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LITERARY PROBLEMS DURING THE WAR OF RESISTANCE AS VIEWED FROM YAN'AN: STUDY OF THE LITERATURE PAGE OF LIBERATION DAILY MAY 16, 1941 TO AUGUST 31, 1942 by KYNA ELLEN RUBIN B.A., The U n i v e r s i t y of Vermont, 1977 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES C Department o f A s i a n Studies ) We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the r e q u i r e d standard THE © UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August 1979 Kyna E l l e n Rubin, 1979 I n p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an a d v a n c e d d e g r e e a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , I a g r e e t h a t t h e L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e a n d s t u d y . I f u r t h e r a g r e e t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y p u r p o s e s may be g r a n t e d by t h e Head o f my D e p a r t m e n t o r by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l n o t be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . D e p a r t m e n t o f fls>(K\ £W <P, »W The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a 2075 W e s b r o o k P l a c e V a n c o u v e r , C a n a d a V6T 1W5 D E - 6 B P 75-51 1 E i i r." ABSTRACT Chinese w r i t e r s s i n c e May Fourth, 1919, have encountered many problems i n t h e i r w r i t i n g , some of which have been u n i v e r s a l , some of which have been p a r t i c u l a r to China. The War of Re s i s t a n c e a g a i n s t Japan (1937-1945) presented f u r t h e r , more p a r t i c u l a r dilem-mas f o r a l l modern Chinese w r i t e r s r e g a r d l e s s of p o l i t i c a l a f f i l i a -t i o n or geographic l o c a t i o n . Urban w r i t e r s sympathetic to the r e v o l u t i o n a r y cause of the Chinese Communist Pa r t y who went to the wartime c a p i t a l of Yan'an met a d d i t i o n a l d i f f i c u l t i e s . While many of these problems were shared by w r i t e r s i n other areas, some arose from the unique g e o g r a p h i c a l , p o l i t i c a l , and s o c i a l environment of the base r e g i o n s , i . e . , the areas under Communist c o n t r o l . This t h e s i s i s a study of the problems f o r w r i t e r s i n Yan'an as r e f l e c t e d i n l i t e r a r y i s s u e s and debates r a i s e d i n the l i t e r a -ture supplement "Wen Y i " of L i b e r a t i o n D a i l y ( J i e f a n g Ribao), the CCP organ p u b l i s h e d i n Yan'an from May 16, 1941 to March 27, 1947. The l i t e r a r y i s s u e s are examined over a p e r i o d of f i f t e e n months, from May, 1941 u n t i l August, 1942. They are viewed as backdrop and aftermath to the "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on L i t e r a t u r e and A r t " d e l i v e r e d by Mao Zedong i n May of 1942. The " T a l k s " have f u n c t i o n e d as the o f f i c i a l CCP p o l i c y on l i t e r a t u r e and a r t s i n c e 1942. A d e t a i l e d examination of the atmosphere i n the Yan'an l i t e r a r y world l e a d i n g up to May as w e l l as a look at immediate r e a c t i o n i n the press to the l i t e r a r y d i r e c t i v e s w i l l enhance our understanding of the " T a l k s " and help p l a c e them i n proper h i s t o r -i c a l context. I t i s hoped i n the end that t h i s t h e s i s may show that many of the problems f o r w r i t e r s d i s c u s s e d i n the " T a l k s " i n 1942 had a l r e a d y e x i s t e d fox oyer twenty years p r i o r to the May Forum. The r e f o r e , one cannot merely blame CCP l i t e r a r y p o l i c i e s f o r the l a c k of outstanding l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y i n modern China. i v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 NOTES TO CHAPTER ONE 21 CHAPTER TWO:MAY 16, 1941 TO FEBRUARY 1, 1942 23 A. Source M a t e r i a l 25 B. C r e a t i v e Approach to Subject Matter 32 C. A p p l i c a t i o n of Marxism-Leninism to L i t e r a t u r e : Formulism 38 D. P o p u l a r i z a t i o n and the R a i s i n g of Standards 42 E. The Wr i t e r i n S o c i e t y 44 F. Signs of D i s u n i t y 50 NOTES TO CHAPTER TWO 5 7 CHAPTER THREE: FEBRUARY TO MAY - FROM THE FORMAL LAUNCHING OF THE ZHENG FENG MOVEMENT TO MAO'S "TALKS" 64 A. The R e c t i f i c a t i o n C a l l 64 B. W r i t e r s ' Response 69 NOTES TO CHAPTER THREE 102 CHAPTER FOUR: FROM THE MAY "TALKS" TO THE END OF AUGUST, 1942 111 A. The E f f e c t of the May Forum on JFRB, page fo u r 111 B. The Framework of the Forum 113 C. Roots of Theories Presented i n the " T a l k s " 115 D. The Yan'an " T a l k s " 119 E. Reaction to the May conferences i n JFRB 135 F. L i t e r a r y C r i t i c i s m Immediately F o l l o w i n g the " T a l k s " 145 NOTES TO CHAPTER FOUR 17 2 CONCLUSION 177 V APPENDIX I. Wang Shiwei 180 Notes 190 I I . T r a n s l a t i o n s "Talks on L i t e r a t u r e and L i f e " Zhou Yang 192 "An Essay Not Basted Together" Luo Feng 209 "We Need Za Wen" Ding L i n g 212 Notes 215 BIBLIOGRAPHY 219 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION There are c e r t a i n general problems which have plagued the Chinese l i t e r a r y world ever s i n c e the b i r t h of t w e n t i e t h century modern Chinese l i t e r a t u r e i n the May Fourth e r a . The s w i f t l y changing p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l m i l i e u i n China has n e c e s s i t a t e d a p a r a l l e l l i t e r a r y e v o l u t i o n , an e v o l u t i o n which has every step of the way been i n f l u e n c e d by dynamic p o l i t i c a l f a c t o r s as w e l l as n a t i v e l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n . Such f a c t o r s of i n f l u e n c e i n China have c r e a t e d a number of d i f f i c u l t i e s f o r modern w r i t e r s , dilemmas which were to become the focus of much debate i n the twenties, t h i r t i e s , and f o r t i e s , b e f o r e the establishment of the People's Republic of China. A f t e r 1949, the debates c o n t i -nued, but the manner i n which they were d i s c u s s e d a l t e r e d g r e a t l y i n l i g h t of the Communist v i c t o r y . In t h i s i n t r o d u c t i o n I hope to d i r e c t a t t e n t i o n to the h i s t o r i c a l b a s i s of the i s s u e s which w i l l be examined i n t h i s t h e s i s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n view of the p a r t i c u l a r problems of Chinese l i t e r a t u r e that developed i n the 1930's, the decade preceeding the years which w i l l be the s p e c i f i c focus of t h i s study. There are those who blame the l a c k of great modern Chinese works of l i t e r a t u r e on p o l i t i c a l s u p p r e s s i o n , be i t Communist, N a t i o n a l i s t , or Japanese. I f we r e c o g n i z e the f a c t t h a t i n t h i s century problems w i t h l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y have e x i s t e d i n a l l p a r t s of China, whether i t be i n Communist, N a t i o n a l i s t , or Japanese-occupied areas, i t becomes obvious that l a c k of c r e a t i v e freedom due to p o l i t i c a l s u ppression c o u l d not p o s s i b l y have been the s o l e o b s t a c l e to the c r e a t i o n of good l i t e r a t u r e . Besides 2 having to w r e s t l e w i t h the u n i v e r s a l choices of source m a t e r i a l , c r e a t i v e method, and approach to s u b j e c t matter, Chinese w r i t e r s have a l s o had to deal w i t h the moral and p o l i t i c a l c h o i ce of how much f o r e i g n i n f l u e n c e to i n c o r p o r a t e i n t o t h e i r work, although such a choice d i d not take p l a c e on a wholly conscious l e v e l u n t i l the 1940's. During the twenties, l i t e r a r y f a c t i o n s based t h e i r g u i d i n g p r i n c i p l e s on the d i f f e r e n t p r e v a i l i n g a t t i t u d e s towards such v i t a l a r t i s t i c i s s u e s . E a r l y i n the decade, two opposing tendencies emerged. One, represented by the S o c i e t y f o r L i t e r a r y Research (Wenxue Y a n j i u Hui "£) ) preached r e a l i s m and the use of l i t e r a t u r e f o r s o c i a l reform. The second group, represented by the C r e a t i o n S o c i e t y (Chuangzao She %%2_, ^ ' . i - ) advocated romanticism and " a r t - f o r - a r t ' s sake." But p o l i t i c a l events soon l e d to a s h i f t from debates over the f u n c t i o n of l i t e r a t u r e i n s o c i e t y £0 d i s c u s s i o n s of how l i t e r a t u r e c ould best serve as a means of p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l reform. The May T h i r t i e t h I n c i dent of 1925"*" awakened the sympathies of many people to immediate n a t i o n a l concerns and thus p r o v i d e d a b a s i s f o r the r e c o g n i t i o n of a n t i - i m p e r i a l i s t l e f t i s t l i t e r a t u r e . The f a i l u r e of the Great R e v o l u t i o n of 1927 and the l a r g e - s c a l e massacre i n Shanghai of Communists by Jiang J i e s h i ( fyjf )j /0 ) r e v e a l e d to a l l Chinese the f r a g i l e s t r u c t u r e of u n i t e d f r o n t p o l i c y and the c r u e l r e a l i t i e s of domestic op p r e s s i o n . Such p o l i t i c a l t u r m o i l gave b i r t h to the r e c o g n i t i o n of r e v o l u t i o n a r y l i t e r a t u r e (the next stage a f t e r l i t e r a r y r e v o l u t i o n propagated i n the t e e n s ) . Yet from 1928-1930 f a c t i o n a l i s m among l e f t i s t s emerged w i t h the c o n t r o v e r s y over the d e f i n i t i o n of r e v o l u t i o n a r y or " p r o l e t a r i a n " l i t e r a t u r e , and d i s u n i t y became most pronounced, 3 while l i t e r a r y c r e a t i o n was almost at a s t a n d s t i l l . I t seemed that there was l i t t l e hope f o r the e f f e c t i v e p r o d u c t i o n of r e v o l u t i o n a r y l i t e r a t u r e u n t i l the establishment of the League i n March, 1930 which pr o v i d e d a p o l i t i c a l base on which a l l l e f t i s t s w r i t e r s c o u l d agree. The League u n i f i e d l e f t i s t -o r i e n t e d l i t e r a r y groups towards - a r e a l i s t " l i t e r a t u r e f o r l i f e " a t t i t u d e i n l i g h t of the r e a l t h r e a t s of f o r e i g n a g g r e s s i o n and domestic c a p i t u l a t i o n . Working from an organized base sponsored by the Communist Party, w r i t e r s now had to face both o l d and new problems. The new d i f f i c u l t i e s were an outgrowth of h i s t o r i c a l circumstance. Although the members of the League of Left-wing W r i t e r s agreed i n p r i n c i p l e to an a n t i - f e u d a l , a n t i - b o u r g e o i s l i t e r a t u r e and to the p r o d u c t i o n of p r o l e t a r i a n a r t ( L i H e l i n 1939:253-54) , they n e v e r t h e l e s s s t i l l had to cope w i t h problems r e s u l t i n g from matching theory to p r a c t i c e i n attempting to a t t a i n t h e i r d e s i r e d ' s o c i a l g o a l s . Inherent c o n t r a d i c t i o n s arose when mainly p e t t y -bourgeois w r i t e r s t r i e d to c r e a t e a working c l a s s l i t e r a t u r e . The r e l a t i o n s h i p between the r e v o l u t i o n a r y w r i t e r , and the s o c i e t y which he hoped to change had been a source of t e n s i o n s i n c e the l a t e twenties. In h i s speech given at the i n a u g u r a l meeting of the League of Left-wing W r i t e r s i n 1930, Lu Xun had warned, " . . . i t i s c e r t a i n l y not the duty of the working c l a s s to give poets or w r i t e r s any p r e f e r e n t i a l treatment... The f a c t i s that no workers... f e e l any s p e c i a l r e s p e c t f o r i n t e l l e c t u a l s . " (Lu Xun 1930-i"3:8v5-9/-English:9 5) Said to have been an outgrowth of the d i s t a n c e between w r i t e r s and e x i s t i n g r e a l i t y , the overdog-of Left-wing W r i t e r s (Zuoyi Z u o j i a Lianmeng 4 matic a p p l i c a t i o n , of M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t p r i n c i p l e s to l i t e r a t u r e •,.-• was a phenomenon recog n i z e d by r e v o l u t i o n a r y w r i t e r s themselves i n the t h i r t i e s . By the e a r l y 1940's, such a tr e n d was blamed on d o c t r i n a i r e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f . p o l i t i c a l theory stemming from an emphasis on a b s t r a c t study r a t h e r than r e a l l i f e e xperience. (OuYang Shan, JFRB, 1941; Zhou Yang, JFRE, 1941; Mao Zedong, 1942 B and C; Zhou L i b o , JFRE, 1942). Thus we can see that l i t e r a r y problems i n Yan'an had long r o o t s . With the c a l l f o r a p r o l e t a r i a n l i t e r a t u r e came the d i s c o -very of the need f o r the p o p u l a r i z a t i o n of l i t e r a t u r e through a 2 new language i n a s t y l e comprehensible to the masses at l a r g e . In 1932, Qu Qi u b a i had al r e a d y a n t i c i p a t e d the demands of a new 3 era i n l i t e r a t u r e . By the o f f i c i a l outbreak of the N a t i o n a l War of Res i s t a n c e a g a i n s t Japan i n 1937, the c a l l to p o p u l a r i z e l i t e r a t u r e became a much more p r e s s i n g and r e a l i s s u e . The r e a l i t i e s of war demanded an even more s p e c i f i c r o l e f o r l i t e r a -ture as a v e h i c l e f o r quick and e f f e c t i v e d i s s e m i n a t i o n of war propaganda to the l a r g e s t p o s s i b l e number of people. The League of Left-wing W r i t e r s d i s s o l v e d i n s p r i n g of 1936, (Tagore, 1967: 170) and an attempt at a u n i t e d f r o n t w i t h n o n - l e f t i s t s w r i t e r s r e s u l t e d i n a b a t t l e among l e f t i s t s over " n a t i o n a l defense l i t e -r a t u r e "(guofang wenxue ]^ ) f^ J ^ ) advocated by Zhou Yang and the U n i t e d A s s o c i a t i o n of Chinese w r i t e r s (Zhongguo Wen y i j i a and "mass l i t e r a t u r e of the n a t i o n a l r e v o l u t i o n a r y s t r u g g l e the Proclamation of Chinese L i t e r a r y Workers (Zhongguo Wenyi 1 ), e s t a b l i s h e d i n June, 1936, L j p i > -r \\Z <sp Gongzuozhe Xuanyan tp )i$J CJ ' " — <5> ). ( L i H e l i n , 1939:413 and 572) Yet at l a s t , r i g h t b e f o r e the death of Lu Xun i n October of 1936, disagreements were l a i d to r e s t w i t h the s i g n i n g of the Manifesto of the L i t e r a r y Assembly f o r U n i t e d Defense and Freedom of Speech (Wenyijie Tongren Weituanjie-Yuwu yu -Yanlun -Ziyou Xuanyan ^ ^ )S) ^ J?>Q f^r ); The goal was to u n i t e together a l l schools of w r i t e r s r e g a r d l e s s of d i f f e r e n t views and w r i t i n g s t y l e s , i n order to " r e s i s t Japan and save the n a t i o n . " ( L i H e l i n , 1939:573) On March 27, 1938, the f i n a l u n i f i c a t i o n among w r i t e r s p a r a l l e l i n g the p o l i t i c a l u n i t e d f r o n t between the Communist and N a t i o n a l i s t P a r t i e s , was c o n s o l i d a t e d . The A l l - C h i n a W r i t e r s ' A n t i - a g g r e s s i o n A s s o c i a t i o n (Zhonghua Quanguo Wenyijie Kangdi X i e h u i *f> - f - £ )§ ] ^ ^ ^ ffy ^ ) was formed 4 i n Hankou, headed by Lao She. The o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s statement of purpose was c l e a r : We must u n i t e together the d i s p e r s e d s t r e n g t h of our comrades-in-arms and use our pens as o f f i c e r s and men on the b a t t l e f r o n t use t h e i r guns - to m o b i l i z e the masses, defend our country, smash the enemy b a n d i t s , and s t r i v e f o r v i c t o r y . The d e s t i n y of the n a t i o n i s a l s o the d e s t i n y of l i t e r a t u r e . (Lan H a i , 1947:41) The A l l - C h i n a W r i t e r s ' A n t i - a g g r e s s i o n A s s o c i a t i o n attempted to c o n t r i b u t e to the p o p u l a r i z a t i o n of l i t e r a t u r e through the establishment of l o c a l branches (fenhui ffi ) i n a l l major populated areas of the country. Under the slogan " l e t w r i t e r s go to the v i l l a g e s , l e t w r i t e r s serve the armed f o r c e s " (wen-zhang x i a x i a n g , wenzhang ruwu j>C J^f | N > i\ ^\ ^\^— ) (Wang Yao, 1953; 11:9), the main a s s o c i a t i o n would organize w r i t e r s in. t r i p s to the f r o n t and behind enemy l i n e s , and to r e t u r n and w r i t e based on p e r s o n a l o b s e r v a t i o n . Ding L i n g , among others, had l e d such groups from the Northwest of China. (Nym Wales, 1939:278-9) Encouraged forms of w r i t i n g , some based on a l r e a d y e x i s t i n g popular forms, and some newly invented during the war i n c l u d e d reportage (baogao wenxue <J fx. "v3f ^ ) i n c l u -ding w r i t i n g about p a r t i c u l a r events ( t e x i e ^f^f ) , sketches (suxie ^i^) ) and n o n - p r o f e s s i o n a l news r e p o r t s (tongxun £|*2, ~^f(j ) ; " l i v i n g newspapers" (huobao ); outdoor " s t r e e t " and " w a l l " p o e t r y ( j i e t o u or qiangtou s h i " i i j , -j\%r xf^ ); w a l l f i c t i o n (qiangtou xiaoshuo 7^^" / J S <at_} ) ; s t r e e t t h e a t r e Cjietou j u y f ^ J %?\)\ and po e t r y r e c i t e d aloud (langsong s h i <?;J~ )• A l l contained p a t r i o t i c , anti-Japanese content. Not a few Chinese commentators on t h i s p e r i o d a l l u d e to the u n d e s i r a b l e yet unavoidable l i t e r a r y tendencies c r e a t e d by war-time needs i n the hands of both amateur and p r o f e s s i o n a l w r i t e r s . I f l e f t i s t s w r i t e r s could not a c c u r a t e l y p o r t r a y the working c l a s s , a l l w r i t e r s had d i f f i c u l t y g i v i n g e x p r e s s i o n to wartime t o p i c s and forms. T h i s , as we w i l l see, was the case i n Yan'an, but c e r t a i n l y was not l i m i t e d to Communist-occupied areas. As Zhou Yang so a c c u r a t e l y observed i n J u l y , 1941: A f t e r the outbreak of the War of R e s i s t a n c e , many w r i t e r s ran i n t o t h i s impasse: w r i t e about the War of R e s i s t a n c e , but we're not f a m i l i a r w i t h i t ; w r i t e about the p a s t , but now i s not the time.(Zhou Yang, JFRB, 1941, J u l y 19) Phrases c i r c u l a t i n g at the time were " s t e r e o t y p e d War of R e s i s -tance w r i t i n g " (kangzhan bagu (Lan Hai, 1947: 149) and " a l l ( l i t e r a r y works) about the same" (chabuduo zhuyi 7 ^ J)y JL ). (Lan Hai:30 and L i n Huanping; 1939:7) The attempt to p o p u l a r i z e the war message was not s u c c e s s f u l , and a c c o r d i n g to c r i t i c s o f t e n r e s u l t e d i n a r t i s t i c a l l y i n f e r i o r works which, more important, were i n e f f e c t i v e p o l i t i c a l l y as well. The major reason o f f e r e d by Communist c r i t i c s l o o k i n g back was that many w r i t e r s l a c k e d the d e s i r e and/or the o p p o r t u n i t y to go to the f r o n t , the v i l l a g e s , or behind enemy l i n e s . They were requested to d e s c r i b e the war and d i d so, but o f t e n based t h e i r w r i t i n g on second and third-hand s t o r i e s . Subject matter, too, became too narrow. The w r i t e r Ouyang Shan wrote, "The same read-er can't stand to read ten s i m i l a r d e s c r i p t i o n s of one a i r - r a i d a l e r t . " ( L i n Huanping, 1939:8) Mao Dun, among o t h e r s , noted the tendency i n w r i t i n g to focus on c e r t a i n h e r o i c events r a t h e r than i n d i v i d u a l s . ( L i n Huanping:58) A l l agreed that a r t i s t i c a l l y i n f e r i o r s l o g a n i s t l i t e r a t u r e decreased the e f f i c a c y of a r t as a weapon a g a i n s t the enemy. The dilemma of how to produce a n a t i o n -a l i s t i c wartime l i t e r a t u r e i n a medium r e a d i l y understood by the masses while able to s t i r them to a c t i o n , remained a problem throughout the war. Again, such a problem presented i t s e l f to a l l w r i t e r s i n China at t h i s time, r e g a r d l e s s of g e o g r a p h i c a l l o c a t i o n or p o l i t i c a l a f f i l i a t i o n . One aspect of c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g i n p a r t i c u l a r which came to be a major t o p i c of debate dur i n g the war was the e f f e c t of f o r e i g n l i t e r a r y techniques and forms on Chinese l i t e r a t u r e . The d e s i r a b i l i t y of Western i n f l u e n c e on Chinese works of l i t e r a t u r e was an i s s u e brought up f o r d i s c u s s i o n by Qu Q i u b a i as e a r l y as the mid-twenties CP- Pickowicz, 1977:363), but s p e c i a l circum-stances" c r e a t e d by the war i n the m i d - t h i r t i e s only served to 8 i n t e n s i f y the s i g n i f i c a n c e of the matter. In the e a r l y 1930's, Qu Q i u b a i c r i t i c i z e d the May F o u r t h w r i t e r s f o r b l i n d l y adopting f o r e i g n techniques and language. He encouraged them to use na-t i v e -traditionaK^fbrms " t h i n g s the people are accustomed to read-ing and v i e w i n g . " (Qu Q i u b a i , 1932:37/English:50) Now that the war had come and f o r e i g n a g g r e s s i o n was at i t s h e i g h t , European-i z e d e l i t i s t l i t e r a t u r e of the May Fourth genre denounced by Qu seemed l e a s t adaptable f o r mass propaganda purposes. Western i n f l u e n c e i n l i t e r a r y c r e a t i o n no longer p l a y e d the r o l e i t had p r e v i o u s l y enjoyed, and was i n f a c t c a s t i g a t e d f o r i t s n e g a t i v e impact on Chinese l i t e r a t u r e through the c r e a t i o n of " f o r e i g n s t e r e o t y p e d w r i t i n g " (yangbagu ) \ )^^_ ) . What was to r e p l a c e May F o u r t h forms? In theory, " n a t i o n a l forms" (minzu x i n g s h i In Mao Zedong's speech of October 1938, "The Role of the Chinese Communist Party i n the N a t i o n a l War", he addressed the need f o r d i s t i n c t l y Chinese forms: Hence to apply Marxism c o n c r e t e l y i n China so that i t s every m a n i f e s t a t i o n has an i n d u b i t a -b l y Chinese c h a r a c t e r , i . e . , to apply Marxism i n the l i g h t of China's s p e c i f i c c h a r a c t e r i s -t i c s , becomes a problem which i t i s urgent f o r the whole P a r t y to understand and s o l v e . F o r e i g h stereotypes imust be a b o l i s h e d , there must be l e s s s i n g i n g of empty, a b s t r a c t tunes, and dogmatism must be l a i d to r e s t . They must be r e p l a c e d by the f r e s h , l i v e l y , Chinese s t y l e and s p i r i t which the common people of China l o v e . To separate i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s t con-ten t from> n a t i o n a l form i s the p r a c t i c e of those who do not understand the f i r s t t h i n g about i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s m . (Mao Zedong, 1938:261/ English:209) A Chinese c r i t i c has t r a c e d the o r i g i n s of the concept of n a t i o n -a l form as i t was g e n e r a l l y a p p l i e d ( i . e . , not j u s t to the f i e l d of l i t e r a t u r e and a r t ) to S t a l i n ' s i d e a that "the promotion of 9 r e v o l u t i o n a r y e n t e r p r i s e s i n any country must depend on the f u s i o n of the general p r i n c i p l e s of Marxism-Leninism w i t h the n a t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of that country."^ Thus Mao's pronounce-ment was the product of previous domestic concern as w e l l as Soviet i n s p i r a t i o n . Marian G a l i k , i n h i s a r t i c l e "Main Issues i n the D i s c u s s i o n on 'National Forms' i n Modern Chinese L i t e r a t u r e " notes that the term yangbagu had a l r e a d y been used "at l e a s t once i n 1923" by a avant-garde l i t e r a r y - i s m s which "would not help to advance the course of n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n and the d e m o c r a t i c - r e v o l u t i o n a r y 7 movement." That same year, i n f a c t , Qu Qiubai had a l s o made re f e r e n c e to " f o r e i g n c l a s s i c i s m " (waigudian wenxue >})- v W ^ ) by which, a c c o r d i n g to Pickowicz, Qu meant "the tenden-cy of modern w r i t e r s to i m i t a t e s t y l i s h Western bourgeois l i t e r -ary models, l i f e - s t y l e , and language."(Pickowicz:363) Mao no doubt a l s o o b j e c t e d to Western bourgeois l i t e r a r y i n f l u e n c e f o r i d e o l o g i c a l reasons, but i n 1938 i t was not q u i t e so c l e a r what he was r e f e r r i n g to by " f o r e i g n s t e r e o t y p e d w r i t -i n g . " Nonetheless, h i s c r i t i c i s m of f o r e i g n t h i ngs c a r r i e d more weight than that by Qu or Yun i n 1923. By 1938, the time was r i p e , the c a l l was coming from a man w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e p o l i t i c a l a u t h o r i t y , and ( u n l i k e Yun but s i m i l a r to Qu), an a l t e r n a t i v e to Western-influenced l i t e r a r y forms was o f f e r e d . Taking o f f from Mao's order f o r the adoption of n a t i o n a l form, the 1939-40 d i s c u s s i o n over the meaning of the term began. Here I b e l i e v e that the timing of the debate - proceeding 1941-42, the years which w i l l be the o b j e c t of my study, and then Chinese Communist Yun D a i y i n g was condemning 10 p i c k i n g up again d i r e c t l y a f t e r Mao's "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on L i t e r a t u r e and A r t " , warrants a more d e t a i l e d examina-t i o n of the major views on the s u b j e c t o f f e r e d by the p a r t i c i -pants i n the i n i t i a l stage of the c o n t r o v e r s y . As mentioned above, the use of t r a d i t i o n a l forms (the fund-amental meaning of " n a t i o n a l forms") as a means to p o p u l a r i z e l i t e r a t u r e had been suggested before the war. One of the p a r t i -c i p a n t s of the debate, A i S i q i , noted that the i s s u e had been r a i s e d on a t h e o r e t i c a l l e v e l b efore the war, but that theory was not a c t u a l l y put i n t o p r a c t i c e u n t i l the war demanded i t so. (Ai S i q i , 1939:740). There were two extremes of o p i n i o n on the d e f i n i t i o n of n a t i o n a l form. One c r i t i c , Xiang L i n b i n g , saw the c e n t r a l source not r e l a t e d to the May Fourth t r a d i t i o n of modern Chinese l i t e r a -t u r e . Another, Ge Yihong, advocated the use of new forms c r e a t e d s i n c e May Fourth, i n hopes of p r o t e c t i n g the accomplishments of the l i t e r a r y r e v o l u t i o n . (Xiang L i n b i n g , 1940 ; Ge Yihong, 1940 ? ) Looking back on t h i s p e r i o d i n 1949, Mao Dun p e r c e p t i v e l y remark-A f t e r the outbreak of the War of Resistance a g a i n s t Japan, although l i t e r a r y p o p u l a r i z a t i o n became a problem of general concern, people's concerns then were mostly l i m i t e d to the pro'b-,lem : of l i t e r a r y form. I t seemed as i f once War of Resistance content was decided upon there would no longer be problems w i t h w r i t e r s ' s t a n d p o i n t , p o i n t of view, and a t t i t u d e . ' Eu-ropeaniz.ed' l i t e r a r y forms were suspect, but the problem of how w r i t e r s would e s t a b l i s h a true mass p o i n t of view d i d not r e c e i v e a t t e n -t i o n , and i t r e s u l t e d i n producing the 1940 debate over the ' n a t i o n a l form' problem. Of the many kinds of thoughts expressed i n t h i s debate, some people s i m p l i f i e d the p o p u l a r i -z a t i o n problem to that of u s i n g 'old f o l k forms' of n a t i o n a l forms as f o l k forms ) ed: 11 ( s o - c a l l e d 'new wine i n an o l d b o t t l e ' ) , com-p l e t l y o v e r l o o k i n g a l l of the new l i t e r a r y forms s i n c e May Fourth; some, under the pre-t e x t of p r o t e c t i n g new l i t e r a r y forms, r e s o -l u t e l y defended the small and l i m i t e d l i t e r a r y •world - of the p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s c l a s s . They p r o t e c t e d 'form' when i n f a c t they deeply f e a r e d that the content hidden i n t h i s s o r t of form would s u f f e r l o s s . . . because the pro-blem of l i t e r a r y p o p u l a r i z a t i o n i s iin the end not merely a problem of form, only d i s c u s s i n g form from the p o i n t of form always made i t hard to avoid the tendency of f a l l i n g i n t o the conservatism of o l d forms, and so there was a l s o an i n a b i l i t y to i d e o l o g i c a l l y con-quer;- the p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i d e o l o g y and i t s l i t e r a r y forms which were the most s e r i o u s o b s t a c l e s to l i t e r a r y p o p u l a r i z a t i o n . (Mao Dun, 1949:58) The f a