The Study On The History Of Korean Criticism On Chinese Modern Literature During The First Half Of The 20th Century

During the transition period to modern times,the influx of Western literature through Japan has overflowed into Korean literary circles.Nonetheless,some Korean critics perceived Chinese literature as foreign literature,one component of world literature,and attempted to glean what useful information they could from it for their own modernization.The purpose of translation and criticism of Chinese modern literature in Korea during the first half of the 20th century,was to establish Korean modern literature and build a modern society that was anti-feudalism and anti-imperialism.Chinese modern literature,imposed historical assignment of anti-feudalism and anti-imperialism during the transition period to modern time,began with the Literary Revolution and the May 4th New Culture Movement.It was developed through the Literary Revolution,Revolutionary Literature,and Resistant Literature.Criticism on Chinese modern literature in Korea during the Japanese colonial era and liberation period,also had historical assignment of anti-feudalism and anti-imperialism.Forwarding for modernization and liberation from Japanese ruling,it developed through the Beginning Period,Developing Period,Deepening and Recession Period,and Revival Period.This research analyzed 196 critiques published during this era in Korea.The Beginning Period belongs to the first half of the 1920s,and criticism on Chinese modern literature in Korea began.Ryang Geon-sik,Lee Yun-jae,Lee Dong-gok,Ryang Myeong began to translate and criticize Chinese modern literature at the elementary stage.Ryang Geon-sik translated Chinese Literary Revolution centered with Hushi of Aoki Masaru,and it was the beginning of criticism on Chinese modern literature in Korea.Ryang Geon-sik continued to translate many critiques on Chinese modern literature,plays,poems,and novels in the first half of the 1920s.Lee Yun-jae,who had studied in Beijing University,wrote political critiques about rapidly changing social and political situation in China.He also translated critiques on the Chinese character Romanization movement and Constructive Literary Revolution of Hushi.Lee Dong-gok strongly asserted that Korean society needed to accept reformation of thought and literature from the Chinese New Culture Movement.Ryang Myeong insisted establishment of new Korean literature based on the theory of new literary reformation of Hushi.Their critiques,centered on the Literary Revolution and revolution of thought,were mostly written between 1920 and 1924.They were focused on the establishment of modern society and modern literature by overthrowing old thoughts of feudalism and the old social system.During the Beginning Period,Korean criticism on Chinese modern literature began with translating Japanese researches and Chinese critiques on the Literary Revolution.Specifically,Korean critics paid attention to the theories of Hushi about the Literary Revolution.Chinese Literary Revolution centered with Hushi of Aoki Masaru,Constructive Literary Revolution and Theory of New Poetry of Hushi were translated,and many other plays,poems,and novels of Chinese modern literature were translated.About 20 critiques on Chinese modern literature were published during this period.The serialized story of Doll's House in Maeilshinbo which had been translated by Ryang Geon-sik was published in the title of Norah in 1922.The Developing Period belongs to the second half of the 1920s to the first half of the 1930s.Critics,who had studied in China and received formal academic training,published many critiques very passionately on Chinese modern literature.They criticized Chinese modern literature very actively from various critical perspectives including anarchism and communism.Important critiques of this period were Yu Gi-seok,Jeong Rae-dong,Kim Gwang-ju,Lee Yuk-sa,Kim Tae-jun.Yu Gi-seok published Mozi and Christ in Gidokshinbo in 1925,and then published many critiques from the point of view of anarchism.And he also translated Luxun's Diary of a Madman for the first time in Korea.Jeong Rae-dong and Lee Yuk-sa published high quality critiques on Luxun.Kim Gwang-ju published critiques centered on Chinese modern plays and films.Criticism on Chinese modern literature was most active during this period,and about 100 critiques were published.Gaebyeok publication published Chinese Short Stories in 1929.The Deepening and Recession Period began in the 1930s to the Liberation in 1945.Critiques of socialism appeared from critics who graduated from the department of Chinese literature&linguistics in Gyeongseong Imperial University.After the Second Sino-Japanese War,criticism on Chinese modern literature was very limited.Kim Tae-jun began his criticism based on socialism from the first half of the 1930s,continuing him,Bae Ho,Lee Myeong-seon,who graduated from the department of Chinese Literature&Linguistics in Gyeongseong Imperial University,wrote academic