A Research Into Sino-Japan Neo-sensationalist Literature

Neo-sensationalist literature is the earliest modernist literary school that came intoexistence in Japan in the mid and late 1920s. Its appearance marked the birth of Japanesemodern literature, and, together with its opposite----proletarian literature, heralded thebeginning of the history of Japanese modern literature.Literature is the reflection of social life. The birth of Japanese neo-sensationalistliterature was by no means accidental. It was a rising literary movement that combined thesocial factors after the First World War, the forward movement and trend of literature and artin Europe, the literary state in Japan, and the modern mechanistic civilization, as well asJapanese social reforms. As proposed by Yokomitsuriichi----a representative writer of thisliterary school----in his Neo-sensationalism, "I believe that futurism, stereo-school,symbolism, structuralism, modernism and part of factualism----all of these belong toneo-sensationalism." From this, it can be seen that Japanese neo-sensationalist literature is theresult of a synthesis of various western modernist literary schools, instead of being influencedmerely by one western trend of literature and art.In respect of literature, Japanese neo-sensationalist writers, because of their discontentwith the literary state and existing social order, pursued at "new sensations", new life modesand new ways of perceiving objects, advocated the spreading of forward art and new literarytrend, and introduced "stylist revolution", with the purpose of renewing the forms and skillsof expression.The so-called "new sensation" was, in fact, a symbolic way of expression. The "new"lied in metaphors and symbols, which, while expressing the simple reality, was a kind ofsubtle art that, through some minor hints and symbols, could help the authors peep into theexistence and significance from a micro cave. The reason for their choice of a tiny cave wasthat, when they intended to symbolize the huge internal human life, the tiny eternal formemployed was nothing but an "inductor" when they were exposed to extreme stimuli and gotan instant sensation. The particular joy they sensed in this form of art was due to theirpsychological function. Their mental state, sentiment, nerve and mood all boasted the mostintense perceptibility.On the basis of idealism, Japanese neo-sensationalist authors held that sensation was atouching medium which was subjective and audio-visual, and that it could enabled then to gobeyond superficial phenomena to probe into the inside of matters. Self was taken as the centerof existence, with all things in the world being its expressions, complements or hindrances.What really existed was consciousness, while the materialistic world was no more than theproduct of consciousness, sensation, idea and concept. On account of this, in literary creation,emphasis was put on the expression of one's own feelings and subjective emotions, as well asthe role of subjectivity and direct perception, which led to the result of advocatingaimlessness, thoughtlessness and the refutation of utilitarianism, denying realistic life. In themethods of literary creation, symbols and hints were usually employed, which, by way of aninstant "inductor" of sensation, would reveal human relations and life value. Through strange,new styles and "the outside lightening the inside"----i.e., concise and showy wording----theexternal world in subjective perception was expressed;the characters' delicate and sadfeelings described;and the subtle, abnormal and psychological state presented.Form is usually determined by content, with the former exerting great restrictions uponthe latter. The social changes and the new social content that follows inevitably requirechanges in the external forms----say, language, style----that can embrace the content. In thissense, neo-sensationalist literary movement, if regarded as a destruction of the old style, was adestroy-the-old-and-establish-the-new movement that took the chance of the hopeless state ofthe naturalist literature. The literary form adopted by neo-sensationalism was intended to bemore stereoscopic and novel in structure, and in contrast to a pure observing attitude, morestress was put on the intense, subjective consciousness. These views were not kept inconformity with the social trend of reforming the previous literary contents, but aimed tomake changes in the forms, structures and expressing skills of literary works. Theneo-sensationalist authors attempted to pave a new way, through the novelty of expressingskills, to the individualistic literature that had already gone to the "dead end". These were theunique features underlying neo-sensationalist literature.Being the standard-bearers of literature in a new age, neo-sensationalist authors, with astrong sense of responsibility of their times, endeavored to develop a brand-new literaryconception conceived in their mind. However, it was overpowered by the overwhelmingproletarian literature before it could find its inherent necessity and re-solidify its foundations,because of its lack of clear and complete theoretical systems and guiding principles at theinitial stage, and also because of the deepening of the influence from socialist thought as wellas the flourishing of proletarian literary movement.In addition, to content of Japanese old and deep-rooted naturalist literature,neo-sensationalism didn't adopt a critical attitude on the basis of the new direction of Japan'ssocial development, but endeavored to change the forms, structures and expressing skills ofits literary works and pursue at the novelty of expressing skills. It held that without new waysof expressions, there would be no new art and literature;without new sensations, there wouldbe no new content. "Sensation" was