c t that form i s a c t u a l l y i n s e p a r a b l e from content must be kept i n mind when reviewing the arguments of the p a r t i -c i p a n t s i n t h i s debate. Although they are a l l d i s c u s s i n g form i n Chinese l i t e r a t u r e and the word content seems to occupy a p o s i t i o n of secondary importance, t h e i r arguments s t i l l r e v e a l the primary s i g n i f i c a n c e of content, which i n some cases seems to u l t i m a t e l y determine the choice of adaptable and s u i t a b l e o l d forms. In 1942, a few years a f t e r the i n i t i a l debate, the w r i t -er Zhou Libo was to unknowingly express t h i s c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n an a r t i c l e he wrote on the s u b j e c t i n Yan'an. Reacting a g a i n s t the a t t e n t i o n given to form during May Fourth (as Zhou Yang notes below t h i s was a t t e n t i o n given i n the search f o r new medium to express new c o n t e n t ) , he a s s e r t e d that the s o l e c r i t e r i a f o r judging an a r t i s t i c work i s content, not beauty of form. The paradox i s that having s t a t e d t h i s , he then proceeded to ignore the s u b j e c t of content and a s c r i b e d great importance to d i s t i n c t -l y Chinese forms, blaming Western w r i t i n g techniques such as sym-bolism , impressionism, and stream-of-consciousness f o r o b s c u r i n g n a t i v e Chinese forms by causing the p r o d u c t i o n i n China of works d i v o r c e d from r e a l i t y . Hence although Zhou b e l i e v e d ' t h a t content was e v e r y t h i n g , he l a b e l e d Western form the v i l l a i n , and n a t i v e Chinese form the model at t h i s time. (Zhou L i b o , JFRB, 1942, June 12) The i s s u e , then, was not merely form alone. Chen Boda s t r o n g l y f e l t that n a t i o n a l form was a matter of o l d forms being used i m a g i n i t i v e l y w i t h new content, g i v i n g way to new forms c r e a t e d and evolved from the o l d . I n a p p r o p r i a t e com-ponents of the o l d would be dis g a r d e d , while s u i t a b l e new i n g r e -d i e n t s would be added, the end r e s u l t being the c r e a t i o n of new forms. (Chen Boda, 1939) The wholesale use of o l d forms without s t r e s s i n g reform and t r a n s i t i o n to the new, was, to Chen, l i k e "using your sword to h i t your s h i e l d . " He was by no means advo-c a t i n g t h i s type of "formulism", but i n s t e a d was i n t e r e s t e d i n e v o l v i n g new forms from the o l d . (Chen Boda, JFRB, 1942B) Ad- • d r e s s i n g those l i k e Ge Yihong, he wrote, "To take advantage (or employ) o l d forms does not mean a r e f u s a l to acknowledge the r e s u l t s a t t a i n e d by the new l i t e r a r y movement, but, to the con-t r a r y , i s an unavoidable r e s u l t of the development of the new l i t e r a r y movement. I t i s , i n f a c t , a new stage i n the new l i t e r -ary movement." (Chen Boda, 1939:727) As examples of n a t i o n a l forms, he c i t e d San Guo Yan Y i ( j l _ lS ;M M ) > Hong Lou Meng ( $ | v f ? ) , Shui Hu Zhuan ( ;jl ypf y\^f ), and Ru L i n Wai Shi ( ^ J p / f ^ fy[ ) because anyone anywhere i n China w i t h a l i t t l e e d ucation c o u l d read and under-stand such works. He encouraged w r i t e r s to pay a t t e n t i o n to l o -c a l forms such as song, t h e a t r e , and dance, and named s t r e e t t h e a t r e as a p o s i t i v e example of a new form developed dur i n g the war. G a l i k i s very upset that Chen Boda and others f a i l e d to g i v e c r e d i t to the i n f l u e n c e of f o r e i g n l i t e r a t u r e on Chinese l i t e r a r y .forms. For i n s t a n c e , when p r a i s i n g the high value of Lu Xun' s w r i t i n g , G a l i k notes that Chen ignored the e f f e c t of o u t s i d e i n -f l u e n c e on t h i s great Chinese w r i t e r ' s works. However, Chen d i d r a t i o n a l i z e t h i s i n f l u e n c e so t h a t i t f i t i n t o h i s scheme of C h i -nese l i t e r a r y forms developing through a process of s e l f - e v o l u -t i o n . Speaking about the language which a f f e c t e d the forms, he s a i d that Europeanized Chinese formed a new language " i n i t s b a s i s a r e f l e c t i o n of the development of the r e a l i t y of the new l i f e of the Chinese n a t i o n and thus at the same time, a product of the de-velopment of the r e a l i t y of the new l i f e of the Chinese n a t i o n , and so to simply negate Europeanized things i s i n c o r r e c t . " (Chen Boda, 1939:729) Zhou Yang too advocated the use of o l d forms w i t h the goal of developing them i n t o new forms. (Zhou Yang, 1940) Back i n the 1930's, he had defended t h e i r use a g a i n s t the a t t a c k s of Su Wen yX^ ) who d i d not agree that such forms c o u l d be used as the stepping stone to an u l t i m a t e l y h i g h e r - l e v e l a r t . (Zhou Yang, 1932 106) Zhou Yang suggested the spread of p o p u l a r i z e d new forms such as s t r e e t t h e a t r e and reportage and o l d forms with new content. Back i n 1932, Qu Q i u b a i had a l s o e n v i s i o n e d the e v o l u t i o n of new forms based on o l d , hoping that r e v o l u t i o n a r y popular l i t e r a t u r e and a r t would r e l y on " f i c t i o n of the s t o r y t e l l i n g v a r i e t y " , " t h i n g s the people are accustomed to reading or viewing", u n t i l "...the people themselves w i l l be able to c r e a t e new forms," (Qu Q i u b a i , 1932:37 and 38/English:50 and 51) Thus Qu Q i u b a i , Chen 14 Boda, and Zhou Yang were a l l w e l l aware of the l i m i t a t i o n s of a wholesale adoption of o l d forms and s t r e s s e d t h e i r s e l e c t i v e u t i -l i z a t i o n as a means of f u r t h e r i n g the p r o g r e s s i v e development of a new a r t . U n l i k e Chen Boda, Zhou Yang devoted c o n s i d e r a b l e d i s c u s s i o n to the i n f l u e n c e of European forms on Chinese l i t e r a t u r e . He saw content as determining form, (a very important p o i n t ) , and the new l i t e r a r y forms around May Fourth as a r e f l e c t i o n of the new economy and p o l i t i c s of that p e r i o d - new democratic morals and f e e l i n g s a f f e c t e d content which i n t u r n r e q u i r e d new mediums of e x p r e s s i o n . Hence he r a t i o n a l i z e d , not u n l i k e Chen Boda, that new Chinese l i t e r a t u r e had been p o s i t i v e l y a f f e c t e d by Western i n f l u e n c e , but Western elements such as v o c a b u l a r y , w r i t i n g tech-nique, and s t y l e had only been accepted when they c o u l d be appro-p r i a t e l y a s s i m i l a t e d and transformed i n t o something t o t a l l y Chinese. (Zhou Yang, 1940:734) Again, e x p r e s s i n g the q u a l i f i e d adoption of n a t i v e forms, Zhou Yang admitted the a r t i s t i c l i m i t a t i o n s of o l d forms,. While i t was u n f a i r to demand of them a higher a r t i s t i c l e v e l than they were able to o f f e r , i t was a l s o a k i n d of "cheap optimism and s e l f - i n t o x i c a t i o n " to c o n s i d e r t h e i r a r t i s t i c l e v e l as being high merely on the b a s i s of the masses' support of them. (Zhou Yang, 1940:739) Hu Feng wrote q u i t e a l o t on the s u b j e c t of n a t i o n a l form. (Hu Feng, 1941, 1947) A c c o r d i n g to G a l i k , Hu came c l o s e s t to the extreme view put f o r t h by Ge Yihong that o l d forms are outdated and May Fourth l i t e r a t u r e i s a l e g i t i m a t e development of the o l d . Hu Feng, to G a l i k ' s s a t i s f a c t i o n , saw the new l i t e r a t u r e owing i t s debt not so much to t r a d i t i o n a l n a t i v e l i t e r a t u r e as to Euro-pean i n f l u e n c e i n form and content. Lu Xun, Mao Dun, and Guo Mo-, ruo owed t h e i r w r i t i n g s t y l e more to the t r a d i t i o n s of world l i t -e r a t u r e than o l d Chinese l i t e r a t u r e . ( G a l i k , 1974:105-6) In 1940, Ba Ren a l s o defended May Fourth forms as f o l l o w s : The new forms s i n c e May Fourth are r e f l e c t i o n s of c i t y l i f e . They have a l s o become n a t i o n a l forms i n our l i t e r a r y h i s t o r y . Even though the masses haven't accepted these forms, they are s t i l l pro-g r e s s i v e forms. Although they've departed from the simply c o n s t r u c t e d forms of mass p r a c t i c a l language, they are a l r e a d y capable of e x p r e s s i n g r e l a t i v e l y c o n c i s e thoughts and f e e l i n g s . (Ba Ren, 1940 :1389) Thus we can see the d i f f e r e n t measuring s t i c k s employed to a r r i v e at the " t r u e " d e f i n i t i o n of n a t i o n a l forms. Ac c o r d i n g to G a l i k , Mao Dun presented the most balanced assessment that the new Chinese l i t e r a t u r e was a product of both the i n f l u e n c e of o l d Chinese l i t e r a t u r e as w e l l as world l i t e r a -t u r e . F o l k forms c o u l d be used i n the c r e a t i o n of n a t i o n a l forms but, f e u d a l i n nature, c o u l d not be u t i l i z e d as the c e n t r a l sour-ce. (Mao Dun, 1940) Though the n a t i o n a l form debate remained u n r e s o l v e d , i t p o i n t e d to the d i f f i c u l t i e s f a c i n g Chinese w r i t e r s as to l i t e r a r y models to f o l l o w under r a p i d l y changing p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l con-d i t i o n s i n China. The debate ceased to be a major i s s u e on paper a f t e r 1940, though G a l i k notes that i t s t a r t e d up again i n Yan'an of the Yan'an Communist P a r t y organ d a i l y , J i e f a n g Ribao ( Lj / j j ^ ), b e s i d e s the remarks by Zhou Libo mentioned above, I found o n l y one other major r e f e r e n c e to t h i s s u b j e c t - on J u l y 3, m 1944. From my survey of the l i t e r a t u r e page 16 1942, a' c r i t i c i s m by Chen Boda of Wang Shiwei's "Short D i s c o u r s e on N a t i o n a l Forms i n L i t e r a t u r e " (Wenyi de Minzu X i n g s h i Duanlun cussed i n the appendix to t h i s t h e s i s . To sum up, the q u e s t i o n of n a t i o n a l form was i n t i m a t e l y con-nected w i t h the problem of p o p u l a r i z a t i o n and the r a i s i n g of standards. P o p u l a r i z a t i o n centered around what forms would be most conducive to promulgating a n a t i o n a l i s t i c content. Answers r e f l e c t e d the r e e v a l u a t i o n of the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of t r a d i t i o n a l and f o r e i g n i n f l u e n c e s on contemporary l i t e r a t u r e . Responses a l -so i n d i c a t e d v a r y i n g o p i n i o n s on the a s s i m i l a t i o n of c e r t a i n l i t -e r a r y foirms and language of which s e c t o r "of s o c i e t y c o n s t i t u t e d a j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r c a l l i n g those forms " n a t i o n a l " . I t s t r i k e s me that defenses based on the r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n that f o r e i g n i n f l u -ence had o n l y p o s i t i v e l y a f f e c t e d Chinese l i t e r a t u r e s i n c e o n l y those elements which c o u l d be w e l l a s s i m i l a t e d and transformed i n t o something .Chinese had been accepted, were somewhat weak. This happy case was not the common occurence. I t would s u r e l y depend on a s s i m i l a t i o n by whom and by how many. Some f o r e i g n elements were no doubt absorbed by urban i n t e l l e c t u a l s i n a r a -ther short amount of time, but i t i s c e r t a i n l y d i f f i c u l t to assess when the m a j o r i t y of Chinese people had w holly a d j u s t e d to imported elements i n t o t h e i r language and l i t e r a t u r e . The numerous problems surrounding the w r i t e r ' s c h o i c e of s u b j e c t matter, technique, and s t i l l the w r i t e r ' s p o s i t i o n v i s - a - v i s the s o c i e t y he hoped to d e p i c t , were l a r g e l y ignored d u r i n g the debate on n a t i o n a l form. But even a f t e r the b a s i c assumption that l i t e r a t u r e should r e f l e c t n a t i o n a l concerns, and should be This p i e c e w i l l be d i s -17 conveyed i n a medium understood by more people, p u t t i n g theory i n t o p r a c t i c e brought to l i g h t some of the more fundamental . . i s s u e s that would r e q u i r e even more immediate s o l u t i o n . Some of the problems of c r e a t i v e and c r i t i c a l w r i t i n g i n the wartime Communist c a p i t a l of Yan'an i n Shaanxi Province were common to a l l p a r t s of China i n the t w e n t i e t h century. As b r i e f -l y o u t l i n e d above, the choice of source m a t e r i a l , c r e a t i v e method and technique v i s - a - v i s Western i n f l u e n c e , and the w r i t e r ' s r e l a -t i o n s h i p to s o c i e t y had t r o u b l e d w r i t e r s s i n c e May F o u r t h . More s p e c i f i c a l l y , i n the decade proceeding the f o r t i e s i n Yan'an, the q u e s t i o n of the a p p l i c a t i o n of Marxism-Leninism to l i t e r a t u r e w i t h the r e s u l t i n g tendency towards formulism, as w e l l as the w r i t e r ' s p o s i t i o n i n s o c i e t y c r e a t e d p a r t i c u l a r problems. Added to these were the t o p i c s of p o p u l a r i z a t i o n and the r e e v a l u a t i o n of f o r e i g n - i n f l u e n c e d l i t e r a r y trends r e s u l t i n g i n the debate over the sources of n a t i o n a l forms which became c e n t r a l i s s u e s of concern to those i n the l i t e r a r y world. During the war, most of the problems above were not l i m i t e d to L i b e r a t e d Areas alone. W r i t e r s i n N a t i o n a l i s t China had found no b e t t e r means of s o l v i n g them. But there were some concerns which c o u l d be s a i d to have s p e c i f i c a l l y evolved from the h i s t o r i c a l , g e o g r a p h i c a l , and p o l i -t i c a l f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g the areas under Communist c o n t r o l . With the end of the Long March towards 1936, the Communists had reached the f i r s t r e a l l y s i z a b l e area to come under t h e i r j u r i s d i c t i o n s i n c e t h e i r formation i n 1921. No longer under Guomindang^ censorhip i n t h e i r own border t e r r i t o r i e s , w r i t e r s and a r t i s t s sympathetic to the r e v o l u t i o n a r y cause n e v e r t h e l e s s had to deal w i t h other c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . Most of the w r i t e r s came 18 from Shanghai and other major urban c u l t u r a l c e n t e r s . Coming to the b a r r e n , mountainous landscape surrounding Yan'an, to new types of people and to a new r e l a t i v e l y spartan way of l i f e , they i n e v i t a b l y had d i f f i c u l t i e s a d j u s t i n g . Surrounded by Japan-ese troops to the East.and Guomindang blockade to the South, adverse m a t e r i a l c o n d i t i o n s even a f f e c t e d the a v a i l a b i l i t y of w r i t i n g and a r t s u p p l i e s . Reading m a t e r i a l , paper and ink were a l l i n great demand but sources were l i m i t e d . Thus a l l of these f a c t o r s c o n t r i b u t e d to the c o n t r a d i c t i o n s r e s u l t i n g from, as Mao 8 Zedong termed i t , the "converging of two t o r r e n t s " , the needs and e x p e c t a t i o n s of Shanghai w r i t e r s f a c e d w i t h the o b j e c t i v e circumstances of Yan'an i t s e l f . There were, too, the new p o l i t i -c a l r e a l i t i e s to deal with. With the l e a d e r s h i p of the Commu-n i s t P a r t y s t a b i l i z e d a f t e r v a r i o u s i n n e r - P a r t y s t r u g g l e s i n the e a r l y t h i r t i e s , and with a government e s s e n t i a l l y r e c o g n i z e d by even i t s N a t i o n a l i s t enemies, a P a r t y l i t e r a r y e stablishment began to emerge, and w i t h i t , the attempt to u n i f y w r i t e r s under the new circumstances i n which they found themselves i n Yan'an. Not unexpectedly, d i s u n i t y had a r i s e n among l e f t i s t w r i t e r s , but i t should be s t r e s s e d that such disagreements were the r e s u l t of long-time dilemmas f a c i n g modern Chinese l i t e r a t u r e as w e l l as s p e c i f i c d i f f i c u l t i e s a r i s i n g from the new demands made on l i t e r -ature i n Communist-occupied r e g i o n s , and e s p e c i a l l y , i n Yan'an during the war.' Therefore we can not be s a t i s f i e d w i t h the answer given by many commentators that l a c k of c r e a t i v e freedom was the funda-mental stumbling b l o c k f o r w r i t e r s i n Yan'an. Although C.T. H s i a admits that bad l i t e r a t u r e was being produced i n N a t i o n a l i s t Areas as w e l l as Communist, he f a i l s to c a r r y out t h i s r e a l i z a -t i o n to i t s obvious c o n c l u s i o n , which i s that Communist p o l i t i c a l c e n s o rship r e s u l t i n g i n a l a c k of c r e a t i v e freedom i n the Western democratic sense (a phenomenon so abhorrent to our Western l i b e r a l s e n s i b i l i t i e s towards which Hsia i s more than sympathetic) was not the one and only i s s u e at stake. Thus, while anti-communist l i t e r a r y h i s t o r i a n s l i k e to blame the Communist regime f o r the problems w i t h l i t e r a t u r e produced i n L i b e r a t e d Areas, Communist l i t e r a r y commentators too connect w r i t i n g d e f i c i e n c i e s i n the White Areas to Guomindang p o l i t i c a l s u p p r e s s i o n . In 1949, Mao Dun r e t r o s p e c t i v e l y p a r t l y a t t r i b u t e d the l a c k of good l i t e r a t u r e emerging from N a t i o n a l i s t Areas to the government there not a l -lowing i t s w r i t e r s to get c l o s e to the masses. (Mao Dun, 1949:50) Yet even i n Yan'an, where w r i t e r s were openly encouraged to go to the f r o n t and behind enemy l i n e s to l i v e w i t h the masses of peasants and s o l d i e r s , l i t e r a r y problems had by no means been e a s i l y r e s o l v e d . What I hope to show i s that the t r a d i t i o n a l scheme of " W r i t e r s versus Communist P a r t y " a s c r i b e d to t h i s time p e r i o d i n Yan'an i s i n f a c t a gross o v e r s i m p l i f i c a t i o n of then-e x i s t i n g r e a l i t i e s . What we w i l l be d e a l i n g w i t h , then, are the i s s u e s of con-cern which had t r o u b l e d modern Chinese w r i t e r s s i n c e May Fourth i n the form i n which they presented themselves to w r i t e r s i n Yan'an i n the l a t e t h i r t i e s and e a r l y f o r t i e s , together w i t h the new c o n t r a d i c t i o n s a r i s i n g from s p e c i f i c h i s t o r i c a l , geographi-c a l , and p o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s i n Yan'an at t h i s time. The f o l -lowing chapters w i l l examine these dilemmas, the d i s u n i t y r e -s u l t i n g from disagreements over i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of such i s s u e s , 20 and the developement of the ensuing debates and r e a c t i o n to them i n the Communist P a r t y o f f i c i a l organ d a i l y J i e f a n g Ribao. 21 NOTES TO CHAPTER ONE On May 30 , 1925 , Chinese workers and students were k i l l e d by B r i t i s h p o l i c e while demonstrating a g a i n s t the k i l l i n g of a Chinese worker by Japanese f a c t o r y guards. For the mass l i t e r a t u r e (dazhong wenyi and language reform movement see L i H e l i n (1939), chapter t h r e e . Qu Qiubai c a l l e d f o r an end to Europeanized e l i t i s t l i t -e r a t ure and a r e t u r n to t r a d i t i o n a l n a t i v e forms i n Qu Qiubai (1932). 4 For i n f o r m a t i o n on.the A l l - C h i n a W r i t e r s ' A n t i - a g g r e s -s i o n A s s o c i a t i o n see the p r e f a c e to the c o l l e c t i o n of Kangzhan .. Wenyi ^ ) > t ^ e o f f i c i a l organ of the a s s o c i a t i o n , r e p r i n t e d by the Center f o r Chinese Research M a t e r i a l s , Washington D.C. , 1974. ^ Both Lan Hai and L i n Huangping d i s c u s s these forms i n v a r i o u s p l a c e s throughout t h e i r books. See a l s o Wang Yao, P a r t T w o : l l , and f o r s p e c i f i c d i s c u s s i o n of reportage, Part Two: 182-191. 6 C.T. Hsia (1971:589) quoted from Ba Ren ( £ j 7v ),[wang Renshu Wenxue Lungao ( ^ ^ \2^ 9 tfjja) ) volume two, Shanghai: X i n Wenyi Chuban She, 1956-7. 7 G a l i k (1974). Our d i s c u s s i o n of t h i s debate w i l l l o o s e l y f o l l o w the s t r u c t u r e of P r o f e s s o r G a l i k ' s i n t h i s a r t i c l e . His p i e c e i s to my knowledge the o n l y d e f i n i t i v e a r t i c l e on the na-t i o n a l form debate i n E n g l i s h . I t should be noted that not o n l y does he not mention Qu Qiubai's support f o r a r e t u r n to Chinese t r a d i t i o n a l forms i n 1932, he a l s o f a i l s to p o i n t out that Yun Daiying's a r t i c l e of 1923, though commencing wit h a b r i e f de-nouncement of f o r e i g n s t e r e o t y p e d w r i t i n g , was i n the main an indictment of secondary e d u c a t i o n a l problems. P r o t e s t i n g the 22 system by which Chinese students were f o r c e d to l e a r n E n g l i s h i n sc h o o l , he only b r i n g s up ste r e o t y p e d f o r e i g n w r i t i n g as a means to p i n p o i n t i n g the main sub j e c t of h i s essay: I t ' s strange enough to h a p p i l y promote f o r e i g n s t e r e o t y p e d l i t e r a t u r e a f t e r having a b o l i s h e d the e i g h t - l e g g e d essay, yet s t r a n g e r s t i l l to wid e l y and determinedly promote f o r e i g n s t e r e o -typed education a f t e r having a b o l i s h e d e i g h t -legged education. (Yun D a i y i n g , 1923: 193) Zhou Yang (JFRB, 1941, J u l y 19). I have not been to t r a c e t h i s to any of Mao's speeches a v a i l a b l e i n p r i n t . able 23 CHAPTER TWO: MAY 16, 1941 TO FEBRUARY 1, 1942 We w i l l show how Communist p o l i t i c a l r e s t r i c t i o n s were not the so l e f a c t o r r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the gen e r a l l a c k of l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y i n Yan'an,. Here we can begin to go f u r t h e r i n t o the s p e c i f i c sources of the problem i n the CCP c a p i t a l . W r i t e r s ' f r u s t r a t i o n s and t h e i r r e s u l t i n g i n a b i l i t y to c r e a t e worthy l i t e r -ary works were a i r e d i n the press i n l a t e s p r i n g of 1941. In the Communist Party organ L i b e r a t i o n D a i l y ( J i e f a n g Ribao 1^  / U ), the w r i t e r Ouyang Shan on May 19 was the f i r s t to wonder why i t was that no one was w r i t i n g . Zhou Yang, occupying a very -high p o s i t i o n i n the Pa r t y c u l t u r a l h i e r a r c h y , r a i s e d the same query i n J u l y . Then i n October, the s u c c e s s f u l w r i t e r Mao Dun lamented that " i n the l a s t two or three years many problems have been r a i s e d and a l l have been s o l v e d i n p r i n c i p l e , but i n f a c t a f t e r p o i n t s of p r i n c i p l e were s o l v e d , not a t r a c e has been r e -f l e c t e d i n c r e a t i v e p r a c t i c e . " (Mao Dun, JFRB, 1941, October 7) Short s t o r i e s and po e t r y were not a l t o g e t h e r l a c k i n g i n the newspaper a f t e r i t s i n c e p t i o n on May 16, but even w i t h the c r e a -t i o n on September 16 of a separate l i t e r a r y s e c t i o n "Wen Y i " (_yl^ ) at the time of the expansion of the paper from two to fou r pages, one can s t i l l observe the want of outsta n d i n g c r e a t i v e c o n t r i b u t i o n s . What were the reasons f o r t h i s ? A f a c t o r under-l y i n g e v e r y t h i n g e l s e was no doubt the "converging of two t o r -r e n t s " p r e v i o u s l y mentioned. In t h i s chapter I hope to examine the c o n f l i c t s that r e s u l t e d from urban w r i t e r s l i v i n g i n the Border Areas, the problems f o r w r i t e r s and l i t e r a t u r e stemming from these d i f f i c u l t i e s , and the d i s u n i t y a r i s i n g from these 24 i s s u e s as r e v e a l e d i n the p r e s s . In 1978, Zhou Yang recounted the d i f f i c u l t i e s f o r w r i t e r s coming to Yan'an during the war. According to him, most of the w r i t e r s and c u l t u r a l workers came from Shanghai. He h i m s e l f had a r r i v e d i n Yan'an i n autumn of 193 7 at the summon of Yan'an l e a d -2 ers i n need of c u l t u r a l workers. The concept of g e t t i n g c l o s e to the workers, peasants, and s o l d i e r s was very a b s t r a c t to them when i n the l a r g e c i t y , and most had never even l a i d eyes on a peasant or Red s o l d i e r before coming to Yan'an. Most had occupied g a r r e t s i n the f o r e i g n concessions of Shanghai, l i v i n g the l i v e s of underground r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n t e l l e c t u a l s , so when they a r r i v e d to the Border Regions i t i s not s u r p r i s i n g that most f e l t s u p e r i o r to and a l i e n a t e d from the masses i s o l a t e d i n the mountains of Northwest China. M a t e r i a l c o n d i t i o n s , c u l t u r a l and s o c i a l l i f e were v a s t l y i n f e r i o r to l e v e l s they had been accustomed to i n the c i t i e s . Ouyang Shan remarked that there were no dance h a l l s , t h e a t r e s , or coffeehouses, and new c l o t h e s , l e t alone f a s h i o n a b l e c l o t h e s that would be ac c e p t a b l e i n Hong Kong, were hard to come by. COuyang Shan, JFRB,1941, November 3) Although they d i d have dances every Saturday n i g h t (Qi Su, JFRB, 1942, A p r i l 7), people o f t e n a l l u d e d to the l a c k of s o c i a l l i f e and l a c k of f r i e n d s . CYan Wenjing, JFRB, 1941, October 17) The want of meat and v i t a -min C f o r p h y s i c a l nourishment, and paper, in k , and r e a d i n g mate-r i a l s f o r c r e a t i v e and i n t e l l e c t u a l o u t l e t c o n t r i b u t e d as w e l l to the " c u l t u r e shock" experienced by w r i t e r s who were newcomers to the L i b e r a t e d Areas. Although most of these people had been ac-t i v e l e f t i s t s f o r y e a r s , even Communist Party members, they s t i l l d i d not know the f i r s t t h i n g about " g e t t i n g down to the masses." Zhou Yang, in. r e t r o s p e c t i n 1978 admitted to the same problem h i m s e l f . A f t e r l i v i n g i n Yan'an or at the f r o n t f o r awhile, young people were e a s i l y prone to d i s i l l u s i o n •and shock upon w i t n e s s i n g the u g l y r e a l i t i e s of war. I t should be noted, howev-er, that l i f e under such circumstances was rough f o r everyone. Although those w i t h romantic i l l u s i o n s about r e v o l u t i o n were i n e v i t a b l y d i s a p p o i n t e d w i t h one t h i n g or another, even those without such preconceptions were nonetheless presented w i t h d i -lemmas c r e a t e d by l i f e i n Yan'an which probably/ f e l l s h o r t of e x p e c t a t i o n . Hence t h i s "converging of two t o r r e n t s " produced problems of a new nature f o r modern Chinese w r i t e r s who had a l -ready been b a t t l i n g w i t h the p e r p l e x i t i e s of l i t e r a r y c r e a t i o n f o r more-than^twoadeeades. Beyond t h i s , however, p u z z l e s over the choice of source m a t e r i a l and c r e a t i v e methods of apprehending and p o r t r a y i n g s u b j e c t matter, a p p l i c a t i o n of Marxism-Leninism to l i t e r a t u r e , p o p u l a r i z a t i o n and the r a i s i n g of standards, and treatment of and a t t i t u d e s towards w r i t e r s i n s o c i e t y a l l p l a y e d a l a r g e r o l e i n p r e s e n t i n g d i f f i c u l t i e s to w r i t e r s i n CCP areas. Below we w i l l examine these p a r t i c u l a r i s s u e s i n l i g h t of t h e i r s p e c i f i c development i n Yan'an c e n t e r i n g around the key problem of the "converging of two t o r r e n t s . " A. Source M a t e r i a l Choice of source m a t e r i a l i n w r i t i n g was a s e r i o u s concern to those promoting the d e p i c t i o n of wartime l i f e . Zhou Yang p e r c e p t i v e l y observed t h a t ! w r i t e r s d i d not know about what to w r i t e . Although they wanted to p o r t r a y new themes, they weren't f a m i l i a r w i t h t o p i c s concerning war. (Zhou Yang, JFRB, 1941, J u l y 19) In September Ding L i n g devoted a whole a r t i c l e to the problem of source m a t e r i a l . She n o t i c e d that even w r i t e r s who went to the f r o n t to "throw themselves i n t o l i f e " d i d not n e c e s s a r i l y under-stand that l i f e . I t angered her to see them p i c k on c e r t a i n themes o n l y and s e n s a t i o n a l i z e them. W r i t e r s , she wrote, desper-a t e l y s e a r c h i n g f o r su b j e c t matter, ended up choosing m a t e r i a l on the b a s i s of i t s market v a l u e , i t s a b i l i t y to a t t r a c t a reader r a t h e r than f o r i t s p o t e n t i a l as f i n e c r e a t i v e matter. Popular but misunderstood themes i n c l u d e d Manchuria, Japanese army l i f e , and women. A most f a v o r i t e s u b j e c t e x e m p l i f y i n g the tendency 3 towards s e n s a t i o n a l i s m was women raped by the Japanese. Ding Ling c o n s i d e r e d t h i s k i n d of w r i t i n g on a par w i t h s e n s a t i o n a l t r a s h coming out of Shanghai. She f e l t t h i s m a t e r i a l was the s t u f f of news r e p o r t s and popular n o v e l s , but not of s e r i o u s writing;" Source m a t e r i a l , she wrote, i s everywhere, but i f you " p i c k up every drop of b i r d s e e d around you l i k e a hungry chicken," the consequences f o r your w r i t i n g w i l l be d i s a s t r o u s . A f t e r , a l l "among 100,000 g r a i n s of sand, o n l y one or two can be turned i n t o g o l d . " CDing -Ling, JFRB, 1941, September 29) Mao Dun wrote one of the very few a r t i c l e s i n JFRB to d i s c u s s the d e p i c t i o n of c l a s s i n c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g , before Mao Zedong's "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on L i t e r a t u r e and A r t " i n May of 1942. About a week a f t e r Ding L i n g t a l k e d about s u b j e c t matter without p l a i n e d that w r i t e r s as they always had, were onl y p o r t r a y i n g people of t h e i r own c l a s s . (Mao Dun, JFRB, 1941, October 7) mentioning s o c i a l c l a s s , com-27 Since there were very few w r i t e r s of true "peasant o r i g i n " (that i s , those who came from households who t i l l e d the l a n d themselves), accurate d e s c r i p t i o n s of peasants were r a r e . To h i s mind, the only decent p o r t r a y a l of a peasant i n modern l i t e r a t u r e was the immortal Ah Q. I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g that he c l a s s i f i e d Lu Xun' s a n t i - h e r o as a peasant c h a r a c t e r , s i n c e by the above d e f i n i t i o n o f f e r e d by Mao Dun h i m s e l f , Ah Q would not f i t i n t o t h i s group. Mao Dun a l s o c i t e d Shui Hu (/K. ) as being the only source f o r model peasant c h a r a c t e r s i n t r a d i t i o n a l f i c t i o n . Again, by the d e f i n i t i o n above of "one who t i l l s h i s own land";', none of the b a n d i t c h a r a c t e r s i n Shui Hu c o u l d be l a b e l e d a peasant. I t seems, then, that by peasant, the w r i t e r was r e f e r r i n g to a p a r t i c u l a r m e n t a l i t y r a t h e r than a p a r t i c u l a r o ccupation. In f a c t , he t a l k s about the "consciousness of the peasant" which he d e f i n e s as encompassing such t r a i t s as "narrow v i s i o n , only c a r i n g about immediate b e n e f i t s , s t i n g i n e s s , absolute u n w i l l i n g -ness to give things to others f o r no s p e c i a l reason, strong p r i -vate d e s i r e s , extreme worship of the l e a d e r s h i p . " A l l of these, he wrote, " s t i l l r a r e l y r e c e i v e profound d e s c r i p t i o n , " and be-4 cause w r i t e r s could not surpass t h e i r r i c h peasant or small l a n d l o r d backgrounds, t h e i r depth of understanding was too l i m i t -ed to be able to p o r t r a y r e a l peasants or h a n d i c r a f t workers without making them a l l look l i k e i n t e l l e c t u a l s . This i n a b i l i t y to w r i t e about members of other c l a s s e s , he showed, went back to t r a d i t i o n a l f i c t i o n and the novels w r i t t e n at the end of the Qing dynasty'; : whose "poor and d i s a p p o i n t e d s c h o l a r s have t h e i r c o u n t e r p a r t s i n today's wandering i n t e l l e c t u a l s , who are, i f not wandering, s t r u g g l i n g w i t h hunger." 