Study On Early Zhou Zuoren's Cultural Mentality

In the May-4th times, Zhou Zuoren was a shining star in the literary circles. He and Lu Xun were named together by double-star at that time. However, the investigation about Zhou Zuoren was nearly interrupted by various reasons since the period of our state's establishment. Although there was an upsurge of the investigation about Zhou Zuoren after the 1980's, it slipped quickly like a meteor. So far only a few investigators are still sticking to the position. This kind of present condition of the investigation disaccords obviously with the status and function of Zhou Zuoren in Chinese new culture campaign. There are many different ways and means of the investigation about Zhou Zuoren especially with the continue expansion of new subjects and new knowledge and the increasingly close mixing and help among different subjects. Different ways and means can approach and explain Zhou Zuoren and his articles from different angles, present at most characteristics of his personality and mentality and analyze deep meanings of his cultural mentality.Juncture of this article is cultural mentality of Zhou Zuoren. The article discusses detailedly the change track of his cultural mentality from the period of Nan Jing's and Japanese study and life to of the new cultural tide and ebb in the May-4th times, emphasizes chiefly the his characteristics of fluctuant mental change at his different life stages and embodies fully his controdictive heart between "Ghost of Hoodlum" and "Ghost of Gentleman". As a complex controdiction of cultural mentality Zhou Zuoren would do a selection of "appearance" and "disappearance" about his complex cultural mentality when he was facing to the different social conditions because of present social conditions and his cultural mentality. That is to say, at this period one part of characteristics was appeared as the main part, at the same time, another part of characteristics was hidden as potential cultural mentality that was waiting for appearance in the future. The two parts appeared in turn, supplemented each other and composed together the complete form of Zhou Zuoren's cultural mentality.Above investigation is chronological and longitudinal. The following is horizontal investigation about structure and characteristics of Zhou Zuoren's culturalmentality. To sum up, structure and characteristics of Zhou Zuoren's cultural mentality are composed of plain and simple thinking way, abstinent and moderate emotion expression, gentle and soft aesthetic mentality and individual and free personality pursuit. At the same time, the four points are not separated and independent, but compose an organic and forward mentality model. Though is a starting point of people. The difference of thinking way shows the difference of the relationship between individual and society, however, determines the difference of people's personality, temperament, emotion and mentality. Emotion is the main point of aesthetic mentality structure. During the fluctuation of aesthetic mentality emotion is not only starting point, but also motive. At the beginning of aesthetic action object's external image is noticed by aesthetic subject when emotion is ignited. By sense, comprehension, association and imagination as so on spirituous factors according subject permeate object's intuitional imagination that becomes plentiful from pure by emerging emotion. Aesthetic subject reaches aesthetic enjoying and accomplishes an aesthetic experience. Therefore, the characteristics of emotion dominate subject's aesthetic mentality. Personality is a central expression of people's personal mentality and cultural morality. At the same time, it is a greatest category to examine a people completely and situates the highest level in this model of mentality structure. We can also figure out the according appearance in his literature and art's criticism and literary works by the characteristics of Zhou Zuoren's cultural mentality for example plain, moderate, free and gentle as so on.There are factors of family and society and factors of outside world and himself in t...