User:Rui Shen 11/Yu Dafu

Lead

He was one of the new literary group initiators, and this new literary group was named Chuangzao she (創造社, Creation Society). His literary masterpieces include Chenlun (沈淪, Sinking), Chunfeng chenzui de wanshang (春風沈醉的晚上, Intoxicating Spring Nights), Guoqu (過去, The Past), Chuben (出奔, Flight) and so on. Yu Dafu's literary works profoundly influenced a group of young writers and formed a spectacular romantic trend in Chinese literature in the 1920s and 1930s.

Early years

"Sinking" reflects a problem. The problem is that both China and Japan were once powerful countries in Asia, but now, in contrast to Japan's successful national modernization, China has not successfully achieved national modernization. Yu Dafu was ashamed of this, and he used such a story to express a sense of national shame, but in fact, this story's background does not match the facts.^[1]

Writing style

Yu Dafu's literary works are mainly autobiography. In his works, there are many expressions with personal subjective colors. He expresses his thoughts and feelings through the protagonist in the story. The plot in the story is also created based on his personal experience.^[2] Besides, his relationships with people around him are included in his works, such as his relationship with his mother and wife. Autobiography is the personal feature of Yu Dafu's work. It is precise because his works are derived from his own life that contemporary readers are very interested in his literary works.^[3]

"Sinking" Chenlun (1921) is the most famous masterpiece of all Yu Dafu's literary works. After the short story "Sinking" was published, it immediately caused a massive wave in modern Chinese literature history. This story is considered one of the earliest psychological novels in modern Chinese novel history. At the same time, this story is viewed as a representative of romanticism, which satisfies one of the main literature characteristics during the May Fourth period.^[1]

In the "Sinking", Yu Dafu quoted both Chinese and Western literature. This simultaneously quoting Chinese and Western text makes Yu Dafu's short story out of touch with traditional Chinese literature and modern literature. The protagonist in the "Sinking" quotes from Chinese literature texts, like the verses of Wang Bo 王勃 (Poet of Tang Dynasty) and Huang Zhongze 黄仲则 (Poet of Qing Dynasty). Besides, the protagonist in the story not only quotes from Chinese literature texts, but he also quotes from Western literature texts, like the poems of Wordsworth (British poet) and Heine (German poet).^[1]

In the mid-1920s, Yu Dafu changed his writing style. His writing style changed from romantic individualism to collectivism, especially in new women's image expression. And this means that there will be similar changes among people of his generation in the next few years. In the "Intoxicating Spring Nights" Chunfeng chenzui de wanshang (1924), Yu Dafu described how a female factory worker regained her self-confidence in a difficult situation. He created an image of a proletarian woman who can strengthen the protagonist.^[4]

Main themes

In general, no matter whether the Chinese literature text or the Western literature text is cited in the "Sinking" short story, the same theme is expressed: loneliness. Yu Dafu believes this is a kind of thoughts and feelings that are not understood by other people.^[1] He used this melancholy state of mind to express the degeneration of the characters in the short story. At the same time, Yu Dafu laid the foundation for the criticism and self-reflection of Chinese international students' literature.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Denton, Kirk A. (1992). "The Distant Shore: Nationalism in Yu Dafu's "Sinking"". Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR). 14: 107–123. doi:10.2307/495405. ISSN 0161-9705.
^ Goldman, Merle (1977). Modern Chinese Literature in the May Fourth Era. Harvard University Press. pp. 309–324. ISBN 978-0-674-57911-8.
^ "Romantic Sentiment And The Problem Of The Subject: Yu Dafu", The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature, Columbia University Press, pp. 378–384, 2003-12-31, ISBN 978-0-231-50736-3, retrieved 2020-12-17
^ Feng, Jin (2004). The New Woman in Early Twentieth-century Chinese Fiction. Purdue University Press. pp. 60–82. ISBN 978-1-55753-330-2.
^ "From the De-Based Literati to the Debased Intellectual: A Chinese Hypochondriac in Japan". MCLC Resource Center. 2014-09-23. Retrieved 2020-12-17.

[:0-1] Denton, Kirk A. (1992). "The Distant Shore: Nationalism in Yu Dafu's "Sinking"". Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR). 14: 107–123. doi:10.2307/495405. ISSN 0161-9705.

[2] Goldman, Merle (1977). Modern Chinese Literature in the May Fourth Era. Harvard University Press. pp. 309–324. ISBN 978-0-674-57911-8.

[3] "Romantic Sentiment And The Problem Of The Subject: Yu Dafu", The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature, Columbia University Press, pp. 378–384, 2003-12-31, ISBN 978-0-231-50736-3, retrieved 2020-12-17

[4] Feng, Jin (2004). The New Woman in Early Twentieth-century Chinese Fiction. Purdue University Press. pp. 60–82. ISBN 978-1-55753-330-2.

[5] "From the De-Based Literati to the Debased Intellectual: A Chinese Hypochondriac in Japan". MCLC Resource Center. 2014-09-23. Retrieved 2020-12-17.

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