28 Today's l i t e r a t u r e , though, ac c o r d i n g to Mao Dun, d i d s a t i s -f a c t o r i l y d e al w i t h women, from " o l d grandmothers to young grand-daughters, from the " s l a v e s ' of the 'three obediances and'four v i r t u e s ' to the ' r e b e l l i o u s females'", as the t r a d i t i o n a l l i t e r -ature had not, but he d i d not c i t e any s p e c i f i c examples of p o s i -t i v e female c h a r a c t e r s . I t was, at l e a s t , he f e l t , a v a s t inv-. provement over the abnormal" women d e p i c t e d i n J i n Ping Mei ( " J l ' ^ L / J ^ ) and the k i n d of women who " s o l d t h e i r bodies f o r money" de s c r i b e d i n the "narrow and depraved n o v e l s " at the end of the Qing, the l a t t e r of whom were w e l l d e s c r i b e d but u n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of o r d i n a r y women. Mao Dun proposed that t h e o r i s t s and c r i t i c s engage i n work which they would no doubt f i n d p e t t y : Take each type of 'character' from among the most outsta n d i n g new l i t e r a r y works and group them ac-co r d i n g to type. F i r s t arrange them on a c h a r t and then do a comparative study of how the 'char-a c t e r s ' from the same s o c i a l c l a s s take on d i f f e r -ent 'appearances' under the pens of d i f f e r e n t V writers'; then i n d i c a t e which ones are a p p r o p r i a t e to t h e i r s t a t u s , and match them to every small d e t a i l , which emphasize n o n - c h a r a c t e r i s t i c aspect and ignore c h a r a c t e r i s t i c ones, which are p u l l e d and dragged and turned i n t o forms de v i a n t from any f a m i l i a r norm or standard. T h i s e x e r c i s e , he i n s i s t e d , would render t h e o r e t i c a l c r i t i c i s m u s e f u l and would a i d w r i t e r s i n the c r e a t i o n of more e f f e c t i v e works by i n d i c a t i n g the importance of c r e a t i n g accurate c h a r a c t e r s based on r e a l l i f e . Empty w r i t i n g f u l l of p r i n c i p l e s was t o t a l l y u s e l e s s , and only c a r e f u l judgements based on concrete examples would be meaningful to the reader and the w r i t e r , to the l a t t e r by h e l p i n g him to r e a l l y a s s i m i l a t e the theory which served as 29 b a s i s f o r w r i t i n g . Searching f o r concrete examples, he wrote, was a matter of not wanting to see o n l y from a f a r , without lowering o n e s e l f to "personal t r i f l e s . " Mao Dun was the o n l y one i n JFRB to d i s c u s s source m a t e r i a l i n a broader sense, from the p o i n t of view of t r a d i t i o n a l f i c t i o n up to the past few years. He c o u l d not c i t e more s p e c i f i c examples of new works and c h a r a c t e r s which he f e l t were worthy of p r a i s e because there were next to none. Recognizing the immediate d i f f i -c u l t y a r i s i n g from the l a c k of w r i t e r s of peasant o r i g i n , he was the only major v o i c e i n the paper to predate a l l of the s i m i l a r f o r m u l a t i o n s which appeared only a f t e r Mao's "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on L i t e r a t u r e and A r t " . By that time, t h i s c o n t r a d i c t i o n -was more o f f i c i a l l y r e c o g n i z e d as an extremely profound problem. His c o n c l u d i n g a t t a c k a g a i n s t w r i t i n g s f u l l of a b s t r a c t t a l k , and the complaint that there was no r e f l e c t i o n i n c r e a t i v e works of even the p o i n t s of p r i n c i p l e which had a l r e a d y been r e s o l v e d i n the past few y e a r s , confirmed p r e v i o u s o b s e r v a t i o n s made by Zhou Yang and o t h e r s . The problem of source m a t e r i a l c a r r i e d w e l l i n t o the f o l l o w -ing year i n JFRB. In February, 1942, a J i a n g Hua complained of the love f o r b i z a r r e themes. He saw w r i t i n g as "a c o n t e s t to see who c o u l d d e p i c t the most grotesque." He a l s o , i n t e r e s t i n g l y enough, l i k e Ding L i n g , admonished w r i t e r s f o r t r y i n g too hard to p l e a s e t h e i r readers through the use of s e n s a t i o n a l themes. (JFRB, 1942, February 11) I t i s noteworthy that .nowhere e l s e do we come across the o f f i c i a l r e c o g n i t i o n that some element of the r e a d e r s h i p demanded other than s a l u t a r y r e v o l u t i o n a r y war t a l e s . The general audience i n the Border Areas was p o r t r a y e d by the Party as a group 30 of people u n i f i e d i n n a t i o n a l , p o l i t i c a l , and s o c i a l goals as w e l l as a r t i s t i c t a s t e s , yet i t i s perhaps not s u r p r i s i n g i n any country d u r i n g wartime to d i s c o v e r a d e s i r e f o r e s c a p i s t l i t e r a t u r e even among those w i t h s i n c e r e p a t r i o t i c f e r v o r . L i k e Zhou Yang, J i a n g Hua warned a g a i n s t s t o r y t e l l i n g , t h a t i s , u s i n g second and t h i r d - h a n d s t o r i e s as primary m a t e r i a l i n c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g . He wrote that themes o f t e n used to a t t r a c t the reader i n c l u d e d the t r a d i t i o n a l " s c h o l a r meets beauty" ( c a i z i j i a -ren j I t A, ), "mountain d e i t i e s and e a r t h gods" (shanshen t u d i LL| J _ ) , and "miraculous deeds of the underworld" Cj ianghu q i z i a jJ— j$f\ j>v )> t h i n l y d i s g u i s e d through the sur-face themes of "war", "hatred-towards the enemy", "k n i v e s " , "he;-, roes", and " s a c r i f i c e s . " In A p r i l , 1942, Xiao Ying was s t i l l f i n d i n g f a u l t w i t h a c a r e l e s s adoption of source m a t e r i a l and sloppy w r i t i n g which she ;saw as stemming from an o v e r l y c a s u a l a t t i t u d e on the p a r t of the w r i t e r towards h i s a r t and r e a d e r s h i p . CJFRB'J 1942 , A p r i l 2) Some w r i t e r s . . . go on n o n s e n s i c a l l y and without b a s i s f o r over ten thousand words, and then p r i n t the work without e d i t i n g or r e v i s i o n . In the end, how much l i t e r a r y v alue do works such as these possess? Even the most u n q u a l i f i e d reader c o u l d probably i d e n t i f y the e x c e s s i v e d e t a i l , annoying i n s e r t i o n of i n t e r l u d e s , v e r b i o s e scenery de-s c r i p t i o n , and numerous and i n a p p r o p r i a t e 'termi-nology ' ! A f t e r l a u d i n g Pushkin, F l a u b e r t , Jack London, and Mao Dun f o r the amount of p a t i e n c e and care given to the r e s e a r c h and w r i t i n g of t h e i r works, she asked, And what about our w r i t e r s ? They merely s i t i n t h e i r caves and forge r e a l i t y , trumping up s t o r i e s and p l o t s . No wonder t h e i r works l a c k any f l a v o r 31 of the Border Area, t h e i r p l o t developments become formulas, and t h e i r c h a r a c t e r s l o s e v i t a l i t y . The l a c k of c o f f e e and v i t a m i n C, she wrote, c o u l d not be used as an excuse f o r t h i s quick w r i t i n g . Since b a s i c food, c l o t h i n g , and s h e l t e r were no problem, poverty c o u l d not excuse the l a c k of r e a l c r e a t i v i t y . The phenomenon of poor w r i t e r s p u t t i n g out man-u s c r i p t s i n quick s u c c e s s i o n so as to earn money to buy the next meal, s a i d Xiao Ying, had no b a s i s f o r e x i s t e n c e i n Yan'an. Zhou Yang had, i n J u l y , i d e n t i f i e d the major problems w i t h the s e l e c t i o n of thematic m a t e r i a l when he warned w r i t e r s a g a i n s t a merely a b s t r a c t knowledge of w r i t i n g m a t e r i a l , l o o k i n g f o r the unsual r a t h e r than the o r d i n a r y , and adopting cheap s h o r t - c u t s to f i n d i n g source matter. These, then, were the most s i g n i f i c a n t mistakes committed by w r i t e r s when searching f o r c r e a t i v e sources. These a r t i c l e s and others were s u r e l y a r e a c t i o n to the ap-p a r e n t l y l a r g e amount of l o w - q u a l i t y w r i t i n g produced s i n c e the outbreak of the war. Since many w r i t e r s d i d not have a deep understanding of war i n the c o u n t r y s i d e or at the f r o n t , they had to r e l y on. l e s s than f i r s t - h a n d , f i r s t - r a t e i n f o r m a t i o n , and pro-duced u n s u c c e s s f u l works. One of the focuses of the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement to be launched i n February, 1942 was p r e c i s e l y t h i s o f f -hand way of producing l i t e r a t u r e without p r i o r study or prepara-t i o n i n the form of a c t u a l p e r s o n a l experience and c o n t a c t w i t h subject matter. [Mao Zedong, 1942 B) The answer, o f f e r e d by Zhou Yang long b e f o r e the o f f i c i a l commencement of the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement, was to get c l o s e r to r e a l l i f e by e x p e r i e n c i n g the source m a t e r i a l from i n s i d e , i n other words, to go down to the 32 masses. • C Z h o u Yang, JFRB, 1941, J u l y 19) The i n a b i l i t y on the p a r t of w r i t e r s to blend i n w i t h the new environment around them was e x e m p l i f i e d by a neat pun coined to d e s c r i b e armchair w r i t e r s who r a r e l y l e f t t h e i r caves'. Such people were c a l l e d "those who e x c e l at s i t t i n g " (zuo j i a ^ v|$£ ). (Sai Ke, JFRB, 1942, May 23) Yet Zhou Yang h i m s e l f admitted that " j u s t because there i s l i f e , there i s not n e c e s s a r i l y l i t e r a t u r e " , and that a naive and dogmatic f a i t h i n the concept of going i n t o r e a l l i f e r e s u l t e d i n a tendency to overlook the f a c t that b l e n d i n g i n with the masses c o u l d not s o l v e a l l c r e a t i v e problems. There were s t i l l other f a c t o r s p r e v e n t i n g w r i t e r s from c r e a t i n g good l i t e r a t u r e . (Zhou Yang, JFRB, 1941, J u l y 17) B. C r e a t i v e Approach to Subject Matter Once w r i t e r s s e t t l e d on worthy source m a t e r i a l , an e n t i r e l y separate problem of how to a c t u a l l y t r e a t such s u b j e c t matter ensued. The r e l a t i o n s h i p between w r i t e r and s u b j e c t , then, should be d i s c u s s e d as a separate problem, although we need to keep i n mind that i t i s very much r e l a t e d to se a r c h i n g f o r and choosing source m a t e r i a l . Zhou Yang devoted much a t t e n t i o n to e x p l a i n i n g the f i n e r p o i n t s of why w r i t e r s should go to the masses i n order to f i n d c r e a t i v e i n s p i r a t i o n , what they should do once they got there, and how they should process t h e i r l e a r n i n g experience i n t o c r e a t i v e m a t e r i a l . He was the onl y one to go i n t o such d e t a i l . On J u l y 17, i n Part One of h i s essay "Talks on L i t e r a t u r e and L i f e " , he approached the c r e a t i v e process as "the process of 33 the w r i t e r ' s hand-to-hand s t r u g g l e w i t h l i f e . " Throughout h i s d i s c u s s i o n he never once a l l u d e d to Marxism or c o l l e c t i v i s m as i t a p p l i e d to t h i s c r e a t i v e p r o c e s s . ^ Instead, he addressed the w r i t e r as an i n d i v i d u a l s t r u g g l i n g w i t h a r t i s t i c form, i n need of a " s p e c i a l i z e d s k i l l and knowledge." He despised l i t e r a r y amateurs and the naive b e l i e f that good l i t e r a t u r e c o u l d be a u t o m a t i c a l l y c r e a t e d without hard study, or only through "ex-p e r i e n c i n g l i f e " , as the popular slogan went. Although Zhou Yang, c a l l e d a " f r o n t - l i n e i s t " , was c l e a r l y an advocate of w r i t e r s mixing w i t h workers, peasants, and s o l d i e r s , h i s a r t i c l e hoped to q u a l i f y the idea by p o i n t i n g to the approach necessary to t r u l y b e n e f i t from l i v i n g among the masses. He quoted from both t r a d i -t i o n a l Chinese l i t e r a r y - p h i l o s o p h i c a l theory as w e l l as Western p o e t i c s to s t a t e h i s p o i n t . A l l u d i n g to Wang Guowei ( JL ^ Mi- ) who maintained that i n t i m a t e knowledge of an o b j e c t must be cou-p l e d w i t h a c e r t a i n p h i l o s o p h i c a l d i s t a n c e from i t i n order to render i t f a i t h f u l l y on paper, Zhou warned a g a i n s t both " not seeing the f o r e s t - f o 1 r the .tfrees>" e s t " (JFRB, 1941, J u l y 17) and "only seeing the f o r e s t and not the t r e e s . " (1941, J u l y 18) He spoke of the n e c e s s i t y to view l i f e from "a set i n t e l l e c t u a l l e v e l " , - , but seemed to be r e f e r r i n g to a p h i l o s o p h i c a l and i n t e l l e c t u a l r a t h e r than p o l i t i c a l i d e o l o g y . Not u n l i k e most of h i s i n t e l l e c t u a l contemporaries i n the l i t e r a r y world, Zhou Yang quoted from a f o r e i g n source to support h i s argument. S c h i l l e r ' s p r a i s e f o r Homer and Shakespeare as "naive" poets i n "On Naive and Sentimental Poetry" helped to a f f i r m and c l a r i f y the s i g n i f i c a n c e of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between w r i t e r and subj e c t (and l i f e i n general) to l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y . The "naive poet", s a i d S c h i l l e r , because of h i s harmony w i t h o b j e c t s of nature, i s able to t r e a t h i s s u b j e c t w i t h "dry t r u t h " ressembling i n s e n s i b i l i t y , when i n f a c t i t i s h i s very u n i t y w i t h s u b j e c t matter that produces t h i s d i s t a n c e . A balance i n t h i s d e l i c a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p between s u b j e c t i v i t y and o b j e c t i v i t y was the key to c r e a t i o n , i n Zhou's view. By approaching l i f e as an i n s i d -er, through g a i n i n g a more i n t i m a t e understanding of s u b j e c t matter without d i s c a r d i n g an even, calm d i s t a n c e from i t , a p o s i -t i v e d i s t a n c e based on i d e o l o g i c a l understanding, w r i t e r s c o u l d b e g i n to grasp the r e a l meaning of c r e a t i o n . Zhou Yang was not i n f a v o r of p o r t r a y i n g only the dark s i d e of l i f e i n Yan'an (baolu heian Jfc fj^- ^ > 9 $ ), t h a t i s , i n c r i t -i c i z i n g one's own camp, although i t i s obvious that he was w e l l aware of the e x i s t e n c e of p o i n t s worthy of c r i t i c i s m . By encour-aging a r e s o l u t e conquering of disenchantment and d i s a l l u s i o n m e n t ensuing from inadequacies of Yan'an l i f e , he was r e q u e s t i n g w r i t -ers to not o n l y accept e x i s t i n g circumstances, but to a c t u a l l y b u i l d t h e i r own c r e a t i v e l i v e s upon such r e a l i t i e s . So while "dark spots i n the sun" o f t e n made l i f e uncomfortable and prevent-ed w r i t e r s from o n l y p r a i s i n g the p o s i t i v e aspects even when i t was t h e i r o r i g i n a l i n t e n t i o n to do so, Zhou requested them to overlook minor sore p o i n t s f o r the sake of the common cause. He d i d not doubt the s i n c e r i t y of most w r i t e r s , f o r they had a "blood r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h r e v o l u t i o n . " To a l l e v i a t e t h e i r s t r e s s , , he urged them to accept t h e i r p r a c t i c a l work, accept the masses, and i f need be, t e m p o r a r i l y abandon c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g so as not to be d i s t r a c t e d from p o t e n t i a l l y s a t i s f y i n g work, u l t i m a t e l y u s e f u l to the P a r t y and to t h e i r own w r i t i n g . The P a r t y , on the other hand, should " s i n c e r e l y welcome c r i t i c i s m " and not t h i n k " t h a t j u s t because some w r i t e r makes one or two bad remarks about Yan'an (moreover, not even t a l k i n g about a l l of Yan'an) t h a t he i s op-posing us." (JFRB, 1941, J u l y 19) It i s apparent that Zhou Yang very much pl a y e d the r o l e of mediator at t h i s time, i n t e r p r e t i n g w r i t e r s ' complaints f o r the Part y , while c l a r i f y i n g the Par t y ' s stand to the l i t e r a r y world. P r i v y to the d i f f i c u l t i e s encountered by w r i t e r s w i t h c r e a t i v i t y i n general and while working under d i f f i c u l t c o n d i t i o n s i n Yan'an i n p a r t i c u l a r , he was at the same time ex p r e s s i n g h i s concern from the standpoint of a high-ranking Party c u l t u r a l worker who was s i n c e r e l y devoted to the long-range Communist r e v o l u t i o n a r y cause, attempting to u n i t e w r i t e r s under t h i s banner. From Zhou Yang's J u l y essay we can see that at t h i s time, speaking from both d i r e c t i o n s d i d not n e c e s s a r i l y i n d i c a t e a c o n t r a d i c t o r y -stand i n the eyes of the Party. L a t e r we w i l l observe that when c r i t i c i s m by w r i t e r s c r o s s e d the l e v e l of Pa r t y t o l e r a n c e , no more p u b l i c sympathy f o r w r i t e r s from c u l t u r a l o f f i c i a l s appeared i n the p r e s s , and an ambiguous p o s i t i o n on the p a r t of an o f f i c i a l l i k e Zhou Yang would have r e s u l t e d i n problems. In 1979, Zhou Yang j u s t i f i a b l y sought to exonerate h i m s e l f from c r i t i c i s m r e c e i v e d d u r i n g the C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n f o r advo*. e a t i n g the exposure of darkness i n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y camp i n the e a r l y f o r t i e s . He then made r e f e r e n c e " t o an a r t i c l e he had w r i t t e n e x p r e s s l y asking w r i t e r s not to expose darkness (no doubt 7 the a r t i c l e d i s c u s s e d above), as w e l l as to a l e t t e r of pro-t e s t he then r e c e i v e d signed by Manchurian w r i t e r s Xiao Jun, Luo Feng, and o t h e r s , opposing h i s o p i n i o n on t h i s . I b e l i e v e that 36 t h i s l e t t e r was e n t i t l e d "In the sun too there are dark s p o t s " I t w i l l be seen l a t e r that the authors of t h i s l e t t e r were v e r y much i n f a v o r of exposing the dark aspects of Yan'an, and so t h e i r l e t t e r of p r o t e s t to Zhou Yang would r e e n f o r c e the authen-t i c i t y of h i s d i s a p p r o v a l of t h e i r c r i t i c a l a t t i t u d e towards the p o r t r a y a l of s u b j e c t matter. The whole debate over whether to expose the dark or e x t o l the b r i g h t (g'esong guangming -4$^ 'Hj ) w i l l be d e a l t w i t h more thoroughly i n l a t e r c h a p t e r s . There i s no q u e s t i o n t h a t such a problem concerned more than mere choice of s u b j e c t m a t e r i a l , but a l s o r e f l e c t e d the w r i t e r s ' r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h and a t t i t u d e s t o -wards l i f e i n the Communist base, and the c o n f l i c t s a r i s i n g over v i s i o n s of what l i f e c o u l d be l i k e and what i t was l i k e . Besides the t h e o r e t i c a l advice o f f e r e d by Zhou Yang i n J u l y , and the October p i e c e by Mao Dun, there appeared next to no theo-r e t i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n s and advice on l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y i n JFRB. When general c r i t i c i s m s of the l i t e r a t u r e column come to l i g h t i n March, 1942, i t w i l l be noted that a d e a r t h of worthwhile t h e o r e t i c a l and c r i t i c a l w r i t i n g i n the paper was one of i t s most s e r i o u s s h o r t p o i n t s , and I t h i n k i t i s safe to extend t h i s phen-omenon to Yan'an i n general and probably to most of China too. (Anonymous, JFRB, 1941, B, September 12; Quyang Shan, 1942, March 12) I f w r i t e r s were having d i f f i c u l t i e s i n d e c i d i n g on proper themes, approaches, and e f f e c t i v e methods, they were not aided i n any way by the a t t e n t i o n of many p e r c e p t i v e c r i t i c s or t h e o r i s t s w i l l i n g to. devote s e r i o u s study to problems of l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i -( t a i y a n g l i m i a n ye you h e i d i a n 8 I f , as; Zhou Yang and Mao Dun observed, i n t e l l e c t u a l w r i t e r s were not able to s u c c e s s f u l l y p o r t r a y workers, peasants, and s o l -d i e r s , i f some were not even w i l l i n g to d e p i c t these elements of l i f e w i t h which they were not f a m i l i a r , through what modes of ex p r e s s i o n were they capable o f communicating t h e i r thoughts and f e e l i n g s ? Here i s where d i s c u s s i o n of approach to s u b j e c t matter r e l a t e s to adoption of form. W r i t e r s unable to express themselves through f i c t i o n or poetry d i d opt f o r one p a r t i c u l a r form which was most conducive to t h e i r c r i t i c a l a t t i t u d e towards Yan'an l i f e . That form was za wen C^jk- ) , the p e r s o n a l essay which was to serve as an o u t l e t f o r those i n t e l l e c t u a l l y f r u s t r a t e d w r i t e r s unable to u n i t e w i t h t h e i r environment. The c r e a t i o n of za wen i n the s t y l e of Lu Xun demanded a d i s t a n t standpoint on the p a r t of the w r i t e r , f o r the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c tone of the essay i t s e l f s i n c e the time of Lu Xun (who made i t famous) was one of great sarcasm. S a t i r i c a l , s a r d o n i c a t t a c k s a g a i n s t p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l , and c u l t u r a l trends p r o v i d e d the backbone f o r za wen. I t s ap-pearance i n Yan'an was most c e r t a i n l y a r e a c t i o n to d i s a l l u s i o n -ment and t e n s i o n which arose from the p l a y between the r e a l and the i d e a l i n the minds of w r i t e r s attempting to l i v e i n harmony w i t h t h e i r surroundings. I f Zhou Yang advised an i n t e r n a l ap-proach to t h i s t e n s i o n , t h a t i s , a d e c i s i o n to accept and work w i t h e x i s t i n g r e a l i t i e s , then c r e a t o r s of za wen c o u l d be s a i d to have taken an opposite approach. Unable to d e s c r i b e Yan'an l i f e on i t s own terms, some w r i t e r s , making f u l l use of t h e i r a l i e n a t i o n , chose the c r i t i c a l approach of o u t s i d e r s . T h e i r za  wen.exposed the darkness i n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y camp, and f o r t h i s reason Zhou Yang and the CCP d i d not approve of the use of the essay form. In Chapter Three we w i l l see za wen at i t s peak of p o p u l a r i -ty i n Yan'an. However, as w i l l be observed soon below, the form was employed long b e f o r e March, 1942. The Manchurian w r i t e r Luo Feng used i t as e a r l y as August of 1941 i n a harsh a t t a c k a g a i n s t c r i t i c s , and then again, i n September, aimed a g a i n s t l a z y elements w i t h i n the Party. These i s o l a t e d appearances along w i t h Ding •• Ling's October c a l l f o r the o f f i c i a l adoption of za wen as a weap-on a g a i n s t darkness, were to presage i t s shor t f l o u r i s h i n g i n s p r i n g of the f o l l o w i n g year. For some w r i t e r s , then, the use of za wen s o l v e d the dilemma of how to t r e a t l i f e around them, of how to process that which they p e r c e i v e d . A c r i t i c a l stance allowed such w r i t e r s to c a p i -t a l i z e on the d i s t a n c e between themselves and t h e i r new l i f e , a l i f e which some were incapable of ac c e p t i n g u n c r i t i c a l l y , or deal w i t h at a l l on i t s own terms. This c o n t e n t i o n w i t h c o n d i t i o n s i n Yan'an served as roo t s f o r the encouragement of the s a t i r i c essay among c e r t a i n elements of w r i t e r s . As f o r the d i s c u s s i o n of the content o f p a r t i c u l a r za wen, we w i l l t r e a t each essay as i t a r i s e s w i t h i n the context of the broader thematic o u t l i n e of t h i s t h e s i s . C. A p p l i c a t i o n of Marxism-Leninism to L i t e r a t u r e : Formulism The next i s s u e which I wish to b r i n g a t t e n t i o n to i s the a p p l i c a t i o n of r e v o l u t i o n a r y theory to l i t e r a t u r e and the tendency towards formulism dur i n g t h i s