The Birth of Twentieth-Century Chinese Literature Revolutions in Lan
This study makes a linguistic case for the twentieth century revolution in Chinese language and literature. It offers a history of reform and change in the Chinese language throughout the country’s history, and focuses on the concept of ‘baihua’, a langua
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THE BIRTH OF TWENTIETHCENTURY CHINESE LITERATURE Revolutions in Language, History, and Culture
The Birth of Twentieth-Century Chinese Literature
Yu Gao
The Birth of Twentieth-Century Chinese Literature Revolutions in Language, History, and Culture
Yu Gao Zhejiang Normal University Jinhua, China Translated by Guicang Li Wenzhou University Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
ISBN 978-1-137-56529-7 ISBN 978-1-137-55936-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-55936-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017947824 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover design by Ran Shauli Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Nature America Inc. The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, U.S.A.
Foreword
Lu Xun, in his “Essay Fifty-Four,” writes thus about the state of Chinese society: It is no other than a peculiar scene of many centuries squeezed together: there co-exist oil lamps and electrical bulbs, wheelbarrows and airplanes, darts and machineguns, ‘no talking of legal principles’ and the Movement of Defending the Constitution, the cannibalistic doctrines and humanitarianism, ceremonies for the arrival of a corpse from afar, snake worship, and the advocacy of aesthetic education to replace religions. All these stand side by side in current China. (344)
Realistic and predictive for his times, Lu Xun presents an epitome of Chinese society during the period of the May Fourth Movement, and a general picture of twentieth-century Chinese society. The co-existence of things incompatible, as he observes, is analogous to the field of Chinese literature. Comparatively speaking, twentieth-century Chinese literature, from the writings in modern baihua (vernacular) to the modernist literary mov
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