Zhao Jing - Shen And The Study Of 20th Century Popular Literature

Zhao Jingshen, a world famous historian and theorist in the field of drama, is also an expert in the research of pop literature in the20th century who has made pioneering contributions to the study of drama, fiction, and pop literature such as fairy tales, folk performing art like Tanci and Guci. The present dissertation intends to make a comprehensive analysis of his contributions from six aspects, which naturally divides the whole thesis into six chapters. Chapter One is the introductory part which includes the life story and major works of Zhao Jingshen, an overview of previous studies, and the main content, objectives, and methodologies of this dissertation. Chapter Two mainly investigates Zhao Jingshen’s study in pop literature under the social backdrop of the20th century. It firstly focuses on the changes in the connotations and evolutions of pop literature. Secondly, it expounds on the relationship between the May Fourth New Culture Movement and his study of pop literature, mainly focusing on the influences from new intellectuals such as Hu Shi, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Zheng Zhenduo, etc. Chapter Three discusses his contributions in the study of drama which includes the following four aspects:his comments on drama, research on folk drama, investigations in Shanghai folk drama Kunqu, and his collection of drama literatures. Chapter Four delves into Zhao Jingshen’s accomplishments in the field of fiction, focusing on his study on Lu Xun’s analysis and writings concerning Chinese classics, the evolution and impact of Chinese classics of Stories from the Ming Dynasty Collection, features and achievements of previous fiction study. Chapter Five mainly examines Zhao Jingshen’s achievements in the study of folklores in which his contributions to the study of children’s literature, folktales, and folk performing art are fully analyzed. The last chapter is the conclusion which summarizes the features as well as the impact of Zhao Jingshen’s study of pop literature, especially to the development of folk literature in Shanghai. The present dissertation contextualizes Zhao Jingshen’s study of pop literature into the social backdrop of the20th century and attempts to elicit an objective conclusion concerning the value of his study as well as his contributions to the development of pop literature in China.