reviews and it begins publishing as a bimonthly in 1959. Liu Shaotang’s short-story ‹The Evening Glow Falls on the Open Country› is published in the no. 3 edition of New Port. Wu Qiang’s novel Red Sun begins serialization in Yan River, and is published as a book by China Youth Publishing House in July.

March

March

March

9 April

April May

Literature & Arts Press publishes ‹Comrade Zhou Yang Answers a Literary Confluence Reporter’s Questions about “Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom, Let a Hundred Schools of Thought Contend”›. Literature & Arts Press begins to publish on a weekly basis, and puts out its no. 1 edition of 1957. Qian Gurong’s essay ‹On “Literature is the Study of Humanity”› is published in the no. 5 edition of Literature & Arts Monthly.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 8 June

June–September

July

July

463

People’s Daily publishes the social commentary ‹Why is This?› and sets off the anti-rightist campaign nationwide. The China Writers Association convokes an enlarged party group congress, during which writers such as Ding Ling, Chen Qixia, and Feng Xuefeng are criticized. The no. 7 edition of People’s Literature publishes stories such as Li Guowen’s ‹A Reelection›, Zong Pu’s ‹Red Beans›, and Feng Cun’s ‹Beautiful›. The inaugural edition of Harvest, edited by Ba Jin and Jin Yi, is published in Shanghai. The edition features Lao She’s play ‹Teahouse› and Ai Wu’s novel Forged a Hundred Times into Steel.

August

Du Pengcheng’s novella ‹In Days of Peace› is published in the no. 8 edition of Yan River.

September

Qu Bo’s novel Tracks in the Snowy Forest is published by Author Publishing House.

October

Xu Huaizhong’s novel We Sow Love is published by China Youth Publishing House. The no. 10 edition of Raining Flowers publishes the ‹Explorer Literary Monthly Society Announcement› put out by Fang Zhi, Chen Chunnian, Lu Wenfu, Gao Xiaosheng, and others, in order to provide material for criticism.

October

November

Liang Bin’s novel Composition of the Red Flag is published by China Youth Publishing House.

This year

Other major literary works published include: The poetry collections In the North by Gong Liu, On the Straits by Ai Qing, To Young Citizens by Guo Xiaochuan, and Peacocks by Bai Hua, the Moss and Flower Collection of prose essays by Huang Qiuyun, and the two-volume essay collection Fighting to Defend the Socialist Line in Literature and the Arts.

464

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 1958

1 January January

11 January

26 January

January

Ma Feng’s novella ‹It was Known Three Years Ago› is published in the no. 1 edition of Sparks. Zhou Libo’s novel Great Changes in a Mountain Village begins serialization in the no. 1 edition of People’s Literature, and is published as a book in June by Author Publishing House. Mao Dun’s ‹Occasional Notes on Night Reading—About Socialist-Realism and Other Subjects› begins serialization in the no. 1 edition of Literature & Arts Press, later appearing in the nos. 2, 8, 10 editions. The “Criticism Revisited” section in the no. 2 edition of Literature & Arts Press undertakes to once again criticize literary works written in Yan’an, such as ‹Thoughts on March Eighth› and ‹In the Hospital› by Ding Ling, ‹Wild Lilies› by Wang Shiwei, ‹It’s Still the Age of Miscellaneous Essays› by Luo Feng, and ‹Understand Writers, Respect Writers› by Ai Qing. Yang Mo’s novel The Song of Youth is published by Author Publishing House.

28 February People’s Daily and the no. 5 edition of Literature & Arts Press publish Zhou Yang’s ‹A Great Debate on the Battle Lines of Literature and the Arts›. 22 March

March March

In a speech at a conference in Chengdu, Mao Zedong proposes that folk songs should be collected, and declares: “The roads forward for poetry in China [consist of] the folk song for one and the classics for two; and on this foundation, in writing new poetry the form is of the folk song and the contents are an integration of the opposites of realism and romanticism”. In May, at the second plenum of the Eighth Party Congress, Mao proposes that proletarian literature and arts should employ a creative technique that units “revolutionary realism and romanticism”. Literary Writings of Mao Dun, Literary Writings of Ba Jin, and Literary Writings of Ye Shengtao begin publication. Ru Zhijuan’s short-story ‹Lilies› is published in the no. 3 edition of Yan River.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china March March 14 April

April May May

465

Gao Ying’s short-story ‹Daji and Her Father› is published in the no. 3 edition of Red Crag. The revised edition of Li Jieren’s novel Great Waves (vol. 1) is published by China Youth Publishing House. People’s Daily publishes the social commentary ‹Collect Folk Songs on a Large Scale›, and not long after, the “new folk song movement” rolls out nationwide. Shao Quanlin’s ‹Talking of Poetry Outside the Door› is published in the no. 4 edition of Poetry Monthly. Zhou Erfu’s novel Morning in Shanghai (vol. 1) is published by Author Publishing House. Tian Han’s drama ‹Guan Hanqing› is published in the no. 5 edition of Playscripts.

22 June

The poet, Liu Yazi dies.

15 July

Literature & Arts Press publishes the special collection Let Everybody Write the History of Factories.

August

Zhao Shuli’s novella ‹“Improve Yourself Through Training”› is published in the no. 8 edition of Sparks. It is later reprinted by People’s Literature.

September

Liu Shude’s novella ‹The Bridge› is published by People’s Literature Publishing House. Xue Ke’s novel Youth in the Flames of War is published by New Literature & Arts Publishing House. Liu Liu’s novel Raging Flames and Adamantine Warriors is published by China Youth Publishing House. All newspapers and journals nationwide publish articles discussing creative techniques that combine revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism. This discussion carries on into the following year.

September

September

17 October Zheng Zhenduo dies in an aircraft accident. October China Youth, Study, and Literary Knowledge are among the journals that roll out a discussion about reassessing the fiction of Ba Jin. November

Li Yingru’s novel Prairie Fires and Spring Winds Battle the Ancient City is published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest, and is published as a book in December by Author Publishing House.

466

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

November Wang Wenshi’s short-story ‹A New Companion› is published in the no. 11 edition of Yan River. December

Mao Zedong on Literature and the Arts is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

This year

The discussion about learning new folk songs and the road for the development of new poetry unfolds in journals such as Poetry Monthly, Literature & Arts Press, Virgin Soil, and Stars. The debate continues into 1959. Other major literary works published during this year include fiction such as ‹Tales of Baiyang Marshes› by Sun Li, Armed Workers Contingent Behind Enemy Lines by Feng Zhi, and ‹In Days of Peace› by Du Pengcheng, the poetry collections Western Suburbs by Feng Zhi and Snow and Mountain Valleys by Guo Xiaochuan, the prose collection Piccolos at Sunrise by Ke Lan, volume one of Essays on Socialist Realism (volume two was published in 1959), and On the Trend of Revisionist Thought in Literature by Yao Wenyuan.

1959 February

February

April

April

The no. 2 edition of China Youth publishes Guo Kai’s essay ‹Brief Words on Faults in the Description of Lin Daojing— A Critique of Yang Mo’s Novel The Song of Youth›. A discussion about The Song of Youth unfolds in journals such as China Youth and Literature & Arts Press. At a working discussion about literary creation, Mao Dun delivers the speech ‹A Broad Discussion of Creative Issues›. The speech is published in the no. 5 edition of Literature & Arts Press. Part one of Liu Qing’s novel A History of Pioneering Work begins serialization in Yan River. The full novel is published in book form by China Youth Publishing House in 1960. A new special section, “How Works of Literature and Art Respond to Contradictions Among the People”, begins in the no. 7 edition of the Literature & Arts Press with a discussion about Zhao Shuli’s short-story ‹“Improve Yourself Through Training”›.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

467

May

Guo Moruo’s historical drama ‹Cai Wenji› is published in the no. 3 edition of Harvest.

August

Hu Ke’s drama ‹Locust Tree Village› is published in the no. 8 edition of Playscripts. Ballads for the Red Flag edited by Guo Moruo and Zhou Yang is published. Cao Ming’s novel Ride the Wind Break the Waves is published in the no. 5 edition of Harvest. Tian Jian’s long poem ‹Tale of Catching the Train› (part one) is published by Author Publishing House (part two is published in 1961).

August August August

October

October

People’s Literature Publishing House publishes “outstanding literature since the establishment of the nation”. This entails publication of 15 novels, 5 novella collections, 9 short-story collections, 11 plays, 5 volumes of children’s literature, 13 volumes of poetry, and 5 prose collections. Literature & Arts Monthly changes its name to Shanghai Literature.

7 November The fiction writer Jin Yi dies. November Guo Xiaochuan’s poem ‹Gazing at the Starry Sky› is published in the no. 11 edition of People’s Literature. November Zhao Shuli’s short-story ‹Hands that can’t be Harnessed› is published in the no. 11 edition of People’s Literature. This year

Other major literary works published: The novels My First Superior by Ma Feng, Somebody of Special Character by Hu Wanchun, and Accounts of Events on the Jiaodong Peninsula by Jun Qing, the poetry collections Under the Moon by Guo Moruo, Flames of Vengeance by Wen Jie, and Dragon Boat Festival in May by Li Ji, and the essay collection Advocacy by Mao Dun.

1960 11 January

The no. 1 edition of Literature & Arts Press reprints Li Helin’s essay ‹A Small Problem with Critical Literary Theory of the Past Ten Years›, originally published in the Hebei Daily, and offers criticism of its opinions in the editors’ annotations.

468

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

January

January January– September

March March

Journals such as Literature & Arts Press and Literary Reviews criticize opinions on “humanism” and “human nature” by Ba Ren, Qian Gurong, Jiang Kongyang, and others. Ouyang Shan’s novel Three Family Lane is published by Author Publishing House. Theater Press opens the special section “On the Issue of the Correct Reflection of Contradictions Among the People”, and criticizes ‹Vertical Flutes Horizontally Played› by Hai Mo. Li Zhun’s short-story ‹Tale of Li Shuangshuang› is published in the no. 3 edition of People’s Literature. The revised edition of The Song of Youth by Yang Mo is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

April

The sequel to Zhou Libo’s Great Changes in a Mountain Village is published by Author Publishing House.

11 May

The no. 9 edition of Literature & Arts Press publishes ‹Classical Marxist Writers On Capitalist Humanism› and ‹Gorky and Lu Xun on Humanism and Human Nature›. Guo Moruo’s historical drama ‹Wu Zetian› is published in the no. 5 edition of People’s Literature, and Tian Jian’s historical drama ‹Princess Wencheng› is published in the no. 5 edition of Playscripts.

May

July 22 July– 13 August

Liang Bin’s novel Record of the Sowing of Fire begins serialization in New Port. The Third National Congress of Representatives of the Literature and Arts Worlds is held in Beijing. Zhou Yang makes the report ‹The Path of Socialist Literature and Arts in Our Country›. The congress elects the leadership organs of the Literature Federation and all associations.

1961 31 January

Literary Confluence publishes ‹About Tragedy› by Xi Yan (Wang Xiyan), which initiates a debate on the issue of tragedy.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china January– February January

19 March

26 March March

5 April

April

1–28 June

June

23 July July

469

A written conversation between Lao She, Li Jianwu, Bing Xin, Wu Boxiao, Qin Mu, and others is published in Literary Confluence and People’s Daily. Wu Han’s historical drama ‹Hai Rui Dismissed From Office› is published in the no. 1 edition of Beijing Literature & Arts. Publication of “Evening Chats at Yanshan” by Ma Nancun (Deng Tuo) begins in the Beijing Evening Post. They are published as booklets by Beijing Publishing House beginning in August. ‹Issues of Subject Matter› (written by Zhang Guangnian) is published in the no. 3 edition of Literature & Arts Press. Liu Baiyu’s essay ‹Three Days on the Yangtse› and Yang Shuo’s ‹Prose Poem for the Camellia› are published in the no. 3 edition of People’s Literature. Qin Mu’s essays ‹Collecting Cowries on the Sea of Art› begin publication in Shanghai Literature. They are published as a book by Shanghai Literature & Arts Publishing House in 1962. Zhao Shuli’s ‹Pan Yongyu the Solid Worker› and Wu Boxiao’s ‹On a Spinning Machine› are published in the no. 4 edition of People’s Literature. The Propaganda Ministry of the Party Central Committee convokes the National Symposium on Work in Literature and the Arts at the New Overseas Chinese Hotel in Beijing (referred to as the “New Overseas Chinese Symposium”) and discusses ‹Opinions about certain Problems in Current Literature and Arts Work› (also known as the draft of “Ten Regulations on Literature and the Arts”). In April 1962, the text is finalized by the Central Propaganda Ministry as ‹Eight Regulations on Literature and the Arts›. Bing Xin’s essay ‹In Praise of Cherry Blossoms› and Wu Boxiao’s essay ‹Notes on a Vegetable Garden› are published in the no. 6 edition of People’s Literature. Yang Shuo’s essay ‹The Sweetness of Lychees› is published in People’s Daily. Cao Yu’s historical drama ‹The Gall and the Sword› is published in the no. 7 edition of People’s Literature.

470

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

31 August

August October

October November

November

December December

The miscellaneous essay ‹On Ghosts that do no Harm› by Fanxing (Liao Mosha) is published in the Beijing Evening Post. Conferences are held in Beijing and Shanghai on the subject matter and style of the writing of Ru Zhijuan. The miscellaneous and personal essays of Wu Nanxing (Wu Han, Deng Tuo, and Liao Mosha) begin publication in a “Random Notes from the Three Family Village” section in Front Line. Mao Dun’s ‹About History and Historical Drama› is published in the no. 5 edition of Literary Reviews. Chen Xiaohe’s historical fiction ‹Tao Yuanming Writes “An Elegy”› is published in the no. 11 edition of People’s Literature. The novel Red Crag by Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan begins serialization in China Youth Daily, and is later published as a book by China Youth Publishing House. Yang Shuo’s prose collection First Branch of the Eastern Wind is published by Author Publishing House. He Jingzhi’s poetry collection Let Out the Songs is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

1962 February February

Liu Shude’s novella ‹Return Home› begins serialization in the no. 2 edition of Frontier Literature & Arts. Zhao Shuli’s short-story ‹Old Gentleman Yang› and Tang Kexin’s short-story ‹Sha Guiying› are published in the no. 2 editions of Liberation Army Literature & Arts and Shanghai Literature respectively.

2–26 March The Ministry of Culture and the Drama Association convoke a symposium on the writing of western-style drama, opera, and children’s theater in Guangzhou (also referred to as the “Guangzhou symposium”). Zhou Enlai and Chen Yi make speeches about intellectuals and writing for theater at the symposium.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 23 May

May July

28 July– 4 August 2–16 August

471

People’s Daily publishes the social commentary ‹Serving the Broadest Mass of the People› (written by Zhou Yang). Liu Baiyu’s prose collection Red Agate is published by Author Publishing House. Guo Xiaochuan’s poem ‹Green Gauze Curtain—Forest of Sugar Cane› and Xi Rong’s short-story ‹Elder Sister Lai› are published in the no. 7 edition of People’s Literature. Excerpts of Li Jiantong’s novel Liu Zhidan begin serialization in Workers Daily. The Writers Association convokes a symposium on the writing of short-stories with countryside-based subject matter in Dalian (also referred to as the “Dalian symposium”). The symposium is chaired by Shao Quanlin, and other participants include Mao Dun, Zhou Yang, and Zhao Shuli.

21 September The playwright Ouyang Yuqian dies. October

Chen Xianghe’s historical fiction ‹Random Notes on Yangzhou› is published in the no. 10 edition of People’s Literature.

25 December The novelist Li Jieren dies.

1963 1 January

At a symposium for workers in literature and the arts in Shanghai, Ke Qingshi, Zhang Chunqiao, and Yao Wenyuan are among those proposing the slogan “Write the thirteen years”, believing only literary works that describe life during the thirteen years since the establishment of the state to be socialist literature and art. On 6 January, Literary Confluence reports on Ke Qingshi’s speech.

February

The drama ‹Sentry Beneath Neon Lights› by Shen Ximeng, Mo Yan, and Lü Xingchen is published in the no. 3 edition of Liberation Army Literature & Arts.

472

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

11 April April

He Jingzhi’s long poem ‹Song of Lei Feng› is published in the China Youth Daily. Shen Congwen’s essay ‹Passing the Holiday and Viewing Lanterns› is published in the no. 4 edition of People’s Literature.

6 May

Liang Bihui’s ‹On “Ghosts that do no Harm”› is published in Literary Confluence, and the theatrical world begins criticism of “ghost plays”.

June

Yan Jiayan’s polemic ‹About the Image of Liang Shengbao› is published in the no. 3 edition of Literary Reviews. In response to Yan Jiayan’s essay, Liu Qing’s essay ‹Raising a Few Issues for Discussion› is published in the no. 8 edition of Yan River.

July

Part one of Yao Xueyin’s historical novel Li Zicheng is published by China Youth Publishing House.

October

Cong Shen’s drama ‹Wishing You Health› (the name is later changed to ‹We Must Never Forget›) is published in the combined nos. 10–11 edition of Playscripts.

12 December Mao Zedong makes his first official written comments on literature and the arts in the Literature and Arts Office of the Central Propaganda Department on a document about a storytelling session in Shanghai. This year

Other major literary works which were published include: ‹Forever Running Water› by Liu Zhen, Down to the Countryside by Zhao Shuli, Bitter Struggle by Ouyang Shan, and ‹February Orchids› by Xie Pu, Mao Dun’s collection of literary reviews Miscellaneous Notes on Reading, Poetry and Heritage by Feng Zhi, and Brief Comments on Literature by Sun Li.

1964 22 January January

He Jingzhi’s long poem ‹Window on a Train Going West› is published in the People’s Daily. Hao Ran’s novel Bright Sunny Sky is published in the no. 1 edition of Harvest, and is published as a book by Author Publishing House later in the year.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

473

January

Zhao Shuli’s ‹Selling Tobacco Leaves› is serialized in the nos. 1, 2, and 3 editions of People’s Literature.

March

Li Ji’s poem ‹Song of Oil› is published in the no. 5 edition of China Youth.

27 June

Mao Zedong makes his second written comments on literature and the arts on the draft copy of the ‹Report by the Central Propaganda Ministry about the Rectification Situation in the National Literature Federation and all its Associations›. These comments are distributed as an official document on 11 July. June Huang Zongying’s reportage fiction ‹Little Ya Carries the Big Flag› is published in the no. 6 edition of People’s Literature. 5 June–31 July The National Modern Beijing Opera Festival is held in Beijing, and works such as ‹The Red Lantern›, ‹The Detachment of Women›, and ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy› are performed. At an associated symposium, Jiang Qing makes the ‹On a Revolution in Beijing Opera› speech. September

The combined nos. 8–9 edition of Literature & Arts Press publishes ‹“Writing Middle Characters” is a Literary Position of the Capitalist Class› and ‹Materials on “Writing Middle Characters”›.

20 October

The writer Ke Zhongping dies of illness.

This year

Ai Wu’s Travels in the South Continued and Wind and Thunder by Chen Dengke are published.

1965 18 February

February

‹My “On Ghosts that do no Harm” was Mistaken› by Fanxing (Liao Mosha) is published in the Beijing Evening Post. Literature & Arts Press and Literary Reviews publish articles critical of Chen Xianghe’s historical stories ‹Random Notes on Yangzhou› and ‹Tao Yuanming Writes “An Elegy”›.

474

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

June

Selections from Jin Jingmai’s novel Song of Ouyang Hai are published in the no. 6 edition of Liberation Army Literature & Arts.

26 October

The playwright Xiong Foxi dies.

10 November

Yao Wenyuan’s article ‹A Critique of the New Historical Play “Hai Rui Dismissed from Office”› is published in Literary Confluence.

1966 9 January

People’s Daily reprints sections of Song of Ouyang Hai and editors’ comments highly recommend the novel.

2–20 February Jiang Qing invites a number of military writers and convokes a symposium of work in literature and the arts in the army. This is written into ‹The Summary of Minutes of the Military Literature & Arts Work Conference called by Comrade Jiang Qing at the behest of Comrade Lin Biao› and distributed as an internal Party Central Committee document. 16 April April

10 May

17 May

Beijing Daily publishes ‹Materials for Criticism of “Three Family Village” and “Evening Chats at Yanshan”›. Zheng Jiqiao’s essay ‹The Areas of Literature and the Arts must Uphold the Marxist Theory of Knowledge— A Critique of the Theory of Thinking in Images› is published in the no. 5 edition of Red Flag. Yao Wenyuan’s article ‹Assessing the “Three Family Village”—The Reactionary Nature of “Evening Chats at Yanshan” and Random Notes from the Three Family Village› is published in the Liberation Army Daily and Literary Confluence. The writer Deng Tuo is persecuted to death.

July

Aside from Liberation Army Literature & Arts and a few other journals, all literary and artistic periodicals in the country begin to close.

2 August 24 August

The literary critic Ye Yiqun is persecuted to death. The writer Lao She is persecuted to death.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

475

3 September

The translator Fu Lei and his wife are persecuted to death.

This year

The writer Sun Fuyuan dies.

1967 January

Yao Wenyuan’s article ‹Assessing the Counter-Revolutionary Double Dealer Zhou Yang› is published in the no. 1 edition of Red Flag.

13 February February

The writer Zhang Henshui dies. The writer Luo Guangbin is persecuted to death.

2 April 12 April

The poet Rao Mengkan dies. At an enlarged meeting of the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, in making the speech ‹Render New Services to the People›, Jiang Qing addresses literature and the arts: “These seventeen years . . . . . . most have been famous, foreign, and ancient things, or distorted images of workers, farmers, and soldiers”. This speech is published by People’s Publishing House in Selections of Speeches by Jiang Qing in 1968.

6 May 10 May

The writer Zhou Zuoren dies. Jiang Qing’s 1964 speech given at a symposium for performers at the Modern Beijing Opera Festival, ‹On a Revolution in Beijing Opera›, is published in the no. 6 edition of Red Flag. The modern Beijing opera ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy› and the other seven “model operas” are performed simultaneously on stages in Beijing for a total of 37 days and 218 performances. On 18 June, People’s Daily reports the conclusion of the festival performances and issues a call to “promote revolutionary model operas throughout the nation”. People’s Daily publishes five documents from Mao Zedong on literature and the arts: The letter to the Yan’an Local Opera Theater after watching a performance of the new historical drama ‹Driven onto Mount Liang› (1944); ‹We Should Pay Attention to the Discussion of the Movie “The Tale of Wu Xun”› (1951); ‹Letter on the Dream of the

23 May

25–28 May

476

a chronology of contemporary literature in china Red Chamber Research Issue› (1954); and the 1963 and 1964 written directives on literary and artistic issues.

September

The writer Fei Ming dies.

December

The writer Ah Long dies of illness in prison.

This year

The writer Fan Yanqiao dies.

1968 3 March 28 March

Xu Guangping dies. The writer Peng Kang dies.

3 April April

The writer Peng Baishan dies. The writer Sima Wensen is persecuted to death.

16 May 23 May

The playwright Hai Mo is persecuted to death. Yu Huiyong’s essay ‹Let the Stage of Literature and the Arts Forever be a Battlefront for the Propagation of Mao Zedong Thought› is published in Literary Confluence. This essay features the first instance of the use and explanation of the slogan “Three Prominents”.

8 July

The writer Yang Shuo is persecuted to death.

August

The writer Li Ni is persecuted to death.

2 November

The writer Li Guangtian is persecuted to death.

10 December The playwright Tian Han is persecuted to death. This year

The poet Shao Xunmei and the writer Yan Duhe die.

1969 5 March

The literary theorist Lü Ying dies.

22 April

The writer Chen Xianghe is persecuted to death.

11 October

The writer and historian Wu Han is persecuted to death.

This year

The writers Deng Junwu, Chen Quan, and Yao Pengzi die.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

477

1970 April

‹Advocating Capitalist Literature and Arts is to Restore Capitalism—Refuting the Reactionary Theories of Zhou Yang that Extol the Capitalist Class “Renaissance in Literature and the Arts”, the “Enlightenment Movement”, and “Critical Realism”› written by the Shanghai Revolutionary Small Writing Group is published in the no. 4 edition of Red Flag.

31 May

The May 1970 playscript of the model opera ‹Shajiabang› is published in Literary Confluence. The May 1970 playscript of the model opera ‹The Red Lantern› is published in the no. 5 edition of Red Flag.

May 23 September

The writer Zhao Shuli is persecuted to death.

15 October

The writer Xiao Yemu dies of an illness due to suffering persecution at a “May Seventh Cadre School” at Huang Lake in Henan Province.

1971 13 January

The poet Wen Jie is persecuted to death.

10 June

The literary theorist Shao Quanlin dies of illness in prison.

8 August

The literary critic Hou Jinjing is persecuted to death.

1972 February

The novel The History of Hong Nan at War, written by the Shanghai County History of Hong Nan at War Writing Group, and the novel Oxen, Fields, and Sea by “Nan Shao” are published by the Shanghai People’s Literature Publishing House.

March

The January 1972 playscripts of ‹Ode to Dragon River› and ‹On the Docks› are published by Shanghai People’s Literature Publishing House.

478

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

April

April

April

The novels Militiawomen on the Islands by Li Ruqing and Seething Mountain Ranges by Li Yunde are published by People’s Literature Publishing House. Li Ying’s poetry collection Date Orchard Village is published by the Beijing People’s Literature Publishing House. Guo Moruo’s Li Bai and Du Fu is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

May

Part one of Hao Ran’s novel The Golden Road is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

25 July

The literary theorist Ba Ren (Wang Renshu) is persecuted to death.

September

The revised edition of He Jingzhi’s poetry collection Let the Songs Out is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

November

The September 1972 playscript of ‹Raid on the White Tiger Regiment› is published by the Shanghai People’s Literature Publishing House.

17 December The writer Wei Jinzhi is persecuted to death.

1973 January

Li Ying’s poetry collection Mountains Covered by Red Flowers is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

February

The revised edition of Liu Dajie’s History of the Development of Literature in China (vol. 1) is published by the Shanghai People’s Literature Publishing House.

June

The novels The Journey by Guo Xianhong and Memorable Times, which describe the educated youth movement, are published by Shanghai People’s Publishing House and Guangdong People’s Publishing House respectively.

November

Shanghai People’s Literature Publishing House begins to publish Abridged Translations, an internally circulated periodical that publishes translations of literary works.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

479

1974 January

Chu Lan’s essay ‹The Magnificent Spectacle of China’s Revolutionary History—On the Success and Significance of Revolutionary Model Operas› is published in the no. 1 edition of Red Flag.

15 March

Zhang Yongmei’s “poetic report” ‹War Over the Xisha Islands› is published on the front page of Enlightenment Daily.

5 May

Chu Lan’s review ‹In a Clash of Contradictions Mold the Heroic Proletarian Example—Assessing the Novel Bright Sunny Sky› is published in People’s Daily. Part two of Hao Ran’s novel The Golden Road is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

May June

Hao Ran’s novella ‹Sons and Daughters of the Xisha Islands—The Moral Courage Piece› is published by People’s Literature Publishing House. ‹Sons and Daughters of the Xisha Islands—The Lofty Ideals Piece› is published in December.

October

Chu Lan’s essay ‹Ten Years of Revolution in Beijing Opera› is published in the no. 7 edition of Red Flag.

1975 February

The novel Thousands of Waves by Bi Fang and Zhong Tao is published by Guangxi People’s Publishing House.

July

In two conversations, Mao Zedong points out “there is no blooming of one hundred flowers”, “the literature and arts policy of the Party should be readjusted; in one, two, three years gradually expand the repertoire of literature and the arts. There is a lack of poetry, a lack of fiction, a lack of literary prose, a lack of literary and artistic criticism”.

14 August

Mao Zedong distributes his talk about the classical novel Water Margins. Shortly after, Red Flag and People’s Daily publish the essay, and this begins the “Evaluate Water Margins” campaign.

480

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

15 September September September

The artist and writer Feng Zikai dies. Guo Chengqing’s novel Story of a Broadsword (part one) is published by Jilin People’s Publishing House. Shen Rong’s novel Everlasting Youth is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

October

The filmscript of ‹Pioneering Work› is published in the no. 10 edition of Liberation Army Literature & Arts.

November

Li Helin’s The Annotated ‘Weeds’ of Lu Xun is republished by the Shaanxi People’s Publishing House. This book had been initially published in 1973.

1976 31 January January

January

The literary theorist and poet Feng Xuefeng dies of illness. Poetry Monthly and People’s Literature resume publication. The first edition of Poetry Monthly publishes two lyric poems written by Mao Zedong in 1965—‹Water Music Prelude—Return to Well Ridge Mountains› and ‹Charms of Niannu—Dialogue of the Birds›—and People’s Literature publishes Jiang Zilong’s story ‹A Day in the Life of the Head of the Electrical Equipment Bureau›. Li Ruqing’s novel Ten Thousand Mountains All Red (part one) is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

February

Zang Kejia’s poem ‹Remembering Xiangyang› in praise of “May Seventh” cadre schools is published in the no. 2 edition of People’s Literature.

March

People’s Theater, People’s Film, People’s Music, Arts, and Dance resume publication. The movie script ‹Spring Seedlings› is published by Shanghai People’s Publishing House.

March 5 April

The “April Fifth” movement breaks out on Tian’anmen Square. A great quantity of poetry denouncing the “Gang of Four”, praising Zhou Enlai and older revolu-

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

April

481

tionaries appears on Tian’anmen Square and throughout the country. The selected poetry of Xiaozhan Village is published as A Force Twelve Typhoon Can’t Blow It Down by People’s Literature Publishing House.

May

The movie script ‹Rupture› is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

18 October

The poet Guo Xiaochuan dies.

November

He Jingzhi’s long poem ‹October in China› is published in the no. 11 edition of Poetry Monthly.

December

Part two of Yao Xueyin’s historical novel Li Zicheng is published by China Youth Publishing House.

1977 2 January

The writer Huang Guliu dies.

7 February

The writer Xu Maoyong dies.

17 June June

The writer Qian Xingcun (Ah Ying) dies. Part two of Liu Qing’s novel A History of Pioneering Work is published by China Youth Publishing House.

24 July

The poet and literary critic He Qifang dies.

August

Children’s Literature (a bi-monthly journal) resumes publication.

October October

World Literature resumes publication. Shanghai Literature & Arts resumes publication. It goes back to using the name Shanghai Literature in 1979.

20 November

Liu Xinwu’s short-story ‹Class Teacher› is published in the no. 11 edition of People’s Literature. People’s Literature convokes a short-story writing conference in Beijing, and in its no. 11 and no. 12 editions publishes the speeches of participants such as Mao Dun, Ma Feng, and Zhou Libo in a section entitled “Promoting the Blooming of a Hundred Flowers in the Short-Story”.

November

482

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

November

People’s Daily and People’s Literature invite individuals from the world of literature and the arts to join a symposium to criticize the “black line dictatorship of literature and the arts”.

December

Selected Poetry of Guo Xiaochuan is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

1978 January

Xu Chi’s reportage fiction ‹Suppositions about Goethe and Bach› is published in the no. 1 edition of People’s Literature.

February

Literary Reviews resumes publication.

March

The large literary periodical Zhongshan publishes its inaugural in Nanjing.

30 April

Ai Qing’s ‹Red Flag›, his first poem since his “re-emergence”, is published in Literary Confluence.

27 May–5 June An expanded session of the National Committee of the Third Congress of the China Literature Federation is held in Beijing, and it is announced that the Literature Federation, the Writers Association, and the five other associations have officially resumed work. The Literature & Arts Press resumes publication. 12 June The writer Guo Moruo dies. 13 June The fiction writer Liu Qing dies. 11 August August 12 September

September

Lu Xinhua’s short-story ‹The Scar› is published in Literary Confluence. The large literary periodical October publishes its inaugural edition in Beijing. Chen Huangmei’s essay ‹“The Scar” also Touches a Scar in the Creation of Literature and the Arts› is published in Literary Confluence. Wang Yaping’s short-story ‹A Sacred Mission› is published in the no. 9 edition of People’s Literature.

28–30 October Zong Fuxian’s drama ‹In a Land of Silence› is published in Literary Confluence.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china December

483

The inaugural edition of New Literature Historical Materials is published in Beijing.

1979 25 January January

The writer Zheng Boqi dies. Harvest resumes publication.

1 February

Playscripts resumes publication. Chen Baichen’s historical drama ‹Song of the Great Wind› is published in the no. 1 edition. Zheng Yi’s story ‹Maples› is published in Literary Confluence. The no. 2 edition of Literary Confluence publishes Zhou Enlai’s ‹Political Report at the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress› of 1962. Cong Weixi’s novella ‹Red Magnolias beneath the Walls› is published in the no. 2 edition of Harvest.

11 February 12 February

February March

Fang Zhi’s story ‹Internal Spy› is published in the no. 3 edition of Beijing Literature & Arts.

15 April

Huang Ansi’s ‹Literary Arts, Look Forward Eh!› and five other essays are published in Guangzhou Daily, Southern Daily and other papers. The inaugural edition of the large literary journal Flower City is published in Guangzhou. The no. 4 edition of Shanghai Literature publishes the commentary ‹Rectifying the Name of Literature and the Arts—Refuting the Theory of “Literature and the Arts are Tools›, which initiates a debate about the relationship between literature and the arts and politics.

April April

2–9 May

10 May

The China Social Sciences Institute convokes a scholarly conference to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, at which Zhou Yang presents the report ‹Three Great Campaigns to Liberate Thought›. This is published on 7 May in People’s Daily. Zhang Xuemeng’s poem ‹Modernization and Ourselves› is published in the no. 5 edition of Poetry Monthly.

484

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

15 May

May May

The inaugural edition of Literature & Arts Studies of the Literature and Arts Research Institute of the Ministry of Culture is published. Fresh Re-Blossoming Flowers is published by the Shanghai Literature & Arts Publishing House. The inaugural edition of Study is edited and published by the Three Federations Bookstore in Beijing.

June

Li Jian’s brief commentary ‹“Singing Praises” and “Wickedness”› is published in Hebei Literature & Arts.

20 July

Jiang Zilong’s short-story ‹Manager Qiao Assumes Office› is published in the no. 7 edition of People’s Literature. The inaugural edition of People’s Literature Publishing House’s large literary journal Contemporary is published in Beijing. The inaugural edition of the Anhui People’s Publishing House’s large literary journal Pure Brightness is published in Hefei. Lu Yanzhou’s novella ‹Legend of Mount Tianyun› is published in the inaugural edition. Gao Xiaosheng’s short-story ‹Li Shunda Builds a House› is published in the no. 7 edition of Raining Flowers. Zhang Yang’s novel The Second Handshake is published by China Youth Publishing House.

July

July

July July 10 August

August 25 September September

September September

Lei Shuyan’s political lyric poem ‹The Short Grass is Singing› and Ye Wenfu’s poem ‹General, You can’t do This› are published in the no. 8 edition of Poetry Monthly. Part two of Liu Qing’s novel A History of Pioneering Work is published by China Youth Publishing House. The novelist Zhou Libo dies. Liu Ke’s story ‹Flying Apsaras› and the ‹Bitter Love› film script by Bai Hua and Peng Ning are published in the no. 3 edition of October. Liu Binyan’s feature report ‹People or Monsters?› is published in People’s Literature. The inaugural edition of Foreign Literature Publishing House’s Foreign Literature Review is published in Beijing.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 21 October 30 October– 16 November

October October October

485

Wang Meng’s short-story ‹Eyes of the Night› is published in Enlightenment Daily. The Fourth National Congress of Representatives of China’s literature and arts workers is held in Beijing, where Zhou Yang gives the report ‹Carry on the Past and Open a Way to the Future, Make Literature of the New Period of Socialism Prosper›. This report is published in the combined nos. 11–12 edition of Literature & Arts Press. Wang Jing’s film script ‹In the Dossiers of Society› is published in Film Making. Stars resumes publication in Chengdu. Li Jiantong’s novel Liu Zhidan is published by Workers Publishing House.

November

Zhang Jie’s short-story ‹Love Must Not be Forgotten› is published in the no. 11 edition of Beijing Literature & Arts.

December

Zhou Keqin’s novel Xu Mao and his Daughters is published in the no. 2 edition of Red Crag. The inaugural edition of the China Modern Literary Studies Journal Series of the Institutions of Higher Education China Modern Literary Studies Institute and Beijing Publishing House is published.

December

1980 1 January

5 January

January

January

Fiction Monthly of the Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House publishes its inaugural edition in Tianjin. Gong Liu’s ‹New Topics of Discussion—A Discussion Set Off by Poems by Comrade Gu Cheng› is published in the no. 1 edition of Literature & Arts Press. Xu Huaizhong’s short-story ‹Anecdotes from the Western Border› is published in the no. 1 edition of People’s Literature. Shen Rong’s novella ‹At Middle Age› and Zhang Yigong’s novella ‹Story of the Criminal Li Tongzhong› are published in the no. 1 edition of Harvest.

486

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

January January January January

January January 10 February

20 February

3 March 8 March March

Li Ping’s novella ‹When the Evening Glow Vanishes› is published in the no. 1 edition of Contemporary. Zhang Xian’s novella ‹A Corner Forgotten by Love› is published in the no. 1 edition of Shanghai Literature. Jin Fan’s novella ‹Public Love Letters› is published in the no. 1 edition of October, instigating controversy. Xiong Zhaozheng’s long poem ‹Please Raise Forests of Hands, and Stop It› is published in the no. 1 edition of Changjiang Literature & Arts. The inaugural edition of Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House’s Prose is published in Tianjin. The inaugural edition of the large literary journal Hibiscus is published in Changsha. The no. 2 edition of Fujian Literature & Arts opens a special section entitled “Discussion of Issues in New Poetry Writing”, which deals with issues such as the poetry of Shu Ting and self-expression in poetry. Gao Xiaosheng’s short-story ‹Chen Huansheng’s Adventure in Town› is published in the no. 2 edition of People’s Literature. Li Guowen’s short-story ‹Lunar Eclipse› is published in the no. 3 edition of People’s Literature. The poet Li Ji dies. Gu Cheng’s ‹Ten Lyric Poems› is published in the no. 3 edition of Stars.

7 April

The National Poetry Conference is convoked in Nanning.

7 May

Xie Mian’s essay ‹Facing the New Rising› is published in Enlightenment Daily. Wang Meng’s short-story ‹Voices of Spring› is published in the no. 5 edition of People’s Literature. The no. 3 edition of October publishes the novellas ‹As You Wish› by Liu Xinwu, ‹Three Untreated Stones› by Zong Pu, and ‹Catkin Willow Flats› by Liu Shaotang.

May May

June

The inaugural edition of Studies in Literary & Artistic Theory (quarterly) is published in Shanghai (managed by the National Institutions of Higher Learning Literary and Artistic Theory Institute).

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

487

June

Lao She’s novel Beneath the Red Banner and Mo Yingfeng’s novel Song of the General are published by the People’s Literature Publishing House.

August

Zhang Ming’s essay ‹Depressing “Mistiness”› is published in the no. 8 edition of Poetry Monthly. Ye Weilin’s novella ‹On a River Without Navigation Markers› is published in the no. 3 edition of Hibiscus.

August September September September

Yu Luojin’s reportage fiction ‹A Winter Fairytale› is published in the no. 3 edition of Contemporary. Zhang Xinxin’s short-story ‹Where did I go Wrong by You?› is published in the no. 5 edition of Harvest. Zhang Xianliang’s short-story ‹Flesh and Soul› is published in the no. 9 edition of The North.

October

Wang Zengqi’s short-story ‹The Love Story of a Young Monk› is published in the no. 10 edition of Beijing Literature.

November

Dai Houying’s novel Ah, Humanity! is published by the Guangdong People’s Publishing House.

This year

Ai Qing’s poetry collection Songs of Return, Gong Liu’s collections Grass on the Lili Plain and Cacti, and Shao Yanxiang’s collection Love Songs for History are published.

1981 January

The novella ‹Waves› by Zhao Zhenkai (Bei Dao) is published in the no. 1 edition of Changjiang.

20 February

Gu Hua’s novel Hibiscus Town is published in the no. 1 edition of Contemporary, and after major revisions, is published as a book by People’s Literature Publishing House in November.

27 March March

The writer Mao Dun (Shen Yanbing) dies. Sun Shaozhen’s essay ‹New Aesthetic Principles are on the Rise› is published with an added note from the editors in the no. 3 edition of Poetry Monthly.

488

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

2 April

The inaugural edition of Literature Press (weekly) is published in Shanghai.

May

Li Guowen’s novel Spring in the Wintertime is published by People’s Literature Publishing House. The inaugural edition of the large literary journal Worlds of Fiction is published in Shanghai.

May June

The third part of Yao Xueyin’s novel Li Zicheng is published by China Youth Publishing House.

July

Zhang Jie’s novel Leaden Wings is published in the no. 4 and no. 5 editions of October. Yang Jiang’s prose essay collection Six Chapters from a Cadre School is published by the Three Federations Bookstore.

July

7 October

October 23 December

December This year

The essay ‹On the Mistaken Tendencies of “Bitter Love”› by Tang Yin and Tang Dacheng is published in the no. 19 edition of Literature & Arts Press. People’s Daily reprints the essay in its entirety. Wang Anyi’s short-story ‹The Terminus of this Train› is published in the no. 10 edition of Shanghai Literature. Bai Hua’s essay ‹Correspondence over “Bitter Love”— To the Editorial Departments of Liberation Army Daily and Literature & Arts Press› is reprinted in Liberation Army Daily, Literature & Arts Press, and People’s Daily. Zhang Xinxin’s story ‹On the Same Horizon› is published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest. The poetry collections Wild Lilies by Liang Nan and Tree by the Precipice by Zeng Zhuo are published.

1982 January January

The inaugural edition of Youth Literature (bi-monthly) is published in Beijing. Xu Chi’s essay ‹Modernization and the Modernists› is published in the no. 1 edition of Foreign Literary Studies.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

489

February

Wei Junyi’s novella ‹Baptism› is published in the no. 1 edition of Contemporary.

25 March

Zhang Jie’s novella ‹The Ark› is published in the no. 2 edition of Harvest.

25 April

The inaugural edition of Contemporary Trends of Thought in Literature and the Arts is published in Lanzhou. The inaugural edition of Special Zone Literature is published in Shenzhen.

April May May 1 August

August

Lu Yao’s novella ‹Human Life› is published in the no. 3 edition of Harvest. Tie Ning’s story ‹O, Fragrant Snow› is published in the no. 2 edition of Youth Literature. The no. 8 edition of Shanghai Literature publishes the correspondence of Feng Jicai, Li Tuo, Liu Xinwu, and others, about Gao Xingjian’s book Initial Explorations into Techniques of Modern Fiction in the journal’s “Correspondence over Issues of Contemporary Literary Creation” section. This instigates a discussion about “modernists” in Literature & Arts Press, Study, and People’s Daily. Liang Xiaosheng’s short-story ‹A Land of Wonder and Mystery› is published in the no. 8 edition of Northern Literature.

September

The playscript of ‹Warning Signal› by Gao Xingjian and Liu Huiyuan is published in the no. 5 edition of Harvest.

28 October

The poet Yuan Shuipai dies.

7 November November

The writer and critic Li Jianwu dies. Li Cunbao’s novella ‹Wreath at the Foot of a Mountain› is published in the no. 6 edition of October.

This year

Other major literary works published include: Poetry collections such as Two-Masted Ship by Shu Ting, Lyric Poetry of Shu Ting & Gu Cheng, Songs of Life by Cai Qijiao, and Poetry of Liu Shahe.

490

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 1983

January

January January

Xu Jingya’s essay ‹A Group of Poets on the Rise—A Critique of Modernist Tendencies in Chinese Poetry› is published in the no. 1 edition of Contemporary Trends of Thought in Literature and the Arts. Shi Tiesheng’s short-story ‹My Faraway Qingpingwan› is published in the no. 1 edition of Youth Literature. Lu Wenfu’s novella ‹The Gourmet› is published in the no. 1 edition of Harvest.

March

Tie Ning’s novella ‹Red Shirts Without Buttons› is published in the no. 2 edition of October.

May

Yang Lian’s long poem ‹Norlang› is published in the no. 5 edition of Shanghai Literature. Li Hangyu’s short-story ‹Traditions of Shazao› is published in the no. 5 edition of Beijing Literature.

May September

Jia Pingwa’s prose essay ‹Initial Notes about Shangzhou› is published in the no. 5 edition of Zhongshan.

This year

Other major literary works published include: Poetry collections such as Poetry of Man by Lu Yuan, It’s Always Time that’s Passing by Chen Jingrong, and Nameless River by Lin Xi.

1984 3 January

January

January January

Hu Qiaomu makes the ‹Concerning the Issues of Humanism and Alienation› speech at the Central Party School, a revised version of which is published in Theory Monthly. The article is reprinted in People’s Daily (27 January) and the no. 2 edition of Red Flag. Cong Weixi’s novella ‹Snow Falls Silently on the Yellow River› is published in the no. 1 edition of People’s Literature. Deng Youmei’s novella ‹Snuff Bottles› is published in the no. 1 edition of Harvest. Zhang Chengzhi’s novella ‹Rivers of the North› is published in the no. 1 edition of Harvest.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 5 March

March March

491

Xu Jingya’s essay of self-criticism ‹Always Firmly Remember the Direction of Socialist Literature and Arts—A Self-Criticism over “A Group of Poets on the Rise”› is published in People’s Daily. It is reprinted in the no. 4 edition of Poetry Monthly. Zhang Xianliang’s novella ‹Trees for Replanting› is published in the no. 2 edition of October. Zhang Jie’s novella ‹Grandmother Green› is published in the no. 2 edition of Flower City.

June

Liu Zaifu’s essay ‹On the Dual Combination Principle of the Disposition of Characters› is published in the no. 3 edition of Literary Reviews.

5 July

Ah Cheng’s novella ‹The King of Chess› is published in the no. 7 edition of Shanghai Literature.

November

Kong Jiesheng’s novella ‹Primeval Forest› is published in the no. 6 edition of October.

This year

Other major literary works published include: The poetry collection Hot Springs by Niu Han, the novel The Drum Tower by Liu Xinwu, and the poetry collections Songs of an Old Sailor by Zeng Zhuo, and Mountains of the Gods by Zhou Tao.

1985 January

The first pieces of the “factual oral account literature” series ‹Beijingers› is published in the no. 1 edition of Harvest.

3 February

Ah Cheng’s novella ‹King of Children› is published in the no. 2 edition of People’s Literature. Ma Yuan’s story ‹The Attraction of the Ganges› is published in the no. 2 edition of Shanghai Literature. Shi Tiesheng’s short-story ‹Strings of Life› is published in the no. 2 edition of Moderns.

5 February February 3 March

Liu Suola’s novella ‹You Have No Other Choice› is published in the no. 3 edition of People’s Literature.

492

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

April

Wang Anyi’s novella ‹Xiaobao Village› is published in the no. 2 edition of China Author. Mo Yan’s story ‹Transparent Radishes› is published in the same edition.

May

The essay ‹On “Twentieth Century Literature in China”› by Huang Ziping, Chen Pingyuan, and Qian Liqun is published in the no. 5 edition of Literary Reviews.

3 June

Han Shaogong’s novella ‹Pa Pa Pa› is published in the no. 6 edition of People’s Literature. Han Shaogong’s story ‹Going Back› is published in the no. 6 edition of Shanghai Literature. Liu Suola’s story ‹Blue Sky, Green Sea› is published in the same edition. Can Xue’s story ‹Hut on the Mountain› is published in the no. 6 edition of People’s Literature.

June

June 6 July

July

Ah Cheng’s essay ‹Culture Restricts Humankind› is published in Literature & Arts Press. Other major essays concerning “root-seeking literature” published around this time include: ‹The “Roots” of Literature› by Han Shaogong, ‹Tend Our Roots› by Li Hangyu, and ‹My Roots› by Zheng Wanlong. Liu Xinwu’s piece of fact-based fiction ‹A Long Lens on May 19› is published in the no. 7 edition of People’s Literature.

September

Zhang Xianliang’s novella ‹Half of Man is Woman› is published in the no. 5 edition of Harvest.

November

Liu Zaifu’s essay ‹On Literary Subjectivity› is published in the no. 6 edition of Literary Reviews. Gao Xingjian’s playscript ‹The Wild Man› is published in the no. 6 edition of October.

November This year

Other major literary works published include: The poetry collections For Him by Linzi and Music Islands by Fu Tianlin.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

493

1986 4 March 6 March March

March May May July

July July July July

The writer Ding Ling dies in Beijing. The aesthetic theorist Zhu Guangqian dies in Beijing. Wang Meng’s novel The Man with Moveable Parts is published in Contemporary Novels put out by People’s Literature Publishing House, and is published as a book later in 1987. Mo Yan’s novella ‹Red Sorghum› is published in the no. 3 edition of People’s Literature. Feng Jicai’s novella ‹Three-Inch Golden Lotus› is published in the no. 3 edition of Harvest. Can Xue’s story ‹Old Floating Cloud› is published in the no. 5 edition of China. Wang Anyi’s story ‹Love on a Barren Mountain› is published in the no. 4 edition of October. ‹Love in a Small Town›, another of her novellas, is published in the no. 8 edition of Shanghai Literature. Li Xiao’s story ‹Continue Your Drills› is published in the no. 7 edition of Shanghai Literature. Zhang Jie’s story ‹What’s Wrong with Him› is published in the no. 4 edition of Zhongshan. Yang Lian’s poem ‹Words of the Free› is published in the no. 7 edition of China. Han Dong’s poem ‹Of the Wild Goose Pagoda› is published in the no. 7 edition of China.

