Beijing School:"Have I Failed To Repeat The Precepts That Have Been Handed Down To Me?"

This essay takes “Beijing school” as the research object. In the contemporaryliterature studying,“Beijing school” is always considered as a group of literati whoshared a relatively fixed literature position and an approximate idea of literature.Beijing school literature has been fully explicated from the form to the thought, and itis regarded as a pure literature group which holds aesthetic idealism, or even morenegative, huddling up in politic affairs as its ideal by the investigator. The investigatorfocus on the interpersonal relation among the members of Beijing school, reveal howthey get together. The preceding research is wrapped up in the form analysis andinherits the definition of who belongs to Beijing school literati group, so it is necessaryto redefinition the cognization of Beijing school.From this essay, we could see that there are not only famous poets, fictionists,translators, commenters like Shen Congwen, Yang Zhensheng, Bian Zhilin, ZhuGuangqian, and also philosophers, artists, architects, art critics like Jin Yuelin, Dengyi-zhe, Qin Xuanfu, Situ Joe, Lin Whei-yin, Liang Sicheng who were indulged in artappreciation and creation in Beijing school. These members of Beijing school engagedin the literary activities like Shen Congwen, Yang Zhensheng took part in the artactivities as well. They were good taste cultural relic collectors more than appreciators.As the organizers of literary activities, they had more interests besides the literature.They published many articles about painting, calligraphy, ancient architecture on <TaKung Pao, Literary Supplement>, and many talents enrolled in the group after that,which caused the emerging of <Ta Kung Pao, art magazine>. They consciouslypromoted aesthetic education, for they regarded it as the key to the spirit of theenlightenment. The members of Beijing school had some representatives, like Hu Shi,for politic affairs while they went in for the literature, art, academic education and soon activities. They kept the friendship with him, while they posted comments on newsby themselves as well. In summary, Beijing school was a cultural trend and practicehappening in the talents who lived in north china rather than a simple school ofliterature. It influenced in all of the literature, art, and academic education, themembers shared a basically similar value orientation and thinking method.Based on this fact, we make it sure that Beijing school is a group zealouslyparticipating in the construction of the modern Chinese culture. So some new methodsshould be applied to the study of Beijing school. Introduction describes Beijing schoolas a group making great efforts to facilitate a new culture and practice. We will take thehistorical narrative like the culture historian doing. We will reveal the structure of the text and the autonomy of their own style through the internal analysis method whilelooking out for the synchronic relation between the branches of their culture activities.Only if empirical method be applied to study the multivariate state, we could grasp themeaning of what so called “fertile ground for cultural elements, and foundationadjoined these elements”, or “the mutual social experience in a broad sense”.Therefore, this essay will centre on literature and art activities. We will try to make anin-depth description on the practice taken by the members of Beijing school. It isworth nothing that the interaction between literature and politics, or the interactionbetween literature and society is the looming main line through this article though eachchapter has a given subject about literature or art activities. It is because that theseculture or politic crisis was always companion with the members of Beijing school.In a word, in the period of1933to1945, because the political divisions happened in1927.4.12and the September18th Incident in1931impacted on the relationshipbetween China and Japan, these talents’ culture formulation echoed the initiative of“the common view on the national culture”, on the other side, they introspected thesituation of a divided China, and made a conclusion that they should finish theunfinished enlightenment work. But their effort got against to the fatuous caused bythe ideological publicity rather than fetters caused by the feudal ethics. As a result,these talents used the tool which is made by art activities and education to achievetheir ideals. Chapter One is about the personal interest in the artistic works of thetalents belonged to Beijing school, and its’ influence on the modern knowledgenetwork. Chapter Two and Three centers on <Ta Kung Pao, art magazine>, from thestart of “finding own way”, to the appearance that these talents had agreements anddisagreements on the view how to deal with both western and Chinese art, the modernand ancient art. Because of the Sino-Japanese War broke out in1937, these talentsbelonged to Beijing school left Peking to the south China, especially they left a freelytalking room existing in Peking. Although their friendship didn’t alter by the spacechange, these core members remained a closely contact with each others in Kunming,but their thinking path was undergoing some delicate and complicated change. ChapterFour is about Bian Zhilin and Shen Congwen’s writing, it will discuss that how theircontinuous thinking path deepen and change to echo wars.From1946to1948, after these talents had returned to Peking from Kunming, theyhold the notion that art education could replace ideological education as a shield toagainst the civil war and the more and more severe ideological dispute. Chapter Fiverevolves round the formulation of art education raised by Zhu Guangqian and Shen Congwen.But unlike Zhu Guangqian who resorted to the ancient music education,Shen Congwen held the idea that concept of art in both Chinese and western ancienttime is order-oriented. The concept concludes the desire for homoousia and stability.Therefore, Confucius and Socrates’ action like deleting poetry or appreciating musichas a common meaning. For this purpose, the dignified and gentle classic musiccouldn’t meet the demand that aesthetic education should make people sensitivity, somusic education should gain other resources. Influenced by the war or politics, theopinion on art activities or art education made by these talents emphasizes in differentways. Accordingly, we will review the crisis they had, for deepening the understandingto Beijing school.We will limn the portraits where these talents took culture practice through texts ofnovels, poetry, essays, travel notes, art criticism, and cultural criticism with waysconsisted of both description and analysis that culture historian uses. Therefore, thisessay will narrate in accordance with the different ways they took culture practicerather than the time line what we will bury in this essay. This way is usually called“diachronism research”. And in the synchronic dimension, we will focus on the salonin private, gallery and artistic works in public, tones in the media, and art education orknowledge structure in campus to rebuild the culture practice they took.