Nationalist Literature (1930-1937) Theory

The dissertation, composed of seven parts, makes a fairly detailed study of Nationalism, a rather unorthodox literary thought and creation prevailing in China in the 1930s. The Introduction, after a review of the earlier research in this field, states the academic attitude and the research methods the author takes in the paper, defines two key words, i.e. Right-wing Literature and Nationalism, and then comments briefly on the major characteristics Nationalistic Literature presents. Chapter 1 focuses on the historical and artistic context in which Nationalism emerged. It analyses the positive effects the nationalistic trend of thought exerts on literature creating in modern China, reaching the conclusion that the major artistic arguments of Nationalism, in fact, originated in Fu Yanchang, Ye Qiuyuan and etc. and the emergence of such a literary thought can not be simply attributed to the political background. Chapter 2 deals with the parochialism and one-sidedness in the Theory of Nationalistic Literature from the following three different perspectives: the relationship between art and nationalism, between nationalism and individual, and between art and time. The next chapter characterizes the diversities and complexities of the literary creating of Nationalism in such cities as Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, based on first-hand materials concerning the founding of artistic teams, the publication of literary periodicals, and the creation and translation of literary works. Chapter 4 analyses the ideological features realized in On the Lanzhou -Lianyungang Railway, the Bleeding of the Yellow Race and the Destruction of Shanghai of Huang Zhengxia, who is considered a representative writer of Nationalism. The author comments on his worship of military force and the injustice in the criticism of the left-wing literary arena. Chapter 5 includes case studies of important Nationalistic writers such as Wang Pingling, Wan Guoan,Li Zanhua, and Li Puyuan. The paper builds its characterization on literary text itself and tries to give just and disinterested evaluation and appreciation of them. Toward the end of the dissertation the author points out the justification for the emergence of Nationalism, as a result of its representing the demands of the time to a degree and the tactic deficiencies of the Left-wing Literary School, followed by a brief analysis of the historical and artistic causes underlying the less popularity of Nationalistic Literature compared with the Left-wing Literature.