criticism.From the 1930s to the Liberation of 1945,they published about 30 critiques.From the Second Sino-Japanese War to the Liberation of 1945,only about 30 critiques were written from all perspectives.The Revival Period belongs to the Liberation of August 1945 to the Korean War of June 1950.Criticism on Chinese modern literature faced a revival during the liberation period,and 42 critiques were published in a short time.Besides Jeong Rae-dong,Kim Tae-jun,and Lee Myeong-seon who were critics since the 1930s,Yun Yeong-chun was an active critic.Many books with relation to Chinese modern literature were published,including Selected Chinese Modern Short Stories(1 946)and Selected Essays of Luxum(1949)of Lee Myeong-seon,Short Stories of Luxun(1946)by Kim Gwang-ju&Lee Yong-gyu,Selected Modern Chinese Poems(1947)and History of Modern Chinese literature(1949)of Yun Yeong-chun.Including Ryang Geon-sik,The first generation of critics of Chinese modern literature of the 1920s was highly evaluated as 'translation,adaptation and trial of the modern style','contemporary acceptation of Chinese modern literature through Japan','depressive realism of elites in colonial era and creation of utopian world','the beginning of translation of Chinese modern literature in Korea'.At the same time with Ryang Geon-sik,Lee Yun-jae,Lee Dong-gok,Ryang Myeong took attention to Chinese revolution of thought,reformation of society and New Literary Movement,and they introduced these thoughts and movement to Korea for the Korean modern thought and social system.Next to them,Jeong Rae-dong,Kim Gwang-ju,Lee Yuk-sa,Kim Tae-jun,who had studied in China and received formal academic training,started academic and systematic criticism on Chinese modern literature since the 1930s.They didn't stay at the situation of criticism on Chinese modern literature through Japan,however they researched Chinese modern literature hoping for independence of the fatherland and establishment of a new nation.And then during the liberation period,Yun Yeong-chun criticized Chinese modern literature from Christian point of view for establishment of a new nation.Significance of criticism on Chinese modern literature in Korea during the first half of the 20th century is:First,it was the literary practice by Korean critics for revolution of thought and literary revolution during transition period of modernization which took the historical burden of anti-feudalism and anti-imperialism.Korean critics hoped that they could accomplish revolution of thought and establish modern Korean literature through translating Chinese modern literature and criticism of it.Second,Korean critics expressed their rage and inner resistance through criticism on Chinese modern literature.Although they couldn't resist against Japanese tyranny directly,they expressed their resistance through criticism on Chinese modern literature.Third,Korean critics pursued modernity and establishment of modern Korean literature through novels and plays from commoner literature.They discarded conventional and elitist literature for aristocrats,and pursued modern and democratic literature for the common people.Fourth,Korean critiques on Chinese modern literature was the stage for developing the modern Korean style of language and they affected reformation of grammatical usage of Korean writing.Fifth,Korean critics expressed their longing for the ideal world of mental pursuits in an imaginary space of literature,and they also sought to establish a new modern fatherland in criticism on Chinese modern literature from their own critical perspectives as nationalism,anarchism,socialism and Christianity.Sixth,the ultimate orientation of Korean criticism on Chinese modern literature was directed for'justice and humanism'.Korean criticism on Chinese modern literature was not mere literary criticism,but it was literary practice by the literati.Their core literary spirit was resistance and criticism,and the ultimate orientation of resistance and criticism was just 'justice and humanism'.Criticism on Chinese modern literature in Korea during the first half of the 20th century covering Japanese colonial era and liberation period was literary practice for the establishment of an independent nation from colonial rule to a modern democratic society.Its core literary spirit was resistance and criticism,and the ultimate orientation of resistance and criticism was restoration of justice and humanism.Criticism on Chinese modern literature in Korea during the first half of the 20th century was carried out for indirect resistance against Japanese tyrannical oppression.And it also pursued to establish a modern democratic society,and of course to establish modern Korean literature.It also contained hope for an ideal establishment of the new fatherland.The core spirit of this literary practice was resistance and criticism,and the ultimate orientation of resistance and criticism against an irrational world was justice and humanism,that is,the ultimate dignity of mankind.