taken as a kind of epistemology, and was regarded as anew way of perceiving the nature and human life, and was taken as a new kind of emotion. Asa result, new art and literature was equaled to new sensation and neo-sensationalism, whichare in fact the cause for the historical limitations and the short life-span of neo-sensationalistliterature in Japan.Neo-sensationalist authors tried to grasp----from the external and materialist life, viadescriptions of metropolitan life----the individual's psychological state being split and brokenby such a life. This nurtured the unique expressing form of respecting instant sensation, andthe interlocking of behavior with psychology. Yet, as time went by, stress on sensation becamean inevitable defect, leading men to drift in the sensational, illusionary and organic worldsand to become a part of the rising artistic literature that reflected the decadent side ofmetropolitan life. Hence, neo-sensationalist literary movement, even in terms of its inherentnecessity of thinking, was stuck in the formalist expressing-skill dead lock. The reason forthis is that novelty in method and skill is rather fleeting, or rather, such novelty constructsnothing more than transience and temporary, which lack enduring vigor. Except for the worksby Yokomitsuriichi and Kawabata Yasunari, others produced no outstanding ones that couldrepresent the features of this trend. With the end of Art and Literature Times in April 1927,neo-sensationalist literary movement came to a halt.Japan's neo-sensationalist literary movement, though lasting for only three years,contributed many new literary elements to Japan's literature. Its researches and creations inarts, stylistic reforms in the so-called "literary revolution", the "shining outside" by refractingmood and mental state, the vivid depiction of the characters' subjective sensation, the detailedanalysis of their psychological state, the exhibition of organic sensation, and the creativemethods employed to deepen the characters' emotions and psychological activities by way ofthe stream of consciousness----all these, together with metropolitan modernism developed byneo-sensationalists, have imposed important influences on the successive Japanese literature,and have become the prime mover for the flourishing Japanese literary era from 1920s to1930s (i.e., from the late Taisho to the early Showa).The birth of any literary trend or school has its due reasons and historical backgrounds.The appearance of Chinese neo-sensationalist literature was not an exception. It was alsobased on the development of the times and the society;though in different countries andcultural backgrounds. It could be regarded as a close succession of Japaneseneo-sensationalism, though it appeared a little bit later. Under the influences of the Japanesetrend, western modern literary trend and Freud's psycho-analysis, Chinese neo-sensationalistliterary authors were continuously involved in the transplantation of those concepts andcreative skills, and tried them in their domestic practice. They, too, regarded sensation as akind of epistemology----a new way for them to perceive nature and human life----and as anew way of feeling. They also put emphasis on the role of subjectivity and direct sensation.Through the employment of stream of consciousness, symbolism, hint and psychoanalysis,they deepened the research into their characters' emotion and psycho-activities. Through theinduction of extreme stimulus and instant sensation, one's own feelings and subjectiveemotions were expressed, and human relations and life value were revealed. With new stylesand "the outside lightening the inside"----i.e., concise, elegant wording----the outside worldreflected in subjective sensation was expressed. The delicate and lamentable emotion and thelonely and sad inner world, which were allegedly laid in the strange and colorful externalworld, were depicted. All these exhibited the Chinese metropolitan life, morbid andhalf-colonized, following the quick pace of China's abnormal metropolitan civilization.People's subjective sensations and impressions were permeated and merged into thedepictions of objects. Such sensations and impressions were put onto the stage mainly in aninternational metropolis----Shanghai that was economically vigorous, and drew their contentsfrom the colorful, strange, various, complicated and dissipated metropolitan life. By breakingthe conventional artistic forms, being courageous enough for researches and creations, findingnew sensations and impressions, drawing references from and making use of expressingmethods in movies, absorbing stream of consciousness in the west, and emphasizing onexcavation and expression of the characters' sub-consciousness, the Chineseneo-sensationalismwas fond of describing the characters' abnormal state of mind and their dual personalities, andthus had formed its own characteristics.Represented by Liu Ne'ou, Mu Shiying and Shi Zhecun, Chinese neo-sensationalistliterature had remained active in the history of Chinese modern literature for six years, fromthe beginning of Trackless Train in Sep. 1920 to Shi Zhecun's departure from Modern Timesat the end of 1934. Around 1935, novelists in this school changed their directions,degenerated or converted to realism. Transient as it was, this literary trend, as an attempt ofresearch into literature and with its literary activities and creations----though it had itshistorical limitations, faded before its full bloom, and didn't form any literary theories thatcould guide the latecomers' writing practice----undoubtedly left behind it a strong andindelible trace in the history of Chinese modern literature after China's opening and reform,especially in its relocation in China's modern and contemporary literary study in the lastseveral decades.