Romanticism And Li Changzhi’s Literary Criticism And Cultural Ideas

Li Changzhi plays an important role in the transmission and development of Romanticism in China. The confrontation of Romanticism with Chinese literature and culture is embodied in his criticism. Chinese tradition and expectations of Chinese culture makes his absorption of the idea of emotion and rejection of the concept of infinity. Therefore, Romanticism which originated in Western culture has deformed in Li Changzhi’s criticism, which can reflect the progress of how Romanticism gets Chinese characteristics.Li Changzhi’s understanding of Romanticism can be represented in his literary criticism and cultural ideas. Before 1938, Li Changzhi emphasizes on applying the idea of Romanticism to literature criticism, hoping to find out the poetic composition by reinterrelating Chinese literature. Li Changzhi’s study on Lu Xun and A Dream of Red Mansions holds an initial position in the research history, highlighting the special values of art which are overshadowed by traditional critical methods.Influenced by the trend of national culture movement which is raised by unprecedented national crisis, Li Changzhi gradually combined Romanticism with notions like country, nation and reality after 1938. Li Changzhi wants to find the "internal light" in Chinese culture by recognizing tradition in the perspective of Romanticism. By doing that, we can realize the dream of the Chinese Renaissance. In recent years, some scholars like Gu Yuxiu, Ye Weilian and Yu Yingshi also formulate the plans of the Renaissance, which is nearly the same way of Li Changzhi’s. However, the Chinese traditional culture which Li Changzhi wanted to revive is the Romantic culture he has thought or hoped for, rather than Chinese culture itself. So the Chinese Renaissance in Li Changzhi’s sense may as well be called the Renaissance of Romanticism. Cultural construction of this way can rediscover the modern value of Chinese traditional culture on one hand; on the other hand, it may cover or distort some true features of Chinese tradition. The true meaning of his research needs more careful consideration.Romanticism is not only a theory of literary writing, but also an ideological trend which influences art, society, life and so on. From the case of Li Changzhi, we can find special significance of how Romanticism urbanized in China. Romanticism isn’t replaced by Realism in the 20th century; instead, it is hidden in the progress of development of Chinese modern Literature, embodied in various phenomena in literature and culture, one of which is that Romanticism has combined itself tightly with the notions of politics, revolution, nation and so on. The effect on Chinese literature and culture by this phenomenon needs pondering.