What was the specific content of the left-wing literary movement in the 1930s? Purpose? Meaning?

Literary thoughts and movements in 1930s.

Generally speaking, "1930s literature" refers to the literature from 1928 to 1937, which is also called "the second decade of modern literature".

"The second decade of modern literature (1928- 1937) is a historical period from the establishment of the Kuomintang regime to relative stability, and it is also full of crises. In order to maintain ideological rule, the Kuomintang government has made various efforts in establishing party system culture and party system literature. ..... Although the Kuomintang, which holds political power, has absolute advantages in politics, economy and military affairs, it has failed to form an independent force with influence and appeal in the fields of ideology and literature. In the 1930 s, it was the proletarian literary movement and its literature, the literary movement and its literature of democratic and liberal writers, which determined the basic characteristics of literature. "

-Thirty Years of Modern Literature in China by Qian Liqun (Revised Edition), Beijing: Peking University Publishing House, 1998, p. 19 1- 192.

Literary and art groups based on different political positions in the 1930s

Left-wing literature and liberal writers dominate the literary world.

1. Kuomintang literature and art-"nationalist literature and art" movement.

Manifesto: Manifesto of nationalist literature movement, literature movement centered on national consciousness (1908+00), etc.

Publications: Forward Weekly and Forward Monthly (1930); Huang Zhong (1932) and so on.

Representative figures and works: Pan Gongzhan, Zhu, Wang Pingling, Huang, Fu Yanchang, etc. Novels on the Longhai Line, the destruction of Greater Shanghai, the poetic drama Blood of the Yellow Race, etc.

Left-wing literary movement ("left-wing revolutionary literary trend of thought").

3 "liberal writers" group ("humanistic literary trend of thought"). -in literature and art, they are dissatisfied with the Kuomintang's party spirit literature and left-wing literature and art, and emphasize the "independence" of literature.

..

Advocacy of Revolutionary Literature and Establishment of "Left-wing Alliance"

First, the background of the rise of revolutionary literature

1. International background: 1928 is the time when the international proletarian literature movement is grandly launched. At that time, the activity of proletarian literature in the Soviet Union and western European countries, and the upsurge of proletarian literature movement in Japan and even North China gave revolutionary writers motivation and encouragement. 1928 and 1930 held two congresses of world revolutionary writers in Moscow and Kharkov respectively, and the second meeting established the International League of Revolutionary Writers. (There was "Lapp" in the Soviet Union-the largest literary group in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s. The Russian abbreviation for "Russian Federation of Proletarian Writers" was transliteration. Japan has the abbreviation of "Napo"-"All-Japan Proletarian Art Federation", which was founded in 1928 and founded the organ newspaper "Battle Flag". ) This greatly influenced the rise of proletarian revolutionary literature in China.

2. At that time, the current needs of the development of the domestic revolutionary struggle situation: in the early 1920s, producers such as Hui, Deng Zhongxia began to advocate proletarian revolutionary literature, Mao Dun published "On Proletarian Art" in 1925, and Guo Moruo published "Literature and Revolution" in 1926, which became the 1930s.

1927 After "4 12", China's * * * production party began to lead the revolution alone, and political independence required literary independence.

After the failure of the Great Revolution, a large number of revolutionary intellectuals gathered in Shanghai. (Because there are concessions run by foreigners in Shanghai that can provide them with refuge), including Lu Xun, Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Yang Hansheng, Cheng, Hong, etc. Later, they all became an important force in revolutionary literature.

The basic theoretical proposition of proletarian revolutionary literature was first put forward by members of the late creation society and the Sun Society.

Second, the major literary debates in the 1930s (3)

(1) Debate on "Revolutionary Literature" (1928— 1929)

1. The two sides of the argument are: one is Guo Moruo, Cheng, Feng Naichao, Li, Zhu Jingwo,, and, and the other is Lu Xun and Mao Dun of Sun Shi.

2. Representative articles of both parties to the dispute:

Revolutionaries: From Literary Revolution to Revolutionary Literature by Cheng, About Revolutionary Literature, How to Build Revolutionary Literature by Li, The True Story of Ah Q, and Feudal Remains on the Literary Road, etc.

Lu Xun: Drunken Eyes (1928.2), Literature and Revolution (1928.4), Introduction to Modern New Literature (1929.5), etc. Mao Dun: Read Ni Huanzhi and write in front of the wild rose.

3. The focus of the debate:

The "revolutionary school" exaggerates the role of literature and art, unilaterally emphasizes the propaganda role of literature and art, and emphasizes that writers must change their world outlook and treat this change too simply; Mistakenly deny the achievements of the May 4th Enlightenment literature, and criticize progressive writers such as Lu Xun and Mao Dun.

Publicly declaring that "most ordinary writers are counter-revolutionaries", such as Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Ye Shengtao and Yu Dafu, should be criticized, and the new literature since the May 4th Movement should be completely denied as bourgeois literature (Li). Say that Lu Xun's era has passed (Qian Xingcun); Lu Xun is the best spokesman of the bourgeoisie in China, the worst agitator of the proletariat, the old knight of China, the old Don Quixote (-Li), the "feudal remnant" on the literary front and the "double counter-revolution" of socialism ().

Lu Xun's point of view:

1) The role of literature and art cannot be exaggerated; Literature should play the role of propaganda revolution; However, literature is literature after all, and literature is not just propaganda. Literature has its own characteristics and laws, which should be respected.

2) The change of a writer's world outlook depends not on temporary enthusiasm and simple slogans, but on actual works and truly revolutionary ideas.

