Literature Shanghai Imagine

The thesis of this dissertation is that Shanghai in the literature came from experience or endowed with imaginative significance to the end? If the latter is possible, then why and how is it endowed with such significance and what's it?It is considered that Shanghai in the literature is not entirely from experiential narration, but to the large extent from the endowed significance, that's a Shanghai in the literature. In the 20th century, it is accumulated modernistic significance, even to the modern rhetoric tactic stage. So the expansible modernistic identity of "Shanghai in the literature" is made up of the significance of the modern country and modernization. The main reason of this motivation is that Shanghai, the first biggest city in China, represents the longing to the modernity and Chinese modernization. Shanghai becomes the most carriers of the independence and modernity in the structure of the modern nation. It is at least a Shanghai text, not the real Shanghai geographically. Hence the geographical Shanghai is exceeded and the logic of this location is equal to the logic of the nation and its modernity. Enslaved to the requirement of ideological transformation of national centricity, the imaginative narration of Shanghai comes forth step-by-step. Although every time the contents vary, its basic logic never changes. In this regard, the overall modernity narration substitutes for the given pluralistic narration of Shanghai, and dilutes the complexity, blend, and multi-analysis of Shanghai as the real location.The content of this dissertation can be approximately introduced as follows:The preamble is the pectination of the researching of the Shanghai literature ever since the New Phase, and the turning from the theory of reflection of the city in the literature to the recognition of the significance of city representation. And the latest study on the concept of "imagination" in the study of the city culture is also concerned. According to the present deficiency of Shanghai study, I give my idea and understanding, enclosing the limitation of my explanation and that of my study.The first chapter is mainly the pectination of the Shanghai imaginative narration in the past one hundred years. Firstly, the two pedigrees of the Shanghai image-building are taken apart: one is its margin in the world's cosmopolitism colonization systemfrom the modern nation reorganizations, and the derived consumption burst-up monstrosity of Shanghai's, as well as national meta-narration emancipating from the colonization system; The other is the modernity universal values, e.g. substantial Utopia, mass industry and the unconventional. Secondly, the powerful factor of the modernity occurs when the modernity identity of Shanghai is constructed that it unites the disharmonious undone alogical and differentia cultural characteristics of this city and excludes the non-modernity matter. Thirdly, the status of "Shanghai in the literature" in the late-Qing is discussed by way of the crossing-over of the national imagination and the modernization imagination. At this period, taking the novels of Wang Tao and Liang Qichao as the examples, the model of the "modern field" and "joyous field" had embodied the early Shanghai image. Fourthly, from the may-fourth to the 30s, Shanghai in the literature begins with the establishment of the two pedigrees of the Shanghai image building: the colonization and substantial Utopia. Fifth, the changes ever since the 30s' of the imaginary narration of the people and the nation are listed. In the end, the characteristics of the Shanghai imagination are centralized.The second chapter mainly discusses the imaginary narration of Shanghai in the novel ziye by Mao dun. Firstly, it discourses upon the centricity pattern in the Mao's realism theory in terms of its trend and essence, and connects it with the Shanghai imaginary depiction. It is the groundwork of Mao's country problematical probe by way of the Shanghai writing. Secondly, it discusses how Mao, in the metonymy sense, replaces the China with Shanghai in the center/or on the brink (west/east) and regards Shanghai as a special colonial nation text and its marginal trait. Thirdly, due to Mao's centrality comprehending in his theory, he shows his longing to modernity and non-China imagination in the sufficient capitalism fancy by way of image-building of the dramatis personae. Fourthly, owing to the demanding of the centricity, countryside also presents flavor of city. Generally speaking, for the sake of the demanding from the modernity as the central aim, Mao continually dwindles his representation fields: reduces China to coastland, deflates coastland to Shanghai, lessens Shanghai to the economic domains, and in the end shortens to diagramming of the capitalist economy.The third chapter discusses Haipai's -especially the early Haipai's imaginationabout Shanghai in the literature. The early Haipai tried to highlight Shanghai's western meanings in consumption. It threw away the time system clue of tradition/modern, and built the counterpart images of western-Shanghai in contemporary space. Sometimes it imagined Shanghai as a strange city; or it ignored the various differences of the mass to get the common western natures; or it made space performed in an instant memory to obliterate the historic sense of Shanghai. In its imagination, the character's bodies and natures showed some imaginary western nature lacking of eastern contents. Faced with countryside, the majority of Haipai imagined the Chinese countryside in the western modern way; Shi zhecun acted countryside stories in the background of modern Shanghai, namely, Shanghai was non-Chinese. Only Zhang ailing comprehended country China as one of the internal logic of Shanghai itself. To sum up, the early Haipai highlighted Shanghai's international and western meanings at that time, by means of non-country, non-eastern and non-history.The fourth chapter discusses Shanghai in the literature of the 50s-70s. New china chopped the connection of Shanghai and the capitalist economy, yet it keeps back the logic of industrialization of its figural pedigree and then intensities it to the whole China's modern meaning. Therefore, there are two kinds of understandings on Shanghai. First is the theory of bloodline, namely, giving prominence to socialistic trait of old/new Shanghai so as to make the industrialization obtaining ideological validity. Second is theory of rapture, namely, tenninal understanding of the capitalist economy. Upon that, new Shanghai is exhibited as the socialism public sphere. In fact, the public mentioned here is nationality. Assistant methods here are imposing imaginary bourgeoisie "accusal" on the normal social life irrespective of country life and private life to eliminate them. To emphasize the logic of industrialization, industrial theme works were produced largely. By way of imaginary manner, such kinds of texts narrated the industry's control over normal life and human nature in the extreme mass industry modern coding. Concerning narration tactics, this period's texts exclude the reliquary of the old Shanghai when dealing with the time and space, or connect the private life with commonality and the logic of industrialization inevitably. In this way, Shanghai is predigested to public industry logic. So it isprovided with generalized new China's national idiosyncrasy, entirely loses the "autochthonic" meaning.The continuation discusses the imagination about Shanghai in the literature of 1990s. In the 1980s, Shanghai was criticized as the biggest symbol of the old system of the country, especially in the literature on reforming. But ever since the opening of Pu dong in 1993 and the global wave was spread in china, Shanghai has been regarded as the first content of the global imagination. Some works belong to the "reminiscence of Shanghai", that's to say, the longing for global is completed by the imagination of old Shanghai. Some of these works described the global imagination in reality directly.In a word, as to the modern meanings of cosmopolitism, global, national country, the modern meaning of Shanghai's natures unfit for modern meaning of Shanghai's own are exaggerated repeatedly and those Shanghai's natures are removed or reduced. The natures of Shanghai, which are complex, multi-elemental, unsuited, differential, illogjc, are united in general. The nature of Shanghai covers so much natures of the world even those of China, but the nature of the special clime is infirm as any other Chinese (Asian) cities. Perhaps, that is the destiny of Shanghai in China or the Shanghai in the literature. The status of Shanghai in the texts is the highest in the world of literature; whereas in reality, Shanghai is always narrated by all kinds of non-Shanghai meanings.