| The culture of "Witchcraft and Ghost" has a long tradition in China.In modern times,with the introduction of "democracy" "scientific" and "rational" ideological trends,scientific knowledge became a weapon to dispel the "superstition" of witches and ghosts is consistent with the pursuit of modern intellectuals and civilization by progressive intellectuals.Ghosts and witchcraft are certainly imaginary products,but they are also biased by the use of superstitions,backwardness,and ignorance.As an ancient culture that has lasted for thousands of years,the belief in witches and ghosts has long been internalized as part of the psychological structure of Chinese culture affecting people's thinking and behavior habits.Zhou Zuoren is a representative of modern writers who love to write ghosts.During the May 4th movement,Zhou Zuoren advocated Human Literature.In the subsequent articles,the sound development of "humanity" and "human nature" was also a question he continued to explore.Since ancient times,Chinese have a notion that a person becomes a ghost when he dies.Ghosts and witchcraft are closely related to people's thinking,emotions,and lifestyle.Because of this,it is a starting point for Zhou Zuoren to explore the thoughts and feelings of Chinese people.This article will combine Zhou Zuoren's prose and translated works based on Zhou Zuoren's historical context of ghost and witchcraft essays,summarizes Zhou Zuoren's attitude towards ghost and witchcraft culture,analysis the critique of national nature and aesthetic pursuit in the essays,explore Zhou Zuo-ren's viewpoint on the ideal lives of human Beings,and at last summarize the value and limitation of Zhou Zuoren's essays.There are five chapters in the text:The first chapter begins with the exploration of the context in which Zuo Zuoren's essays of Witchcraft and Ghost took place from the aspects of social environment,family environment,and the reform of modern knowledge system.From ancient times to the present,the change of the Chinese concept of Witchcraft and Ghosts is closely related to the changes in the social environment and the spirit of the times.First of all,the period of the Republic of China was an era of old and new ideas mixing and struggling.On the one hand,a wide variety of ghost worships emerged in this period.On the other hand,the customs reform of the government and intellectual revolution dominated by intellectualstried to ban and reform these superstitions.Protracted struggle both exhibit reflects the deep-rooted belief in ghost in modern society.Second,Zhou Zuoren's hometown has a tradition of worshipping ghosts.Many ancient legends and customs about ghosts are preserved.Zhou Zuoren's hometown's ancestor culture is well developed.The “ghost drama” represented by Mulian Opera is one of his favorite art form.In addition,Western anthropology and folklore theory also provide theoretical support for Zhou Zuoren's understanding of ghost culture.The second chapter studies Zhou Zuoren's attitude toward the Witchcraft and Ghosts.Zhou Zuoren's attitude towards the ghosts is complicated.On the one hand,influenced by the education of Western scientific thoughts and the Confucian rational spirit,Zhou Zuoren denies the objective existence of ghosts and does not approve of the witchcraft activities.He insists on the position that ghost is only a projection of people's emotions and psychological activities.It is a relic of primitive people's elf faith.This view has a sharp tendency of materialism.The third chapter studies Zhou Zuoren's textual representation of Witchcraft and Ghosts.The ghosts described by Zhou Zuoren can be roughly divided into three categories.One is the use of ghosts to refer to the resurrection of barbaric thoughts such as tyrants and cannibalism in national thought.In this type of article,Zhou Zuoren regarded the innocence of the national thought and the rethinking of traditional thoughts and morality as "ghosts" to be fiercely criticized.The second is the folk belief in witchcraft and ghosts.Zhou Zuoren compared the ancient fairy tales of the hometown of Vietnam with the folk customs of the village and other nations of the world,revealing both the thinking of “everything and the spirit” that the primitive people generally have and the discovery of Chinese witches.The practical,heavy moral concept of secularism infiltrated by ghost culture.The third is the application of witchcraft thinking in daily life.Zhou Zuoren used the knowledge of Western anthropology and folklore to uncover solitary or explicit witchcraft thinking in his daily life.He not only had sympathy for the human emotions and desires reflected in witchcraft,but also revealed the mutuality of witchcraft thinking and modern civilization.The fourth chapter discusses the two positions of enlightenment and aesthetics of Zhou Zuoren's essays of Witches and Ghosts.These two positions embody ZhouZuoren's idea of the ideal life of man.On the one hand,ghost beliefs influence people's cultural and psychological structure.Different from the Confucianists' criticism of the May Fourth Movement,Zhou Zuoren took folk Taoism(Shamanism)as the starting point,exposing the ignorance,weakness,and servility of the national character caused by Taoism.It advocates using the scientific thinking represented by "common sense" to transform people's superstition.On the other hand,the ghost and witchcraft culture has aesthetic value.Artists should use beautification ideas to dispel the horrors in the beliefs of the ghosts and ghosts and promote the factors of beauty and goodness.The fifth chapter discusses the cultural value and limitations of Zhou Zuoren's essays of ghosts and witchcraft.Zhou Zuoren's writing of witchcraft and ghost runs through different stages of his life.From the early and clear enlightenment position to the enhancement of the later aesthetic pursuit,although Zhou Zuoren's essays of witchcraft and ghost implied a change in his attitudes and attitudes,his observations on people are consistent,affirming the natural attributes of man while pursuing the transcendence of man.Zhou Zuoren seeks a balance between the rational spirit of science and the taste of life,and pursues a proper lifestyle.This is consistent with the concept in Zhou Zuoren's earlier work on "Literature for People" and continues the theme of "Establishing People" in the "May 4th" era.At the same time,Zhou Zuoren's essay of ghost and witchcraft is also an affirmation of the value of folk culture.Ancient civilization still has a strong vitality in modern times.Zhou Zuoren's essays of the sinister spirit reflect his ambivalence between being born and entered into the world.Especially after the 1930 s,he focused on personnel by writing ghosts,but he did not face the themes of revolution and saving in real politics,reflecting the psychology of avoiding the world.To some extent it is a limitation. |
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