August

Bei Dao’s long poem ‹Daydreams› is published in the no. 8 edition of People’s Literature.

September

The “Grand Exhibition of Modernist Poetry Groups” is jointly published by The Poetry Press and Shenzhen Youth Daily. Zhang Wei’s novel The Ancient Boat is published in the no. 5 edition of Contemporary. Chen Cun’s story ‹Death› is published in the no. 9 edition of Shanghai Literature. Shi Tiesheng’s story ‹Poison› is published in the same edition. Tie Ning’s story ‹Haystacks› is published in the no. 5 edition of Harvest.

September September

September

494

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

September September September October October December December This year

Liu Xihong’s story ‹You’re Not Permitted to Change Me› is published in the no. 9 edition of People’s Literature. Zhai Yongming’s poetry sequence ‹Woman› is published in the no. 9 edition of Poetry Monthly. Liu Heng’s story ‹Fucking Food› is published in the no. 9 edition of China. Zheng Min’s poetry sequence ‹Images of the Heart› is published in the no. 10 edition of Poetry Monthly. Ouyang Jianghe’s long poem ‹Suspended Coffin› is published in the no. 10 edition of China. Selections of Poetry by Bei Dao is published by New Century Publishing House. Lu Yao’s novel An Ordinary World is published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest. Other major literary works published include: The poetry collections The Silent Precipice and Earthworms and Feathers by Niu Han, Desolate Soul by Yang Lian, Black Eyes by Gu Cheng, Starting from Here by Jiang He, the Five Poets Anthology (Bei Dao, Shu Ting, Yang Lian, Jiang He, Gu Cheng), and Lyric Poetry of Chang Yao. The five-volume set of Ba Jin’s Casual Thoughts is published by People’s Literature Publishing House; Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House publishes the “New People Literary Writings” book series, which includes the selected essays of Zhao Yuan, Wang Xiaoming, Huang Ziping, Ji Hongzhen, Li Na, Wu Liang, Li Jie, Cai Xiang, and others, as well as books by Chen Pingyuan, Lan Dizhi, and others.

1987 January

January

Yu Hua’s story ‹Going on a Long Trip at Eighteen› is published in the no. 1 edition of Beijing Literature. Wang Meng’s short-story ‹High Spirits› is is published in the same edition. Ma Jian’s story ‹Show Us the Fur on Your Tongue or Nothingness› is published in the combined nos. 1–2 edition of People’s Literature.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china January January March

March

495

Jia Pingwa’s novel Turbulence is published in the no. 1 edition of Harvest. Wang Anyi’s story ‹Love in Beautiful Brocade Valley› is published in the no. 1 edition of Zhongshan. Zhang Chengzhi’s novel The Golden Pastureland is published in the no. 2 edition of Harvest, and is published in book form by Author Publishing House later in the year. Hong Feng’s story ‹Vast Desert› is published in the no. 2 edition of China Author.

June

Yu Hua’s story ‹1986› is published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest.

August

Chi Li’s story ‹Vexing Life› is published in the no. 8 edition of Shanghai Literature.

3 September

The theorist of literature and the arts Huang Yaomian dies in Beijing. The writer and translator Cao Jinghua dies. Sun Ganlu’s story ‹Letter of a Courier› is published in the no. 5 edition of Harvest. Su Tong’s ‹Nineteen ThirtyFour Escapes› is published in the same edition.

8 September September

3 November November

November

This year

The writer Liang Shiqiu dies in Taibei. Hui Wa’s poem ‹An Influential Family of Mountain Ghosts› is published in the no. 11 edition of People’s Literature. Wang Shuo’s story ‹The Operators› is published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest. Ge Fei’s story ‹Lost Boat› is published in the same edition. Other major literary works published include: Poetry of Hu Feng (‹Time Has Begun› and ‹Prison Poems›), the novel Sunset the Color of Blood by Lao Gui, the novel The Red Sorghum Clan by Mo Yan, the prose essay collection Drinking Tea by Yang Jiang, and the poetry collection Bedroom of an Unmarried Woman by Yi Lei.

496

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 1988

January January January

Yu Hua’s story ‹A Sort of Reality› is published in the no. 1 edition of Beijing Literature. Liu Heng’s story ‹Whirlpool› is published in the no. 1 edition of China Author. Shi Tiesheng’s story ‹Original Sin› is published in the no. 1 edition of Zhongshan.

16 February

The writer and educator Ye Shengtao dies.

March

Liu Heng’s novella ‹The Obsessed› is published in the no. 3 edition of Beijing Literature. Ge Fei’s story ‹A Flock of Brown Birds› is published in the no. 2 edition of Zhongshan. Ye Zhaoyan’s story ‹Story of Jujube Trees› is published in the no. 2 edition of Harvest. Yang Lian’s poem ‹Landscapes in a Room› is published in the no. 3 edition of People’s Literature.

March March March April

April

Wang Xiaoming and Chen Sihe write a column called “Rewriting Literary History” in Shanghai Literary Essays, which runs for a total of nine editions until its last appearance in the 1989 no. 6 edition. Zhai Yongming’s poetry sequence ‹Peaceful Village› is published in the no. 4 edition of People’s Literature.

10 May

The writer Shen Congwen dies in Beijing.

22 June

The writer Xiao Jun dies.

September

Tie Ning’s novel The Rose Gate is published in the inaugural edition of Four Seasons of Literature.

7 October

The writer Shi Tuo dies.

November

The stories ‹Home of the Poppy› by Su Tong, ‹Ask the Women to Guess the Riddle› by Sun Ganlu, and ‹The Poetic Nature of Death› by Ma Yuan are all published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest. 8–12 November The fifth National Joint-Congress of Representatives of the worlds of literature and the arts takes place in Beijing.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china This year

497

Other major literary works published include: Yang Jiang’s novel Bathing, Huo Da’s novel Muslim Funeral, Yu Tianbai’s novel The Fall of Big Shanghai, Wang Shuo’s novel Playing at Making the Heart Race, and Quan Yanchi’s biography Inside and Outside the Red Walls.

1989 January

January January 17 February 20 February February February 6 March 26 March March March May May

Cong Weixi’s Moving Toward the Primeval—A Memoir of the Anti-Rightist Campaign is published in the inaugural edition of the Hainan Record. Yu Jian’s poem ‹Thank Father› is published in the no. 1 edition of Poetry Monthly. Wang Anyi’s story ‹A Century on Guard› is published in the no. 1 edition of Zhongshan. The writer Mo Yingfeng dies in Changsha. The writer Bao Chang dies. Tie Ning’s story ‹Bales of Cotton› is published in the no. 2 edition of People’s Literature. Ye Zhaoyan’s story ‹Love Songs› is published in the no. 2 edition of Shanghai Literature. The writer Li Yingru dies in Beijing. The poet Haizi commits suicide on railroad tracks at Shanhaiguan. Wang Meng’s story ‹Stubborn Porridge› is published in the no. 2 edition of China Author. Wang Anyi’s story ‹Sacred Sacrificial Altar› is published in the no. 3 edition of Beijing Literature. The “Great Joint-Exhibition of New Realist Fiction” begins in the no. 3 edition of Zhongshan. Wang Anyi’s novella ‹Brothers› is published in the no. 3 edition of Harvest.

June

Zhang Chengzhi’s novella ‹Investigation of an Assassination in a Western Province› is published in the no. 6 edition of Literary Confluence Monthly.

31 July

The literary and arts theorist Zhou Yang dies.

498

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

October

Deng Xiaoping on Literature and the Arts is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

November

Su Tong’s novella ‹A Flock of Wives and Concubines› is published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest.

13 December The literary historian Wang Yao dies in Shanghai. This year

The magazines New Observations and Literary Confluence Monthly are ordered to close.

1990 20 January

The poet Tang Qi dies in Lanzhou.

10 April

The fiction writer Wu Qiang dies in Shanghai.

22 May May

The writer Ling Shuhua dies. Ye Zhaoyan’s story ‹One Side of the Camp› of the “Mooring at Qinhuai by Night” series is published in the no. 3 edition of Harvest.

2 June

The writer and drama theorist Chen Shouzhu dies.

23 July

The writer and newspaperman Zhang Youluan dies.

5 August

The writer Zhou Keqin dies.

15 October

The writer and scholar Yu Pingbo dies.

November

Wang Anyi’s novella ‹Uncle’s Story› is published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest.

1991 15 January 25 January January

The writer Kang Zhuo dies in Beijing. The writer Wang Yuanjian dies in Beijing. Liu Zhenyun’s novella ‹A Place Covered in Chicken Feathers› is published in the no. 1 edition of Worlds of Fiction. Su Tong’s story ‹Cosmetics› is published in the same edition.

26 July

The poet Zang Yunyuan dies.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china 3 September September September

499

The writer Liu Zhixia dies in Qingdao. Wang Anyi’s novella ‹Utopian Poems› is published in the no. 5 edition of Zhongshan. Zhang Xin’s story ‹Absolutely No Coincidence› is published in the no. 5 edition of Worlds of Fiction.

23 October 27 October

The writer Luo Feng dies. The writer Du Pengcheng dies in Xi’an.

November

Wang Shuo’s novella ‹Animals are Fierce› is published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest.

This year

Zheng Min’s poetry collection Images of the Heart is published.

1992 4 January

The writer and historian of modern literature Tang Tao dies.

28 February

The theorist of literature and the arts Cai Yi dies.

March

Yu Qiuyu’s prose essay collection Arduous Journey through Culture is published by Knowledge Publishing House.

April

Tang Haoming’s historical novel Zeng Guofan is published by Hunan Literature & Arts Publishing House.

June

Zhou Tao’s lengthy prose piece Herding by the Great Wall is published in the no. 6 edition of People’s Literature. Liu Xinwu’s novel Wind Past the Ears is published by China Youth Publishing House.

June September

The inaugural edition of the monthly prose journal Beautiful Writing is published in Xi’an with Jia Pingwa as editor-in-chief.

14 October

The prose writer Qin Mu dies in Guangzhou.

17 November The writer Lu Yao dies. November The no. 6 edition of Harvest features the publication of Ge Fei’s novel The Brink, Yu Hua’s novella ‹Alive›,

500

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

Su Tong’s novella ‹Gardening›, Sun Ganlu’s novella ‹Remembering a Pretty Woman from Qin›, and Han Dong’s short-story ‹The Bitch›. 5 December The writer Ai Wu dies in Chengdu. 14 December The writer Sha Ding dies in Chengdu. This year

Zhang Chengzhi’s novel History of the Soul is published by Flower City Publishing House.

1993 22 February

The poet Feng Zhi dies.

March

Wang Anyi’s novel Records of Actual Events and Fabrications—One Way to Create a World is published in the no. 2 edition of Harvest. The novel is published as a book by People’s Literature Publishing House in June.

April

Wang Meng’s novel Season for Love is published by People’s Literature Publishing House.

7 June June

The playwright Yang Hansheng dies. Jia Pingwa’s novel City in Ruins is published by Beijing Publishing House. Chen Zhongshi’s novel White Deer Plain is published by People’s Literature Publishing House. Flower City Publishing House begins publication of the “Avant-Garde Novels Series”, including Yu Hua’s Shouting in the Drizzle (originally published in the no. 5 edition of Harvest under the title of Shouting and Drizzle), Su Tong’s My Career as an Emperor, Ge Fei’s Enemies, Sun Ganlu’s Breath, Lü Xin’s Caress, and Bei Cun’s River of Baptism.

June June

14 August August

The writer Wen Xiaoyu dies in Hangzhou. Liu Heng’s novel Daydream of a Heavenly River is published by Author Publishing House.

8 October

The poet Gu Cheng murders his wife and kills himself on an island in New Zealand. The writer Qin Shou’ou dies.

18 October

a chronology of contemporary literature in china November

November

This year

501

Spring Wing Literature & Arts Publishing House registers “paper tiger” as a trademark and proceeds to promote its “Paper Tiger Book Series”. Gu Cheng’s novel Ying’er is published in the no. 6 edition of Flower City. Ouyang Jianghe’s poem ‹Tsvetaeva› is published in the same edition. Other major literary works published include: Zhang Wei’s novel Parables of September, and Liu Zhenyun’s novels Chrysanthemums Under Hometown Skies and Hometown Getting-Along is Passed On; Changjiang Literature & Arts Publishing House collections of fiction, such as Mo Yan’s The Yellow-Haired Baby, Zhaxi Dawa’s Secret Times in Tibet, Lü Xin’s The Order of Night, Sun Ganlu’s Visiting a Dreamscape, Zhang Chengzhi’s Black Steed, Yang Zhengguang’s Black Landscapes, Su Tong’s Age of Tattoos, Wang Anyi’s Love on a Barren Mountain, Ma Yuan’s Fabrication, and Hong Feng’s Returning Home.

1994 11 January 19 January January

January

The writer Wu Zuxiang dies. The writer Ge Luo dies. Zheng Min’s long poem ‹Death of a Poet› is published in the no. 1 edition of People’s Literature. When it is published in a collection, the title of the poem is changed to ‹Death and the Poet›. The inaugural edition of Great Masters is published in Kunming, and features Yu Jian’s long poem ‹The Dossier of 0›.

7 February The writer Bai Lang dies. 12 February The writer Lu Ling dies. March

March

Zhang Xianliang’s novel Worry is Wisdom (part one) is published in the no. 2 edition of Worlds of Fiction. The novel is published as a book with the title of My Pipal Tree by Author Publishing House. Lin Bai’s novel One Person’s War is published in the no. 2 edition of Flower City.

502

a chronology of contemporary literature in china

April

Wei Junyi’s novel Roads of Lusha is published in the no. 2 edition of Contemporary.

May

Wang Meng’s novel Season to Forget Oneself is published in the no. 3 edition of Fiction.

11 June

The writer Luo Binji dies.

August

Chang Yao’s poetry collection Book of Destiny is published by Qinghai People’s Publishing House.

11 October

The writer and theorist of literature and the arts Qin Zhaoyang dies. The writer Jian Xian’ai dies.

26 October December

The “Phoenix” New Criticism Series planned by Chen Sihe and Wang Xiaoming is published by the Scholar Forest Publishing House, and consists of collections of literary essays by seven young critics, including Chen Sihe, Hu Heqing, and Cai Xiang.

This year

Other major literary works published include: The prose essay collections Miscellaneous Memories and Miscellaneous writing—The Prose of Yang Jiang, Bridge of Cattails by Wang Zengqi, Keeping it Together by Jia Pingwa, Green Conditions and Ways by Zhang Chengzhi, and Shards of Civilization by Yu Qiuyu.

1995 6 February

The playwright Xia Yan dies.

March

The “Phoenix” Literary Storehouse planned by Chen Sihe and Li Hui begins publication by the Shanghai Far East Publishing House, and features the memoirs and essays of writers, such as Ba Jin’s Second Thoughts, Jia Zhifang’s Inside Prison and Out, and Sheng Congwen’s Letters Home.

June

He Shen’s short-story ‹A Year Earlier, a Year Later› is published in the no. 6 edition of People’s Literature.

5 September

The critic of literature and the arts Feng Mu dies.

a chronology of contemporary literature in china September

503

Mo Yan’s novel Large Breasts and Big Buttocks is published in the no. 5 and no. 6 editions of Great Masters.

11 December The writer Yang Mo dies. This year

Yu Hua’s novel The Story of Xu Sanguan Selling Blood is published in the no. 6 edition of Harvest, and is published as a book in 1996 by Jiangsu Literature & Arts Publishing House.

1996 January January January

Shi Tiesheng’s novel Notes on a Discussion about Principles is published in the no. 1 edition of Harvest. Liu Xinglong’s story ‹It’s Difficult Sharing› is published in the no. 1 edition of Shanghai Literature. Tan Ge’s story ‹Big Factory› is published in the no. 1 edition of People’s Literature.

February

Record of Thoughts in the Search for the Spirit of the Humanities edited by Wang Xiaoming from essays published during the discussion over the “spirit of the humanities” is published by Literary Confluence Publishing House.

March

Chen Ran’s novel Private Life is published in the no. 2 edition of Flower City, and is published as a book later the same year by Author Publishing House. Guan Renshan’s story ‹Homeless Blizzard› is published in the no. 2 edition of China Author.

March 25 August August September

The woman writer Dai Houying is murdered in her apartment in Shanghai. Han Shaogong’s novel Maqiao’s Dictionary is published by Author Publishing House. Ye Zhaoyan’s novel Love in Nineteen Thirty-Seven is published in the no. 5 edition of Harvest.

13 December The playwright Cao Yu and the poet and writer of reportage fiction Xu Chi die.

POSTSCRIPT

After the “Cultural Revolution” during the late-1970s, I began work as an instructor of contemporary Chinese literature, and together with Zhang Zhong, Yu Shusen, Zhao Zumo, and Wang Jingshou, jointly wrote A General Survey of Contemporary Literature (Beijing University Publishing House, 1979). Later, based on the new situation that developed during the 1980s, we revised the book, augmented its contents with regard to “new period literature”, and put out a new edition in 1986 under the title of A General Survey of Contemporary Literature in China. Since that time, A General Survey has been a primary reference book in courses on contemporary literature in the Chinese Department at Beijing University, and has also been used as a text in the instruction of contemporary literature at other universities. Today, over a decade has passed. Unfortunately, during the early1990s two of the original authors of the book left us before they should have. Over the course of these years, many unexpected events have occurred in society and literary circles. In rereading A General Survey, it was not difficult to discover several shortcomings, several places that required revisions and supplementing. For one, the literary concepts and the narrative mode of the book needed to be reexamined, but more importantly, the materials dealt with in the text only covered the period up to 1985. As a result, the revision and rewriting of the book went on the agenda. The writing of this text was neither carried out on the foundation of A General Survey, nor was it a collective undertaking. A major reason for this was the inability of scholars to continue to hold the sort of common opinions they held as the “new period” started. As an individual writing contemporary literary history, it is possible that some viewpoints and methods of handling the materials are rendered more conspicuous, and, of course, the problems this brings go without saying. Restricted by individual limitations with regard to energy, knowledge, and interests, biases and omissions will be easily spotted. Luckily, since the 1980s, over thirty different versions of the history of contemporary literature in China have been published; whatever faults exist in this book will be rectified by yet another history. A further point that needs to be raised is that while there may have been several deficiencies to A General Survey,

506

postscript

its strengths, the imagination and emotions it expressed, the manner with which it viewed literature and the world, are all highly unlikely to recur today—and not all of these should be negated. Over these past ten years or so, we have possibly grown more “mature”, more “sound”. However, in order to become “mature”, we have lost many things worth cherishing. Is this price really worth it? It took a year and a half to write A History of Contemporary Literature in China, and during this time, I have received much support and assistance from friends. In my contemporary literature graduate seminar at Beijing University, I have been greatly stimulated by the opinions expressed by my students, by their book reports and essays; and my opinions about contemporary literature and my narrative methods were all gradually formed in the course of teaching and in discussions with them. For these reasons, I must express my thanks to them (though it is not possible to list all their names here). I want to thank Zhou Yaqin and Zang Li for their help. They wrote a portion of the initial draft of the chapter on the “new poetry tide”. The knowledge and experience that their analysis of the artistic qualities of some poets of the 1980s and 1990s embodied would have been difficult for me to attain. Although I did not use the entirety of their manuscript, and made some modifications to that which I did use, this was only out of consideration of the balance between the different sections in the overall arrangement of the text. I want to especially thank He Guimei for the great efforts she made during the writing of this book. She prepared important materials from the 1980s and 1990s that related to important literary issues and important writers, including a list of literary works, important critical essays, and so on. During the final stage of writing, when I was incapable of writing for a time due to illness, He Guimei took on the responsibility of writing the first drafts of the last three chapters (on women writers, prose, and the situation of literature during the 1990s) and wrote the book’s chronology. Finally, I would also like to thank Gao Xiuqin for her conscientious, meticulous work at the time of this text’s publication. She carefully proofread the entire manuscript, corrected many wrong words and remarks, and made several suggestions with regard to revisions.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND PERIODICALS*

8 Regulations on Literature and the Arts 1940s writers 1990s a desire for the ‘return’ of capitalism a large poisonous weed trying to reverse Gao Gang’s case a new poetry A Record of Strengths and Weaknesses a scholar operating a paper is the same as a dead man doing so abnormal abort Abridged Translations absence of criticism abstract abstract thought absurd absurdity academic academic standards academicians Academic Monthly Academic Report Conference accomplices accomplices of the landowner big capitalist class and the literature and arts of vacancy accumulation of culture action action by inaction active counter-revolutionary element active romanticism actual work adjudication adjust (-ed, -ment) admirable characters absurd advanced characters advanced world outlook adversary aesthetic-ization aesthetic charm aesthetic feeling aesthetic nature * Note: titles of periodicals are italicized.

文艺八条 40 年代作家 90 年代 要资本主义‘归来’ 为高岗翻案的大毒草 新的诗歌 长短录 书生办报, 死人办报 非正常 脱产 摘译 批评的缺席 抽象 抽象思维 荒诞 荒谬 学术 学术规范 学者 学术月刊 学术报告会 帮凶 地主大资产阶级的帮凶和帮闲文艺 文化积累 行动 无为而无不为 现行反革命分子 积极浪漫主义 实际工作 裁决 调整 风流人物 荒谬 先进人物 先进的世界观 对手 美学化 审美魅力 美感 审美性

508

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

aesthetic yardstick aestheticism affiliation aftereffect age, times, era aged agricultural cooperativization agricultural topics alienation allow (-able) allusion allusive amateur amateur performer ambiguous among the people an outsider Anecdotes from the Office Anglo-American culture Anglo-American democratic politics Anthology of Foreign Literary Studies anti-culture anti-fiction anti-historicism tendency anti-imperialism and anti-revisionism anti-Marxist anti-party clique anti-realism, (-ist) anti-realist, anti-people poetry style anti-rightist campaign anti-sublime Apollinaire appended note appreciation of beauty approved April Fifth area northeast of Gaomi art art for art’s sake art-ification artistic beauty artistic conception artistic models artistic preparation artistic prose artistic self-sufficiency artistic standards Arts ascendancy of art Asia, Africa, and Latin America aspirations assuming [responsibility]

审美尺度 唯美主义 归属 后遗症 时代 苍老 农业合作化 农业题材 异化 允许 影射 影射性 业余 票友 含混暖昧 人民内部 局外人 机关轶事 英美文化 英美民主政治 外国文学研究集刊 反文化 反小说 反历史主义倾向 反帝反修 反马克思主义 反党集团 反现实主义 反现实反人民的诗风 反右派运动 反崇高 阿波利奈尔 附记 审美 肯定的 四五 高密东北乡 艺术 为艺术而艺术 艺术化 艺术美 意境 艺术典型 艺术准备 艺术散文 艺术自足 艺术标准 美术 艺术之上 亚, 非, 拉 志旨 承担 [责任]

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals At Sea At Sea poetry group authenticity authority authority of the bourgeoisie authoritative pose avant-garde, vanguard avant-garde character avant-garde experimental fiction avant-garde fiction avant-garde fiction writers avant-garde school avant-garde writers awakened female awareness of literary form background Baiyang Marshes Baiyang Marshes poetry grouping Baiyang Marshes poetry school balance banned books banner banner of the spirit barefoot doctor barometer of class struggle base area basic level basic training battle front battle line battled across the country Beat Generation beautiful beautiful writing Beautiful Writing beauty Beijing Daily Beijing Evening Post Beijing flavor fiction Beijing flavor urban fiction Beijing Literature Beijing Literature & Arts Beijing school Beijing school writers Beijing University and Qinghua University Writing Group Benefit the World Press benevolence and virtue bestseller big cry, big laugh big knot binary or pluralistic theory

海上 海上诗群 真实性 权威 资产阶级权威 权威姿态 先锋 先锋性 先锋实验小说 先锋小说 先锋小说家 先锋派 先锋作家 觉醒女性 文体的自觉 出身 白洋淀 白洋淀诗群 白洋淀诗派 平衡 禁书 旗帜 精神旗帜 赤脚医生 阶级斗争的晴雨表 根据地 基层 基本功 阵地 阵线 打江湖 垮掉的一代 美丽 美文 美文 美 北京日报 北京晚报 北京味小说 京味都市小说 北京文学 北京文艺 京派 京派作家 北京大学, 清华大学写作组

益世报 仁义 畅销书 大哭大笑 大扭结 二元论或多元论

509

510

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

black humor black line figures black line dictatorship of literature and the arts black line in literature and the arts blind zone boldness borderless bother boundaries bourgeoisie elements bourgeoisie rights bourgeoisie thought breadth break, rift break free of superstition and liberate thinking breaks breakthrough point bright side bright tail brilliant image bring on all future days and let us weave you bringing order out of chaos broad meaning broad middle stratum of writers broadest mass of the people brutal build up the public image building a fortune bumper harvest burning of the subjective spirit buttoned together bystander cadre cadres at the basic level cage, trap campaign, movement campus poetry capitalist elements capitalist legal right capitalist roaders capitalist thought captured cardinals category center central central character central image

黑色幽默 黑线人物 文艺黑线专政 文艺黑线 盲区 魄力 无边 麻烦 边界 资产阶级分子 资产阶级法权 资产阶级思想 广阔 断裂 破除迷信，解放思想 空缺 突破口 光明面 光明的尾巴 光辉形象 所有的日子都来吧, 让我们编织你们 拨乱反正 广义 广泛的中间阶层作家 最广大的人民群众 粗暴 树碑立传 发家 丰收 主观精神的燃烧 挽上扣子 旁观者 干部 基层干部 牢笼 运动 校园诗歌 资产阶级分子 资产阶级法权 走资派 资产阶级思想 占领 红衣大主教 类 中心 中心（的） 中心人物 中心意象

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals Central Literature Lecture & Study Institute Central Plains challenge change change in direction (stance) Changjiang Changjiang Daily Changjiang Literature Changjiang Literature & Arts characterizations of the positive type chief task Childhood Years Children’s Literature China and the West China Author China Dramatists Association China Literature Federation China Modern Literary Studies Journal Series China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress China National Literature and Arts World Association China National Literature and Arts World Resisting the Enemy Association China National Literature and Arts World Federation China National Literature and Arts Writers Association China National Literature Workers Association China National Theater Workers Association China Poetry group China Writers Association China Youth News China’s New Poetry China Youth Press China’s society Chinese contemporary literature Chinese Yam Medicine group choice Clamorous High Plateau clarity and distance class class analysis class characteristics class division class essence class stand class struggle as the guiding principle class theory class viewpoint classic-ize

511

中央文学讲习所 中原 挑战 转变 转向 长江 长江日报 长江文学 长江文艺 正面人物的典型 首要任务 儿童时代 儿童文学 中与西 中国作家 中国戏剧家协会 中国文联 中国现代文学研究丛刊 中华全国文艺工作者代表大会 中华全国文艺界协会 中华全国文艺界抗敌协会 中华全国文学艺术界联合会 中华全国文艺作家协会 中华全国文学工作者协会 中华全国戏剧工作者协会 中国诗歌派 中国作（家）协（会） 中国青年报 中国新诗 中国少年报 中国社会 中国当代文学 山药蛋派 选择 喧闹的高原 明远 阶级 阶级分析 阶级特征 阶级分化 阶级本质 阶级立场 以阶级斗争为纲 阶级论 阶级观点 经典化

512

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

classical classical literature classical poets classics clear conscience when faced with [this] great age clear out spiritual pollution cliquism closed collapse of prose collection of folk songs collective collective creation collective writing collectivism colloquialize collude (-d) combat bourgeois liberalism combative combined revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism come what may we must not forget class struggle comedic Commercial Printing House commercial society commodification commodities common sense common wealth Communist Party community compassion complete completely negate composure comprador concealed literature concentrate (-d) conceptual structure conclusion Conference on the Writing of Short Stories on Rural Area Subject Matter confession, -al conflicts confrontational confusion congratulations consensus consequences consideration

古典 古典文学 古典诗人 经典 无愧于伟大时代 清除精神污染 集团主义 封闭 散文解体 收集民歌 集体 集体创作 集体写作 集体主义 口语化 勾结 反对资产阶级自由化 斗争性 革命现实主义和革命浪漫主义相结合 千万不要忘记阶级斗争 喜剧 商务印书馆 商业社会 商品化 商品 常识 共同富裕 共产党 群落 悲悯 全面 全盘否定 冷静 买办性 隐在文学 集结 观念性结构 结论 农村题材短篇小说创作座谈会 自白 冲突 挑战性 混乱 祝词 共识 后果 照顾

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals consolidating and broadening construction construction and struggles of socialism construction of socialism construction of socialist modernization consumerist nature consumption Contemporary contemporary (era) contemporary experimental poetry Contemporary Foreign Literature contemporary form contemporary life contemporary literature contemporary new tide fiction Contemporary Novels contemporary times content continuity continuous continuous revolution convergence theory of the spirit of the age core work core writers correct (-ion) correctly handle correspondence corrupt customs counter criticism counter-cultural counterattack on the Right deviationist reversal of verdicts wind countercurrent counter-revolutionary counter-revolutionary clique counter-revolutionary incident counter-revolutionary incitement through and through counter-revolutionary political incident create created creates suspense at the start, and finishes with the revelation of the intention Creation Society creative conversion creative criticism creative freedom creative issues in new poetry creative methodology (technique) creative principle creativity

巩固与扩大 构造 社会主义建设和斗争 社会主义建设 社会主义现代化建设 消费性 消费 当代 当代 当代实验诗 当代外国文学 当代形态 现实生活 当代文学 当代新潮小说 当代长篇小说 当代 内容 延续性 不断 继续革命 时代精神汇合论 中心工作 中心作家 矫正 正确处理 对应 陋习 反批评 反文化 反击右倾翻案风 逆流 反革命分子 反革命集团 反革命事件 是彻头彻尾的反革命煽动 反革命政治事件 创作 创造 开头设悬念, 卒章显其志 创造社 创造性转化 创造批评 创作自由 新诗创作问题 创作方法 创作原则 创造性

513

514

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

Crescent school crevice criminal evidence crisis crisis in theater Criteria criteria of truth critical character critical collections critically criticism, critical criticism of bourgeoisie rights Criticism Revisited cross-sections Crossing Town cruel cultivation cultural autocracy cultural conflict cultural consequences cultural contradictions cultural criticism cultural disposition cultural enlightenment cultural fast food cultural group cultural heritage cultural hero cultural position cultural prose Cultural Revolution Cultural Revolution literature Cultural Revolution models cultural strategy cultural tradition culture culture fever current events current struggle daily life Dalian symposium damaged, handicapped Dance danger dark side darkest page darkness days gone by death-defying decadent bourgeoisie lifestyle declamatory

新月派 缝隙 罪证 危机 戏剧危机 标准 真理标准 批判性 批判文集 批判地 批判 批判资产阶级法权 再批判 横断面 乱流镇 残酷 培育 文化专制 文化冲突 文化后果 文化矛盾 文化批评 文化性格 文化启蒙 文化快餐 文化群体 文化遗产 文化英雄 文化立场 文化散文 文革 文革文学 文革模式 文化战略 文化传统 文化 文化热 时事 现实斗争 日常生活 大连会议 伤残 舞蹈 危险 黑暗面, 阴暗面 最黑暗的一页 阴暗 逝去的日子 慷慨侠义 资产阶级腐朽的生活方式 宣言化

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals decline deconstruction (-ive) decree deep-rooted bad habits deepening of realism defaming soldiers of the revolution defenders defending the fruits of the Cultural Revolution definition definitive text degenerate, -ion democracy in literature and the arts democracy in the arts democratic cream democratic revolution period demonstrative form den of iniquity depressing and abstruse depriving or bestowing life or death depth design designation destination destroyed in situ detail development Deviation dialectical dialogue dictatorship of the black line died out difficult issues dilapidated direction direction of literature directional (nature) directive directness disabled people discarded people discontinuity discourse field discourse mode discover Discovery discovery discussion about theatrical concepts disperse dispersed dissident power distant place

式微 解构 律令 劣根性 现实主义深化 丑化革命战士 保卫者 保卫文化革命成果 定义 定本 堕落 文艺民主 艺术民主 民主性精华 民主主义革命时期 论证式 罪恶的渊薮 沉闷艰涩 生死予夺 深刻 设计 命名 归宿 就地销毁 细节 发展 偏移 辩证 对话 黑线专政 消亡 难题 残破 方向 文学方向 方向性 指示 直接性 残疾人 弃民 断裂性 语境 话语方式 发现 发现 发掘 关于戏剧观念讨论 失散 零散化 异己力量 远方

515

516

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

distinguishing features distressed dividends on land shares divorce from reality do not be a bystander dogmatize (-ing) double hundred policy down with Bei Dao drag dramatize, -d, -ion dramatized fiction Dream of the Red Chamber research dreams and feelings drill dubious duty Dynamics of Foreign Literature eastern and western cultures eastern march of the Shaanxi army eclectic economic foundation Editor’s Comment editor’s words educated youth educated youth fiction educated youth literature educated youth poetry educated youth poets educated youth writers effect eight revolutionary model operas elasticity elite elite culture elite consciousness elite literature emotion emotionally emphasizing middle characters, vilifying the working people emptiness encapsulating the spirit of the times, passing on the pulse of the age ended Ends of the World engage (-ment) Engage the World Press engineers of the human soul engrossment enhanced behind closed doors enlightened consciousness

特色 受难 土地分红 脱离现实 不作旁观者 教条化 双百方针 打倒北岛 拉 戏剧化 戏剧化小说 红学 梦幻和情思 操练 可疑 职责 外国文学动态 东西文化 陕军东征 杂家 经济基础 编者按 编者话 知（识）青（年） 知青小说 知青文学 知青诗歌 知青诗人 知青作家 效应 八个革命样板戏 弹性 精英 精英文化 精英意识 精英文学 情 情感地 大写中间人物, 污蔑劳动人民 虚 体现了时代的精神, 传达了时代的脉搏 结束 天涯 介入 经世报 人类灵魂的工程师 投入 关门提高 启蒙意识

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals enlightener enlightenment, enlighten Enlightenment Daily enter deep into life enter deep to the core enterprise, undertaking enthusiastic allegro entirety entry environmental epic epic character epical epoch-making equivalence erase(-d) escape essence essence of history essential characteristics essential stipulation essential truth essentialize (-d, -ing) established, fixed, set established narrative practice established practice establishing stories for traitors and internal spies estrange estrangement eternal eternal meaning eulogize the Great Leap Forward and remember revolutionary history evaluate Water Margins everyday experience everyday life everyday life experience everyday life of the individual evil exhaustive exile (verb) exile (noun) expediency experience life experimental fiction experimentation exploration and expression of culture expose, -d exposure express beliefs through things expression of self

启蒙者 启蒙 光明日报 深入生活 深入核心 事业 激情的快板 整个 进入 环境 史诗 史诗性 史诗式 划时代 同一 清洗 逸出 本质 历史本质 质的特征 质的规定性 本质真实 本质化 既定 叙事成规 成规 为叛徒, 内奸立传 疏离 陌生化 永恒性 永恒意味 歌颂大跃进, 回忆革命史 评水浒 日常经验 日常生活 日常生活经验 个人日常生活 恶 详尽 放逐 流徒 权宜 体验生活 实验小说 实验 文化开掘 揭露 暴露 托物言志 自我抒发

517

518

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

expropriated expropriation exquisite external extreme extreme nature extremes fabricate fabricated nature face the masses factual oral account literature fair artistic level famous people of world culture famous writers, famous actors, famous professors far above farce farmers, peasants farmers who freed themselves faults feature report fellow-travellers periodical female female consciousness female gender female literature feminism feminist feminist literature feminize feudal feudal, capitalist, and revisionist feudal autocracy feudal culture feudal despotism feudalism, feudalistic feudalistic dross Fiction fiction fiction of industrial themes Fiction Reviews field fields and gardens fighter fighting life fighting spirit figurative figuratively figure, form filial descendant of the landlord class Film Making final conclusion

被剥夺 剥夺 优美 外来 极端 极端性 极致 虚构 虚构性 面向大众 口述实录文学 相当艺术水平 世界文化名人 名作家, 名演员, 名教授 高高在上 闹剧 农民 翻身农民 缺点 特写 同人刊物 女性 女性意识 女性性别 妇女文学 女权主义 女权主义者 女权主义文学 女性化 封建性 封, 资, 修 封建专制 封建文化 封建专制主义 封建主义 (的) 封建性糟粕 小说 小说 工业题材小说 小说评论 园地 田园 战斗者 斗争生活 战斗的风格 形象 形象地 形式 地主阶级的孝子贤孙 电影创作 定论

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals finished first Today poetry prize five-anti five generations under one roof flatterer flourishing folk Folk Literature Foreign Fiction Foreign Literary Arts Foreign Literary Studies Foreign Literature Foreign Literature Reports Forest of Translations forgotten form, figure formalized formation foundation Four Seasons of Literature fourth type of scenario fragment, -ary fragmented and obscure free Free Literary Conversations freedom of marriage freedom to write freelance writer fresh and lively, a Chinese style and Chinese manner happily seen and heard by the ordinary people of China friars front (-s) Front Line Frontier Literature & Arts Fujian Literature Fujian Literature & Arts full exposures of the true nature of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution function fundamental fundamental nature fundamental task fundamental tone further revolution in literature and the arts Gang of Four gap gears gears and screws generated

519

终结 首届今天诗歌奖 五反 五世同堂 马屁客 兴盛 民间 民间文学 外国小说 外国文艺 外国文学研究 外国文学 外国文学报道 译林 忘却 形式 形式化 构成 根基 文学四季 第四种剧本 片断 支离破碎, 朦胧滞涩 自由 文学自由谈 婚姻自主 写作自由 自由撰稿人 新鲜活泼的, 为中国老百姓所喜闻乐见 的中国作风和中国气派 修士 阵线 前线 边疆文艺 福建文学 福建文艺 要充分揭示无产阶级文化大革命的本质 功能 根本的 根本性质 根本任务 基调 文艺再革命 四人帮 空白 齿轮 齿轮和螺丝钉 生成

520

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

genre awareness geography getting close ghost plays gifted scholars and beautiful ladies gist globalization globalized literature glorious scene glory of former times Goat City Evening News Gods of Poetry going to the countryside golden rule and precious precept goodness government assessment grade grand Grand Exhibition of Modernist Poetry Groups grand narrative grasp the intentions of the leadership great book of spoken truth Great Cultural Revolution great debate Great Leap Forward Great Masters great masters of the arts of language great prose Great Public Press Great Revolution great transition Green Wind group group in power in the Party travelling the capitalist road Guangxi Zhuang Nationality Self-Autonomous Region White District Integration of the Three Creative Group Guangzhou Daily Guangzhou symposium guidance in the study of literature and the arts guiding guiding nature hail of bullets Hainan Record Han Poetry: A Chronicle of the 20th Century hand-copied fiction

文体自觉 地理 靠近 鬼戏 才子佳人 主旨 全球化 世界化文学 辉煌情景 昔日的光荣 羊城晚报 诗神 插队 金科玉律 善 政府的裁判 等级 伟大 现代诗群体大展 宏大叙事 领会领导意图 说真话的大书 文化大革命 大辩论 大跃进 大家 语言艺术大师 大散文 大公报 大革命 大转折 绿风 群体 党内走资本主义道路当权派 广西壮族自治区白色地区三结合创作组

广州日报 广州会议 文艺学引论 导向 指导性 枪林弹雨 海南纪实 汉诗：二十世纪编年史 手抄本小说

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals hang back hardcore strength harmful Harvest hat, label, brand have a dialogue with the world healthy heard stories heaven heavily qualified Hebei Literature & Arts Henan Daily heritage heroic characters heroic figures of workers, farmers, and soldiers heroic ode to a farmers’ revolutionary war heterodox (-y) heterogeneous Hibiscus hidden and gentle high demand high level cadres high salaries, high contribution fees, high bonuses high tide highest directive historical historical biography historical biography literature historical continuity historical counter-revolutionary historical disaster historical fiction historical materialism historical memory historical plays historical reflections historical resources historical responsibility historical subject matter historical time historical tragedy historical transition historical truth history history of critical value history of problems hometown feeling fiction homogenization hooligan literature Hope

退却 中坚力量 要害 收获 帽子 与世界对话 健康 听来的故事 天堂 资深 河北文艺 河南日报 遗产 英雄人物 工农兵英雄形象 农民革命战争的英雄颂歌 异端 异质 芙蓉 阴柔 畅销 高级干部 高工资, 高稿费, 高奖金 高潮 最高指示 历史的 史传 史传文学 历史连续性 历史反革命 历史灾难 历史小说 历史唯物主义 历史记忆 历史剧 历史反思 历史资源 历史责任 历史题材 历时 历史悲剧 历史转折 历史真实 历史, 史 评价史 问题史 乡情小说 类同化 痞子文学 希望

521

522

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

hostile class powers hot spot household matters, sexual love and family feeling how it actually is how it feels how it should be how to write Hu Feng clique Hu Feng counter-revolutionary clique materials Hu Feng elements Hu Feng Incident Hu Shi Group bourgeois idealism human nature humanism humanity Hundred Flowers literature Hundred Flowers period Hundred Schools of Prose I, me [I] hope even more good literary works come into the world I’m that Han Chinese person called Ma Yuan Ibsen model Idea, concept ideal society idealism idealistic ideals ideological freedom ideological meaning ideology image, figure, form Image Puzzle imagery imaginative sympathy imagistic imagistic thought imitation imperial capital important events importance imposing impoverished impurity in civil society in step with life inaugurate the poetic practice of a generation incident increase in types independence independence of creation

阶级敌对力量 热点 家务事, 儿女情 实际怎样 感觉怎样 应该怎样 怎么写 胡风集团 胡风反革命集团的材料 胡风分子 胡风事件 胡适派资产阶级唯心论 人性论 人道主义 人性 百花文学 百花时代 散文百家 我 希望有更多好作品问世 我就是那个叫马原的汉人 易卜生模式 观念 理想社会 理想主义 理想性 理想 思想自由 意识形态涵义 意识形态 形象 象罔 意象 想象的同情 写意的 形象思维 照搬 帝都 重大事件 重要性 宏大 贫困 不纯性 民间 与生活同步 开一代诗风 事件 多样化 独立性 独立创作

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals independent independent kingdom independent knowledge and experience independent nature individual individual character individual nature individual writing individualism individualistic individuality individualization individuated individuated writing industrial construction and the workers’ struggle industrial subject matter industrial topics informal essay Informal Essays inheritance inhibit initiate the most glorious and resplendent new literature and art of a new epoch in the history of humanity innovator inquiry inside the system inside the walls insignificant insignificant subject matter insipidness inspection (-s) issue, problem instant institutional tradition institutionalization integrate integration, integrated integration of new poetry and the working people integration of realism and romanticism integration of the three integration of the two intellectual intellectual mode of narration intellectual spirit interesting internal (-ly) internal distribution internal exchange international revolutionary literature and arts internationalism and patriotism

523

独立 独立王国 独立的识见 独立性 个体, 个人 个性 个人性 个体写作 个人主义 个人性 个人性 个人化 个人化 个人化写作 工业建设和工人斗争 工业题材 工业题材 随笔 随笔 承续 压抑 开创人类历史新纪元的, 最光辉灿烂的新文艺 革新者 探讨 体制内 大墙内 渺小 非重大题材 平淡 检阅 问题 瞬间 学院传统 体制化 整合 一体化 新诗与劳动人民结合 现实主义和浪漫主义相结合 三结合 两结合 知识性 知识分子式叙述 知识分子精神 有趣 内部 内部发行 内部交流 国际革命文艺 国际主义和爱国主义

524

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

intervene in life intervention interventionist intimate relationship introduction introspection introspective introspective fiction introspective literature intrusion inundate (-ion) investigative report inward turn ironic irregular irregular distribution isomorphic issue consciousness issues in new poetry Japanese Literature Jin-Cha-Ji Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu join production brigades and settle joint force joint performance joyous eulogizing July Group keeps watch knowing laboring masses laggard landscape language that was not archaic, superficial, and scattered wide of the mark later new poetry tide later rising lateral expansion laws laws of history leading Party group League of Left-Wing Writers left left deviation left-wing literature leftist leisureliness leisurely lesson of history let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend liberal

干预生活 干预 干预性 鱼水关系 引进 反省, 反思 反思 反思小说 反思文学 入侵 淹没 调查报告 向内转 反讽 非正式 非正式发行 同构 问题意识 新诗歌的一些问题 日本文学 晋察冀 晋冀鲁豫 插队落户 会师 会演 欢乐颂 七月派 监视 识 劳动群众 滞后 山水 不为陈言肤词, 不为疏漫之语 后新诗潮 后崛起 横向拓展 规律 历史规律 党组 左联 左 左倾 左翼文学 左 悠徐 闲适 历史教训 百花齐放, 百家争鸣 自由主义

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals liberal bourgeoisie liberal literature liberal writers liberate thought, dare to think and dare to act liberated area liberated area literature liberation liberation area poetry Liberation Army Literature & Arts Liberation Daily Liberation Daily · Literature & Arts liberation of self liberation of thought liberation of thought movement life life and struggle in rural areas life base life-ism literature and arts life of the workers, farmers, and soldiers life path life philosophy limitations line literary Literary Alliance literary and artistic thought of the petit bourgeoisie Literary Confluence (Daily) Literary Confluence Monthly literary consciousness literary contingent Literary Dispatches literary fact literary form, genre literary form of an economic nature Literary Heritage literary history Literary Knowledge literary nature literary perspective Literary Resistance Literary Reviews literary revival literary revolution Literary Scene Literary Sentry Literary Studies literature literature and art of dark plots literature and arts for the workers, farmers, and soldiers literature and arts in the state of nature Literature & Arts Life

525

自由资产阶级 自由主义文学 自由主义作家 解放思想, 敢想敢干 解放区 解放区文学 解放 解放区诗歌 解放军文艺 解放日报 解放日报 • 文艺 个性解放 思想解放 思想解放运动 生活 农村的生活和斗争 生活基地 唯生主义文艺 工农兵生活 人生道路 人生哲理 局限性 路线 文学性 文联 小资产阶级的文艺思想 文汇报 文汇月刊 文学自觉 文学队伍 文讯 文学事实 文体 文体的经济性 文学遗产 文学史, 文学历史 文学知识 文学性质 文学观 文抗 文学评论 文学复兴 文学革命 文坛 文哨 文学研究 文学 阴谋文艺 为工农兵的文艺 自然形态的文艺 文艺生活

526

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

Literature & Arts Magazine Literature & Arts Monthly (Shanghai Literature) literature and arts of the revolutionary masses Literature & Arts Press (Literary Gazette) Literature & Arts Renaissance Literature & Arts Studies Literature & Arts Vanguard literature and arts work troupes literature and the arts also need a Great Leap Forward Literature and the arts serve politics Literature Association Literature Federation Literature History Philosophy literature itself Literature Magazine Literature Monthly literature of a new world literature of exposure Literature Press literature since the establishment of the nation Literature Tide Monthly Literature Weekly Little Jin Village poetry little knot local customs fiction locally operated lofty lowest rungs of society love love poetry love story love stories loved Luqing River Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature Lu Xun Literature Prize ludicrousness lyric prose lyrical lyrical prose lyrical protagonist lyrical subject machine of revolution Macho Man Macho Man-ism macroscopic made transparent magic, -al Magnetic Force magnificent revolutionary voice of the warrior main

文艺杂志 文艺月报（上海文学） 革命大众文艺 文艺报 文艺复兴 文艺学习 文艺先锋 文工团 文艺也要大跃进 文艺为政治服务 文协 文联 文史哲 文学本身 文学杂志 文学月报 新世界的文学 暴露文学 文学报 建国以来的文学 文潮月刊 文学周刊 小靳庄诗歌 小扭结 民俗风味小说 民办 高大 生活底层 恋爱, 爱情 爱情诗 言情 言情小说 喜闻乐见 芦清河 鲁艺 鲁迅文学奖 荒谬性 抒情散文 抒情性 抒情性散文 抒情主人公 抒情主体 革命机器 莽汉 莽汉主义 宏观 透明化 魔幻 磁力 革命战士宏声 主要

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals main contradiction main current main force of the revolution main heroic characters mainstream (groups) mainstream culture maintaining past achievements major segments major task make suggestions man of letters mandarin duck and butterfly manifested the new world manifesto manipulation manual laborer manuscript revision conference Mao Dun Literature Prize margin marginal marginalize, -d, -ation mark market market economy marketplace fiction Marxist-Leninist thought and bourgeois idealism masochistic mass culture mass group voluntarily formed from China’s authors mass line mass of contradictions mass viewpoint in writing masses Masses Literature and Arts Collection masses of the people massive repercussions masterpiece masthead poetry materials mature maturation May Fourth May Seventh Cadre School May Thirtieth meaning means memoirs memoirs of revolution memory (-ies)

