In the study of modern literature in China, there is an increasingly prominent problem, that is, the different understanding of the concept of "modern literature in China". When I was teaching the course "History of Modern Literature in China" in the Chinese Department of Peking University, I organized students to discuss, and almost every student had his own opinion. In the usual context of China, the history since 1840 can be divided into three stages. 1840- 19 19 is "modern", 19 19- 1949 is "modern" and 1949 is "contemporary" up to now. Taking this as a reference, then "China Modern Literature" is the literature that basically corresponds to the modern history of China. At present, most academic circles adopt the teaching/research framework from 19 17 to 1949. It is often called "Thirty Years of Modern Literature". However, using "
The concept of "modern literature" is encountering more and more complicated problems. In foreign non-Chinese literary circles, it is difficult to distinguish "modernity", "modernity" and "contemporary" semantically. For example, Japan calls "modernization" "modernization". In China, in general, "modern" and "contemporary" are synonyms, and only those who have studied the history of modern literature and contemporary literature can distinguish these two concepts. So there are more and more questions about the category of modern literature. Especially with the coming of 2 1 century, this problem has become more prominent. When we say "modern", we don't mean "now" when we speak, but half a century ago. This has brought us a lot of inconvenience. Therefore, it is necessary for us to clean up this category.
However, when we try to clarify the concept of "modern literature", we will find the complexity of the problem. The key problem is that the concept of "modernity" is vague. It is not only a concept of time, but also a concept of value. For example, it is 2004, but we can say that Europe is "modern" than Africa, and we can also say that something is "modern". Therefore, the understanding of modern literature is not only a difference in time, but also a difference in space.
Let's list them separately and make a brief comment.
In terms of time, there is first a question of the upper and lower limits of "modern literature".
There are many different views on the upper limit of "modern literature". The first one is 19 19, and the demarcation point is the May 4th Movement. The reason is that literature and politics should be consistent. The May 4th Movement has updated the whole culture of China, and of course the nature of China literature has also undergone a qualitative change. At present, this view is rare in the field of modern literature research in China, but many people outside scholars think so, especially in middle school Chinese textbooks. When I was teaching modern literature to freshmen, I asked them on the first day of modern literature. They all said 19 19. This view is very clear-cut, but it is too simple, because in fact, we still have to trace back to the literary revolution of 19 17 and the new youth of 19 15.
The second is 19 17. The dividing point is the literary revolution, because of the independence of literature, which emphasizes judging the time period from the development clues of literature itself. At present, the university teaching system basically adopts this upper limit. But this means that modern literature is just new literature, ignoring the development of popular literature.
The third type is 19 1 1 or 19 12. The dividing point is the Revolution of 1911 and the founding of the Republic of China. The reason is that modern literature should be the literature of modern democratic countries. Only when the emperor is overthrown can there really be personal spiritual space. This also links literature with politics. Judging from the development of popular literature, this upper limit is a dividing point. But judging from the literary movement, the significance of this year is not particularly prominent.
The fourth is 1898, and the dividing point is the Reform Movement of 1898. The reason is that ideological change is the internal driving force of literary change. The concept of "20th Century China Literature" put forward by some scholars in Peking University actually started from 1898. The "Centennial Literature Comprehensive Department" presided over by Mr. Xie Mian has been written for more than ten years. The first book is 1898, which was written by Mr. Xie Mian himself. 1898 the establishment of Shi Jing university hall, the predecessor of Peking University, is a beginning in the history of modern education.
The fifth is 1840, and the demarcation point is the Opium War. The reason is that there is no independent "modernity" between ancient and modern times. This is actually the integration of modern literature into modern literature. Modern literature has always been a weak link in teaching and a research hotspot in recent years.
The sixth is the opinion of Zhou Zuoren and others, who believe that modern literature began in the Ming Dynasty on the grounds of personality liberation and human awakening. This view cannot be realized in teaching and can only be used as an academic reference.
There are not many differences about the lower limit of "modern literature".
The first view is 1949. This is not only orthodoxy, but also the view of most people. 1949 The establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC) made China literature enter a brand-new historical stage. However, in recent years, some different views have emerged. The reason is that from the literature itself, 1949 is nothing serious.
The second view is that the Cultural Revolution ended at 1976 and has been "contemporary literature" since the new period. According to this view, the literature in the 1950s and 1970s was basically a continuation of the literature in the Liberated Areas and should belong to "modern literature". Only after the Cultural Revolution did it enter a new historical stage called "Earth-shaking".
The third view is Mao Zedong's speech at 1942 Yan 'an Forum on Literature and Art, which holds that the previous literature was dominated by the spirit of the May 4th Movement, and later it entered the contemporary literature with * * * ideology as its core.
The last one advocates breaking the lower limit regardless of modernity and contemporariness, which is generally called China literature in the 20th century. This proposition has great influence. In fact, many scholars have conducted research that transcends "modernity" and "contemporariness". But this idea has also been questioned by some scholars, who think it ignores many differences that should be paid attention to. China literature in the 20th century is inevitable.
In space, the reference of "modern literature" has undergone many changes in scope. Since Yao Yao and others started this subject in 1950s, "modern literature" has long been a new literature with the proletariat as the core and combined with other classes. Therefore, revolutionary literature accounts for the largest proportion in various versions of modern literary works, while other literature is on the edge, or fellow travelers, or the object of criticism.
After the new period, the concept has changed a lot, and the edge and center began to switch. After 20 years' evolution, revolutionary literature has occupied a small proportion, and the so-called "theory of human nature" and "literature with eternal artistic value" have been paid attention to. But the basic framework is still the framework of new literature, and many new problems have emerged. For example, ignoring the important ideological struggle in the history of modern literature, ignoring the reading choice of the public in those days, has become a personal expert interest.
There have long been different opinions on whether modern literature should include popular literature. Mr Yan Jiayan and Mr Tang Tao once argued. Mr Yan Jiayan thinks it should include old literature, including old-style poems. Mr Tang Tao emphasized the value of "modernity" and opposed the inclusion of old literature. However, with the expansion of the academic understanding of the concept of "modernity", more and more people think that it should include popular literature. In other words, in the process of modernization in China, all kinds of literature have played different roles. They are a whole, not a simple relationship between the advanced and the backward. 1998, Peking University Publishing House reprinted the Thirty Years of Modern Literature in China by Qian Liqun, Fuhui Wu and Wen Rumin. This book has a chapter on popular literature every 10 year. This shows great changes. Mr. Kuang Xinnian criticized this framework as inappropriate, but it is already a trend. In 2000, the new edition of The History of Modern Literature published by Renmin University of China Press also devoted a chapter to popular literature.
Therefore, there are many topics about the concept of "modern literature" at present. One is how to look at all kinds of literature produced in China in the 20th century. After choosing a certain value concept, it is probably inappropriate not to talk about literature that does not meet your own standards. For example, some contemporary literature teachers don't talk about the Cultural Revolution literature, and some even don't talk for seventeen years. "Blank processing" is probably not the best way to learn history. However, on the other hand, we should also pay attention to the value distinction of different literature. Zhang Henshui and Lu Xun are just not easy to compare. To study these problems clearly, we should go back to the history of literature and carefully examine the production, circulation and acceptance of literature at that time, including publishing, newspapers, literary education and various sub-literature. In this way, we may find a way to properly handle the concept of "modern literature" as soon as possible.
(Published at the International Symposium on Sinology in Korea)