Abstract: Romantic literature has always occupied a very important position in the history of world literature, and people of all countries are full of romanticism in their works expressing their dreams for the future. At the same time, it has its own characteristics of the times and national territory. This paper attempts to compare the ideal problems in Chinese and western romantic literature, and expounds the differences and reasons between Chinese and western romanticism from three aspects: social ideal, life ideal and personality ideal.

[Paper Keywords] romantic society ideal life ideal personality ideal

The wave of western romantic literature mainly came into being in the twenties and thirties of19th century, and it is an important literary school of19th century, and its source can be traced back to the ancient Greek period. China's romantic literature is hundreds of years earlier than that of the West, and many theoretical systems are not perfect, but its influence on the whole history of China literature is indelible. The most important feature of romantic literature is to express one's subjective feelings and vision for the future ideal. Both Chinese and western romantic writers have expressed their beautiful ideals for the future to varying degrees, but they are similar in many aspects and have their own characteristics of the times and national boundaries.

First, the social ideal-a utopia divorced from the peach blossom garden on earth and the real world

China's description of social ideals dates back to the pre-Qin period. Qu Yuan expressed his yearning for a better world in Li Sao. In the Peach Blossom Garden, Tao Yuanming created an isolated paradise for people. People who live here cultivate their own food, don't ask about political affairs, and "yellow hair enjoys itself"; As an outstanding representative of China's romantic literature, Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, expressed his yearning for the realm of immortals through dreams, a paradise of mutual respect and love.

During the Western Renaissance, rabelais, a French writer, showed people a beautiful blueprint of utopia-Tremet Monastery in his novel Biography of Giants, which reflected the yearning of the emerging bourgeoisie for a beautiful, peaceful and happy life during the Renaissance. In Faust by Goethe, a German writer, Faust's seaside paradise built with his life was the blueprint of the rational kingdom that enlightenment thinkers dreamed of at that time.

It can be said that the ideal society described by China writers is a kind of peach blossom garden that is divorced from the secular world, and it has not been shown in detail; The ideal society written by western writers is a utopia based on reality. Although it depicts the future world, it is concrete and the blueprint is clear. This is the result of the times at that time. At that time, China was under the rule of feudal society, which was stagnant for a long time and lacked advanced ideological guidance. Therefore, it is difficult for classical romantic writers to describe the utopian society in the future. They can only show their ideal society through indirect ways such as reforming the ancient system and visiting fairyland. Because there are many advanced social thoughts in the west as a guide, they may show the utopian ideal society in detail, which will greatly encourage readers after reading it.

Second, the ideal of life-supernatural tortuous fantasy and frank and confident "direct pursuit."

The ideals of life described by western writers are mostly about the happiness of individual subjects. During the Renaissance, most of them pursued the liberation of personality, freedom of love and happiness of marriage. In Shakespeare's early works, there are many songs about life and love. In the19th century, this life ideal of pursuing personal love and happiness gradually sublimated into an anti-feudal and freedom-seeking career ideal. Leon and Sisna, revolutionary couples portrayed in Shelley's long poem Islamic Uprising, are typical representatives of this image.

China writers' description of life ideal is not about love, but about pursuing fame and wealth and describing human relations. This is not to say that there is no love in the life ideal of China literati. There are many unforgettable love stories in The Peony Pavilion and Peacock Flying Southeast in China's literary works, but these love stories are also mixed with some pursuit of fame and fortune. For example, in The West Chamber, Yingying's mother didn't agree with her daughter and Zhang Sheng, and didn't acquiesce in this marriage until Zhang Sheng won the top prize.

Therefore, for the ideal love in life, China is not as far-reaching as the West. This is because in the long feudal society of China, love and marriage have always been the words of parents, and young men and women are suppressed by feudal system and thought, and they have almost no right to love freely. Therefore, there are few works praising free love in China ancient literature.

In addition to the different content and theme of life ideal, Chinese and western writers express this ideal in different ways.

China's ancient works are often full of twists and turns when expressing his ideal life, often adopting some supernatural ways and full of romanticism. Some use romanticism to break the boundary between life and death, so that male and female couples who can't be together during their lifetime can be happy after their death, such as the Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu. Some works add a fantasy at the end to express people's pursuit of a happy life, such as Peacock Flying Southeast. There are also some works that help the weak to achieve the purpose of revenge through the power of ghosts and gods, so as to realize people's ideals in life, such as Dou Eyuan by Guan Hanqing.

