Modern Chinese Writers And F. Nietzsche

This dissertation deals with the relationship between the modern Chinese writers and F. Nietzsche. It's an important cultural event in the history of Modern Chinese literature and thought that modern Chinese writers accept F. Nietzsche, a great German philosopher and aesthete, whose impact upon the Chinese writers is tremendous. This dissertation is a detailed study based on the history and fact that how those writers learn from Nietzsche so as to seek for the general rule of enriching such a thought source involved.The candidate points out the fact that our modern writers actively studied and made Nietzsche's philosophy and aesthetics popular by interpreting, translating, imitating or coping—which actually has become a significant step into modern reflection for Chinese intellectuals. Furthermore, the reason why they recognize Nietzsche, the way they learn, the motivation they exert, all of which seem amazingly alike. All of these demonstrate that during that period of time the public intellectuals' great anxiety and consciousness over the motherland, the given time, and the spirit of Take-Over Policy. This is the key point as well.Focusing on the essence, the dissertation consists of two parts: the first is to examine the historical facts of some writers or the literary associations, whose writings and activities are involved with Nietzsche. The second is to sum up the general law that how our modern writers confront Nietzsche, and as a group, how they show their preference to him. Specifically the First Part is divided into four chapters. The main content chronologically includes some active and typical writers in modern epoch, such as Lu Xun, who's a founder in Modern Chinese literature; the literary associations, including the Creative Group and the Society for Literary Studies, which animated our literary world in early 1920s, the Yu-Si Society, the Kuangbiao she (Hurricane Society) in the middle of 1920s, the Zhanguo ce pai (School of the Warring States Strategies) in early 1940s, and the course they practice Nietzsche respectively.Chapter One is devoted to a discussion of Lu Xun and Nietzsche. During his stay in Japan, Lu meets Nietzsche and regards him as his own mental tutor all his life. Lu has translated Nietzsche's works twice and in his later life he helped others with such translations. In Lu's own writings such as his short story A Madman's Diary and the prose Wild Grass, he apparently traces Nietzsche to his pen, citing Nietzsche's sentences or phrases, adapting his thoughts, and sometimes mentioning his name in his prose, stories, letters and so on. He puts emphasis on Nietzsche's "Die Umwertung aller Werte"(reevaluation of values) and "Der Ubermensch"(superman). Therefore, he criticizes the weakness of Chinese people, the cruel feudal ethics on the one hand; and he sings high praise for the madman and the passer-by on the other. To some extent, Nietzsche's philosophy and thought has played an important role in Lu's writing and fighting.Chapter Two discusses the relations between some literary associations such as the Creative Group, the Society for Literary Studies and Nietzsche. The mainstay members from the Group, Guo Mo-ruo, Yu Da-fu, Tian Han etc, who are named the "singer" for Nietzsche, pay much attention to "Die Umwertung aller Werte" and "The Ego". They have endorsement for the spirit of creators and show their sympathy for unlucky birth. Moreover, they put Nietzsche's points into their literary creation, such as the motifs "Ego" and "Idol-break", or change Nietzsche's tragic theory to the romantic poetic that has colored Chinese aesthetics. However, Mao Dun and Bing Xin, these come from the Society, agree Nietzsche with some views. They support "Die Umwertung aller Werte", but censure Nietzsche for his ideas of "Der Ubermensch" and morals. They are called assassin to Nietzsche. This is so-called critical assimilation, which is very important to our Modern Chinese literature.Chapter Three is a case study of YU-Si Society, the Hurricane Society and Nietzsche. Lin Yu-tang, in the former has got a "Nietzsche complex". He not only makes translation of Nietzsche's works two times, but also cites his sentences and phrases, or rewrites Nietzsche's views in his writing. In addition, his group of essays Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a parody of Nietzsche's Also Sprach Zarathustra, which thoroughly shows his reception of social and cultural points from Nietzsche. Just like Lin Yu-tang, Gao Chang-hong, a writer in the Hurricane Group, is crazy about Nietzsche on the ebb of Nietzsche's enthusiasm for the first time in China. But his favorite is Also Sprach Zarathustra. Later on he decided to work out Chinese Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The Song of Hurricane is the crystallization of this decision, where the image, the subject or the style are stamped with the brand of Also Sprach Zarathustra.Chapter Four analyzes the fact the School of Warring States Strategies and Nietzsche. Lin Tong-ji describes his understanding to Nietzsche with passion like fire and poetic language, then imitating Also Sprach Zarathustra. He