time. Although t h i s problem i s r e l a t e d to the d i f f i c u l t y of c r e a t i v i t y above, I choose to deal with, i t s e p a r a t e l y due to i t s tremendous importance as s u b j e c t of debate i n the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement i n l i t e r a t u r e i n i t i a t e d i n February, 1942. In May of 1941, Ouyang Shan wrote that formulism, or slogan l i t e r a t u r e , as w e l l as the complaints of young w r i t e r s of how they were being hindered i n t h e i r c r e a t i v i t y , were due to an o v e r l y dogmatic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Marxism-Leninism on t h e i r p a r t . He argued that w r i t e r s narrowly d e f i n e d P a r t y dogma and f o r c e d a b s t r a c t d o c t r i n e s i n t o t h e i r work because of a l a c k of r e a l l i f e experience and proper study methods. (JFRB, 1941, May 19) In t h i s sense he was r e p e a t i n g e x a c t l y the concern i s s u e d by Mao Zedong that same month i n "Reform our Study", where Mao lamented that Communist Pa r t y members had only a s u p e r f i c i a l and a b s t r a c t book knowledge of i d e o l o g y w i t h no p r a c t i c a l experience to back i t up. [Mao Zedong, 1941, May) Ouyang Shan i d e n t i f i e d t h i s tendency i n the l i t e r a r y world (only three days a f t e r the i n i t i a l p u b l i c a t i o n of JFRB) and others soon f o l l o w e d s u i t . In October, Mao Dun a t t r i b u t e d empty, meaningless l i t e r a t u r e to the same problem: This i s because the love f o r speaking about p r i n c i p l e s and r u l e s has a l r e a d y become the vogue. N a t u r a l l y we need p r i n c i p l e s . Who would dare say that r u l e s are of no use? But our new l i t e r a t u r e i s s t i l l at a young age, and there i s too much a b s t r a c t t a l k which i s u s e l e s s . (JFRB, 1941, October 7) Here, Mao Dun o b j e c t e d to the tendency i n w r i t i n g to merely f i l l up pages, a consequence of f a i l i n g to i n v e s t i g a t e concrete r e a l i -ty to support w r i t t e n theory. But i t i s u n l i k e l y that f o r m u l i s -t i c l i t e r a t u r e was s o l e l y due to an i n c o r r e c t a s s i m i l a t i o n of r e v o l u t i o n a r y theory, and i n f a c t Ouyang Shan (and as we saw, 40 Zhou Yang too) reminded w r i t e r s that a f t e r g a i n i n g a deeper understanding of i d e o l o g y through the study of r e a l i t y , they would a l s o have to "master c r e a t i v e technique and the a r t of c r e a t i v e form." (Ouyang Shan, JFRB) Thus the problem " i s not as simple as we had imagined." (Zhou Yang, JFRB, 1941, J u l y 17) L a t e r , a f t e r the formal c a l l f o r l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n , a t t a c k s on f o r m u l i s t i c w r i t i n g grew even more b i t t e r . In A p r i l , 1942, Xiao Ying wrote, There are s t i l l other people, who, from the beginning extremely a l i e n a t e d from the v i l -lages i n the Border Area, u s u a l l y l a c k a s p i r i t of i n v e s t i g a t i n g the l i f e and charac-t e r of the peasant. Yet a p o l i t i c a l slogan always s t i r s up t h e i r f e r v e n t c r e a t i v e im-p u l s e . To r e l y on a p o l i t i c a l slogan to e s t a b l i s h a theme and then proceed to w r i t e according to t h i s a b s t r a c t n o t i o n before having experienced l i f e , i s to go down a dangerous c r e a t i v e path. (JFRB, 1942, A p r i l 2) L i t e r a r y formulism, then, was a l s o the product of an i n a b i l i t y to understand c h a r a c t e r s o u t s i d e the w r i t e r s ' f a m i l i a r experience as w e l l as they c o u l d comprehend theory and p r i n c i p l e . Formulism e v i d e n t l y e x i s t e d among c r i t i c s as w e l l , though i t took on another shape. The Manchurian w r i t e r Luo Feng, advocate and o f t e n c r e a t o r of za wen, a t t a c k e d p o l i t i c a l formulism among c r i t i c s of l i t e r a t u r e . In August, 1941, he wrote b i t t e r l y , The c r i t i c o n l y wishes to p l a c e a l l w r i t e r s under h i s p o l i t i c a l mask, c o n s c i o u s l y or u n c o n s c i o u s l y a l l o w i n g the v a l u e of a r t to t u r n i n t o sediments i n the sea, w h i l e a l l o w -ing the ' p o l i t i c a l mask' to f l o a t on the s u r f a c e of the water l i k e an o i l y p e a r l . . . Formulism o f t e n turns an o b j e c t i v e assess-ment i n t o a narrow and erroneous one. The main reason i s that the c r i t i c can not c l e a r l y and simply apply the s c i e n c e of d i a -l e c t i c a l m a t e r i a l i s m to a r t i s t i c problems. 41 He added s a r c a s t i c a l l y , N a t u r a l l y w r i t e r s are not i n t e r e s t e d i n a b s t r a c t s c i e n t i f i c thought and i t i s d e t e s t a b l e that they should r e v e a l t h e i r own shallow and unknow-ledgable c r i t i c i s m of that s t e r e o t y p e d l e a r n i n g . CJFRB, 1941, August 19) The harsh and s a r d o n i c tone of t h i s a t t a c k was r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of the medium (za wen) favored by Luo Feng, but i n no way r e f l e c t e d the general and more o f f i c i a l denouncements of formulism. Formu-l i s m among c r i t i c s was not r a i s e d as an o f f i c i a l o b j e c t of condem-n a t i o n , but would o b v i o u s l y r e c e i v e b i t t e r treatment from w r i t e r s whose works had been v i c t i m s of shoddy c r i t i c i s m . I t seems, how-ever, that Luo Feng and another apparent v i c t i m of perhaps l e s s than s c h o l a r l y c r i t i c i s m , A i Qing,"*"^ were not aiming at e x a c t l y the same source of formulism i n c r e a t i v e works. They were i n s t e a d suggesting a conscious d e c e i t on the p a r t of b i a s e d c r i t i c s , a d e c e i t f o r which young w r i t e r s g u i l t y of formulism were never blamed. The phenomenon of formulism, f o r whatever motives, owed i t s e x i s t e n c e t o , as Luo Feng i n d i c a t e d , the i n a b i l i t y to "apply the s c i e n c e of d i a l e c t i c a l m a t e r i a l i s m to a r t i s t i c problems." The f a i l u r e was not a t t r i b u t e d to the i n c o r r e c t n e s s of a d i a l e c -t i c a l m a t e r i a l i s t approach to a r t , but to an i n a p p r o p r i a t e manner of a p p l i c a t i o n which r e s u l t e d from an i n s u f f i c i e n t or dogmatic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of M a r x i s t d o c t r i n e , coupled w i t h an i n s u f f i c i e n t knowledge of-tart i s t i c theory. S i m i l a r problems w i t h c r i t i c i s m of a r t were a l s o r e v e a l e d i n an essay c a l l e d " A r t C r i t i c s and A r t i s t s " , w r i t t e n by an a r t -i s t r e a c t i n g a g a i n s t u n f a i r judgement of a r e c e n t d i s p l a y of wood • c l i t s , ' ^ • The author, one of the a r t i s t s from the show, o b j e c t -ed to the c r i t i c ' s s u p e r f i c i a l assessment of the a r t d i s p l a y e d . The c r i t i c Hu Man had l a b e l e d the a r t i s t i c themes o v e r l y concern-ed w i t h "customs" r a t h e r then " p o l i t i c s . " But one c o u l d n ' t , wrote the wood c a r v e r , expect every a r t i s t to be able to d e p i c t the New Fo u r t h Army In c i d e n t or the Hundred Regiments Campaign gated f o r not w r i t i n g about workers' s t r i k e s i n h i s c r e a t i v e works. The a r t i s t b e l i e v e d i n having f i r s t - h a n d experience w i t h l i f e , but saw the n e c e s s i t y of g i v i n g a r t i s t i c form to that which was i n h i s own c a p a b i l i t i e s of p o r t r a y i n g because of h i s own par-t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t i n the s u b j e c t . It was wrong, he wrote, f o r the c r i t i c to onl y emphasize the a r t i s t ' s p o l i t i c s , and not f i r s t l ook at h i s c r e a t i v e method, technique, content, and own l i f e i t s e l f . Without a r t i s t i c s k i l l , he i n s i s t e d , there would be no a r t to serve p o l i t i c s at a l l . Oddly enough the a r t i s t wrote that these problems had a l r e a d y been s o l v e d i n the l i t e r a r y world, which i n d i c a t e d the backwardness of the f i n e a r t s . In Chapter Three we w i l l examine the o f f i c i a l P a r t y campaign aga i n s t f o r m u l i s t i c l i t e r a t u r e i n the context of the r e c t i f i c a - . t i o n movement. D, P o p u l a r i z a t i o n and the R a i s i n g of Standards The q u e s t i o n of p o p u l a r i z a t i o n (pu j i -ffi* ) and the r a i s i n g o f f e r e d p a r t i c u l a r problems f o r l i t e r a t u r e d u r i n g the war and Mao Zedong considered i t a matter of profound s i g n i f i c a n c e i n h i s May " T a l k s . " Yet i n JFRB I d i s c o v e r e d o n l y one a r t i c l e f o c u s i n g Cbaituan tazhan ), j u s t as Lu Xun was not c a s t i -of standards to be based on a mass l i t e r a t u r e 43 e x c l u s i v e l y " on the t o p i c of mass l i t e r a t u r e (in this-'icase, l i t -e r a t u r e c r e a t e d by the masses themselves) b e f o r e May, 1942. In June, 1941, L i u Xuewei d i s c u s s e d the "refinement of l i t e r a t u r e " . He noted that there were people who f e a r e d that once the l i t e r a -t u re of the masses entered the "temple" ( i . e . , once i t passed through the hands of the r u l i n g c l a s s f o r refinement) i t would l o s e i t s o r i g i n a l v i t a l i t y and s i m p l i c i t y . L i u b e l i e v e d , however, that such l i t e r a t u r e d i d need p o l i s h i n g , s i n c e although i t was r e f r e s h i n g and f u l l of l i f e , i t was s t i l l o v e r l y coarse and awk-wardly d i r e c t . He was assured that when the r e v o l u t i o n a r y c l a s s succeeded i n becoming the r u l i n g c l a s s , t h i s would at l a s t g i ve them the access to l e i s u r e time to r a i s e the standards of t h e i r l i t e r a t u r e which co u l d then become both " r e v o l u t i o n a r y and a r t i s -t i c . " He d e f i n e d r e v o l u t i o n a r y l i t e r a t u r e as the a r t i s t i c a l l y p o l i s h e d l i t e r a t u r e of the p r o l e t a r i a n c l a s s . Although he admit-ted that p r o l e t a r i a n l i t e r a t u r e was s t i l l incomplete, i t s "crude, and u n c i v i l i z e d q u a l i t i e s " c o u l d n e v e r t h e l e s s be used to oppose the " p a l l i d r efinement" of the decadent bourgeois c l a s s . And i n the not so d i s t a n t f u t u r e , there would be o p p o r t u n i t y f o r the p r o l e t a r i a n c l a s s to r e v i v e i t s own l i t e r a t u r e . ( L i u Xuewei, JFRB, 1941, June 2) L i u ' s s o l u t i o n to the c r e a t i o n of a s u c c e s s f u l mass-based l i t e r a t u r e was of course over s i m p l i s t i c . I t overlooked the f a c t that the r e v o l u t i o n a r y r u l e r s who would be i n charge of " p o l i s h -i n g " p r o l e t a r i a n l i t e r a t u r e a f t e r r e v o l u t i o n a r y v i c t o r y would not immediately be of p r o l e t a r i a n o r i g i n themselves. There would most c e r t a i n l y be disagreement over degrees of refinement. A r t i s t i c a l -l y advanced p r o l e t a r i a n l i t e r a t u r e c o u l d not be c r e a t e d merely as the r e s u l t of l e i s u r e time and r u l i n g p o l i t i c a l p o s i t i o n , and i t would not a u t o m a t i c a l l y give way to " c l a s s l i t e r a t u r e " j u s t be-cause i t s o r i g i n s were " f o l k . " Nonetheless, L i u Xuewei o f f e r e d the only d i s c u s s i o n of l i t e r a t u r e a c t u a l l y c r e a t e d by the masses i n l i g h t of the r o l e i t would p l a y a f t e r r e v o l u t i o n a r y v i c t o r y . R a r e l y d i d others r a i s e the t o p i c of f o l k l i t e r a t u r e . N a t i o n a l forms, as c r e a t i o n s of the people, had been spoken of e a r l i e r and then again a f t e r Mao's " T a l k s " , but L i u Xuewei was concerned w i t h the o v e r a l l "crude and u n c i v i l i z e d q u a l i t i e s " of f o l k l i t e r a t u r e , and not form i n p a r t i c u l a r . He d i d , however, overlook the v a s t c o n t r a d i c t i o n e x i s t i n g i n . t h e p r e s e n t , that w r i t e r s of p r o l e t a r i a n o r i g i n were too few and that s o - c a l l e d l i t e r a t u r e f o r the masses was being produced by w r i t e r s i n c a p a b l e of d i r e c t i n g t h e i r a r t to a mass audience. Moreover, he a l s o f a i l e d to take i n t o c o n s i d e r a -t i o n the time f a c t o r i n v o l v e d i n c r e a t i n g a whole new era of l i t -e r a t u r e ( h i s " r e v o l u t i o n a r y and a r t i s t i c " l i t e r a t u r e ) a f t e r the attainment of p o l i t i c a l power by the p r o l e t a r i a n c l a s s . But the very f a c t t h at no one besides L i u i n JFRB had devoted much e f f o r t to the d e f i n i t i o n of r e v o l u t i o n a r y m a s s - o r i g i n l i t e r -ature would le n d credence to Mao's l a t e r o b s e r v a t i o n s t h a t w r i t e r s i n Yan'an were more wor r i e d about l i t e r a t u r e of t h e i r own making than w i t h h e l p i n g the masses develop t h e i r own a r t , or r a i s i n g a r t i s t i c standards based on a l r e a d y e x i s t i n g mass a r t . E. The W r i t e r i n S o c i e t y The l a s t major i s s u e to be examined w i l l be treatment of and a t t i t u d e s towards w r i t e r s i n s o c i e t y . Under the f i r s t l a r g e - s c a l e experiment of r e v o l u t i o n a r y government i n the h i s t o r y of China, the h a n d l i n g of w r i t e r s and a r t i s t s was n a t u r a l l y a d e l i c a t e t o p i c of concern f o r the Communist P a r t y as w e l l as the c u l t u r a l world. Again, t e n s i o n arose from the "converging of two t o r r e n t s . " W r i t -ers were accustomed to a c e r t a i n p o s i t i o n and r o l e i n the r e v o l u -t i o n a r y underground i n Shanghai, but once i n Yan'an the demands of them s h i f t e d , and so d i d t h e i r s t a t u s . Zhou Yang d i d not "approve of w r i t e r s c o n s i d e r i n g themselves more s p e c i a l than other people," yet he added i n the same b r e a t h , "Yan'an must become the type of p l a c e where w r i t e r s are e s p e c i a l -l y understood and r e s p e c t e d . " (Zhou Yang, JFRB, 1941, J u l y 19) The government d i d not hide i t s need of i n t e l l e c t u a l s devoted to the r e v o l u t i o n a r y cause and i t seems that m a t e r i a l l y , at l e a s t , the more popular w r i t e r s and s k i l l e d r e s e a r c h e r s and t r a n s l a t o r s were somewhat b e t t e r - o f f than others i n Yan'an, (as were non-Party 12 s k i l l e d p e o p l e ) . Less than a month a f t e r Zhou Yang's remarks on a t t i t u d e s towards w r i t e r s , a f r o n t page e d i t o r i a l read, "The expansion of the l i t e r a r y movement and the welcome and s p e c i a l treatment towards w r i t e r s i s the d i r e c t i o n of endeavor p r e s c r i b e d i n the O u t l i n e of the Border Regional Government." Yet the " s p e c i a l treatment of w r i t e r s " was then l i s t e d under the group of problems yet to be s o l v e d . (Anonymous, JFRB, 1941, A) In any event, m a t e r i a l treatment wasn't the r e a l i s s u e here. On January 1, 1942, Xiao San wrote an a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d " ' P r o f e s -13 s i o n a l L i t e r a r y People' and 'Amateur L i t e r a r y People'". In i t he c a s t i g a t e d w r i t e r s f o r t h e i r s e l f - r i g h t e o u s a t t i t u d e s of su-p e r i o r i t y . Taking them to task f o r viewing t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n as "sacred, honest, and clean!" as opposed to p o l i t i c s which i s d i s -46 honest and c o r r u p t , he sought to remind them that s i n c e today's p o l i t i c s were c l e a n , they need no longer t h i n k themselves above i t . The r o o t s of t h e i r a v e r s i o n to p o l i t i c s , he s a i d , l a y i n the past when people had more r e s p e c t f o r those who a s p i r e d to g a i n wealth through o f f i c i a l d o m , than f o r a r t i s t s . Yet today w r i t e r s should p a r t i c i p a t e i n the new p o l i t i c s by f o r g e t t i n g about being f u l l - t i m e a r t i s t s and t a k i n g up some p r a c t i c a l work which would c o n t r i b u t e to the war e f f o r t , and a l s o improve t h e i r w r i t i n g i n the long-run. Xiao urged w r i t e r s to stop complaining about the p r a c t i c a l work which prevented them from devoting time to w r i t i n g . This was i n essence the same advice Zhou Yang had o f f e r e d , but d i d not r e v e a l the same amount of sympathy. At the time, Mao's f u t u r e biographer f e l t t h a t i t was i n c o r r e c t f o r w r i t e r s to t h i n k "there i s no a l t e r n a t i v e but to t e m p o r a r i l y sac-r i f i c e l i t e r a t u r e while p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n the war", or " w r i t i n g f o r ~ t h e p r a c t i c a l needs of the war i s an unavoidable way of low-e r i n g the value of l i t e r a t u r e . " Instead, he urged the growth of amateur w r i t e r s : "The w r i t e r does not have a patent on l i t e r a t u r e . Every working member has' the r i g h t to w r i t e . " Yet he admitted that "the time of saying 'everyone i s a w r i t e r ' i s very f a r o f f . " Hence, although Xiao San h i m s e l f r e c o g n i z e d the importance of c r e a t i n g good, e f f e c t i v e l i t e r a t u r e during the war, he d i d not want w r i t e r s to devote a l l of t h e i r time to c r e a t i v i t y s i n c e there was so much other urgent work to a t t e n d to as w e l l . The Party's a t t i t u d e towards w r i t e r s and l i t e r a t u r e i n g e n e r a l was molded by the t r a d i t i o n a l Communist attempt "to i n s u r e that l i t -e r a t u r e and a r t f i t w e l l i n t o the whole r e v o l u t i o n a r y machine as a component p a r t . " (Mao Zedong, 1942 C:112/English: 70) The 47 a r t i s t ' s r o l e was not to be any more or l e s s important than t h a t of the p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i s t , whose task the a r t i s t too was f u l f i l l -ing through the i n h e r e n t p o l i t i c a l f u n c t i o n of h i s a r t . The f o -cus of a t t a c k on p r o f e s s i o n a l w r i t e r s , then, was on an a t t i t u d e supposedly c a r r i e d over from the past when w r i t e r s d i v o r c e d them-s e l v e s from p o l i t i c a l matters. However, we should keep i n mind that Xiao was exaggerating an a t t i t u d e f o r the sake of a t t a c k i n g i t . I t i s d o u b t f u l that w r i t e r s i n t r a d i t i o n a l China ever d i d t o t a l l y cut themselves o f f from p o l i t i c a l matters. As f o r the immediate past f o r w r i t e r s i n Shanghai, v e r y few i f any c o u l d have supported themselves through w r i t i n g alone, and many had a l -ready p a r t i c i p a t e d i n underground p o l i t i c a l work. Therefore i t would be u n f a i r to p o r t r a y the new a r r i v a l s to Yan'an as a r t i s t s d i v o r c e d from the v a s t p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y going on around them. Such w r i t e r s would not have come to Yan'an i n the f i r s t p l a c e . Xiao San was, I b e l i e v e , aiming to put a check on a tendency which we w i l l see below had d e f i n i t e r o o t s i n the l i t e r a r y world -ple a s f o r more r e s p e c t and understanding of w r i t e r s on the p a r t of the Party and the p u b l i c i n g e n e r a l . Such p l e a s were based on Chinese w r i t e r s ' n o t i o n of themselves as a separate moral f o r c e i n s o c i e t y , not of being d i v o r c e d from p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l trends, but to the c o n t r a r y , of c o n t r i b u t i n g to, m o t i v a t i n g , and o f t e n i n f l u e n c i n g p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l movements. By c o n s i d e r i n g them-se l v e s the s e n s i t i v e elements of s o c i e t y , they f e l t b e t t e r equipp-ed to comment on and i n f l u e n c e the broad scope of events around them. Here w i l l l a y the r o o t s of Wang Shiwei's a t t i t u d e which w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n l a t e r c hapters. W i t h i n two months -of Xiao San's a r t i c l e , the poet A i Qing 48 who had a r r i v e d in. Yan'an i n 19,41 wrote tw:o essays upholding the s p e c i a l p o s i t i o n of w r i t e r s i n s o c i e t y . The f i r s t , w r i t t e n on February 12, was to set the groundwork f o r the second essay which was given much a t t e n t i o n due to i t s r e c r i t i c i s m d u r i n g the a n t i -14 r i g h t i s t campaign i n 1958. In the e a r l i e r p i e c e , the poet de-f i n e d the value of l i t e r a t u r e as a d r i v i n g f o r c e i n s o c i e t y , but not l i k e an o b j e c t of p u r e l y u t i l i t a r i a n worth. The g r e a t e s t source of p e r s o n a l comfort and p l e a s u r e f o r the w r i t e r would be the completion of a c r e a t i v e work, and an immortal work would r a i s e man's s p i r i t from the narrow to the noble. A w r i t e r was s p e c i a l i n that h i s good work contained something e n t r u s t e d to i t s author as a spokesman f o r h i s age. One month l a t e r A i Qing repeated the same i n j u n c t i o n f o r s o c i e t y to r e c o g n i z e the v i t a l s i g n i f i c a n c e of the w r i t e r ' s r o l e i n reforming humanity, on l y t h i s time he was more e x p l i c i t . (JFRB' 1942, March 11) The w r i t e r , he s t a t e d , was the s p i r i t u a l spokes-man of a race or c l a s s . Although l i t e r a t u r e d i d not share the u t i l i t a r i a n f u n c t i o n of food, c l o t h i n g , or medicine, humanity was i n need of i t to answer e x i s t e n t i a l questions a r i s i n g from lone-l i n e s s and s u f f e r i n g . The emotional and s p i r i t u a l aspect of man Cand here he made no d i s t i n c t i o n of c l a s s ) wonders "Why do we l i v e ? " , and o n l y l i t e r a t u r e c o u l d o f f e r s p i r i t u a l s o l u t i o n s to such q u e r i e s . Here the poet was c l e a r l y attempting to s t r e s s the p a r t i c u l a r q u a l i t i e s of l i t e r a t u r e which would set i t apart from other components of the r e v o l u t i o n a r y machine. He wrote that a f i n e work of a r t or a r t i s t s should mean more to a n a t i o n than i t s p o l i t i c a l or m a t e r i a l g a i n i n war. An a r t i s t c o u l d be the f i n e s t , a sset to a n a t i o n and i t s best r e p r e s e n t a t i v e . But, he f e l t , to c r e a t e w o r k s w o r t h y o f s u c h e s t e e m , a w r i t e r m u s t be t r u e t o h i s own f e e l i n g s a n d c a n o n l y w r i t e o n t h e b a s i s o f h i s own v i e w o f t h e w o r l d . C r e a t i v e p e o p l e , t h e n , h a d t h e r i g h t t o demand o n l y one s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e , t h a t o f c r e a t i v e f r e e d o m . O n l y when l i t -e r a t u r e i s f r e e a n d i n d e p e n d e n t o f p o l i t i c s c a n i t be e f f e c t i v e i n s o c i a l r e f o r m . The p o e t t h e n c a l l e d o n e v e r y o n e t o e m u l a t e t h e a n c i e n t s ' l o v e f o r w r i t e r s . He q u o t e d a l i n e f r o m L i B o ' s l e t t e r t o Han C h a o z o n g ( rf>\ ) i n w h i c h t h e T a n g p o e t f l a t t e r e d t h e The m e a n i n g o f t h e l i n e q u o t e d was t h a t L i Bo f e l t he n e e d n ' t b e a h i g h o f f i c i a l i f o n l y he c o u l d mee t t h e f amous c o n n o i s s e u r o f l i t e r a r y t a l e n t . H a n C h a o z o n g was w e l l - k n o w n as a p a t r o n o f y o u n g l i t e r a r y t a l e n t a n d a l l a s p i r i n g s c h o l a r s h o p e d t o m e e t h i m . L i Bo c o m p a r e d t h e o f f i c i a l . t o a t r u e c o n n o i s s e u r o f v a l u a b l e s w o r d s a n d j a d e , a n d e n v i s i o n e d h i m s e l f as a l i t e r a r y t r e a s u r e w a i t i n g t o be r e c o g n i z e d a n d p r o m o t e d b y s u c h a one who w o u l d u n d e r s t a n d h i m . A i Q i n g was a s k i n g t h e c r i t i c s t o be as u n d e r s t a n d i n g a j u d g e o f h i s w o r k s a s w o u l d be Han C h a o z o n g . The f u r t h e r i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e s e two e s s a y s b y A i Q i n g a n d l a t e r P a r t y r e s p o n s e t o h i s i d e a s w i l l be t r e a t e d i n C h a p t e r T h r e e a n d Four;;" The p l e a f o r a d e e p e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d r e s p e c t f o r w r i t e r s , f o r w h i c h A i Q i n g was s p o k e s m a n , r e p r e s e n t e d a r e a c t i o n t o t h e d i f f e r e n t t r e a t m e n t a f f o r d e d t o w r i t e r s a n d a r t i s t s i n t h e new s o c i e t y . I t was a l s o a r e a c t i o n t o t h e l o w l e v e l o f s c h o l a r -l y a n d o b j e c t i v e l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m known t o be a r e a l p r o b l e m a t t h i s t i m e . A s w i l l b e s e e n l a t e r , Mao w o u l d c o n s i d e r d i f f e r - . e n t ' i a l a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s w r i t e r s a s a s e c o n d a r y m a t t e r when s u c h famous o f f i c i a l of J i n g Zhou. ) 15 50 w r i t e r s were s t i l l so a l i e n a t e d from the masses. F. Signs of D i s u n i t y The s p e c i f i c c o n t r a d i c t i o n s present i n d i s c u s s i o n of the a-bove major focuses of concern i n JFRB were a l l , t o a greater or l e s s e r degree, the end products of urban w r i t e r s c l a s h i n g w i t h the h i s t o r i c a l , geographical, and p o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s of the Commun-i s t base. I t was only n a t u r a l , then, that d i s u n i t y should a r i s e from d i f f e r e n t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of such problems. The climax of the d i s u n i t y w i l l serve as the nucleus of the next chapter. By showing i t s roots through e a r l y signs and expressions of b i t t e r disagreement among w r i t e r s and between w r i t e r s and the Par t y , i t i s to be hoped that we can gain i n s i g h t i n t o what by sp r i n g of 1942 would explode i n t o harsh r e c o g n i t i o n s of profound d i s c o r d i n Yan'an. As e a r l y as September 11, 1941, as e d i t o r of the l i t e r a t u r e s e c t i o n of JFRB, Ding Ling summoned a meeting of f i f t y people i n the l i t e r a r y world to discuss the l i t e r a t u r e column - the past three to four months, the present, and i t s f u t u r e d i r e c t i o n . " ^ Speeches were made, but the paper d i d not s p e c i f i c a l l y record who had s a i d what. JFRB d i d report that they spoke'on u n i f y i n g the l i t e r a r y world at Yan'an, on enhancing a democratic s t y l e , estab-l i s h i n g c r e a t i v e c r i t i c i s m , r a i s i n g the l e v e l of l i t e r a r y theory and c r e a t i o n , and opening the ant i - f o r m u l i s m , a n t i - s u b j e c t i v i s m 17 movement on the l i t e r a r y f r o n t . The mention of these items i s not s u r p r i s i n g . D i s u n i t y was already v i s i b l e in' the paper by t h i s time. Below we w i l l witness the c a l l that same month f o r the use of more democratic methods i n t r e a t i n g those w i t h d i f f e r -ent views, and we have a l r e a d y heard complaints of w r i t e r s over the l a c k of worthwhile c r e a t i v e c r i t i c i s m and l i t e r a r y theory. Reactions to formulism had come e a r l y (Ouyang Shan, JFRB, 1941, May 19), while " s u b j e c t i v i s m " had a l s o been r e v e a l e d . The most popular medium f o r e x p r e s s i o n of disagreement w i t h other w r i t e r s and c r i t i c s and w i t h the P a r t y at t h i s time was za •ffien. We saw that Luo Feng had used i t as e a r l y as August 19 a g a i n s t c r i t i c s . A month l a t e r he employed i t again i n the ear-l i e s t s p e c i f i c a t t a c k a g a i n s t c e r t a i n elements w i t h i n the CCP by a w r i t e r to appear i n