Yu Dafu And German Literature

There are so many talented writers in the Capricious May Fourth Era of Chinese literature.Among them Yu Dafu gained a pivotal position with his unique writing style and the standard-bearer identity of introducing Chinese readers to open their eyes to the world.Undoubtedly, he is not only a gifted genius of language learning but also a exceptional writer. A good command of foreign language made him read foreign works widely much more easier and be able to keep up with the trend of world literature,and his excellent writing skills helped him to digest the knowledge of foreign literature for the reform of Chinese feudal literature.It is noteworthy that the influences from German literature played an important role in Yu Dafu’ writings among the diverse foreign literature.Relying on rigorous empirical methods,this essay analysed and summarized the specific effects on Yu Dafu by collecting the German factors of Yu Dafu’s essays, diaries, letters and other materials.It explored the influence of German literature from three aspects: Yu Dafu’s translation and study of German literature,The German influence on Yu Dafu’s literary points of view,The specific effects on Yu Dafu’s works.These three aspects are progressive relationship:Yu Dafu translated,studied and introduced German literature because of his own keen interest,at the same time his writing style influenced by someGerman writers and philosophers directly or imperceptibly and lead to Yu’s own view of literature,which are reflected in his works. Chapter one tells Yu Dafu’s translations of German literature and his studies toward some German writers,such as Rudolf Lindau, Theodor Storm, Thomas Mann.Moreover,his articles of Expressionism was very farsighted.Chapter two states the link of viewpoints between Yu Dafu and famous German thinker and writer,including Yu’s literature are autobiographies and Gothe’s writing based on reality,the common points between Yu Dafu’s and Gothe’s view of national literature and world literature, the relationship between Yu Dafu’s aesthetic,Hegel’s aesthetic and Schopenhauer’s tragic philosophy. Chapter three discusses the specific German effects on Yu Dafu’s works, it includes three aspects. First of all,Yu Dafu had imitated German erz?hlungen,poems and the novels Das Glückspendel and Sp?te Rosen; secondly,the image of Nostomania person inspired by the works of Heimatkunst and Theodor Storm; at last,German literature and German writers appeared in the works of Yu Dafu.