527

主要矛盾 主潮 革命主力 主要的英雄人物 主流 (派) 主流文化 守成 大段子 主要任务 献策 文人 鸳鸯蝴蝶 表现新世界 宣言 操作 体力劳动者 改稿会 茅盾文学奖 边缘 边缘 边缘化 标志 市场 市场经济 市井小说 马克思列宁主义思想与资产阶级唯心论 自虐 大众文化 中国作家自愿结合的群众团体 群众路线 矛盾体 创作的群众观点 群众 大众文艺丛刊 人民群众 巨大反响 力作 报头诗 资料 成熟 成长 五四 五七干校 五卅 意义 手段 回忆录 革命回忆录 记忆

528

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

metamorphosis metaphysics, -al methodology (technique) medieval-esque middle state middle-aged writing Military Literature & Arts Work Conference mimetism minor characters minor outings miscellaneous essays mistake mistaken tendency mistaken theory Misty poets Misty poetry Misty poetry movement Misty prose mix up mixed into mode of existence model model of China’s intellectuals model opera model troupe models modern (age) modern civilization modern consciousness modern epic poetry modern female Modern Han Poetry modern literature modern opera modern realism modern revisionism modern vernacular Moderns modernism modernist (group) modernist fiction modernist literature modernization mold mop up molded into shape monologue moral morality most loveable people most positive

变形 形而上 方法 中世纪式 中间状态 中年写作 部队文艺工作座谈会 模仿性 小人物 小趋 杂文 错误 错误倾向 错误理论 朦胧诗人 朦胧诗 朦胧诗运动 朦胧散文 混淆 混进 存在方式 榜样 中国知识分子的典范 样板戏 样板团 样板 现代 现代文明 现代意识 现代史诗 现代女性 现代汉诗 现代文学 现代戏 现代现实主义 现代修正主义 现代白话 现代人 现代主义 现代派 现代派小说 现代派文学 现代化 范式 扫荡 塑造成型 独白 道德 道德性 最可爱的人 最积极

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals Mount Lu conference mouthpiece of historical truth movement, campaign movies presented as a gift moving toward the future much inferior multi-layered and tempestuous mundane mute mysticism myth naïve name recognition narration narrative (nature) narrative of vicious circles narrative ploy narrator narrow meaning narrow, -ed, -ing national capitalist class national color national construction National Defense Literature national form national form, new democratic content National Outstanding Children’s Literature National Outstanding New Poetry National Outstanding Novellas National Outstanding Playscripts for Drama, Traditional Opera, and Western-style Opera Awards National Outstanding Reportage Literature National Outstanding Short Stories national spirit national style National Symposium on Work in Literature and the Arts national traits national war Nationalist Party Nationalist-controlled areas Nationalist-controlled area revolutionary literature Nationalities Literature nationalization native native resources native soil fiction natural natural expression

529

庐山会议 历史真理代言人 运动 献礼片 走向未来 大为逊色 多层次, 多波澜 世俗 喑哑 神秘主义 神话 幼稚 知名度 叙述 叙事 (性) 叙述的怪圈 叙述圈套 叙述者 窄义 窄化 民族资产阶级 民族色彩 建国 国防文学 民族形式 民族的形式，新民主主义的内容 全国优秀儿童文学 全国优秀新诗 全国优秀中篇小说 全国话剧, 戏曲, 歌剧优秀剧本奖 全国优秀报告文学 全国优秀短篇小说 民族气魄 民族风格 全国文艺工作座谈会 国民性 民族战争 国民党 国统区 国统区的革命文学

民族文学 民族化 本地人 本土资源 乡土小说 自然 自然流露

530

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

naturalist, -ism naturalness nature negative negative characters negative figures neuter neutral new new China New China Daily new China literature New Construction new culture (literature) new democracy revolution new direction for literature and art new direction of literature new enlightenment new epoch new epoch of proletarian literature and art new era new experience fiction new fiction school new folk song movement new folk songs new frontier fortress poetry new historical fiction new life new literature New Literature Historical Materials New Literature Selections new love story New Modernist group New Observations New Overseas Chinese Symposium new people/person new period new period literature new poetry tide new poets New Port new prose new realism new realism fiction new realist fiction new realist trilogy new roads new romanticism New Sensation School new situation fiction new tide fiction

自然主义 自然性 性质 反面 反面人物 反面形象 中性化 中立 新 新中国 新华日报 新中国文学 新建设 新文化（文学） 新民主主义革命 文艺新方向 文学新方向 新启蒙 新纪元 无产阶级文艺新纪元 新时代 新体验小说 新小说派 新民歌运动 新民歌 新边塞诗 新历史小说 新生活 新文学 新文学史料 新文学选集 新言情 新现代派 新观察 新侨会议 新人 新时期 新时期文学 新诗潮 新的诗人 新港 新散文 新写实 新现实主义小说 新写实小说 新写实三部曲 新路 新浪漫主义 新感觉派 新状态小说 新潮小说

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals new traditionalism new urban new world new world, new characters Newborn Generation night consciousness Nine Leaves Nine Leaves group no need to seal for safekeeping non-abstraction non-determination non-dualistic value directional-ization non-gendered non-laboring people non-mainstream (literature) non-standard normal norm North Gate Northeast Daily Northeast Literature & Arts Northern Literature not for sale not straying from the model Not-Not Not-Not-ism noumenon noumenal meaning noumenalized novel fever novel in poetical form novella-ization number one, first number two, second nuns object served objective objective laws objective life oblique observational observes obstinate fortress October October Poetry official periodicals oil poet old old China old culture (literature) old fiction

新传统主义 新都市 新世界 新的世界, 新的人物 新生代 黑夜意识 九叶 九叶派 不必封存 非抽象化 非确定化 非两值定向化 非性别化 非劳动人民 非主流 (文学) 不规范 正常 规范 北门 东北日报 东北文艺 北方文学 非卖品 不走样 非非 非非主义 本体 本体意味 本体化 长篇小说热 诗体小说 中篇化 第一 第二 修女 服务对象 客观 客观规律 客观生活 侧面 观照式 观察 顽固堡垒 十月 十月之诗 机关刊物 石油诗人 旧 旧中国 旧文化（文学） 旧小说

531

532

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

old literature old literature and arts old Party member old poets old society old theater old three classes old-time old work old writers omniscient once [they] grasp truth, [they] look down on antiquities one-book author one having personal experience one who stands apart one wing open and strong open up open up a new path to travel upon opposed to current revolutionary literature opposes writing important subject matter, opposes creating positive characters orderly ordinary people and all living things organic organized production oriental stream-of-consciousness origin (-s) original original appearance original appearance of history originality orthodox orthodox history other type of ‘magistracy possessed by one alone’ outline outside world outside the system outside trends outsider (-s) outstanding literature since the establishment of the nation outstanding works that withstand the tests of time outward appearance of things over-emotionalism overall situation of the war overstep the boundary overthrow

旧文学 旧文艺 老党员 老诗人 旧社会 旧剧 老三届 旧时代 旧作 老作家 全知 抓到真理, 就藐视古董 一本书作家 亲历者 疏离者 一翼 阳刚 开放 另辟一条新路走走 和当时革命文学对立 反对写重要题材, 反对创造正面人物 有序 芸芸众生 有机 组织生产 东方意识流 起源 原始 本来面貌 历史本来面目 独创（性） 正统 (的) 正史 另一种 ‘一尊独占’ 提纲 外界 体制外 潮流之外 外来者 建国以来优秀文学创作 受得住岁月陶冶的优秀作品 事物外形的方式 滥情 战争全局 越界 颠覆

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals own painful extermination panorama panoramic paper tiger paradigm paradoxical paradoxical situation paradise Party leadership pass Bei Dao pass passive passive resistance and a deliberate individual course passivity past and present past present tense pattern, form passive romanticism pastorals of life patriotic peak pedestrian People’s Artist People’s Communes People’s Film People’s Literature of the Revolutionary War of the Nationalities People’s Music People’s Theater perfect perfect mastery of thought, perfect mastery of life, and perfect mastery of technique performances periodic personal personal writing personalized writing petit bourgeoisie background philosophic theory philosophical depth philosophical prose philosophical thought philosophy philosophy of detachment picaresque fiction picaresque nature picture scroll drama pincer attack pipan piping

533

自我 痛苦的毁灭 风景 全景式 布老虎 范本 悖论式 悖论性情境 乐园 党的领导 北岛 被动 消极的反抗, 有意的孤行 惰性 古与今 过去现在时 格式, 模式 消极浪漫主义 生活牧歌 爱国的 高峰 平淡 人民艺术家 人民公社 人民电影 民族革命战争的大众文学

人民音乐 人民戏剧 完美 思想过硬, 生活过硬, 技巧过硬 演出 阶段性 私人 私人写作 私人化写作 小资产阶级出身 哲理 哲理深度 哲理散文 哲思 哲学 超脱哲学 传奇小说 传奇性 图卷戏 夹击 批判 批评

534

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

Playscripts pluralistic pluralization poet Poet poet of fairytales poetic conception poetic detail poetic feeling poetical form poeticize (-d, -ation) poetry Poetry Creation poetry crisis Poetry Explorations Poetry Forest poetry group poetry grouping Poetry Monthly poetry of the youth Poetry Press Poetry Reference poetry report Poetry Selections poetry society Poetry stops in language. Poetry Tide points of view poisonous influence on the entire nation poisonous weed polarization take ten years to polish the sword political political act political lyric poetry/poems political problem political standards as number one, artistic as number two politics poor and lower-middle farmers popular culture popular fiction popular literature and art Popular Literature and Arts Publishing House popular style popularize (-ation) porcupines with poetry hanging from their waists pose, attitude position positive positive characters

剧本 多元 多元化 诗人 诗人 童话诗人 诗的意境 诗意 诗情 诗体 诗化 诗 诗创造 诗歌危机 诗探索 诗林 诗派 诗群 诗刊 青年诗歌 诗歌报 诗参考 诗报告 诗选刊 诗社 诗到语言为止。 诗潮 视点 流毒全国 毒草 两极分化 十年磨一剑 政治性 政治行为 政治抒情诗 政治问题 政治标准第一, 艺术标准第二 政治 贫下中农 大众文化 通俗小说 通俗文艺 通俗文艺出版社 大众化 普及 腰间挂着诗篇的豪猪 姿态 位置 正面 正面人物

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals positive power possessing communist style possibility post-Cultural Revolution post-Misty poetry post-modern fiction post-new period post-realism power power to fabricate practical practice is the sole criterion in testing truth practicing crimes and playing power games praise praise as primary pre-modern Precious Literature Hall Bookstore prelude prerequisites present tense presidium presumptuousness previous generation primary designs primary subject matter primordial principle principle, original prison walls literature problem, issue problem characters problem fiction process (-ing) production and construction corps products profession professional literature and arts workers profound (-ly) profound andante phrasing profound changes programmatic Progress Daily progressive liberal literature and arts progressivists proletarian literature proletarian literature and art proletarian poet Prologue propaganda brigades propaganda effect Prose

正面力量 具有共产主义风格 可能性 后文革 后朦胧诗 后现代小说 后新时期 后现实主义 威力 虚构的权力 实践性 实践是检验真理的惟一标准 锻炼人罪, 戏弄权威 赞成 以歌颂为主 前现代 宝文堂书店 序幕 条件 现在时 主席团 狂妄 上一代人 主花 主要题材 原生态 原则 本原 大墙文学 问题 问题人物 问题小说 加工 生产建设兵团 产品 专业 专业文艺工作者 深刻 深沉的慢乐章 深刻的变化 纲领性 进步日报 进步自由主义文艺 进步主义者 无产阶级文学 无产阶级文艺 无产阶级诗人 楔子 宣传队 宣传效果 散文

535

536

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

prose prose (essay) -style, -d, -ization prose-style fiction prose-stylization of fiction Prose and People prose essays prose feature reports prose fever prose of little women prose of old age prose of scholars prose poetry Prose Selections prose year prose writers protective protoculture pseudo-modernist powerful guarantee the public public explication publication published internally pure pure art Pure Brightness pure literature purity put out to sea Qi-Lu native soil writers Qinghai Lake qualifications quiet quintessence race radical radicalism Raining Flowers random thoughts rank limitation raw materials re-creation reactionary authority reactionary landlord reactionary literati reactionary literature and art reactionary novel reactionary poetry reactionary writer reader (-s) reader Li Dingzhong

散文 散文化 散文化小说 小说的散文化 散文与人 散文小品 散文特写 散文热 小女人散文 老年散文 学者散文 散文诗 散文选刊 散文年 散文作家 保护 原始性文化 伪现代派 有力保证 大众 宣讲 发表 内部出版 纯净 纯艺术 清明 纯文学 纯洁性, 纯粹 下海 齐鲁乡土作家 青海湖 资格 静 精华 种族 激进 激进主义 雨花 杂感 级别限制 原料 再创作 反动权威 反动地主 反动文人 反动文艺 反动小说 反动诗词 反动作家 读者 读者李定中

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals reading public real people and true events real subject matter realism Realism and Avant-Garde Literature realist realist fiction realistic realistic character realistic experience realistic nature reality realize (-d) reason reasonable rebel, -lion recanting and turning traitor reception recommend (-ed) reconsider, reevaluate reconsideration of history reconstruct record of the enlightenment of a materialist record-of-reality form recreation rectify Red Crag Red Flag Red Guard movement red guards red mushroom rediscovered redundant people and strange events reeducation re-emergent re-emergent poets re-emergent writers reestablish, -ment reference reference book list for workers in literature and the arts studying political theory and classical literature refined refinement of literature of the masses, popularization of refined literature reflect (-ion), mirror (-ed) reflect this grand age reflection of reality reform reform fiction reform literature

537

广大读者 真人真事 现实题材 现实主义 现实主义与先锋派文学 写实 现实主义小说 写实性, 写实的 写实性 实在的经验 现实性 现实 实现 理 合理 反叛 自首变节 接受 提倡 反思 历史反思 重构 唯物论者的启示录 记实体 娱乐 匡正 红岩 红旗 红卫兵运动 红卫兵 红蘑菇 重新发现 闲杂人和希奇事 再教育 复出 复出的诗人 复出作家 重建 参考 文艺工作者学习政治理论和古典 文学的参考书目 雅 大众文学精致化, 精致文学大众化 反映 反映这个伟大时代 反映现实 改革 改革小说 改革文学

538

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

reform subject fiction reform through labor regime regional fiction regression, return regular regularizing regulation (-s) rejuvenation relaxed religions consciousness religious miasma Remember the history of the revolution, sing praises of the Great Leap Forward remnants of the old society that block our progress remolding remove renaissance renaissance in literature and the arts repertory replacement reportage literature report (-ed) represent, (-ative) reproduction require ruthless attack and exposure in ideological battle rescue reserves resolved through practice resource responsibility restore, -d restoration restricted areas retreat return return, -ed return and deep entry into the female gender itself return of consciousness to origins return of creation to origins return of language to origins return of perception to origins return to return to literature itself Return the Nationalist Party to China Clique return to the ancients returned writers returnees

改革题材小说 劳动改造 体制 地域小说 回归 正式 正规化 规则 复兴 轻松 宗教意识 宗教迷雾 回忆革命史, 歌颂大跃进 阻碍我们前进的旧社会的残余 改造 拆除 复兴 文艺的复兴 保留剧目 替代 报告文学 报告 代表 复制 在思想斗争中要无情地加以打击 和揭露的 拯救 储备 在实践过程中去解决 资源 责任 修复 复辟 禁区 退却 回归 归来 回到和深入女性本身 意识还原 创造还原 语言还原 感觉还原 回到 回到文学自身 国民党还乡团 复古 归来作家 归来者

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals reviewer of this journal revisit revive (-al) reverse the verdict revolt revolution revolution in Beijing Opera revolution in form revolution in literature and the arts revolution plus love revolutionaries revolutionary base areas revolutionary children’s songs revolutionary democratic character revolutionary fiction revolutionary folk songs revolutionary historical fiction revolutionary historical struggle revolutionary historical subject matter revolutionary model opera revolutionary national culture revolutionary new literature and art revolutionary realism revolutionary romanticism revolutionary tradition rewrite rhetoric, rhetorical richness right (-s) rigidity Right deviation opportunist rightist righteous division righteous feeling ringleader rising rising of the Hunan army rising theory risk taking rock formations of culture romance story romantic romanticism root source root-seeking root-seeking fiction root-seeking in literature root-seeking literature root-seeking writers Rosy Dawn ruins

本刊评论员 复归 复活 翻案 叛逆 革命 京剧革命 形式革命 文艺革命 革命加恋爱 革命者 革命根据地 革命儿歌 革命民主主义性质 革命小说 革命民歌 革命历史小说 革命历史斗争 革命历史题材 革命样板戏 革命的民族文化 革命新文艺 革命现实主义 革命浪漫主义 革命传统 改写 修辞 丰富性 权利 生硬 右倾机会主义分子 右派分子 正义之师 正义感 头目 崛起 湘军崛起 崛起论 冒险 文化岩层 传奇 浪漫 浪漫主义 根源 寻根 寻根小说 文学寻根 寻根文学 寻根作家 朝霞 废墟

539

540

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

rules of development run off rupture rural area readers rural area subject matter Russian & Soviet Literature satire savagery save the children scar scar fiction scar literature scherzo rhythms scholar scholarly school science and democracy scientific scientific methodologies scientific nature scientific principles screen (-ed) screened out sculpture Sea of Translations searched out second circulation channel second liberation secondary designs secondary subject matter sediment seeing the big through the small Seekers self self awareness self consciousness self-control self-criticism self-determination self-determination of literature and the arts self-examination, introspection self-exile self-expression self-printed self-regulation self-restraint self-sufficient nature semi-free form semi-processed materials semi-regulated form seniority

发展规律 流失 决裂 农村读者 农村题材 俄苏文学 讽刺小说 肆虐 救救孩子 伤痕 伤痕小说 伤痕文学 谐谑调 读书人 文人 流派 科学, 民主 科学化 科学方法 科学性 学理 筛选 遮蔽 雕塑 译海 搜出 第二流通渠道 第二次解放 次花 次要题材 积淀 以小见大 探求者 自我 自觉 自我意识 自我控制 检讨, 自我检查 自主性 艺术自主 反省 自我放逐 自我表现 自印 自我调节 自我束缚 自足性 半自由体 半制品 半格律体 老资格

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals sent to the countryside sequel serenity serialized and traditional-style novels series of poetical fragments serious serious literature serious time serve set up settled seven books of ‹The Sun› Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove seventeen years seventeen years of literature several times writing a reactionary novel Shaan-Gan-Ning shadow Shanghai County The History of Hong Nan at War Writing Group Shanghai Great Revolution Critical Attack Writing Group Shanghai Literary Essays Shanghai Literature Shanghai Literature & Arts Shanghai Love China Shanghai-style Opera Troupe Shanghai School Shanghai Ship Building Company Literature and Arts Creative Group Shanghai-style Opera Theater of Shanghai Shanxi group Shanxi Literature & Arts Special Collection Shanxi writers grouping shard Shenzhen Youth Daily shift shockwave of realism shore short sketch form short story writer should immediately cease selling and stop lending Sichuan group of poets Sichuan Literature & Arts side sign signal significance significance of the subject matter significant significant subject matter

541

插队 续篇 平和 长篇连载, 章回小说 诗片断系列 严重 严肃文学 严肃的时辰 服务 设置 落户 〈太阳〉七部书 竹林七贤 十七年 十七年文学 多次书写反动小说 陕甘宁 阴影 上海县虹南作战史 写作小组 上海大革命批判写作小组

上海文论 上海文学 上海文艺 上海爱华沪剧团 海派 上海市造船公司文艺创作组 上海沪剧院 山西派 山西文艺特辑 山西作家群 碎片 深圳青年报 转型 现实主义冲击波 岸 笔记体 短篇小说作家 应立即停售和停止借阅 四川诗人群 四川文艺 侧面 符号 信号 意义 题材意义 重大 重大题材

542

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

since liberation since May Fourth since the establishment of the nation sing praises singing the praises of the mistaken [political] line sloganeering form small anti-party clique Small Magazine small private business operators small society social classes and the class struggle social development social effect social function social historian social issue dramas social life social movements social nature social responsibility social undertaking socialist, socialism socialist alienation socialist camp socialist literature socialist reform of capitalist industry and business socialist revolution socialist transformation societal shift soft sole fountainhead solely express the soul Solitary Island literature son of a lord or official who has met with misfortune songs of praise songs of return songs of the masses soul soul of the nation sound, reliable Southern Daily Southern Poetry Chronicle southwest frontier poetry grouping Soviet expert Soviet Literature Soviet model spaces Sparks

解放以来 五四以来 建国以来 歌德 为错误路线歌功颂德 标语口号式 反党小集团 小杂志 个体户 小社会 阶级和阶级斗争 社会发展 社会效应 社会功能 社会历史家 社会问题剧 社会生活 社会运动 社会性 社会责任 社会承担 社会主义 社会主义异化 社会主义阵营 社会主义文学 资本主义工商业的社会主义改造 社会主义革命 社会主义改造 社会转型 软性 唯一源泉 独抒性灵 孤岛文学 落难公子 颂歌 归来的歌 群众歌曲 心灵 民族之魂 稳妥 南方日报 南方诗志 西南边疆诗群 苏联专家 苏联文学 苏联模式 空隙 火花

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals Sparks group Speaking and Singing speaking in defense of reactionary capitalists special special character special commentator Special Zone Literature specialists specialty specimen spectacular occasion Spring & Autumn of Literature & Arts spirit of the humanities spirit of the times spiritual burden of the individual farmer over thousands of years spiritual leaders spiritual loss spiritual pollution spiritual products spiritual purification spiritual rebellion splendor split spontaneous style springtime Sprouts staircase form stand standard characteristic standardization standardized theme standpoint Stanislavsky model Stars Starting Comments state state of consciousness state of weakness and fatigue status status recognition stimulate story strange tales of a eccentric world strategy strategy of making concessions stream, flow stream-of-consciousness stress the present and play down the past stressing creation strip out

543

火花 派 说说唱唱 为反动资本家辩护 特殊 特质 特约评论员 特区文学 专家 专业 标本 盛况 文艺春秋 人文精神 时代精神 几千年来的个体农民的精神负担 精神领袖 精神失落 精神污染 精神产品 精神净化 精神叛逆 辉煌 分裂 自发式 春天 萌芽 楼梯体 立场 规范性 规范化 规范性主题 立场 斯坦尼斯拉夫斯基模式 星星 题叙 形态 意识形态 疲软状态 身份 身份认同 刺激 故事 怪世奇谈 政策 让步政策论 流动 意识流 厚今薄古 抓创作 剥离

544

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

struggle between two lines struggle between the two roads struggle to seize power strict strict significance stirring up waves structure struggle between lines Studies in Literary & Artistic Theory Study Study & Criticism study classes studying the distant style sub-literature subject subject consciousness subject matter, theme subjective subjective creativity subjective idealism subjective spirit subjectivist formulism subjectivity sublimation of philosophical thought sublime substantial, -ity suggesting the whole through a part Suggestion Letter Sun Society Sunflowers sunning oneself in winter superhuman superiority superstructure supplementary circular Suppression of Counter-Revolution Campaign surrendering to the bourgeoisie sweep away cow ghosts and snake spirits symbol symbolic symbolist (school) synchronic synchronous synopsis of contents Symposium on Hu Feng Thought in Literature and Art synthesis system systematic taking over (management) talks of the inspection tour of the South target

两条路线斗争 两条道路斗争 夺权斗争 严格 严格意义 弄潮儿 结构 路线斗争 文艺理论研究 读书 学习与批判 学习班 修远 文体 亚文学 主体 主体意识 题材 主观 主体创造性 主观唯心主义 主观精神 主观主义公式主义 主体性 升华哲思 崇高 实体性 以部分暗示全体 意见书 太阳社 葵 负暄 超人 优势 上层建筑 补充通知 镇压反革命运动 向资产阶级投降 横扫牛鬼蛇神 象征 象征的 象征派 共时 同步 内容提要 胡风文艺思想讨论会 综合 体系 体系性 接管 南巡讲话 目标

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals teaching technique temperament Ten Regulations on Literature and the Arts ten years of catastrophe ten years of propagation, and ten years of education ten years of upheaval Tendency tense, tension tenth anniversary of the establishment of the state terminus test testimony text (proper) textbook of communism textbook of human life textbooks of life texture thaw the absurd the awakened the base of resistance against the Japanese in the rear of the enemy the Bei Dao’s The Big Turmoil the dead The Front The Great Joint Exhibition of New Realist Fiction the integration of the models of revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism the lowly the lowly are the smartest, the elitists are the stupidest the masses the masses of workers, farmers, and soldiers the mighty beginning of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution the nine leaves The North the other shore the people the profound degree to which it reflected the broad life of rural areas the second liberation the ten years since the nation’s establishment the times are different, men and women are the same the three prominents

545

教诲 技巧 气质 文艺十条 十年浩劫 十年生聚, 十年教训 十年动乱 倾向 紧张 建国十周年 终点 检验 证言 正文 共产主义教科书 人生教科书 生活的教科书 质地 解冻 荒诞 觉醒者 敌后抗日根据地 北岛们 大骚动 死人 阵地 新写实小说大联展 革命的现实主义和革命的浪漫主义 的典型的结合 卑贱者 卑贱者最聪明, 高贵者最愚蠢 群众 工农兵群众 无产阶级文化大革命的伟大开端 九片叶子 朔方 彼岸 人民 反映农村广阔生活的深刻程度 第二次解放 建国十年 时代不同了, 男女都一样 三突出

546

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

The Tropic of Cancer the West the work of woman writers theater Theater Arts Theater Circles Theater Press theater troupe theatrical concepts Them Then literature society thematic determinism Theory Monthly theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat theory of writing ‘middle characters thing-in-itself, noumenon thinking in images Third Generation people Third Generation poetry Third Generation Poetry Conference Third Road third type of person Thirty Thousand Character Letter thirty years of China’s People’s Liberation Army this generation thoroughgoing thoroughly negate three-anti three degree program three family village three famous and three high three hundred poems three perfect masteries three risings three sets of paintings on local customs Tian’anmen Counter-revolutionary Incident Tianjin doors culture fiction Tianjin Daily Tibet Literature tide, trend tidal tighten up time times, age, era time of nightmares timely expressions of the Great Cultural Revolution Today Today Literature Society Today poetry group tone tool

北回归线 西方 女作家创作 剧院 戏剧艺术 戏剧界 戏剧报 剧团 戏剧观 他们 他们文学社 题材决定论 理论月刊 无产阶级专政理论 写‘中间人物’论 本体 形象思维 第三代人 第三代诗 第三代诗会 第三条道路 第三种人 三十万言书 中国人民解放军三十年 这一代人 彻底 彻底否定 三反 三度程序 三家村 三名三高 诗三百 三过硬 三个崛起 三组风俗画 天安门反革命事件 津门文化小说 天津日报 西藏文学 潮流 潮流化 收紧 时间 时代 梦魇时代 要及时表现文化大革命 今天 今天文学社 今天 诗群 色调 工具

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals topic totalistic totality townspeople fiction tradition (-al) traditional culture traditional family tragedy tragic tragic figures (characters) tragic life tragic state of affairs traitor to China transcend, -ence transcendent nature transformation transfer down transition transitional Translations (World Literature) transplant (-ation) travel the road to socialism travellers trivial matters Trotskyite true true events true life true proletarian literature true Tianjin flavor truth, true truthful truthfulness Tubote Tufan Tuibaite turn to the internal Twentieth Century Literature of China twenty years’ rule of mechanism two combine into one theory two extremes two roads two slogans two types of culture two whatever two-faced nature type (-s) typical typical characters typical plots typical scenes

主题 总体性 总体结构 市民小说 传统 传统文化 传统家庭 悲剧 悲剧式 悲剧人物 悲剧生活 悲剧事态 汉奸 超越 超越性 变化 下放 转折 转折性 译文 (世界文学) 移植 走社会主义道路 游子 琐事 托派分子 真正的, 真实 真实事件 生活真实 真正的无产阶级文学 地道的天津味 真实 真实 真实性 土伯特, 图伯特 土蕃 退摆特 向内转 20 世纪中国文学 二十年的机械论统治 合二而一论 两极 两条道路 两个口号 两种文化 两个凡是 两面性 类型 典型 典型人物 典型情节 典型情景

547

548

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

typicalization ugly acts ultimate ultimate truth undercurrent of life underground underground literature unfinished unified nature unified norms unimportant people unique creative nature unique experience uniqueness unit unity unofficial nature unofficial poetry journals unprecedented up to the mountains, down to the countryside upsurge urban fiction urban petty bourgeois readers urbanization of taste use the past to serve the present using a novel to work against the Party is a great discovery vagabond spirit vagueness validity value vanished various schools of decadent literature of the period of decline of the twentieth century bourgeoisie of Europe and America vestiges of culture viewing and emulation village fiction vineyard violence Virgin Soil virilization vitality Voices voluntarily disappear volunteer army vulgar vulgar literature war War of Resistance against Japan warning

典型化 丑态 终极 终极真理 生活潜流 地下 地下文学 未竟 统一性 统一规范 小人物 独创性 独特经验 独特性 单位 团结 民间性 民间诗刊 超前 上山下乡 热潮 都市小说 小市民读者 市民化 古为今用 利用小说进行反党是一大发明 江湖气魄 含混性 权威性 价值 隐失 20 世纪欧美资产阶级没落期的 颓废文学各派别 文化遗迹 观摩 乡村小说 葡萄园 暴力 处女地 男性化 生命力 声音 自动消失 志愿军 俗 俗文学 战争 抗日战争 警示

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals watering flowers we, us We must never forget class struggle weakness weapon weed through the old to bring forth the new weeding weekly recitals went without saying West West Sichuan Daily Western Capital what to write whether the petit bourgeois class could be written about white-faced treacherous official whole whole nature wholistic wholism whose crime wilds willful child withering of a hundred flowers witness to history woman woman writers woman-ism woman-ist literature women’s liberation women’s literature women’s poetry women’s writing won a great victory worker, farmer, and soldier readers worker, farmer, and soldier scenarios worker, farmer, soldier writers worker for the Party worker propaganda teams Workers Daily workers, farmers, and soldiers Works world world literature World Literature World Peace Council world revolution world view Worlds of Fiction worthy wrecking revolutionary model operas

浇花 我们 千万不要忘记阶级斗争 卑微 武器 推陈出新 锄草 星期朗诵会 不言而喻 西方 川西日报 西京 写什么 可不可以写小资产阶级 白脸奸臣 整体 整个性质 整体 整体主义 谁之罪 野地 任性的孩子 百花凋零 历史见证人 女 女作家 女性主义 女性主义文学 妇女解放 女性文学 女性诗歌 女性写作 取得了伟大胜利 工农兵读者 工农兵剧本 工农兵作者 党的工作者 工人宣传队 工人日报 工农兵 作品 世界 世界文学 世界文学 世界和平理事会 世界革命 世界观 小说界 值得 破坏革命样板戏

549

550

glossary of terms, organizations, and periodicals

Write Large the Thirteen Years Write the center, act the center, paint the center Write the thirteen years write truth written by Quanlin, this journal’s fellow traveller written comments (instructions) Written Conversations about Prose writers writers from liberated areas writing writing group writing middle characters writing of literati writing of scholars writing the dark side Yan’an Yan’an literature Yan River yangge Yangtse Daily Yangtse Literature & Arts year of methodologies Yellow River young communist spirit young poets Young Poets young scholars young writers youngsters Youth Literature Youth Poetry Conference Youth Trilogy Yunnan Daily zero degree narration zero emotions Zhongshan

大写十三年 写中心, 演中心, 画中心 写十三年 写真实 本刊同人, 荃麟执笔 批示 笔谈散文 作家 解放区作家 写作 写作班子 写中间人物 文人之文 学者之文 写阴暗面 延安 延安文学 延河 秧歌 长江日报 长江文艺 方法年 黄河 少共精神 青年诗人 青年诗人 后学 青年作家 小字辈 青年文学 青春诗会 青春三部曲 云南日报 零度叙述 零度感情 钟山

BIBLIOGRAPHY1

AH Cheng 阿城, ‹文化制约着人类 Culture Restricts Humankind›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 6 July 1985. —— ‹昨天今天或今天昨天 Today Yesterday or Yesterday’s Today›, 今天 Today, #3, 1991. AH Long 阿垄, ‹论倾向性 On Tendentiousness›, 文艺学习 Literature & Arts Studies, (Tianjin), no. 1, 1950. —— (Zhang Huairui 张怀瑞) ‹略论正面人物与反面人物 Some Thoughts on Positive Characters and Villains›, 起点 Starting Point (Shanghai), no. 2, 1950. AI Kesi 艾克斯, ‹英雄人物的力量 The Power of Heroic Characters›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 1, 1963. AI Qing 艾青, ‹从 “朦胧诗” 谈起 About “Misty Poetry”›, 文汇报 Literary Confluence Daily, 15 May 1981. —— ‹公刘的诗 Gong Liu’s Poetry›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 13, 1955. —— 诗论 Poetics, 桂林三户图书社 Guilin Sanhu Book Society, 1941. —— ‹序 Preface› to 域外集 Beyond the Border Collection, 花城文艺出版社 Flower City Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1983. —— ‹读 “牛郎织女” Reading “Cowherd and Girl Weaver”›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 31 August 1951. —— ‹红旗 Red Flag›, 文汇报 Literary Confluence Daily, 30 April 1978. —— 艾青全集 The Complete Works of Ai Qing, 花山文艺出版社 Flower Mountain Literature & Arts Publishing House (Shijiazhuang), 1991. —— ‹了解作家, 尊敬作家 Understand Writers, Respect Writers›, 解放日报 Liberation Daily, 11 March 1942. AI Siqi 艾思奇, ‹从春节宣传看文艺的新方向 Looking at the New Direction in Literature and the Arts through Spring Festival Propaganda›, in 解放日报 Liberation Daily (Yan’an edition), 1943/04/25. AI Wu 艾芜, ‹后记 Postface› in 夜归 Return at Night, 作家出版社 Authors Publishing House, 1958. AN Qi 安旗, ‹沿着和劳动人民结合的道路探索前进 Let Exploration Progress Following the Path of Integration with the Working People›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 5, 1960. —— ‹读闻捷 “动荡的年代” Reading Wen Jie’s “Age of Upheaval”›, in 论叙事诗 On Narrative Poetry, 作家出版社 Authors Publishing House, 1962. BA Jin 巴金, ‹后记 Postface› to 李大海 Li Dahai, 作家出版社 Authors Publishing House, 1961. —— ‹后记 Postscript› to 探索集 Explorations, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1997. —— ‹要有艺术民主的局面 There Must be a Situation of Democracy in Literature and the Arts›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1978 (July, 复刊号 Resumption of Publication Edition).

1 The original text does not contain a bibliography. The bibliography here consists of a listing of the sources cited by the author in footnotes within the text. Here the original Chinese is included with the English translations, but—with some exceptions—details are limited to those provided by the author in the original text. With the exception of author names, the Chinese language original precedes all translations.

552

bibliography

BA Ren 巴人, ‹有关短篇创作的几个问题 On Some Issues Concerning Writing Short Stories›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 3, 1959. BEAUTIFUL Writing 美文, ‹发刊词 Introductory Words›, 美文 Beautiful Writing, no. 1, 1992. BEI Dao 北岛, SHU Ting 舒婷, GU Cheng 顾城, JIANG He 江河, YANG Lian 杨炼, 五人诗选 Five Poets Anthology, 作家出版社 Authors Publishing House, 1986. BEIJING University Chinese Department Class of 1955 北京大学中文系 1955 级编写, 中国现代文学史当代部分纲要 China Modern Literary History: Contemporary Section Outline (内部铅印本, 未正式出版 Internal letterpress edition, not officially published). BEILING 贝岭 ed., 当代中国诗 38首 38 Contemporary Chinese Poems, Beijing, unofficial publication, 1984. BEILING 贝岭 & MENG Lang 孟浪 ed., 当代中国诗歌七十五首 75 Chinese Contemporary Poems, Beijing & Shanghai, unofficial publication, 1985. BIAN Zhilin 卞之琳, ‹开讲英国诗想到的一些经验 Experiences Thought of While Lecturing on the Poetry of England›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 4 (November 1949). CAI Kui 蔡葵, ‹周炳形象及其他—关于三家巷 和苦斗 的评价问题 The Figure of Zhou Bing and Other Matters—About the Issue of Assessing Three Family Alley and Bitter Struggle›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 2, 1964. CAI Kui 蔡葵 & BU Linfei 卜林扉, ‹这样的批评符合实际吗?—与 “关于梁生宝形象” 一文商榷 Does this Type of Criticism Accord with Reality?—A Discussion over “About the Image of Liang Shengbao”›, 延河 Yan River, no. 10, 1963. CAI Qijiao 蔡其矫, 福建集 Fujian, 福建人民出版社 Fujian People’s Publishing House, 1982. —— 生活的歌 Songs of Life, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1982. CAI Yi 蔡仪, 中国新文学史讲话 Talks on the History of China’s New Literature, 1952. CENTRAL China Teachers’ College Chinese Department 华中师范学院中文系编写 组, 中国当代文学史稿 China Contemporary Literature History Manuscripts, 科学出 版社 Science Publishing House, 1962. CHANG Yao 昌耀, ‹我的 “业务自传” My “Professional Autobiography”›, 诗探索 Poetry Explorations, no. 1, 1997. CHEN Chao 陈超 ed., 以梦为马：新生代诗卷 With Dreams For Horses: Poetry of the Newborn Generation, 北京师范大学出版社 Beijing Teachers’ University Publishing House, 1993. CHEN Gang 陈刚, ‹劳动者的赞歌 Song in Praise of Laborers›, 文汇报 Literary Confluence Daily, 27 July 1958. CHEN Huangmei 陈荒煤, ‹向赵树理方向迈进 Advancing Toward the Direction of Zhao Shuli›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 10 August 1947. CHEN Kaige 陈凯歌, 龙血树 Dragon’s Blood Tree, 香港天地图书有限公司 Hongkong Heaven & Earth Book Company, 1992. CHEN Li 陈丽, ‹困境与突围—对经济体制转轨时期上海作家情况的调查 Predicaments and Breakthroughs—An Investigation into the Conditions of Shanghai Writers during the Period of Economic System Change›, 社会科学 Social Sciences, no. 1, 1995. CHEN Pingyuan 陈平原, ‹自序 Preface› to 学者的人间情怀 Scholars Feelings for the World of Man, 珠海出版社 Zhuhai Publishing House, 1995. CHEN Sihe 陈思和, ‹民间的沉浮：从抗战到 “文革” 文学史的一个解释 The Decline and Rise of the Popular: An Explanation of Literary History from the War of Resistance to the “Cultural Revolution”› in 陈思和自选集 A Self-Selection of the Writings of Chen Sihe, 广西师范大学出版社 Guangxi Teachers University Publishing House, 1997. —— ‹新文学史研究中的整体观 The Wholistic View in Historical Studies of New Literature›, 复旦学报 Fudan Journal (Shanghai), no. 3, 1985.

bibliography

553

CHEN Yong 陈涌, ‹论文艺与政治的关系—评阿垄的 “论倾向性” On the Relationship of Literature and the Arts with Politics—A Critique of A Long’s “On Tendentiousness”›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 12 March 1950. —— ‹萧也牧创作的一些倾向 Tendencies in the Writing of Xiao Yemu›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 10 June 1951. CHENG Daixi 程代熙, ‹给徐敬亚的公开信 An Open Letter to Xu Jingya›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 11, 1983. CHI Li 池莉, ‹烦恼人生 Vexing Life›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 8, 1987. CHINA Author 中国作家, ‹迎接党的十四大的胜利召开, 深入学习邓小平同志的 南巡讲话 Welcome the Victorious Convocation of the Party’s Fourteenth Congress, Intensively Study Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s Talks on his Inspection Tour of the South›, 中国作家 China Author, no. 6, 1992. CHINA Social Sciences Institute Literary Research Center 中国社会科学院文学研究 所 ed., 中国文学研究年鉴 China Literary Studies Year Book (1981), 中国社会科学 出版社 China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1982. CHINA’S New Poetry 中国新诗, ‹我们呼唤 Our Call› 代序 in lieu of a Preface, China’s New Poetry 中国新诗, no. 1, Shanghai, 1948. “CHU Lan” 初澜, ‹在矛盾冲突中塑造无产阶级英雄典型—评长篇小说艳阳天 In a Clash of Contradictions Mold the Heroic Proletarian Example—Assessing the Novel Bright Sunny Sky›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 5 May 1974. —— ‹京剧革命十年 Ten Years of Revolution in Beijing Opera›, 红旗 Red Flag, no. 4, 1974. COLLECTIVE work of the worker, farmer, soldier students of the Beijing University Chinese Department Class of 1972 Creative Writing Class 北京大学中文系七二级 创作班工农兵学员集体创作, 理想之歌 Songs of Idealism, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1974. CONG Shen 丛深, ‹“千万不要忘记” 主题的形成 The Formation of the Topic of “We Must Never Forget”›, 戏剧报 Theater Press, no. 4, 1964. CUI Weiping 崔卫平, ‹郭路生 Guo Lusheng›, 今天 Today, #4, 1994. DAI Bufan 戴不凡, ‹响当当的一粒豌豆—读话剧剧本“关汉卿”断想 A Resounding Bronze Pea—Thoughts on Reading the Script of the Play “Guan Hanqing”›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 16, 1959. DENG Tuo 邓拓, 燕山夜话 Evening Chats at Yanshan, 北京出版社 Beijing Publishing House, 1963. —— 邓拓诗文选 Selected Poetry and Essays of Deng Tuo, 人民日报出版社 People’s Daily Publishing House, 1976. —— 邓拓文集 Writings of Deng Tuo, 北京出版社 Beijing Publishing House, 1986. DENG Tuo 邓拓, WU Han 吴晗, & LIAO Mosha 廖沫沙, 三家村札记 Random Notes from the Three Family Village, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1979. DING Ling 丁玲, ‹作为一种倾向来看—给萧也牧同志的一封信 Looking on it as a Tendency—a letter to Comrade Xiao Yemu›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 8, July 1951. —— ‹读魏巍的朝鲜通讯 Reading Wei Wei’s Korean Dispatches›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 3. DUODUO 多多, ‹被埋葬的中国诗人 Buried Poets of China›, 开拓 Opening Up, #2, 1989. —— 里程 The Road Travelled, 今天文学社 Today Literature Society [unofficial publication], 1989. FANG Fang 方方, ‹风景 Landscapes›, 当代作家 Contemporary Authors, no. 5, 1987. “FANG Zesheng” 方泽生, ‹还要努力作战—评虹南作战史 中的洪雷生形象 We Must Still Strive to Wage War—Assessing the Figure of Hong Leisheng in The History of Hong Nan at War›, 文汇报 Literary Confluence Daily, 18 March 1972. FENG Jiannan 冯健男, ‹再谈梁生宝 More on Liang Shengbao›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 9, 1963.

554

bibliography

FENG Jicai 冯骥才, ‹一个时代结束了 The End of an Age›, 文学自由谈 Free Literary Conversations, no. 3, 1993. FENG Mu 冯牧, ‹一个违背事实的论断 A Judgment that Goes Against the Facts›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 2, 1960. —— ‹对于文学创作的一个回顾和展望 A Look Back and to the Future with regard to Literary Creation›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1980. —— ‹文学创作突出政治的优秀范例—从欧阳海之歌 的成就谈 “三过硬” 问题 An Excellent Example of Giving Prominence to Politics in Literary Creation—Talking about the Issue of the “Three Perfect Masteries” from the aspect of the Success of Song of Ouyang Hai›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1966. FENG Mu 冯牧 & HUANG Zhaoyan 黄昭彦, ‹新诗代生活的画卷—略谈建国十年来 长篇小说的丰收 A Living Portrait of Life in the New Age—A Brief Discussion of the Rich Harvest of Novels in the Ten Years since the Establishment of the Nation›, 文艺 报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 19, 1959. FENG Xuefeng 冯雪峰, ‹悼朱自清先生 In Memory of Mr. Zhu Ziqing› in 论文集 Essay Collection vol. 1, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House 1952. —— ‹论保卫延安 的成就及其重要性 On the Success and Importance of Defend Yan’an›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 14–15, 1954. —— (Li Dingzhong 李定中), ‹反对玩弄人民的态度, 反对新的低级趣味 Oppose Playing with the Attitudes of the People, Oppose New Bad Taste›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 5. FENG Zhi 冯至, ‹五四纪念在北大 May Fourth Memorial at Beijing University›, 观察 Observations, no. 12, 1947. —— ‹论艾青的诗 On the Poetry of Ai Qing›, 文学研究 Literary Studies, no. 1, 1958. —— ‹后记 Postface› in 西郊集 Western Suburbs Collection, 作家出版社Author Publishing House, 1958. —— ‹序 Preface› in 冯之诗文选集 Selected Poetry & Essays of Feng Zhi, 人民文学出版 社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1955. GAN Yang 甘阳, ‹80 年代文化讨论中的几个问题 Some Issues in the Cultural Discussions of the 1980s› in 文化：世界与中国 Culture: The World and China (vol. 1), 生活 • 读书 • 新知三联书店 Life·Reading·New Knowledge Three United Bookstore, 1987. GAO Xingjian 高行健, 现代小说技巧初探 Initial Explorations into Techniques of Modern Fiction, 花城出版社 Flower City Publishing House, 1981. GAO Yuanbao 郜元宝, ‹张伟的愤激, 退却和困境—评柏慧 The Fury, Retreat, and Predicament of Zhang Wei—Reviewing The Wisdom of Cedars›, 作家报 Writers Press (Ji’nan, Shandong), 27 May 1995. GONG Liu 公刘, 离离原上草 Grass on the Lili Plain, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1980. —— ‹新的课题—从顾城同志的几首诗谈起 New Topics of Discussion—A Discussion Set Off by Poems by Comrade Gu Cheng›, 星星 Stars, no. 10, 1979. GORKY, Maxim, 我怎样学习写作 How I Learned to Write, 三联书店 Three Federations Bookstore, 4th edition, 1954. GU Cheng 顾城, 土地 Land, 春风文艺出版社 Spring Wind Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1990. —— ‹请听听我们的声音 Please Listen to Our Voices›, 诗探索 Poetry Explorations (Beijing), no. 1, 1980. GU Zhicheng 顾志成 et al., ‹要有胆识地保护好作品—手抄本小说 第二次握手 调查记 Good Literary Works Must be Audaciously Protected—The Record of an Investigation into the Hand-Copied Novel The Second Handshake›, 中国青年报 China Youth Daily, 11 March 1979. GUO Kai 郭开, ‹略谈对林道静的描写中的缺点—评杨沫的小说青春之歌 Brief Words on Faults in the Description of Lin Daojing—A Critique of Yang Mo’s Novel The Song of Youth›, 中国青年 China Youth, no. 2, 1959.

bibliography

555

—— ‹就青春之歌 谈文艺创作和批评中的几个原则问题—再评杨沫同志的小说青 春之歌 On the Subject of The Song of Youth a Discussion of Issues of Principle in Literary and Artistic Creation and Criticism—Another Critique of Comrade Yang Mo’s Novel The Song of Youth›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Paper, no. 4, 1959. GUO Moruo 郭沫若, ‹毛泽东时代的英雄史诗—就欧阳海之歌 答文艺报 编者问 A Heroic Epic of the Age of Mao Zedong—Answering Questions from the Editors of the Literature & Arts Press about Song of Ouyang Hai›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 4, 1966. —— ‹读了李家庄的变迁 After Reading Changes in Li Village› in 文萃 Literary Collections, no. 46, 1946. —— ‹关于大规模收集民歌答民间文学 编辑部问 Answering Questions from the Editorial Department of Folk Literature about the Large Scale Collection of Folk Songs›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 21 April 1958. —— ‹为建设新中国的人民文艺而奋斗 Fight to Construct New China’s People’s Literature and Art› in 中华全国文学艺术工作者代表大会纪念文集 A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, 新华书店 New China Bookstore 1950, Beijing. —— ‹开拓新诗歌的路 Opening up the Road for New Poetry›, in 郭沫若谈创作 Guo Moruo on Artistic Composition, 黑龙江人民出版社 Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House, 1982. —— ‹序 Preface› to 蔡文姬 Cai Wenji, 文物出版社 Historical Artifacts Publishing House, 1959. HAIZI 海子,‹诗学：一份提纲 Poetics: An Outline› in XI Chuan 西川 ed., 海子诗全集 Complete Poems of Haizi, 生活·读书·新知三联书店 Life·Reading·New Knowledge Three United Bookstore, 1997. HAN Dong 韩东, ‹他们 略说 Sketchy Words on Them›, 诗探索 Poetry Explorations, no. 1, 1994. HAN Shaogong 韩少功, ‹后记 Postscript› in 马桥词典 Maqiao’s Dictionary, 作家出版 社 Author Publishing House, 1996. —— ‹文学的“根” The “Roots” of Literature›, 作家 Author, no. 6, 1985. HAO Haiyan 郝海彦 ed., 中国知青诗抄 Poetry of China’s Educated Youth, 中国文学出 版社 China Literature Publishing House, 1998. HE Jingzhi 贺敬之, 放歌集 Let Out the Songs Collection, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1961. HE Qifang 何其芳, ‹一个文艺创作问题的争论 A Dispute over Issues of Production in Literature and the Arts›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 4. —— 何其芳文集 Collected Writings of He Qifang, 5 vol., 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1983. —— ‹反对戏曲改革中的主观主义公式 In Opposition to Subjectivist Formulae in the Reform of Theater›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 16 November 1951. —— ‹反对戏曲改革中的主观主义公式 In Opposition to Subjectivist Formulae in the Reform of Theater› (revised), 人民戏剧 People’s Theater, vol. 3, no. 8 (1952). —— ‹我看到了我们的文艺水平的提高 I’ve Seen a Rise in the Level of Our Literature and Arts›, 文学研究 Literary Studies, no. 2, 1958. —— ‹关于写诗和读诗 On Writing and Reading Poetry› (1953), in 何其芳文集 Collected Writings of He Qifang, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, vol. 4, 1983. —— 诗歌欣赏 Poetry Appreciation, in 何其芳文集 Collected Writings of He Qifang, vol. 5. —— ‹夜歌和白天的歌 初版后记 Postface to the Initial Edition of Night Songs and Songs of Day› in 何其芳文集 Collected Writings of He Qifang, vol. 2, 人民文学出版 社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1982. —— ‹话说新诗 Talking About New Poetry›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 2, no. 4 (April 1950).