JFRB. His essay had nothing to do w i t h l i t e r a t u r e , as n e i t h e r d i d many of the l a t e r s p r i n g , 1942 p i e c e s , and i n t h i s sense such d i s s i d e n t a r t i c l e s should be t r e a t e d sepa-r a t e l y from the problem of d i s u n i t y over l i t e r a r y i s s u e s . The two phenomena are probably confused because of the f a c t t h a t much of the d i s s e n t a g a i n s t p a r t i c u l a r trends i n the Party came from people who because they were w r i t e r s were most capable of a r t i c u -l a t i n g g eneral concerns. W r i t e r s , too, because of t h e i r work were p a r t i c u l a r l y s e n s i t i v e to p o l i t i c a l a f f a i r s which would a f f e c t them, but we can not assume that t h e i r d i s s e n t was based on p u r e l y narrow p e r s o n a l motives which d i d not a l s o r e p r e s e n t other elements of s o c i e t y . , The present d i s c u s s i o n of d i s s e n t v o i c e d through za wen can on l y be j u s t i f i e d here because of the form which t h i s p r o t e s t took, and i n t h i s sense the t o p i c of za wen and s p e c i f i c analyses of i t s content i s not completely d i v o r c e d from the s u b j e c t of l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t y i n Yan'an. On September 22, 1941, Luo Feng s a r c a s t i c a l l y reproached the k i n d of people who pretended to be content with, the present s i t -u a t i o n f o r the sake of P a r t y l o y a l t y , when such l o y a l t y was a c t u -a l l y u s e l e s s to the r e v o l u t i o n . L i k e n i n g c r i t i c i s m of the c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n to shooting an arrow at a t a r g e t towards which one "needn't harbor l o v i n g f e e l i n g s " , Luo Feng aimed h i s a t t a c k . a g a i n s t the people i n the P a r t y who allowed remnants of the o l d s o c i e t y to remain unscathed due to lazyness and p a s s i v i t y . The t h r u s t of h i s blow was a g a i n s t f a t a l i s t s i n the CCP who s u f f e r e d t h e i r v i s i o n s of a more p r o g r e s s i v e s o c i e t y i n s i l e n c e without t a k i n g a c t i o n . He was to t r e a t t h i s same theme again l a t e r i n March, 1942. Vehemently a g a i n s t shoddy work, the odd t i t l e "An Essay Not Basted Together" r e f e r s to an essay (presumably h i s own) which i s c a r e f u l l y put together w i t h s i n c e r i t y and emotion, as opposed to most which were thrown together c a s u a l l y and never made an impact on t h e i r reader, nor on the r e v o l u t i o n . U n i f i e d , concerted a c t i o n f o r the sake of progress was, he f e l t , being s a c r i f i c e d f o r p a s s i v e acceptance of the s t a t u s quo. D i s u n i t y was an enormous o b s t a c l e to r e v o l u t i o n a r y p r o g r e s s : "Having s u r f a c e peace and u n i t y w i t h no b a s i s i n r e a l i t y i s l i k e b u i l d i n g a foun-d a t i o n on top of sand..." In October,.Ding L i n g announced her p u b l i c support of the use of za wen and echoed many of Luo Feng's b i t t e r o b s e r v a t i o n s on hindrances to r e a l change and progress w i t h i n the P a r t y . She wrote that there were people who hoped to v o i c e an o p i n i o n but s i n c e t h e i r ideas d i f f e r e d from those p r e v a l e n t , they were i n t i m -i d a t e d and kept from speaking out. T h i s l a c k of democratic meth-ods among some i n the Party was, she a s s e r t e d , a c t u a l l y a step backward f o r those i n power. F o l l o w i n g the example of Lu Xun, the great w r i t e r o f f i c i a l l y s a n c tioned as such by the Communist Party as w e l l as a l l r e v o l u t i o n a r y w r i t e r s , she encouraged the use of za wen to l o c a t e and destr o y the darkness which s t i l l e x i s t e d even i n Yan'an. (JFRB, 1941, October 23) Ding L i n g wrote a short s t o r y , "In the H o s p i t a l " , p u b l i s h e d sometime around l a t e f a l l , 1941, which i s the most well-known e x p r e s s i o n i n f i c t i o n a l -19 i z e d form of complaints lodged i n l a t e r za wen of March, 1942. Reactions to i t e x e m p l i f i e d the d i s u n i t y i n the l i t e r a r y world over the i s s u e of whether or not to expose darkness i n the CCP camp. "In the H o s p i t a l " i s the s t o r y of Lu Ping, a young ex-Shang-h a i o b s e t r i c i a n student who f u l f i l l e d her f a t h e r ' s wishes through the study of medicine r a t h e r than pursue her own l i t e r a r y i n t e r -e s t s . A f t e r the Japanese i n v a s i o n of Shanghai, she wrote f o r Yan'an wi t h v i s i o n s of becoming a p o l i t i c a l worker. A f t e r e n t e r -ing the CCP one year l a t e r , she was sent a g a i n s t her w i l l to work i n a newly e s t a b l i s h e d h o s p i t a l f o r t y l i _ f r o m Yan'an. She di s c o v e r e d only d i s i l l u s i o n ^ . . . - i upon a r r i v a l . The s t a f f members of the h o s p i t a l were almost a l l i n e x p e r i e n c e d and devoid of human sympathy. Bad s a n i t a t i o n h a b i t s among the nurses, l a c k of decent equipment, and a g e n e r a l l y c o l d r e c e p t i o n q u i c k l y fade Lu Ping's enthusiasm and i l l u s i o n s about r e v o l u t i o n a r y work. Her " i d e a l i s m c l a s h e s w i t h the narrow-mindedness of those around h er" (Fokkema, 1965:12), and her f r u s t r a t e d attempt at reforming the inadequacies of the system caused her p h y s i c a l i l l n e s s . Her request to leave was f i n a l l y granted. During her harrowing experience, she had met only a few the war e f f o r t and then $ ) U n i v e r s i t y i n 54 people from whom she co u l d g a i n sympathy and comfort, one of whom had h i s f e e t n e e d l e s s l y amputated as the r e s u l t of a sloppy medi-.-' c a l d e c i s i o n . She departed from the m a t e r i a l and s p i r i t u a l deso-l a t i o n of the h o s p i t a l on the c a u t i o u s l y o p t i m i s t i c note that "man i s born from s u f f e r i n g " , and only a f t e r going through such t r i a l s w i l l our l i v e s be of use. An obvious exposure of the dark aspects of Yan'an, the s t o r y predated za wen concerned w i t h the same theme by about four months. I n t e r e s t i n g was the c r i t i c i s m which f o l l o w e d i n the press which r e f l e c t e d the divergence of o p i n i o n which had developed over the is s u e s brought up by the s t o r y . On December 5, L i u Xuewei i n t r o d u c e d the s t o r y a f t e r i t had j u s t appeared i n the f i r s t i s s u e of the new j o u r n a l Gu Yu (/\J ) . Wri t t e n before the hei g h t of the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement and the appearance of other v o i c e s of d i s c o n t e n t over the same problems, L i u wrote: What becomes the s p e c i a l f e a t u r e of the work i s the exposure of some shadowy aspects of the new s o c i e t y . These p a r t s are very r e a l and need purging not only through the realm of p o l i t i c a l theory and work, but a l s o through l i t e r a r y works. Our w r i t e r s l i v i n g i n the new s o c i e t y here are s t i l l not doing enough i n r e l a t i o n to t h i s task, perhaps because they l a c k the a b i l i t y to grasp i t . T herefore t h i s s p e c i a l f e a t u r e i s even more s i g n i f i c a n t . However, the important t h i n g here i s that questions have been r a i s e d , but not s a t i s f a c t o r i l y d e a l t with. By June, however, "In the H o s p i t a l " was t r e a t e d i n a much more c r i t i c a l manner. On June 10, Wang L i a o y i n g p r a i s e d Ding Ling's mature technique and s k i l l i n d e s c r i b i n g her p r o t a g o n i s t . However, he blamed the author f o r w r i t i n g about a unique case and p o r t r a y i n g i t as a t y p i c a l one, f o r being i n c a p a b l e of a c c u r a t e l y d e p i c t i n g any but her own c l a s s , and f o r "unconscious-l y propagating i n d i v i d u a l i s m . " The c r i t i c maintained that w i t h new r e a l i s m , the f a t e of the i n d i v i d u a l can not be separated from the f a t e of the c o l l e c t i v e . Since Ding Ling o f f e r e d f u t u r e hope and progress to her p r o t a g o n i s t but not to the environment she was f i g h t i n g to reform, she had not yet grasped the essence of new r e a l i s m . Wang f e l t that Ding L i n g should have d e s c r i b e d Lu Ping's t r a n s f o r m a t i o n from the n o n - p r o l e t a r i a n c l a s s to the ranks of the p r o l e t a r i a t , and he c o u l d not help but c r i t i c i z e the author's p a s s i v e a t t i t u d e towards Lu Ping's d e f i c i e n c i e s of char-a c t e r . It i s i n t e r e s t i n g that i n December of 1941 Ding Ling's s t o r y was p r a i s e d f o r the very tone f o r which i t would be c r i t i c i z e d i n June, 1942, a f t e r the exposure of darkness i n Yan'an had been o f f i c i a l l y condemned by Mao i n h i s May " T a l k s . " L i u was a Party c r i t i c , t h e r e f o r e i t i s evident that there was some s o l i d support f o r t h i s k i n d of l i t e r a t u r e and general t r e n d from c r i t i c s s i n c e 2 2 the appearance of "In the H o s p i t a l " . The June c r i t i c i s m was r e l a t i v e l y m i l d compared to treatment the s t o r y was to r e c e i v e l a t e r i n 1958. By that time, the same c r i t i c would be blaming Ding L i n g f o r c o n s c i o u s l y propagating i n d i v i d u a l i s m i n l i n e w i t h 23 the a n t i - r i g h t i s t a t t a c k s a g a i n s t her. Although grievances w i t h l i f e i n Yan'an had a l r e a d y appeared i n f i c t i o n b efore Ding Ling's short s t o r y (e.g., Yan Wenjing, JFRB, 1941, October 17), "In the H o s p i t a l " , due to the more pro-found nature of the condemnation, as w e l l as to i t s author's name and p o s i t i o n , r e c e i v e d much a t t e n t i o n . 2 ' * F o l l o w i n g Ding Ling's 56 October c a l l to r a i s e za wen as a weapon a g a i n s t darkness, the s t o r y helped to a u t h o r i z e the new course to be taken by w r i t e r s d i s c o n t e n t w i t h the environment. As e d i t o r of the l i t e r a t u r e page and Communist P a r t y member, Ding Ling's o f f i c i a l s a n c t i o n of t h i s new d i r e c t i o n d i d not go u n n o t i c e d , nor d i d i t l a c k response. In the next chapter we w i l l examine t h i s response and the ensuing impact i t had on l i t e r a r y p o l i c i e s . 57 NOTES TO CHAPTER TWO ^ J i e f a n g Ribao w i l l from here on be r e f e r r e d to as JRFE. This o f f i c i a l P a rty d a i l y , p u b l i s h e d from May 16, 1941 to March 27 , 1947 , had supplanted two other P a r t y organs, Xin. ZhongHua.Ba-o ( fy[ ^iL^ a n d J i e f a n g (J^f tf^O ' T h e f o r m e r > p u b l i s h e d from February 7, 1939 to May 15, 1941, appeared only every three days. According to Zhou E r f u (1939:682), Xin^ZhongHua Bao c o n t a i n -ed a l i t e r a r y supplement "Dong Yuan" ( ~<^fi J| ) which d i d not c o n s i s t e n t l y appear every i s s u e . J i e f a n g , p u b l i s h e d from A p r i l 24, 1937 to June 15, 1941 was a weekly p u b l i c a t i o n . By 1941, due to the growing i n t e n s i t y of the war - the New Fourth Army I n c i d e n t or Anhui I n c i d e n t ( $v|^ \^ ^ ) i n which Red Army troops s u f f e r e d heavy l o s s at the hands of N a t i o n a l i s t government troops during t h e i r withdraw from t h e i r base south of the Y a n g z i ) , i n -cr e a s i n g N a t i o n a l i s t b l o c k a d i n g and Japanese t e r r o r i s m , Mao order-ed the c r e a t i o n of a more complete P a r t y newspaper to supplant the two i n s u f f i c i e n t organs. Thus JFRB served as the CCP mouth-pi e c e i n the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and surrounding areas, while Xinhua Ribao ( Jft^ Jjp" $ ) spoke f o r the Com-munist Party i n Chongqing. The l a t t e r , u n a v a i l a b l e to my knowl-edge, was p u b l i s h e d from January 11, 1938 to March 1, 1947 when i t was c l o s e d down by the Guomindang government. See Zhang J i n g l u , e d i t o r , Zhongguo X i a n d a i Chuban S h i l i a o , volume f o u r . 2 See i n t e r v i e w w i t h Zhou Yang i n Seventies magazine, 104 (September 1978):26-33, as w e l l as the f i r s t note to my t r a n s l a -t i o n of Zhou's J u l y , 1941 a r t i c l e appended to t h i s t h e s i s . 3 The author h e r s e l f t r e a t e d the f i c t i o n a l p o r t r a y a l of women raped by the Japanese (see Ding L i n g , 1956, Yan'an J i ) , so r a t h e r than l a b e l i n g the s u b j e c t i t s e l f taboo, she was only c r i t i -c i z i n g i t s u n f a i r and i n s e n s i t i v e treatment. 4 Ri c h peasants by d e f i n i t i o n t i l l t h e i r own la n d a l b e i t w i t h o u t s i d e help. T h e r e f o r e there i s a c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n the w r i t e r ' s reasoning here. 58 T h i s was no doubt one of the causes f o r l a b e l i n g t h i s a r t i c l e a "poisonous weed" durin g the C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n . 'Gang of Four' c r i t i c i s m i n 1973 l a b e l e d i t an " a n t i - P a r t y dark essay" which " v i c i o u s l y a t t a c k e d the Party l e a d e r s h i p and Yan'an's red p o l i t i c a l power." See Xuexi Mao Zhuxi Wenyi Lunzhu:Fudao C a i l i a o : 6. ^ F r i e d r i c h S c h i l l e r , "On Simple [[Naive] and Sentimental Poetry" i n Essays A e s t h e t i c a l and P h i l o s o p h i c a l , London: George B e l l and Sons, 1916:262-332. 7 The J u l y p i e c e was the only a r t i c l e w r i t t e n by Zhou Yang i n JFRB concerning the s u b j e c t at t h i s time, although i t i s con-c e i v a b l e that r e l a t e d remarks c o u l d have appeared i n one of the l i t e r a r y j o u r n a l s c i r c u l a t i n g around Yan'an. g In the r e c r i t i c i s m of t h i s time p e r i o d during the a n t i -r i g h t i s t campaign of 1957-8, there was a r e f e r e n c e to a p i e c e by t h i s t i t l e as j o i n t l y p u b l i s h e d by Xiao Jun, Luo Feng, and o t h e r s , i n s t i g a t e d by Ding L i n g . See L i n Mohan, 1958:3. The o n l y other r e f e r e n c e to t h i s t i t l e was found l a t e r i n Ding Youguang, 1966, 2:91, where i t was l i s t e d together w i t h the s p r i n g , 1942 b e t t e r -known za wen which w i l l be examined i n Chapter Three of t h i s t h e s i s . g Za wen was by no means l i m i t e d to Yan'an. W r i t e r s i n other p a r t s of China u t i l i z e d the form to make v e i l e d a t t a c k s a g a i n s t Japanese and Guomindang p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l o p p r e s s i o n . For a d i s c u s s i o n of magazines and s e c t i o n s of newspapers devoted to za wen see Wang Yao, 1953, P a r t Two:191-196. 1 0 On February 12, 1942 i n JFRB , the poet A i Qing a l s o v i c i o u s l y a t t a c k e d c r i t i c s f o r being u n o b j e c t i v e and d e c e i t f u l . He wrote that there were very few l i t e r a r y h i s t o r i a n s ; most were only s p e c i a l i s t s i n h i s t o r i c a l anecdotes or legends who d i d n ' t use l i t e r a r y works as b a s i s f o r h i s t o r i c a l m a t e r i a l . He f e l t t hat c r i t i c s were inc a p a b l e of i n t e r p r e t i n g a w r i t e r to the 59 readers i n a f a i t h f u l and comprehensible manner. These outraged a t t a c k s on c r i t i c s may have been exaggerated and u n f a i r i n some cases but p o i n t to the resentment by c e r t a i n w r i t e r s at c r i t i c s f o r t h e i r f a i l u r e to take a p r o f e s s i o n a l a t t i t u d e toward l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m . L i Qun's ( p ) "Meishu p i p i n g j i a yu meishu chuang: ... zuo zhe- c j ^ j fri $f^f% ^M'j yM 1%% ). J ™ . 1941, September 22, p. 4 was w r i t t e n i n response to Hu Man's ( -gjj') "Muqian meishu shang de chuangzuo w e n t i " ( )j! J^j'J ^ J &9 $j f*j -M ), JFRB, 1941, August 28-9, p. 2. See a l s o A i Qing's "Di Y i R i " ( ^ — $ ), JFRB, 1941, August 18, p. 2 f o r a g e n e r a l l y f a v o r a b l e review of the same e x h i b i t i o n . 12 From Wang Shiwei, JFRB, 1942, March 13 and 23, we know that the p r o l i f i c t r a n s l a t o r of M a r x i s t works mer i t e d 'cadre c l o t h e s ' and ' p r i v a t e k i t c h e n . ' As f o r non-Party people, i t was o f f i c i a l p o l i c y to t r e a t them i n a s p e c i a l manner p r e c i s e l y be-cause of t h e i r non-Party s t a t u s as p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the n a t i o n a l s t r u g g l e and p a r t of the u n i t e d f r o n t . 13 Xiao San was a l s o known as Emi Siao, Mao Zedong's o f f i -c i a l b i ographer, author of Mao Zedong Tongzhi de Qingshao Nian  S h i d a i C fx $ ¥} f J i j - ®% AKj ), B e i j i n g : Renmin Chuban She, 19 51. 14 Both of A i Qing's a r t i c l e s w i l l be t r e a t e d again i n the next chapter. His March 11 p i e c e was r e p r i n t e d i n Wenyi Bao, 1958, 2:23-25. / ,. T h i s l e t t e r can be found i n L i Taibo Quan J i 1- ) 4 volumes [36 juan) . B e i j i n g : Zhonghua Shuju, 1957 , volume three (Juan 26:17b-19a) 16 See Anonymous, JFRB, 1941 B. On September 11 i t was announced that the paper would be expanding from two to fo u r pages as of September 16 and from that day on, the l i t e r a t u r e 60 s e c t i o n was known as "Wen Y i . " Numbered by i s s u e , i t always appeared on page f o u r , u n t i l A p r i l 1, 1942 when i t was d i s c o n t i n -ued as a separate s e c t i o n . At the meeting c a l l e d by Ding L i n g , people d i s c u s s e d the "v a r i o u s e d i t o r i a l problems a n t i c i p a t e d by the coming expansion of the paper" and how i t would a f f e c t the area under her c o n t r o l . L i s t e d as present were Bai Lang (^t/J:J), Shu Qun C ^ ^ f )> L i u B a i 7 u ^ 3 ? ), Chen Huangmei (jf^7 ^ ), Luo Feng (j§ ), Xiao San ( "Jf 3 - ) , J i a n g Feng ( S I ^ ), A i Qing ( X -% )> Wu X i r u ( ^  j£ ) , Wei Dong-niing ( i f % 4 )> L i u Xuewei ( ' J If -|" ), A i S i q i (^ )g, ) , Zhou Yang, Cao Baohua ( ^ ) , Ouyang Shan ( j ^ , J.; ), Cao Ming ( B f y ). Those who gave speeches were A i Qing, Xiao San, Wei Dongming, Zhou Yang, Chen Huangmei, and A i S i q i . 17 The r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement a g a i n s t "formulism" and "sub-j e c t i v i s m " ".was not f o r m a l l y launched u n t i l February, 1942 , but r e f e r e n c e s to these problems were made i n Mao Zedong's "Reform Our Study" i n May of 1941 and subsequent page-one e d i t o r i a l s i n JFRB. 18 In "Reform Our Study", Mao d e f i n e d the s u b j e c t i v i s t a t t i t u d e as studying M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t theory " i n the a b s t r a c t and without any aim... to study theory p u r e l y f o r theory's sake..." to work "by sheer s u b j e c t i v e enthusiasm" r a t h e r than making a "systematic and thorough study of the environment." (Mao Zedong, 1941:920/English:21) " Z a i Yiyuan Zhong S h i " ( ) was o r i g -i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d i n the now l o s t Yan'an j o u r n a l Gu Yu ( ), f i r s t i s s u e . A r e v i s e d v e r s i o n of the s t o r y appeared i n the Chongqing j o u r n a l Wenyi Zhendi, August 25, 1942, as " Z a i Yiyuan Zhong", the t i t l e changed by the author. I t seems that the r e -v i s i o n was not d r a s t i c a c cording to the l a c k of d i f f e r e n c e i n d e t a i l s d e s c r i b e d by c r i t i c i s m s of the o r i g i n a l and r e v i s e d v e r s i o n s . The s t o r y has been r e p r i n t e d i n Wenyi Bao, 1958, 2: 11-16, ac c o r d i n g to the r e v i s e d t e x t . 61 2 0 The c r i t i c here in t r o d u c e d readers to p i e c e s from three new l i t e r a r y j o u r n a l s - Gu Yu, put out by the Yan'an Branch^of the A l l - C h i n a W r i t e r s ' A n t i - A g g r e s s i o n A s s o c i a t i o n , Cao Ye( J ^ - - ^ T ) , put out by the Cao Ye S o c i e t y of the Lu Xun Academy of A r t s , and Shi Kan ( "^f-f" -^"|J ), organ of the Shi Kan S o c i e t y . L i u Xuewei commented that although the j o u r n a l s were ve r y t h i n , s t i l l they o f f e r e d more l i t e r a r y reading m a t e r i a l than h a d . p r e v i o u s l y e x i s t -ed i n Yan'an. Ding L i n g confirmed the l a c k of l i t e r a r y j o u r n a l s up u n t i l the p u b l i c a t i o n of these three new organs. On March 12, 1942, i n JFRB, she wrote that one year before her w r i t i n g , i . e . , March, 1941, the only l i t e r a r y magazine e x i s t i n g i n Yan'an was Wenyi Yuebao ( 5^  ^ $ <f$- ) • I f seems that there were other magazines before t h i s time, but that they had stopped p u b l i c a t i o n , e.g. , Dashong Wenyi ( j\_ ) , the r e v i s e d v e r s i o n of Wenyi T u j i ( ^ ^ f ' ^ ) , p u b l i s h e d from around 1938 u n t i l January, 1941, and Zhongguo Wenhua ( y ^ )> p u b l i s h e d from February 15, 1940 u n t i l ( ? ) . 21 There i s a c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n the reasoning of t h i s c r i t -i c i s m . Although Ding Ling was blamed f o r f o c u s i n g on the unique r a t h e r than the t y p i c a l s i t u a t i o n , the c r i t i c at the same time cautioned her that she was w r i t i n g about a CCP member, "not j u s t an o r d i n a r y person", a CCP e n t e r p r i s e , and not j u s t any e n t e r p r i s e . 22 There i s evidence t h a t the tendency to support the ex-posure of darkness i n Borden Region l i f e was i n d i r e c t l y condoned as e a r l y as 1939 and d i r e c t l y endorsed by the CCP as l a t e as Feb-ruary, 1942. In Wenyi Zhendi, a l e a d i n g l i t e r a r y magazine e d i t e d by Mao Dun i n Chongqing a Huang Sheng wrote t h i s before commenting on short s t o r i e s by Shu Qun and Ding L i n g which t r e a t e d dark themes: When d e s c r i b i n g a v i c t o r i o u s b a t t l e , l i t e r a r y and a r t workers might as w e l l i n d i c a t e the b a t t l e ' s r e a l and p o s s i b l e f a i l u r e s i n s t r a t -egy and i n p o l i t i c a l work; when d e s c r i b i n g a hero of the n a t i o n a l l i b e r a t i o n s t r u g g l e , they might as w e l l i n d i c a t e the bad p o i n t s and backwardness that he r e a l l y has and might have; 62 moreover they should d i r e c t t h e i r l i n e of v i s i o n to p l a c e s of darkness, enter d e s o l a t e s t r e e t s and mean a l l e y s and take a look at the p a l l i d n e s s and s u f f e r i n g of f l i c k e r i n g ghost shadows and hanging corpses; they should d e p i c t p i c t u r e s of the c r u e l -ty and darkness of the war p e r i o d i n order to make people take guard... The s a t i r i z a t i o n and exposure of dark aspects can a c c e l e r a t e the reform of weak-p o i n t s i n the m i l i t a r y and p o l i t i c a l areas, ad-vance a t t e n t i o n given to the improvement of the people's l i v e l i h o o d , and c o r r e c t the shallow i l l u s i o n s of the o p t i m i s t s who see the white but never the b l a c k ; t h i s k i n d of l i t e r a t u r e and a r t work has r i c h e d u c a t i o n a l s i g n i f i c a n c e , and the s i t u a t i o n at present demands the f u l l develop-ment of l i t e r a t u r e and a r t of an e d u c a t i o n a l nature, t h e r e f o r e i t ought to r e c e i v e h i g h ap-p r a i s a l . (Huang Sheng, 1939:707) D i r e c t endorsements from the Party to expose "dark s p o t s " i n Yan'an l i f e were r a r e but as l a t e as February 21, 1942, Mao h i m s e l f openly supported such exposure. On t h a t day, JFRB r e -ported of Mao's p r a i s e f o r a s a t i r i c a l cartoon e x h i b i t i o n h e l d i n Yan'an from February 15 to 17. The e x h i b i t i o n was sponsored by the A r t A s s o c i a t i o n (Meishu X i e h u i J^^'j' ^) ) and f e a -t ured works which s a t i r i z e d bureaucratism, among other u n d e s i r a -b l e tendencies l e f t o v e r from the o l d s o c i e t y . Mao was r e p o r t e d to have endorsed the e x h i b i t i o n , and the press p r i n t e d many pi e c e s which p r a i s e d the c r i t i c a l s p i r i t of the a r t i s t s and ex-pressed the need f o r f u r t h e r exposure of the dark aspects of Border Region l i f e . Thus i t i s probable that the authors of the c r i t i c a l essays, most of which appeared i n JFRB i n mid-March, b e l i e v e d at the time of w r i t i n g that they had the support of Mao Zedong h i m s e l f i n t h e i r a t t a c k a g a i n s t dark elements i n the Communist base. (See David Holm, 1978, p. 3-4) 23 In 1957, Wang L i a o y i n g was u n m e r c i f u l . See Wenyi Bao, 1957, 25. For other c r i t i c i s m s of the s t o r y see Zhang Guangnian ( -£j ) Wenyi Bao, 1958, 2:9-16; Yao Wenyuan {Mfa K / O ) , Wenyi Yuebao, 1958, 3:79-83. M. Goldman, (1967:23) w r i t e s that there were meetings h e l d to c r i t i c i z e t h i s s t o r y but she o f f e r s no source f o r her i n f o r m a t i o n , and I have been unable to l o c a t e a r e f e r e n c e to such meetings. 