Analysis On The Gentry Image Of The Initial Stages Of The New Literature(1918-1927)

The gentry is a special social stratum in the traditional Chinese society after the establishment of the autocratic imperial power.The occurrence of the gentry has a specific political,economic and cultural background.As a privileged class in traditional Chinese society,the gentry witnessed the turbulent history;as a literature figure,the gentry image demonstrates the enthusiasm of the modern enlightenment writers for rural China.The “rusticity" was emphasized in the early period of the new literature.The writing focuses on people and events in the countryside.The native literature has more and more unique native connotations,and this differed from the urban narration in modern literature.It can be said that the image of the gentry became clear gradually which means it is one of the important signs that native literature has distinctive features.Since modern times,the distinction between gentry living in the country and gentry with political privilege nobles,gentry with cultural privilege has divided more and more obviously.The negation writing of the modern enlightenment writer to the gentry has enabled the local literature to have a cultural critique function,however,the writers has the strong desire to transform of local society.This thesis consists of four chapters.First of all,it is objectively and overall to grasp the gentry class by introducing the historical definition and social characteristics of the gentry;By discussing the development of the gentry in the modern society,this thesis discusses the ups and downs of the gentry in the course of history.Through the evolution of the image of the gentry since the Ming and Qing Dynasties,this thesis explore the characteristics of the appearance of gentry after entering the literary texts,and they are compared with the image of the gentry of the early period of the new literature.Secondly,by analyzing the new literature of the early portraits of gentry,dividesinto the gentry the negative force of traditional Chinese social transformation,the intermediates in the transformation of traditional Chinese society,and the lost rural elites to explore the appearance of the gentry after entering the field of vision of modern writers.The author tries to portray the gentry class as a backward,ignorant,conservative and cruel villain on the whole,and believes that this comes out of the original shortcomings of the gentry class,whose vacillation is influenced by the collapse of the old morality.In depicting the image of the gentry,the writer deliberately emphasizes and magnifies the weakness of the gentry,and tries to negate the gentry in an all-round way.Thirdly,it analyzes the writing strategy of the gentry image in the early stage of the new literature from the following three aspects: the cultural elite setting with negative connotation,the supporting structure arrangement and the wrestling metaphor of the country cultural community,explore the writers' writing strategy of "stigmatization" for the gentry and the value position behind it.The Literature Revolution shoulders the responsibility of the enlightenment,aims to show the urgency and importance of the ideological revolution and expose the original sin in culture,political privileges and economic exploitation of the gentry class.It has become the path which the most writers chose.Finally,the thesis explores the role function of the gentry's image by connecting with the contents of the former three chapters.The image of the gentry is responsible for the metaphor of traditional culture,the construction of the fulcrum of the civilian literature and reflection of the transition of local society.In general,the gentry shaped and maintained the rural society to a great extent,and was also confined to some extent by the local society.