A Study Of The Industrial Theme Novels In Seventeen Years(1949-1966)

There is no denying that the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years are of generally low literary level,however,due to their realistic correlation with the demand of industrialization of New China and the irreplaceably important position of the working class in the construct process of the state ideology,the industrial theme novels have unique social,political and cultural connotations on contrast with the novel writing on those significant themes in Seventeen Years such as agricultural theme novels and revolutionary historical theme novels.The dissertation takes the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years as its study object,tracing back to the left-wing industrial novels of modern Chinese literature,especially the industrial novels in the liberated areas which are considered as the "early history" of the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years for the former’ guidance effect on both theoretical and practical aspects,expanding on the stage development and the collectivization tendency of writing forms of the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years under the manipulation of the state ideology,interpreting the feature of"socialist modernity" with Chinese characteristics contained in the industrial theme novel texts in Seventeen Years,treating Soviet experience as a mirror and exploring the profound influence exerted by politics,economy,culture and other aspects of Soviet society on the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years.This multi-angle study of the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years not only contributes to the establishment of their position in contemporary Chinese literary history,but also offers a possibility to examine the distinctive approach and inner dilemma of China’s political-cultural practice carried out on the initial stage of the construction of socialist industrialization.The introduction is divided into four parts.The first part states the background and significance of the study object;for the confusing situation that researchers before call the Chinese industrial novels in the 20th century differently,the second part defines the study object of the dissertation--the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years by discriminating and analyzing connotations of three concepts including "the industrial novds","the novels written by the working class" and "the industrial theme novels" and their distinctions and connections,in order to eliminate probable inconveniences when writing the dissertation;the third part is the research review of the study object;the fourth part illuminates the research methods and main innovations of the dissertation.The first chapter represents the development history of the left-wing industrial novels of modern Chinese literature in both aspects of theory and creation.The industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years were finally established on the base of their "early history",the development of the left-wing industrial novels of modern Chinese literature,after the founding of New China,rather than a totally new literary type emerged during the new period of history.Both the theoretical publicity and the creation practice of modern Chinese left-wing literature focused on class character,popularization,hierarchy of themes,collective writing approach and simple strong writing style,which greatly facilitated the generation of the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years.The dream always embraced by the modern Chinese left-wing literature that the masses of workers,peasants and soldiers would be able to write themselves hadn’t been realized until the founding of New China.A large number of writers and authors of working class came to the fore writing down numerous industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years,which were the very clear proof of the realization of the literary dream.The second chapter discusses the close relationship between the state ideology and the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years.The formulation and adjustment of various political,economic and cultural policies had direct or indirect influence on the industrial theme novels and made the latter demonstrate different stages of development on genre,subject,style,writing form,quantity of works and other aspects.On the realistic foundation of the new regime’s demand on industrialization,the dominant role of working class was established during the period of socialist construction,directly determining the construct of writers’ writing standard of working class,but in the meantime,inevitably leading to the conceptualization and formulation of literary image of working class.The three writing forms of the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years obviously showed the collective shaping effect exerted by political discourse on those novels:whether the creation of the writers of intellectual class who underwent the transition from modern literature to contemporary literature or that of the writers cultivated among working masses and industrial cadres or that of the authors of working class springing up in the collective writing boom during the period of the "Great Leap Forward" or that of the working masses involved in the activity of compiling factory history,they were all affected and restricted by ideology.The third chapter expounds the representations of modernity and the elements of pre-modernity which are in contrast to the former in the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years surrounding the term "socialist modernity",and analyzes the causes of the situation that both modern and pre-modern elements mix together in the industrial theme novel texts.According to the general laws of human history development,the industrialization is not only the product but also the impetus of modernization,so the industrial theme novels should be literary texts of modernity.However,under the combined influence of historical,social,political and cultural factors,New China adopted a way different from the western developed countries in pursuit of modernization which resulted in the conflicting and dissociated state in the texts of the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years.The fourth chapter explores Soviet influence on the creation of the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years.The influence is not merely social and political but also literary and artistic.New China’s sublation of Soviet road of industrialization underwent a process from total imitation to complete deviation,which caused the construct and modification of the Soviet Union image in the industrial theme novel texts in Seventeen Years.The adjustment and changes of mounding images,setting up contradictions and arranging plots in those novels reflected New China’s dynamic attitude towards the Soviet Union image.The theoretical contribution and creation practice of Soviet literature were of more extensive and profound influence on the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years.The theory of "socialist realism"introduced from the Soviet Union was officially regarded as the upmost norm of creation and criticism by Chinese literary circles after the founding of New China(this situation remained until 1958),so the industrial theme novels were necessarily restricted by the norm.Furthermore,it’s safe to say that in Seventeen Years Chinese writers’ acceptance of the Soviet industrial theme novels which have been translated into China since the period of modern Chinese literature was multifaceted and of obvious contemporary characteristics.The collective writing of Soviet literature also set an example for that of Chinese literature on both theoretical and practical aspects,contributing to the occurrence and development of the creation of factory history in Seventeen Years.The conclusion tries to make an objective appraisal of the industrial theme novels in Seventeen Years,pointing out their lack of realistic critical spirit and humanistic feelings due to the tight control of political discourse,which greatly undermining the literary expression of real life.The historical relationship between political factors and literary factors in the industrial theme novels is mutually connected and penetrated,which reveals their unavoidable dilemma and limitation,as well as provides literary samples for reference and reflection to the current creation of Chinese industrial theme novels.