64 CHAPTER THREE: FEBRUARY TO MAY: FROM THE FORMAL LAUNCHING OF THE ZHENG FENG MOVEMENT TO MAO'S "TALKS" A. The R e c t i f i c a t i o n C a l l On February 1, 1942, i n " R e c t i f y the P a r t y ' s S t y l e of Work" C " ^ ^ ^ MJ , V £ jij , <L $L "') Mao Zedong d e l i n e a t e d the three f r o n t s which were to be the formal o b j e c t of P a r t y r e c t i f i -c a t i o n i n the f o l l o w i n g few y e a r s . He asked f o r the e l i m i n a t i o n of " s u b j e c t i v i s m " ( j£. %jjr\j % Jjfy ) i n s t y l e of study, " s e c t a r i -anism" ( 'JV\^ X- Jfc ) i n s t y l e of P a r t y r e l a t i o n s , and " s t e r -eotyped P a r t y w r i t i n g " ( \ ^ / \ ) i n s t y l e of w r i t i n g . By s u b j e c t i v i s m , he meant the tendency to adopt a b s t r a c t M a r x i s t theory without knowing how to c o n c r e t e l y apply i t to China's spe-c i f i c problems.''' A t t a c k i n g students r e t u r n e d from abroad w i t h book knowledge of r e v o l u t i o n a r y theory, but w i t h no idea of how to apply i t to l o c a l h i s t o r i c a l problems and c o n d i t i o n s of which they were i g n o r a n t , he was condemning the Wang Ming ( ) c l i q u e r e t u r n e d from the Soviet' Union i n the e a r l y t h i r t i e s , w i t h whom Mao had c l a s h e d and emerged v i c t o r i o u s . By s e c t a r i a n i s m , he r e f e r r e d to "independence" C S* i f ^ - ) w i t h i n the P a r t y , ^ and admonished those Party members who tended to a l i e n a t e non-Party people, as w e l l as those who adhered to c l i q u i s h l e a n i n g s w i t h i n the Party. Such l e a n i n g s were evident from c o n f l i c t s between veterans of the Long March and new urban i n t e l l e c t u a l s , and a l s o between l o c a l cadres and the o u t s i d e r s from the c i t i e s . On February 8, Mao e l a b o r a t e d on what he meant by " s t e r e o -typed P a r t y w r i t i n g " i n "Oppose Stereotyped P a r t y W r i t i n g " (" 1%^ He e x p l a i n e d that although the May Fourth Movement s u c c e s s f u l l y exposed the o l d s t e r e o t y p e d w r i t i n g and o l d dogma, f o r e i g n s t e r e o t y p e d w r i t i n g and dogma rose up i n i t s place, so that some people i n the P a r t y were g u i l t y of p e r p e t u a t i n g f o r -m u l i s t i c w r i t i n g a l b e i t i n a new s t y l e based on f o r e i g n models. This a n a l y s i s , i t should be noted, had been o f f e r e d by Qu Qiubai ten years e a r l i e r (Qu Q i u b a i , 1932). But Mao here was d i r e c t i n g h i s argument a g a i n s t Party essay w r i t i n g , w hile Qu had focused on c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g . Mao, too, gave much more c r e d i t to the s i g n i f i c a n t v i c t o r i e s of the May F o u r t h Movement, while Qu almost r e f u s e d to r e c o g n i z e the p o s i t i v e accomplishments of t h a t p e r i o d , c o n c e n t r a t i n g r a t h e r on i t s harmful a f t e r e f f e c t s . Mao then d e f i n e d e i g h t p o i n t s of d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h P a r t y w r i t i n g , which we w i l l b r i e f l y o u t l i n e i n l i g h t of t h e i r s i m u l -taneous a p p l i c a t i o n to c r e a t i v e and c r i t i c a l w r i t i n g which i n t e r -e sts us here. The f i r s t indictment was t h a t Party w r i t i n g was long-winded and empty, and t h a t - e x c e s s i v e l y long a r t i c l e s would a l i e n a t e the masses. I t should be remembered that although we saw the same c r i t i c i s m of c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g i n JFRB, nowhere was the n e g a t i v e e f f e c t of a l i e n a t i n g the masses from reading such works s p e c i f i -c a l l y c i t e d as a s t r i k e again-sit them. Long-winded w r i t i n g w i t h no content was l a b e l e d d u l l and i n e f f e c t i v e , but there d i d not seem to be an e x p l i c i t concern that i t would prevent the masses from understanding i t . A more accurate r e a d i n g of the word "masses" used by Mao here would be " c a d r e s % a s s e s " (the s o - c a l l e d advanced elements of the masses), s i n c e i t i s d o u b t f u l that the o r d i n a r y people were a c t u a l l y capable of reading p o l i t i c a l a r t i -66 c l e s at t h i s time, nor f o r that matter c r e a t i v e and c r i t i c a l w r i t -3 ing found i n the general newspapers and magazines. The second indictment was•directed a g a i n s t r e l y i n g on p r e t e n -t i o u s n e s s to i n t i m i d a t e others when w r i t i n g a r t i c l e s and making speeches. Terms such as " r u t h l e s s s t r u g g l e " and " m e r c i l e s s blows" should o n l y be used a g a i n s t the enemy, but never a g a i n s t those i n 4 the Communist camp. No t i c e here the o f f i c i a l r e c o g n i t i o n and d e n u n c i a t i o n of c r i t i c i s m w i t h i n the ranks, one month be f o r e the appearance i n JFRB of the infamous " d i s s i d e n t " essays authored by l i t e r a r y p e r s o n a l i t i e s , although as we w i l l see below, i t i s pos-i s i b l e t h a t here Mao was not n e c e s s a r i l y denouncing such " d i s s i d e n t * v o i c e s at a l l . The t h i r d indictment was a g a i n s t P a r t y w r i t i n g and speeches which d i d not take the l e v e l of understanding of the audience i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n . Here Mao was again concerned w i t h the l a c k of i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o the.needs of a mass audience. The d e f i n i -t i v e l a c k of a t t e n t i o n given to the same p o i n t i n the l i t e r a r y world would j u s t i f y h i s worry. The f o u r t h indictment was a g a i n s t the use of drab, monoto-. nous language which bored the masses. Mao requested the absorp-t i o n of language from three sources: F i r s t he asked i n t e l l e c t u a l s to study the l i v e l y language of the masses and i n c o r p o r a t e i t i n t o t h e i r w r i t i n g and speeches. Second, he allowed f o r the as-s i m i l a t i o n of "what i s good and s u i t s our needs" from f o r e i g n languages. Here he had i n mind p o l i t i c a l , s c i e n t i f i c , and a r t i s -t i c modern expressions which had no r o o t s i n the Chinese language. T h i r d , he demanded " f u l l and proper use of what i s s t i l l a l i v e i n the c l a s s i c a l Chinese language." Qu Qiubai had advocated the 67 same mixture of sources, although he was more wary of adopting anything from the c l a s s i c a l language. The f i f t h i n d i c tment, a p p l i c a b l e to o n l y p o l i t i c a l essays, was a g a i n s t the f o r m u l i s t i c arrangement of items i n an essay which aimed to be s c i e n t i f i c and methodical, but i n r e a l i t y made l i t t l e sense and o n l y served to confuse the reader. Headings making use of b i g and small Chinese numerals, the ten c e l e s t i a l stems and twelve e a r t h l y branches, c a p i t a l and small ABCD, and then A r a b i c numerals, were i n need of s i m p l i f i c a t i o n . The s i x t h indictment was a g a i n s t i r r e s p o n s i b l e w r i t i n g . T h i s r epresented an a t t i t u d e which we saw was p r e v a l e n t i n c r e a -t i v e w r i t i n g as w e l l . Mao wrote that many people dashed o f f essays i n a c a s u a l manner, without p r i o r study or p r e p a r a t i o n , •, •-and then sent them o f f to be p u b l i s h e d without c a r e f u l r e r e a d i n g . A l l of these mistakes, he warned, were the r e s u l t of imma-t u r i t y and/or i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , and would "poison the whole P a r t y and j e o p a r d i z e the r e v o l u t i o n " ( t h i s was the seventh i n d i c t m e n t ) , while t h e i r spread would "wreck the country and r u i n the people." C t h i s was the eighth) By quoting Lu Xun's r e p l y to the magazine • The Dipper ^ j " ) i n which the r e s p e c t e d w r i t e r o u t l i n e d s i m i l a r words of advice to w r i t e r s , i t was obvious that Mao was a f t e r a l l extending h i s c r i t i c i s m to a l l w r i t i n g by P a r t y members, a n d n o t o n l y p b o p o l i t i c a l ^essays'- a n d speeches." ' L a s t l y , he f e l t the need t o c i t e from h i s 1938 speech c a l l i n g f o r the use of n a t i o n a l forms and the a b o l i t i o n of f o r e i g n s t e r e o t y p e s and dogmatism, i n d i c a t i n g that these i n s t r u c t i o n s of f o u r years e a r l i e r had not y e t been put i n t o p r a c t i c e . We saw that indictments one, two, t h r e e , f o u r , and s i x 68 a p p l i e d e q u a l l y as w e l l to c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g as to p u r e l y p o l i t i c a l l i t e r a t u r e . Yet o n l y the. f i r s t , long-winded empty w r i t i n g , and the s i x t h , i r r e s p o n s i b l e w r i t i n g , had been c r i t i c i z e d s e v e r e l y among w r i t e r s themselves. There seemed to be a conspicuous l a c k of concern over adapting t h e i r w r i t i n g s t y l e and language to a l e v e l the "masses" (even the l o c a l cadres) would understand. Thus we do not f i n d i t s u r p r i s i n g that there was f r i c t i o n among i the ranks, or as Mao termed i t , " s e c t a r i a n i s m " , as there was l i t t l e mutual understanding between the urban i n t e l l e c t u a l c u l -ture workers and w r i t e r s and the l o c a l l y appointed "advanced elements of the masses", i . e . the cadres. Mao's i n j u n c t i o n not to i n t i m i d a t e those i n one's own camp was most s i g n i f i c a n t i n that i t l e f t open to i n t e r p r e t a t i o n the p r e c i s e focus of the c r i t i c i s m , which the P a r t y had i n mind. A l -though Ding Ling seems to have been addressing one and the same problem on October 23,^ i . e . , the need f o r t o l e r a n c e and p a t i e n c e towards those of d i f f e r e n t viewpoints w i t h i n the CCP, i t w i l l become apparent that by l a t e March, the P a r t y w i l l no longer agree with Ding Ling's idea of what elements should be the aim of zheng feng reforms.. She and her " d i s s i d e n t " c o l l e a g u e s f e l t that they were worthy members of the CCP camp, and as such, had the r i g h t to c r i t i c i z e t h e i r own ranks f o r the sake of advancing the r e v o l u t i o n a r y cause. When Ding Ling spoke of c r i t i c i s m i n October, she was addressing i t from two angles. F i r s t , she was r e q u e s t i n g an end to P a r t y c r i t i c i s m of those (such as h e r s e l f ) who o p i n i o n s diverged from the m a j o r i t y , and second, she hoped to j u s t i f y the need f o r c r i t i c i s m of the inner ranks f o r the sake of an u l t i m a t e l y more u n i f i e d and p r o g r e s s i v e P a r t y . 69 When Mao spoke of c r i t i c i s m i n i t s more extreme form as " i n t i m i d a t i o n " i n February, i t seems that he too c o u l d have been o r d e r i n g an end to i n t o l e r a n c e on the p a r t of c e r t a i n elements w i t h i n the CCP to those (such as Ding Ling) w i t h d i f f e r e n t o p i n -i o n s , thereby s a n c t i o n i n g c r i t i c i s m w i t h i n the ranks. Yet at the same time, h i s words co u l d a l s o be i n t e r p r e t a t e d as a s i g n a l f o r w r i t e r s such as Ding Ling and Luo Feng (see note 4 above) not to c r i t i c i z e those who " o c c a s i o n a l l y make mistakes", the l a t -t e r being the l a z y elements r e f e r r e d to by Luo Feng, i . e . , the " o l d cadres" c i t e d by David Holm. Thus i n February i t was am-biguous which group was considered by Mao d e s e r v i n g of c r i t i c i s m . By the end of March, however, we w i l l see that Mao was no longer i n f a v o r of a l l o w i n g c r i t i c i s m on the p a r t of i n t e l l e c t u a l s a g a i n s t the CCP camp, and that i t w i l l be the w r i t e r s , not the " l a z y " , " i n t o l e r a n t " " o l d cadres" who w i l l be c a s t i g a t e d f o r t r e s p a s s i n g the bounds of zheng feng c r i t i c i s m , and who w i l l ac-t u a l l y become the t a r g e t of r e c t i f i c a t i o n themselves. B. W r i t e r s ' Response How were the w r i t e r s to respond to Mao's February f i r s t and e i g h t h speeches suggesting o f f i c i a l support f o r r a d i c a l changes i n the p o l i t i c a l , academic, and l i t e r a r y worlds? With the en-couragement of Ding Ling through her column "Wen Y i " , people i n the l i t e r a r y world spoke out on p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l , and o n l y some-times l i t e r a r y r e l a t i o n s , and there i s no q u e s t i o n that t h e i r aim was to s t i r up l i v e l y d i s c u s s i o n w i t h i n the Communist ranks, d i s -c u s s i o n which they hoped would be i n s p i r e d by the reform movement. 70 T h e i r comments were s i n c e r e , h i t t e r , and at times u n s p a r i n g l y c r i t i c a l . A l l sought to get to the Bottom of some of the r e a l sources of c o n t e n t i o n at hand, even i f to the detriment of P a r t y s o l i d a r i t y . S i x t e e n years l a t e r , as p a r t of the a n t i - r i g h t i s t campaign, the authors of these essays would be denounced f o r j u s t t h i s l a s t p o i n t - that i s , f o r f a i l i n g to keep i n mind the impor-tance of Party s o l i d a r i t y at t h i s time, and even f o r c o n s c i o u s l y attempting to undermine i t . The f i v e most s t u d i e d " d i s s i d e n t " essays are as f o l l o w s : /c/< > -Xi "Thoughts on March E i g h t h " (" j£- ) \ / p j fa^ ") by Ding L i n g p r i n t e d on March 9; "Understand W r i t e r s , Respect W r i t e r s " (" Kl-JfV ff\ ^ ^ ' % "J" ^ ") b y A i Q i n § > March 11; " S t i l l the Age of Za Wen" (" ^ ^ ^ £ ^ Sf ") by Luo Feng, March 12; "Wild L i l y " {" fj' g 4?~ X[j ") by Wang Shiwei, March 13 and 23; and "On 'Love' and 'Patience' among Comrades" (" ^j] f$ \%f]f ") by Xiao Jun, A p r i l 8. These p i e c e s are no doubt more famous than others which w i l l be examined below due to the systematic r e p r i n t i n g and r e c r i t i c i s m of them during the a n t i - r i g h t i s t movement i n 1958. Since Wenyi Bao, 1958 , 2 , devoted most of one i s s u e to d i s c u s s i o n of these f i v e a r t i c l e s , secondary works i n E n g l i s h and Chinese have tended to s t i c k to comments on these p i e c e s alone due to t h e i r a c c e s s i b i l i t y . Below we w i l l look i n t o these f i v e essays as w e l l as others which were 7 never s i n g l e d out f o r c r i t i c i s m , e i t h e r i n 1942 or i n 1958. On February 12, the poet A i Qing, as we d i s c u s s e d e a r l i e r , had d e f i n e d the s p e c i a l q u a l i t i e s of l i t e r a t u r e i n an essay which served as a k i n d of p r e f a c e to h i s March a r t i c l e . (JFRB, 1942 A) Here i t i s r e l e v a n t to add that he a l s o wrote that preaching i n 71 literature--was-, u n n a t u r a l , a f f e c t e d , and h y p o c r i t i c a l , and that a w r i t e r could not produce a good work without pure f e e l i n g s . Any a r t i s t w i t h a conscience, he s a i d , could d i s t i n g u i s h between pure, r e a l works of a r t , and h y p o c r i t i c a l manufactured products. He advocated s i m p l i c i t y ' i n w r i t i n g - an innocent nakedness as opposed to f a l s e ornamentation. The poet b l a s t e d the c r i t i c s as we saw e a r l i e r and reasoned that bad l i t e r a t u r e was allowed on the market because w r i t e r s , c r i t i c s , and e d i t o r s were not s a t i s f a c t o -r i l y f u l f i l l i n g t h e i r d u t i e s by r e c o g n i z i n g and s i f t i n g out the good from the bad. His l a s t p o i n t was d e l i v e r e d w i t h the i n t e n t of exposing "formulism" among c r i t i c s - a tendency to judge works by narrow p o l i t i c a l standards which only served to r e f l e c t the l a c k of more deeply and c o n c r e t e l y a p p l i e d p o l i t i c a l and a r t i s t i c standards on the part of the c r i t i c : The superior t h e o r i s t w i l l not judge a work by the d i f f e r e n c e i n c l a s s adopted as thematic m a t e r i a l , but w i l l r a t h e r judge i t by the t r u t h of each c l a s s r e f l e c t e d i n the work and the l e v e l of c o n t r a d i c t i o n Tin the w r i t i n g ] w h i c h e x i s t s between these c l a s s e s . His attack on "preaching" and " h y p o c r i t i c a l " w r i t i n g , and l a s t l y , on c r i t e r i a f o r l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m , smacked of a b r u t a l d i s t a s t e f o r what were becoming common standards of l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y and c r i t i c i s m . Since he was t e r r i b l y defensive of s i o n , one might at f i r s t glance place A i Qing as an advocate of the "expressive" tendency of w r i t i n g , "poetry expressing the the l a t t e r of whose everpresent "preaching" he would consider the w r i t e r ' s i n d i v i d u a l need to be f a i t h f u l to h i s own expres-) rather than the "pragmatic" ten.-dency, " l i t e r a t u r e as a v e h i c l e f o r the Way" 72 h y p o c r i t i c a l and unnatural i n a piece of l i t e r a t u r e . I f we c a r r y t h i s assumption f u r t h e r , i t would seem that he'd be against the use of l i t e r a t u r e as a t o o l f o r war propaganda. Yet i n h i s March essay he w i l l s t a t e very e x p l i c i t l y that l i t e r a t u r e does have a r o l e fdn s o c i a l reform and can be e f f e c t i v e l y used as a psycholog-i c a l f o r c e against the enemy. In f a c t , h i s extremely emotional poems w r i t t e n at t h i s time were f u l l of war message."^ The w r i t -er's d e s i r e f o r honest s e l f - e x p r e s s i o n , then, d i d not n e c e s s a r i l y come i n t o c o n f l i c t w i t h the Party's c a l l f o r war propaganda, and t h i s i s an important p o i n t to keep i n mind when reading Western-o r i e n t e d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of A i Qing's (and others') p l e a f o r freedom of i n d i v i d u a l a r t i s t i c expression. What A i Qing was demanding was the freedom to create wartime r e v o l u t i o n a r y l i t e r -ature (or poetry i n h i s case) i n h i s own s t y l e , f a i t h f u l to h i s own v i s i o n s . He d i d not regard h i s own v i s i o n as being automati-c a l l y i n c o n f l i c t w i t h that of the Party. In March he defined the purpose of l i t e r a t u r e as the f o l l o w -in g : "The purpose of a poem, a piece of f i c t i o n , or a p l a y , i s e i t h e r to make a race or c l a s s s c r u t i n i z e i t s e l f , or to r a i s e i t s self'-respect, or to increase i t s p s y c h o l o g i c a l strength against the enemy." (JFRB, 1942 B) This was an accepted assump-t i o n among Communist r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s , but then he went on to q u a l i f y the s p e c i a l r o l e of l i t e r a t u r e as a s p i r i t u a l s o l u t i o n to man's e x i s t e n t i a l questions, as we observed e a r l i e r . ^ This was a b l a t a n t step outside the realm of M a r x i s t d o c t r i n e which would consider such metaphysical queries as interconnected w i t h man's economic needs. Since man himself i s capable of s o l v i n g these l a t t e r more fundamental requirements of l i f e , the s o l u t i o n 73 to such e x i s t e n t i a l questions as "Why do we l i v e ? " would not be viewed by M a r x i s t s as l y i n g beyond the scope of M a r x i s t i d e o l o g y . A i Qing d i d not o f f e r a r e s o l u t i o n to the c o n t r a d i c t i o n between h i s b e l i e f i n both .the m a t e r i a l i s t and s p i r i t u a l f u n c t i o n s of l i t e r a t u r e . Because.of t h i s , h i s views have been prone to mis-i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . Both P r o f e s s o r s Fokkema and Goldman have i n a c c u -r a t e l y i n t e r p r e t e d the poet's ideas as conforming to an " a r t a-bove p o l i t i c s " or " a r t versus p o l i t i c s " framework,, when i n f a c t A i Qing s t r o n g l y a f f i r m e d the p o l i t i c a l nature of l i t e r a t u r e by h i s very d e f i n i t i o n of i t s s o c i a l v a l u e . His w r i t i n g was very much i n s p i r e d by r e v o l u t i o n a r y p o l i t i c s and thus can not be taken s e p a r a t e l y from i t . Again, being true to one's own f e e l i n g s does not n e c e s s a r i l y imply a d i v i s i o n from p o l i t i c s , which i n China, i s not p e r c e i v e d as a separate e n t i t y , from l i t e r a t u r e , but r a t h e r the b a s i s f o r i t . In the remainder of A i Qing's March essay, he p r a i s e d the w r i t e r as a dear p o s s e s s i o n to be c h e r i s h e d by h i s n a t i o n as i t s l i t e r a r y spokesman, maintained that l i t e r a r y works were supposed to s t i r l i v e l y c r i t i c i s m , and addressed the same i s s u e as had Luo Feng and Ding L i n g , namely that darkness s t i l l e x i s t e d i n Yan'an and that the s i t u a t i o n was hopeless u n l e s s people would be w i l l i n g to face up to the " d i s e a s e " which needed c u r i n g : He who hopes w r i t e r s can, through w r i t i n g , transform ringworm i n t o flowers and b o i l s i n t o flowerbuds, i s he who has the l e a s t promise - because he doesn't even have the courage to look at h i s own u g l i n e s s , how a l l the harder to get him to c h a n g e . ^ 0h ; March 9, Ding L i n g exposed the hidden darkness s t i l l p r e v a i l i n g i n a t t i t u d e s towards women i n Yan'an. W r i t t e n i n honor of I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day, "Thoughts on March E i g h t h " had nothing to do. w i t h l i t e r a t u r e , but was a s e r i o u s indictment of the di s c r e p a n c y between theory and p r a c t i c e i n the treatment of women i n the Red Bases on the p a r t of both men and other women. 14 [JFRB, 1942 A) Her essay was very much i n l i n e w i t h her October c a l l f o r the use of za wen as w e l l as her short s t o r y "In the H o s p i t a l " w r i t t e n a few months a f t e r that c a l l . T.A. Hsia wrote that her a r t i c l e "saw no hope f o r women i n s o - c a l l e d L i b e r a t e d Areas u n l e s s men would agree to reform themselves." (T.A. H s i a , 1968:251) However, the problem l a y e q u a l l y to blame on women as she saw i t : "Moreover, a l l kinds of women comrades are o f t e n the ta r g e t of deserved c r i t i c i s m . In my view these reproaches are se r i o u s and j u s t i f i a b l e . . . I hope t h a t men, e s p e c i a l l y those i n top p o s i t i o n s , and women themselves w i l l c o n s i d e r the mistakes women commit i n t h e i r s o c i a l c o n text... But we must a l s o hope f o r 15 a l i t t l e more from our women comrades, e s p e c i a l l y those i n Yan'an." It should a l s o be noted t h a t she was not without hope: Happiness i s to take up the s t r u g g l e i n the midst of the ra g i n g storm and not to p l u c k the l u t e i n the moonlight or r e c i t e p o e t r y among the blossoms... Those who have aims and ambitions f o r the b e n e f i t not of the i n d i v i d u a l but of mankind as a whole can pe r s e r v e r e to the end. These are h a r d l y the words of a p e s s i m i s t , as her l a t e r c r i t i c s l a b e l e d her. As to the s i g n i f i c a n c e o f such an exposure, Hsia wrote that the essay " i s only a p l e a from the weak to the s t r o n g . " (T.A. H s i a , 1968:281) T h i s , I b e l i e v e , i s assuming too much n a i v e t y on the p a r t of the author. Ding L i n g was, a f t e r a l l , e d i t o r of "Wen Y i " ; "She made an outsta n d i n g name f o r h e r s e l f i n 75 Yan'an... f o r her propaganda and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s . Her words c a r r i e d great weight i n many c i r c l e s and she was d e s c r i b e d by those who met her at t h i s time as a person of n a t u r a l command and l e a d e r s h i p . " (M. Goldman, 1967:22) Such a condemnation of the dark aspects of Yan'an on the p a r t of a Pa r t y member, l i t e r a r y e d i t o r of JFRB, and w e l l - r e s p e c t e d a c t i v e c u l t u r a l worker, was not taken l i g h t l y . Ding L i n g would soon be f o r c e d to step down from her p o s i t i o n as e d i t o r of "Wen Y i " , no doubt because of the tremendous i n f l u e n c e she and her l i t e r a t u r e page exerted over young readers and w r i t e r s . Ding Ling's za wen was p r i n t e d only two days before the 100th a n n i v e r s a r y of "Wenyi" i n JFRB. From March 11 to 13 three s p e c i a l e d i t i o n s of - the l i t e r a t u r e s e c t i o n were devoted to com-memoration of the column's 100th i s s u e , and Ding L i n g took advan-tage of such an oc c a s i o n to request c o n t r i b u t o r s to assess the progress of the column s i n c e i t s b i r t h and comment on the l i t e r -ary scene i n g e n e r a l . The o c c a s i o n , i n - ' e f f e c t , a f f o r d e d the op p o r t u n i t y f o r w r i t e r s to f o r c e f u l l y speak out on i s s u e s pre-v i o u s l y hidden from the view of the r e a d e r s h i p . These three days, i n f a c t , formed the c u l m i n a t i o n of d i s s e n t i n Yan'an i n 1942, and on the b a s i s of the timing and choice of p u b l i s h e d a r t i c l e s , Ding Li n g as e d i t o r was l a t e r accused of c o n s c i o u s l y o r g a n i z i n g her co l l e a g u e s to s t r i k e i n unison a g a i n s t the inn e r ranks of the Party. The za - wen which appeared during these days (of which on l y A i Qing's r e a l l y concerned l i t e r a t u r e ) formed the spearhead of more i s o l a t e d attempts a l r e a d y made e a r l i e r by Luo Feng (Septem-ber) and Ding L i n g (October) to expose some of the more unpleas-ant r e a l i t i e s u n d e r l y i n g e x t e r n a l peace i n Yan'an. Besides za 76 wen, other comments appeared i n these three s p e c i a l issues,, r e -marks which d e a l t more s p e c i f i c a l l y w i t h the l i t e r a t u r e column and the d i s u n i t y i n the l i t e r a r y world. A l l seemed to express the honest concerns of people i n the c u l t u r a l world hoping to at l a s t get to the core of the matter i n the s p i r i t of the comment made by Luo Feng back i n September that "Having s u r f a c e peace and u n i t y w i t h no b a s i s i n r e a l i t y i s l i k e b u i l d i n g a f o u n d a t i o n on top of s a n d . " ^ On March 11 A i Qing had made h i s p l e a f o r the r i g h t s of the a r t i s t w h i le u r g i n g f o r the r e c o g n i t i o n of the need to reform s t i l l - e x i s t i n g i l l s i n Yan'an. The next day, i n much the same tone and abstruse s t y l e of h i s September za wen, Luo Feng, i n " S t i l l the Age of Za Wen" d e s c r i b e d two types of people i n Yan'an who r e v e l e d i n the " c l a i m that the old-fashioned.. ideas ^ and forms of behavior handed down across the m i l l e n i a are not easy to uproot at one go." R e f e r r i n g to government leaders.' and cadres he wrote: C e r t a i n c l e v e r gentlemen e x p l o i t the gap opened up by t h i s theory as a b o l t - h o l e i n which to indulge themselves, h a p p i l y wallowing and submerging l i k e p i g s i n a s t i n k i n g p o o l of mud. Since they them-se l v e s are not a f r a i d of g e t t i n g d i r t y , they see nothing wrong w i t h smearing passers-by... Then there i s the other s o r t of person who, although he hides i n the same h o l e , i s always bandying phrases •-• around and making d a z z i n g l y b r i l l i a n t speeches. I t would never occur to n a t u r a l i n t e l l i g e n c e t h at i n s i d e t h a t l u s t r o u s and armoured s h e l l there hides a lump of bone-l e s s , s l u g g a r d l y , timorous flesh.', 7 Luo Feng urged that the o b s t a c l e s to progress be brought out i n t o the open and s t a t e d b l u n t l y that the " t h i c k f o g " capable of ob-•7.7 s c u r i n g one's v i s i o n appeared not only i n Chongqing, but i n Yan'an as w e l l . He accused r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s of not p r a c t i c i n g what they preached, but of hanging round t h e i r necks signs of " v i g i l a n c e " which were u s e l e s s when they were heading the wrong way and only served to misguide those f o l l o w i n g behind them. The Manchurian w r i t e r r e a s s e r t e d Ding Ling's p l e a of October f o r the r e v i v a l of za wen, but f e l t t h a t her own attempt through the l i t -e r a t u r e column la c k e d f o r c e . He ended on the hope that "the c o l -umn w i l l be transformed i n t o a dagger to make men tremble w i t h f e a r , and at the same time gladden them." " S t i l l the Age of Za Wen" s t r u c k deeper and higher up than "An Essay Not Basted Together". As i n the l a t t e r essay, Luo Feng v i c i o u s l y opposed hypocracy and s u r f a c e u n i t y . In September, i t was a f a l s e and p o i n t l e s s show of " l o y a l t y 1 * which offended him so i n March i t was a m i s d i r e c t e d d i s p l a y of " v i g i l a n c e " which was e q u a l l y as d e p l o r a b l e and i n e f f e c t i v e . Perhaps the most outstand ing d i f f e r e n c e i n the two a r t i c l e s was the l a t e r " s unhidden v e r -b a l abuse of Yan'an l e a d e r s to whom he p l e a d " . . . please have some c o n s i d e r a t i o n f o r those who are f o l l o w i n g you!" A c c o r d i n g to Luo Feng, these were the r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s who d i d not pay heed to t h e i own p r i n c i p l e s . He admitted that Yan'an was the p l a c e "with the h i g h e s t l e v e l of p o l i t i c a l awareness' but i f you c o n s t a n t l y wear the same elegant c l o t h e s , and are too l a z y to wash them, sooner 18 or l a t e r they are bound to get d i r t y . " The next day, March 13, the f i r s t s e c t i o n s of the now i n f a -mous essay "Wily L i l y " composed by the t r a n s l a t o r Wang Shiwei made i t s appearance i n the paper. Since s e v e r a l analyses of the 19 a r t i c l e have a l r e a d y been o f f e r e d elsewhere, here i t w i l l s u f -7 8 f i c e to sum up the essay's main p o i n t s only. L i k e Ding L i n g , Luo Feng, and A i Qing, the author of "Wild L i l y " t r e a t e d the darkness of Yan'an as a disease remaining from the o l d s o c i e t y i n need of a m e d i c i n a l cure, i n t h i s case, of the b i t t e r bulbs of the w i l d l i l y growing around Yan'an. D i s a l l u s i o n e d young people were p a i n t e d as w i l l i n g - t o - s t r u g g l e , innocent sources of l i g h t , misunderstood and m i s t r e a t e d by Party bureaucrats who were co r -rupt, arrogant, and incapable of human sympathy. Wang, l i k e Luo Feng, deplored a t t i t u d e s of p a s s i v i t y and l a z i n e s s stemming from a f a t a l i s t i c pessimism which was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the l a c k of pro-gress w i t h i n the Party. He s p e c i f i c a l l y denounced the rank sys-tem, a b l i n d acceptance and i m i t a t i o n of e v e r y t h i n g from the S o v i e t Union, and the general l a c k of concern on the p a r t of Yan'-an l e a d e r s f o r those below them. Ending h i s za wen on a c h a l l e n g -ing note, he wrote, "But perhaps i t i s a 'petty-bourgeois emotion' to always be t a l k i n g about 'love' and 'warmth'? I await your A- * ..20 v e r d i c t . " From h i s defense of youth we