556

bibliography

—— ‹青春之歌 不可否定 The Song of Youth Cannot be Denied›, 中国青年 China Youth, no. 5, 1959. HE Wangxian 何望贤 ed., 西方现代派文学问题论争集 Collection of Essays from the Dispute over the Western Modernist Literature Issue, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House (内部发行 internally distributed), 1984. HE Xilai 何西来, ‹历史行程的回顾与反思 A Look Back at and Reconsideration of the Course of History›, 当代文艺思潮 Contemporary Trends of Thought in Literature and the Arts, no. 2, 1982 (Lanzhou). HONG Zicheng 洪子诚, ZHANG Zhong 张钟, YU Shusen 余树森, ZHAO Zumo 赵 祖谟, & WANG Jingshou 汪景寿, 当代文学概观 A General Survey of Contemporary Literature, 北京大学出版社 Beijing University Publishing House, 1979. HOU Jinjing 侯金镜, ‹短篇小说琐谈 A Few Words on the Short Story›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 8, 1961. —— ‹一部引人入胜的长篇小说—读林海雪原 A Novel that Enchants—Reading Tracks in the Snowy Forest›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1958. —— ‹评路翎的三篇小说 An Assessment of Three Pieces of Fiction by Lu Ling›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Paper, no. 12, 1954. HU Feng 胡风, ‹关于解放以来的文艺实践情况的报告 A Report Concerning the Situation in Literary and Artistic Practice Since Liberation›, 新文学史料 New Literature Historical Materials, no. 4, 1988. —— 胡风评论集 Collected Commentaries of Hu Feng, 3 vol. , 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1985. ——‹给为人民而歌的歌手们 For the Singers Who Sing for the People›, in 诗联丛刊 Poetry Federation Series, no. 1, 1948, Beijing. —— ‹为了明天 For Tomorrow›, 作家书屋 Authors Book Room, 1950. HU Qiaomu 胡乔木, ‹关于人道主义和异化问题 Concerning the Issues of Humanism and Alienation›, 红旗 Red Flag, no. 2, 1984. HU Zhao 胡昭, ‹革命春秋的序曲—喜读三家巷 A Prelude to Spring and Autumn Annals of the Revolution—Happily Reading Three Family Village›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1960. HUA Fu 华夫, ‹评郭小川的 “望星空” A Review of Guo Xiaochuan’s “Gazing at the Starry Sky”›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 23, 1959. —— ‹文艺放出卫星来 Literature and the Arts Release a Satellite›,文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 18, 1958. —— ‹集体创作好处多 The Benefits of Collective Creation are Many›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 22, 1958. HUANG Ansi 黄安思, ‹向前看啊! 文艺 Literary Arts, Look Forward Eh!›, 广州日报 Guangzhou Daily, 15 April 1979. HUANG Hao 黄浩, ‹当代中国散文：从中兴走向没路 Contemporary Chinese Prose: From Resurgence toward a Dead End›, 文艺报 Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1988. HUANG Qiuyun 黄秋耘, ‹关于孙犁作品的片断感想 Some Partial Thoughts on the Work of Sun Li›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 10, 1961. —— ‹山乡巨变 琐谈 Trivial Words on Great Changes in a Mountain Village›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Paper, no. 2, 1961. —— 风雨年华 Years of Wind and Rain, 牛津大学出版社 Oxford University Press, Hongkong, 1996. HUANG Ziping 黄子平, ed., 1990 年度小说选 Selections of 1990 Fiction, 香港三联书 店 Hongkong Three Federations Bookstore, 1991. —— ‹同是天涯沦落人—一个 “叙事模式” 的抽样分析 A Person Similarly Humbled in Remote Places—Analysis of a Sample of the “Narrative Mode”› in 沉思的老树的 精灵 The Goblin of a Meditative Old Tree, 浙江文艺出版社 Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1986. —— ‹关于‘伪现代派’及其批评 Concerning the ‘Pseudo-Modernists’ and Criticism of Them›, 北京文学 Beijing Literature, no. 2, 1988.

bibliography

557

—— ‹刘索拉的 “你别无选择” Liu Suola’s “You Have No Other Choice”› in 沉思的老 树的精灵 The Goblin of a Meditative Old Tree, 浙江文艺出版社 Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1986. —— 革命 历史 小说 Revolution History Fiction, 牛津大学出版社 Oxford University Press (Hongkong), 1996. HUANG Ziping 黄子平, CHEN Pingyuan 陈平原, & QIAN Liqun 钱理群, ‹论 “20 世纪中国文学 On “Twentieth Century Literature in China”›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews (Beijing), no. 5, 1985. —— 20 世纪中国文学三人谈 Three-way Conversations on Twentieth Century Literature in China, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1988. HUANG Zuolin 黄佐临, ‹漫谈 “戏剧观” Casual Comments on “Theatrical Concepts”›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 25 April 1962. HUNAN Daily 湖南日报, ‹推倒 ‘四人帮’对一本好小说的诬蔑不实之词—为手抄本 第二次握手 及作者张扬平反 Slanders about a Good Novel In Overthrowing the “Gang of Four”—On the Rehabilitation of the Hand-Copied Novel The Second Handshake and its Author Zhang Yang›, 湖南日报 Hunan Daily, 26 January 1979. HUNDRED Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House ed. 百花文艺出版社 编, 笔谈 散文 Written Conversations about Prose, 百花文艺出版社 Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1962. JI Ge 纪戈, ‹诗歌来自斗争, 斗争需要诗歌 Poetry comes from Struggle, Struggle needs Poetry›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 2, 1976. JI Hongzhen 季红真, 文明与愚昧的冲突 Clashes Between Civilization and Ignorance, 浙江文艺出版社 Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1986. —— ‹中国近年小说与西方现代主义文学 Recent Chinese Fiction and Western Modernist Literature›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 2 January 1988. JIA Ji 贾霁, ‹要以共产主义思想畅想未来 One Must Freely Imagine the Future with Communist Thought›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1959. JIA Pingwa 贾平凹, ‹代序 In Lieu of a Preface› in 小月前本 Before This Lunar Month, 花城出版社 Flower City Publishing House, 1984. JIAN Xian’ai 蹇先艾, ‹我也来谈谈短篇小说 I’m Also Talking About Short Stories›, 红岩 Red Crag, no. 8, 1957. JIANG Qing 江青, ‹谈京剧革命 On a Revolution in Beijing Opera›, 红旗 Red Flag, no. 6, 1967. JIANGSU People’s Publishing House 江苏人民出版社, 九叶集 Nine Leaves Collection, Nanjing, 1981. JIE Min 洁泯, ‹有没有区别? Is there a Difference?›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 12, 1961. KANG Zhuo 康濯, ‹战士批判 “英雄的乐章”› Soldiers Attack “Musical Movement for a Hero”›, 解放军文艺 Liberation Army Literature & Arts, no. 5, 1960. —— ‹同根长出的两株毒草—略谈 “英雄的乐章” 和 “曹金兰” Two Poisonous Weeds of the Same Root—Brief Comments on “Musical Movement of a Hero” and “Cao Jinlan”›, 蜜蜂 Honeybee (Hebei), no. 1, 1960. —— ‹试论近年间的短篇小说 Ventured Comments on Short Stories of the Past Few Years›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 5, 1962. KE Yan 柯岩, ‹关于诗的对话—在西南师范学院的讲话 A Dialogue on Poetry— Speech at the Southwest Teachers’ Institute›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 12, 1983. LAN Dizhi 蓝棣之, 正统的与异端的 The Orthodox and the Heterodox, 浙江文艺出版 社 Zhejiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1988. LAO Gui 老鬼, 血色黄昏 Sunset the Color of Blood, 工人出版社 Workers Publishing House, Beijing, 1986. LAO Mu 老木 ed., 新诗潮诗集 New Poetry Tide Poetry Collection, 北京大学五四文 学社 Beijing University May Fourth Literary Society, 2 vol. (semi-official, internal distribution 内部发行), 1985. LAO She 老舍, ‹自序 Preface› to 老舍剧作选 A Selection of Lao She’s Plays, 人民文学 出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1959.

558

bibliography

—— ‹答复有关 “茶馆” 的几个问题 Responding to Questions on “Teahouse”›, 剧本 Playscripts, no. 5, 1958. —— ‹题材与生活 Subject Matter and Life›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 7, 1961. —— ‹“龙须沟” 写作经过 Writing “Dragon Beard Ditch”›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 4 February 1951. LEI Da 雷达, ‹探究生存本相, 展示原色的魅力 Probing Deeply into the True Features of Existence, Revealing the Charms of Primary Colors›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 26 March 1988. LI Fang 李方 ed., 穆旦诗全集 The Complete Poems of Mu Dan, 中国文学出版社 China Literature Publishing House, 1996. LI Hangyu 李杭育, ‹理一理我们的 “根” Put Our “Roots” in Order›, 作家 Author, no. 6, 1985. LI Jian 李剑, ‹“歌德”与 “缺德” “Singing Praises” and “Wickedness”›, 河北文艺 Hebei Literature & Arts, no. 6, 1979. LI Qingxi 李庆西, ‹寻根：回到事物本身 Root-Seeking: A Return to the Thing Itself›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 4, 1988. LI Tuo 李陀, ‹也谈 ‘伪现代派’ 及其批评 Also About the ‘Pseudo-Modernists’ and Criticism of Them›, 北京文学 Beijing Literature, no. 4, 1988. —— ‹创作通信 Correspondence on Writing›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 3, 1984. LI Xifan 李希凡, ‹从 “本报内部消息” 开始的一股创作上的逆流 A Countercurrent in Writing that Began with “Inside News”›, 中国青年报 China Youth News, 17 September 1957. —— ‹“史实”与“虚构” “Historical Truth” and “Fabrication”›, 戏剧报 Theater Press, no. 2, 1962. —— ‹所谓 “干预生活”，“写真实” 的实质是什么？ What is the True Nature of Socalled “Intervening in Life” and “Writing Truth”?›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 11, 1957. LI Xinghua 李兴华, ‹评张恨水的 啼笑因缘 Assessing Zhang Henshui’s Fate in Tears and Laughter›, 文艺学习 Literature & Arts Studies, no. 2, 1956. LI Zehou 李泽厚, 中国当代思想史论 The History of Thought in China in Recent Times, 人民出版社 Peoples Publishing House, 1979. —— ‹两点祝愿 Two Wishes›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 27 July 1985. LI Zhun 李准, ‹不能走那条路 Don’t Take That Road›, 河南日报 Henan Daily, 20 November 1953. LI Ziyun 李子云, 净化人的心灵 Purifying Souls, 北京三联书店 Beijing Three United Bookstore, 1984. —— ‹女作家在当代文学史所起的先锋作用 The Vanguard Affect of Woman Writers in the History of Contemporary Chinese Literature›, 当代作家评论 Contemporary Writers Review (Shenyang), no. 6, 1987. LIANG Bihui 梁璧辉, ‹“有鬼无害” 论 On “Ghosts that do no Harm”›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 5, 1963. LIANG Bin 梁斌, ‹漫谈红旗谱 的创作 On the Writing of Composition of the Red Flag›, “代序 In Place of a Preface” in 红旗谱 Composition of the Red Flag, 中国青年出版社 China Youth Publishing House, 1959. LIANG Xiaosheng 梁晓声, ‹我加了一块砖 I Added a Brick›, 中篇小说选刊 Novella Selections, no. 2, 1984. LIAO Mosha 廖沫沙 (Fanxing 繁星), ‹有鬼无害论 On Ghosts that do no Harm›, 北京 晚报 Beijing Evening News, 31 August 1963. LIBERATION Army Daily 解放军报, ‹高举毛泽东思想伟大红旗, 积极参加社会主义 文化大革命 Raise High the Great Red Banner of Mao Zedong Thought, Enthusiastically Join the Great Socialist Cultural Revolution›, 解放军报 Liberation Army Daily, 18 April 1966. LIN Danqiu 林淡秋, ‹前言 Preface› to 散文小品选 1956 Prose Essay Selections 1956, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1957.

bibliography

559

LIN Geng 林庚, ‹新诗的 “建行” 问题 The “Architecture of Lines” Issue in New Poetry›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 12. LIN Mang 林莽, ‹并未被埋葬的诗人—食指 A Poet Not Buried—Shi Zhi›, 诗探索 Poetry Explorations, #2, 1994. LIN Mohan 林默涵, ‹胡风事件前前后后 Everything about the Hu Feng Case› in 新文 学史料 New Literature Historical Materials, no. 3, 1989, Beijing. LITERARY Reviews 文学评论, ‹旋转的文坛—“现实主义与先锋派文学” 研讨会纪要 The Whirling World of Literature—Minutes of the “Realism and Avant-Garde Literature” Symposium›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1989. LITERATURE & Arts Press文艺报, ‹座谈老舍的 “茶馆” An Informal Discussion of Lao She’s “Teahouse”›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1958. —— ‹中英作家五人谈 Five-way Discussion between Chinese and English Writers›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 10 September 1988. —— ‹红岩 五人谈 Five-way Talk About Red Crag›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1962. —— ‹题材问题 Issues of Subject Matter›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 3, 1961. —— ‹解放思想, 加强团结, 改革体制, 繁荣创作—中国文联中国作协分别举行学 习十四大座谈会 Liberate Thought, Strengthen Unity, Reform the System, and Promote Creation—The China Literature Federation and the China Writers Association respectively hold Symposiums Studying the Fourteenth Congress›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 7 November 1992. —— ‹掀起文艺创作的高潮！建设共产主义的文艺！ Lift the High Tide of Literature and Arts Creation! Construct Communist Literature and Arts!›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 19, 1958. —— ‹总结经验, 把文艺理论批评工作搞上去 Sum Up Experience, Improve the Work of Literary and Artistic Theory and Criticism›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 4, 1979. —— ‹为文学艺术大跃进扫清道路 Sweeping the Road Clean for the Great Leap Forward in Literature and the Arts›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 6, 1958. —— ‹通俗文艺家的呼声 The Voices of Popular Literature Writers and Artists›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Paper, no. 10, 1957. —— ‹迎接大放大鸣的春天—访长春的几位作家 Welcoming a Spring of Great Blossoming and Great Song—Interviews with Writers in Changchun›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 11, 1957. —— ‹争取小市民层的读者—记旧的连载, 章回小说作者座谈会 Win Over Urban Petty Bourgeois Readers—Notes on the Conference for Old Serialized and Traditional-style Fiction›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 1, no. 1 (October 1949). LITERATURE & Arts Press editorial department文艺报 编辑部, ‹关于 “写中间人物” 的材料 Materials on “Writing Middle Characters”›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 8 & 9, 1964. LITERATURE & Arts Vanguard 文艺先锋, ‹文学再革命纲领 An Outline for Another Revolution in Literature› (草案 draft), vol. 12 no. 1. LITERATURE Research Center of the China Science Institute 中国科学院文学研究所 编写组, 十年来的 新中国文学 New China Literature of the Past 10 Year, 作家出版 社 Author Publishing House, 1960. LIU Heng 刘恒, ‹狗日的粮食 Fucking Food›, 中国 China, no. 9, 1986. LIU Qing 柳青, ‹提出几个问题来讨论 Raising a Few Issues for Discussion›, 延河 Yan River Literature (Xi’an), no. 8, 1963. LIU Shahe 流沙河, 流沙河诗集 Poetry of Liu Shahe, 四川人民出版社 Sichuan People’s Publishing House, 1981. LIU Shousong 刘绶松, 中国新文学史初稿 A Preliminary Manuscript on the History of China’s New Literature, 上下册 2 vol., 1954. LIU Suola 刘索拉, ‹你别无选择 You Have No Other Choice›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 3, 1985.

560

bibliography

LIU Xinwu 刘心武, ‹班主任 Class Teacher›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 11, 1977. LIU Xiqing 刘锡庆, ‹艺术散文 Artistic Prose›, the sixth chapter in 新中国文学史略 A Brief History of New Chinese Literature, 北京师范大学出版社 Beijing Teachers’ University Publishing House, 1997. LIU Xiqing 刘锡庆 & CAI Yujia 蔡渝嘉 ed., ‹序 Preface› to 当代艺术散文精选 Essential Selections of Contemporary Artistic Prose, 北京十月出版社 Beijing October Publishing House, 1989. LIU Yeyuan 刘烨园, ‹走出困境：散文到底是什么 Exiting a Predicament: What actually is Prose›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 23 July 1988. —— ‹新艺术散文札记 Notes of the New Artistic Prose›, 鸭绿江 Yalu River, no. 7, 1993. LIU Zaifu 刘再复, ‹论文学的主体性 On Literary Subjectivity›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 6, 1985, & no. 1, 1986, Beijing. LIU Zhenyun 刘震云, ‹塔铺 Ta Pu›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 8, 1987. LU Ling 路翎, ‹为什么有这样的批评？ Why This Type of Criticism?› in 文艺报 Literature & Arts Paper, nos. 1–4, 1955. LU Xinhua 卢新华, ‹伤痕 The Scar›, 文汇报 Literary Confluence Daily, 11 August 1978. LU Xizhi 陆希治, ‹歪曲现实的 “现实主义” 啊—评路翎的短篇小说集朱桂花的故事 A “Realism” that Twists Reality—Assessing Lu Ling’s Short Story Collection Stories of Zhu Guihua›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 9, 1952. LU Xun 鲁迅, ‹摩罗诗力说 On the Power of Móra Poetry›, 鲁迅全集 Complete Works of Lu Xun, vol. 1, 人民文学出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1959. LU Yifan 陆一帆, ‹三家巷，苦斗 的错误思想倾向 The Mistaken Ideological Tendency of Three Family Village and Bitter Struggle›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 5, 1964. LU Yuan 绿原, ‹序 Preface› in Lu Yuan 绿原 & Niu Han 牛汉 ed. 编, 百色花 White Flowers, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1981. LU Yuan 绿原 & NIU Han 牛汉 ed. 编, 百色花 White Flowers, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1981. LUO Sun 罗荪 & XIAO Li 晓立, ‹黎明时刻的一首悲壮史诗 A Solemn Stirring Epic at Daybreak›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 3, 1962. LUO Yihe 骆一禾, 世界的血 Blood of the World, 春风文艺出版社 Spring Wind Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1990. —— 纪念 In Tribute, 长江文艺出版社 Changjiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1985. LUO Yihe 骆一禾 & ZHANG Fu 张玞, ‹太阳说：来，朝前走—评“一首长诗和三首 短诗 The Sun Says: Come On, Move Onwards—Critique of “One Long Poem and Three Short Poems”›, 西藏文学 Tibet Literature, no. 5, 1988. LÜ Huiwen 吕恢文, ‹评蔡其矫的反现实主义的创作倾向 Assessing the Anti-Realist Tendency in the Poetry of Cai Qijiao›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 10, 1958. LÜ Jiping 吕冀平, ‹序 Preface› to 负暄琐话 Trivial Words on Sunning Oneself in Winter, 黑龙江人民出版社 Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House, 1986. MA Shitu 马识途, ‹且说红岩 Speaking of Red Crag›, 中国青年 China Youth, no. 11, 1962. “MA Tieding 马铁丁”, ‹序言 Preface› to 1958 散文特写选 1958 Prose & Feature Report Selections, 作家出版社 Author Publishing House, 1959. MA Yuan 马原, ‹作家与书或我的书目 Writers and Writing or My Booklist›, 外国文学 评论 Foreign Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1991. MAO Dun 茅盾, ‹关于历史和历史剧 About History and Historical Drama›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 5, 1962. —— ‹关于长篇历史小说李自成 About the Historical Novel Li Zicheng›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 2, 1978. —— ‹怎样评价青春之歌 How to Assess The Song of Youth›, 中国青年 China Youth, no. 4, 1959.

bibliography

561

—— ‹作家如何理解实践是检验真理的惟一标准 How Writers Understand Practice as the Sole Criterion of Testing Truth›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1978 (July, 复刊号 Resumption of Publication Edition). —— ‹夜读偶记 Occasional Notes on Night Reading›, in 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 1958 Nos. 1, 2, 8, 10; also as single volume by 百花文艺出版社 Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1959. —— ‹谈最近的短篇小说 On Recent Short Fiction›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 6, 1958. —— ‹论赵树理的小说 On the Fiction of Zhao Shuli› in 文萃 Literary Collections, no. 10, 1947. —— ‹关于田间的诗 On the Poetry of Tian Jian›, 光明日报 Enlightemnent Daily, 1 July 1956. —— ‹在反动派压迫下斗争和发展的革命文艺 Struggling and Developing Revolutionary Literature and Arts Under the Oppression of the Reactionaries› in 中华全 国文学艺术工作者代表大会纪念文集 A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, 新华书店 New China Bookstore 1950, Beijing. —— ‹新中国社会主义文化艺术的辉煌成就 The Glorious Success of Socialist Culture and Arts in New China› in 人民日报 The People’s Daily, 7 October 1959. MAO Zedong 毛泽东, ‹关于 红楼梦 研究问题的信 Letter on the Dream of the Red Chamber Research Issue› in 毛泽东选集 The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, vol. V, 人民出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1977. —— ‹新民主主义论 On New Democracy› in 毛泽东选集 The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, 人民出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1966. —— ‹关于正确处理人民内部矛盾的问题 On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People›, in 毛泽东选集 The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, vol. 5, 人民 出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1977. —— ‹在延安文艺座谈会上的讲话 Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art› in 毛泽东选集 The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, 人民出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1966. —— ‹两个中国之命运 The Destiny of Two Chinas› in 毛泽东选集 The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, 人民出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1966. —— 毛泽东选集 The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, 人民出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1966. —— 毛泽东选集 The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, 人民出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1977. —— ‹应当重视电影《武训传》的讨论 We Should Pay Attention to the Discussion of the Movie “The Tale of Wu Xun”› in 毛泽东选集 The Selected Writings of Mao Zedong, vol. V, 人民出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1977. Originally published in 人民日报 People’s Daily, 20 May 1951. MENG Yue 孟悦, ‹“白毛女” 演变的启示—兼论延安文艺的历史多质性 Elucidation in the Evolution of “The White-Haired Girl”—Also on the Pluralistic Nature of the History of Yan’an Literature and Art› in Tang Xiaobing 唐小兵 ed., 再解读—大众文 艺与意识形态 Reinterpretation—Mass Literature and Art and Ideology, 牛津大学出 版社 Oxford University Press (Hongkong), 1993. MING Xiaomao 明小毛, ‹反小说的变异与前景 The Variations and Prospects of AntiFiction›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 5, 1989. MIU Junjie, et al. 缪俊杰, 等, ‹关于周炳形象的评价问题 About the Problem of Assessing the Figure of Zhou Bing›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 4, 1964. —— ‹小资产阶级的自我表现—关于三家巷，苦斗 的讨论综述 Petit Bourgeois Self Expression—A Summary of the Discussion about Three Family Lane and Bitter Struggle›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Paper, no. 10, 1964. MO Yan 莫言, ‹说说福克纳这个老头 Talking about this Old Man Faulkner›, 当代作家 评论 Contemporary Writers Review, no. 2, 1995.

562

bibliography

—— ‹黔驴之鸣 The Cry of a Guizhou Donkey›, 青年文学 Youth Literature, no. 2, 1986. —— 红高粱家族 The Red Sorghum Clan, 解放军文艺出版社 Liberation Army Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1987. “NAN Shao” 南哨, 牛田洋 Oxen, Fields, and Sea 上海人民出版社 Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1972. NEW China Daily 新华日报 (Chongqing edition), ‹中共中央召开文艺工作者会议 The Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Convenes a Conference for Workers in Literature and the Arts› 1943/03/24; and ‹毛泽东同志对文艺问题的意见 Comrade Mao Zedong’s Opinions on Issues in Literature and the Arts› 1944/01/01. NIU Han 牛汉, ‹一个钟情的人 An Man of Emotion›, 文汇月刊 Literary Confluence Monthly (Shanghai), no. 3, 1983. —— ‹编者的话 Words from the Editors›, 中国 China, no. 6, 1986. NIU Han 牛汉 & CAI Qijiao 蔡其矫 ed., 东方金字塔—中国青年诗人 13 家 Pyramid of the East—Thirteen Young Chinese Poets, 安徽文艺出版社 Anhui Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1991. ORIENTAL Culture Research Society 东方文化研究学会 & Wholism Research Society 整体主义研究学会, 现代诗内部交流资料 Modern Poetry Internal Exchange Materials [English title: Modernists Federation], Chengdu, 1985. [unofficial publication] OUYANG Jianghe 欧阳江河, 透过词语的玻璃 Glass Passed Through Words, 改革出版 社 Reform Publishing House, 1997. —— 谁去谁留 Who Goes Who Remains, 湖南文艺出版社 Hunan Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997. OUYANG Yuqian 欧阳予倩, ‹为“十三陵水库畅想曲” 大声喝彩! Great Cheers for “Carefree Song of the Thirteen Tombs Water Reservoir”!›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 16 July 1958. PEOPLE’s Daily 人民日报, ‹关于 “组织部新来的青年人” About “The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department”›, 人民文学 People’s Daily, 8 May 1957. —— ‹大规模地收集民歌 Collect Folk Songs on a Large Scale›, 人民文学 People’s Daily, 14 April 1958. —— ‹在中国作家协会第四次会员代表大会上的祝词 Congratulations at the Fourth Literary Representatives Congress of the China Writers Association›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 30 December 1984. —— ‹发展社会文艺的创作 Develop the Creation of Socialist Literature and Arts›, 人民文学 People’s Daily, 16 December 1971. —— ‹革命文艺的优秀样板 Excellent Examples of Revolutionary Literature and Art›, 人民文学 People’s Daily, 31 May 1967. —— ‹学好文件抓住纲 Learn the Documents, Grasp the Guiding Principles›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 7 February 1977. —— ‹天安门广场的反革命政治事件 The Counter-Revolutionary Political Incident on Tian’anmen Square›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 8 April 1976. PEOPLE’s Literature Publishing House 人民文学出版社, 中国文学艺术工作者第四 次代表大会文集 Compendium of Essays from the Fourth All-China Congress of Literary and Arts Workers Representatives, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1980. —— 苏联文学艺术问题 Literary and Artistic Issues in the Soviet Union, 人民文学出 版社 People’s Literature Publishing House , 1953. PEOPLE’s Publishing House 人民出版社, 关于胡风反革命集团的材料 Materials Concerning the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique, 人民出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1955. —— ‹关于建国以来党的若干历史问题的决议 Resolution concerning certain Historical Issues since the Establishment of the State›, in 三中全会以来重要文献汇编 A Compilation of Important Documents since the Third Congress (vol. 2), 人民出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1982.

bibliography

563

QI Xia 企霞, ‹一部明目张胆为资本家捧场的作品—评路翎的 “祖国在前进” A Literary Work that Brazenly Sings the Praises of Capitalists—An Assessment of Lu Ling’s “The Land of Our Ancestors is Advancing”›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 6, 1952. QIAN Liqun 钱理群 ed., ‹前言 Preface›, 20 世纪中国小说理论资料 20th Century Chinese Fiction Theoretical Materials (vol. 4), 北京大学出版社 Beijing University Publishing House, 1997. RED Flag 红旗, ‹无产阶级文化大革命的指南针 The Compass to the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution›, 红旗 Red Flag, no. 9, 1966. “REN Du” 任犊, ‹走出彼德堡—读列宁 1917 年 7 月致高尔基的信有感 Out of Petersburg—Emotions on Reading Lenin’s July 1917 Letter to Gorky›, 朝霞 Rosy Dawn (Shanghai), no. 3, 1975. RU Zhijuan 茹志鹃, ‹我写 “百合花” 的经过 My Experience of Writing “Lilies”›, in 茹 志鹃研究文集 Special Collection of Ru Zhijuan Studies, 浙江人民出版社 Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, 1952. SHA Ou 沙鸥, ‹一面灰旗 A Gray Flag›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 5, 1958. SHA Ting 沙汀, ‹后记 Postface› to 过渡 Transition, 作家出版社 Authors Publishing House, 1959. SHANDONG University Chinese Department 山东大学中文系编写组, 1949–1959 中国当代文学史 China Contemporary Literary History 1949–1959, 山东人民出版社 Shandong People’s Publishing House, 1960. SHANGHAI Beijing Opera Troupe ‹Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy› Th eater Group 上海京剧团〈智取威虎山〉剧组, ‹努力塑造无产阶级英雄人物的光辉形 Strive to Mold the Glorious Figures of Heroic Proletarian Characters›, 红旗 Red Flag, no. 11, 1969. SHANGHAI County The History of Hong Nan at War Writing Group 上海县虹南作战 史 写作组, 虹南作战史 The History of Hong Nan at War, 上海人民出版社 Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 1972. SHANGHAI Literature 上海文学, ‹编者的话 Words from the Editors›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 8, 1987. SHANGHAI Revolutionary Heavy Criticism Group 上海革命大批判组, ‹鼓吹资产阶 级文艺就是复辟资本主义 Advocating Capitalist Literature and Arts is to Restore Capitalism›, 红旗 Red Flag, no. 4, 1970. SHAO Quanlin 邵荃麟, ‹谈短篇小说 On the Short Story›, 解放军文艺 Liberation Army Literature & Arts, no. 6, 1959. —— ‹对于当前文艺运动的意见 Opinions on the Current Literature and Arts Movement› in 大众文艺丛刊 Literature & Art of the Masses Collection, no. 1, Hongkong, 1948. —— ‹在大连 “农村题材短篇小说创作座谈会”上的讲话 Talk at the Dalian “Rural Area Subject Matter Short Story Seminar”›, in 邵荃麟评论集 Shao Quanlin Commentaries Collection, 上册 vol. 1, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1981. —— ‹门外谈诗 Talking of Poetry Outside the Door›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 4, 1958. —— ‹文学十年历程 The Course of 10 Years of Literature› in 文艺报 The Literature & Arts Press, no. 18, 1959. —— ‹文学十年历程 The Course of Ten Years of Literature› in 文学十年 Ten Years of Literature, 作家出版社 Author Publishing House, 1960. SHAO Yanxiang 邵燕祥, 邵燕祥诗选 Selections of Poetry by Shao Yanxiang, 百花文艺 出版社 Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House (Tianjin), 1994. SHEN Congwen 沈从文, 从文家书—从文兆和书信选 Congwen’s Letters Home, 上海 远东出版社 Shanghai Far-East Publishing House, 1996. SHEN Rong 谌容, ‹奔向未来 Striding Towards the Future›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 5, 1981. SHEN Ximeng 沈西蒙, MO Yan 漠雁, & LÜ Xingchen 吕兴臣, ‹“霓虹灯下的哨兵”

564

bibliography

创作回顾 A Look Back at the Writing of “Sentry Beneath Neon Lights”›, 戏剧艺术 Theater Arts, no. 2, 1979. SHI Du 史笃 & JIANG Tianzuo 蒋天佐, ‹反对歪曲和伪造马列主义 Oppose the Twisting and Falsification of Marxism Leninism›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 19 March 1950. SHI Tiesheng 史铁生, ‹代后记 In Lieu of a Postscript› to 礼拜日Sunday, 华夏出版社 Huaxia Publishing House, 1988. SICHUAN People’s Publishing House 四川人民出版社, 中国文学艺术工作者第四次 代表大会文集 Collected Documents of the Fourth Representatives Congress of China’s Literature & Arts Workers, 四川人民出版社 Sichuan People’s Publishing House, 1980. SUN Kaidi 孙楷第, ‹中国短篇白话小说的发展与艺术上的特点 The Development of Chinese Vernacular Fiction and its Artistic Characteristics›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, vol. 4, no. 3, May 1951. SUN Li 孙犁, ‹文字生涯 A Career as a Writer› in 晚华集 Later Years, 百花文艺出版社 Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1979. —— ‹谈一篇散文 About a Piece of Prose›, in 孙犁文集 Literary Writings of Sun Li, vol. 4, 百花文艺出版社 Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1982. —— ‹后记 Postscript› to 尺泽集 Chize Marsh, 百花文艺出版社 Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1982. —— ‹后记 Postscript› to 无为集 Inaction, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1989. —— ‹自序 Preface› in 孙犁文集 Collected Works of Sun Li, 百花文艺出版社 Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1982. SUN Qian 孙谦, ‹谈赵树理 About Zhao Shuli›, 天津日报 Tianjin Daily, 4 January 1979. SUN Shaozhen 孙绍振, ‹新的美学原则在崛起 New Aesthetic Principles are on the Rise›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 3, 1981. SUN Yushi 孙玉石, 中国现代诗导读 (1917–1938) Guided Readings in the Modern Poetry of China (1917–1938), 北京大学出版社 Beijing University Publishing House, 1990. —— 中国初期象征派诗歌研究 Studies into the Poetry of the Early Symbolist Group in China, 北京大学出版社 Beijing University Publishing House, 1983. THEATER Press 戏剧报, ‹1965 年革命现代戏大丰收 The Great Harvest of Revolutionary Modern Theater in 1965›, 戏剧报 Theater Press, no. 1, 1966. TANG Tao 唐弢, ‹风格一例 An Example of Style›, in 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 7, 1959. —— ‹一思而行—关于寻根 One Thought and They’re Off—About Root-Seeking›, 人民 日报 People’s Daily, 30 April 1986. TANG Xiaodu 唐晓渡, ‹芒克：一个人和他的诗 Mang Ke: An Individual and his Poetry›, 诗探索 Poetry Explorations, #3, 1995. —— ‹女性诗歌：从黑夜到白昼—读翟永明的组诗 “女人” Women’s Poetry: From the Dark Night to Daylight—Reading Zhai Yongming’s Cycle “Woman”›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 2, 1987. TANG Xiaodu 唐晓渡 & WANG Jiaxin 王家新 ed., 中国当代实验诗选 A Selection of Contemporary Chinese Experimental Poetry, 春风文艺出版社 Spring Wing Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1987. TIAN Han 田汉, ‹自序 Preface› to 关汉卿 Guan Hanqing, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1961. TIAN Jian 田间, ‹海燕颂 In Praise of a Sea Swallow›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 16, 1956. —— ‹新时代的主人 Master of the New Age›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 13, 1953.

bibliography

565

WAN Xia 万夏 & XIAOXIAO 潇潇 ed., 后朦胧诗全集 Collected Post-Misty Poems (2 vol.), 四川教育出版社 Sichuan Educational Publishing House, 1993. WANG Anyi 王安忆, 心灵的世界—王安忆小说讲稿 World of the Soul—Lecture Notes of Wang Anyi on Fiction, 复旦大学出版社 Fudan University Publishing House, 1997: 361. WANG Chao 王潮, ‹变构语言的努力— “非非” 语言意识浅析 The Effort to Change the Structure of Language—A Shallow Analysis of Not-Not’s Language Consciousness›, 诗探索 Poetry Explorations, no. 2, 1994. WANG Guangming 王光明, 散文诗的世界 The World of Prose Poetry, 长江文艺出版 社 Changjiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1987. WANG Jiaxin 王家新, 对隐秘的激情 An Enthusiasm for Secrets, 北岳文艺出版社 Beiyue Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997. —— 人与世界的相遇 Chance Meetings of People and the World, 文化艺术出版社 Culture & Arts Publishing House, 1989. —— 纪念 In Tribute, 长江文艺出版社 Changjiang Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1985. —— ed., 叶芝文集 Literary Writings of Yeats (3 vol.), 东方出版社 Orient Publishing House, 1996. —— 夜莺在它自己的时代 The Nightingale in its own Time, 东方出版中心 Orient Publishing Center, 1997. —— 游动悬崖 The Roving Precipice, 湖南文艺出版社 Hunan Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997. WANG Liaoying 王燎荧, ‹我的印象和感想 My Impressions and Thoughts›, 文艺研究 Literature & Arts Studies, no. 2, 1958. WANG Meng 王蒙 (Yang Yu 阳雨), 王蒙文集 Literary Writings of Wang Meng (10 volumes), 华艺出版社 Chinese Arts Publishing House, 1993. —— ‹文学：失去轰动效应以后 Literature: After the Loss of the Sensational Effect›, 文 艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 30 January 1988. WANG Ning 王宁, ‹接受与变形：中国当代先锋小说中的后现代性 Reception and Metamorphosis: The Post-Modernism in Contemporary Chinese Avant-Garde Fiction› in 生命游戏的水圈 The Hydrosphere of the Game of Life, 北京大学出版社 Beijing University Publishing House, 1994. —— ‹“后新时期”：一种理论描述 The “Post-New Period”: A Theoretical Description›, 花城 Flower City, no. 3, 1995. WANG Ruoshui 王若水, ‹为人道主义辩护 In Defense of Humanism›, 文汇报 Literary Confluence Daily, 17 January 1983, Shanghai. WANG Xiaoming 王晓明 & ZHANG Hong 张宏 etc., ‹旷野上的废墟—人文精神的 危机 Ruins in the Wilderness—The Crisis of the Spirit of the Humanities›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 6, 1993. WANG Xiyan 王西彦, ‹“锻炼锻炼” 和反映人民内部矛盾 “Improve Yourself Through Training” and the Reflection of Contradictions Among the People›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 10, 1959. WANG Yao 王瑶, 中国新文学史稿 Draft History of China’s New Literature, 上册 vol. I, 开明书店 Kaiming Bookshop, 1951; 下册 vol. II, 上海新文艺出版社 Shanghai New Literature and Arts Publishing House, 1953. WANG Yuanhua 王元化, ‹为周扬起草文章始末 The Whole Story of Drawing Up the Essay for Zhou Yang›, 南方周末 Southern Weekend, 12 December 1997, Guangzhou. WANG Zengqi 汪曾祺, ‹代序 In lieu of a Preface›, 中国当代作家选集丛书 · 汪曾祺 Chinese Contemporary Writers Collections Series · Wang Zengqi, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1992. —— ‹自序 Preface›, 汪曾祺自选集 Self-Selected Works of Wang Zengqi, 漓江出版社 Lijiang Publishing House, 1987. —— ‹汪曾祺桥边小说三篇 · 后记 Three Stories Beside the Bridge·Postscript›, 收获 Harvest (Shanghai), no. 2, 1986.

566

bibliography

WANG Zhefu 王哲甫, 中国新文学运动史 The History of China’s New Literature Movement, 1933. WANG Ziye 王子野, ‹评刘真的 “英雄的乐章” Assessing Liu Zhen’s “Musical Movement for a Hero”›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 1, 1960. WEI Dingyi 唯丁易, 中国现代文学史略 Brief History of China’s Modern Literature, 1955. WEN Yiduo 闻一多, ‹艾青和田间 Ai Qing and Tian Jian›, in 闻一多全集 Complete Works of Wen Yiduo, vol. 3, 开明书店 Kaiming Bookstore, Shanghai, 1948. WU Daiying 吴黛英, ‹新时期 “女性文学” 漫谈 An Informal Discussion of “Women’s Literature” during the New Period›, 当代文艺思潮 Contemporary Trends of Thought in Literature and the Arts, no. 4, 1983. —— ‹女性世界与女性文学 Women’s World and Women’s Literature›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1986. WU Han 吴晗, ‹谈历史剧 About Historical Drama›, 文汇报 Literary Confluence Daily, 25 December 1960. —— ‹历史剧是艺术，也是历史 Historical Drama is Art and also History›, 戏剧报 Theater Press, no. 6, 1962. WU Liang 吴亮, ‹马原的叙述圈套 The Narrative Ploys of Ma Yuan›, 当代作家评论 Contemporary Writers Review, no. 3, 1987. WU Qian 吴倩, ‹评路翎的短篇小说集平原 An Assessment of Lu Ling’s Short Story Collection Prairies›, 人民文学 People’s Daily, no. 1, 1952. WU Qiang 吴强, ‹修订本序言 Preface to the Revised Edition› in 红日 Red Sun, 中国青 年出版社 China Youth Publishing House, 1959. WU Wenqi 吴文祺, 新文学概要 A Survey of New Literature, 1936. WU Xun Historical Research Group 武训历史调查团, ‹武训历史调查记 Notes on Historical Research into Wu Xun›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 23–28 August 1950. WU Zhongjie 吴中杰 & GAO Yun 高云, ‹关于新人物形象的典型化 About the Typicalization of the Image of New Characters›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 10, 1963. XI Chuan 西川 ed., 海子诗全集 Complete Poems of Haizi, 生活 · 读书 · 新知三联书店 Life · Reading · New Knowledge Three United Bookstore, 1997. —— 虚构的家谱 Fabricated Genealogies, 中国和平出版社 China Peace Publishing House, 1997. —— 让蒙面人说话 Let the Masked People Speak, 东方出版中心 Orient Publishing Center, 1997. —— ed., 海子的诗 Poetry of Haizi, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1995. —— 西川的诗 Poetry of Xi Chuan, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1997. —— 中国的玫瑰 Rose of China, 中国文联出版公司 China Literature Federation Publishing Company, 1991. —— 隐秘的汇合 Secret Convergence, 改革出版社 Reform Publishing House, 1997. —— 大意如此 The Gist’s Like This, 湖南文艺出版社 Hunan Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997. XIAO Hai 小海 & YANG Ke 杨克 ed., 他们 1986–1996: 《他们》十年诗歌选 Them 1986–1996: An Anthology of Ten Years of “Them” Poetry, 漓江出版社 Li River Publishing House, 1998. XIAO Kaiyu 肖开愚, ‹洞开, 抑制, 减速的中年 A Wide Open, Restrained, Decelerated Middle-Age›, 大河 Great River, no. 7, 1989. XIAO Qian 萧乾, ‹90 年代散文写作随访 Casual Visits to 1990s Prose Writing› section in 美文 Beautiful Writing, no. 9, 1998. XIAO Xialin 萧夏林 ed., 废都废谁 City in Ruins Ruined Who, 学苑出版社 Xueyuan Publishing House, 1993. —— 顾城弃城 Gu Cheng Abandons the City, 团结出版社 Unity Publishing House (Beijing), 1994.

bibliography

567

XIAO Xiang 肖翔, ‹蔡其矫的创作倾向 The Tendency of Cai Qijiao’s Poetry›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 2, 1960. —— ‹什么样的思想感情 What Sort of Thoughts and Feelings›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 7, 1958. XIAO Yemu 萧也牧, ‹我们夫妇之间 Between this Husband and Wife›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, vol. 1, no. 3. —— ‹我一定要切实地改正错误 I Certainly Must Earnestly Correct Errors›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Paper, vol. 5, no. 1. —— 萧也牧作品选 Selected Works of Xiao Yemu, 天津百花文艺出版社 Tianjin Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1979. XIE Mian 谢冕, ‹在新的崛起面前 Facing the New Rising›, 光明日报 Enlightenment Daily, 7 May 1980. —— ed., 鱼化石或悬崖边的树 Ichthyolites or Trees on the Precipice, 北京师范大学出 版社 Beijing Teachers University Publishing House, 1993. —— ‹序言 Preface› to 金克木散文选集 Selections of the Prose Essays of Jin Kemu, 百花 文艺出版社 Hundred Flowers Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1996. XIE Mian 谢冕 & ZHANG Yiwu 张颐武, 大转型—后新时期文化研究 Patterns of the Great Turn—Post-New Period Cultural Studies, 黑龙江教育初版社 Heilongjiang Educational Publishing House, 1995. XIE Tieli 谢铁骊, QIAN Jiang 钱江, & XIE Fengsong 谢逢松, ‹四人帮是摧残革命文 艺的刽子手 The Gang of Four were the Butchers who Wrecked Revolutionary Literature and Arts›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 10 November 1976. XIYAN 细言 (Wang Xiyan 王西彦), ‹有关茹志鹃作品的几个问题—在一个座谈会上 的发言 Some Problems with the Work of Ru Zhijuan—A Speech given at a Seminar›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Paper, no. 7, 1961. XU Chi 徐迟, ‹谈 “动荡的年代” On “Age of Upheaval”›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 21 July 1959. —— ‹郭小川的几首诗 Some Poems by Guo Xiaochuan›, 诗与生活 Poetry and Life, 北 京出版社 Beijing Publishing House, 1959. XU Jingya 徐敬亚, ‹崛起的诗群 A Group of Poets on the Rise›, 当代文学思潮 Contemporary Trends in Literary Thought (Lanzhou), no. 1, 1983. —— ‹时刻牢记社会主义的文艺方向 Always Firmly Remember the Direction of Socialist Literature and Arts›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 5 March 1984. —— ‹编后 Post-Editing›, 深圳青年报 Shenzhen Youth Daily, 24 October 1986. XU Jingya 徐敬亚, Meng Lang 孟浪, Cao Changqing 曹长青, & Lü Guipin 吕贵品, ed., 中国现代主义诗群大观 (1986–1988) A Grand Overview of China’s Modernist Poetry Groups 1986–1988, 同济大学出版社 Tongji University Publishing House (Shanghai), 1988. XU Maoyong 徐懋庸, ‹小品文的新危机 A New Crisis for Prose Essays›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 11 April 1957. YAN Gang 阎纲, ‹跨进了一步 A Step Forward›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 21, 1960. YAN Jiayan 严家炎, ‹关于梁生宝形象 About the Image of Liang Shengbao›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 3, 1963. —— ‹谈创业史 中梁三老汉的形象 On the Form of Old Liang San in History of Pioneering Work›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 6, 1961. —— ‹梁生宝形象和新英雄人物创造问题 The Issue of the Form of Liang Shengbao and the Creation of New Hero Characters›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 4, 1964. —— ‹创业史 第一部的突出成就 The Prominent Success of History of Pioneering Work, Part One›, 北京大学学报 Beijing University Journal, no. 3, 1961. YAN Wenjing 严文井, ‹罗烽的 “短剑” 指向哪里？ Where is Luo Feng’s “Short Sword” Pointed?›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 2, 1958. YANG Jian 杨健, 文化大革命中的地下文学 Underground Literature During the Great Cultural Revolution, 朝华出版社 Zhaohua Publishing House, 1993.

