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One Story, Two Different Copies

Posted on:2006-02-11Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:Y C XuFull Text:PDF
GTID:1115360182956944Subject:Chinese Modern and Contemporary Literature
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Revolutionary historic fiction (hereafter referred as RHF) and Neo-historic fiction (hereafter referred as NHF) are two models of literature works that are predominant in the literature trend in two different times. The revolutionary historic fiction came into being between 1950's and 60's when people were engaging in the hard undertakings for the found of the new country. Dandelion, Safeguard Yan An, immense forest and snowfield, rudimentary writing for an unstable situation, cruel fighting in the ancient city are among the typical literature works representing the "Red Classical Fiction". Neo-historical fiction came into being between 1980's and 1990's when the country was undergoing tremendous social and economic development after the reform and opening-up. Full Breast and Fat Buttock, Bai Lu highland,the yellow flowers in hometown, living, are the typical literature works representative of this time. Although both RHF and NHF touched upon the revolutionary struggles and lives after the founding of the Communist Party of China, however, due to time differences, different authors depicts the same history stories differently and hence form their own distinctive judgments of history. The birth of revolutionary historic fiction meets the needs of the time. As a social entity, the author cannot go against the tendency of the times. During that time individuality is at the sacrifice of masses, the authors regard the "The Talks on Literature and Arts in Yan an"as their leading principle, and take their own life experiences as the background of the story. Based on that they try to meet the society's need for literature by portraying a perfect, righteous, and lofty figure. From today's perspective, such writing exposes a dilemma, while it reasonably follows the trend of the times on the one hand, it deviates the description of the human nature on the other. Such works cannot reflect the real desire of human beings for the life. Comparatively speaking, neo-historic fiction fully describes the human nature, which provides the reader with new historical perspective, and new art representing styles. Such works undermines the dualist controversy, and regards accidentality, non cause-and-effect, and non-logic and non-political as its core elements. The ethics and politics are fading out, and the theme of the literature works becomes more hidden comparing with the revolution historic works. Revolution historic fiction manifests the certainty of history, and reveals the nature of history from the basic contradictions of history development. The authors of the revolution historic fiction are those who have experienced the revolution by their own, thus, their understanding and perception of history are closely related to their beliefs about the particular historical period. History in their words is mixture of their firm beliefs of historical development. They employ the Marxist social historical perspective to treat the historical figures and events such as the class analysis, social development view. They focus on the molding heroic figures, and form a solemn, lofty and serious style. Neo-historic fiction is a not a concept of time, but is formed in the particular historical background by those who have similar interests and ideas about the modern revolution history, the history of the Communist Party of China in particular. Comparing with the revolution historic fiction, neo-historic fiction is a piece of copy work of history, which has not life experiences and is based purely theoretical analysis of history. That literature works and history is inseparable is quite universal in the development of different cultures. Literature works is a sensitive reflection of history by human beings. In a particular historical time, the time spirit, which represents the public thinking, is always be taken as a key element of literature works. If literature works has recorded some fragments of history, then history provides the raw elements for literature works on the other hand. Literarily and content speaking, both revolution historic fiction and neo-literature fiction take history as the key elements, the revolution history of the Chinese Communist Party to be specific. However, due to time difference, the same history is portrayed differently by two generation of writers. Meanwhile, they both show their objective and just attitude of the literary creation, and try to show the audience the real history reflected by their works. During the time of revolution historic fiction, people value loyalty, sacrifice, and their ideal is to build a happy homeland. The literature works of that time shoulder the responsibility of "literature should serve the politics"and is deployed as instruments and service. However during the time of neo-historic fiction, the thinking trend of the society becomes more complicated and pluralized, which emphasized humanistic spirit, individuality, humanity, and pursuit of self-independence and sets the keynotes of a open, free creation environment in which expression of one's experiences and literature works'artistic and amusing nature are shown. Their historical perspective isinfluenced by the western Post Modernism, which dispels the sacredness, constructs history, confirms the accidental elements in history, and understands the life style of human beings during the war from an anthropological perspective. For the writers themselves the revolution historic fiction is the history of their personal experiences. As the witnesses of any great historic transformation, such writers have the strong desire to express their feelings. They are eager to evoke their admiration for the historic transformation by representing the history truly. Objectively they intuitively link their personal lives closely with the country's fate, want to record the historical transformation with their pens, and hope to express their ideas for the future development of the Chinese revolution. By the same time they want to contribute to their political belief through literature works. The mission of the revolution historic fiction writers they bestowed to themselves is to represent the history. Contrary with the revolution historic fiction, the neo-historic fiction displays history that is surpass the personal experiences, and reflective. Differing from the writers of revolution historic fiction, most of the writers of neo-historic fiction were born after the found of the new China. They never experienced the revolution life of blood and fire, nor did they have the spiritual pressure from the humiliation and invasion from outside. Furthermore, they had no tension, fear, angry, and depression when facing the death. However, the traditional Chinese culture that everyone should shoulder the responsibility of protect and build their county has a deep root in their thinking. Although their literature works review the historical circumstances from an outsider's perspective, yet the core themes of their works deal with main issues of the county and its people. In the history when neo-historic fictions writers come into being, they have relatively free and open environment with the social and economic development. Under such background the literature works have made progress in its development, and become more artistic, diversified, commercialized and entertained. Such creation environment drives the writers to reflect other possibilities of the history that was neglected in the past. The new concepts in the modern times provide those neo-historic fiction writers with fresh ideas for literature creation. When constructivism becomes the trend of thoughts, their personal experiences of the big historical transformations make them to doubt about their long political beliefs, and living concepts, and creation principles. As a result to review the history with doubts becomes inevitable. The desire to seek truth, and revert the true historydrives those writers to cast their views to the revolution history. Accompanying this trend the red classics becomes their objects for analysis and research. The neo-historic fictions always take the revolution historic fictions as its references. The key element in the neo-historic fictions is to the subversion of the revolution historic fictions. As a result, when addressing the details of the inevitable history, neo-historic fictions try to dissolve the sacredness and construct the historical perspective. The literature works based on historical themes are not the history per se, they are only the writers'subjective feelings of the history, and can never replace the history. However the literature works exert great influences on the effect of education and propaganda. Writers should pay attention to the deviation between literature works and history, especially should pay attention to respect the history, understand the history, and should not impose the non-history on the true history. The understanding of history from literature works cannot be separated from the history, it is a historical phenomenon. Contemporary people understand the history with their own perspective, because of this, revolution historic fiction and neo-historic fiction are both literature works that represent the contemporary ideas. Novels are the live fossils of social life. By studying the two kinds of novels, readers can understand the politics, economics, ideology, culture and military affairs and social lives that are described in the novel in a particular time. As representative works of their particular times, both kinds of fictions have made impacts on the social development, and had much research value, and will remain as the artistic treasure. In spite of the times, we cannot comment the history without the particular historical background. Literature development can only become mature and prosperous when the past and the history are impartially treated.
Keywords/Search Tags:literature history, Revolutionary historic fiction, Neo-historic fiction Comparative study
PDF Full Text Request
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