In The Call Of The "national" Consciousness

Laoshe was one of the famous writers in the modern Chinese literature history.As one member of "the Beijing School", he was known by his elegant, sagacious andironic style. The study on Laoshe by others focused on his literature achievements,mainly on the literature features and language use. This thesis gives a comprehensiveanalysis on the conducts and writings during the anti-Japanese war in terms of the callof "the state"and the image of "the nation", and tries to supply an all-roundexplanations to the change of Laoshe and his writings from the background of amacro time period.The thesis consists of two chapters. The first chapter is Becoming a Member ofthe Nationwide Anti-Japanese Association of Literature and Art,it discusses thechange of Laoshe's action in the anti-Japanese war by comparing his action beforethe full-scale breakout of the war. During the anti-Japanese war, Laoshe was mainlyengaged in organizing "Nationwide Anti-Japanese Association of Literature and Art",holding the writers together to write anti-Japanese articles. He always persisted inpractical writing and hardworking therefore it was very distinctive that he showed hisattitudes towards anti-Japanese war through his twice public-declarations. From hisattitudes to the betrayal of Zhou Zuoren and Liang Shiqiu's indifference to the war,Laoshe showed his national stand as a conscientious Chinese intellectual.The second chapter is The Call of "the State"and the Image of "the Nation",mainly discussing the Laoshe's writings during the anti-Japanese war. It points outthat the influence of the anti-Japanese war on Laoshe's literature ideas, style andcontent etc. It describes how "the national allegory"as a writing approach becameLaoshe's literature idea, and its presentation in his writings. The writer assumes thatthe key reason of Laoshe's great change during the war was the call of "the state", andthe main resource was the image of "the nation". Language worked as the medium ofconstructing the image of "the nation ", and it exercised as a way of Laoshe'sparticipating into the image of "the nation"and writing. Laoshe earnestly practicedwhat he advocated "first the state and then the family"which was also his viewpointin the literature writing. In addition, domestic trouble and foreign invasion in the1940s, evoked the Chinese intellectuals like Laoshe to attach to the Chinese ancientpoems and historical figures who inspired the Chinese people to fence against theJapanese invasion and safeguard the Chinese nation, and the faith on the nationalindependence impelled them to creatively transform the Chinese traditional culture.