568

bibliography

YANG Jiang 杨绛, ‹将饮茶 I’ll Drink Tea›, 三联书店 Three Federations Bookstore, Beijing, 1987. YANG Mo 杨沫, ‹青春之歌 再版后记 Postface to the Second Edition of The Song of Youth›, in 青春之歌 The Song of Youth, 作家出版社 Author Publishing House, 1960. YANG Shaoxuan 杨绍萱, ‹论 “为文学而文学, 为艺术而艺术” 的危害性—评艾青的 “读 ‘牛郎和织女’ ” On the Harmfulness of “Literature for Literature’s Sake, and Art for Art’s Sake”—Assessing Ai Qing’s “Reading ‘Cowherd and Girl Weaver’ ”›, 人民日 报 People’s Daily, 3 November 1951. —— ‹论戏曲改革中的历史剧和故事剧问题 On the Issue of Historical Drama and Story Drama in the Reform of Traditional Opera›, 人民戏剧 People’s Theater, vol. 3, no. 6 (1951). YANG Shuo 杨朔, ‹小跋 Postface› to 东风第一枝 First Branch of the East Wind, 作家出 版社 Author Publishing House, 1962. YAO Jiahua 姚家华 ed., 朦胧诗论证集 A Collection of Essays from the Misty Poetry Polemic, 学苑出版社 Xueyuan Publishing House, 1989. YAO Wenyuan 姚文元, ‹评新编历史剧 “海瑞罢官” A Critique of the New Historical Play “Hai Rui Dismissed from Office”›, 文汇报 Literary Confluence Daily, 10 November 1965. —— ‹是社会主义蜕化变质的理论—提倡写 “中间人物” 的反动实质 A Theory that Transmutes Socialism—The Reactionary Essence of Advocating Writing “Middle Characters”›, 解放日报 Liberation Daily (Shanghai), 14 December 1964. —— ‹黑牢中的雄鹰 Fierce Eagles in a Black Prison›, 四川文学 Sichuan Literature, no. 5, 1962. —— ‹从阿 Q 到梁生宝—从文学作品中的人物看中国农民的历史道路 From Ah Q to Liang Shengbao—Looking at the Historical Road of China’s Rural Population Through Characters in Fictional Works›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 1, 1961. —— ‹文学上的修正主义思潮和创作倾向 The Revisionist Ideological Trend and Creative Tendency in Literature›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 11, 1957. YI Er 依而, ‹小说的民族形式, 评书和烈火金刚 National Forms of Fiction, Story-Telling, and Raging Flames and Adamantine Warriors›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 12, 1958. YI Zheng 易征 & ZHANG Chuo 张绰, 谈谈 “三家巷 ” On “Three Family Village”, 上海文艺出版社 Shanghai Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1961. YU Hua 余华, ‹虚伪的作品 False Literary Works›, 上海文论 Shanghai Literary Essays, no. 5, 1989. —— ‹活着 前言 Preface to Alive› in 余华作品集 Literary Works of Yu Hua, vol. 2, 中国 社会科学出版社 China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1994: 292. YU Huiyong 于会泳, ‹让文艺舞台永远成为宣传毛泽东思想的阵地 Let the Stage of Literature and the Arts Forever be a Battlefront for the Propagation of Mao Zedong Thought›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 23 May 1968. YU Jian 于坚, 棕皮手记 Personal Notes in Brown Leather, 东方出版中心 Orient Publishing Center, 1997. —— 诗六十首 Sixty Poems, 云南人民文学出版社 Yunnan People’s Literature Publishing House, 1989. —— 对一只乌鸦的命名 The Naming of a Crow, 国际文化出版公司 International Culture Publishing Company, 1993. YU Lin 俞林, ‹三里湾 读后 After Reading Sanliwan›, 人民文学 People’s Literature, no. 7, 1955. YU Qiuyu 余秋雨, ‹90 年代散文写作随访 Casual Visits to 1990s Prose Writing› section in 美文 Beautiful Writing, no. 10, 1998. —— ‹关于散文, 读书和艺术修养—答新民晚报，解放日报 等 Concerning Prose, Studying, and Artistic Self-Cultivation—Responding to New People Evening News, Liberation Daily, and Others› in Shen Wei 沈苇 & Wu Hong 武红 ed., Interviews

bibliography

569

with Chinese Writers, 新疆青少年出版社 Xinjiang Youths & Children’s Publishing House, 1997. —— ‹自序 Preface› to 文化苦旅 Arduous Journey through Culture, 知识出版社 Knowledge Publishing House, 1992. YU Shusen 余树森, 中国当代散文研究 Studies into the Contemporary Prose of China, 北京大学出版社 Beijing University Publishing House, 1993. YUAN Shuipai 袁水拍, ‹序言 Preface› to 中国作协编选 China Writers Association ed. 诗选 Poetry Anthology: September 1953—December 1955, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1956. —— ‹质问文艺报编者 Questions of the Editors of Literature & Arts Press›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 28 October 1954. YUAN Ying 袁鹰, ‹散文求索小记 Brief Notes on the Need for Prose›, 收获 Harvest, no. 6, 1982. ZANG Kejia 臧克家, ‹五四以来新诗发展的一个轮廓 An Outline of the Development of New Poetry Since May Fourth›, 文艺学习 Literature & Arts Studies, no. 2, 1955 (Beijing). —— ed., 中国新诗选 China’s New Poetry Anthology, 中国青年出版社 China Youth Publishing House, 1956. —— ‹关于 “朦胧诗” Concerning “Misty Poetry”›, 河北师院学报 Hebei Teacher’s College Journal, no. 1, 1981. —— ‹序言 Preface› in 1956 年诗选 1956 Poetry Anthology, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1957. ZHAI Yongming 翟永明, 纸上建筑 A Construct on Paper, 东方出版中心 Orient Publishing Center, 1997. —— 称之为一切 Call This Everything, 春风文艺出版社 Spring Wind Literature & Arts Publishing House, 1997. —— 黑夜里的素歌 Plain Songs in the Dark Night, 改革出版社 Reform Publishing House, 1997. —— 翟永明诗集 Poetry of Zhai Yongming, 成都出版社 Chengdu Publishing House, 1994. —— 女人 Woman, 漓江出版社 Lijiang Publishing House, 1986. ZHANG Bilai 张毕来, 新文学史纲 New Literature History Outline, vol. 1, 1955. ZHANG Chengzhi 张承志, ‹自序 Preface› to 神示的诗篇 Poems of Divine Inspiration, 香港三联书店 Hongkong Three Federations Bookstore, 1990. ZHANG Daopan 张道潘, ‹文艺作家对当前时代应有的认识和努力 The Knowledge and Effort Writers in Literature and the Arts Should Have in the Current Age›, 文艺 先锋 Literature & Arts Vanguard, vol. 11 no. 2. —— ‹生活中的艺术使命 The Mission of the Arts in Life›, 文艺先锋 Literature & Arts Vanguard, vol. 10, no. 2. ZHANG Fu 张玞 ed., 骆一禾诗全编 Complete Poetry of Luo Yihe, 上海三联书店 Shanghai Three United Bookstore, 1997. ZHANG Guangnian 张光年, ‹题材问题 Issues of Subject Matter›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 3, 1961. ZHANG Kangkang 张抗抗, ‹我们需要两个世界 We Need Two Worlds›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 1, 1986. ZHANG Ming 章明, ‹令人气闷的 “朦胧” Depressing “Mistiness”›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 8, 1980. ZHANG Ruoying 张若英, 新文学运动史资料 Historical Materials from the New Literature Movement, 1934. ZHANG Wei 张伟, ‹后记 Postscript› to 我的田园 My Fields and Gardens in 张伟自 选集 Self-Selected Works of Zhang Wei, 作家出版社 Author Publishing House, 1996. ZHANG Wei 张炜, ‹90 年代散文写作随访 Casual Visits to 1990s Prose Writing› section in 美文 Beautiful Writing, no. 9, 1998.

570

bibliography

ZHANG Xinying 张新颖, ‹博尔赫斯与中国当代小说 Borges and Contemporary Chinese Fiction›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 12, 1990. ZHANG Yang 张扬, ‹关于第二次握手 的前前后后 About The Second Handshake from Beginning to End›, 湘江文艺 Xiangjiang Literature & Arts, no. 9, 1979. ZHANG Yiwu 张颐武, ‹“分裂”与 “转移”—中国 “后新时期” 文化转型的现实图景 “Fissures” and “Shifts”—Current Prospects of the Changing Patterns of China’s “PostNew Period” Culture›, 东方 Orient, no. 4, 1994. ZHANG Youluan 张友鸾, ‹对神龛记 的初步检讨 An Initial Self-Criticism for Records of a Shrine›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 9, 1952. ZHANG Zhongxing 张中行, ‹小引 Introductory Note› to 负暄琐话 Trivial Words on Sunning Oneself in Winter, 黑龙江人民出版社 Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House, 1986. ZHAO Jiabi 赵家璧 editor-in-chief, 中国新文学大系 The Grand Collection of China’s New Literature, 1935–1936. ZHAO Mei 赵玫, ‹我的当代散文观 My Views on Contemporary Prose›, 天津文学 Tianjin Literature, no. 5, 1986. ZHAO Shuli 赵树理, ‹随下乡集 寄给农村读者 Sent with Down to the Countryside to Rural Area Readers› in 下乡集 Down to the Countryside, 作家出版社 Authors Publishing House, 1963. —— ‹也算经验 This Too Can be Considered Experience›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 26 June 1949. ZHENG Bonong 郑伯农, ‹在 “崛起” 的声浪面前—对一种文艺思潮的剖析 Before the Clamor of the “Risings”—An Analysis of an Ideological Trend in Literature and the Arts›, 诗刊 Poetry Monthly, no. 6, 1983. ZHENG Jiqiao 郑季翘, ‹文艺领域里必须坚持马克思主义的认识论—对形象思维 论的批判 The Areas of Literature and the Arts must Uphold the Marxist Theory of Knowledge—A Critique of the Theory of Thinking in Images›, 红旗 Red Flag, no. 5, 1966. ZHENG Wanlong 郑万隆, ‹我的根 My Roots›, 上海文学 Shanghai Literature, no. 5, 1985. ZHENG Yi 郑义, ‹跨越文化断裂带 Stride Across the Fault Zone of Culture›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, 13 July 1985. ZHONGHUA Book Bureau 中华书局, ‘论语 ’ 批注 Annotations and Commentary on ‘The Analects’, 中华书局 Zhonghua Book Bureau, 1974. ZHOU Enlai 周恩来, ‹在中华全国文学艺术工作者代表大会上的政治报告 The Political Report at the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress› in 中华全国文学艺术工作者代表大会纪念文集 A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, 新华书店 New China Bookstore 1950, Beijing. ZHOU Jun 周俊 & ZHANG Wei 张维 ed., 海子, 骆一禾作品集 Literary Works of Haizi and Luo Yihe, 南京出版社 Nanjing Publishing House, 1991. ZHOU Libo 周立波, ‹序 Preface› to 1959–1961 散文特写选 1959–1961 Prose & Special Report Selections, 人民文学出版社 People’s Literature Publishing House, 1963. ZHOU Lunyou 周伦佑, ‹异端之美的呈现—“非非” 七年忆事 The Appearance of the Beauty of the Heterodox—Memories of Seven Years of “Not-Not”›, 诗探索 Poetry Explorations, no. 2, 1994. ZHOU Tian 周天, ‹文艺战线上的一个新生事物—三结合创作 A Newborn Thing on the Frontline of Literature and the Arts—Integration of the Three Writing›, 朝霞 Rosy Dawn, no. 12, 1975. ZHOU Yang 周扬, ‹文艺战线上的一场大辩论 A Great Debate on the Battle Lines of Literature and the Arts› in 人民日报 People’s Daily, 28 February 1958. —— ‹反人民, 反历史的思想和反现实主义的艺术 An Anti-People, Anti-Historical Ideology, and Anti-Realist Art›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 8 August 1950.

bibliography

571

—— ‹关于马克思主义的几个问题的探讨 An Inquiry into Some Issues about Marxism›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 16 March 1983. —— ‹新民歌开拓了诗歌的新道路 New Folk Songs have Opened Up a New Road for Poetry›, 红旗 Red Flag, inaugural edition, 1 June 1958. —— ‹论赵树理的创作 On the Writing of Zhao Shuli›, 解放日报 Liberation Daily (Yan’an), 26 August 1946. —— ‹论赵树理的创作 On the Writing of Zhao Shuli›, in 周扬文集 The Collected Works of Zhou Yang, 人民文学出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1985. —— ‹为最广大的人民群众服务 Serving the Broadest Mass of the People›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 23 May 1962. —— ‹社会主义现实主义—中国文学前进的道路 Socialist-Realism—The Road Forward for Chinese Literature›. Originally published in the Soviet literary magazine The Flag, no. 12, 1952; republished in the 人民日报 People’s Daily, 11/01/1953. —— ‹坚决贯彻毛泽东文艺路线 Steadfastly Carry Out Mao Zedong’s Line in Literature and the Arts›, 光明日报 Enlightenment Daily (Beijing), 17 May 1951. —— 周扬文集 The Collected Works of Zhou Yang, vol. 2, 人民文学出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1985. —— ‹新的人民的文艺 The Literature and Art of a New People› in 中华全国文学艺 术工作者代表大会纪念文集 A Collection of Essays Commemorating the China National Literature and Arts Workers Representatives Congress, 新华书店 New China Bookstore 1950, Beijing. —— ‹我国社会主义文学艺术的道路 The Path of Socialist Literature and Arts in Our Country› in 文艺报 The Literature and Arts Paper, combined no. 13–14, 1960. —— ‹建设社会主义文学的任务 The Task of Constructing Socialist Literature›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Paper, no. 5–6, 1956. —— ‹从 “龙须沟” 学习什么？ What can be Learned from “Dragon Beard Ditch”?›, 人 民日报 People’s Daily, 4 March 1953. ZHU Guangqian 朱光潜, ‹给一位写新诗的青年朋友 For a Young Friend Who Writes New Poetry›, 朱光潜美学文学论文集 Zhu Guangqian’s Collected Essays on Aesthetics and Literature, 湖南人民出版社 Hunan People’s Publishing House, 1980. —— ‹自由主义与文艺 Liberalism and Literature and Art› in 周论 Weekly Discussions, Vol. 2, No. 4, (6 August 1948). ZHU Keyu 竹可羽, ‹评 “邪不压正” 和 “传家宝” Appraising “Evil Does Not Subjugate Right” and “Family Heirloom”›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 15 January 1950. —— ‹再谈谈 “关于 ‘邪不压正’ ” More on “About ‘Evil Does Not Subjugate Right’ ”›, 人民日报 People’s Daily, 25 February 1950. ZHU Xueqin 朱学勤, 被遗忘的与被批评的—朱学勤书话 The Forgotten and the Criticized—Comments on Books by Zhu Xueqin, 浙江人民出版社 Zhejiang People’s Publishing House, 1997. ZHU Yizu 朱艺祖, ‹怎样展望共产主义的明天?—电影 “十三陵水库畅想曲” 观后 How to Look Ahead to a Communist Tomorrow?—After Seeing the Film “Carefree Song of the Thirteen Tombs Water Reservoir”›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 19, 1958. ZHU Zhai 朱寨, ‹从对梁三老汉的评价看 ‘写中间人物’ 主张的实质 Looking at the Essence of the Proposition to ‘Write Middle Characters’ through the Evaluation of Old Liang San›, 文学评论 Literary Reviews, no. 2, 1964. —— ‹对生活的思考 Reflections of Life›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, no. 3, 1978. ZHU Zhai 朱寨 editor-in-chief, 中国当代文学思潮史 The History of Ideological Trends in Chinese Contemporary Literature, 人民文学出版社 People’s Publishing House, 1987. ZHU Ziqing 朱自清, ‹今天的诗歌—介绍何达的诗集我们开会 Today’s Poetry— Introducing He Da’s Poetry Collection We’re Having a Meeting›, 文讯 Literary Dispatches, vol. 8, no. 5, 1948.

572

bibliography

ZHUHAI Special Zone Press 珠海特区报, ‹拨 “左” 反正, 繁荣创作—北京作家评论家 学习十四大文件座谈会纪要 Put the “Left” in its Place, Promote Creation—Beijing Writers and Critics Study the Minutes of the Symposium on Documents of the Fourteenth Congress›, 珠海特区报 Zhuhai Special Zone Press, 7 November 1992. ZIXI 紫兮, ‹“写中间人物” 的一个标本 A Specimen of “Writing Middle Characters”›, 文艺报 Literature & Arts Press, nos. 11 & 12, 1964.

TITLES OF WORKS CITED (within the text but absent from Footnotes or Bibliography)*

20th Century Foreign Literature Series 32 conditions of a Great Leap Forward in Literary and Artistic Work (draft) 79 Fiction Collection 1959–1961 Prose and Special Report Selections 1986 A Besieged Village Chairman A Bleeding Lotus Streamer on an Ancient Arrowhead A Branch Road Paved with Flowers A Broad Discussion of Creative Issues A Century on Guard A Chinese Woman in Europe A Construct on Paper A Corner Forgotten by Love A Cup that Illuminates the World A Day in the Life of the Head of the Electrical Equipment Bureau A Destined Marriage A Dream-Talked Eagle A Fierce Battle at a Nameless River A Final Moorage A First Display of Talent A Fish Hook A Flock of Brown Birds A Flock of Wives and Concubines A Force Twelve Typhoon Can’t Blow It Down A Full Garden A Future like Brocade A Gaze of Pure Beauty A Gift A Girl I Know is already Dead A Good Year A Great Debate on the Literary Front A Grief-Stricken Place A Group of Poets on the Rise—A Critique of Modernist Tendencies in Chinese Poetry A Happy Encounter with a Sports Star A Heartfelt Reluctance to Leave A Heroic Mother A Historical Account of Theater Culture in China

20 世纪外国文学丛书 文艺工作大跃进 32 条（草案） 79 小说集 1959–1961 散文特写选 一九八六年 被围困的农庄主席 流血的令箭荷花 铺花的歧路 创作问题漫谈 岗上的世纪 一个中国女人在欧洲 纸上建筑 被爱情遗忘的角落 照世杯 机电局长的一天 姻缘 呓鹰 激战无名川 最后的停泊地 初试锋芒 鱼钩 褐色鸟群 妻妾成群 十二级台风刮不倒 满园 前途似锦 纯美的注视 有赠 我认识的少女已经死了 大年 文艺战线上的大辩论 悲恸之地 崛起的诗群— 评我国诗歌的现代倾向 球星奇遇记 依依惜别的深情 英雄母亲 中国戏剧文化史述

* Note: Titles of novels, anthologies, and book-length prose works are italicized.

574

titles of works cited

A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, 1917–1957 A History of Pioneering Work A Horse in the Rain A Hundred Flowers Bloom A Land of Wonder and Mystery A Life of Facial Make-Up A Light Morning Fog A Little Onion, a Little Garlic, a Little Sesame Salt A Long Lens on May 19 A Love of Warhorses A Low Ranking Official Before the Ministry Gate A Magnificent Holiday A Model County Party Committee Secretary— Jiao Yulu A Morning in Early Spring A Mountain as a Lonely Pillar of Heaven A New Companion A New Company of Soldiers A New Year’s Visit A Pair of Rainbows A Panorama of Cave Dwellings A Past like Smoke A Peach Tree A Person Cutting Kindling to get through the Winter A Place Covered in Chicken Feathers A Prayer A Pure Falling of Leaves A Realization A Record of Chen Huansheng Going to Town and Leaving the Country A Reelection A Register of Heroes at Dazhai A Report Exposing Contradictions A Return Journey of Worry and Anger A Review of the Contemporary Poetry Tide· Lessons in the Art of Writing Book Series A Sacred Mission A Salute to Oil Workers A Selection of Shanghai Short Stories A Selection of the Fiction and Reportage Literature of Wang Meng A Selection of the Fiction of Gao Xiaosheng A Selection of the Fiction of Xu Lan A Self-Selection of the Humorous Works of Gao Xiaosheng A Seventy-Two Hour War A Simple Chronicle of the Life of Mu Dan (Zha Liangzheng) A Small Problem with Critical Literary Theory of the Past Ten Years

中国现代小说史 创业史 雨中的马 百花齐放 这是一片神奇的土地 脸谱生涯 淡淡的晨雾 来点葱，来点蒜，来点芝麻盐 5·19 长镜头 戎马恋 相府门前七品官 盛大的节日 县委书记的榜样—焦裕禄 初春的早晨 寂寞天柱山 新结识的伙伴 新兵连 拜年 双虹 窑洞风景 往事如烟 一棵桃树 一个劈木柴过冬的人 一地鸡毛 祈求 纯净的落夜 醒悟 陈奂生上城出国记 改选 大寨英雄谱 一篇揭矛盾的报告 忧愤的归途 当代诗歌潮流回顾·写作艺术借 鉴丛书 神圣的使命 致以石油工人的敬礼 上海短篇小说选 王蒙小说报告文学选

高晓声小说选 须兰小说选 高晓声幽默作品自选集 七十二小时的战争 穆旦（查良铮）年谱简编 十年来文学理论批评上的一 个小问题

titles of works cited A Solitary Traveller on a Never-Ending Journey A Song of Snow, a Tubote Woman, Her Man and Three Children A Sort of Reality A Soul Tied to a Leather-Strap Buckle A Southern Melody A Special Girl A Sprig of Spring by Er Lake A Story about Boasting A Story out of Sequence A Strange Grasp A Tale of Big Nur A Tall Woman and Her Short Husband A Third of Life A Third Time on Sunning Oneself in Winter A Thousand Miles Against the Wind A Thousand Miles Without a Cloud A Topic on the Spot in a Little Restaurant A Tree with No Wind A Typical Speech—Sequel to “A Report Exposing Contradictions” A Variation Without a Theme A Vast Picture of War A Vile Debt A White Dream A White Foal A White Mist A Whole Happy Family A Window Full of Lamplight A Winter Fairytale A Year Earlier, a Year Later A Young Person Arrives in the Organization Department About Taoran Pavilion About Tragedy Above All Roses Absolutely No Coincidence Academic Library Accomplices Accounts of Events on the Jiaodong Peninsula Accusations of Blood and Tears Advance on Difficulties Adversity Advocacy Collection Advocacy Collection Continued Advocating Capitalist Literature and Arts is to Restore Capitalism—Refuting the Reactionary Theories of Zhou Yang that Extol the Capitalist Class “Renaissance in Literature and the Arts”, the “Enlightenment Movement”, and “Critical Realism” Aesthetic Psychology of the Theater

575

漫漫旅途上的独行客 雪，土伯特女人和她的男人及三 个孩子之歌 现实一种 系在皮绳扣上的魂 南曲 特别的姑娘 洱海一枝春 说大话的故事 剪辑错了的故事 异秉 大淖记事 高女人和她的矮丈夫 生命三分之一 负暄三话 逆风千里 万里无云 小酒馆现场主题 无风之树 典型发言—续 “一篇揭矛盾报告” 无主题变奏 战洪图 孽债 白梦 白驹 白雾 全家福 一窗灯火 一个冬天的童话 年前年后 组织部来了个年轻人 话说陶然亭 关于悲剧 在一切玫瑰之上 绝非偶然 学术文库 同谋 胶东纪事 血泪的控诉 向困难进军 厄运 鼓吹集 鼓吹续集 鼓吹资产阶级文艺就是复辟资 本主义— 驳周扬吹捧资产阶级 “文艺复兴”，“启蒙运动”， “批判现实主义” 的反动理论

戏剧审美心理学

576

titles of works cited

After the Bumper Harvest After the Power Goes Out Age of Tattoos Age of Upheaval Ah! Ah, Humanity! Aiee, Small Moon of America Air and Gas Alive All the Colors of the Rainbow All Within the Four Seas are Brothers Always Firmly Remember the Direction of Socialist Literature and Arts—A Self-Criticism over “A Group of Poets on the Rise” Ambition An Ardent Love of Life An Aristocratic Family of Pedlars An Elder Female Cousin An Elegy An Enamel Tea Bowl An End or a Beginning An Influential Family of Mountain Ghosts An Initial Record of a Stormy Situation An Introduction An Introduction to Pre-Culture An Issue of Face An Offering of Blood and Tears at Mount Luofu An Old Scholar with Public Opinions An Opinion on the Current Literature and Arts Campaign—Self-Criticism * Criticism * and the Future Direction An Ordinary World An Outline of the Development of Chinese Literature from Classical Realism to Proletarian Realism Ancient and Modern Collection Anecdotes about “Four Seas Residence” Anecdotes from the Western Border Anecdotes of the Cultural Revolution Anger Another Columbus Another Sort of Landscape Anthology of Foreign Modernist Literature Apples are Ripening Arduous Journey through Culture Are We in the Habit of Begging Arias of Public Transport Armed Workers Contingent Behind Enemy Lines Arrow Shafts on the Riverbank As If As You Wish

丰收之后 停电之后 刺青时代 动荡的年代 啊！ 人啊，人！ 哎呀呀，美国小月亮 空气和煤气 活着 赤橙黄绿青蓝紫 四海之内皆兄弟 时刻牢记社会主义文艺方向— 关于 ‹崛起的诗群› 的自我批评 志气 热爱生命 小贩世家 表姐 挽歌 搪瓷茶缸 结局或开始 山鬼故家 风云初记 介绍 前文化导言 面子问题 罗浮山血泪祭 言论老生 对于当前文艺运动的意见— 检讨 * 批判 * 和今后的方向

平凡的世界 中国文学从古典文学现实主义 到无产阶级现实主义发展的一 个轮廓 古今集 “四海居” 轶话 西线轶事 文革轶事 愤怒 又一个哥伦布 另一种风景 外国现代派文学作品选 苹果要熟了 文化苦旅 我们有行乞的习惯吗 公共汽车咏叹调 敌后武工队 箭杆河边 仿佛 如意

titles of works cited Ashima Ask the Women to Guess the Riddle Aspirations Assassination Assessing the Counter-Revolutionary Double Dealer Zhou Yang Assessing the “Three Family Village”—The Reactionary Nature of “Evening Chats at Yanshan” and Random Notes from the Three Family Village Assessing Three Family Alley At Middle Age At Old Age At the Bridge Site At the Drinking Establishment At the Precipice Aurora Borealis authenticity of realism Autumn Autumn Days Autumn Wind Song of the Imperial Tombs Autumn Winds and Old Friends Autumnal Ode Autumnal Reflections Avant-Garde Novels Series Azalea Mountain Baiyang Marshes Bales of Cotton Ballade of Varykino Ballads for the Red Flag Banners of Desire Banpo Baptism Bathing Bats Battle of Leopard Bay “Battle” of the Lowlands Bay of Echoing Waters Beautiful Beautiful Dew Beautiful Stories of West Lake Bedroom of an Unmarried Woman Before the Land of Our Ancestors Before the New Bureau Chief Arrives Before This Lunar Month Begin from Here Beijing Evening News Beijingers Bell of the Nether World Beneath the Himalayas Beneath the Red Banner

阿诗玛 请女人猜谜 志愿 暗杀 评反革命两面派周扬 评“三家村”—‹燕山夜话›， 三家村札记 的反动本质 评三家巷 人到中年 人到老年 在桥梁工地上 在酒楼上 在悬崖上 北极光 现实主义的真实性 秋 秋天 乾陵秋风歌 秋风旧雨集 秋歌 秋天的思索 先锋长篇小说丛书 杜鹃山 白洋淀 棉花垛 瓦雷金诺叙事曲 红旗歌谣 欲望的旗帜 半坡 洗礼 洗澡 蝙蝠集 豹子湾战斗 洼地上的 “战役” 响水湾 美丽 秀露集 西湖佳话 独身女人的卧室 在祖国面前 新局长到来之前 小月前本 从这里开始 北京晚报 北京人 幽冥钟 喜马拉雅山下 正红旗下

577

578

titles of works cited

Beside the Cheng River Better to Hang Yourself with a Rope Between Chinese and English Between This Husband and Wife Beyond the History of the Factory Big-Eyed Cats Big Factory Big Knots and Little Knots Big Lin and Little Lin Big Momma Guan Big Shanghai Biographies of Heroes of the Volunteer Army Biography of Stalin Birth of an Eagle Bitter Cauliflower Bitter Love Bitter Struggle Black-Canopied Boat Black Desert Black Eels Black Landscapes Black Snow Black Steed Black Strands Grow in White Hair Blazing Grasslands Blocking Things Up is not as Good as Guiding to Enlightenment Blood of the World Blooming like Flowers Blue Oak Forest Blue Sky Above Blue Sky, Green Sea Boatmen’s Song Bolshevik Salute Book of Changes Book of Destiny—The Best of Forty Years of Chang Yao’s Poetry Book of History Book of Odes Bookish Diversions Series Bositeng Lakeshore Boundary Line Boys and Girls, Seven in Total Brain Fissure Breath Bridge of Cattails Bridge over the Abyss Brief Comments on Literature Brief Essays on Literature and the Arts Bright Flowers among the Willow Shades Bright Mirror Terrace

澄河边上 不如一索子吊死算了 汉英之间 我们夫妇之间 在厂史以外 大眼猫 大厂 大扭结和小扭结 大林和小林 关大妈 大上海 志愿军英雄传 斯大林传 鹰的诞生 苦菜花 苦恋 苦斗 乌篷船 黑色沙漠 黑鳗 黑风景 黑的雪 黑骏马 白发生黑丝 燎原 堵塞不如开导 世界的血 如花怒放 蓝色的青杠林 青天在上 蓝天绿海 船夫曲 布礼 易经 命运之书—昌耀四十年诗作精品

书经 诗经 书趣文丛 博斯腾湖畔 分界线 少男少女，一共七个 脑裂 呼吸 蒲桥集 深渊上的桥 文学短论 文艺短论 柳暗花明 明镜台

titles of works cited Bright Skies Bright Sunny Sky Bright Sunny Skies Brightness and Darkness Broken Betrothal Broken Bridge Bronze Age Brothers Brothers and Sisters Open Up the Wasteland Brown Leather Notebook Buddhism and Chinese Literature Burning Memories Butterflies Love Flowers Butterflies on the Sea Butterfly Cacti Café Song Cai Wenji Call for Manuscripts Call This Everything Camel Xiangzi Camels Campsite of the Kangba People Can Elaborate Formulas Guide Creative Writing?—Discussing Comrade Zhou Yang’s Arguments about the Creation of Heroic Characters Can the Petit Bourgeoisie Class be Written Carefree Song of the Thirteen Tombs Water Reservoir Caress Carry on the Past and Open a Way to the Future, Make Literature of the New Period of Socialism Prosper Casual Thoughts Catkin Willow Flats Chance Meetings Changes in Li Village Characters in a Cooperative Characters in the Marketplace Charms of Niannu—Dialogue of the Birds Chart of Alarm Beacon Smoke Chasing-the-Moon Tower Chen Huansheng Chen Huansheng’s Adventure in Town Children of the Grasslands Children of the Rich Children’s Literature Selection China has Poetry once Again China People’s Literature and Arts Book Series China’s Tribes of Educated Youths

579

明朗的天 艳阳天 艳阳天 光明与黑暗 解约 断桥 青铜时代 弟兄们 兄妹开荒 棕皮手记 佛教与中国文学 燃烧的记忆 蝶恋花 海上蝴蝶 蝴蝶 仙人掌 咖啡馆之歌 蔡文姬 约稿启事 称之为一切 骆驼祥子 骆驼 康巴人营地 繁琐公式可以指导创作吗?— 与周扬同志商榷几个关于创作英 雄人物的论点 可不可以写小资产阶级 十三陵水库畅想曲

抚摸 继往开来，繁荣社会主义新时期 的文学 随想录 蒲柳人家 邂逅集 李家庄的变迁 社里的人物 市井人物 念奴娇—鸟儿问答 烽烟图 追月楼 陈奂生 陈奂生上城 草原儿女 财主底儿女们 儿童文学选 中国又有了诗歌 中国人民文艺丛书 中国知青部落

580

titles of works cited

Chinese Poetry in the 1990s Chinese Translations of Famous Works of World Academia Chinese Woman Poets Literary Storehouse Choice Fiction of Jia Pingwa Chrysanthemum Rock Chrysanthemums Under Hometown Skies Cities by the Sea City in Ruins City Walls at Dawn City Where Night Never Falls City Without Rain City Under Siege Clash between Civilization and Ignorance Class Teacher Classic Marxist Writers On Capitalist Humanism Classical Love Clean the Warhorses Clothes of Invisibility (Balderdash, in lieu of a Postscript) Cloud Watching For Her Husband Coal Mines in May Coda Coffeehouse Cold Mountain Moon Collecting Cowries on the Sea of Art Collection of Talks on Writing and More Colorful Life Colors Within Colors Come Back Commendation of Honor Company Commander Guan Comparing the Big and Comparing the Small Competition Completion of a Rite Composition of the Red Flag Compositions on Autumnal Shades Comrade Zhou Yang Answers a Literary Confluence Reporter’s Questions about the Issue of “Let a Hundred Flowers Bloom, Let a Hundred Schools of Thought Contend” Concerning “A Short Study of the Dream of the Red Chamber,” and Other Views Concerning Metaphor Concerning the Problem of Piglets Getting Through the Winter Concerning the “Ten Commandments of Moses” Conches Conditions are not yet Ripe

90 年代中国诗歌 汉译世界学术名著 中国女性诗歌文库 贾平凹小说精选 菊花石 故乡天下黄花 海市 废都 黎明的城 不夜城 无雨之城 兵临城下 文明与愚昧的冲突 班主任 马克思主义经典作家论资产阶 级人道主义 古典爱情 洗兵马 隐身衣（废话，代后记） 望夫云 五月的矿山 尾声 咖啡馆 凉山月 艺海拾贝 编余丛谈 彩色的生活 颜色中的颜色 归来 光荣赞 关连长 比大和比小 竞赛 仪式的完成 红旗谱 秋色赋 就 “百花齐放，百家争鸣”问题 周扬同志答文汇报记者问 关于 ‹红楼梦简论› 及其它 关于比喻 关于猪崽过冬问题 关于“摩西十戒”

贝壳集 条件尚未成熟

titles of works cited Confessions of a Red Guard Cong Weixi Collection Construction Site Nights Contemporary Chinese Authors Collection Series · Zhang Jie Continue Your Drills Copper Walls Iron Barriers Corduroy Correspondence over Issues of Contemporary Literary Creation Cosmetics Counterattack Countercurrents and Hidden Currents Crazy Kaffir Lilies Crazy Pomegranate Trees Criticism and Imagination Critiques of Hu Shi Thought Crossing a Blue Sky Crossing the Square at Nightfall Cuts and Descriptions Daji and Her Father Daliu Village Date Orchard Village Dawn in the East Daybreak in the Wind and Rain Daybreak on the Pacific Daydream of a Heavenly River Daydreams Days and Nights on the South Bank of the Han River Days of Drought But Not Dryland Days of Snowfall Death Death and the Poet Death of a Poet Death’s Design Declaration Deep in a Solitary Cattail Deep in an Alley Deep Mountain Valleys Defend Yan’an Delusions of Lust Demonstrations Deng Xiaoping on Literature and the Arts Denouncing “Reactionary Literature and Art” Descendants of Lu Ban Descendants of Suo Qi Descendants of the River Desolate Soul Develop the Creation of Socialist Literature and Arts

581

一个红卫兵的自白 从维熙集 工地之夜 中国当代作家选集丛书 • 张洁 继续操练 铜墙铁壁 灯芯绒 关于当代文学创作问题的通信 红粉 反击 逆流与暗流 疯狂的君子兰 疯狂的石榴树 批评与想象 胡适思想批判 飞过蓝天 傍晚穿过广场 剪裁和描写 达吉和她的父亲 大刘庄 枣林村集 东方欲晓 风雨的黎明 太平洋的拂晓 苍河白日梦 白日梦 汉江南岸的日日夜夜 旱天不旱地 下雪的日子 死 诗人与死 诗人之死 死亡的图案 宣告 孤蒲深处 小巷深处 深深的山谷 保卫延安 情幻 游行 邓小平论文艺 斥 “反动文艺” 鲁班的子孙 索七的后人 河的子孙 荒魂 发展社会文艺的创作

582

titles of works cited

Dialogue in Heaven Diary of Gu Zhun Difficult Choices Difficult Meeting Digging Up Shepard’s Purse Dinner Flowers Directions to Divorce Discontent Discussing Heroes with a Stele for Heroes Discussing Issues of Leadership in Theatre Work Discussions of Issues in New Poetry Writing Discussions on the Issue of Creating New Heroic Characters Dissection Distant Village Distress and Sentence-Making Divorce Doctor Bethune Dog Skin Don’t Be Afraid of Democracy Don’t Be Afraid of Non-Democracy Don’t Speak of Love Don’t Take That Road Draft History of China’s New Literature Draft History of Dramatic Theory Dragon Beard Ditch Dragon Boat Festival in May Dragon’s Blood Tree Dragons and Serpents of the Earth Dream of the Red Chamber Dream of the Red Chamber Studies Dream of the Sea Dream Talk of a Nightwalker Dreaming of Xi’an Dreams of China’s Educated Youths Dreams of People Our Age Drifting Words Drinking Tea Drinking with the Past Driven onto Mount Liang Drudgeries Dry River Du Zimei Returns Home Dunhuang Dusk in April Dusk in May Dyke of Living People Early Spring in February Earthen Doors Earthworm Earthworms and Feathers

天堂里的对话 顾准日记 艰难的选择 相见时难 挖荠菜 晚饭花集 离婚指南 不满 与英雄碑论英雄 谈戏剧工作的领道问题 新诗创作问题的讨论 关于塑造新英雄人物问题的讨论 解剖 远村 忧伤与造句 离婚 白求恩大夫 狗皮 不要怕民主 不要怕不民主 不谈爱情 不能走那条路 中国新文学史稿 戏剧理论史稿 龙须沟 五月端阳 龙血树 大地龙蛇 红楼梦 红楼梦研究 海的梦 夜行者梦语 梦西安 中国知青梦 我们这个年纪的梦 漂泊的语言 将饮茶 与往事干杯 逼上梁山 打杂集 枯河 杜子美还乡 敦煌 四月的黄昏 五月的黄昏 活人塘 早春二月 土门 蚯蚓 蚯蚓与羽毛

titles of works cited East West South North Winds Echoes Echoes Continued Eclipse Editorial Preface Elder Sister Lai Elegy Emotions and Love in Hongkong Empty Cities Empty Valley Encountering an Eighth Day of the Week End Notes Enemies Entreating Rain Escape from Marriage Melody Escapee Essays about Film Essays by Jin Kemu Essays on Cultural Comparisons Essays on “Cowsheds” Essays on Indian Culture Essays on Socialist Realism Essential Famous Works of Zhang Wei Evening Chats at Yanshan Events on Tian’anmen Evergreen Everlasting Youth Execution Grounds Exhortation Experiences of “The Great Leap Forward” Experiments Collection Explanations of Culture Explanations of the Psychology of Literature and the Arts Explorations Exploratory Fiction Collection Exploratory Poetry Collection Exploratory Theater Collection Explorer Literary Monthly Society Announcement Explosion Eyes of the Night Eyes Watering in the Wind Fabricated Roses Fabrication Face the Ocean Face-to-Face Facing New Things Facts about Swallow Garden Fairy Tales of North Pole Village Faith

东西南北风 回声集 回声续集 蚀 编辑前言 赖大嫂 挽歌 香港的情与爱 空城 空谷 遭遇礼拜八 后记 敌人 求雨 逃婚调 逃犯 电影论文集 金克木小品 比较文化论集 “牛棚” 小品 印度文化论集 社会主义现实主义论文集 张伟名篇精选 燕山夜话 天安门即事 万年春 万年青 刑场 嘱咐 “大跃进” 亲历记 尝试集 文化的解说 文艺心理阐释 探索集 探索小说集 探索诗集 探索戏剧集 探索者 文学月刊启事 爆炸 夜的眼 风泪眼 虚构的玫瑰 虚构 面向海洋 对面 在新事物的面前 燕园纪事 北极村童话 信仰

583

584

titles of works cited

Faith in the Future Families of Jiwowa Village Family Family Heirloom Famous Novellas of the New Period Series · Shen Rong Famous Works of Foreign Classical Literature Series Famous Works of Foreign Literature Series Fan Jin Passes the Imperial Exam Fang Zhenzhu Fang Zhimin’s Life of Struggle Farewell, Laihu Inland Sea, Farewell My Concubine Fatal Flights Fate Fate in Tears and Laughter Father Feature Report Selections Features of Mount Lu February Orchids Female Purchasing Agent Female Shop Assistant Female Soldiers Running After the Troops Fifty Strings Fight for Domination of the Street Fight Till Tomorrow Fighting in the North and South Fighting on the Plains Fighting to Defend the Socialist Line in Literature and the Arts Finale Fire at Sea Firecracker Attack on Twin Lanterns Firelight Ahead First Branch of the Eastern Wind First Glass of Bitter Wine First Light First Snow Fixed Stare Flames of Vengeance Flare Up Fleeting Time and Scattering Shadows Flesh and Soul Floating Clouds and Flowing Water Flower City Flowers Flowers Bloom in the Spring Warmth Flowers Bloom in the Morning Flowers of Wisdom Bloom Brightly like Brocade Flying Apsaras

相信未来 鸡窝洼人家 家族 传家宝 新时期中篇小说名作丛书 • 谌容

外国古典文学名著丛书 外国文学名著丛书 范进中举 方珍珠 方志敏战斗的一生 别了, 濑户内海 霸王别姬 致命的飞翔 命运 啼笑姻缘 父亲 特写选 庐山面目 二月兰 女采购员 女店员 追赶队伍的女兵们 五十弦 逐鹿中街 战斗到明天 转战南北 平原作战 为保卫社会主义文艺路线而斗争

曲终集 海火 炮打双灯 火光在前 东风第一枝 第一杯苦酒 初晴集 初雪 凝眸 复仇的火焰 上火 流年碎影 灵与肉 行云流水 花城 花 春暖花开 朝阳花开 智慧花开烂如锦 飞天

titles of works cited Following Chairman Mao on the Long March Following like a Shadow Footprints of My Travels Footsteps in an Empty Valley Footsteps Left at the Seashore For Him For the Comrades For the Fighters For the Wives Forest of Sugar Cane—Green Gauze Curtain Forever Running Water Forged a Hundred Times into Steel Forgotten Dreams of Dunhuang Formalists Love the Flute Fortuitous Incidents Four Forms of Red Fourteen Plain Songs Fragments of Norman Bethune Fragrances Franz Kafka Free Falling Bodies Fresh Blood and Plum Blossoms Fresh Re-Blossoming Flowers Friendly Faces of Hometown Flowers Friendship Fu Lei’s Letters Home Fujian Funeral Rites Gada Plum Orchard Gallery of Love Gao Jianli Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1980 Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1981 Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1982 Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1983 Gao Xiaosheng Fiction 1984 Gao Yubao Garden Street No. 5 Gardening Gate of Heavenly Peace Quartet Gathering Ears of Wheat Gathering Red Water Chestnuts Gazing at the Starry Sky Gazing Out Over the Disappearance of Time Gechuan River fiction General, You can’t do This Genesis Getting Used to Dying Girl beside the Huai River Give Everything to the Party Glass Passed Through Words

跟随毛主席长征 如影随形 游踪 空谷足音 遗落在海滩上的脚印 给他 给同志们 给战斗者 献给妻子们 甘蔗林—青纱帐 长长的流水 百炼成钢 敦煌遗梦 形式主义者爱箫 偶然事件 赤彤丹朱 十四首素歌 诺尔曼・白求恩片断 香气 弗兰茨 • 卡夫卡 自由落体 鲜血梅花 重放的鲜花 故乡面和花朵 友谊 傅雷家书 福建集 葬礼 嘎达梅林 情爱画廊 高渐离 高晓声 1980 年小说集 高晓声 1981 年小说集 高晓声 1982 年小说集 高晓声 1983 年小说集 高晓声1984 年小说集 高玉宝 花园街五号 园艺 天安门的四重奏 拣麦穗 采红菱 望星空 眺望时间消逝 葛川江小说 将军，不能那样作 创世纪 习惯死亡 淮河边的姑娘 把一切献给党 透过词语的玻璃

585

586

titles of works cited

Glorious Nebula Goddess of Lhasa River Goddess Peak Going Back Going on a Long Trip at Eighteen Going to a Distant Place Gold Coast Gold Lettering Gold Ox and Laughing Girl Golden Age Golden Conch Golden Fish Scales Gongs and Drums in Film Good Morning, Friend Gorky and Lu Xun on Humanism and Human Nature Gossip About Carrying Out Regulations Grab Able-Bodied Conscripts Grandma Qi Grandmother Green Granny’s Star Grass of the Northlands Grass in the Western Garden Grass on the Lili Plain Grass on the Plain Grass on the Roof Grasslands in Revolt Grave Bed—The Overseas Literary Works of Gu Cheng and Xie Ye Gray Sails Great Changes in a Mountain Village Great Master Great Waves Great Wild Goose Pagoda Green Conditions and Ways Green Mountains after the Rain Green Snares Greeting Tomorrow Grief Growing Flowers Growing Up In Battle Guan Hanqing Guerrilla Band of the Plains Guerrilla Forces of the Railroads Guozigou Mountain Ballad Hai Rui Dismissed from Office Hail the Great Victory of the Beijing Opera Revolution Half a Tree Half an Hour for Lunch Half of Man is Woman

光荣的星云 拉萨河的女神 女神峰 归去来兮 十八岁出门远行 到远方去 黄金海岸 金字 金牛与笑女 黄金时代 金色的海螺 金鳞记 电影的锣鼓 早安，朋友 高尔基，鲁迅论人道主义和人 性论 关于行规的闲话 抓壮丁 七奶奶 祖母绿 奶奶的星星 北国草 西苑草 离离原上草 原上草 屋顶的青草 叛乱的草原 墓床—顾城谢烨海外作品集 灰色的篷帆 山乡巨变 大师 大波 大雁塔 绿风土 雨后青山 绿色陷阱 迎着明天 哀痛 养花 战斗里成长 关汉卿 平原游击队 铁道游击队 果子沟山谣 海瑞罢官 欢呼京剧革命的伟大胜利 半棵树 午餐半小时 男人的一半是女人

titles of works cited Hands that can’t be Harnessed Happiness Hard Men Harsh Days Hastening Home for a Funeral Hatred Pierces Iron Haystacks Head for Winter Head of the Table Heart of a Soldier Heartbreak Grass Hello Little Brother Herds of Wild Horses Herder’s Song of Tianshan Mountain Herding by the Great Wall Heroes War Song Hibiscus Town Hidden Anecdotes High Spirits High Tables History of Sanskrit Literature History of the Development of Literature in China History of the Development of Film in China History of the Soul History’s Pillar of Shame Hold Fast to the Present Poetry Series Holding a Chrysanthemum Holy War and Games Home of Fire Home of the Poppy Homeland, Ahh Homeland Homeland, My Dear Homeland Homeless Blizzard Hometown Hometown Hometown Getting-Along is Passed On Horse-Head Lute Song Collection Hot Springs How Does the Red Peach Blossom? How Works of Literature and Art Respond to Contradictions Among the People Human Life Humble Abode Hundred Bird Coat Hurricane Hut on the Mountain Huts of Yellow Mud I Love American Dollars I Love Our Land I Love Pierre I want to Board a Slow Boat to Paris

587

套不住的手 幸福 硬汉们 严峻的日子 奔丧 恨透铁 麦秸垛 走向冬天 首席 战士的心 断肠草 弟弟你好 野马群 天山牧歌 游牧长城 英雄战歌 芙蓉镇 潜性逸事 来劲 高榻 梵语文学史 中国文学发展史 中国电影发展史 心灵史 历史的耻辱柱 坚守现在诗系 手执一枝黄花 圣战与游戏 火宅 罂粟之家 祖国啊，祖国 祖国，我亲爱的祖国 大雪无乡 故乡 家乡 故乡相处流传 马头琴歌集 温泉 红桃是怎么开的 文艺作品如何反应人民内部矛盾 人生 蜗居 百鸟衣 暴风骤雨 山上的小屋 黄泥小屋 我爱美元 我爱我们的土地 我爱比尔 我想乘一艘慢船到巴黎去

588

titles of works cited

I’ll Never Return I’m Proud, I’m a Tree I’ve Travelled Everywhere Ichthyolite Ideas and Rules If Heaven has Feelings Ignoring All Relatives and Friends Illusions of an Observer Images of Pioneers Images of the Heart Images of the Heart·That Word Immortal Immortality Amid the Roaring Flames Imposter “Improve Yourself Through Training” In a Haze of Snow and Fog Visiting Paintings and Calligraphy In a Land of Silence In Days of Peace In Defense of the Soul In Memory of Music Master Liang Xiao In Praise of Cherry Blossoms In “Riding on Wine” Pavilion, Sitting Alone, How Should We Read Ancient Poems In Search of Love In Search of the King of Singers In Sickness In Symmetry with Death In the Dossiers of Society In the Clash between Eastern and Western Cultures In the Distance In the Foremost Ranks In the Hospital In the Mighty Torrent of the Great Revolution In the Mountains In the North In the Ruins In the Soft Sleeper Car In the Time of a Warm Spring and Blooming Flowers In Yili—Pale Gray Eyes Inaction Index of Articles concerning the Discussion of the Western Modernist Literature Issue (1978–1982) Inexorable Doom is Difficult to Escape Informal Essays from the Dreamless Building Informal Essays in Springtime Initial Explorations into Techniques of Modern Fiction Initial Notes about Shangzhou

一去永不回 我骄傲，我是一棵树 走遍大地 鱼化石 意度集 天若有情 六亲不认 观察者的幻象 先驱者的形象 心象 心象组诗 • 那个字 死不着 在烈火中永生 骗子 “锻炼锻炼” 雪雾迷蒙访书画 于无声处 在和平的日子里 为灵魂辩护 纪念乐师良宵 樱花赞 独坐 “载酒亭”。我们该怎样去 读古诗 求爱 寻找歌王 病中集 与死亡对称 在社会的档案里 在东西方文化的碰撞中

在远方 站在最前列 在医院中 在大革命洪流中 山中 在北方 在废墟上 在软席卧车里 春暖花开的时候 在伊犁—淡灰色的眼珠 无为集 管于西方现代派文学问题讨论 文章目录索引 (1978–1982) 劫数难逃 无梦楼随笔 春天漫笔 现代小说技巧初探 商州初录

titles of works cited Inquiries of the Soul Inside and Outside the Red Walls Inside News Inside Prison and Out Inspiration of the Grasslands Internal Life Internal Spy Interpretations of Dream of the Red Chamber Interpreting Dreams Interrelated Matters Into the Void Into the Wind Investigation of a Psychotic Person Investigation of an Assassination in a Western Province Invisible Companion Irises that can Sing It was Known Three Years Ago It’s Always Time that’s Passing It’s Difficult Sharing It’s Not Cicadas It’s Still the Age of Miscellaneous Essays Jade Boat Jia Guixiang Jian Lake’s Scenery is like a Painting Jiang Jie Joining the Party Journey of Emotion Journey to the West Joyous Praise Joys of Thought July Inflammation June Snow Kafka Keeping it Together King of Children King of Owls King Tutu Knowing Spring Collection Korean Winds and Clouds Lamp Fire Lampshade of Birch Bark Land of Happiness Land of Our Ancestors Landscapes Landscapes in a Room Language of the Night Large Breasts and Big Buttocks Late-Blossoming Flowers Later Generations Later Years Laying Out Grass