can see why Wang was p a r t i c u l a r -l y popular among young people busy w r e s t l i n g w i t h t h e i r f r u s t r a -t i o n s w i t h l i f e i n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y base. P a r t y response to "Wild L i l y " came s w i f t l y , as the support f o r h i s , i d e a s a p p a r e n t l y presented a s e r i o u s t h r e a t to s o l i d a r i t y w i t h i n the ranks. He was to be l a b e l e d an "extreme e g a l i t a r i a n " by the P a r t y on March 21 31 and l a t e r C a s we w i l l see i n the appendix to t h i s t h e s i s ) , a T r o t s k y i t e , based on a r t i c l e s p r i n t e d elsewhere by Wang at t h i s time. None of the other authors of za wen were to be d e a l t w i t h i n such a severe manner, but none had s t r u c k so hard, and none were accused of T r o t s k y i t e l e a n i n g s , l e t alone p r e v i o u s connec-79 t i o n s with, the f o l l o w e r s of the abhorred r i v a l of S t a l i n . Besides the za wen above which focused on p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l , and e t h i c a l i s s u e s , e q u a l l y j o l t i n g i n tone and impact were a handful of other essays appearing on the same few days, a l l penned by authors i n a n t i c i p a t i o n of a time of reckoning i n the l i t e r a r y world as w e l l . On March 12, Ouyang Shan, a f t e r p r a i s i n g the l i t -e r a t u r e column f o r i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n towards r e v o l u t i o n and a r t , f o r expanding the i n f l u e n c e of the l i t e r a t u r e movement, f o r r a i s r ing the c u l t u r a l l e v e l and improving the s p i r i t u a l l i v e s of the people i n the Border Areas, and f o r d i s c o v e r i n g a whole new batch of a r t i s t i c t a l e n t , wrote the f o l l o w i n g : In the ten months s i n c e i n i t i a l p u b l i c a t i o n , the l i t e r a t u r e column has brought f o r t h and analyzed some problems i n the realm of theory but u n f o r t u n a t e l y i t has not s o l v e d those prob-lems... Looking back we can say: we've d i s c u s s e d the r e l a t i o n s h i p between l i t e r a t u r e and l i f e , the r o l e of i d e o l o g y i n l i t e r a t u r e , the c r e a t i v e method of Gogol, the c l a s s r e l a t i o n s of Chinese f i c t i o n w r i t e r s and t h e i r c r e a t i v e t e n d e n c i e s ; we've a l s o seen c r i t i c i s m s of and i n t r o d u c t i o n s to a c t u a l l i t e r a r y works, p l a y s , music, f i n e a r t s e x h i b i t i o n s , and musical performances... This i s very good work, but i t i s only the f i r s t s tep. So many problems s t i l l l i e b e f o r e us. (Ouyang Shan, JFRB, 1942) He then asked, "Why (I needn't avoid mentioning t h i s ) can't ' t i n y q u a r r e l s ' i n the l i t e r a r y world r e l y on democratic methods to f i n d a p p r o p r i a t e s o l u t i o n ? " He c r i t i c i z e d "Wen Y i " f o r not devoting more time to l i t e r a r y theory and asked why l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t y among youth and the masses was growing more i n d i f f e r e n t by the day. He even went so f a r as to comment that l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t y i n the Border Areas, where l i v e d China's best and most a c t i v e w r i t e r s , d r a m a t i s t s , and a r t i s t s , was i n f e r i o r to l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t y i n the 80 Rear ( i . e . N a t i o n a l i s t A r e a s ) . He wrote, These shortcomings of the l i t e r a t u r e column are not the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of any c e r t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s . No, i n f a c t they r e f l e c t the s t a g n a t i o n and atrophy-of l i t e r a r y t h e o r e t i c a l and c r i t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s i n the whole Border Area. A l s o worthy of everyone's e f f o r t , he f e l t , and even more important, was "the d i r e c t i o n of the new democratic l i t e r a r y movement, r e a -sons f o r the u n l i v e l i n e s s of l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y , the problem of l i t e r a r y p o p u l a r i z a t i o n , the establishment and development of n a t i o n a l form i n a l l branches of a r t , e n l i g h t e n e d t h e o r e t i c a l work, and the l a c k of concrete c r i t i c i s m of l i t e r a r y works, etc." These were strong a c c u s a t i o n s , f o r r a t h e r than l a y i n g blame 23 on Ding L i n g and her c o - e d i t o r Chen Q i x i a f o r t h e i r c h o ice and arrangement of m a t e r i a l i n the paper, Ouyang Shan i d e n t i f i e d the broader nature of the problem by d i r e c t l y p o i n t i n g to the un-r e s o l v e d i s s u e s of immense s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r w r i t e r s and l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y . His o b s e r v a t i o n of the l a c k of s u b s t a n t i a l work being c a r r i e d out i n l i t e r a r y theory and c r i t i c i s m would tend to confirm the complaints of other w r i t e r s that h i g h - l e v e l o b j e c t i v e c r i t i c i s m was the e x c e p t i o n r a t h e r than the r u l e . Ouyang Shan, l i k e Luo Feng, went as f a r as to compare Yan'an to Chongqing with-out p r a i s i n g the p r o g r e s s i v e nature of the former i n l i g h t of the l a t t e r ' s darkness. (That the s i t u a t i o n i n general was much br i g h t -er i n Yan'an than i n the N a t i o n a l i s t p r o v i s i o n a l c a p i t a l was a general assumption upheld by most r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s who had come to Yan'an,as w e l l of course by the CCP.) T h i s was paramount to ex-posing the darkness i n the CCP l i t e r a r y camp, yet the w r i t e r from Hubei was never, to my knowledge, taken to task f o r t h i s frank 81 c r i t i c i s m at t h i s time. Such an assessment of the l i t e r a r y p i c -ture i n the Border Areas, though somewhat dreary and p e s s i m i s t i c , nonetheless o f f e r s us a more r e a l i s t i c glimpse i n t o the a c t u a l scene d u r i n g t h i s time p e r i o d than can be a s c e r t a i n e d from other sources. The reason why Ouyang Shan was not s i n g l e d out f o r c r i t i c i s m f o r h i s remarks may l i e i n the f a c t that he l i m i t e d h i m s e l f to the f i e l d of l i t e r a t u r e and u n l i k e Ding L i n g , Luo Feng, Wang S h i -wei, and Xiao Jun, d i d not address broader s o c i a l concerns. He a l s o made no v e i l e d or open a t t a c k s a g a i n s t the l e a d e r s h i p of the CCP, and f o r t h i s reason was probably c o n s i d e r e d l e s s of a t h r e a t to Party s o l i d a r i t y . The l a c k of a c t i o n on the p a r t of the Party a g a i n s t another w r i t e r , Wu X i r u , who o f f e r e d even more b l a t a n t c r i t i c i s m a g a i n s t the backwardness of the l i t e r a r y world, would lend credence to t h i s p o s s i b l e e x p l a n a t i o n as to why some w r i t e r s escaped reproach f o r t h e i r f r a n k statements and others d i d not. It seems to have depended on the content of t h e i r essays, and the nature of t h e i r complaints w i t h one e x c e p t i o n - Xiao Jun, whom we w i l l deal w i t h i n Chapter Four. a d e s i r e to unmask the sources of d i s c o n t e n t and d i s u n i t y i n the l i t e r a r y world. "From the standpoint of a c o n t r i b u t o r and a reader" he wrote, In these one hundred i s s u e s I r e g r e t not having seen any s e r i o u s and heated debates which should a r i s e from the many kinds of l i t e r a r y problems e x i s t i n g . I f news i s the s o u l of a newspaper, then debate should be.the essence of a l i t e r a r y supplement. This i s why "Ziyou Tan", and' "Dong X i a n g " ? . were able to a t t r a c t That same day Wu X i r u ) a l s o brought to l i g h t 82 t h e i r w r i t e r s and read e r s l i k e a magnet. On the s u r f a c e the Yan'an l i t e r a r y world almost appears to be the most peace-f u l of worlds, y e t f r i e n d s o f t e n s l a n d e r and a t t a c k each.other behind backs l i k e v i l l a g e women. Each t h i n k s he i s c o r r e c t and permanently i m p r i n t s mutual contempt f o r the other i n h i s mind. Obviously there are many problems w a i t i n g to be s o l v e d , such as the e x p l a n a t i o n of l i t e r a r y theory, viewpoint i n c r e a t i v e works, proper r e l a t i o n s among w r i t e r s , e t c . Why can't everyone s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d l y and l e g i t i m a t e l y r a i s e debates and f i g h t them out before the v a s t r e a d e r s h i p ? T h i s i s o b v i o u s l y a k i n d of h y p o c r i t i -c a l and d e c e i t f u l d i s e a s e . (Wu X i r u , JFRB, 1942, March 12) He ends on the hope that the l i t e r a t u r e column w i l l become a sounding board f o r w r i t e r s i n Yan'an. From t h i s severe a p p r a i s a l of the co n t e n t i o n s u n d e r l y i n g e x t e r n a l u n i t y among w r i t e r s i n Yan'an, one can sense the i n t e n -s i t y of resentment among at l e a s t some elements i n the l i t e r a r y world. The unre s o l v e d problems f a c i n g l i t e r a t u r e had been v o i c e d by Ouyang Shan as w e l l ; the term " d i s e a s e " had been used be f o r e i n the context of i d e n t i f y i n g areas i n need of reform, and the hope that "Wen Y i " would be u t i l i z e d as a means of in c i t e m e n t to change had long taken r o o t s i n the heart of i t s e d i t o r , w i t h the p u b l i c support of Luo Feng. I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note what ap-pears to have been an assumption on the p a r t of many w r i t e r s that the l i t e r a r y supplement of the o f f i c i a l P a rty d a i l y c o u l d operate independently from the CCP C e n t r a l Committee of which the p u b l i s h -25 er of JFRB, Bo Gu, was a member. The abrupt end to "Wen Y i " as of A p r i l 1 and the f i r i n g of Ding L i n g would bear witness to the p o t e n t i a l power of the column as an independent forum f o r the a i r i n g of d i s c o n t e n t s lodged a g a i n s t the Communist Pa r t y , other 83 w r i t e r s and c r i t i c s , and the s i t u a t i o n i n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y base i n g e n e r a l . On March 12, Ding L i n g h e r s e l f summed up the goals of the column, both f u l f i l l e d and u n f u l f i l l e d from her standpoint as e d i t o r d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d . (JFRB, 1942 B) She r e a f f i r m e d the importance of "Wen Y i " , as w r i t e r s who came to Yan'an i n the p a s t had l a c k e d a p l a c e to p u b l i s h t h e i r works, s i n c e l a s t year at 26 t h i s time the o n l y l i t e r a r y p u b l i c a t i o n was Wenyi Yuebao. The Border Area, she wrote, had l a c k e d l i t e r a r y l i f e and thus the l i t e r a t u r e column took on the task of u n i t i n g famous w r i t e r s , wholeheartedly n u r t u r i n g and promoting young w r i t e r s , r e f l e c t i n g l i f e i n the Border Areas and the anti-Japanese bases as w e l l as the brave s t r u g g l e s of the E i g h t h Route and New F o u r t h Route Armies, and r a i s i n g the l i t e r a r y l e v e l of the Border Areas. A f t e r b r i n g i n g up the complaints of some readers t h a t many of the longer a r t i c l e s i n the column were not l i v e l y , she mention-ed the p r a c t i c a l problems r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h i s phenomenon. For one t h i n g , w r i t e r s i n Yan'an were used to w r i t i n g long continuous a r t i c l e s f o r magazines, and weren't yet accustomed to w r i t i n g f o r a newspaper. Another problem was t h a t due to t r a n s p o r t a t i o n i n e f f i c i e n c i e s , s h o r t e r reportage p i e c e s c o u l d not reach Yan'an and so there was a d e a r t h of such p i e c e s i n the paper. She then c l a r i f i e d the new d i r e c t i o n to be taken: This u n l i v e l i n e s s and i n a b i l i t y to r a i s e the r e a d e r s ' i n t e r e s t o f t e n d i s t u r b s the e d i t o r s . T h e r e f o r e , i n u s i n g a l l our e f f o r t s to conform to readers' i n t e r e s t s , we have thought of ways to r e v i s e the l i t e r a t u r e column. Moreover, we are w i l l i n g to decrease our a t t i t u d e of ' a c t i n g ^ 4 short c r i t i c a l essays on s o c i e t y and l i t e r a t u r e i t s e l f . We have.done our utmost to p r i n t more works concerning drama, the f i n e a r t s , and music, and g r e a t l y decrease the amount of space occupied by f i c t i o n . She then o u t l i n e d the s t r o n g p o i n t s and s h o r t p o i n t s of the l i t e r a -ture column. The main s t r o n g p o i n t was the i n t r o d u c t i o n of new talent'.- According to Ding L i n g , over t h i r t y of the "Wen Y i " con-t r i b u t o r s were new w r i t e r s , and s e v e r a l r e a l l y had good command of t h e i r m a t e r i a l and means of e x p r e s s i o n . She thanked the sup-p o r t of the readers and the a l r e a d y e s t a b l i s h e d w r i t e r s f o r making t h i s p o s s i b l e . As f o r d e f i c i e n c i e s , there was a longer l i s t . She f i r s t a p o l o g i z e d f o r not having c o l l e c t e d more sketches (-1^ ) of l i f e at the Front which seemed to enjoy such p o p u l a r i t y among readers. Then, she continued, We have not thought of ways to open up d i s -c u s s i o n of debates on l i t e r a r y problems which have been r a i s e d such as ' w r i t e r s and l i f e 1 , p e t t y ^ b o u r g e o i s w r i t e r s , and the use of l a n -guage i n l i t e r a t u r e , e t c . Yan'an has not been e n t h u s i a s t i c towards f r e e d i s c u s s i o n of the l i t e r a r y movement, yet the l i t e r a t u r e column should take on t h i s task. Although we have had i n t e n t i o n s to do so, we haven't yet reached that g o a l . We should e s p e c i a l l y oppose the e l i m i n a t i o n of l i t e r a r y theory and c r e a t i v e work by a s e c t a r i a n i s m c l o s e d both to o u t s i d e and i n s i d e i n f l u e n c e which operates v i a sub-j e c t i v i s m , formulism, and f o r e i g n s t e r e o t y p e d w r i t i n g . Although i t . i s s a i d t h a t i t i s our t h e o r e o t i c i a n s who should shoulder t h i s r e s -p o n s i b i l i t y , i t i s u n d e s i r a b l e t h a t a l i t e r a -ture column of a P a r t y newspaper be s i l e n t . She then informs us f o r the f i r s t time that she w i l l soon be l e a v i n g the newspaper before she's even worked w i t h i t v e r y l o n g , but w i l l not cut o f f her t i e s from i t completely. I f people have 8 5 problems, they can send thorn to her at her temporary address, the W r i t e r s ' A n t i - A g g r e s s i o n A s s o c i a t i o n . There seems l i t t l e doubt that Ding L i n g was asked to leave the newspaper by the P a r t y ; she d i d not r e s i g n of her own accord. This we can conclude by the tone of her p a r t i n g words, and, i n r e t r o s p e c t , by the c r i t i c i s m she soon r e c e i v e d f o r a l l o w i n g the p r i n t i n g of the c a u s t i c za wen. She had probably been asked to leave because of the general d i r e c t i o n she was advocating i n the column, topped o f f by her own March 9th za wen. What was obvious was that her p r i n t i n g of za wen together w i t h such candid remarks about the l i t e r a t u r e column and the more p e s s i m i s t i c s i d e of the l i t e r a r y world i n general was a conscious attempt on her p a r t to stop " a c t i n g c a u t i o u s l y and c a r e f u l l y " and begin to l i v e n up the l i t e r a r y stage by b r i n g i n g to l i g h t p r e v i o u s l y hidden i s s u e s of d i s c o r d . I f we compare Ding Ling's March 12 remarks w i t h her p r e v i o u s October c a l l f o r the use of za wen , we f i n d t h a t i n both cases her hope-was to open f r e e d i s c u s s i o n on p r e v i o u s l y tabooed subjects v i a her l i t e r a t u r e column. I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t that even a f t e r Mao's February r e c t i f i c a t i o n speeches, i . e . , i n March, her concern f o r l i v e n i n g up "Wen Y i " continued. In f a c t , by comparing her a n a l y s i s of the problems w i t h the l i t e r a t u r e page to Mao's Febru-ary 8 c o n t e n t i o n s w i t h P a r t y w r i t i n g , i t i s c l e a r that her r e ^ ' . quests f o r change a c t u a l l y conformed to the February i n j u n c t i o n s . Reacting to Mao's d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h empty and monotonous w r i t -i n g which d i d not i n t e r e s t the readers, the e d i t o r of "Wen Y i " i n March expressed her hope to put an end to t h i s t r e n d . Ceasing to "act c a u t i o u s l y and c a r e f u l l y " was e v i d e n t l y her method of ••-86 "opposing the e l i m i n a t i o n of l i t e r a r y theory and c r e a t i v e work by a s e c t a r i a n i s m c l o s e d both, to o u t s i d e and i n s i d e i n f l u e n c e which operates v i a s u b j e c t i v i s m , formalism, and f o r e i g n s t e r e t y p e w r i t i n g . " (Ding L i n g , JFRB, March 12) We should keep i n mind, then, that i t i s v e r y p o s s i b l e t h a t Ding L i n g , and perhaps a l l of the other w r i t e r s we have d i s c u s s e d , were r e a c t i n g to the r e c t i -f i c a t i o n c a l l i n a manner which at the time d i d conform to CCP 2 7 g u i d e l i n e s , in'sofar- - as they were made c l e a r . One day l a t e r , there was an i n t e r e s t i n g a r t i c l e , concerned not w i t h the t o p i c of d i s s e n t or r e c t i f i c a t i o n but w i t h the e d i -t o r i a l post of "Wen Y i " . Because i t o f f e r s support f o r Ding L i n g i t should be mentioned. A w r i t e r from Manchuria, Shu Qun ( ^ " j ^ ) , i n a p i e c e c a l l e d " Written f o r the E d i t o r ( s ) " , o f f e r e d a sympathetic d e s c r i p t i o n of the d i f f i c u l t tasks of an e d i t o r . (Shu Qun, JFRB, 1942, March 13) Since he made a c u r i o u s r e f e r e n c e at seems he wrote t h i s to express h i s understanding of the job ahead as w e l l as i n deference to Ding Ling's accomplishments. E d i t o r s , he observed, must humble themselves when r e q u e s t i n g manuscripts from w r i t e r s . Even though most e d i t o r s were a l s o w r i t e r s at the same time, t h e i r job was to o b j e c t i v e l y assess the v a l u e of works produced through the blood and sweat of other w r i t e r s , and choose and arrange such m a t e r i a l on the page so as to show each c o n t r i -butor i n h i s best l i g h t . E d i t o r s had to e x e r c i s e the utmost con-t r o l over t h e i r emotions and accept good or bad v e r d i c t s of read-ers and w r i t e r s , down to "the off-handed remarks of the man who p i c k s up l i t t e r on the s t r e e t s . " In f a c t , they had to be a r t i s t s as w e l l as readers and c r i t i c s , and o n l y those w i t h a m u l t i -file end to h i s t a k i n g over Ding Ling's p o s i t i o n as e d i t o r , 28 i t 8 7 f a c e t e d t a l e n t c o u l d l i v e up to the p o s i t i o n . Being a w r i t e r and a l s o an e d i t o r , he wrote, was a matter of " p i l i n g one d i f f i -c u l t y on top of another." Shu Qun's a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r the c o n f l i c t i n g p o s i t i o n i n which Ding L i n g had p o s s i b l y found h e r s e l f (and which he h i m s e l f would soon experience?) seemed to serve as a defense f o r any shortcom-ings that might have b e f a l l e n the l i t e r a t u r e column. His d e s c r i p -t i o n of the handicaps under which e d i t o r s i n China at t h i s time were f o r c e d to work, f u r n i s h e s us w i t h a r a r e account of the i n -s i d e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s of the e d i t o r s of a l i t e r a r y sypplement as then observed by one i n p r o x i m i t y to the p o s i t i o n . I t seems, too, that Shu Qun had a great deal of r e s p e c t f o r Ding L i n g and d i d not n e c e s s a r i l y support the d e c i s i o n to f i r e her, e v e n - i f i t d i d mean a new p o s i t i o n f o r h i m s e l f . There were no doubt others who sympathized w i t h h i s f e e l i n g at t h i s time. The l a s t p i e c e of i n t e r e s t appearing on the t h i r d and f i n a l day of the s p e c i a l 100th a n n i v e r s a r y e d i t i o n of "Wen Y i " was w r i t -ten by the w r i t e r Chen Huangmei, and r a t h e r s a r c a s t i c a l l y e n t i t l e d "My C o n g r a t u l a t o r y Message." (Chen:Huangmei, JFRB, 1942, March 13) T h i s t e r r i b l y c r i t i c a l assessment of the s t a t e of the l i t e r a r y world d i f f e r e d from the other remarks d i s c u s s e d above i n one im-p o r t a n t aspect. Whereas Ouyang Shan, Wu X i r u , and; Ding L i n g a l l p o i n t e d out the f a i l i n g s of l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y and the l i t e r a -t u r e column i n much t h e i r own terms, Chen Huangmei e x p l i c i t l y f i t h i s c r i t i c i s m i n t o the context of the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement i n l i t e r a t u r e . In other words, h i s exposure of c r e a t i v e d e f i c i e n c i e s were analyzed e n t i r e l y w i t h i n the framework of Mao's February 8th speech "Oppose Stereotyped P a r t y W r i t i n g " , while the other w r i t e r s 88 (except f o r Ding L i n g on March 12) had not even employed the c u r r e n t r e c t i f i c a t i o n p o l i t i c a l terminology i n t h e i r d i s c u s s i o n s of l i t e r a r y problems, nor made any d i r e c t r e f e r e n c e to the zheng  feng movement. Chen wrote, Recently Yan'an has again r a i s e d a new c a l l , of which one p o i n t i s to r e c t i f y the s t y l e of w r i t i n g , oppose st e r e o t y p e d P a r t y w r i t i n g . Since I am a w r i t e r , I can't but give t h i s my a t t e n t i o n . They£ A ^ " J , i . e . the Party are a l r e a d y screaming f o r help; i f we con-t i n u e to not heed the c a l l , we couldn't a v o i d being ;tbo- i n s e n s i t i v e . In saying a few words i n commemoration of the 100th i s s u e of "Wen Y i " , I can't but come around to t h i s p o i n t ; He then commended the l i t e r a t u r e column f o r the c o n s i d e r a b l e q u a n t i t y of m a t e r i a l i t had p r i n t e d , both good and bad, but warn-ed a g a i n s t s:.elf^-Compia;cency'at t h i s stage. Addressing one major problem which none of the other w r i t e r s had p o i n t e d out i n c r i t -i c i s m s of the column, he advised, In sum, i n . o r d e r to improve the l i t e r a t u r e column and a t t r a c t more re a d e r s , you . shouldn't only gear your column to a f r a c t i o n of Yan'an  youth who love l i t e r a t u r e . [emphasis mine) I f e e l t h a t the l i t e r a t u r e column should respond to the c a l l to ' r e c t i f y the s t y l e of w r i t i n g . ' I hope that the e d i t o r ( s ) w i l l h o l d up t h i s s h i e l d , f o r whether w r i t e r s be famous or unknown, any of t h e i r works which impedes the l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement should be thoroughly checked. Then w r i t e r s can use t h i s (as a means ) f o r s e l f - e x a m i n a t i o n . He then attacked l i t e r a r y works whose "empty words" and "drab l a n -were growing narrow and obscure, and "a few e n t h u s i a s t i c f o o l s " were a l i e n a t i n g the vast r e a d e r s h i p by c r e a t i n g an u n r e c o g n i z a b l e guag 89 monster out of l i t e r a t u r e . Not having read a l l one hundred i s s u e s of "Wen Y i " , he was s t i l l w i l l i n g to venture that the column i t s e l f had not been g u i l t y of p r i n t i n g such k i n d of w r i t i n g . Ending on the dismal hope that bad w r i t i n g would never l e a d to the p o i n t where i t would be b e t t e r not to read at a l l i f one wanted to heed the c a l l f o r help i n r e c t i f i c a t i o n , Chen concluded, "This i s the c o n g r a t u l a t o r y message I give to 'Wen Y i ' . Perhaps i t ' s not t e r r i -b l y proper, but to be a b i t humble never h u r t . " It i s d o u b t f u l that he had not a c t u a l l y i n c l u d e d "Wen Y i " i n h i s a c c u s a t i o n s ; h i s p o l i t e n e s s smacked of sarcasm. The demand on the p a r t of a w r i t e r f o r "Wen Y i " to gear i t -s e l f to a broader audience i n an e f f o r t to s h i f t away from e l i t i s t l i t e r a r y tendencies was unprecedented. Chen was at t h i s p o i n t the only w r i t e r i n JFRB to request reforms of t h i s nature, thus i n l i n e w i t h the February 8th p r o c l a m a t i o n concerning w r i t i n g s t y l e . Rather than f o c u s i n g on the e x i s t e n c e of sources of d i s c o r d i n the l i t e r a r y world, Chen c r i t i c i z e d l i t e r a r y tendencies e n t i r e l y w i t h i n the realm of the o f f i c i a l r e c t i f i c a t i o n procedure. He d i d not go as f a r as Ouyang Shan and Wu X i r u to p o r t r a y a r a t h e r b l e a k " - p i c -ture of inadequacies i n the l i t e r a r y world other than the problem of " s t e r e o t y p e d P a r t y w r i t i n g . " He made i t very c l e a r that he had a l i g n e d h i m s e l f w i t h the P a r t y on t h i s matter. Ouyang Shan, Wu X i r u , and Chen Huangmei a l l r e s t r i c t e d them-s e l v e s to the realm of l i t e r a t u r e . T h e r e f o r e , t h e i r a r t i c l e s should be viewed s e p a r a t e l y from those of A i Qing, Luo Feng, e t c . However, Chen Huangmei's remarks d i f f e r e d from those of Ouyang Shan and Wu X i r u i n that f i r s t , he couched h i s c r i t i c i s m i n c u r r e n t zheng feng terminology, and second, he alone addressed the problem 90' of e l i t e versus mass audience. At f i r s t glance we might conclude that t h i s i s proof that Chen stayed w i t h i n the bounds of P a r t y reforms, while the others were not complying to CCP r u l e s . But whether or not the w r i t e r s employed zheng feng phrases or i d e n t i -f i e d the problem of audience seems unimportant. I t i s probably that a l l b e l i e v e d that t h e i r candid remarks c o n t r i b u t e d f a v o r a b l y to the reform movement, although Chen perhaps d i f f e r e d from them by attempting to guide the c r i t i c a l responses of w r i t e r s through more c l e a r l y s anctioned channels. W r i t e r s who overstepped the bounds of the o f f i c a l l y - s a n c t i o n e d r e c t i f i c a t i o n d r i v e d i d not n e c e s s a r i l y do so i n t e n t i o n a l l y , but more l i k e l y d i d so i n an attempt to e s t a b l i s h a d e f i n i t i o n of those bounds, a d e f i n i t i o n of which i t i s probable the P a r t y l e a d e r s themselves were not then aware. As i s p o s t u l a t e d by D. Holm, the p r e c i s e aim of the r e -forms d i d i n f a c t change between February and l a t e March, (from 29 " o l d c adres" to " i n t e l l e c t u a l s " ) Thus i t i s l i k e l y that the w r i t e r s were not organized w i t h the i n t e n t of undermining the r e -30 v o l u t i o n a r y e f f o r t . Ding L i n g continued to p r i n t a r t i c l e s which uncovered the n e g a t i v e aspects of Yan'an s o c i a l and l i t e r a r y l i f e , even a f t e r she knew she'd be l e a v i n g her e d i t o r i a l post. Perhaps she p r i n t e d the f o l l o w i n g two p i e c e s by Xiao Jun because she knew she would soon be powerless to do so. On March 25 another essay c r i t i c i z i n g the p l i g h t of women i n Yan'an appeared. Xiao Jun's "On M a r r i a g e " (Xiao Jun, JFRB, 1942A) d e a l t w i t h the same problems w i t h s o c i a l a t t i t u d e s towards women, marriage, and d i v o r c e as had Ding Ling's "Thoughts on March E i g h t h . " The Manchurian author a l s o made a p l e a f o r the r i g h t s of a l l f o r " s u r v i v a l , spread of progeny [ t h a t i s f o r the c o n d i t i o n s conducive to producing o f f s p r i n g j development and freedom." There are those, he wrote, who laugh at these r e a -sons f o r marriage and d i v o r c e , while he f e l t t h a t they were the most b a s i c human needs which everyone had the r i g h t to demand. "Those who are w i l l i n g to g l a d l y s a c r i f i c e m a t e r i a l comforts and l i v e a[?]life are s t i l l e x c e p t i o n a l a f t e r all.':>Tiii-s- Twer-e.iyv-pjoves th a t I am s t i l l a ' r e l a t i v e ' (j^Q %^ tyf) ) 'fundamentalist'". On March 30, what was to be the l a s t day of "Wen Y i " i n JFRB, Xiao Jun o f f e r e d a r a t h e r romantic p o r t r a y a l of the road to c r e a - V t i o n . In " ' P i t f a l l s ' Before W r i t e r s " , (Xiao Jun, JFRB, 1942B) he d e s c r i b e d an i n v i s i b l e " p i t f a l l " which a l l w r i t e r s had to event-u a l l y c r o s s and which those w i t h the s p i r i t of true a r t i s t s would not f e a r and run away from. Xiao somewhat c r y p t i c a l l y wrote, What p i t f a l l i s t h i s ? I t probably i s c e r t a i n l y not the p i t f a l l of 'what to write':-, but should be the p i t f a l l of 'how to w r i t e ' . . . Speaking from an a r t i s t i c p o i n t of view... only those who dare climb to the land of Buddha and f a l l i n t o h e l l , who dare face t h i s ' p i t f a l l ' and continue walking... are b e a u t i f u l . In a h y p o t h e t i c a l d i s p u t e w i t h a poet f r i e n d , he imagined h i s own dying remarks as "To be f r a n k , a l l of my works were f a i l u r e s ! For i n f r o n t of me, a l l the way down to the h o r i z o n l i n e , a l l I see are p i t f a l l s , . , p i t f a l l s . . . " 32 The p o i n t of Xiao's a r t i c l e here i s d i f f i c u l t to a s c e r t a i n . The tone i s romantic and impassioned, and the use of r e l i g i o u s r a t h e r than M a r x i s t terminology i s not u n l i k e what we w i l l f i n d i n h i s essay "On 'Love' and 'Patience' among Comrades" p r i n t e d a week l a t e r . In any event, we can conclude t h a t Xiao was d e s c r i b i n g a . 