The Development Of Psychoanalysis In China(1914-1949)

At the ending of nineteenth century and the beginning of twentieth century, withthe development of Chinese Ideological Emancipation and the influx of Westerntheory, the introduction of Psychoanalysis was not only consistent with the theme of"personality liberation" but also facilitated Chinese’ understanding of "human". Itsinfluence on the modern Chinese literature had continued into our own day. Therefore,from a historical perspective, this paper concentrates on the literary to review theimpact of Psychoanalysis on the modern Chinese literature and ideological circles inthe twentieth century.Except the introduction and conclusion, this paper is divided into four chapters.The first chapter introduces the transmission background and path ofPsychoanalysis in China. Under the background of May4th New Culture Movement,a lot of Western theory was introduced. The "Enlightenment" renders people attachmore attention to the personality and it is indispensable for introducing Freud’s theory.The transmission path of Psychoanalysis includes Europe, United States and Japan,and Europe and United States are the direct path which play a pivotal role in thetransmission of Psychoanalysis.The second chapter describes the transmission process of Psychoanalysis inChina. The initial stage was from1920to1929. Psychoanalytic theory originates fromthe principles in psychology, so in the initial stage, all of the articles and papersintroduce the Psychoanalytic theory from the perspective of Psychology. Then therealms of Philosophy and Literature are also included in the process of transmission.From1930to1939was the material stage. In this period, people not only hadcomprehensive and systematic understanding of psychoanalytic theory but also begunto criticize its irrational parts. There is increasing number of books and papersintroducing the psychoanalytic theory. The translation of original texts is feasible andmore scholars keep a rational attitude towards to the Psychoanalysis. From1940to1949was the stage of recession. In this decade, the number of articles describing thePsychoanalytic theory was decreasing, and most of them were inclined to hold thecritical attitudes. The focus was transferred from the personality to the fate of country.The third chapter discusses the influence of Psychoanalytic theory on ChineseLiterary Criticism. This chapter is divided into two parts. The first part analyzedcritical articles that were written by the writers influenced by the Psychoanalytictheory in the period of "May4th ".On the one hand, it studies how modern Chinesewriters use Psychoanalytic theory to review the literatures. On the other hand, thispart highlights the impact of Psychoanalytic theory on the literary circle. The secondpart discusses the impact of Psychoanalytic theory on the literary and artistic theory ofChinese writers. Since the vast majority of modern Chinese writers were influencedby Psychoanalytic theory to some degree, so their constructions of literary theoryshow the contents of Psychoanalytic theory. This theory affected both the individualwriter and the construction of modern Chinese literary theory.The fourth chapter takes Lu Xun, Yu Dafu, and Shi Zhecun as examples to makecase analysis of the acceptance and application of the Psychoanalytic theory. It is the most representative to analyze the impact of Psychoanalytic theory on Lu Xun and hisworks to examine the role of the theory in Modern Chinese Literature. Yu Dafu’sfictions belong to the "autobiographical" type, which can coordinate thePsychoanalytic with the Realism. In spiritual meaning, this creation demonstrates thepersonal characteristics, but its essence shows the social reality. Shi Zhecun is therepresentative writer of the New Sense Literature. He found a new way to writenovels from Psychoanalysis——psychological novel. His psychological novel can beseen as the highest achievements in Chinese Modern Literature history. In conclusion,from the three authors’ life experiences and creations, we can understand the impactof Psychoanalysis on the modern Chinese writers and even the modern Chineseliterature.