The Visual Construction Of Modern Girl Images In Shanghai

In the 1930 s,the concept of “modern is the central trend of thought of The Times”was popular in Shanghai,and phrases such as “modern saves the country”,“Year of Women’s domestic goods” and “Theory of the subjugation of the country by modern”emerged.After the introduction of the Western word “modern”,it injected new vigor and vitality into “modern”.As a worldwide trend,“modern girl” has also been spread by various artistic media such as film,painting,advertisement and literature,and has become an important object of attention and discussion.Around 1933,the change of the color of modern words combined with the special context of “national survival” in Chinese society made “modern girl” subject to great controversy,and the original positive modernization image was treated in a negative attitude.Modern Miscellany,as a commercial pictorial of Shanghai,has produced a large number of modern girl images in Shanghai.A group of Modern Miscellany with the same artistic interest and aesthetic attitude have carried out visual expression on the modern girl images in Shanghai for the purpose of pursuing modernity and aestheticism.It also responded to social events concerning modern girl in the “golden years” from 1933 to 1937.This paper holds the following ideas:1.By exploring the image of Shanghai modern girl constructed by Modern Miscellany from 1933 to 1937,we can think about the stance and attitude of Modern Miscellany group on the fashionable Shanghai urban girl such as “modern” and “modern girl”,and explore the social changes of Shanghai in the 1930 s from the perspective of Modern Miscellany.2.Based on the above views,Modern Miscellany adopted a vague and ambiguous attitude towards the image construction of modern girl in Shanghai during the most controversial period from 1933 to 1937,without making any evaluation and without expressing a position.Modern Miscellany group chose the artistic way to gently deal with social contradictions not only because Modern Miscellany rarely participated in social affairs and pursued the artistic purpose of “beauty for beauty”,but also because Modern Miscellany itself was a fan publication that was hardly interfered with and reformed by external factors.3.The image of modern girl in Shanghai constructed by Modern Miscellany mainly takes petty bourgeoisie and even Chinese-funded modern girl as reference.These intellectuals do not pursue commercial profits and try to understand the needs of the public,but often choose to ignore them.This choice determines that Modern Miscellany cannot become a popular pictorial.4.Modern Miscellany not only inherited the art mantle of Shanghai manhu,but also sent a large number of excellent cartoonists to the later comics publications such as Shidai manhua,Wanxiang,Manhua jie and so on.It also contributed many outstanding talents to the propaganda of anti-Japanese art during the period of Anti-Japanese War.It is an indispensable part of the history of Chinese art in the 20 th century.