4. The significance of the "revolutionary literature" debate:

Positive meaning

1) expanded the influence of "revolutionary literature".

2) The two sides changed from "debate" to alliance, which contributed to the establishment of the "Left League".

Negative meaning

1) Both sides of the debate showed a certain sectarian sentiment, showing the irrational color of a series of debates in the field of literature and art in the 1930s.

2) Although the debate was terminated because of the intervention of the top leaders of the * * * production party, the focus of the debate between the two sides has not been effectively clarified, and the "left-leaning" naivety of the revolutionary literature school is still left to the later "Left League".

(2) The argument that literature is based on universal humanity. The object of criticism is the crescent school and its theory of human nature.

(3) Debate about "freedom of literature and art". This debate took place between Hu, Liu and left-wing writers. The focus of the debate is the relationship between literature and politics, while Hu emphasizes the independence of art.

The Establishment of "Left-wing Alliance" and Left-wing Literature

1, "Left-wing Writers' Union": the abbreviation of China's Left-wing Writers' Union.

Time and place:1March 2, 930, the inaugural meeting of the Chinese Left-wing Writers' Union was held in Joffrey Avenue, and it was dissolved in 1936.

Sponsors: more than 40 people including Lu Xun, Rou Shi, Feng Naichao, Li,, and Tian Han.

Theory and program of action: Art is anti-feudal and anti-bourgeois, and it is an auxiliary and derivative of proletarian art.

Main literary activities: ① Establishment of publications. Creation Monthly, Cultural Criticism, Pioneers, Germination Monthly and Beidou after the publication.

(2) A section on Marxist literary theory and the promotion of socialist realism.

(3) Strengthen contact with the international proletarian literature movement.

(4) Promote the popularization of literature and art. After the establishment of the Left League, the Literature Popularization Research Association was established, and a resolution on "New Tasks of Proletarian Revolutionary Literature in China" was made at 193 1, and "Literature Popularization" was regarded as the "first major topic" in the construction of proletarian revolutionary literature.

⑤ Literary thoughts are embodied in the creative methods of advocating proletarian realism and socialist realism.

2. Understanding of left-wing literature in 1930s.

1) Generally speaking, the narrow sense of "left-wing literature" refers to the literary creation activities related to the "left-wing alliance" in the 1930s; It cannot be equated with the concepts of proletarian literature, workers, peasants and soldiers literature and Yan 'an literature.

2) The achievements of left-wing literature in 1930s can't be separated from the advocacy and support of "Left-wing Alliance", but it can't simply be attributed to organizations with strong political color.

3) There are two extreme comments on the left-wing literature in the 1930s in the history of China literature: one is that the left-wing literature is orthodox, ignoring or excluding non-left-wing writers such as Shen Congwen (represented by the narrative of literary history in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China); One is to deny or belittle the achievements of left-wing literature with the left as the "curse" (the wrong criticism of the "black line theory of literature and art" in the 1930 s and some academic viewpoints in the 1980 s and 1990 s)

Since 2000, "Left-wing Literature" has once again become a research hotspot, and the evaluation of "Left-wing Literature" has become more fair and objective.

4) The composition of the "Left-wing Literature" camp is very complicated and cannot be judged by a certain standard in general. Can contain different levels:

As a left-wing intellectual, Lu Xun insisted on reforming social thought; In his works, he did not insist on overthrowing the Kuomintang regime (different from the political ideal of the * * * production party).

Guo Moruo, Ding Ling, Zhang Tianyi, Jiang Guangci, Rou Shi and Yin Fu are all party member and talented writers.

Mao Dun (who used to be party member, but later left the Party organization, but always adhered to Marxist literary and artistic thoughts) was between the real party insiders and free intellectuals.

Dai Wangshu and Yu Dafu are only excellent writers who sympathize with the proletariat.

Feng Naichao, Zhou Yang and others are more propagandists and executors of the literary policy of the * * * production party, but lack the ability of literary creation.

5) Although the composition of left-wing literature in 1930s is complicated, it still has its own characteristics:

First, militancy and rebellious spirit-embodies the characteristics of literature under the oppression of power.

Secondly, the strong concern for the bottom of society reflects the emphasis on "class" consciousness in left-wing literature.

Third, pay attention to major social realistic themes and advocate the popularization of forms in theory (which may not be well implemented in creative practice-different from the literature in the liberated areas in the 1940s).

The Debate on Literary Thought in 1930s

First, left-wing writers' criticism of "nationalist literature and art"

Fu Yanchang: Manifesto of Nationalist Literature Movement: Use "nationalism" to obliterate class consciousness, and use "central consciousness" of literature and art to maintain the autocratic rule of the Kuomintang.

Qu Qiubai denounced "nationalist literature" as "literature advocating murder and arson" in "Butcher Literature" (193 1.8).

Mao Dun's Manifestations of Nationalist Literature and Art and Lu Xun's Tasks and Fates of Nationalist Literature both profoundly criticized its essence.

Second, the argument with the crescent school.

1928 In March, Crescent Society founded the monthly magazine Crescent. In the article Attitude of the New Moon, Xu Zhimo criticized literary schools including utilitarianism, extremism, aggressiveness and individualism, which inevitably contradicted the ideas of left-wing literature and attracted criticism from the left-wing camp at the beginning.

So there is a debate about literature "based on universal humanity". Lu Xun's essays are the most convincing refutation to Liang Shiqiu and others. (P 155— 156)