心灵的探寻 红墙内外 本报内部消息 狱里狱外 草原启示录 内心生活 内奸 红楼梦辨 圆梦 连环套 寄冥 迎风 对一个精神病患者的调查 西省暗杀考 隐形伴侣 会唱歌的鸢尾花 三年早知道 老去的是时间 分享艰难 不是蝉 还是杂文时代 宝船 贾桂香 鉴湖风景如画 江姐 入党 感情的历程 西游记 欢乐颂 思维的乐趣 七月流火 六月雪 卡夫卡 抱散集 孩子王 枭王 秃秃大王 知春集 朝鲜风云 灯火 白桦树皮灯罩 乐土 祖国 风景 房间里的风景 夜晚的语言 丰乳肥臀 迟开的花 后代 晚华集 铺草集

589

590

titles of works cited

Lazy to Divorce Leaden Wings Leaf Flute Leaving the Hometown Lectures on the History of China’s New Literature Legend Legend of Mount Tianyun Lei Feng Let Dreams Pass Through Your Heart Let Everybody Write the History of Factories Let the Masked People Speak Letter of a Courier Letters by Feather Letters from a Trip through Europe Letters from Spring and Autumn Li Bai and Du Fu Li Dahai Li Dazhao Li Huiniang Li Shunda Builds a House Li Ying Lyric Poetry Selections Li Ying Poetry Selections Li Zicheng Lies of the Honest Life Life is no Crime Life on Reed Lake Lift the Voice and Sing Light of Dawn Light Signals on the Avenue Like Brothers Lili and Joan Lilies Ling Spring Cavern Lingering Fog Literary and Artistic Studies Literary Arts Exploration Book Series Literary Confluence Daily Literary Creation and Objectivity Literary Works of Shi Tiesheng Literary Works of Yu Hua Literary Writings of Ba Jin Literary Writings of Chen Ran Literary Writings of Chi Li Literary Writings of Cong Weixi Literary Writings of Ge Fei Literary Writings of Hao Ran Literary Writings of Lin Bai Literary Writings of Liu Xinwu Literary Writings of Liu Zhenyun Literary Writings of Mao Dun Literary Writings of Su Tong

懒得离婚 沉重的翅膀 叶笛集 故园别 中国新文学史讲话 传说 天云山传奇 雷锋 让梦穿越你的心 大家来编写工厂史 让蒙面人说话 信使之函 羽书 欧行书简 春秋来信 李白与杜甫 李大海 李大钊 李慧娘 李顺大造屋 李瑛抒情诗选 李瑛诗选 李自成 诚实人的谎话 生命 生活无罪 苇塘纪事 放声歌唱 晨光集 长街灯语 如兄如弟 莉莉和琼 百合花 灵泉洞 残雾 文艺学习 文艺探索书系 文汇报 文艺创作与主观 史铁生作品集 余华作品集 巴金文集 陈染文集 池莉文集 从维熙文集 格非文集 浩然文集 林白文集 刘心武文集 刘震云文集 茅盾文集 苏童文集

titles of works cited Literary Writings of Wang Meng Literary Writings of Ye Shengtao Little Jin Village Poetry Selections Little Orange Lantern Little Rong and I Little Victory Little Ya Carries the Big Flag Liu Hulan Liu Lianying Liu Zhidan Living Among Heroes Living Beautifully Living Songs Living Spring Locust Tree Village Long Live Youth Long Lyric Poems by Shao Yanxiang Long Nights Longing for a Secular Life Longing for Dusk Longings No. 2 Looking Back at the Yellow Earth Looking for Han the Painter Looking West onto a Field of Cogongrass Looking West to Chang’an Loss of Anything Beyond Sex Loss of Strength Lost Boat Lost Years Lotus Lake Love and Song Love in a Dungeon Love in a Small Town Love in a Time of a Planned Economy Love in Beautiful Brocade Valley Love in Nineteen Thirty-Seven Love Must Not Be Forgotten Love on a Barren Mountain Love Poem of the Land Love Song of Turpan Love Songs Love Songs for History Lu Xun Struggling for Literary and Artistic Realism Lunar Eclipse Luqing River Told Me Lyric Poetry of Chang Yao Lyric Poetry of Shu Ting and Gu Cheng Lyrical Feelings at the Temple of Land and Grain Ma Lanhua Mad Dog Mansions of Love

591

王蒙文集 叶圣陶文集 小靳庄诗歌选 小桔灯 我和小荣 小胜儿 小丫扛大旗 刘胡兰 刘莲英 刘志丹 生活在英雄们中间 美丽地生活着 活的歌 活泉 槐树庄 青春万岁 邵燕祥抒情长诗集 长夜 思凡 怀念黄昏 怀念之二 回首黄土地 寻找画儿韩 西望茅草地 西望长安 性而上的迷失 虚症 迷舟 失去的岁月 荷花淀 爱与歌 土牢情话 小城之恋 计划经济时代的爱情 锦绣谷之恋 一九三七年的爱情 爱情，是不能忘记的 荒山之恋 土地情歌 吐鲁番情歌 艳歌 献给历史的情歌 为文学艺术的现实主义而斗争 的鲁迅 月食 芦青河告诉我 昌耀抒情诗集 舒婷顾城抒情诗选 社稷坛抒情 马兰花 疯狗 爱之厦

592

titles of works cited

Maqiao’s Dictionary Magic Magnificent and Free Folk Literature Magnificent Empty Words Magpies Perch on Branches Mailing Letters from Far Away Make Your Attitude Clear Making a Pledge to Peace Making the False True Man and Eternity Man and Poetry Manager Qiao Assumes Office Mang Ke Poetry Selections Manuscripts on Literature Mao Zedong on Literature and the Arts Maples March and Doomsday March Snow Marriage Marriage of Hezhen People Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin on Literature and the Arts Marxism and Literature and the Arts Master of the “Hopper Household” Master Worker Ge Masterpieces are produced in the Prime of Life Materials for Criticism of “Three Family Village” and “Evening Chats at Yanshan” Materials on the Hu Feng Counter-Revolutionary Clique Matters of the Heart Meditation Meeting Zhou Tai a Second Time Melting Into the Wilds Memorable Times Memorial Ceremony for a Red Horse Memorial Fire Paper Memorial for Myself Memorial Stele Memories Memories Left at the Seashore Memories of a Mountainous Region Memories of Clouds and Dreams Merciful Voyage Message Left in a Mulberry Field Metaphors of the World Methods of Studying the Literary Language Military Vehicles Advance through the Driving Rain Militiawomen on the Islands Millennium Bug Mini

马桥词典 魔幻 伟大而自由的民间文学 伟大的空话 喜鹊登枝 到远处去发信 表明态度 对和平宣誓 弄假成真 人与永恒 人与诗 乔厂长上任记 芒克诗选 文学论稿 毛泽东论文学和艺术 枫 三月与末日 三月雪 结婚 赫哲人的婚礼 马克思，恩格斯，列宁， 斯大林论文艺 马克思主义与文艺 “漏斗户”主 葛师傅 佳作产于盛年 关于〈三家村〉和〈燕山夜话〉 的批判材料 关于胡风反革命集团的材料 心事 冥想 二遇周泰 融入野地 峥嵘岁月 祭奠红马 火纸 自祭文 纪念碑 记忆 遗落在海滩上的记忆 山地回忆 云梦断忆 慈航 桑园留言 世界的隐喻 文言津逮 兵车在急雨中前进 海岛女民兵 世纪病 米尼

titles of works cited Miscellaneous Comments on the Short Story Miscellaneous Essays of Qin Mu Miscellaneous Memories and Miscellaneous writing—The Prose of Yang Jiang Miscellaneous Notes from Mustard Tip Residence Miscellaneous Notes from Pot Studio Miscellaneous Notes on Cowsheds Miscellaneous Notes on Reading Missing Xiao Shan Mistakes by the Riverside Misty Chongqing Modern Foreign Bourgeois Philosophy Materials Selections Modern Foreign Literary & Artistic Theory Translation Series Modernization and Ourselves Modernization and the Modernists Money for Arhats Monologue on Bringing Forth New Ideas Moon by the Side of the Road Moon on the Manuscript Moonlight at De’erwo Mooring at Qinhuai by Night Morals Invigorate the Nation More Notes about Shangzhou More on Sunning Oneself in Winter Morning Bells Reverberate at Dusk Morning in Shanghai Morning Lotus Morning on Mount Daba Mornings, I’m Picking Flowers in the Rain Mornings in Ximeng Moss and Flower Collection Most Precious Mother—Yangtse River Motive Force Motley Mount Azalea Mount Kawa Series Mountain Streams and Islands in the Sea Mountain Wilderness Mountains Call and Seas Roar Mountains Covered in Red Flowers Mountains of Red Rock Mountains of the Gods Mourning a Maple Tree Mourning the Writers and Artists who were Persecuted to Death and then Framed-Up by Lin Biao and the “Gang of Four” Moving Towards the Primeval—A Memoir of the Anti-Rightist Campaign Muddy

593

杂谈短篇小说 秦牧杂文 杂忆与杂写—杨绛散文

芥末居杂记 罐斋杂记 牛棚杂记 读书杂记 怀念萧珊 河边的错误 雾重庆 现代外国资产阶级哲学资料选辑 现代外国文艺理论译丛 现代化和我们自己 现代化与现代派 罗汉钱 创新独白 路边的月亮 稿纸上的月亮 德尔沃的月光 夜泊秦淮 节振国 商州又录 负暄续话 晨钟响彻黄昏 上海的早晨 晓荷 大巴山的早晨 早晨，我在雨里菜花 西盟的早晨 苔花集 最宝贵的 母亲—长江 原动力 杂色 杜鹃山 佧佤山组诗 山溪和海岛 山野 山呼海啸 红花满山 红石山 神山 悼念一棵枫树 为林彪，“四人帮” 迫害逝世和身 后遭受诬陷的作家，艺术家致哀

走向混沌—反右回忆录 泥泞

594

titles of works cited

Muntjak, Don’t Run Over Here Music Islands Musical Movement for a Hero Muslim Funeral Mutual Appraisals Mutual Discovery My Affairs in that World My Career as an Emperor My Family My Faraway Qingpingwan My Fields and Gardens My Final Beijing My First Superior My Heart, Only My Heart My Lovers My “On Ghosts that do no Harm” was Mistaken My Paper Holds My Fire My Pipal Tree My Self-Criticism My Spiritual Home My Teacher Myriad Rivers and Mountains Mystical Fists Naked Snow Nameless River Nan Guancao Native Earth Nature in the Heart Nawu Nectar and Bee Stingers New Account of Well-Known Tales New Drudgeries New Folk Songs have Opened Up a New Road for Poetry New Heroic Tales of Daughters and Sons New Literature Selections New Marriage on the Milky Way New Matters New Methods New Ideas and Rules New Opinions on Yu Dafu New People Literary Writings New People of the Cities New Poetry’s Current Situation and Prospects New Spring New Tale of the White Rabbit New Year’s Flower Market Ni City by the Sea Nie Ying Night Before the Dawn Night in a Goat Shed Night of the Sea God

麂子，不要朝这里奔跑 音乐岛 英雄的乐章 穆斯林的葬礼 互相鉴定 互相被发现 我在那个世界里的事情 我的帝王生涯 我的一家 我的遥远的清平湾 我的田园 我的最后的北京 我的第一个上级 我的心，只有我的心 我的情人们 我的〈有鬼无害论〉是错误的 我的纸里包着我的火 我的菩提树 我的自我批判 我的精神家园 我的老师 万水千山 神拳 裸雪 无名河 南冠草 热土 心中的大自然 那五 花蜜与蜂刺 世说新语 打杂新集 新民歌开拓了诗歌的新道路

新儿女英雄传 新文学选集 新天河配 新事新办 新意度集 郁达夫新论 新人文论 都市新人类 新诗的现状和前景 新春 新白兔记 年宵花市 蓝毗尼城 聂英？ 黎明前的夜色 羊舍一夕 海神的一夜

titles of works cited Nights of Wind and Snow Nine Odes on my Hometown Nineteen Thirty-Four Escapes Nirvana Niu Quande and Radishes No Matter Whether it’s Hot or Cold, Living is Good No Sailing Ships on the Western Sea No. 13 Happiness Avenue Nobody Sees the Grass Grow Nocturnal Reading Series Nocturne of a Farming Village Noon of the Whistling Northeast Wind Norlang North and South Northern Journey and Other Poems Not Frightening Not-Not-ism Poetry Methods Notebook of a Flutist Notes Concerning Problems of Human Nature Notes from Efforts at Serious Thought Notes on a Dangerous Building Notes on a Discussion about Principles Notes on a Song Poetry Selection Notes on a Vegetable Garden Notes on a Visit to Nanying Notes on Autumn in Yili Notes on Clear Mornings through a Window Notes on Daybreak Notes on Freeing Oneself Notes on Strange Matters from Idleness Studio Novellas of Shen Rong Nüwa O, A Forest O, Fragrant Snow Obituary of Yun Zhiqiu Ocean Spray Ode to a Decade Ode to being Carefree Ode to Dragon River Ode to Yimeng Of the Wild Goose Pagoda Officialdom Officials Old Bridges Old Floating Cloud Old Gentleman Yang Old Grandpa Water Buffalo Old People’s Storehouse Old Quotas Old Well

风雪之夜 故园九咏 一九三四年的逃亡 涅盘 牛全德与红萝卜 冷也好热也好活着就好 西海无帆船 幸福大街十三号 没有人看见草生长 夜读文丛 农村夜曲 西北风呼啸的中午 诺日朗 北国江南 北游及其他 不惊人集 非非主义诗歌方法 吹笛人手记 关于人性问题的笔记 力求严肃认真思考的札记 危楼记事 务虚笔记 宋诗选注 菜园小记 南颖访问记 伊犁秋天札记 晴窗晨笔 平明小札 翻身记事 聊斋志异 谌容中篇小说集 女娲 哦，大森林 哦，香雪 云致秋行状 浪花 十年颂歌 逍遥颂 龙江颂 沂蒙颂 有关大雁塔 官场 官人 老桥 苍老的浮云 杨老太爷 老水牛爷爷 老人仓 老定额 老井

595

596

titles of works cited

On a Covered Truck On a Path on the North Side of a Mountain On a Revolution in Beijing Opera On a River Without Navigation Markers On a Spinning Machine On an Abundance of Cherry Blossoms On “Ghosts that do no Harm” On Human Feeling On Human Feeling and Human Nature On Intellectual Analytical Methodology On “Literature is the Study of Humanity” On Moving Along with Life On National Forms On Old Lady Nine Catties On Realism and its Development in the Socialist Age On Realism in a Socialist Age On Roman Rolland On Taking Tea at Hui Springs On Ten Fiction Writers On the Awakened Earth On the Composition of Disposition On the Crest of a Wave On the Current Form of Paper Tigers On the Docks On the Dual Combination Principle of the Disposition of Characters On the Eyes On the Issue of Models in Literature and the Arts On the Issue of the Correct Reflection of Contradictions Among the People On the Literary Movement of the Democratic Revolution On the Literature and Arts Movement in the Democratic Revolution On the Mistaken Tendencies of “Bitter Love” On the Modernization of New Poetry On the New Literature of “May Fourth” On the Path of Realism On the Same Horizon On the Straits On the Straits of Chile On the Subjective On the Threshing Floor On the Trend of Revisionist Thought in Literature One-Act Play Selection One and Eight One Person’s War One Side of the Camp One Sings and Three Join In Open Country of Flowers

大篷车上 在山阴道上 谈京剧革命 在没有航标的河流上 记一辆纺车 樱花漫记 “有鬼无害” 论 论人情 论人情和人性 论知性的分析方法 论 “文学是人学” 顺生论 论民族形式 九斤老太论 论现实主义及其在社会主义时 代的发展 论社会主义时代的现实主义 论罗曼 • 罗兰 慧泉吃茶记 论小说十家 在醒来的土地上 性格组合论 在浪尖上 纸老虎现形记 海港 论人物性格的二重组合原理 关于眼睛 关于文学艺术的典型问题 关于正确反映人民内部矛盾问题 论民主革命的文艺运动 论民主革命的文艺运动 论〈苦恋〉的错误倾向 论新诗现代化 论 “五四” 新文学 论现实主义的路 在同一地平线上 海峡上 在智利的海峡上 论主观 禾场上 论文学上的修正主义思潮 独幕剧选 一个和八个 一个人的战争 半边营 一唱三叹 花的原野

titles of works cited Opening the Canal Opinions about certain Problems in Current Literature and Arts Work Opinions on the Contemporary Literature and Arts Movement Orange Mist Ordering a Golden Sedan Chair under Mount Cang Ordinary Folk Ordinary Laborers Original Sin Original Sin—Fate Our Army Commander Our Generation of Young People Our Power is Invincible Outline of the Development from Classical Realism to Socialist Realism in Chinese Literature Over by the Brook Over by the Poetry Overture Overture to the Eastern Advance Oxen, Fields, and Sea Pa Pa Pa Paean to Light Pages from a Factory Secretary’s Diary Painful Thoughts Pan Yongfu the Solid Worker Paper Flowers on the Post Road Paper Tiger Book Series Parables of September Paradise of Women Party Fees Party Membership Registration Forms Passage of Time Passages on Norman Bethune Passing the Holiday and Viewing Lanterns Past Affairs in India Pasternak Pastorals of Mount Tianshan Paulownia and Cypress Heroes Pavilion on a Stormy Day Paving the Way over the Ocean Peaceful Village Peacock Gall Peacocks Peking Man People Advancing in the Dawn Light People Dear to You People Make Appointments for After Sunset People or Monsters?

597

开渠 关于当前文学艺术工作若干问题 的意见 对于当前文艺运动的意见 橘红色的雾 点苍山下金花轿

苍生 普通劳动者 原罪 原罪—宿命 我们的军长 我们这一代年轻人 我们的力量是无敌的 中国文学中从古典现实主义到社 会主义现实主义的发展的一 个轮廓 在小河那边 在诗歌那边 序曲 东进序曲 牛田洋 爸爸爸 光的赞歌 一个工厂秘书的日记 思痛录 实干家潘永福 驿路折花 布老虎丛书 九月寓言 妇女乐园 党费 党员登记表 流逝 诺尔曼 • 白求恩片断 过节和观灯 天竺旧事 帕斯捷尔纳克 天山牧歌 桐柏英雄 风雨天一阁 大海铺路 静安庄 孔雀胆 孔雀 北京人 踏着晨光前进的人们 亲人 人约黄昏后 人妖之间

598

titles of works cited

People Today Book Talk Series People Who Climb on the Flagpole People Who Dare to Think and Dare to Act Performance Performance of a Breakthrough Personal Essays on Literature and the Arts Personality · Self · Creation Petrels Philosophy of Existentialism Phoenix Book Series Phoenix Literary Storehouse “Phoenix” New Criticism Series Piccolos at Sunrise Pictographs Piercing Cold Wind Pine Ridge Pioneering Work Pisces—An Old Story of One Woman and Three Men Plain Songs in the Dark Night Plain Speech Plants Plato in a Snowscape Playing at Making the Heart Race Please Raise Forests of Hands, and Stop It Plotting Murder Plum Blossom in a Gold Vase Poems of Divine Inspiration Poet of Fairytales Poetry and Heritage Poetry and Reality Poetry Appreciation Poetry Collection 1942–1947 Poetry Garden Forest of Translations Poetry Gifted by October: Poem Poetry of Color Poetry of Hu Feng Poetry of Liu Shahe Poetry of Man Poetry on Field Operations Poetry Selection Poison Post-Editing Potentiality Potted Landscapes Power and Grandeur Practice is the Sole Criterion in Testing Truth Prairie Fires and Spring Winds Battle the Ancient City Prairies Prayer

今人书话系列 爬在旗杆上的人 敢想敢干的人 演出 突围表演 文艺随笔 个性 • 自我 • 创造 海燕 存在主义哲学 火凤凰丛书 火凤凰文库 “火凤凰” 新批评文丛 早霞短笛 象形文字 风凛冽 青松岭 创业 双鱼星座—一个女人和三个男人 的古老故事 黑夜里的素歌 白话 草木篇 雪景中的柏拉图 玩的就是心跳 请举起森林般的手，制止！ 预谋杀人 金瓶梅 神示的诗篇 童话诗人 诗与遗产 诗与现实 诗歌欣赏 诗集 1942–1947 诗苑译林 十月的献诗：诗 彩色的诗 胡风的诗 流沙河诗集 人之诗 野战诗集 诗选 毒药 编后 潜力 盆景 气壮山河 实践是检验真理的惟一标准 野火春风斗古城 平原 祈求

titles of works cited Prayers Précis of the Speeches of Huang Nansen and Others at the Academic Report Conference on the Hundredth Anniversary of the Death of Marx Predicting an Excellent Spring Preface Preface to the Republication of The Quotations of Chairman Mao Premeditated Murder Primeval Forest Princess Wencheng Prison Poems Private Life Professional Promoting the Blooming of a Hundred Flowers in the Short-Story Prose and Feature Writing Selection Prose Essay Selections Prose Poem for the Camellia Prose & Feature Reports Selections Psychedelic Garden Public Love Letters Purple Footpaths Red Dust Purple Silk Clothes Deep in a Wooden Trunk Pursuer of Beauty Push it Down Push into West Henan Qiao Longbiao Qu Yuan Questions of Bamboo Questions of Culture Raging Flames and Adamantine Warriors Raging Flames and Red Hearts Raid on the White Tiger Regiment Rain Rain and Snow Rain of Apricot Blossoms Rainy Season Sensations Random Notes from the Three Family Village Random Notes on Yangzhou Rapid Milling Rare Birds Reading Zheng Min’s sequence “Death of a Poet” Realism or Formulism? Realism—The Broad Road Rebuilding the Ivory Tower Rebuilding Utopia Recent Works of Zhang Xianliang Recollections of Mr. Wu You Recommending Writing Short Stories

599

祈求 黄楠森等在纪念马克思逝世一 百周年学术报告会上的发言摘要 卜春秀 序 毛主席语录 再版前言 谋杀 大林莽 文成公主 狱中诗草 私人生活 职业 促进短篇小说的百花齐放

散文特写选 散文小品选 茶花赋 散文特写选 迷幻花园 公开的情书 紫陌红尘 木箱深处的紫绸花服 美的寻求者 挤垮它 挺进豫西 桥隆飙 屈原 竹问 文化猎疑 烈火金刚 烈火红心 奇袭白虎团 雨 雨雪集 杏花雨 雨季的感觉 三家村札记 广陵散 飞磨 稀世之鸟 读郑敏的组诗 “诗人之死” 现实主义，还是公式主义？ 现实主义—广阔的道路 重建象牙塔 重建乌托邦 张贤亮近作 追忆乌攸先生 提倡写短篇

600

titles of works cited

Record of a Bumper Crop Record of Four Journeys Record of Gathering Grain in West Germany Record of Planting Grain Record of Plowing Clouds Records of a Shrine Record of the Sowing of Fire Records of Actual Events and Fabrications— One Way to Create a World Record of Thoughts in the Search for the Spirit of the Humanities Rectifying the Name of Literature and the Arts—Refuting the Theory of “Literature and the Arts are Tools of Class Struggle” Red Agate Red Agate Collection Red Beans Red Courtyard Red Crag Red Crag · Luo Guangbin · Sino-American Cooperative Prison Red Hardwood Clappers Red Leaves on Xiangshan Hills Red Lights on Tian’anmen Red Magnolias beneath the Walls Red Mushrooms Red Poppies Red Rooves Red Sailboat Red Sandalwood Balls Red Shirts Without Buttons Red Sister-in-Law Red Sorghum Red Storm Red Sun Red Willows Reed Catkins Marsh Registration Rely on the Helmsman during the Ocean Voyage Remaining Doubts on “About Fei Ming” Remembering a Pretty Woman from Qin Remembering those Years, Going Over Trifles is not a Pointless Exercise! Remembering Xiangyang Reminiscences and Recollections Reminiscences of Jinsha River Render New Services to the People Report by the Central Propaganda Ministry about the Rectification Situation in the National Literature Federation and all its Associations

丰产记 四游记 西德拾穗禄 种谷记 耕云记 神龛记 播火记 纪实与虚构—创造世界方法之 一种 人文精神寻思录 为文艺正名—驳 “文艺是阶级斗争 的工具” 说 红玛瑙 红玛瑙集 红豆 红大院 红岩 红岩 • 罗广斌 • 中美合作所 红檀板 香山红叶 天安门上的红灯 大墙下的红玉兰 红蘑菇 红罂粟 红屋顶 红帆船 紫檀木球 没有纽扣的红衬衫 红嫂 红高粱 红色风暴 红日 红柳集 芦花荡 登记 大海航行靠舵手 “废名论” 存疑 忆秦娥 忆当年，穿着细事且莫等闲看！ 忆向阳 怀念与追忆 金沙河的怀念 为人民立新功 中央宣传部惯于全国文联和所 属各协会整风情况报告

titles of works cited Representative Works of Deng Youmei Representative Works of Gao Xiaosheng Representative Works of Zhang Chengzhi Reprinting a Trip to the Cavern of the Immortals Reputations Requiem Rereading the Bible Resolution of the Northeast Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Issue of Xiao Jun Resolution on the Literature & Arts Paper Return at Night Return Home Return to Yan’an Returning Home Reunion Revenge Reviews of Lu Ling’s Short Fiction Revolutionary Family Rewriting Literary History Rhymes of Li Youcai Rice Ride the Winds Break the Waves Rights of Love Ritual of the Soul River of Baptism River of Death River of Iron Riverbank at Dawn Rivers and Mountains of the High Plateau of the Pamirs Rivers of the North Road of Brambles and Thorns Roads of Lusha Romance of a Generation Romance of a Little Town Romance of Heroes of the Lü and Liang States Romance of the Three Kingdoms Romantic Autumn Nights Rope Rosy Clouds at Sea Rosy Dawn Rupture Sacred Post Sacred Sacrificial Altar Sacrifice Sad Thoughts of January Sai Jinhua Sails in the Wind Salute: 38 Poems Sanguan Arranges a Banquet Sanliwan

601

邓友梅代表作 高晓声代表作 张承志代表作 记重印游仙窟 芳名 安灵曲 重读圣经 中共中央东北局关于萧军问题 的决议 关于文艺报 的决议 夜归 归家 回延安 重返家园 重逢 复仇 评路翎的短篇小说 革命家庭 重写文学史 李有才板话 米 乘风破浪 爱的权利 礼魂 施洗的河 死河 铁水奔流 黎明的河边 帕米尔高原的流脉 北方的河 荆棘路 露沙的路 一代风流 小镇上的罗曼史 吕梁英雄传 三国演义 浪漫的秋夜 绳子 海霞 朝霞 决裂 神圣的岗位 神圣祭坛 献身 一月的哀思 赛金花 风帆 行礼：诗 38 首 三关排宴 三里湾

602

titles of works cited

Saying Goodbye to the 1970s with a Smile Scanning the Life of Man Scenery at Daybreak Scorpion Scraps of Paper Sea Battle of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Season For Love Season to Forget Oneself Second Spring Second Thoughts Secret Convergence Secret of the Precious Calabash Secret Times in Tibet Secrets of Crown Prince Village Seed of the Dragon Seedlings of Stone City Seeking Seems Like the First Swallow of Spring Seen and Heard at Mangshi Seething Mountain Ranges Selected Impressions of Lu Liang by His Peers Selected Lyric Poetry of Niu Han Selected Poetry & Essays of Feng Zhi Selected Poetry of Guo Xiaochuan Selected Writings of Hou Jinjing on Literature and the Arts Selections from Capitalist Philosophy Materials Selections of Ancient Indian Poetry Selections of Modern Anglo-American Literary and Artistic Theory Selections of Short Stories by Liu Xinwu Selections of the Fiction of Cong Weixi Selections of the Humorous Fiction of Shen Rong Selections of the Novellas of Cong Weixi Selections of Writings on the Theory of Ancient Indian Literature and the Arts Selections from Modern Foreign Capitalist Philosophical Materials Selections from Modern Western Capitalist Philosophical Works Selections from Soviet Philosophy Materials Selections of Literary Work over the Ten Years since the Establishment of the State·Prose Feature Reports Selections of Poetry by Bei Dao Selections of Speeches by Jiang Qing Self Self-Explanation of the Art Self-Selected Literary Works of Zhang Wei

含笑向 70 年代告别 人生扫描 黎明风景 蝎子 纸片儿 甲午海战 恋爱的季节 失态的季节 第二个春天 再思录 隐秘的汇合 宝葫芦的秘密 西藏隐秘岁月 太子村的秘密 龙种 石城的青苗 寻觅集 好似春燕第一枝 芒市见闻 沸腾的群山 鲁亮侪摘印 牛汉抒情诗选 冯之诗文选集 郭小川诗选 侯金镜文艺评论选集 资产阶级哲学资料选辑 印度古诗选 现代英美资产阶级文艺理论文选 刘心武短篇小说集 从维熙小说选 谌容幽默小说选 从维熙中篇小说选 古代印度文艺理论文选 现代外国资产阶级哲学资料选辑 现代西方资产阶级哲学论著选集 苏联哲学资料选辑 建国十年文学创作选 • 散文特写 北岛诗选 江青讲话编选 自己 艺术自释 张伟作品自选集

titles of works cited Self-Selected Works of Deng Youmei Self-Selected Works of Han Shaogong Self-Selected Works of Jia Pingwa Self-Selected Works of Liu Heng Self-Selected Works of Wang Anyi Self-Selected Works of Wang Zengqi Self-Selected Works of Zhang Wei Self-Selected Writings of Zhang Xianliang Selling Tobacco Leaves “Sent Down and On the Spot” Sentry Beneath Neon Lights Seven Matches Shadowing People Shajiabang Shaking Off Shadows Shame Shanghai is Deep in Thought Shangzhou Shangzhou series Shards of Civilization Shared Weal and Woe Shen Congwen’s Letters Home Shi Bulan Drives On the Cart Shock Brigade of Youth Shoes that have been to Athens Shooting Stars Shores of the Pearl River “Short” and “Deep” Short Papers Short Songs from the Borderlands Short Stories by Deng Youmei Short Stories of Wang Zengqi Short-Story Selection Shouting and Drizzle Shouting in the Drizzle Show Us the Fur on Your Tongue or Nothingness Silence Silent Majority Silhouette of a Dynasty Silhouettes of a Journey to the West Silver Age Singing of Beijing Single-Edged Eyelids Sino-American Cooperative Prison Sisters Sisters on the Stage Six Chapters from a Cadre School Six Chapters of My Floating Life Six Love Poems Six O’ clock in the Morning

邓友梅自选集 韩少功自选集 贾平凹自选集 刘恒自选集 王安忆自选集 汪曾祺自选集 张伟自选集 张贤亮自选集 卖烟叶 “放下即实地” 霓虹灯下的哨兵 七根火柴 盯梢 沙家浜 去影 惭愧 上海在沉思中 商州 商州系列 文明的碎片 同甘共苦 从文家书 石不烂赶车 青年突击队 去雅典的鞋子 流星 珠江岸边 “短” 和 “深” 矮纸集 遍地短歌 邓友梅短篇小说选 汪曾祺短篇小说选 短篇小说选 呼喊与细雨 在细雨中呼喊 亮出你的舌苔或空空荡荡 沉默 沉默的大多数 一个王朝的背影 西行剪影 白银时代 歌唱北京城 单眼皮 中美合作所 姊妹们 舞台姐妹 干校六记 浮生六记 情诗六首 早晨六点钟

603

604

titles of works cited

Sixty Years of Change Sketches of London Sky Small Collection of New People New Work Small Town General Smile Smoke Snatching the Seal Snow Snow and Mountain Valleys Snow City Snow Falls Silently on the Yellow River Snow Lilies Snowy Graveyard Snowy Spindrift Snuff Bottles Soap Suds on Sewage Socialist-Realism Exists and Develops Soldiers and the Land of Our Ancestors Solomon’s Bottle Some of My Opinions About Current Issues in Literature and the Arts Somebody of Special Character Song in Praise of Snow Song of a Blizzard Song of Eternal Regret Song of Idealism Song of Lei Feng Song of Life Song of Oil Song of Ouyang Hai Song of Pines Song of the Dragon River Song of the Forest Song of the Gardeners Song of the General Song of the Great Wind Song of the Mountains and Rivers of Guilin Song of the Sichuan Boatmen Song of Wisdom Songs in Praise of the Cultural Revolution Songs of an Old Sailor Songs of Heavenly Shoots of Garlic Songs of Life Songs of Return Songs of War Castigating Lin Biao and Confucius Songs of Yesterday Sonnet Collection Sons and Daughters of the Xisha Islands— The Lofty Ideals Piece

六十年的变迁 伦敦随笔 天空 新人新作小辑 小镇上的将军 笑 烟 夺印 雪 雪与山谷 雪城 雪落黄河静无声 雪莲 白雪的墓园 雪浪花 烟壶 污水上的肥皂泡 社会主义现实主义存在着， 发展着 战士和祖国 所罗门的瓶子 我对当前文艺问题的一些意见 特殊性格的人 白雪的赞歌 大风雪歌 长恨歌 理想之歌 雷锋之歌 生活之歌 石油歌 欧阳海之歌 青松歌 龙江颂 森林之歌 园丁之歌 将军吟 大风歌 桂林山水歌 川江号子 智慧之歌 文化革命颂 老水手的歌 天堂蒜苔之歌 生活的歌 归来的歌 批林批孔战歌 昨日之歌 十四行集 西沙儿女—奇志篇

titles of works cited Sons and Daughters of the Xisha Islands— The Moral Courage Piece Sorghum Funeral Procession Sorghum Wine Souls Tied to the Black Earth Sour Grapes South China Tiger Southern Boats Northern Horses Soviet Critics and Writers on Artistic Innovation and “Self-Expression” Sparkling Red Stars Sparks Amid the Reeds Speak, Rooms Speaking Your Heart as You Please Special Audience Special Cure for “Amnesia” Speech at the Literature & Arts Workers Forum and at the Movie Writing Conference Speech at the National Drama, Opera, & Children’s Theater Writing Forum Splendor After Calamity—The Rise from Hardship of Educated Youths, Old Three Classes, and the Third Generation of the Republic Spring Spring and Autumn in a Small Town Spring Comes to the Withered Tree Spring Comes to the Yalu River Spring Flowers Autumn Fruits Spring Forever Spring in the Wintertime Spring of Life Spring Seedlings Spring Winds Blow on Nuomin River Springtime in Winter Stage Effects Stagnant Water Standing Watch Over Hollow Years Starlight on Hands Starting from Here Starve the Poets to Death Stele to Rong’e Stern Love Still the Age of the Miscellaneous Essay Storm on the Congo Stories of Heroes Stories of Jujube Trees Stories of My Own Stories of Zhu Guihua Story: Father and Son the Outsiders Story of a Broadsword

605

西沙儿女—正气篇 高粱殡 高粱酒 魂系黑土地 酸葡萄集 华南虎 南船北马 苏联一些批评家，作家论艺术革 新与 “自我表现” 闪闪的红星 芦荡火种 说吧，房间 称心如意 特别观众 专治 “健忘症” 在文艺工作者座谈会和故事片创 作会议上的讲话 在全国话剧，歌剧，儿童剧创作 座谈会上的讲话 劫后辉煌—在艰难中崛起的 知青，老三届，共和国第三代人 春 小城春秋 枯木逢春 春天来到鸭绿江 春华秋实 永远是春天 冬天里的春天 生命泉 春苗 春风吹到诺敏河 冬天里的春天 舞台效果 死水 守望空心岁月 手上的星光 从这里开始 饿死诗人 戎萼碑 严厉的爱 还是杂文的时代 刚果风雷 英雄的故事 枣树的故事 自己的故事 朱桂花的故事 故事：外乡人父子 大刀记

606

titles of works cited

Story of a Jujube Tree Story of Food Story of Hidden Guns Story of Luo Wenying Story of the Criminal, Li Tongzhong Stories and Telling Stories Stories of Yimeng Stories of Yimeng Mountain Strange Seashores Strange Tales from Strange Lands Stranger in the Countryside Stray Fragments Strings of Life Stronghold Structural Change: A Record of the Revelations of Contemporary Art Struggle of the Soul Stubborn Porridge Studies into Yang Yueyue and Sartre Study Series Studying Luo Zhongli’s Oil Painting “Father” Studying ‹Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art› From the Beginning Again Subduing Dragons and Taming Tigers Subduing Monsters Summary of Minutes Summer Summer 1991, Notes from Talks Sun comes into the World Sun in the Morning Sun on the Sangna Highlands Sun, Everyday is New Sunday Sung for the Hun River Sunlight in the Lips Sunlight, Nobody can Monopolize It Sunrise Sunset the Color of Blood Supply Center Near the Square Suppositions about Goethe and Bach Sweet Taps Swords Symphonic Poem on Baiyun Ebo Symphony of Pots, Bowls, Ladles, and Basins Taboo on Love Tail Lights Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy Tale of Catching the Train Tale of Li Shuangshuang Tale of Liu Hulan

枣树的故事 粮食的故事 藏枪记 罗文应的故事 犯人李铜钟的故事 故事与讲故事 沂蒙故事集 沂蒙山的故事 陌生的海滩 异乡异闻 乡下奇人 断简残篇 命若琴弦 堡垒 变构：当代艺术启示录 灵魂的搏斗 坚硬的稀粥 杨月月与萨特之研究 读书文丛 读罗中立的油画 “父亲” 从头学习〈在延安文艺座谈会上 的讲话〉 降龙伏虎 平妖传 纪要 夏 1991 年夏天，谈话记录 太阳出世 早晨的太阳 桑那高地的太阳 太阳，每天都是新的 礼拜日 唱给浑河 嘴唇里的阳光 阳光，谁也不能垄断 日出 血色黄昏 广场附近的供应点 歌德巴赫猜想 甜蜜的拍打 剑 白云鄂博交响诗 锅碗瓢盆交响曲 情戒 尾灯 智取威虎山 赶车传 李双双小传 刘胡兰传

titles of works cited Tale of Meng Jiang Tale of Rubbing the Mirror Tale of Shrimp Balls Tale of Yang Gao Tales of Baiyang Marshes Talking of Poetry Across the Sea Talks Tall Aspens Tao Yuanming Writes “An Elegy” Teahouse Tears of Tawny Daylilies Temptation Ten Lyric Poems Ten Mile Inn Ten Thousand Mountains All Red Ten Year Poetry Chapbook Ten Years Deducted Ten Years of Revolution in Beijing Opera Tend Our Roots Testament Thank Father Thanks to Life That Time Once Was The 1969 Class of Junior High School Students The Age The Ancient Boat The Ancient Castle The Anger of Autumn The Annotated ‘Weeds’ of Lu Xun The Answer The Anti-Marxist Literature and the Arts Thought of Hu Feng The Anti-Socialist Programme of Hu Feng The April 3 Incident The Area North of the City The Ark The Art of Fiction and Poetry The Attentive Listening and Conversation of People in Chairs The Attraction of the Ganges The Bad Eggs are Ripe The Big Parade The Bitch The Black Family The Black Line in the North The Bridge The Bright Clean Part The Brink The Bull The Bullets Went Through Apples The Carved Pipe

607

孟姜女 磨镜记 虾球传 杨高传 白洋淀纪事 隔海谈诗 讲话 高高的白杨树 陶渊明写 “挽歌” 茶馆 萱草的眼泪 诱惑 抒情诗十首 十里店 万山红遍 十年诗抄 减去十年 京剧革命十年 理一理我们的根 遗嘱 感谢父亲 感谢生活 曾经有过那种时候 69 届初中生 时代 古船 古堡 秋天的愤怒 鲁迅〈野草〉注解 回答 胡风的反马克思主义的文艺思想 反社会主义的胡风纲领 四月三日事件 城北地带 方舟 小说与诗的艺术 椅中人的倾听与交谈 冈底斯的诱惑 混蛋已经成熟 大阅兵 母狗 黑氏 北黑线 桥 明净的部分 边缘 公牛 子弹穿过苹果 雕花烟斗

608

titles of works cited

The Case of Chen Feng and Wang Geng The Chain of Art The Charms of Xiamen The Checkered Coat of a Clown The Chief Trends of Ten Years of Literature The Child from the Forest The Chinese Department The Chirping of Swallows The Choice of Literature The Coffeehouse The Coliseum of Ancient Rome The Collected Titles of Mu Dan’s Writings and Translations The Crescent Moon The Cuckoo Cries Again The Dead The Death of Brodsky The Deep Lake The Degeneration of Ma Duan The Detachment of Women The Dossier of 0 The Drum Tower The East The Eastern Wind Hastens On the Waves of the Yellow River The End and Birth The Evening Glow Falls on the Open Country The Fall of Nanjing The Family The “Fears” and “Loves” of this Generation The Feather Boa The Final Act The Final Mirage The Fire of Stars Sets the Prairie Ablaze The First Class The First Day The First Half of My Life The First Month The Flower of Girls The Fluttering Red Flag The Flyover The Forked Road of Literary Criticism The Four Signboard Building The Front Moves South The Gall and the Sword The General Office Manager The Girl Wan The Gist’s Like This The Glass Factory The Globe’s Red Ribbon The Goblin of a Meditative Old Tree

陈锋和王耿的案件 艺术链 厦门风姿 小丑的花格外衣 十年文学主潮 从森林里来的孩子 中文系 麻雀啁啾 文学的选择 咖啡馆 古罗马的大斗技场 穆旦著译集目 月牙儿 布谷鸟又叫了 逝者 布罗茨基之死 深的湖 马端的堕落 红色娘子军 0 档案 钟鼓楼 东方 东风催动黄河浪

结束与诞生 田野落霞 南京的陷落 家 这一代人的 “怕” 与 “爱” 羽蛇 最后一幕 最后的幻象 星火燎原 第一课 第一天 我的前半生 正月 女孩子的花 红旗飘飘 立体交叉桥 文艺批评的歧路 四牌楼 战线南移 胆剑篇 办公厅主任 万妞 大意如此 玻璃工厂 地球的红飘带 沉思的老树的精灵

titles of works cited The Golden Bell Rings Forever The Golden Pastureland The Golden Road The Golden Storehouse of Exploratory Poetry The Good Wife and Comrade Li The Gourmet The Great Buddha The Great Sea The Great Turn The Great Wall The Great Wall of the South Sea The Green River Flows on Forever The Grieving Pacific The Han River in Fog The Heavenly Hound The History of Hong Nan at War The Homecoming Stranger The Hunter The Immortal Wang Xiaohe The Immortals Bearing Dew Tray The Importance of Prose The Information Girl The Journey The Kaleidoscope of Wangfujing The King of Chess The King of Children The King of Trees The Kingly Way and the Way of Tyrants The Land The Land of Our Ancestors is Advancing The Last Fisherman The Leaves in the Fragrant Hills are Red The Lin Family Shop The Literary Language and the Vernacular The Loner The Love Story of a Young Monk The Magnificent Spectacle of China’s Revolutionary History—On the Success and Significance of Revolutionary Model Operas The Man with Moveable Parts The Marriage of Young Blacky The Master Craftsman The Minnow Trilogy The Miraculous Pigtail The Moment of Return The Most Forte Note of Peace The Naming of a Crow The Nation Above All The Nine Leaves Collection The Noble Pine The Northern Frontier Red Like Fire

609

金钟长鸣 金牧场 金光大道 诗探索金库 好婆与李同志 美食家 大佛 大海 伟大的转折 长城 南海长城 绿水长流 伤心太平洋 雾中汉水 天狗 虹南作战史 归来的陌生人 猎人 不死的王孝和 仙人承露盘 散文重要 报信姑娘 征途 王府井万花筒 棋王 孩子王 树王 王道和霸道 土地 祖国在前进 最后一个渔佬儿 香山叶正红 林家铺子 文言与白话 孤独者 受戒 中国革命历史的壮丽画卷— 谈革命样板戏的成就和意义

活动变人形 小二黑结婚 巨匠 鱼儿三部曲 神鞭 归来的时刻 和平的最强音 对一只乌鸦的命名 国家至上 九叶集 高洁的青松 北疆红似火

610

titles of works cited

The Obsessed The Old Cooperative Member The Operators The Order of Night The Organization of the Party and the Party’s Literature The Organization of the Party and the Party’s Publications The Original Foundations of Axi The Oriole The Orthodox and the Heterodox The Overgrown Road of Heroes The Path Thorough the Grassland The Peach Blossom Fan The Pen of Kuang Zhong The People Awakened The People Forever The People on the Other Side of the Hill The Person Who Loved Me Most in the World is Gone The Phoenix Perch Building The Place of Love The Poet and Death The Poetic Nature of Death The Pole Star The Position of the Communist Party of China in the National War The Powdered Old Lady Laughs The Pregnant Woman and the Cow The Project of Artistic Creation The Promise of Beauty The Property of an Egg The Prophecy The Prose of Qiuyu The Puppy Baodi The Quiet Maternity Hospital The Red Body Guards of Hong Lake The Red Sorghum Clan The Return The Revolutionary Mother Xia Niangniang The Road of Life The Romantic School in Germany The Realist Road or the Anti-Realist Road? The Red Lantern The Reef The Results and Trends of Work in Literature and the Arts Over the Past Eight Years The Return The Reunion of Liu Qiao The Road of Lu Xun’s Ideological Development

伏羲伏羲 老社员 顽主 夜晚的秩序 党的组织与党的文学 党的组织与党的出版物 阿细的先基 黄鸟 正统的与异端的 荒芜英雄路 草原上的小路 桃花扇 况钟的笔 觉醒的人们 人民万岁 山那面人家 世界上最疼我的那个人去了

栖凤楼 爱情的位置 诗人与死 死亡的诗意 北极星 中国共产党在民族战争中的地位 擦粉的老太婆笑了 孕妇与牛 艺术创造工程 黛诺 一个鸡蛋的家当 预言 秋雨散文 小狗包弟 静静的产院 洪湖赤卫队 红高粱家族 归来 革命母亲夏娘娘 生活的路 德国的浪漫派 现实主义的路，还是反现实主 义的路 红灯记 礁石 八年来文艺工作的成果及倾向 归来 刘巧团圆 鲁迅思想发展的道路

titles of works cited The Road Travelled The Rock on which Drunkards Sober Up The Rose Gate The Roving Precipice The Sacred Land The Scar “The Scar” also Touches a Scar in the Creation of Literature and the Arts The School of Fish Trilogy The Sea Trilogy The Second Handshake The Secrets of Girls The Secrets of Walnuts The Selected Works of Mayakovsky The Shackles are Soft The Shi Zhi & Hei Dachun Joint-Collection of Modern Lyrics The Shi Zhi Volume The Ship’s Captain The Shore in the South The Short Grass is Singing The Silent Precipice The Sky The Song of Beautiful Plants and Flowers The Song of Cicadas The Song of Jin Xunhua The Song of the Fragrance of Flowers and Grass The Song of Youth The Sound of Screens The Sound of Song The Sound of Waves The Speeding Goddess of Beauty The Spirit of Bamboo Slips The Spiritual Travels of an Idealist The Stage of Human Life The Starving Guo Su’e The Story Before Ironwood The Story of Old Man Xing and a Dog The Story of the Famous Doctor Liang Youzhi The Story of the Western Chamber The Story of Wu Xun The Story of Xu Sanguan Selling Blood The Story of Yue Fei The Style of a Man The Summary of Minutes of the Military Literature & Arts Work Conference The Summary of Minutes of the Military Literature & Arts Work Conference called by Comrade Jiang Qing at the behest of Comrade Lin Biao The Sun

611

里程 醉醒石 玫瑰门 游动悬崖 圣地 伤痕 伤痕〉也触动了文艺创作的 〈伤痕 鱼群三部曲 海洋三部曲 第二次握手 姑娘的秘密 核桃的秘密 马牙科夫斯基选集 锁链，是柔软的 食指，黑大春现代抒情诗合集 食指卷 船长 南方的岸 小草在歌唱 沉默的悬崖 天空 英华之歌 蝉的歌 金训华之歌 芳菲之歌 青春之歌 屏风的声音 歌声 涛声集 奔驰的美神 竹简精神 一个理想主义者的精神漫游 人生舞台 饥饿的郭素娥 铁木前传 邢老汉和狗的故事 名医梁有志传 西厢记 武训传 许三观卖血记 说岳 男人的风格 部队文艺工作座谈会纪要 林彪同志委托江青同志召开的 部队文艺工作座谈会纪要 太阳

612

titles of works cited

The Sun and His Reflection The Sun’s just come Over the Mountain The Sun Rises in Asia The Sun Shines over the Sanggan River The Suspended Coffin The Sweetness of Lychees The Swift Spring Tide The Temple of Earth and I The Ten Thousand Mile Map of the Great Wall The Ten Years of One Hundred People The Tenth Bullet Hole The Terminus of this Train The Test The Tiger Tally The Times of Mao Zedong’s Youth The Toasting Song The Torrent Bravely Advances The Unit The Visitor The Wallet The Waves The Western Chamber The White-Haired Girl The White Snake The Whole Family The Wild Man The Will and Spirit of Students The Wisdom of Cedars The World of Fiction Writers The Wriggling Roof The Yangtse Still Rolls On The Yellow River Flows East The Yellow-Haired Baby The Young Generation The Young Newcomer in the Organization Department Their World—Perspectives on Male Homosexuals in China Theory of Cherishing the Workforce There is a Snowstorm Tonight There’s a Small Town There’s Gold Here There’s Happiness and there’s Worry There’s No Winter There’s Only One Sun—A Dream About Romance Thirteen Chapters of Running Water Thirty Minutes in the Morning This is also All This is Beijing at 4:08

太阳和他的反光 太阳刚刚出山 亚洲日出 太阳照在桑干河上 悬棺 荔枝蜜 春潮急 我与地坛 长城万里图 一百个人的十年 第十个弹孔 本次列车终点 考验 虎符 毛泽东的青少年时代 祝酒歌 急流勇进 单位 来访者 钱包 波浪 西厢记 白毛女 白蛇传 一家人 野人 书生意气 柏慧 小说家的世界 蠕动的屋脊 长江还在奔腾 黄河东流去 金发婴儿 年青的一代 组织部新来的青年人 他们的世界—中国男同性恋群 落透视 爱护劳动力的学说 今夜有暴风雪 有一个小镇 这里有黄金 也有快乐，也有忧愁 并没有冬天 只有一个太阳—一个关于浪漫 的梦想 流水十三章 清晨，三十分钟 这也是一切 四点零八分的北京

titles of works cited This Person Song Shijie Thought and Memory Book Series Thoughts and Feelings on Hainan·Night Thoughts on March Eighth Thousands of Waves Three Days on the Yangtse Three Family Lane Three Great Campaigns to Liberate Thought Three-Inch Golden Lotus Three Kingdoms Three Lives of a Hero Three Long Poems three loves Three Songs on Forested Areas Three Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains Three Times Through the School Gate Three Trips to Yan Village Thrice Up Peach Peak Throw Yourself Into Red-Hot Struggle Thunderstorm Thunderstorm over Miao Ridge Tian’anmen Poetry Transcriptions Tianjin Doors series Tibet Tide of Fury Tides and Boats Time and Wine Time Has Begun Time of Grandmothers To a Friend To an Oak Tree To Kunlun To the Ocean To the Reader To the Side of a Polar Region To the Soul of My Dead Friend, Danna To the Sun To Whose Home does Truth Return To Young Citizens Today Book Series Torch Touring By Train Touring Three Lakes Trace of the Moon Tracks in the Snowy Forest Traditions of Shazao Trailblazer Transition Collection Translated World Famous Scholastic Book Series

宋士杰这个人 思忆文丛 海南情思 · 夜 三八节有感 千重浪 长江三日 三家巷 三次伟大的思想解放运动 三寸金莲 三国 英雄三生 长诗三首 三恋 林区三唱 三千里江山 三进校门 三走严庄 三上桃峰 投入火热的斗争 雷雨 苗岭风雷 天安门诗抄 津门系列 西藏 怒潮 潮汐和船 岁月与酒 时间开始了 祖母的时光 赠友人 致橡树 向昆仑 致大海 致读者 极地之侧 致亡友丹娜之灵 向太阳 真理归于谁家 致青年公民 今天丛书 火把 乘火车旅行 游了三个湖 月迹 林海雪原 沙灶遗风 开拓者 过渡集 汉译世界学术名著丛书

613

614

titles of works cited

Translations by Yang Jiang Translations of Modern Literary and Artistic Theory Transparent Radishes Trap Train Engines Travelers are Charming Travelling by Night in Lingguan Pass Travels in the South Travels in the South Continued Travels of Three Tree by the Precipice Trees for Getting Out of the Rain Trees for Replanting Trip to Kunlun Trip Toward the White Nights Trips Beyond the New Frontier Triptych for a General Trivial Words on Sunning Oneself in Winter True Words Trying to Play a Flute in the Forest Tsunami Tsvetaeva Tuan Marsh in Autumn Turbulence Turbulent Waves of the Red River Twelfth Moon·First Moon Twelve Taiwan Poets Twentieth Century Chinese Poets Self-Selection Collection Twin Blossoms Twin Peak Mountain Two Tendencies Two-Masted Ship Uncle Gao Uncle Zhao the Stockman Uncle’s Story Unconventional Everywhere Under Shanghai Eaves Under the Apple Tree Under the Moon Under the Stars Under the Trees Under the Tutelage of Chairman Mao Under the Window Understanding and Comprehension Unfettered People Unfinished Poem Unforgettable 1976 Uninteresting Stories Unofficial History of the Literati

杨绛译文集 现代文艺理论译丛 透明的红萝卜 圈套 火车头 行者妩媚 夜走灵官峡 南行记 南行记续篇 三人行 悬崖边的树 避雨之树 绿化树 昆仑行 向着白夜的旅行 新塞外行 将军三部曲 负暄琐话 真话集 林中试笛 海啸 茨维塔耶娃 团泊洼的秋天 浮躁 红河激浪 腊月 • 正月 台湾诗人十二家 二十世纪中国诗人自选集 棠棣之花 双尖山 两种趋势 双桅船 高干大 饲养员赵大叔 叔叔的故事 遍地风流 上海屋檐下 苹果树下 月下集 星下集 树下 在毛主席的教导下 窗下 理解与感悟 散淡的人 没有写完的诗 难忘的一九七六 没意思的故事 儒林外史

titles of works cited Untitled Up to the City of Heaven Utopian Poems Vanguard Vast Desert Vertical Flutes Horizontally Played Village Song Village Wind Visiting a Dreamscape Voices of Spring Wake Up, Younger Brother Walnut Hill Wang Family Hill Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang Wang Jiu’s Complaint Wang Ruofei in Prison Wang Zhaojun War Banner of the Red Guard War Between Turtledoves and Sparrows War Drums on the Equator War over the Xisha Islands Warning Signal Water Drops, Stone Pierced Water Margins Water Music Prelude—Return to Well Ridge Mountains Waters of the Zhang River Waves Way of the Dog We Must Fight We Must Never Forget We Sow Love Weapons, Instruments of Torture, and Props Wedding Songs for Xiao Bei Weeds Wenwen series Western Suburbs What have I Lost What If I Really Where What is Poetry What Should I Do What the Master Says Goes What’s Behind Me What’s Wrong With Him When the Evening Glow Vanishes When the Reed Catkins Go White When You’re by Me—O Poetry, I’ve Found You Again Whenever I Walk this Path Where did I go Wrong by You? Where is China’s Literature and Art Headed?

