Perseverance, Adjustment And Transcendency

Guided by the overall and open-ended literary view which looks the Chinese literature in the 20th century as an integral whole, this paper is intended to examine the whole process and causes of the development of an important literary school - the July School. After a careful analysis and study of the achievements and stylistic characteristics found in their literary criticism, poems and fictions, the thesis reveals its special status and value in the 20th century Chinese literature.A literary school is formed in the complex correlation of various factors. Identical or similar literary points of view and artistic styles are prerequisite to the formation of a literary school. Its structure of organization and the activities are the variables in the formula that defines a literary school, but as obvious external characteristics, these are always the key factors by which people get to know a literary school. The July School is one literary school with the highest degree of fullness and typicality. Its dual formal features of being both concentrated and open make it one literary school with enormous compatibility and influence. The July School displays various unique artistic features which are essentially based on the same principle. The individuality of its members and the commonness as a whole are so harmoniously united that it presents an important experience for the success of literary schools."Subjective Fighting Spirit" is the core of Hu Feng's subjective realism, and this is where lies the uniqueness and profundity of Hu Feng's literary theory. Hu Feng's literary theory absorbs from different sources useful elements. These can be proved from the following aspects: fundamental Marxist theories, Soviet literary thoughts, the latent influence of western modernism, the inheritance and practice of Lu Xun's literary beliefs. Though he could not be spared from the influence and confinement of the specific social and cultural environment, Hu Feng assumed an open outlook and adaptive attitude, keeping fighting against the bad tendency in the literary field. Then while sticking to the standpoint of realism, Hu Feng managed to achieve a literary breakthrough and transcendover the mainstream literary thoughts of that time. The collaboration of Hu Feng's theories and those of the other members of the school serves the solid theoretic foundation of the July School.The literary creation of the July School is characterized by its sublime and tragedy. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, oneness dominated the literary filed, with one literary orientation, one literary theme and one literary style favored. The literary diversity which had been fostered since the May Fourth Movement was totally restrained. And there was a tendency that a single but lofty style of literature was beginning to dominate the literary domain. The July School stuck to the literary stance of enlightenment, advocated individualism, spared no effort to re-identify and reshape the national spirit of the Chinese people, and went on with the experiment and exploration of modernism which was introduced to China early during the May Fourth Movement period. Their aesthetic style is quite outstanding and abundant. Tie focus of literary creation of the July School lies in the exaggeration of a deep tragic atmosphere and the permeation of a high spirit of the time, which coincides with the general characteristics of the age at the beginning of the 20th century characterized by a combination and mutual reaction of sublime and tragedy.The complexity and diversity of people's life and mind brought forth by the war has ever given rise to a tentative attempt of manifold exploration and combination of different literary thoughts in the 40 s. Under the flagship of the unique and extinguishing July-School were a group of active creative writers. They stuck to their independent pursuit. established their own independent personality, thus transcending the age as well as the literary schools. This unique purs ait of individualism enabled the July Scho...