Western works are more direct in expressing life ideals. It is often an ideal of personal life, in which the protagonist strives for freedom and happiness frankly and confidently.

The differences between Chinese and western writers are inseparable from their times. In China, people's bold pursuit of life ideals was constrained by the suppression of people by underdeveloped capitalism and various systems in feudal society, so people had to express their life ideals in tortuous and implicit ways. In the era when western romantic writers lived, feudalism gradually declined and capitalism developed. Writers are full of confidence in defeating feudal forces and a better life in the future, so they can build a blueprint for a better life with straightforward, bold and enthusiastic brushstrokes.

Third, the ideal person-a superman with a single personality and an ordinary person with a distinct personality.

The ideal figures in western romantic literature can be roughly divided into three types:

1. Active rebellious hero

They are positive and full of enthusiasm and strength for everything. Just like Goethe's Faust, he dared to make a treaty with the devil in order to get rid of his present life and pursue higher goals. Although he ended in failure, he still showed heroic courage. This also shows the valuable quality of the emerging bourgeoisie at that time, which was courageous and resourceful. In addition, Prometheus in Shelley's works dared to fight against feudal tyrants in order to build a world without disputes and oppression, which also reflected the fighting spirit of the emerging bourgeoisie.

2. Byronic hero

They dare to resist the reality, but they can't get rid of their innate bad habits and don't want to associate with the people. Being divorced from the masses, they fell into a state of depression and loneliness. The most typical is a series of characters created by Byron. The characteristics of this hero are the unique characteristics of the rebels in an era when the bourgeois revolution has disappeared and the proletarian revolution is not yet mature.

3. Son of the Century

They are dissatisfied with reality, have ideals but lack confidence in the future, so they do nothing all day. René of chateaubriand and Vodafone of Miao Sai are both representatives of this type in Confession of a Century. The protagonists in the novels of this period are all aristocratic youths who lost everything under the impact of the Great Revolution. It shows that they can't find their place in real life, that kind of pessimistic and desperate mental state, dark psychology and unhappy feelings.

In China's classical romantic works, the depiction of ideal characters is not as clear as that of western types, but it is also more representative. Here are two typical examples:

(1) The incarnation of Qu Yuan in Chu Ci.

Qu Yuan expressed many noble qualities in Chu Ci, such as adhering to national integrity and the spirit of self-improvement.

(2) the Monkey King

There are two main reasons why the Monkey King became an ideal figure in people's minds: First, he was a rebellious image who dared to resist tyranny, which was mainly reflected before he learned from the scriptures. Before learning the scriptures, the Monkey King stole a flat peach and made a scene in heaven, presenting a vivid image of a rebel in front of us, objectively reflecting the people's dissatisfaction and resistance to the tyrant at that time. Secondly, it is a heroic image with infinite wisdom, mainly reflected in its way of learning from the scriptures. Saving the princess and helping the people and monks ... these heroic acts are deeply imprinted in our minds and objectively reflect the embodiment of ideals in the minds of the broad masses of the people: heroes with wisdom, chivalry and courage.

Although both Chinese and western writers express their ideal characters in their works, the heroes they create are not the same.

The vast majority of the west are the representatives of the middle and petty bourgeois democratic classes in Europe in the 18 and 19 centuries. They have both * * * and personality. Although he is an ideal figure, he is not invincible. They have the shortcomings and advantages of ordinary people. Therefore, most of the romantic ideal figures created in the west are personalized ordinary people.

Compared with the west, China's romantic ideal character is relatively simple. Most of them are heroes of the times who are universally respected and admired by people of all ages. Their leading figures have distinct personalities, but they lack their own personalities. Therefore, most of the romantic ideal figures created by China are superman with single personality.

Although China's classical romanticism is not perfect compared with the mature western romanticism system, it has laid a foundation for the future development of China's romantic literature. Romantic writers in China presented us with an ideal paradise with national characteristics completely different from the western world through their own experience of the society at that time!

[References]

[1] Zheng Kelu: History of Foreign Literature, Higher Education Press, 1999.

[2] Yuan Xingpei: The History of China Literature, Higher Education Press, 1999.

[3] brandeis: "1mainstream literature in the 9th century", People's Literature Publishing House, 1980 edition.

[4] Zheng Kelu: Selected Works of Foreign Literature, Fudan University Press, 1999.

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