Modern Chinese Writers' Criticism And Modern Chinese Literature Consciousness

The thesis focuses on the modern Chinese literature consciousness that reflected in the criticism among the modern Chinese writers. The "modern Chinese literature consciousness" refers to the cognition, assumption and introspection upon the modern Chinese Literature and its development. In terms of the logical content, it consists of the concept consciousness(literary view, values system and historical view) and construction consciousness. The criticism plays a very active role during the modern Chinese literature period, and the modern Chinese literature consciousness is fully embodied behind the criticism. This consciousness builds up "modern literature" and "modern Literature history" and bears the significant Modern History value. Thus, this thesis aims to show how the writers'criticism influences, changes and molds the features of new vernacular literature and the trend of literary history.This thesis can be divided into six parts, each part dealing with the following:The transition from "criticism" to "consciousness", is the introduction part for the whole thesis, which reviews the concerned concepts. In this part, the concept of writers'criticism and the significance of writers'criticism in the criticism history are presented respectively. Moreover, the effects of writers'criticism in the literature construction is expounded and finally the key statement that writers'criticism performs an important function in the literature history through the literature consciousness is presented. Compared with different kinds of theoretic views, declaration arguments and literary activities, the consciousness is the profound internal factor that restricts the modern literature development. To some degree, one modern Chinese literature history is the developing history of modern literature consciousness.The first chapter, the shift from "literature" to "modernity", discusses how to name and regulate "New Vernacular Literature" and make it modernized. The generation of modern literature is based on the modern transformation of the literature" concept, which aims to construct a modern belles-lettres concept under the background of western subjects. The literary revolution, sponsored by Hu Shi, regards vernacular literature as the orthodox school, which lays a modern language tool for modem literature. Zhou Zuoren's views on "human literature" make the modern literature modernized. While, the "popular literature" is the attempt to locate the modern literature quality, in which the paradox of elegance and popularity is presented. However, it is just in the naming that the modern literature is constructed and the consciousness and features of "modernity" have been revealed gradually. Therefore, the modern literature has converted from the modernity in terms of time to the modernity in terms of values. During this process writers' criticism plays a dominant role.The second and third chapter, "issues" and "doctrine", discriminate the various problems and doctrines in the modern literature development from the two aspects of aesthetics and politics. The second chapter discusses how the modern literature establishes its aesthetic validity. The writers pursue the pure nature and independence of literature with a serious attitude and initiate a new era of literature consciousness. But the aesthetic construction of New Vernacular Literature is a difficult process, especially in the construction of new poetry. New poets make a bold exploration of how to develop poetry criticism and theory construction, which present a rich literature consciousness. Shen Congwen has made great contributions to the aesthetic construction of New Vernacular Literature. He consistently upholds the pure literary attitude. Not only does his criticism stick to the aesthetic standards and discover the aesthetics of criticism objects, but his critical articles themselves are graceful works, give the audience the enjoyment of beauty, unfold a unique "literariness" and themselves are one symbol of aesthetic construction in the modern literature.Chapter three mainly explores the problem that how the New Vernacular Literature writers deal with the utilitarianism trend of literature, especially the political trend. Modern literature is never detached from the requirement of the times and burdens the social mission all the time. So "the theory of non autonymy" and "instrumentalism" are also the important contents of modern literature consciousness, the idea "for life" being a representative. Realism is the mainstream of modern literature. As a result of politic reasons, it is chosen and worshipped by the modern writers. Meanwhile, the "times consciousness" is the deep logic of the revolutionary literature. Modern literature never quits utilitarianism as well as the politics. To construct the political aesthetics of modern literature is also the important content of modern literature consciousness. Qian Xingcun's "the literature of power" is a limited attempt. Mao Dun is a representative of social utilitarianism school, whose literary criticism has distinctive features and embodies the concept consciousness that literature should reflect and analyse society.Chapter four, from "example setting" to "mind forming", discusses how the New Vernacular Literature writers participate in the writing and traditional construction of modern literature. Though the new literature and old literature is divided outside, they are connected internally. To prove the validity of the literature revolution, the advocators of New Vernacular Literature movement find the evidence in the history origin in the Chinese literature. This origin has connected the new literature and tradition, and found the profound historical evidences for itself. Among the works, Hu Shi's Chinese Literature in the Past 50 Years and Zhou Zuoren's The Origin of China's New Literature are the typical texts. Hu Shi presents the history of vernacular Chinese literature from the theory of evolution, supports the new literature historically, make the new literature reach the summit of evolution, and guarantee the only validity of the New Vernacular Literature in the modern Chinese literature. Zhou Zuoren advocates that Chinese literature history is the continual circulation of "mind expressing"and "doctrine carrying", and new literature is just the continuity of the school of "doctrine carrying". The circulation theory to a certain extent denies the revolutionary meaning of new literature, but in a sense it's meaningful. Along the thought of Chinese Literature in the Past 50 Years, Hu Shi has further created the orthodox status for the New Vernacular Literature in The History of Vernacular Chinese Literature. For the proof of the validity of new literature, the establishment of new tradition is more important, and the compilation of The Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature is full of deep and profound significane. The Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature strengthens the basic stylistical range of new literature, defines the historical division of new literature history, and embodies the strategy and internal division of new literature ideology. More importantly, the compilers of The Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature has collectively built the integral image of new literature from different perspectives and consciousness, formed the basic outlook of new literature history,constructed a vivid rich new literature tradition. However, the historical writing paradigm presented in The Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature has been terminated by the new politicalized writing paradigm quickly.The last part is the conclusion of the whole thesis. The modern literature consciousness of modern literature writers is generated with the influence of various elements, and points to an objective:modern literature--the construction of a new literary tradition. It's supposed to be understood, reevaluated and perfected from the historical attitude.