Aubrey Beardsley in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture

Modern literature and contemporary arts are inter-related, yet they have been usually regarded as completely different and independent perspectives in academic researches. Cultural Studies is the first academic field to combine these two perspectives for cultural phenomena explorations. The attention and discussion on English illustrator Aubrey Beardsley (1872--1898) by the Chinese literature circle (including writers such as Lu Xun • Wen Yiduo • Liang Shiqiu • Shao Xunmei • Yu Dafu • Ye Lingfeng etc.) in early 20th century could serve as a proper entry point for the study of interaction between literature and picture.;This paper will implore Beardsley and modern Chinese literature, not only by applying the theories of cultural studies, comparative literatures and visual arts, but also making an attempt at an interdisciplinary study based on modern Chinese literature. It will be studied how the phenomenon of "Beardsley in China" has led to the thinking of "Modernity of China" through different perspectives including translation, publication, arts, culture and philosophy.;To start, the prelude shall give a brief introduction on the representations of Beardsley in Chinese modern literature and publishing industry. The studies on the topic of "Beardsley in China" and its inadequacies will be commented, followed by an outline of the research concept and methodology adopted in the paper leading to the discourse. The first chapter will focus on text and visual works by the writer Ye Lingfeng, aka Chinese Beardsley. Through the comparative reading of original texts and visual materials, the author challenges the validity of "Ye Lingfeng as Chinese Beardsley" and argues there has been miss-reading of Ye Lingfeng and "Creation Society" ([special characters omitted]) by scholars in previous studies. In chapter 2, the Introduction and selection of paintings in "The Selected Paintings of Aubrey Beardsley"([special characters omitted]) edited by Lu Xun is thoroughly deliberated. Reference will be taken from the original English text to substantiate the argument that the Introduction was actually translated by Lu Xun instead of written by him as miss-interpreted by many scholars. Along this argument, the thesis will further explore how Lu Xun perceived arts and its relationship with his written works. How Beardsley and "Decadence" were represented in works of various important Chinese writers including Yu Dafu, Liang Shiqiu • Wen Yiduo and Eileen Chang is discussed in detail in Chapter 3, followed by an account of the publication history of Beardsley's works in China and its cultural, political and social significance in Chapter 4.;The study of Beardsley in China under the context of development of Chinese society in the past century and its representations in various Chinese writers' works will lead to review of the modernity of Beardsley's arts. In the conclusion, the thesis will sum up the myth of "Modernity of China" brought about by Chinese face of Beardsley and reveal the intricate and complicated forms of modern Chinese literature and contemporary western arts.