writes two essays "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", in which he elaborates Nietzsche's philosophy of "fighting" and aesthetic thought. Lin Tong-ji has become an irrational preacher for Nietzsche. Chen Quan, one of who get great achievements to research Nietzsche at the modern stage of China, prefers "Die Umwertung aller Werte" and his active outlook on life, interprets and spreads Nietzsche's theory on "Der Wille zur Macht" and creates Nietzsche's the Superman hero in his novel and drama, thereof he makes himself the megaphone for Nietzsche's philosophy.The second part consists of three chapters in the light of logic and time. It discusses that the aim, the tactics and the result after Modern Chinese writers learn from Nietzsche. Furthermore, it will integrate the above-mentioned groups and writers into "Modern Chinese Writers" and try to find out the identity and the similarity to the reception of Nietzsche. Within this part, Chapter Five probes into why these writers accept Nietzsche. They run into Nietzsche when Chinese people were confronted with a life-and-death crisis and many people with insight attempted to find a way out in order to save the nation from subjugation and ensure its survival from the western world. They happen to coincide with Nietzsche and regard his thoughts as the thought source of ideological and literary revolution. Therefore, they accept Nietzsche in order to enlighten Modern Chinese thought and realize the modern transition of Chinese literature. Nietzsche has played a role of booster and dynamics. Our modern writers and critics, including Lu Xun, who borrows Nietzsche's "Die Umwertung aller Werte", "Der Ubermensch", the idea "Die Herren Moral", and his criticism on the materialism in Europe in order to criticize the cultural tradition in the core of Confucianism in China and the wrong advocacy of these people to the current affairs, or lash out the national weakness of Chinese people, seek the truth on life to form a new outlook and promote the awaking of human being. They try to accelerate the enlightenment and upgrade of our Modernity on thoughts. Moreover, they challenge the traditional literary conceptions and pose new ideas in literature and art—the romantic poetry, the artistic creations for human being, for life and for heyday, etc.Chapter Six analyses the tactics the artists and the groups who used to solve the problems by borrowing Nietzsche. They are disposed to adopt the tactics Utilization and Localization or Chinese-lization intentionally, because the background is different from that time when Nietzsche's thoughts come into being. The former refers to Modern Chinese writers who cut or select methods and principles from Nietzsche according to the utility of the measure of value, which shows their partiality for Nietzsche first. That means they keep an eye on some of his theories, or over-interpret, or even distort, for example, "Die Umwertung aller Werte", "Der Ubermensch" and "Der Wille zur Macht". Secondly, there are some blind spots as they are blind to follow Nietzsche without systematically studying or mentioning casually such views as "Die ewige Wiederkunft", "Gott ist tot" and attack to the Christ. The latter means they change the problems in Nietzsche's works into these Chinese ones when they explain and spread Nietzscheism, and transmit his way of speaking to which we can know or understand. It embodies two aspects: Localization of the objects of speaking, which they consider "Der Ubermensch" as the Great Genius, the power, the hero and the political leader, and regard Nietzsche's attack to the Christ and to the modern culture in the west as the criticism to the feudal ethics and to the national weakness. This is actually a kind of misunderstanding. The other is Localization of the way of speech, which means they introduce and spread his thoughts and styles by Chinese approach of Ko yi, the Chinese analogy and parody.With the expected destination, Chapter Severn discusses the results after they accept Nietzsche. They are both advantageous and disadvantageous, just like a sword. With regard to the enlightenment of mind, "Die Umwertung aller Werte", "Der Ubermensch" and "Der Wille zur Macht" and so on, it has helped to form the critical spirit, the ideology of self-examination, the doing-better philosophy on life, which are really favorable. While Nietzsche's irrational and critical attitude, his pursuit of "Der Ubermensch" and "Der Wille zur Macht" stimulates the production of rabidity and elitism, which is unfavorable. As to the literary turning, Nietzsche gives an inspiration to Modern Chinese writers so as to get the new literary and artistic perspectives, such as "literature for human beings", "golden time literature", or "literature as life". Meanwhile, he makes them have the subjects of awaking the world, criticize the national weakness and create the images of the rebel, creator and loner. However, his dazzling character radically inspires the writers to attack to the feudal ethic standards and national weakness, then furthers to strengthen its new ideological function as embodying the Tao for Modern Chinese literature.