Transmitting Literature From Popular Tastes To Refined Ones

Zhu Ziqing(1898-1948), was a well-known modern poet and essayist as well as an outstanding scholar and Chinese educator.Based on collected and arranged research material, we know that the researches on Zhu are concentrated more on his works, style and Chinese teaching ideas than on his theories on art and literature. Even if there are some articles discussing the latter, they still fail to touch the critical character and core of his theories, not to mention discussing the connection between Zhu's theories and western criticism, which do not get in line with the literary criticism and achievements he made all his life.This thesis deals with Zhu's theories on art and literature from the angle of its connection with western criticism. The article argues that, in the process of absorption western theories to explain traditional literature, Zhu Ziqing who based his theories on China's reality has developed his specific ideas on art and literature, and succeeded in transmitting from popular tastes to refined ones.This thesis consists of three parts: the first part (Chapter One) from the demands of "I", explores what Zhu's absorption of western criticism does for. In an attempt to develop new literature and elaborate traditional literature, he actively accepted the influence from western criticism.The second part (Chapter 2 to Chapter 4), from the angle of history, discusses Zhu's selective acceptance of various theories on art and literature through the three periods. Chapter 2 analyzes his consulting to humanitarianism theories by Leo Tolstoy in the period from 1916 to 1922. Based on his active absorption and acceptance of Tolstoy's theory, Zhu, with rich teaching experiences to the popular, has formed his own ideas on literature, "Literature for the poplar's sake", which has similarity as well as difference when compared to Tolstoy's "Literature for most people's sake".Chapter 3 explores Zhu's reference to aestheticism by Walter Pater in the period from 1922 to 1928.His theory "Momentism" has much in common with Pater's ideas. But to those progressiveintellectuals who believe in progress conception, they would not accept aestheticism-decadencismfrom their heart. Even if such reference activities, they would not deviate from anti-feudalism humane ideas and anti-tradition romanticism. Therefore, undoubtedly Pater's aestheticism leads to decadence while Zhu's Momentism to pragmatism —self-rescue after decadence. The art inclination of his life and feminine inclination of his art symbol his aesthetic conception.Chapter 4 discusses Zhu's acceptance of the theory of Semantic analysis by I. A. Richards and William Empson in the period from 1929 to 1948.The profound changes of civil situation made Zhu retreat into his study. The experience he worked with the couple I. A. Richards and William Empson made him easy and interested to get to know their works, which arouse a ready respond from his heart. He faded their psychological part, absorbed the essence of semantic analysis, recognized the passion and poly-semantic of poems' language, advocated and practiced intensive reading among poems and other literary works. In addition, he made a creative application of approaches on semantic analysis to classic criticism.The third part (Chapter 5) analyzes Zhu's ideas on literature "transmitting from popular tastes to refined ones", which is the product of the influence of western ideas we have discussed. It explores and analyzes the whole process how he was influenced by humanitarianism, aestheticism, and the theory of Semantic analysis and transferred from acceptance of "popularity", creation of "elegance", to the merger of the two. Zhu's ideas come from his consulting to the western ideas and repeated application so that we may regard it as an experimental poetics.The main research method here is close reading to texts and in-depth analysis based on concrete evidence. The former covers Zhu's works and criticism on him including his diaries, letters and relative research results. Close reading to the texts is intended to find out the main material and critical ideas on his absorption from the West. The latter is used to find evidence from original texts to explain what theories influence Zhu and on these, how he elaborate traditional literature and improves the development of new literature since May 4th movement so as to disclose historical facts.