615

无题集 上天都 乌托邦诗篇 先锋 瀚海 洞箫横吹 村歌 村风 访问梦境 春之声 醒来吧，弟弟 胡桃坡 王家坡 王贵与李香香 王九诉苦 王若飞在狱中 王昭君 红卫兵战旗 鸠雀之战 赤道战鼓 西沙之战 绝对信号 水滴石穿 水浒传 水调歌头—重上井冈山 漳河水 波动 狗道 我们必须战斗 千万不要忘记 我们播种爱情 武器，刑具和道具 给小蓓的俪歌 野草 雯雯系列 西郊集 我遗失了什么 假如我是真的 诗是什么 我应该怎么办 老爷说的准没错 是什么在背后 他有什么病 晚霞消失的时候 芦花放白的时候 如有你在我身边—诗呵，我又找 到了你 每当我走过这条小径 我在哪里错过了你？ 中国文艺往哪里走？

616

titles of works cited

Where is My Home Where is the Thorn? Whirlpool Whirlwind of Iron White Deer Plain White Flowers · Red Flowers White Nights White Sails into the Distance Who am I Who are the Creators of Miracles Who are the Most Loveable People Who Goes Who Remains Who’s the Most Loveable Person Why Herdsmen Sing about Mother Why is This? Wild Feelings on Distant Mountains Wild Goose Feelings Wild Joys of the Zoo Wild Lilies Wild Lilies Wind and Thunder Wind Organs and Women Wind Past the Ears Window of a Train Going West Windstorm Wine Winter Winter Jasmine in the Flying Snow Winter Rain Wishing You Health With the Pen as a Banner Witness to Youth Woman of Hui’an Woman Woman Woman Women Aviators Women Clutching Fresh Flowers Women of the River Women’s Representative Words Words of the Free Words at the Head of the Resumed Publication Words at the Head of the Volume Words from the Editors Works of Nobel Literature Prize-winning Authors Collection World World of Opposites World of the Soul—Lecture Notes of Wang Anyi on Fiction World of Top Scholar Worldly Things are like Smoke

何处是我家园 刺在那里？ 白涡 铁旋风 白鹿原 白花 • 红花 白夜 远去的白帆 我是谁 谁是奇迹的创造者 谁是最可爱的人 谁去谁留 谁是最可爱的人 骑手为什么歌唱母亲 这是为什么？ 远山野情 大雁情 动物园的狂喜 野百合花 野百合 风雷 风琴与女人 风过耳 西去列车的窗口 风暴 酒 冬 飞雪迎春 冬雨 祝你健康 以笔为旗 为青春作证 惠安女子 女女女 女飞行员 怀抱鲜花的女人 河之女 妇女代表 词语 自在者说 复刊卷首语 卷首语 编者的话 诺贝尔文学奖获奖作家作品集 世界 阴阳界 心灵的世界—王安忆小说讲稿 状元境 世事如烟

titles of works cited Worries of Ah Mei on a Sunny Day Worry is Wisdom Wreath at the Foot of a Mountain Wrinkles “Writing Middle Characters” is a Literary Position of the Capitalist Class Writings of Jia Pingwa Writings of Mo Yan Writings of Wang Zengqi Writings of Zhang Chengzhi Written When the Sun has just Risen Wulanchabu Wu Shao’er Wu Zetian Xiaobao Village Xiaoer Bulake Xie Yaohuan Xishuangbanna Series Xu Mao and his Daughters Xuefeng’s Collected Writings Yan’an People Years of Hardship Years of Wasting Time Yellow Yellow Earth Yellow Mud Street Yellow River Yin Lingzhi Yin, Yang, and the Eight Trigrams Ying’er You are a River You Can’t Part With Those You Love You Chase, I’ll Catch Up You Have No Other Choice You’re a Lucky Fellow, Lotus You’re not Permitted to Change Me Your Forever Loyal Comrade Youth in the Flames of War Youth Spent in Combat Yuelan Yuhua Cavern Yumen Poetry Chapbook Zeng Guofan Zhangjiakou Zhang Laixing Zhao Qiao’er Zhaoshu Village Zhuo Wenjun

617

阿梅在一个太阳天里的愁思 烦恼就是智慧 高山下的花环 皱纹 “写中间人物” 是资产阶级的文 学主张 贾平凹文集 漠言文集 汪曾祺文集 张承志集 写在太阳初升的时候 乌兰察布 吴召儿 武则天 小鲍庄 肖尔布拉克 谢瑶环 西双版纳组诗 许茂和他的女儿们 雪峰文集 延安人 艰难的岁月 蹉跎岁月 黄 黄土地 黄泥街 黄河 尹灵芝 阴阳八卦 英儿 你是一条河 同心爱者不能分手 你追我赶 你别无选择 你是幸运儿，荷花 你不可改变我 你的永远忠实的同志 战火中的青年 战斗的青春 月兰 玉华洞 玉门诗抄 曾国藩 张家口 张来兴 赵巧儿 召树屯 卓文君

INDEX

Acton, Lord (John Dalberg) (1834–1902) 217 Ah Cheng 阿城 (1949–) 245, 270, 313, 366, 367, 372, 373, 399, 400, 491, 492 Ah Jia 阿甲 198, 227 Ah Long 阿垄 (Chen Yimen 陈亦门) (Zhang Huairui 张怀瑞) (1907–1967) 30, 52, 55, 66, 73, 74, 75, 452, 476 Ah Q 117 Ai Mingzhi 艾明之 (1925–) 188 Ai Qing 艾青 (1910–1996) 19, 35, 36, 37, 38, 48, 49, 50, 56, 64, 66, 67, 71, 73, 78, 83, 86, 162, 197, 198, 268, 316, 319, 320, 321, 322, 327, 340, 346, 463, 464, 482, 487 Ai Siqi 艾思奇 (1910–1966) 8, 44 Ai Wu 艾芜 (1904–1992) 35, 38, 91, 92, 97, 151, 463, 473, 500 Akhmatova, Anna (1899–1966) 24, 266 Aksyonov, Vasily (1932–) 218 An Bo 安波 188 An Qi 安旗 78, 81 Andersen, Hans Christian (1805–1875) 23 anti-rightist campaign 31, 45, 49, 50, 56, 71, 134, 182, 203, 268, 299, 300, 310, 319, 374, 425, 445, 463, 497 April Fifth 259, 480 Aragon, Louis (1897–1982) 24 Auden, W. H. (1907–1973) 72 avant-garde fiction 382, 385, 390 Azorin (Jose Martin Ruiz) (1873–1967) 379 Ba Jin 巴金 (Sun Shuxun 孙树勋, Yu Yi 余一) (1904–2005) 6, 19, 27, 35, 38, 91, 113, 138, 172, 175, 176, 181, 259, 313, 420, 421, 424, 425, 426, 446, 456, 463, 464, 465, 494, 502 Ba Ren 巴人 (Wang Renshu 王任叔) (1901–1972) 45, 56, 98, 181, 214, 457, 462, 468, 478 Bai Hua 白桦 (1930–) 56, 78, 82, 83, 300, 316, 319, 327, 463, 484, 488 Bai Lang 白朗 (1912–1994) 49, 56, 71, 501 Bai Shuxiang 白淑湘 (1939–) 227

Bai Wei 白薇 (woman, 1894–1987) 404 Bai Wei 白危 (1911–1984) 161 Bai Ren 白刃 (1918–) 42, 157, 190, 209 Baiyang Marshes Poetry Grouping 245, 246, 248, 249 Balzac, Honoré de (1799–1850) 25, 264 Bao Chang 鲍昌 (1930–1989) 497 Barbusse, Henri (1873–1935) 24, 181 Baudelaire, Charles (1821–1867) 24 Beckett, Samuel (1906–1989) 218 Bei Cun 北村 (1962–) 271, 500 Bei Dao 北岛 (Zhao Zhenkai 赵振开, Ai Shan 艾珊, Shi Mo 石默) (1949–) 246, 249, 252, 270, 298, 309, 335, 336, 337, 338, 341, 342, 347, 348, 349, 350, 487, 493, 494 Beijing school (of fiction) 265, 285, 370, 381 Beiling 贝岭 (1959–) 351, 352 Bergson, Henri (1859–1941) 217 Bi Fang 毕方 240, 479 Bi Shumin 毕淑敏 (1952–) 407 Bi Ye 碧野 (1916–) 42, 157, 175, 180, 453 Bian Zhilin 卞之琳 (1910–2000) 18, 33, 35, 64, 65, 86, 157, 317 Bing Xin 冰心 (1900–1999) 38, 175, 176, 404, 430, 462, 469 Binkley, Luther John (1925–) 217 black line in literature and the arts 31, 231 Blake, William (1757–1827) 23 Böll, Heinrich (1917–1985) 336 Borges, Jorge Luis (1899–1986) 266, 385, 392 Brandes, Georg (1842–1927) 322 Brecht, Bertolt (1898–1956) 288 Brodsky, Joseph (1940–1996) 362 Bulgakov, Mikhail (1891–1940) 24 Byron, George Gordon, Lord (1788–1824) 25, 86 Bu Linfei 卜林扉 119 Cai Kui 蔡葵 (1963–) 119, 154 Cai Qijiao 蔡其娇 (1918–2007) 30, 37, 77, 243, 244, 268, 319, 328, 331, 332, 342, 352, 489

620

index

Cai Shulian 才树莲 338 Cai Tian 蔡田 56 Cai Wenji 蔡文姬 (ca. 200 B.C.E.) 37, 190, 194, 195, 467 Cai Xiang 蔡翔 (1953–) 283, 494, 502 Cai Yi 蔡仪 (1906–1992) xv, 455, 460, 499 Cai Yujia 蔡渝嘉 (1940–) 428 Camus, Albert (1913–1960) 266 Can Xue 残雪 (1953–) 271, 281, 383, 385, 390, 391, 406, 492, 493 Cangyang Jiacuo 仓央嘉措 (Tshang dbyang Rgya mtsho) (1683–1706) 78 Cao Cao 曹操 (155–220) 194 Cao Changqing 曹长青 (1953–) 283, 352 Cao Jinghua 曹靖华 (1897–1987) 175, 176, 180, 456, 495 Cao Ming 草明 (1913–2002) 100, 151, 214, 405, 458, 467 Cao Xinzhi 曹辛之 (Hang Yuehe 航约赫) (1917–1995) 72, 329 Cao Yu 曹禺 (1910–1996) 6, 18, 19, 33, 35, 37, 113, 187, 188, 190, 193, 196, 197, 218, 265, 288, 458, 469, 503 Cao Zhi 曹植 (192–232) 455 “Chang Feng” 常峰 (Shanghai writing group name) 215 Chang Yao 昌耀 (1936–2000) 268, 319, 328, 332, 333, 334, 494, 502 Chekhov, Anton (1860–1904) 23 Chen Baichen 陈白尘 (1908–1994) 188, 189, 421, 424, 451, 483 Chen Boda 陈伯达 (1904–1989) 210, 223, 224 Chen Canyun 陈残云 (1914–2002) 5, 105, 175, 176, 180 Chen Changfeng 陈昌奉 (1915–1986) 185 Chen Chao 陈超 (1958–) 353 Chen Chunnian 陈椿年 (1917–) 305, 463 Chen Cun 陈村 (1954–) 280, 281, 493 Chen Dengke 陈登科 (1919–1998) 36, 458, 473 Chen Dongdong 陈东东 (1961–) 271, 353, 357, 363, 431 Chen Gang 陈刚 195 Chen Ge 陈戈 (1916–1981) 185, 209 Chen Geng 陈赓 (1903–1961) 185 Chen Guokai 陈国凯 (1938–) 294 Chen Hengzhe 陈衡哲 (1893–1976) 404 Chen Heqin 陈鹤琴 (1892–1982) 44

Chen Huai’ai 陈怀皑 (1920–1994) 136 Chen Huangmei 陈荒煤 (1913–1996) 37, 112, 113, 482 Chen Hui 陈辉 (1920–1944) 76, 88, 331 Chen Jiangong 陈建功 (1949–) 270, 311 Chen Jingrong 陈敬容 (1917–1989) 72, 319, 327, 329, 405, 490 Chen Kaige 陈凯歌 (1952–) 246, 314 Chen Li 陈丽 437 Chen Mengjia 陈梦家 (1911–1966) 34, 56 Chen Pingyuan 陈平原 (1954–) 283, 284, 432, 436, 492, 494 Chen Qitong 陈其通 (1916–2001) 37, 122, 188, 458, 459, 461 Chen Qixia 陈企霞 (1913–1988) 28, 37, 49, 56, 463 Chen Quan 陈铨 (1903–1969) 467 Chen Ran 陈染 (1962–) 407, 416, 417, 447, 503 Chen Renbing 陈仁炳 (1909–1990) 44 Chen Shenyan 陈慎言 (1912–1996) 145 Chen Shixu 陈世旭 (1948–) 299 Chen Shouzhu 陈瘦竹 (1909–1990) 498 Chen Shu 陈署 200 Chen Sihe 陈思和 (1954–) 230, 283, 284, 440, 445, 496, 502 Chen Suoju 陈所巨 (1947–2005) 335, 338 Chen Weimo 陈炜谟 (1903–1955) 44 Chen Xianghe 陈翔鹤 (1901–1969) 165, 167, 210, 471, 473, 476 Chen Xiaoyu 陈笑雨 (1917–1966) 88, 182 Chen Xuezhao 陈雪昭 56 Chen Yading 陈亚丁 (1920–) 210, 461 Chen Yi 陈毅 (1901–1972) 277, 470 Chen Yong 陈涌 (1919–) 55, 56, 74, 158, 198 453 Chen Yousong 陈友松 (1899–1992) 44 Chen Yun (playwright) 陈耘 200 Chen Zhongfan 陈中凡 (1888–1982) 44 Chen Zhongshi 陈忠实 (1942–) 373, 500 Cheng Daixi 程代熙 (1927–1999) 340 Cheng Depei 程德培 (1951–) 283 Cheng Fangwu 成仿吾 (1897–1984) 48 Cheng Gang 成岗 130 Cheng Jianli 程建立 336

index Cheng Jihua 程季华 (1921–) 210 Cheng Naishan 程乃珊 (1946–) 405 Cheng Yin 成荫 (1917–1984) 227 Chi Li 池莉 (1957–) 387, 388, 389, 395, 396, 407, 416, 445, 495 Chi Zijian 迟子建 (1964–) 389, 407, 418 “Chu Lan” 初澜 (Shanghai writing group name) 210, 212, 215, 224, 226, 233, 479 Chuan Dao 川岛 (1901–1981) 174, 175, 176 Cong Shen 丛深 (1928–) 37, 188, 200, 202, 472 Cong Weixi 从维熙 (1933–) 56, 268, 294, 300, 307, 308, 483, 490, 497 Crescent school 265 Cui Dezhi 崔德志 (1927–) 188 Cui Hongrui 崔洪瑞 240 Cui Wei 崔嵬 (1912–1979) 136, 246 Cui Weiping 崔卫平 246 Dai Bufan 戴不凡 (1922–1980) 196 Dai Houying 戴厚英 (1938–1996) 270, 405, 487, 503 Dai Jinhua 戴锦华 (1959–) 414 Dai Qing 戴晴 405 Dai Wangshu 戴望舒 (1905–1950) 38, 66, 317, 452 Deng Junwu 邓均吾 (1898–1969) 476 Deng Tuo 邓拓 (Ma Nancun 马南村) (Bu Wuji 卜无忌) (1912–1966) 165, 166, 176, 181, 182, 183, 210, 214, 469, 470, 474 Deng Xian 邓贤 (1953–) 314 Deng Xiaoping 邓小平 (1904–1997) 437, 440, 498 Deng Youmei 邓友梅 (1931–) 56, 268, 367, 371, 373, 374, 375, 461, 490 Dewey, John (1859–1952) 217 Ding Dang 丁当 (1962–) 352 Ding Ling 丁玲 (1904–1986) 19, 27, 28, 29, 36, 37, 38, 43, 45, 48, 49, 50, 56, 71, 93, 105, 158, 162, 163, 173, 180, 207, 404, 424, 454, 463, 464, 493 Ding Xilin 丁西林 (1893–1974) 288 “Ding Xuelei” 丁学雷 (Shanghai writing group name) 215 Dongxi 东西 (1966–) 444 Dostoyevsky, Fyodor (1821–1881) 23, 25 Dream of Red Mansions research 43 Du Fu 杜甫 (712–770) 167, 204, 455, 478

621

Du Gu 杜谷 (1920–) 73 Du Jinfang 杜近芳 (1932–) 227 Du Pengcheng 杜鹏程 (1921–1991) 36, 39, 97, 99, 120, 123, 151, 286, 457, 463, 466, 499 Du Shijun 杜士俊 189 Du Xuan 杜宣 (1914–2004) 188 Du Yin 杜印 (1919–) 188 Du Yuming 杜聿明 (1904–1981) 319 Du Yunxie 杜运燮 (1918–2002) 34, 72, 265, 319, 327, 339 Duan Chengbin 段承滨 188, 189 Duan Quanfa 段荃法 (1936–) 105 Duan Ruixia 段瑞夏 240 Duanmu Hongliang 端木蕻良 (1912–1996) 98, 174 Duoduo 多多 (Li Shizheng 李士征) (1951–) 246, 248, 249, 270, 298, 341 educated youth literature 270, 309, 310, 311, 313, 314 Ehrenburg, Ilya (1891–1967) 26 Eliot, T. S. (1888–1965) 72, 266 Eluard, Paul (1895–1952) 24 Elytis, Odysseus (1911–1996) 346 Engels, Friedrich (1820–1985) 13, 42, 278, 454, 456 Fadeyev, Alexander (1901–1956) 22 Fan Wenlan 范文澜 (1893–1969) 44 Fan Xiaoqing 范小青 (1955–) 389 Fan Yanqiao 范烟桥 (1894–1967) 476 Fang Bing 方冰 (1946–) 76 Fang Fang 方方 (1955–) 271, 387, 388, 389, 396, 407, 416, 445 Fang Han 方含 (Sun Kang 孙康) (1950–) 246, 337 Fang Huang 方徨 209 Fang Ji 方纪 (1919–1998) 97 Fang Lingru 方令孺 (1897–1976) 174 Fang Ran 方然 (1952–) 55, 73 Fang Rongxiang 方荣翔 (1925–1989) 227 “Fang Yanliang” 方岩梁 (Shanghai writing group name) 215 “Fang Yun” 方耘 (Shanghai writing group name) 215 “Fang Zesheng” 方泽生 (Shanghai writing group name) 215, 232 Fang Zhi 方之 (1905–1993) 299, 300, 463, 483 Fast, Howard (1914–2003) 24 Faulkner, William (1897–1962) 264, 266, 369, 372, 378

622

index

Fei Ming 废名 (Feng Wenbing 冯文炳) (1901–1967) 34, 90, 91, 101, 181, 265, 317, 381, 476 Feng Cun 丰村 (1917–1989) 161, 162, 463 Feng Deying 冯德英 (1935–) 36, 99, 121, 200 Feng Jicai 冯骥才 (1942–) 263, 270, 294, 367, 371, 373, 375, 376, 383, 441, 489, 493 Feng Jiannan 冯健男 (1940–) 119 Feng Mu 冯牧 (1919–1995) 37, 78, 113, 146, 147, 231, 295, 502 Feng Xuefeng 冯雪峰 (Li Dingzhong 李定中) (1906–1976) 6, 9, 12, 27, 29, 32, 36, 43, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 123, 158, 207, 208, 276, 277, 454, 455, 463, 480 Feng Yidai 冯亦代 (1913–2005) 56 Feng Youlan 冯友兰 (1895–1990) 44 Feng Yuanjun 冯沅君 (1900–1974) 44, 404 Feng Zhi 冯至 (poet, 1905–1993) 6, 35, 44, 64, 69, 72, 322, 466, 472, 500 Feng Zhi 冯志 (novelist, 1923–1968) 100, 121, 147, 165, 167, 466 Feng Zhixiao 冯志孝 (1938–) 227 Feng Zikai 丰子恺 (1898–1975) 174, 176, 214, 480 Fengzi 凤子 (1912–1996) 175 Flaubert, Gustave (1821–1880) 21 Fu Chou 傅仇 (1925–1985) 82, 83, 85 Fu Lei 傅雷 (1908–1966) 36, 56, 214, 425, 475 Fu Lianzhang 傅连璋 (1894–1968) 185 Fu Tianlin 傅天林 (1946–) 335, 357, 492 Furmanov, Dmitry (1891–1926) 22 Gan Tiesheng 甘铁生 (1946–) 246 Gan Yang 甘阳 439 Gang of Four 212, 214, 249, 253, 257, 258, 275, 308, 316, 480 Gao Falin 高伐林 335, 338 Gao Gang 高岗 (1905–1954) 169 Gao Heng 高亨 (1900–1986) 44 Gao Ping 高平 (1932–) 78, 83, 319 Gao Xiaosheng 高晓声 (1928–1999) 37, 56, 268, 299, 300, 305, 306, 373, 463, 484, 486 Gao Xingjian 高行健 (1941–) 263, 270, 289, 383, 489, 492 Gao Xiuqin 高秀芹 506 Gao Yihan 高一涵 (1885–1968) 44

Gao Yuanbao 郜元宝 (1966–) 402 Gao Yubao 高玉宝 (1927–) 184 Gao Yun 高云 119 Gao Yunlan 高云览 (1910–1956) 99, 120, 135, 461 Gao Yuqian 高玉倩 (1927–) 227 Gao Zhi 高植 181 Garaudy, Roger (1914–) 181, 217 Ge Baoquan 戈宝权 (1913–2000) 458 Ge Fei 格非 (1964–) 271, 385, 386, 392, 393, 443, 445, 495, 496, 499, 500 Ge Luo 葛洛 (1920–1994) 501 Geng Jian 耿简 (1924–) 160, 161, 460 Geng Longxiang 耿龙祥 (1930–) 161 Geng Yong 耿庸 (1921–) 55 Geng Zhanchun 耿占春 (1957–) 436 Genzi 根子(Yue Zhong 岳重) (1951–) 246, 248, 298 Gide, André (1869–1951) 379 Gladkov, Fyodor (1883–1958) 22 Gogol, Nikolai (1809–1852) 23, 25 Gong Liu 公刘 (1927–2003) 37, 56, 78, 82, 83, 268, 300, 319, 324, 325, 338, 463, 485, 487 Gong Mu 公木 (1910–1998) 56, 319 Gorky, Maxim (1868–1936) 13, 22, 23, 25, 234, 458, 468 Gou Jian 勾践 196, 197 Grand Exhibition of Modernist Poetry Groups 282, 352, 493 Great Leap Forward 26, 50, 68, 81, 96, 104, 165, 168, 189, 195, 203, 206, 207, 208, 299, 425 Gu Baozhang 顾宝璋 (1920–1996) 190 Gu Cheng 顾城 (1956–1993) 249, 282, 337, 338, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 349, 357, 485, 486, 489, 494, 500, 501 Gu Gong 顾工 (1928–) 37, 82, 83, 214, 238, 343 Gu Hua 古华 (1942–) 240, 241, 242, 270, 286, 299, 373, 487 Gu Xiang 顾骧 (1930–) 278 Gu Yiqiao 顾一樵 (1902–) 11 Gu Yu 谷峪 240, 452 Gu Zhicheng 顾志成 250 Guan Hanqing 关汉卿 (ca. 1220–ca. 1300) 37, 190, 195, 196, 465 Guan Hua 管桦 (1921–2002) 105 Guan Renshan 关仁山 (1963–) 503 Guang Weiran 光未然 (1913–2002) 198 Guillien, Jorge (1893–1984) 24 Gumilyov, Nikolay S. (1886–1921) 24

index Guo Chengqing 郭澄清 (1929–1989) 240, 242, 480 Guo Feng 郭风 (1919–) 175, 180, 421 Guo Kai 郭开 (1933–) 138, 466 Guo Lusheng 郭路生 (Shi Zhi 食指 ) (1948–) 245, 246, 298 Guo Moruo 郭沫若 (1892–1978) 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 20, 27, 35, 37, 38, 43, 47, 48, 54, 66, 68, 86, 113, 188, 190, 193, 194, 195, 204, 205, 206, 214, 230, 231, 451, 462, 467, 468, 478, 482 Guo Xianhong 郭先红 240, 478 Guo Xiaochuan 郭小川 (1919–1976) 37, 77, 85, 87, 88, 89, 121, 161, 173, 238, 243, 331, 459, 462, 463, 466, 467, 471, 481, 482 Guo Xiaodong 郭小东 (1951–) 314 Guo Yuheng 郭预衡 (1920–) 175 Hai Mo 海默 (1923–1968) 188, 468, 476 Hai Nan 海男 (Su Lihua 苏丽华) (1962–) 356, 357, 407, 416, 418, 431 Hai Rui 海瑞 (1515–1587) 167, 168, 213, 215, 220, 469, 474 Haizi 海子 (Zha Haisheng 查海生) (1964–1989) 271, 357, 358, 359, 497 Han Dong 韩东 (1961–) 351, 352, 353, 363, 364, 444, 493, 500 Han Qixiang 韩起祥 (1954–) 452 Han Shaogong 韩少功 (1953–) 270, 280, 281, 310, 366, 367, 371, 372, 383, 398, 399, 423, 431, 443, 446, 492, 503 Han Shaohua 韩少华 (1933–) 421 Han Xiao 韩笑 (–1994) 82, 87 Hang Ying 航鹰 (1944–) 405 Hang Yuehe 杭约赫 (1917–) 72 Hanzi 菡子 (1921–2003) 121, 172, 175, 176, 180, 405 Hao Haiyan 郝海彦 249 Hao Ran 浩然 (1932–) 36, 100, 105, 106, 214, 230, 232, 233, 234, 237, 240, 242, 268, 446, 472, 478, 479 Harkness, Margaret (1854–1921) 13 He Da 何达 (1915–1994) 64 He Dun 何顿 (1958–) 448 He Guimei 贺桂梅 (1970–) 506 He Jingzhi 贺敬之 (1924–) 37, 85, 87, 88, 89, 214, 238, 331, 452, 454, 460, 470, 472, 478, 481 He Lin 贺麟 (1902–1992) 44 He Liwei 何立伟 (1954–) 270, 421 He Long 贺龙 (1896–1976) 209 He Manzi 何满子 (1919–) 55

623

He Qifang 何其芳 (1911–1977) 9, 33, 37, 38, 44, 53, 57, 64, 65, 67, 69, 70, 80, 81, 94, 137, 138, 149, 198, 317, 342, 451, 455, 481 He Qiu 何求 (1921–) 189 He Shen 何申 (1951–) 502 He Wangxian 何望贤 264 He Wei 何为 (1922–) 175 He Xilai 何西来 (1938–) 296 He Youhua 何又化 (Qin Zhaoyang 秦兆阳) (1916–1994) 161 Hei Dachun 黑大春 (1960–) 245 Heihai 黑孩 (1963–) 420 Heine, Heinrich (1797–1856) 23 Heller, Joseph (1923–1999) 384 Hemingway, Ernest (1899–1961) 264 Hikmet, Nazim (1902–1963) 24 Hong Feng 洪峰 (1957–) 386, 495, 501 “Hong Guangsi” 洪广思 (Beijing writing group name) 215 Hong Qian 洪谦 (1909–1992) 217 Hong Shen 洪深 (1894–1955) 19, 459 Hook, Sidney (1902–1989) 217 Hou Jinjing 侯金镜 (1922–1971) 33, 97, 98, 102, 146, 150, 159, 214, 457, 477 Hou Wailu 侯外庐 (1903–1987) 44 Hu Danfei 胡丹沸 (1913–2002) 188 Hu Dong 胡冬 (1962–) 355 Hu Feng 胡风 (1902–1985) 9, 12, 28, 29, 30, 36, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 73, 74, 75, 95, 119, 157, 208, 213, 276, 277, 455, 457, 458, 459, 495 Hu Feng group or “counter-revolutionary clique” 14, 31, 44, 54, 74, 75, 158, 160, 257, 319, 459 Hu Feng Incident 243, 300, 319, 322, 323, 328 Hu Feng “Suggestion Letter” 53, 54, 62, 457, 458 Hu Heqing 胡河清 (1960–1994) 502 Hu Ke 胡可 (1921–) 37, 121, 188, 467 Hu Ling 胡零 (1913–1969) 188 Hu Qiaomu 胡乔木 (1912–1992) 51, 52, 173, 279, 490 Hu Sheng 胡绳 (1918–2000) 51 Hu Shi 胡适 (1891–1962) 14, 17, 31, 43, 44, 47, 54, 66, 458 Hu Wanchun 胡万春 (1929–1998) 37, 151, 200, 214, 289, 467 Hu Yepin 胡也频 (1903–1931) 19 Hu Zhao 胡昭 (1933–2004) 154, 319 Hu Zheng 胡征 (poet, 1917–2007) 55, 73, 319

624

index

Hu Zheng 胡正 (novelist, 1924–) 109 Hu Zongnan 胡宗南 (1896–1962) 123 Hua Fu 华夫 (1900–1974) 88, 205, 215 Hua Gang 华岗 (1903–1972) 44 Hua Guofeng 华国锋 (1921–2005) 254 Hua Ziliang 华子良 130 Huatie 化铁 (1925–) 55, 73 Huang Ansi 黄安思 295, 483 Huang Beijia 黄蓓佳 (1955–) 405 Huang Canran 黄灿然 (1963–) 357, 363 Huang Gang 黄钢 (1917–1992) 172, 173, 184 Huang Guliu 黄谷柳 (1908–1977) 144, 481 Huang Hao 黄浩 422 Huang Nansen 黄楠森 (1921–) 279 Huang Qiuyun 黄秋耘 (1918–2001) 29, 33, 56, 107, 133, 165, 167, 175, 210, 463 Huang Shang 黄裳 (1919–) 421 Huang Ti 黄悌 188 Huang Yaomian 黄药眠 (1903–1987) 44, 56, 495 Huang Yin 黄茵 (1956–) 429 Huang Yongyu 黄永玉 (1924–) 243, 323 Huang Zhaoyan 黄昭彦 146, 147 Huang Ziping 黄子平 (1949–) 120, 170, 229, 282, 283, 284, 290, 304, 384, 492, 494 Huang Zongluo 黄宗洛 (1926–) 193 Huang Zongying 黄宗英 (1925–) 173, 405, 421, 473 Huang Zuolin 黄佐临 (1906–1994) 288, 289 Hugo, Victor (1802–1885) 23 Hui Wa 灰娃 (1927–) 495 Hundred Flowers literature 24, 160, 175, 325, 426, 430, 434, 485, 486 Huo Da 霍达 (1945–) 405, 497 Ibsen, Henrik (1828–1906) 23, 288 Isakovsky, Mikhail (1900–1973) 22, 80 Ji Fang 冀汸 (1920–) 55, 73, 319, 327 Ji Ge 纪戈 236 Ji Hongzhen 季红真 (1955–) 283, 298, 384, 494 Ji Kang 嵇康 (223–263) 167 Ji Wenfu 嵇文甫 (1895–1963) 44 Ji Xianlin 季羡林 (1911–) 424 Ji Yu 纪宇 (1948–) 238 Jia Ji 贾霁 (1917–1985) 195

Jia Liu 贾六 200 Jia Pingwa 贾平凹 (1953–) 270, 286, 296, 367, 371, 373, 376, 377, 378, 420, 421, 428, 430, 431, 443, 490, 495, 499, 500, 502 Jia Zhi 贾芝 (1913–) 64 Jia Zhifang 贾植芳 (1916–) 55, 502 Jian Bozan 翦伯赞 (1898–1968) 44, 45, 176, 208 Jian Xian’ai 蹇先艾 (1906–1994) 97, 98, 502 Jiang Guangci 蒋光慈 (1901–1931) 19, 66 Jiang He 江河 (Yu Youze 于友泽) (1949–) 246, 249, 270, 337, 338, 341, 345, 346, 494 Jiang Jie 江姐 127, 130 Jiang Kongyang 蒋孔杨 468 Jiang Qing 江青 (1914–1991) 57, 210, 212, 215, 219, 220, 222, 223, 224, 225, 227, 228, 237, 253, 473, 474, 475 “Jiang Tian” 江天 (Shanghai writing group name) 215 Jiang Tianzuo 蒋天佐 (1913–1987) 74 Jiang Wen 江文 200 Jiang Zidan 蒋子丹 (1954–) 406, 416 Jiang Zilong 蒋子龙 (1941–) 296, 480, 484 Jiao Jian 矫健 (1954–) 296, 373 Jiao Juyin 焦菊隐 (1905–1975) 193 Jie Min 洁泯 (1921–2006) 102, 103 Jin Fan 靳凡 (Liu Lili 刘莉莉 Liu Qingfeng 刘青峰) 251, 486 Jin He 金河 (1943–) 294 Jin Jingmai 金敬迈 (1930–) 230, 474 Jin Kemu 金克木 (1912–2000) 317, 423, 432, 434 Jin Shan 金山 (1911–1982) 122, 190, 195 Jin Yi 靳以 (1909–1959) 172, 463, 467 Jin Yuelin 金岳霖 (1895–1984) 44 Jing Xin 敬信 243 July group 66, 73, 75, 265 Jun Qing 峻青 (1923–) 37, 97, 121, 130, 131, 458, 467 Kafka, Franz (1883–1924) 266, 362 Kalidasa (400–500) 23 Kang Sheng 康生 (1898–1975) 169 Kang Tai 康泰 136 Kang Zhuo 康濯 (1920–1991) 97, 105, 114, 115, 135, 498 Kautsky, Karl (1854–1938) 13

index Kawabata Yasunari 川端康成 (1899–1972) 264 Ke Lan 柯蓝 (1920–2006) 175, 180, 184, 421, 466 Ke Ling 柯灵 (1909–2000) 209 Ke Qingshi 柯庆施 (1902–1965) 200, 471 Ke Yan 柯岩 (1929–) 340, 421 Ke Yunlu 柯云路 (1946–) 310 Ke Zhongping 柯仲平 (1902–1964) 27, 66, 473 Keats, William (1795–1821) 25 Kerouac, Jack (1922–1969) 218, 384 Kobayashi Takiji 小林多喜二 (1903–1933) 24 Kochetov, Vsevolod (1912–1973) 22 Kong Jiesheng 孔捷生 (1952–) 270, 294, 310, 311, 491 Kong Jue 孔厥 (1916–1966) 146, 451 Kong Shangren 孔尚任 (1648–1718) 199 Kurahara Korehito 藏原惟人 (1902–1999) 24 Krylov, Ivan (1769–1844) 23 Lan Cheng 蓝澄 200 Lan Dizhi 蓝棣之 (1940–) 283, 317, 494 Lan Guang 蓝光 190 Lan Lan 蓝蓝 (1967–) 357 Lan Ling 蓝翎 (1931–2005) 43, 56, 181, 458 Lan Ma 蓝马 (1957–) 354, 355 Lao Gui 老鬼 294, 311, 495 Lao She 老舍 (1899–1966) 6, 18, 19, 27, 35, 37, 113, 174, 175, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 214, 265, 453, 454, 463, 469, 474, 487 Lassalle, Ferdinand (1825–1864) 13, 42 League of Left-Wing Writers 20, 48, 49, 76, 86, 107, 153, 181 left-wing literature xvii, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 19, 39, 44, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 56, 57, 62, 151, 156, 157, 171, 186, 203, 206, 212, 213, 220, 277 Lei Da 雷达 (1943–) 388 Lei Jia 雷加 (1915–) 151 Lei Mi 雷米 (Xie Ye 谢烨) (1958–1993) 344 Lei Shuyan 雷抒雁 (1942–) 316, 335, 484 Lenin, Nikolai Vladimir I. (1870–1924) 13, 16, 207, 234, 454

625

Lermontov, Mikhail (1814–1841) 23 Li Bing 李冰 77 Li Changzhi 李长之 (1910–1978) 36, 44, 56 Li Chuli 李初梨 (1900–1994) 48 Li Cunbao 李存葆 (1946–) 489 Li Da 李达 (1890–1966) 44 Li Fang 李方 243, 317, 319, 388 Li Feng 李冯 (1968–) 444 Li Guangtian 李广田 (1906–1968) 214, 476 Li Guowen 李国文 (1930–) 161, 268, 296, 299, 300, 307, 463, 486, 488 Li Hangyu 李杭育 (1957–) 270, 366, 367, 371, 372, 490, 492 Li Helin 李何林 (1904–1988) 30, 45, 467, 480 Li Hong 李红 (1902–1961) 145 Li Huang 李慌 190, 200 Li Hui 李辉 446, 502 Li Ji 李季 (1922–1980) 37, 66, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 121, 452, 459, 467, 473, 486 Li Jian 李剑 295, 484 Li Jiantong 李建彤 (1919–2005) 169, 471, 485 Li Jianwu 李健吾 (1906–1982) 5, 34, 175, 193, 265, 469, 489 Li Jie 李劼 283, 440, 494 Li Jieren 李劼人 (1891–1962) 120, 465, 471 Li Jinfa 李金发 (1900–1976) 66, 317 Li Kefei 李克非 240 Li Li 李立 185 Li Lifang 李丽芳 (1932–2002) 227 Li Liuru 李六如 (1887–1973) 99, 461 Li Mingsheng 李鸣盛 (1926–2002) 227 Li Muliang 李慕良 (1918–) 227 Li Na 李纳 (1920–) 494 Li Ni 丽尼 (1909–1968) 214, 476 Li Ping 礼平 251, 486 Li Qing 荔青 161 Li Qingxi 李庆西 (1951–) 366, 368 Li Rui 李锐 (1950–) 310, 389, 424, 446 Li Ruobing 李若冰 (1926–2005) 172 Li Ruqing 黎汝清 (1928–) 240, 242, 243, 478, 480 Li Shaochun 李少春 (1919–1975) 227 Li Shu 李澍 44 Li Shuwei 李束为 (1918–1995) 105, 109 Li Tianhuan 李天焕 (1912–1986) 185 Li Tuo 李陀 (1939–) 263, 282, 366, 383, 384, 489

626

index

Li Wenhua 李文化 (1929–) 227 Li Xiao 李晓 270, 313, 339, 389, 493 Li Xiaoyu 李小雨 (1951–) 339 Li Xifan 李希凡 (1927–) 37, 43, 163, 164, 199, 458 Li Xinghua 李兴华 145 Li Xiucheng 李秀成 (1823–1864) 208 Li Xue’ao 李学鳌 (1933–1989) 214, 238 Li Yang 力扬 (1908–1964) 64, 421 Li Yawei 李亚伟 (1963–) 355, 356 Li Yi 李易 (1918–) 161 Li Yinhe 李银河 (1952–) 436 Li Ying 李瑛 (1926–) 37, 82, 84, 85, 87, 214, 238, 239, 316, 478 Li Yingru 李英儒 (1913–1989) 100, 121, 465, 497 Li Youran 李又然 (1906–1984) 49 Li Yunde 李云德 (1929–) 240, 241, 478 Li Zehou 李泽厚 (1930–) 258, 368, 460 Li Zhun 李准 (1928–2000) 37, 97, 105, 106, 114, 161, 268, 456, 459, 468 Li Ziyun 李子云 (1931–) 404, 407 Liang Bihui 梁璧辉 (Yu Minghuang 俞铭璜) (1916–1963) 168, 472 Liang Bin 梁斌 (1914–1996) 36, 39, 99, 120, 125, 463, 468 Liang Nan 梁南 (1925–) 319, 327, 488 Liang Shangquan 梁上泉 (1931–) 37, 82, 85 Liang Shiqiu 梁实秋 (1902–1987) 11, 422, 431, 495 “Liang Xiao” 梁效 (Beijing writing group name) 215, 419 Liang Xiaobin 梁小斌 (1955–) 338, 342 Liang Xiaosheng 梁晓声 (1949–) 214, 270, 310, 312, 489 Liao Mosha 廖沫沙 (Fanxing 繁星) (1907–1990) 166, 168, 182, 183, 210, 470, 473 Liao Yiwu 廖亦武 (1958–) 354 liberated area literature xvii, 3, 4, 9, 19, 60, 93, 113, 171 Lin Bai 林白 (Lin Baiwei 林白薇) (1958–) 407, 416, 447, 501 Lin Biao 林彪 (1907–1971) 210, 214, 231, 236, 237, 474 Lin Danqiu 林淡秋 (1906–1981) 174, 181 Lin Geng 林庚 (1910–2006) 64, 65 Lin Gu 林谷 209 Lin Jinlan 林斤澜 (1923–) 97, 102 Lin Mang 林莽 (Zhang Jianzhong 张建中) (1949–) 246, 337 Lin Mohan 林默涵 (1913–) 37, 50, 53, 57, 113, 455

