Two Directions Of Chinese Modern Autobiography

At the beginning of the 20 th century, Chinese autobiography, along with the western modern autobiography, has gone through violent attacks and then come to its transformation guided by a series of theories and practice. Autobiography written by scholars and writers differ in its style: the former puts more emphasis on the record of history, while the latter on literature. Therefore, with the research of their autobiography as the target, it is the nearest approach to probe into modern academy and culture as well as the social development trend.On the one hand, scholar autobiography centred on Hu Shih enjoys the features of high sense of time, great historical and academic value. It is not just about his life story, but also an reflection of his exploration on academic area and the culture dream of China's modern scholars. On the other hand, writer autobiography centred on Yu Dafu, which plays emphasis on personal emotion in content and dramatic scene in writing technique, expresses in a literary way and is abound of personal attitude.The differences in autobiographies are caused by different characteristics in scholars and writers. It is, in a deeper lever, a consequence of distinction between academy and literature. In fact, scholars and writers were “learners” before they split.It has been a long time since the divide came into being and has become more and more obvious. As a result, the voice of literature has become very hard to hear. The impressive barrier between academy and literature will bring up many problems.However, it doesn't mean that there is nothing in common between the autobiographies written by China's modern scholars and writers. On the contrary, they can reach a consensus under certain conditions. On the one hand, they have influenced each other on their way of development. On the other hand, both scholars and writers has the unique quality of modern intellectuals. In general words, a deep-stage exchange between academic and literary level needs a further exploration.It is a rewarding result if they reach consensus in more areas. Therefore, researches on the modern autobiography is a beginning on the way to the relationship between academy and literature, which should be paid more attention to.