The Department Of Chinese New Literature (1917-1927), Prose Anthology, Introduction "research

Chinese New Literature Collection (1917-1927) gives a comprehensive summary of the development of the new literature in its first decade, and has collected large amount of valuable literary materials. The ten introductions to the book have systematically reviewed different aspects the development of the new literature. Zhou Zuoren and Yu Dafu have each compiled one collection of essays, which are both characterized by their distinctive features. This paper makes an attentive study starting from the important roles that the compilers play in the formation of the book Chinese New Literature Collection. Centering on the function of the compilers of A Selection of Prose, this paper aims to discuss its compliers’editing ideologies, literary concepts and their significance in the formation of the A Selection of Prose.This paper is composed of five parts. The first part is an introduction to the formation of and current research on the book Chinese New Literature Collection. The second part discusses the theoretical basis A Selection of Prose based on the principle of "being contemporary" in the selection of materials and the function of the two introductions. The third part expounds on the emphasis, which is reflected in the introductions, Zhou Zuoren and Yu Dafu have placed on the "individualism" of contemporary prose. The forth part studies the encouragement of following British prose writing style from the compilers in A Selection of Prose. The last part deliberates on the editing ideologies of Zhou&Yu, focuing on Zhou’s rational "public opinion" and Yu’s perceptual "private opinion". This part reaches the conclusion that Zhou Zuoren actually blends is personal preferences with the process of selecting and editing materials; while Yu Dafu’s standards of selecting and compiling materials seem completely out of his personal preferences but have displayed his unique insight and sagacity as a literature historian.