Edgar Allan Poe In Modern Chinese Literature

Whenever we discuss the modernistic factors of Chinese modern literature,we will surely relate to the influence of Western modernist literature such as Baudelaire,French symbolic poetry and aestheticism on the creation of modern writers.Western modernist writers' anti-traditional attitude,pursuit of subjective artistic position and decadent aesthetic ideas have brought some completely different literary concepts to the Chinese modern literary world and promoted the transformation of literature.Among these sources of influence,the importance of one writer has not been fully explored.This writer is Edgar Allan Poe,an American writer known as the pioneer of modernism.The distinct aesthetic features and reflective spirit in his works have attracted many important modern writers such as Lu Xun,Yu Dafu,Yu Yunyu and Shi Zhecun.However,because of the change of modern literary trend of thought and the transformation of Poe's creation in China,his impression as a source and inspirer has been weakened,and his important historical significance has been obscured.Based on the above reasons,this study will sort out the history of Poe's dissemination and influence in China from 1905 to 1949,and explore his role in the emergence of modernist literature.This paper has the following research levels:one is to examine how his creation has influenced the creation and literary concepts of modern writers;the other is to explore the contribution of his literary concepts to the construction of Chinese short story theory and new poetry theory;and the third is what kind of feedback modern writers have to Allan Poe.These feedback includes not only the evaluation and introduction,but also the reference,imitation and transformation of the works,From these feedback,we can see that modern writers have already possessed the aesthetic consciousness of modernity and the desire of dialogue with Western modernist literature.However,their sensitivity to modernity aesthetics also makes them face an ideological dilemma,because the realistic attitude of modernity aesthetics,which pursues decadent beauty,is negative,while the enlightenment and salvation consciousness,which occupies a dominant position in the Chinese context,is extremely active.Therefore,how modern writers will solve this contradiction and how to deal with the relationship between modernity aesthetics and Chinese social reality is also the focus of this study.The first chapter of this article mainly introduces the modern writers' deep grasp of Poe's reflective consciousness.Poe's entry into the vision of modern writers is due to the opportunity created by the Enlightenment Movement.His reflection on tradition and literary history is the key reason why he is more attractive to modern writers than aesthetic interest.Lu Xun and Liang Yuchun,two writers,determined the value they could use for reference only after they discovered the reflective consciousness of Poe's works,Poe is not only progressive in literature,but also a reference for the analysis of contemporary problems in China.This is an important understanding basis for Poe's popularity and dissemination in China.The main content of the second chapter is to sort out the important critical cases of Poe in the Republic of China.Modern writers relieve the tension between aesthetic modernity and enlightenment modernity in the western context by combining the social ideal of enlightenment with their personal life demands.Reflected in Poe's criticism and introduction,it is from the dual standpoint of aesthetics and enlightenment that modern writers portray Poe as an enlightener model who has made contributions beyond his time in art.The reason why modern writers can combine the two standpoints is that in their view,expanding aesthetic and ideological enlightenment is a process of two in one.Chapter three focuses on the translation history of Poe's short stories and the related explanations made by modern writers.Through these analyses,we can find that Poe's theory of short stories is one of the reasons for the divergence of the two literary and artistic concepts of "for life" and "for art" in modern fiction besides the social environment and the writer's personal choice.In addition,some writers and critics,such as Hu Shi,Yu Dafu and Shi Zhecun,touched upon the modernity background of the birth of Poe's novel theory.The forth chapter mainly analyses and introduces the specific cases that modern writers use for reference in Poe's "abnormal image".The abnormal images in Poe's works are of great reference to modern writers,both in appearance and in spirit.Because it is the important artistic means used by modern writers to criticize the reality that they create abnormal characters and show the confusion of Chinese people's spirit and the shrinkage of their vitality.Therefore,by transplanting and drawing lessons from them,the abnormal image and reflective spirit in Poe's works have also entered the works of modern writers imperceptibly,and played a role in the feudal ethics and social criticism.The fifth chapter is mainly to see the spread of Poe's poetry and Poetics in China through several important cases in the dissemination of Poe's poetry and Poetics in China.Wu Mi compares the theme of classical "memory" poems with The Raven.Mu Mutian,Wang Duqing and Liang Zongdai explore the resources of classical poems to meet or respond to the "pure poetry" proposition,which shows that they both hope to integrate,but also hope to surpass and overcome the poetic desire of Western modernist poetry concept.