Lin Nong 林农 (1918–) 209 Lin Xi 林希 (1935–) 300, 319, 490 Lin Xia 林遐 (1921–1970) 175 Lin Xue 林雪 (1962–) 356, 357 Lin Yutang 林语堂 (1895–1976) 422, 423, 431 Ling Li 凌力 (1942–) 405 Ling Shuhua 凌叔华 (1900–1990) 404, 498 Linzi 林子 492 Liu Baiyu 刘白羽 (1916–2005) 9, 27, 37, 50, 172, 175, 176, 177, 179, 268, 420, 469, 471 Liu Binyan 刘宾雁 (1925–2005) 37, 56, 160, 162, 268, 460, 484 Liu Changyu 刘长瑜 (1942–) 227 Liu Chuan 刘川 189, 200 Liu Dajie 刘大杰 (1904–1977) 44, 214, 478 Liu Debin 刘德彬 (1922–2002) 127, 128 Liu Heng 刘恒 (1954–) 271, 387, 388, 389, 396, 397, 445, 494, 496, 500 Liu Houming 刘厚明 (1933–1989) 200 Liu Huiyuan 刘会远 489 Liu Lili 刘莉莉 (Liu Qingfeng 刘青峰 Jin Fan 靳凡) 251 Liu Liu 刘流 (1914–1977) 100, 121, 147, 465 Liu Manliu 刘漫流 (1962–) 353 Liu Na 刘纳 (1944–) 283 Liu Na’ou 刘呐鸥 (1900–1939) 150 Liu Qing 柳青 (1916–1978) 33, 36, 99, 100, 105, 106, 114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 120, 122, 172, 454, 466, 472, 481, 482, 484 Liu Qingtang 刘庆棠 227 Liu Shahe 流沙河 (1931–) 56, 82, 161, 243, 268, 300, 319, 326, 327, 462, 489 Liu Shaoming 刘绍铭 (1934–) 394 Liu Shaoqi 刘少奇 (1898–1969) 209 Liu Shaotang 刘绍棠 (1936–1997) 37, 56, 61, 161, 268, 373, 462, 486 Liu Shousong 刘绶松 (1912–1969) xv, 460 Liu Shude 刘澍德 (1906–1970) 97, 105, 286, 465, 470 Liu Suola 刘索拉 (1955–) 271, 280, 281, 383, 384, 406, 491, 492 Liu Taiheng 刘太亨 (1963–) 353 Liu Xi 柳溪 (1924–) 161 Liu Xiangru 刘相如 188 Liu Xiaofeng 刘小枫 (1956–) 436 Liu Xihong 刘西鸿 494 Liu Xinglong 刘醒龙 (1956–) 503

index Liu Xinwu 刘心武 (1942–) 214, 270, 275, 293, 306, 307, 371, 383, 481, 486, 489, 491, 492, 499 Liu Xiqing 刘锡庆 428 Liu Xuewei 刘雪苇 (1912–1998) 55 Liu Xuyuan 刘绪源 (1951–) 240 Liu Yazi 刘亚子 (1887–1958) 465 Liu Yeyuan 刘烨园 (1954–) 420, 423, 428 Liu Zaifu 刘再复 (1941–) 283, 291, 491, 492 Liu Zhang 刘章 (1939–) 238 Liu Zhanqiu 刘湛秋 (1935–) 327, 421 Liu Zhen 刘真 (1929–) 121, 131, 135, 405, 472 Liu Zhenyun 刘震云 (1958–) 387, 388, 389, 397, 398, 443, 445, 498, 501 Liu Zhijian 刘志坚 (1912–) 210 Liu Zhixia刘知侠 (Zhi Xia 知侠) 1918–1991) 499 Liu Zhongfu 刘仲甫 243 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth (1807–1882) 23 Lorca, Federico García (1898–1936) 344 Lu Dian 芦甸 55, 73 Lu Dingyi 陆定一 (1906–1996) 460 Lu Fen 芦焚 (Shi Tuo 师陀) (1910–1988) 381 Lu Jiande 陆建德 (1954–) 436 Lu Kanru 陆侃如 (1903–1978) 44 Lu Le 鲁勒 461 Lu Li鲁藜 (1914–1999) 36, 52, 55, 73, 74, 319, 327 Lu Ling 路翎 (1923–1994) 30, 36, 38, 51, 52, 55, 93, 102, 157, 158, 159, 160, 265, 457, 458, 501 Lu Mei 鲁煤 73, 163 Lu Ning 鲁凝 78 Lu Qi 陆棨 (1931–) 85 Lu Shuyuan 鲁枢元 (1945–) 283 Lu Tianming 陆天明 (1943–) 314 Lu Wenfu 陆文夫 (1927–2005) 37, 56, 97, 151, 152 161, 268, 294, 299, 300, 305, 367, 371, 373, 461, 463, 490 Lu Xing’er 陆星儿 (1949–2004) 405 Lu Xinhua 卢新华 (1954–) 275, 294, 311, 482 Lu Xizhi 陆希治 158 Lu Xun 鲁迅 (1881–1936) 13, 16, 19, 38, 48, 49, 51, 55, 59, 61, 86, 117, 171, 180, 222, 262, 265, 298, 305, 348, 375, 394, 454, 468, 480 Lu Xun Academy of Art and Literature 48, 107, 331, 418

627

Lu Yanzhou 鲁彦周 (1928–2006) 189, 294, 484 Lu Yao 路遥 (1950–1992) 296, 373, 489, 494, 499 Lu Yifan 陆一帆 154 Lu Yimin 陆忆敏 (1962–) 352, 353, 356 Lu Yin 庐隐 (1898–1934) 404 Lu Yishi 路易士 (1913–) 317 Lu Yuan 绿原 (1922–) 36, 55, 73, 74, 243, 319, 322, 323, 328, 490 Lu Zhaohui 卢朝晖 240 Lü De’an 吕德安 (1960–) 352 Lü Guipin 吕贵品 (1959–) 283, 352 Lü Huiwen 吕恢文 331 Lü Jian 吕剑 (1919–) 56, 86, 319, 327, 436 Lü Jiping 吕冀平 (1926–) 434 Lü Xin 吕新 500, 501 Lü Xingchen 吕兴臣 200, 201, 471 Lü Ying 吕荧 (1915–1969) 36, 55, 476 Lukacs, Georg (1885–1971) 217 Luo Binji 骆宾基 (1917–1994) 35, 97, 105, 502 Luo Changpei 罗常培 (1899–1958) 44 Luo Dan 罗丹 151 Luo Ergang 罗尔纲 (1901–1997) 44, 45, 208 Luo Feng 罗烽 (1910–1991) 37, 48, 49, 50, 56, 71, 180, 181, 464, 499 Luo Gengye 骆耕野 (1951–) 316, 335 Luo Genze 罗根泽 (1900–1960) 44 Luo Guangbin 罗广斌 (1924–1967) 36, 100, 121, 127, 128, 185, 470, 475 Luo Luo 罗洛 (1927–1998) 55, 73, 319 Luo Shu 罗淑 (1903–1938) 404 “Luo Siding” 罗思鼎 (Shanghai writing group name) 215 Luo Sun 罗荪 (1912–1996) 127 Luo Yihe 骆一禾 (1961–1989) 271, 334, 357, 358, 359 Ma Changli 马长礼 (1930–) 227 Ma Fantuo 马凡陀 (Yuan Shuipai 袁水拍) (1919–1982) 64 Ma Feng 马烽 (1922–2004) 37, 93, 97, 105, 108, 109, 146, 452, 464, 467, 481 Ma Hanbing 马寒冰 (1916–1976) 461 Ma Jian 马建 (1953–) 306, 494 Ma Jixing 马吉星 188, 190, 200 Ma Lianliang 马连良 (1901–1966) 168 Ma Shaobo 马少波 (1918–) 198 Ma Shitu 马识途 (1915–) 129 Ma Song 马松 (1963–) 355 ‘Ma Tieding’ 马铁丁 88, 98, 138, 175, 459

628

index

Ma Yanxiang 马彦祥 (1907–1988) 200 Ma Yuan 马原 (1953–) 271, 280, 385, 386, 491, 496, 501 Maeterlinck, Maurice (1862–1949) 288 Mala Qinfu (Malchinhu) 玛拉沁夫 (1930–) 214 Maltz, Albert (1908–1985) 24 Man Qing 曼晴 76 Man Tao 满涛 55 Mang Ke 芒克 (Jiang Shiwei 姜世伟) (1951–) 246, 247, 248, 270, 298, 309, 336, 337, 341 Mann, Thomas (1875–1955) 25 Mao Dun 茅盾 (Xuanzhu 玄珠) (1896–1981) xiii, 5, 9, 18, 19, 24, 27, 33, 35, 37, 38, 48, 51, 52, 58, 70, 90, 97, 98, 99, 101, 102, 104, 113, 114, 120, 122, 133, 135, 137, 138, 140, 143, 152, 181, 199, 206, 207, 218, 259, 268, 298, 451, 454, 464, 466, 467, 470, 471, 472, 481, 487 Mao Zedong 毛泽东 (1893–1976) xiv, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 28, 30, 31, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60, 62, 74, 93, 112, 123, 128, 129, 140, 152, 160, 166, 168, 169, 185, 186, 197, 201, 203, 204, 207, 208, 210, 211, 212, 216, 220, 222, 223, 225, 230, 231, 237, 239, 269, 453, 458, 459, 462, 464, 466, 472, 473, 475, 476, 479, 480 Marquez, Gabriel Garcia (1928–) 264, 266, 369, 372 Marx, Karl (1818–1883) 13, 42, 74, 207, 278, 279, 336, 454, 456 marxism 13, 26, 53, 54, 74, 208, 217, 223, 278, 279 marxist literary theory 12, 13, 62 May Fourth xiii, xiv, xvii, 11, 19, 35, 36, 41, 48, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 73, 82, 96, 99, 100, 104, 153, 154, 171, 174, 176, 188, 194, 206, 220, 246, 270, 276, 283, 291, 292, 300, 316, 336, 339, 341, 352, 356, 372, 391, 404, 421, 430, 483 Mayakovsky, Vladimir (1893–1930) 22, 23, 67, 86, 87 Mei Lin 梅林 (1908–1986) 55 Mei Qian 梅阡 (1916–2002) 190, 196 Mei Shaojing 梅绍静 (1948–) 214, 338 Mei Zhi 梅志 (1914–2004) 424 Meng Chao 孟超 (1902–1976) 165, 167, 168, 182, 210, 214 Meng Lang 孟浪 (1961–) 283, 351, 352, 353

Meng Yue 孟悦 (1957–) 230, 414 Mickiewicz, Adam (1798–1855) 23, 86 middle characters 45, 110, 115, 118, 119, 169, 209, 473 Ming Xiaomao 明小毛 385 Misty poetry 246, 249, 260, 266, 276, 280, 282, 285, 292, 318, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 345, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351 Miu Junjie 缪俊杰 (1936–) 154 Miu Min 缪敏 (1909–1977) 185 Miyamoto Yuriko 宫本百合子 (1899–1951) 24 Mo Mo 默默 (1964–) 353 Mo Yan 漠雁 (playwright) (1925–) 200, 201, 471 Mo Yan 漠言 (novelist) (1956–) 266, 271, 280, 378, 379, 383, 445, 492, 493, 495, 501, 503 Mo Yingfeng 莫应丰 (1938–1989) 214, 487, 497 model operas 212, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 232, 233, 239, 475, 479 modernism 24, 72, 263, 264, 279, 317, 385, 388, 443 modernist literature 260, 263, 264, 277, 281, 291, 369, 382, 383, 384 Morris, Charles Williams (1901–1979) 217 Mu Dan 穆旦 (Zha Liangzheng 查良铮) (1918–1977) 34, 36, 38, 72, 73, 242, 243, 244, 265, 317, 319 Mu Mutian 穆木天 (1900–1971) 56, 317 Mu Shiying 穆时英 (1912–1940) 150 Nan Fan 南帆 (1957–) 283 Nan Shao 南哨 216, 231, 240, 477 Neruda, Pablo (1904–1973) 24, 346 New Folk Song Movement 204, 206, 465 “new period” literature 257, 262, 265, 267, 275, 276, 277, 290, 306, 441, 442, 505 new poetry tide 246, 335, 336, 339, 341, 349, 350, 351, 352, 356, 363, 364, 506 new realism 387, 388, 389, 395, 447 New Sensation school 150, 265 new tide fiction 287, 382, 389, 442 Newborn Generation poetry (Third Generation) 271, 356, 382 Nine Leaves group 34, 72, 73, 265, 317, 319, 329

index Ning Yu 宁宇 (1935–) 238 Niu Han 牛汉 (1923–) 36, 55, 73, 74, 243, 244, 268, 300, 319, 323, 328, 351, 352, 491, 494 Ouyang Jianghe 欧阳江河 (1956–) 271, 354, 357, 361, 362, 444, 494, 501 Ouyang Shan 欧阳山 (1908–2000) 36, 93, 97, 100, 101, 121, 125, 153, 154, 155, 209, 268, 468, 472 Ouyang Wenbin 欧阳文彬 (1920–) 102 Ouyang Yuqian 欧阳予倩 (1889–1962) 195, 471 Pan Gongzhan 潘公展 (1895–1975) 11 Pan Zinian 潘梓年 (1893–1972) 44 Pasternak, Boris (1890–1960) 24, 362 Paz, Octavio (1914–1998) 346 Peng Baishan 彭柏山 (1910–1968) 44, 55, 476 Peng Dehuai 彭德怀 (1898–1974) 123, 124, 168, 169, 209 Peng Kang 彭康 (1901–1968) 476 Peng Ning 彭宁 484 Peng Yanjiao 彭燕郊 (1920–) 55, 64, 73, 319 Plath, Sylvia (1932–1963) 361 Plekhanov, Georgi (1856–1918) 13 Polevoy, Boris (1908–1981) 22 political lyric poetry 67, 85, 86, 87, 335 Petofi, Sandor (1823–1849) 86, 209 popular fiction 90, 100, 101, 122, 143, 144, 145, 150, 307, 376, 382, 438 post-modern fiction 393, 443 proletarian literature 11, 26, 52, 57, 203, 204, 212, 219, 220, 223, 226, 228, 230, 234, 235, 464 Proust, Marcel (1871–1922) 379 Pu Feng 蒲风 (1911–1943) 66 Pushkin, Alexander (1799–1837) 23, 25, 247, 342 Puyi 溥仪 (1906–1967) 185 Qi Xia 企霞 (1913–1988) 158, 453 Qi Xiaoxuan 齐晓轩 130 Qi Yanming 齐燕铭 (1907–1978) 197, 199, 453 Qian Duansheng 钱端升 (1900–1990) 44 Qian Gurong 钱谷融 (1919–) 33, 45, 56, 462, 468 Qian Haoliang 钱浩梁 (Hao Liang 浩亮) (1934–) 227 Qian Jialiang 钱家梁 216

629

Qian Jiang 钱江 212, 227 Qian Liqun 钱理群 (1939–) 283, 284, 381, 492 Qian She 前涉 216, 240 Qian Xingcun 钱杏村 (Ah Ying 阿英) (1905–1977) 48, 481 Qian Zhongshu 钱钟书 (1910–1999) 34, 38, 90, 265, 370, 422 Qiao Guanhua 乔冠华 (1913–1983) 51 Qiao Lin 乔林 78 Qiao Xuezhu 乔雪竹 (1950–) 405 Qin Mu 秦牧 (1919–1993) 37, 174, 175, 176, 177, 179, 420, 469, 499 Qin Shou’ou 秦瘦鸥 (1908–1993) 500 Qin Si 秦似 (1917–1986) 181 Qin Wen 钦文 (1897–1984) 174 Qin Zhaoyang 秦兆阳 (He Youhua 何又化) (1916–1994) 29, 37, 50, 55, 56, 57, 61, 105, 161, 162, 172, 208, 276, 277, 461, 502 Qiu Huadong 邱华栋 (1969–) 448 Qiu Xuebao 仇学宝 214, 216, 238 Qu Baiyin 瞿白音 (1910–1979) 210 Qu Bo 曲波 (1923–2002) 36, 39, 99, 120, 136, 148, 268, 463 Qu Qiubai 瞿秋白 (1899–1935) 19, 48, 454 Qu Youyuan 曲有源 (1943–) 336 Qu Yuan 屈原 (ca. 339–ca. 278 B.C.E.) 194, 455 Quan Yanchi 权延赤 (1945–) 497 Rabelais, François (1494–1553) 23 Rao Mengkan 饶孟侃 (1902–1967) 475 realism 9, 21, 24, 25, 52, 55, 56, 58, 59, 62, 109, 110, 114, 115, 149, 157, 158, 195, 198, 204, 208, 209, 257, 263, 276, 277, 281, 287, 331, 382, 388, 389, 442, 447, 448, 455, 461, 464, 477 realist fiction 98, 106, 117, 119, 122, 139, 146, 242, 252, 287, 302, 303, 366, 382, 383, 385, 387, 388, 389, 390, 395, 396, 398, 442, 445, 497 reform literature 293, 296 “Ren Du” 任犊 (Shanghai writing group name) 215, 234 Ren Hongyuan 任洪渊 (1937–) 327 Ren Jiyu 任继愈 (1916–) 44 reportage literature 152, 160, 171, 173, 179, 289, 298, 301, 421 revolutionary realism 16, 31, 203, 204, 211, 231, 464, 465 revolutionary romanticism 16, 31, 195, 203, 204, 208, 211, 219, 231, 465

630

index

Rilke, Rainer Rilke (1875–1926) 72, 266 Robbe-Grillet, Alain (1922–) 385 Rolland, Roman (1866–1944) 24, 458 Rong Mengyuan 荣孟源 (1913–1985) 44 root-seeking literature 281, 292, 366, 367, 368, 492 Rou Shi 柔石 (1902–1931) 19 Ru Zhijuan 茹志鹃 (1925–1998) 37, 95, 97, 102, 103, 121, 131, 133, 134, 135, 214, 299, 405, 410, 464, 470 Ruan Zhangjing 阮章竞 (1914–2000) 66, 76, 77, 79, 80, 238 Russell, Bertrand (1872–1970) 217 Sang Ye 桑晔 280 Sartre, Jean-Paul (1905–1980) 181, 217, 264, 266, 408 Salinger, J. D. (1917–) 218, 384 scar literature 260, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 309, 409, 445 Schiller, Friedrich (1759–1805) 23 Schopenhauer, Arthur (1788–1860) 23 Serafimovich, Alexander (1863–1949) 22 Sha Bai 沙白 238 Sha Ou 沙鸥 331 Sha Ting 沙汀 (1904–1992) 35, 38, 60, 92, 97, 102, 105 Shakespeare, William (1564–1616) 86, 264 Shanghai school 150 Shao Quanlin 邵荃麟 (1906–1971) xiii, 6, 9, 10, 21, 27, 37, 45, 50, 51, 57, 58, 66, 75, 98, 110, 113, 114, 117, 119, 121, 188, 206, 209, 214, 218, 465, 471, 477 Shao Xunmei 邵洵美 (1898–1968) 476 Shao Yanxiang 邵燕祥 (1933–) 37, 56, 82, 83, 84, 85, 161, 181, 268, 300, 319, 325, 326, 459, 487 Shao Zinan 邵子南 (1916–1955) 76, 331 Shaw, George Bernard (1856–1950) 24 Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1792–1822) 25, 86 Shen Congwen 沈从文 (1902–1988) 7, 11, 34, 60, 90, 101, 105, 265, 370, 371, 379, 381, 425, 446, 472, 496 Shen Fu 沈浮 (1905–1994) 209 Shen Fu 沈复 (Ming Dynasty essayist, 1763–after 1809) 427 Shen Rong (Chen Rong) 谌容 (1936–) 214, 240, 242, 299, 395, 405, 408, 409, 480, 485

Shen Wei 沈苇 (1965–) 430, 435 Shen Ximeng 沈西蒙 (1919–2006) 37, 122, 188, 200, 201, 471 Shi Chao 史超 188 Shi Du 史笃 (1913–1987) 74 Shi Fangyu 石方禹 (1930–) 85 Shi Guanghua 石光华 (1958–) 353, 354 Shi Hanfu 史汉富 240 Shi Shaohua 石少华 227 Shi Tiesheng 史铁生 (1951–) 270, 280, 310, 312, 367, 398, 400, 401, 423, 431, 446, 490, 491, 493, 496, 503 Shi Tuo 师陀 (1910–1988) 34, 91, 265, 496 Shi Zhecun 施蛰存 (1905–2003) 36, 56, 150 Shi Zhi 食指 (Guo Lusheng 郭路生) (1948–) 245, 246, 298, 309, 337 Sholokhov, Mikhail A. (1905–1984) 22 Shu Qun 舒群 (1913–1989) 210 Shu Ting 舒婷 (1952–) 249, 270, 309, 335, 337, 338, 339, 341, 342, 343, 344, 349, 405, 486, 489, 494 Shu Wu 舒芜 (1922–) 44, 52, 54, 181, 455, 459 Shui Hua 水华 (1916–1995) 127, 209 Shuping 述评 444 Si Hao 斯好 423, 429 Sima Wensen 司马文森 (1916–1968) 5, 214, 476 Sinclair, Upton (1878–1968) 24 socialist realism xv, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 31, 52, 54, 55, 59, 60, 61, 62, 113, 198, 205, 219, 455, 456, 461, 464, 466 Solzhenitsyn, Alexander (1918–) 24, 308 Song Haiquan 宋海泉 246 Song Qu 宋渠 (1963–) 354 Song Wei 宋炜 (1964–) 354 Song Yaoliang 宋耀良 283 Song Zhidi 宋之的 (1914–1956) 188, 190, 460 Spengler, Oswald (1880–1936) 217 spiritual pollution 261, 264, 279, 340 Stalin, Josef (1878–1953) 13, 25, 28, 55, 107, 153, 181, 454, 456 Steinbeck, John (1902–1968) 24 Story of Wu Xun, The 14, 31 stream-of-consciousness 263, 281, 285, 291, 302, 303, 420 struggle between two lines 50, 113, 231, 239 struggle between two roads 104, 107, 118, 132, 151, 232, 408

index Su Jinsan 苏金伞 (1906–1997) 319, 327 Su Qing 苏青 (1917–1982) 150 Su Tong 苏童 (1963–) 271, 386, 389, 391, 392, 443, 445, 495, 496, 498, 500, 501 Su Xuelin 苏雪林 (1897–1999) 17, 404 Su Ye 苏叶 429 Su Yiping 苏一萍 189 Summary of Minutes (of the Military Literature & Arts Work Conference) 208, 210, 211, 212, 219, 222, 259, 340, 474 Sun Dayu 孙大雨 (1905–1997) 56 Sun Dian 孙钿 (1917–) 73 Sun Dingguo 孙定国 (1910–1964) 44 Sun Fuyuan 孙伏园 (1894–1966) 475 Sun Ganlu 孙甘露 (1959–) 271, 386, 393, 495, 496, 500, 501 Sun Jingxuan 孙静轩 (1930–2003) 82, 319, 327 Sun Kaidi 孙楷第 (1898–1989) 99, 373 Sun Li 孙犁 (1913–1996) 33, 97, 99, 102, 120, 121, 131, 132, 133, 286, 420, 421, 424, 426, 427, 430, 451, 453, 461, 466, 472 Sun Qian 孙谦 (1920–1996) 105, 109, 111, 173 Sun Shaozhen 孙绍振 (1936–) 339, 487 Sun Wenbo 孙文波 (1956–) 357, 363, 444 Sun Yefang 孙冶方 (1908–1983) 45, 208 Sun Yu (playwright) 孙芋 41 Sun Yu 孙瑜 (1900–1990) 188 Sun Yushi 孙玉石 (1935–) 317 Suo Yunping 所云平 (1928–) 188, 190 Surkov, Alexey (1899–1983) 22, 80 Symbolists 66, 67 Tagore, Rabindranath (1858–1941) 342 8, 12, 19, 52, 455 Tan Ge 谈歌 (1954–) 503 Tan Yuanshou 谭元寿 (1928–) 227 Tang Dacheng 唐达成 (1928–1999) 29, 56, 488 Tang Haoming 唐浩明 (1946–) 499 Tang Kexin 唐克新 (1928–) 97, 151, 470 Tang Min 唐敏 (1954–) 405, 420, 421, 429 Tang Qi 唐祈 (1920–1990) 56, 72, 73, 319, 327, 329, 330, 498

631

Tang Shi 唐湜 (1920–2005) 56, 72, 73, 317, 319, 327 Tang Tao 唐弢 (1913–1992) 102, 181, 182, 368, 499 Tang Xiaobing 唐小兵 (1964–) 230 Tang Xiaodan 汤晓丹 (1910–) 209 Tang Xiaodu 唐晓渡 (1954–) 248, 351, 352, 357, 360 Tang Yaping 唐亚平 (1962–) 356, 357 Tang Yin 唐因 (1925–1997) 29, 56, 488 Tang Zhi 唐挚 (Tang Dacheng 唐达成) (1928–1999) 56 Tao Cheng 陶承 185 Tao Yuanming 陶渊明 (Tao Qian 陶潜) (365–427) 167, 168, 209, 455, 470, 473 Tian Han 田汉 (1898–1968) 19, 35, 37, 165, 167, 188, 189, 190, 193, 195, 196, 210, 214, 465, 476 Tian Jian 田间 (1916–1985) 35, 64, 66, 70, 71, 73, 76, 77, 86, 87, 121, 331, 467, 468 Tie Ning 铁凝 (1957–) 270, 405, 412, 413, 489, 490, 493, 496, 497 Today 246, 248, 249, 252, 336, 337, 341, 342, 347, 349 Tokunaga Sunao 德永直 (1899–1958) 24 Tolstoy, Alexey N. (1883–1945) 22 Tolstoy, Leo N. (1828–1910) 21, 23, 25 “Tong Huaizhou” 童怀周 (group name) 254 Tong Luo 仝洛 200 Tong Shuye 童书业 (1908–1968) 44 Tong Xiangling 童祥苓 (1935–) 227 Trotsky, Leon (1879–1940) 15 Tsvetaeva, Marina (1892–1941) 24, 247, 501 Turgenev, Ivan (1818–1883) 25 Tvardovsky, Aleksandr (1910–1971) 22 Twain, Mark (1871–1945) 24 underground literature 218, 242 unofficial poetry journals 249, 282, 351, 352, 356 Valliant-Couturier, Paul (1892–1937) 24 Wahl, Jean (1888–1974) 217 Wan Guoru 万国儒 (1931–1990) 151 Wan Quan 万全 174 Wan Xia 万夏 (1962–) 354, 355, 357 Wang Anyi 王安忆 (1954–) 270, 280,

632

index

311, 312, 313, 367, 405, 410, 411, 412, 413, 431, 443, 446, 488, 492, 493, 495, 497, 498, 499, 500, 501 Wang Chao 王潮 355 Wang Duqing 王独清 (1898–1940) 50 Wang Enyu 王恩宇 (1937–2006) 238 Wang Furen 王富仁 (1941–) 283 Wang Guangming 王光明 (1955–) 421 Wang Jiaxin 王家新 (1957–) 271, 352, 357, 362, 363, 431, 444 Wang Jing 王靖 485 Wang Jingshou 王景寿 505 Wang Lian 王炼 188, 189 Wang Liaoying 王燎荧 148 Wang Meng 王蒙 (1934–) 37, 56, 161, 163, 265, 284, 286, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 310, 383, 443, 461, 485, 486, 493, 494, 497, 500, 502 Wang Mingfu 王命夫 (1924–1969) 189 Wang Ning 王宁 (1955–) 385, 441 Wang Rong 王戎 (233–305) 55 Wang Runzi 王润滋 (1946–2002) 296 Wang Ruoshui 王若水 (1926–2002) 44, 278 Wang Ruowang 王若望 (1918–2001) 56 Wang Shimei 王士美 (1939–) 240 Wang Shiwei 王实味 (1906–1947) 48, 50, 162, 464 Wang Shuming 王淑明 (1902–1986) 45 Wang Shuo 王朔 (1958–) 287, 438, 446, 449, 495, 497, 499 Wang Shuyuan 王树元 (1932–) 122, 190, 200, 227 Wang Wenshi 王汶石 (1921–1999) 37, 97, 105, 106, 114, 460, 466 Wang Xiaobo 王小波 (1952–1997) 435, 436, 446 Wang Xiaoming 王晓明 (1955–) 283, 440, 441, 494, 496, 502, 503 Wang Xiaoni 王小妮 (1955–) 338, 342, 357, 431 Wang Xiaoying 王小鹰 (1947–) 214 Wang Xindi 王辛笛 (1912–2004) 34 Wang Xingyuan 王杏元 (1937–) 106 Wang Xiyan 王西彦 (1914–1999) 33, 102, 114, 468 Wang Yao 王瑶 (1914–1989) xv, 44, 454, 498 Wang Yaping 王亚平 (1905–1983) 294, 482 Wang Yin 王寅 (1962–) 352, 353 Wang Yingqi 王英琦 (1954–) 420, 421, 429

Wang Yuanhua 王元化 (1920–) 44, 55, 278 Wang Yuanjian 王愿坚 (1929–1991) 37, 97, 121, 130, 131, 458, 498 Wang Zengqi 汪曾祺 (1920–1997) 56, 227, 268, 290, 367, 371, 372, 373, 379, 380, 381, 421, 431, 487, 502 Wang Zhiyuan 王致远 (1925–1989) 78 Wang Ziye 王子野 (1916–1994) 135, 199 Wang Zonghan 王宗汉 (1938–) 294 Wei Dingyi 唯丁易 xv Wei Gangyan 魏钢焰 (1922–) 175, 176 Wei Jinzhi 魏金枝 (1900–1972) 5, 33, 97, 98, 99, 102, 135, 214, 478 Wei Junyi 韦君宜 (1917–2002) 299, 405, 424, 489, 502 Wei Lianzhen 魏连珍 (1919–) 188 Wei Qilin 韦其麟 (1935–) 78 Wei Wei 魏巍 (Hong Yangliu 红杨柳) (1920–) 37, 39, 76, 88, 172, 173, 174, 214, 268, 331, 453 Wen Jie 闻捷 (1923–1971) 37, 78, 80, 81, 87, 214, 458, 461, 467, 477 Wen Xiaoyu 温小钰 ( –1993) 500 Wen Yiduo 闻一多 (1899–1946) 6, 71 Weng Ouhong 翁偶虹 (1908–1994) 227 White, Morton (1917–) 217 Whitman, Walt (1819–1892) 331, 332, 344, 346 women’s literature 407, 410, 413, 414, 415, 416 Woolf, Virginia (1882–1941) 379 Wordsworth, William (1770–1850) 25 writers from liberated areas 37 writing groups 215, 216, 226 Wu·Baixin 乌·白辛 (1919–) 200 Wu Bing 伍兵 240 Wu Boxiao 吴伯箫 (1906–1982) 175, 176, 180, 469 Wu Daiying 吴黛英 407 Wu Fu 吴甫 453 Wu Han 吴晗 (1909–1969) 165, 166, 167, 168, 176, 182, 183, 198, 199, 210, 214, 470, 476 Wu Hong 武红 430, 435 Wu Liang 吴亮 (1955–) 283, 385, 494 “Wu Nanxing” 吴南星 166, 182, 210, 470 Wu Qian 吴倩 158 Wu Qiang 吴强 (1910–1990) 36, 100, 120, 124, 125, 294, 462, 498 Wu Xinghua 吴兴华 (1921–1966) 34

index Wu Xue 吴雪 (1914–2006) 209 Wu Yan 吴雁 (Wang Changding 王昌定) (1924–) 30 Wu Yunduo 吴运铎 (1917–1991) 184 Wu Zhongjie 吴中杰 (1936–) 119 Wu Zuguang 吴祖光 (1917–2003) 36, 56, 181 Wu Zuxiang 吴祖缃 (1908–1994) 105, 501 Wure Ertu 乌热尔图 (1952–) 371 Xi Chuan 西川 (Liu Jun 刘军) (1963–) 271, 357, 358, 359, 360, 431, 444 Xi Du 西渡 (1967–) 357 Xi Qun 洗群 451 Xia Chun 夏淳 (1918–1996) 193 Xia Ji’an 夏济安 (Hsia, Tsi-an) (1916–1965) 265 Xia Nai 夏鼐 (1910–1985) 44 Xia Xing 夏兴 (1947–) 240 Xia Yan 夏衍 (1900–1995) 35, 38, 48, 181, 182, 188, 209, 210, 458, 502 Xia Zhiqing 夏志清 (Hsia, C. T.) (1921–) 265 Xia Zhongyi 夏中义 (1949–) 283 Xiao Fuxing 肖复兴 (1947–) 310 Xiao Hai 小海 (1965–) 352 Xiao Hong 萧红 (1911–1942) 404, 418, 453 Xiao Jun 萧军 (novelist, 1907–1988) 36, 37, 50, 71, 93, 151, 451, 458, 496 Xiao Jun 小君 (poet, 1962–) 352 Xiao Kaiyu 肖开愚 (1960–) 271, 357, 363, 364 Xiao Li 晓立 127 Xiao Mu 萧木 (Qingming 清明, Lixia 立夏, Guyu 谷雨) 240 Xiao Ping 萧平 (1942–) 121, 135 Xiao Qian 萧乾 (1910–1999) 7, 11, 29, 34, 36, 56, 265, 430 Xiao San 萧三 (1896–1983) 64, 185 Xiao Xialin 萧夏林 345, 377 Xiao Xiang 肖翔 331 Xiao Yemu 萧也牧 (1913–1970) 30, 32, 42, 43, 150, 157, 158, 214, 452, 453, 477 Xiao Yunru 萧云儒 (1940–) 175 Xie Fang 谢芳 (1935–) 136 Xie Jin 谢晋 (1923–) 209 Xie Mian 谢冕 (1932–) 320, 339, 357, 434, 441, 486 Xie Fengsong 谢逢松 (1932–) 212 Xie Pu 谢璞 (1932–) 105, 472 Xie Tao谢韬 55

633

Xie Tieli 谢铁骊 (1925–) 209, 212, 227, 243 Xie Ye 谢烨 (Lei Mi 雷米) (1958–1993) 344, 345 “Xin Wentong” 辛文彤 (Beijing writing group name) 215 Xindi 辛笛 (1912–2005) 72, 319, 327, 329 Xiong Foxi 熊佛西 (1900–1965) 474 Xiong Zhaozheng 熊召政 (1952–) 316, 486 Xirong 西戎 (1922–2001) 105, 109, 146, 209 Xiyan 细言 (Wang Xiyan 王西彦) (1914–1999) 33, 102, 103, 114, 468 Xu Chi 徐迟 (1906–1996) 68, 78, 81, 87, 175, 421, 482, 488, 503 Xu Fang 徐放 (1921–) 73 Xu Gang 徐刚 (1945–) 214 Xu Guangping 许广平 (1898–1968) 476 Xu Huaizhong 徐怀中 (1929–) 463, 485 Xu Jiarui 徐嘉瑞 (1895–1977) 78 Xu Jie 许杰 (1901–1993) 56 Xu Jin 徐进 (1923–) 209 Xu Jingya 徐敬亚 (1949–) 282, 283, 337, 338, 339, 340, 352, 490, 491 Xu Kailei 徐开垒 (1922–) 174 Xu Kun 徐坤 (1965–) 407, 416, 418 Xu Lan 须兰 (1968–) 407, 416, 418, 419 Xu Maoyong 徐懋庸 (Fu Xian 弗先, Huichun 回春) (1910–1977) 36, 56, 181, 182, 481 Xu Pengfei 徐鹏飞 (1929–) 130 Xu Xiaobin 徐小斌 (1951–) 406, 407, 416, 417 Xu Xing 徐星 (1956–) 281, 383, 384 Xu Xu 徐讦 (1908–1980) 17, 90 Xu Yunfeng 许云峰 130 Xu Zhimo 徐志摩 (1896–1931) 38, 66, 342 Xu Zhongnian 徐中年 11 Xu Zhongyu 徐中玉 (1915–) 56 Xu Zidong 许子东 283 Xue Jinghua 薛菁华 (1945–) 227 Xue Ke 雪克 120, 465 Yan’an literature (liberated area literature) 10, 15, 18, 19, 48, 158, 186, 230, 231, 271 Yan Changlin 阎长林 185 Yan Chen 严辰 (1914–2003) 85 Yan Duhe 严独鹤 (1889–1968) 476

634

index

Yan Gang 阎纲 (1932–) 92 Yan Jiayan 严家炎 (1933–) 33, 118, 119, 472 Yan Li 严力 (1954–) 246, 337 Yan Wenjing 严文井 (1915–2005) 181 Yan Yi 雁翼 (1927–) 82, 85 Yan Zhen 严阵 (1931–) 37, 82, 85, 87, 238 Yang Chunxia 杨春霞 (1943–) 227 Yang Hansheng 阳翰笙 (1902–1993) 188, 209, 500 Yang Jian 杨健 242 Yang Jiang 杨绛 (Yang Jikang 杨季康) (1911–) 34, 405, 420, 421, 424, 427, 488, 495, 497, 502 Yang Ke 杨克 (1957–) 352 Yang Kuan 杨宽 (1914–2005) 199 Yang Li 杨黎 (1961–) 355 Yang Lian 杨炼 (1955–) 270, 282, 337, 341, 342, 345, 346, 347, 354, 490, 493, 494, 496 Yang Lüfang 杨履方 189, 462 Yang Mengheng 杨孟衡 (1931–) 243 Yang Mo 杨沫 (1914–1995) 36, 39, 99, 120, 136, 137, 138, 139, 268, 405, 464, 466, 468, 503 Yang Mu 杨牧 (1940–) 335, 338 Yang Peijin 杨佩瑾 (1935–) 240 Yang Shangkui 杨尚奎 (1905–1986) 185 Yang Shaoxuan 杨绍萱 (1893–1971) 197, 198, 453 Yang Shi 杨石 (1941–) 175 Yang Shuo 杨朔 (1913–1968) 37, 172, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 214, 420, 455, 469, 470, 476 Yang Xianzhen 杨献珍 (1896–1992) 45, 208 Yang Yiyan 杨益言 (1925–) 36, 100, 121, 127, 128, 185, 470 Yang Yuanhong 杨远宏 (1945–) 353 Yang Zhengguang 杨争光 (1957–) 389, 501 Yang Zhilin 杨植霖 (1911–1992) 185 Yao Jiahua 姚家华 340 Yao Pengzi 姚蓬子 (1891–1969) 476 Yao Wenyuan 姚文元 (1931–2005) 37, 57, 117, 119, 127, 164, 168, 210, 215, 220, 223, 224, 466, 471, 474, 475 Yao Xueyin 姚雪垠 (1910–1999) 56, 100, 140, 141, 174, 214, 472, 481, 488 Yao Zhen 姚真 240 Ye Meng 叶梦 (1950–) 429

Ye Shengtao 叶圣陶 (Bing Cheng 秉丞) (1894–1988) 6, 19, 38, 174, 181, 464, 496 Ye Weilin 叶蔚林 (1935–) 487 Ye Wenfu 叶文福 (1945–) 316, 335, 484 Ye Wenling 叶文玲 (1942–) 405 Ye Xin 叶辛 (1949–) 270, 310, 313 Ye Yanbin 叶延滨 (1948–) 335, 338 Ye Yiqun 叶以群 (1911–1966) 214, 474 Ye Zhaoyan 叶兆言 (1957–) 271, 386, 389, 393, 445, 496, 497, 498, 503 Yeats, William Butler (1865–1939) 362 Yesenin, Sergey (1895–1925) 24, 247, 342 Yevtushenko, Yevgeny (1933–) 218 Yi Er 依而 148 Yi Junzuo 易君左 (1898–1972) 11 Yi Lei 伊蕾 (1951–) 356, 495 Yi Sha 伊沙 (1966–) 356, 363 Yi Zheng 易征 154 Yin Chengzhong 殷承忠 227 Yin Fu 殷夫 (1909–1931) 66 Ying Ruocheng 英若诚 (1929–2003) 193, 200 Yiqun 以群 5, 44 You Guo’en 游国恩 (1899–1978) 44 Yu Dafu 郁达夫 (1896–1945) 38, 283 Yu Hua 余华 (1960–) 271, 385, 386, 393, 394, 395, 443, 445, 494, 495, 496, 499, 500, 503 Yu Huiyong (1926–1977) 220, 227, 476 Yu Jian 于坚 (1954–) 271, 352, 363, 431, 497, 501 Yu Lin 俞林 113 Yu Ling 于伶 (1907–1997) 188, 190 Yu Luojin 遇罗锦 (1946–) 294, 311, 487 Yu Pingbo 俞平伯 (1900–1990) 31, 43, 44, 455, 498 Yu Qing 于晴 (Tang Yin 唐因) (1925–1997) 56 Yu Qiuyu 余秋雨 (1946–) 423, 430, 432, 435, 499, 502 Yu Shizhi 于是之 (1927–) 136, 190, 193, 196 Yu Shusen 余树森 433, 505 Yu Tianbai 余天白 497 Yu Xiaowei 于小韦 (1961–) 352 Yu Yang 于洋 136 Yu Yingcheng 余营成 327 Yu Yu 郁郁 (1961–) 353 Yuan Jing 袁静 (1914–1999) 146, 451 Yuan Kejia 袁可嘉 (1921–) 72, 263, 317

index Yuan Qianli 远千里 76 Yuan Shihai 袁世海 (1916–2002) 227 Yuan Shikai 袁世凯 (1859–1916) 192 Yuan Shuipai 袁水拍 (1919–1982) 43, 50, 66, 67, 77, 86, 489 Yuan Ying 袁鹰 (1924–) 138, 173, 174, 175, 176 Yue Daiyun 乐黛云 (1931–) 407 Yue Ye 岳野 (1920–) 161, 189 Zang Di 臧棣 (1964–) 357, 363, 364, 431, 444 Zang Li 臧力 506 Zang Kejia 臧克家 (1905–2004) 6, 35, 66, 68, 77, 83, 85, 121, 181, 214, 238, 340, 480 Zang Yunyuan 臧云远 (1913–1991) 498 Zeng Yanxiu 曾彦修 (Yan Xiu 严秀) (1919–) 181 Zeng Zhuo 曾桌 (1922–2002) 55, 73, 243, 300, 319, 322, 323, 488, 491 Zhai Yongming 翟永明 (1955–) 271, 356, 357, 360, 361, 405, 431, 444, 494, 496 Zhang Ailing 张爱玲 (Eileen Chang) (1921–1995) 17, 90, 150, 265, 370, 404, 422 Zhang Changgong 张长弓 (1931–2000) 214, 240 Zhang Chengzhi 张承志 (1948–) 270, 286, 310, 312, 367, 398, 402, 403, 421, 423, 431, 443, 446, 490, 495, 497, 500, 501, 502 Zhang Chunqiao 张春桥 (1917–2005) 210, 212, 215, 223, 471 Zhang Chuo 张绰 (1927–) 568 Zhang Daopan 张道潘 5, 11 Zhang Fu 张玞 334, 359 Zhang Guangnian 张光年 (Guang Weiran 光未然) (1913–2002) 37, 50, 85, 182, 207, 461, 469 Zhang Henshui 张恨水 (1895–1967) 90, 144, 145, 475 Zhang Hong 张宏 441 Zhang Hongxi 张鸿喜 216 Zhang Jie 张洁 (1937–) 270, 286, 296, 405, 409, 410, 412, 413, 420, 421, 430, 485, 488, 489, 491, 493 Zhang Jingyuan 张京媛 414 Zhang Kangkang 张抗抗 (1950–) 240, 242, 270, 310, 313, 314, 405, 406, 413, 414

635

Zhang Liyun 张立云 453 Zhang Min 张旻 (1959–) 447, 448 Zhang Ming 章明 (1925–) 339, 487 Zhang Qiqu 张契渠 5 Zhang Shuguang 张曙光 (1956–) 357, 363, 364 Zhang Shilin 张世麟 (1918–1996) 228 Zhang Tianmin 张天民 (1901–1980) 243 Zhang Tianyi 张天翼 (1906–1985) 19, 35, 91 Zhang Tiefu 张铁夫 (1938–) 88 Zhang Wanshu 张万舒 (1938–) 85 Zhang Wei 张炜 (writer, 1956–) 286, 296, 310, 373, 398, 401, 402, 430, 431, 443, 446, 493, 501 Zhang Wei 张维 (1949–) 358, 359 Zhang Xian 张弦 (1934–1997) 294, 300, 307, 486 Zhang Xianliang 张贤良 (1936–) 56, 268, 296, 299, 300, 303, 304, 487, 491, 492, 501 Zhang Xin 张欣 (1954–) 407, 416, 448, 499 Zhang Xinxin 张辛欣 (1953–) 270, 280, 405, 406, 412, 413, 487, 488 Zhang Xinying 张新颖 (1967–) 385 Zhang Xuemeng 张学梦 (1940–) 316, 335, 338, 483 Zhang Yang 张扬 (1944–) 249, 250, 484 Zhang Yigong 张一弓 (1935–) 299, 373, 485 Zhang Yiwu 张颐武 (1962–) 441 Zhang Yongmei 张永枚 (1932–) 37, 82, 85, 214, 237, 238, 479 Zhang Youluan 张友鸾 (1904–1990) 144, 145, 498 Zhang Zao 张枣 (1962–) 357, 363, 364 Zhang Zhen 张真 (playwright) 199 Zhang Zhimin 张志民 (1926–1998) 76, 78, 79, 80, 87 Zhang Zhixin 张志新 (1930–1975) 316 Zhang Zhong 张钟 505 Zhang Zhongming 张仲明 200 Zhang Zhongxiao 张中晓 (1932–1967) 55 Zhang Zhongxing 张中行 (1909–2006) 423, 433, 434 Zhang Ziping 张资平 (1893–1959) 455 Zhao Dan 赵丹 (1915–1980) 127 Zhao Huan 赵寰 (1925–) 200 Zhao Kai 赵恺 (1936–) 327 Zhao Mei 赵玫 (1954–) 420

636

index

Zhao Shuli 赵树理 (1906–1970) 9, 19, 36, 93, 97, 99, 105, 106, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 117, 144, 146, 148, 169, 214, 451, 452, 453, 458, 465, 466, 467, 469, 470, 471, 472, 473, 477 Zhao Xun 赵寻 (1920–) 189 Zhao Yanxia 赵燕侠 (1928–) 227 Zhao Yuan 赵园 (1945–) 283, 436, 494 Zhao Zumo 赵祖谟 (1937–) 505 Zhaxi Dawa 扎西达娃 (1959–) 280, 367, 393, 501 Zhdanov, Andrey (1896–1948) 22, 28 Zheng Boqi 郑伯奇 (1915–1979) 483 Zheng Chengyi 郑成义 238 Zheng Jiqiao 郑季翘 (1912–1984) 218, 474 Zheng Min 郑敏 (1920–) 34, 72, 265, 319, 328, 329, 330, 405, 494, 499, 501 Zheng Bonong 郑伯农 (1937–) 340 Zheng Rong 郑榕 (1924–) 193 Zheng Si 郑思 73 Zheng Tianting 郑天挺 (1899–1981) 44 Zheng Wanlong 郑万隆 (1944–) 214, 240, 241, 366, 367, 371, 492 Zheng Yi 郑义 (1947–) 246, 270, 294, 310, 311, 366, 367, 371, 372, 483 Zheng Zhenduo 郑振铎 (1898–1958) 5, 6, 456, 465 Zheng Zhi 郑直 (1917–1966) 240 Zhi Xia 知侠 (Liu Zhixia 刘知侠) (1918–1991) 120, 147, 457 Zhong Dianfei 钟惦斐 (1919–1987) 29, 33, 37, 50, 56, 313, 461 Zhong Jieying 中杰英 (1934–) 294 Zhong Jingwen 钟敬文 (1903–2002) 44 Zhong Ming 钟鸣 (1953–) 363 Zhong Tao 钟涛 (1962–) 240, 479 Zhong Xuan 钟瑄 73 Zhou Bo 周勃 56, 461 Zhou Enlai 周恩来 (1899–1976) 18, 52, 251, 253, 277, 470, 480, 483 Zhou Erfu 周而复 (1914–2004) 36, 93, 99, 152, 452, 465 Zhou Gucheng 周谷城 (1898–1996) 45, 208 Zhou Guoping 周国平 (1945–) 436 Zhou Hetong 周和桐 (1920–1986) 227 Zhou Jun 周俊 (1955–) 358, 359 Zhou Keqin 周克芹 (1936–1990) 294, 485, 498 Zhou Liangpei 周良沛 (1933–) 83, 319 Zhou Liangsi 周良思 240 Zhou Libo 周立波 (1908–1979) 35, 36,

38, 93, 97, 99, 102, 105, 106, 107, 151, 176, 178, 179, 454, 459, 464, 468, 481, 484 Zhou Lunyou 周伦佑 (1952–) 271, 354, 355 Zhou Peihong 周佩红 (1951–) 420, 428 Zhou Tao 周涛 (1946–) 335, 423, 428, 491, 499 Zhou Tian 周天 216 Zhou Wancheng 周万诚 209 Zhou Yang 周扬 (Zhou Qiying 周起应) (1908–1989) xv, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 31, 37, 42, 44, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 71, 93, 94, 105, 108, 112, 113, 188, 192, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 210, 213, 215, 218, 219, 231, 257, 276, 278, 279, 451, 453, 454, 456, 460, 462, 464, 467, 468, 471, 475, 477, 483, 485, 497 Zhou Yaqin 周亚琴 (1968–) 506 Zhou Yiliang 周一良 (1913–2001) 44 Zhou Yiyu 周夷玉 167 Zhou Zhengbao 周政保 (1948–) 283 Zhou Zuoren 周作人 (1885–1967) xiv, 38, 101, 214, 381, 422, 475 Zhu Daonan 朱道南 (1902–1985) 185 Zhu Ding 朱定 452 Zhu Guhuai 朱谷怀 55, 73 Zhu Guangqian 朱光潜 (1897–1986) 5, 7, 11, 34, 58, 60, 86, 265, 460, 493 Zhu Jian 朱健 (1927–) 73 Zhu Keyu 竹可羽 113 Zhu Lin 竹林 294, 310, 311, 405 Zhu Minshen 朱敏慎 240 Zhu Wen 朱文 (1967–) 352, 444, 448 Zhu Xueqin 朱学勤 (1952–) 432, 433 Zhu Yizu 朱艺祖 195 Zhu Zhai 朱寨 (1923–) xvi, 94, 119, 169, 275, 293 Zhu Zhu 朱朱 (1969–) 352 Zhu Ziqing 朱自清 (1898–1948) xiv, 6, 38, 64, 69, 430 Zhu Zuyi 朱祖贻 190 Zhuangzi 庄子 (ca. 369–ca. 286 B.C.E.) 400 Zinoviev, Alexander (1922–2006) 22 Zixi 紫兮 110 Zola, Emile (1840–1902) 25 Zong Fuxian 宗福先 (1947–) 482 Zong Pu 宗璞 (1928–) 161, 163, 299, 383, 405, 421, 463, 486 Zou Difan 邹荻帆 (1917–1995) 64, 73, 86 Zuo Lin 佐临 (1906–1994) 200