92 v e r y p e r s o n a l and arduous p a t h to l i t e r a r y c r e a t i o n , a path whose main o b s t a c l e was not "what to w r i t e about", but "how to w r i t e " , that i s , c r e a t i v e method. A f t e r Mao's " T a l k s " i n May, c r e a t i v e method would no longer o f f i c i a l l y or even u n o f f i c i a l l y e x i s t as a problem - the method of " r e a l i s m " would serve to help w r i t e r s across any such " p i t f a l l s " they would encounter, at l e a s t accord-ing to o f f i c i a l sources, and romantic musings over c r e a t i v e d i f f i -c u l t i e s would no longer appear i n the p r e s s . March 30 was to c a r r y the l a s t e d i t i o n of "Wen Y i " , no. I l l , and (besides Xiao Jun's A p r i l 8th essay which w i l l be d i s c u s s e d below) the f i n a l c u r t a i n on the appearance of za wen and a l l other remarks which tended to d e s c r i b e the n e g a t i v e aspects of Yan'an s o c i a l , p o l i t i c a l , e t h i c a l , and l i t e r a r y r e l a t i o n s . At t h i s p o i n t , the o f f i c i a l r e c t i f i c a t i o n reforms were to d i r e c t l y a f f e c t JFRB. As noted above, the o r i g i n a l i n t e n t i o n of the r e -forms as o u t l i n e d i n February were not n e c e s s a r i l y c o n s i s t e n t w i t h the aim of the reforms c a r r i e d out i n the end of March. This l a t t e r d r i v e was l a r g e l y comprised of r e c r i m i n a t i o n s a g a i n s t w r i t e r s (through "Wen Y i " ) who b e l i e v e d themselves to have been p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n zheng fehg a c c o r d i n g to the o r i g i n a l CCP d i r e c t -i v e s . C a r r y i n g out the reform d r i v e now a g a i n s t the w r i t e r s , Mao and Bo Gu, p u b l i s h e r of JFRB, convened a meeting on March 31 to 33 d i s c u s s r e v i s i o n of the paper. (Anonymous, JFRB, 1942B) Bo Gu d e l i v e r e d a s e l f - c r i t i c i s m on the past s h o r t p o i n t s of the news-paper, while Mao denounced those who i n c o r r e c t l y espoused the ~ idea of "absolute e g a l i t a r i a n i s m " and the method of shooting-' it s a r c a s t i c dark arrows 11 ) i . e stabs i n the back. T h i s was a c l e a r r e f e r e n c e to Wang Shiwei, author of "Wild L i l y " , March 13 and 23, The Party Chairman l a b e l e d such ideas as " p e t t y -bourgeois daydreams." He i n d i c a t e d h i s approval of " r i g o r o u s , p o i n t e d , s i n c e r e and frank c r i t i c i s m which was b e n e f i c i a l to o t h e r s . " While on l y s i n c e r e c r i t i c i s m was b e n e f i c i a l to u n i t y , " s a r c a s t i c dark arrows", he s a i d , were l i k e a k i n d of medicine which only corrodes. T h i s , we should note, was the e a r l i e s t c r i t -i c i s m of Wang Shiwei found i n JFRB s i n c e the second i n s t a l l m e n t of h i s za wen on March 23. Although such c r i t i c i s m was probably aimed a l s o at w r i t e r s such as Ding L i n g , Luo Feng, Xiao Jun, and t h e i r f o l l o w e r s , the mention of "absolute e g a l i t a r i a n i s m " most c e r t a i n l y s i n g l e d out Wang Shiwei f o r a t t a c k , as only h i s essay had touched upon the rank system i n Yan'an and urged f o r more e q u a l i t y i n t h i s r e s p e c t . The amount of space devoted to the denouncement of s a r c a s t i c jabs aimed at the Communist camp i n JFRB r e p o r t on t h i s March 31 meeting would i n d i c a t e the two-fold nature of the r e v i s i o n of the newspaper. Not only was the aim of the r e v i s i o n to make a more l i v e l y , more readable, and more do-m e s t i c a l l y - o r i e n t e d P a r t y organ, but i t was a l s o to put an end to " i n c o r r e c t " c r i t i c i s m , a r t i c l e s by w r i t e r s which r a i s e d t o p i c s too s e n s i t i v e f o r open d i s c u s s i o n and s t r u c k too c l o s e to home f o r Part y standards by t h i s time. On A p r i l 1, the format of the paper had been r e v i s e d accord-ing to p l a n . The l i t e r a r y s e c t i o n "Wen Y i " on page f o u r no longer appeared, and page fo u r became a k i n d o f ^ c u l t u r a l page, composed of a mixture of a r t i c l e s concerned w i t h l i t e r a r y and other, main-l y p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l i s s u e s . The front-page e d i t o r i a l of A p r i l 1 addressed "To the Readers", i n the s p i r i t of s e l f - c r i t i -94 cism f o s t e r e d by the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement, confessed to the ; paper's past mistakes and o u t l i n e d i t s f u t u r e d i r e c t i o n . (Anony:-. mous, JFRB, 1942A) The e d i t o r i a l i n d i c a t e d that l e s s space should be devoted to i n t e r n a t i o n a l news and more to domestic news, such as the i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o "the l i v e s and s t r u g g l e s of the people i n every anti-Japanese base and the people of a l l China." Less time should be given to d M l and dry essays and t r a n s l a t i o n s , and more to explanations of Pa r t y r e s o l u t i o n s i n l i v e l y and e a s i l y comprehensible language. In g e n e r a l , more space was to be given to c a r r y i n g out Pa r t y l i n e , r e f l e c t i n g c o n d i t i o n s of the masses, and i n t e n s i f y i n g the i d e o l o g i c a l s t r u g g l e i n accord w i t h the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement. On page fo u r i n A p r i l , we see l e s s f i c t i o n and more a r t i c l e s concerned w i t h l o c a l i s s u e s , r e p r i n t s of some of the p r e s c r i b e d twenty-two zheng feng documents f o r study, analyses of zheng feng o b j e c t i v e s , and a few r e l a t i v e l y m i l d c r i t i c i s m s of Wang Shiwei. (Qi Su, JFRB, 1942; L i Tu, JFRB, 1942) Oddly, enough, the A p r i l 1 reform d i d not t o t a l l y e l i m i n a t e p e s s i m i s t i c expressions of the dark s i d e of Yan'an l i f e . Two such p i e c e s , one by the poet He Qifang, and one by Xiao Jun appeared i n e a r l y A p r i l . 35 He Qifang's c o n t r o v e r s i a l "Three Poems" appeared on A p r i l 3. In the f i r s t poem, "I would l i k e to t a l k about v a r i o u s pure mat-t e r s " C" ^ jl tk %t M i f it % & | # M )> t h e P ° e t indulged i n a romantic reminiscence of h i s past l i f e - reading books w i t h f r i e n d s on the grass , d i s c u s s i n g t h e i r f u t u r e s together under the s t a r s , and having a p e r f e c t love a f f a i r . In the second, c a l l e d "What can l a s t f o r e v e r ? " C , y i | jj? <&) §t ffl jK ? " \ he mourned, "Of what b e n e f i t i s the la b o r of man under the l i g h t 95 of the siin/When he so q u i c k l y passes from c r a d l e to grave?" Yet he gained^confidence from the sound of the unceasing r i v e r and at l a s t f e l t that the wisdom and labor of h i s ancestors could l a s t f o r e v e r . In the t h i r d and most c o n t r a d i c t o r y poem, "How many times I have l e f t my d a i l y l i f e " C " ^ ty ;/v ^ Wit 3 # ^ ^ >"§ ") h e described d a i l y l i f e as "narrow", "dusty", "clamorous", and "busy", and longed f o r the s i l e n c e of nature - the sound of the r i v e r , the sky, and the clouds to 3 6 cleanse h i s s o u l . L i f e was " h e l l " and everyone was a "prisoner i n i t " , yet he ended w i t h a lengthy p l e a to run back to that nar-row l i f e , to become one w i t h the wrinkle-browed and sweating ' masses, to share t h e i r dreams and s t r u g g l e s , and to f o l l o w the s o l d i e r s to scenes of blood and death. "Even though personal peace and happiness are so easy to f i n d / I anr t h i s u n s e t t l e d , t h i s stubborn, t h i s r e s t l e s s / I cannot accept t h e i r temptation ... and p r o t e c t i o n ! " He Qifang's poems here r e v e a l a r e a l c o n f l i c t between an i d e a l i z e d past existence and the present urgent demands of every-day l i f e i n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y base. He wants desperately to blend i n w i t h the t o i l s of s t r u g g l i n g countrymen, yet a longing f o r a pure and t r a n q u i l e x i s t e n c e , o f f e r e d by nature and the me-mory of h i s past, hinders h i s a b i l i t y to harmonize w i t h h i s "nar-row" surroundings. As we w i l l see l a t e r , one c r i t i c was unable to f o r g i v e him h i s "petty-bourgeois" musings, while others took a much more l e n i e n t a t t i t u d e , a p p r e c i a t i n g the c o n f l i c t w r i t e r s wuch as He were undergoing i n Yan'an. In s p i t e of;the condemna-t i o n of " s a r c a s t i c dark arrows", He Qifang's poetry was not viewed as a threat to the Party. This would be confirmed by the f a c t t h a t i n J u l y two separate c r i t i c s w i l l a t t a c k a June 19 harsh c r i t i q u e of He's p o e t r y f o r Being B i a s e d , u n s c h o l a r l y , and exces-s i v e l y severe on the poet's " p e t t y - B o u r g e o i s " l e a n i n g s . For whatever reason, He Qifang was f o r g i v e n f o r suggesting the need to get away from the "narrow" l i f e at Yan'an, prohaBly Because he a l s o expressed the a t t r a c t i o n i t h e l d f o r him. His p o e t r y i n d i c a t e d c o n f l i c t s w i t h d a i l y l i f e , But no c r i t i c i s m of the Party as such, Xiao Jun's "On 'Love 1 and 'Patience'"among Comrades of A p r i l 8, , however, went f u r t h e r than suggesting c o n f l i c t s w i t h everyday l i f e . He made charges a g i n s t the e t h i c a l r e l a t i o n s Between l e a d -ers and l e d , as w e l l as among r e v o l u t i o n a r y comrades. (Xiao Jun, JFRB, 1942C) What i s s t i l l a mystery i s why a za wen such as Xiao Jun's reached p r i n t a good three weeks a f t e r the appearance of the c l u s t e r of essays whose s i m i l a r s u h j e c t matter had so -offended the Party. I f we are to assume that Ding L i n g was f i r e d as of March 31, and w i t h the r e v i s i o n of JFRB came a Ban on the p r i n t i n g of such za wen, then i t i s odd that such a suBversive p i e c e as "On 'Love' and 'Patience' among Comrades" made the 37 r e v i s e d e d i t i o n of page f o u r . Under the heading "Love", the w r i t e r c i t e d two scenes from h i s novel V i l l a g e i n August ( J \ §fi ij ^ ) i n which he c o n s c i o u s l y chose to p o r t r a y the humanity of a tough troop com-mander r a t h e r than l e t the reader see how a comrade many "use a B u l l e t to penetrate the chest of another comrade." In the f i r s t scene, B o i l Tang ( ) , a memBer of a small s e c t i o n of the anti-Japanese R e v o l u t i o n a r y Army i s endangering the s a f e t y , of the r e s t of h i s u n i t By r e f u s i n g to leave Behind the woman he l o v e s , too weak and s i c k to walk h e r s e l f . Commander Iron Eagle ^ 7 v / f fi^ i s a f r a i d t 0 leave B o i l Tang behind, f o r he knows that i f the advancing Japanese get a hold of him, he'd s u r e l y divulge the whereabouts of h i s troops under t o r t u r e . Iron Eagle therefore must shoot the man i f he won't abandon the woman fo r duty to h i s troops, and B o i l Tang consequently i n v i t e s him to shoot both of them, since he w i l l not budge. Xiao Jun could not bear to have Iron Eagle k i l l one of h i s own men, so shows him wavering, u n t i l the s o l u t i o n comes. The author has the Japanese enemy move i n immediately w i t h canon f i r e , l e a v i n g B o i l Tang to scurry i n t o the bushes w i t h the woman, while Iron Eagle has no choice but to f l e e without them. The author p r e f e r r e d to show B o i l Tang k i l l e d by the enemy. The second scene to which Xiao Jun r e f e r s i s when Iron Eagle o f f e r s some sympathy to one of h i s head s o l d i e r s , Xiao Ming ( j^t ), who i s miserable a f t e r l e a r n i n g that he must part from h i s 39 Korean sweetheart, Anna. A l l the men i n the band chide him about h i s a f f a i r and t r e a t i t i n a very lewd manner, o s t r a s i z i n g him f o r i t . Only tough Iron Eagle attempts to comfort him. Xiao wrote, This i l l u s t r a t e s that j u s t when someone i s being attacked from a l l sides and i s mis-understood, i t i s p o s s i b l e f o r there to be someone - even one w i t h such a background as Commander 'Iron Eagle', to o f f e r him sincere warmth. Under "Patience", Xiao made an emotional and s e l f - r i g h t e o u s to P arty leaders to understand,.respect, and have patience young people i n the Communist bases who are d i s s a t i s f i e d the environment, the people, and w i t h t h e i r work. Although 98 such youth are admittedly weak on occasion before the enemy and may even cause l o s s to the r e v o l u t i o n , i n the end they w i l l r e t u r n to the s t r u g g l e , and be a l l the b e t t e r f o r i t , because by then they w i l l have t r u l y been " t e s t e d " . He urged, "Is i t not valuable to l e t 'the p r o d i g a l sons r e t u r n home'? Besides, they r e a l l y aren't yet p r o d i g a l sons." •Xiao advised these d i s a l l u s i o n e d young people by d e s c r i b i n g the r e v o l u t i o n a r y s t r u g g l e i n r e l i g i o u s terms. " R e l i g i o u s exer-c i s e " was needed to overcome d i f f i c u l t i e s , a forbearance l i k e that possessed by the d i s c i p l e s i n Journey to the West ($7j^ [f ) who had to overcome the "seventy-two d i f f i c u l t i e s . " Temptations of satan must also be r e s i s t e d , as i n Flaubert's La Tentation de  Saint-Antoine, f o r 'satan' e x i s t s i n a l l forms "both i n and out-side the ranks, as w e l l as i n our own minds." Youth must be w i l l -ing to s a c r i f i c e and pave the way f o r l a t e r generations. He then admonished people who f o r the sake of " p o s i t i o n " and " a u t h o r i t y " are apt to become nearsighted. Such things i n and of themselves are not bad, he wrote, but i f they're obtained u n f a i r l y , i n the manner of "racers w i t h no sportsmanship, who wearing n a i l e d shoes run past t h e i r f r i e n d s and newcomers by stamping on t h e i r 40 faces", then they are u n f a i r gains. "Don't people o f t e n say we should respect our enemies? As long as he i s a comrade, no matter how i n f e r i o r he i s to others, could i t be he i s more detestable than your enemy, and l e s s worthy of r e s p e c t ? " Then, i n an unfor-g i v i n g accusation against Yan'an le a d e r s , he s t a t e d , "I won't a f f e c t the posture of a leader... and make high sounding i n s i n c e r e statements, t a l k i n g about t h e o r i e s which even I p e r s o n a l l y cannot c a r r y out." He concluded w i t h the advice to y o u t h that p a t i e n c e was needed i n c a r r y i n g through any endeavor, while to the P a r t y , that p a t i e n c e of the k i n d which persuades, i n s t r u c t s , and e x p l a i n s was 41 r e q u i r e d to deal w i t h unhappy youth. From t h i s essay as w e l l as Wang Shiwei's "Wild L i l y " , i t i s c l e a r t h a t youth was the mainstay of d i s s e n t i n Yan'an, and who-ever defended t h e i r cause would enjoy t h e i r staunch support, and t h e r e f o r e , too, a h i g h b a r g a i n i n g p o s i t i o n w i t h i n the P a r t y . Xiao Jun had r a l l i e d f o r young people before i n Yan'an. (Xiao j u n , JFRB, 1941, October 21) and h i s novel V i l l a g e i n August enjoyed immense p o p u l a r i t y among them. So although h i s p a s s i o n a t e p l e a s to the P a r t y on b e h a l f of young people went as f a r as i d e n t i f y i n g hypocracy among P a r t y o f f i c i a l s , he was never d e a l t the same severe treatment as Wang Shiwei, who was l e s s well-known, and had a l e s s c o l o r f u l p e r s o n a l i t y among youth. Even i f other unknown reasons saved X i a o from a more unlucky f a t e at t h i s time, h i s p o p u l a r i t y and fame as a w r i t e r were probably l a r g e c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r s . Even a f t e r the c u l m i n a t i o n of the l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a -t i o n movement and the " t r i a l " of Wang Shiwei, Xiao Jun was to get away w i t h another b i t of impassioned advice to the P a r t y on June 13, w i t h "The 'Bulba S p i r i t ' i n L i t e r a r y C i r c l e s " (Xiao Jun, JFRB, 1942F) which w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n the f o l l o w i n g chapter. In c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h the above a n a l y s i s of w r i t e r s ' response to the Party's February summons to cleanse the ranks, i t i s r e -v e a l i n g i n a d i f f e r e n t manner to examine the o f f i c i a l P a r t y e x p l a -n a t i o n i n the press of i n t e l l e c t u a l s ' r e a c t i o n s to the r e c t i f i c a -t i o n movement. A f t e r A p r i l , b esides remarks made by w r i t e r s i n l i g h t of the l i t e r a r y conferences h e l d i n May, we are a f f o r d e d 100 few glimpses i n t o how w r i t e r s were r e a c t i n g to the r e c t i f i c a t i o n procedures. Through e d i t o r i a l s i n JFRB, however, we can see the i n t e n s e l e v e l of r e s i s t a n c e o f f e r e d by w r i t e r s - i n t e l l e c t u a l s , r e s i s t a n c e which would continue even a f t e r Mao's " T a l k s " i n May. O p p o s i t i o n to the study movement i n p a r t i c u l a r was e v i d e n t l y strong enough to warrant much p u b l i c exposure and e n t r e a t i e s f o r c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h the zheng feng campaign as a whole. As a v i t a l element of the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement, a study campaign was o f f i c i a l l y i n i t i a t e d on A p r i l 3. The "Report of the Propaganda Bureau of the C e n t r a l Committee on the Zheng Feng 42 Movement" p r e s c r i b e d a p e r i o d of study and d i s c u s s i o n of twenty two p o l i t i c a l documents ( J^- 't J^- /\J^ ) which was to s t a r t on A p r i l 20 and l a s t two months f o r a l l Party s c h o o l s , and three months f o r Party o r g a n i z a t i o n s . In June (Anonymous, JFRB, 1942E) t h i s p e r i o d would be extended an e x t r a two months i n both cases. The documents were comprised of speeches and r e p o r t s by l e a d e r s of the Chinese and S o v i e t Russian Communist P a r t i e s , such as Mao, L i u Shaoqi, S t a l i n , and Lenin. (Compton, 1952:6-7) A l l other wor and study was to stop f o r the time being while s e l f - c r i t i c i s m s e s s i o n s , organized from the bottom-up were to be h e l d , based on thorough d i s c u s s i o n of the contents of the documents. But from A p r i l to June, e d i t o r i a l s appeared which complained about the i n t e l l e c t u a l s ' a t t i t u d e towards reading the documents and to zheng feng i n g e n e r a l . On A p r i l 23 (Anonymous, JFRB, 1942 C) one ; e d i t o r i a l ' t o o k e x c e p t i o n to t h e ' i n t e l l e c t u a l s w i t h a h i g h c u l t u r a l l e v e l who r e f u s e d to take the documents s e r i o u s l y , read them s u p e r f i c i a l l y , and then shelved them, never b o t h e r i n g to attempt to put t h e o r i e s read i n t o p r a c t i c e , On May 5 (Anonymous, I 101 JFRB, 1942 D) another s t a t e d t h a t there was p r e j u d i c e and o p p o s i -t i o n w i t h i n the P a r t y to studying the documents while "at p r e s e n t there e x i s t s a l l s o r t s of mistaken a t t i t u d e s and absurd t a l k . " On May 28 CCong Huichuan, JFRB, 1942) and June 5, [Anonymous, JFRB, 1942E) two more e d i t o r i a l s brought up the problems of people " r e s i s t i n g " , " f e a r i n g " , or " m i s i n t e r p r e t i n g " the methods and goals of the zheng fehg study movement. The group of urban w r i t e r s and c u l t u r a l workers from Shanghai and other c i t i e s were no doubt among the number of people who had r e a c t e d to the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement i n a manner o u t s i d e the Party's hopes and e x p e c t a t i o n s . P a r t y l e a d e r s had c a l l e d f o r reform w i t h i n the Communist ranks, but response i n the i n t e l l e c -t u a l and c u l t u r a l world crossed beyond the bounds of p o l i t i c a l t o l e r a n c e f o r at l e a s t some i n power. The d i s c o n t i n u a t i o n of "Wen Y i " and the f i r i n g of l i t e r a r y e d i t o r Ding Ling were onl y a prelude to a much broader and f a r - r e a c h i n g d e c i s i o n on the p a r t of the Party l e a d e r s to d i r e c t the p r o d u c t i o n and p r i n t i n g of c r e a t i v e works - a r t , f i c t i o n , p o e t r y , c r i t i c a l w r i t i n g , e t c . It i s w i t h t h i s background i n mind that we should assess the s i g n i f i c a n c e of the l i t e r a r y and a r t conferences to be convened by the Communist Pa r t y d u r i n g the month of May, 1942. 102 NOTES TO CHAPTER THREE X Mao had a l r e a d y addressed the same problem i n "Reform Our Study", May, 1941. 2 The " C e n t r a l Committee on Strengthening the P a r t y S p i r i t " passed on J u l y 1, 1941 had long brought up the problems of " ^ i n d i -vidualism',^ 'heroism', a n t i o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a t t i t u d e s , 'independence', ' a n t i - c e n t r a l i s m ' and other tendencies counter to the Party s p i r -i t . " (Compton:157) For Chinese, see Zhengfeng Wenxian, 1949:126. 3 In f a c t , when the j o u r n a l i s t Zhao Chaogou v i s i t e d Yan'an i n 1944 he noted that JFRB was the " c a d r e s ' newspaper", while another newspaper c a l l e d Qunzhong (j^ f ) was w r i t t e n "to educate the masses." (Zhao Chaogou, 1946:164) 4 In "An Essay Not Basted Together" (Luo Feng, JFRB, 1941 B), the author, encouraging, c r i t i c i s m w i t h i n the P a r t y , c a l l e d f o r " m e r c i l e s s s t r u g g l e " . (See the appended t r a n s l a t i o n , p.209 ) Whether or not Mao was r e f e r r i n g to t h i s k i n d of remark coming from young w r i t e r s i s not c e r t a i n . I t i s more l i k e l y that he was i n s t e a d a l l u d i n g to o l d e r P a r t y members who i n t i m i d a t e d those whose o p i n i o n s d i f f e r e d from t h e i r own. ^ See Chapter Two, pp. 52-53. ^ See D. Holm, 1978, p. 3-4. In h i s paper, Holm d i s t i n -guishes two contending groups i n Yan'an - the " i n t e l l e c t u a l s " and the " o l d cadres", the l a t t e r a g a i n s t whom zheng feng was o r i g i n a l l y intended, but who s u r v i v e d i n the end and turned the reform campaign a g a i n s t the i n t e l l e c t u a l s . 7 It should be noted that c e r t a i n days of JFRB are m i s s i n g on the m i c r o f i l m , as w e l l as from the o r i g i n a l Hoover I n s t i t u t i o n c o l l e c t i o n from which the U.B,;C, m i c r o f i l m was made. They are 1941: May 23; 1942; March 14,15, 16; A p r i l 10, 13, 18; and May 2. The 1942 i s s u e s appear on v e r y c r u c i a l days and may, i n f a c t , 1-03 c o n t a i n p e r t i n e n t i n f o r m a t i o n , g The t r a n s l a t i o n f o r Shi-yan z h i i s taken from David E. P o l l a r d , A Chinese Look at L i t e r a t u r e , Berkeley: U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a Press 1973, p. 1., who i n t u r n has used James J.Y. L i u ' s t r a n s l a t i o n i n The A r t of Chinese Poetry, Chicago: The U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago Press, 1962. 9 See David E. P o l l a r d , p. 1. "The Way" here may be i n t e r p r e t e d as any present p o l i t i c a l creed s a n c t i o n e d by the S t a t e , i . e., communism. See, f o r example, A i Qing's anti-war poem "Kuqi de Laofu" ^ ^ % M-^ , JFRB, May 20, 1941, p, 2, 1 1 See Chapter Two, p. 48. 12 See Fokkema, 1965:13-15 f o r more d i s c u s s i o n of t h i s ; , essay by A i Qing. However, i f A i Qing i s drawing a c l e a r l i n e anywhere, r a t h e r than between a r t and p o l i t i c s , i t i s between war propaganda which i s h y p o c r i t i c a l l y tendencious, " a f f e c t e d " , and " u n n a t u r a l " because of i t s author's l a c k of s i n c e r i t y , and l i t e r -ary war propaganda which has the p o t e n t i a l to move i t s readers towards s o c i a l reform because of i t s author's f a i t h f u l n e s s to h i s own f e e l i n g s . Merle Goldman, 1967:29-30, i s a l s o g u i l t y of mis-r e p r e s e n t i n g A i Qing's ideas so as to conform to a r a t h e r f o r c e d l i t e r a t u r e versus p o l i t i c s scheme. True, the poet wrote, "Only when a r t i s t i c c r e a t i o n i s g i v e n a s p i r i t of freedom and independ-ence can a r t p l a y a p r o g r e s s i v e r o l e i n the e n t e r p r i s e of s o c i a l reform" CGoldman: 30), but t h i s v e r y statement r e i n f o r c e s the poet's conception of the i n h e r e n t c o n n e c t i o n between l i t e r a t u r e and p o l i t i c s . Moreover, by "freedom and independence" he proba-b l y d i d not mean from a l l Party d i r e c t i v e s and P a r t y g o a l s , (as a CCP member, s u r e l y he shared some of these g o a l s ) , but more l i k e l y he d e s i r e d freedom from the u n s c h o l a r l y and b i a s e d a s s e s s -ment of c r i t i c s whose l a c k of s e r i o u s l i t e r a r y and a e s t h e t i c study hindered h i s own p r o d u c t i o n as w e l l as the understanding 104 of the reader, 13 For l a t e r c r i t i c i s m and t e x t u a l commentary of t h i s March p i e c e , see Feng Z h i , 1958; J u n Qing, 1958; and Ding Youguang, 1966. 14 For l a t e r d i s c u s s i o n and c r i t i c i s m of t h i s essay see Wang Ziy e , 1958; Luo Hong, 1958; and Ding Youguang, 1966. 15 Th i s and the f o l l o w i n g t r a n s l a t i o n s are taken from "Thoughts on 8 March (Women's Day)", t r a n s l a t e d by Gregor Benton i n New L e f t Review 19 75, 92:102-105. See the t r a n s l a t i o n appended to t h i s t h e s i s , p. 210. 17 This and the f o l l o w i n g t r a n s l a t i o n s are from " ' I t i s s t i l l the Age of the Tsa-wen'", t r a n s l a t e d by G. Benton i n New  L e f t Review 1975, 92:105-106. 18 For l a t e r d i s c u s s i o n and c r i t i c i s m of t h i s p i e c e see Yan Wenjing, 1958; Wenyi Eao, 1957, 22:2; and Ding Youguang, 1966. 19 See Fokkema: 15-16, Goldman: 25-26, and T.A. H s i a : 252 f o r other d i s c u s s i o n s of t h i s essay. Any commentary i n E n g l i s h or Chinese on t h i s 1942 p e r i o d i n Yan'an focuses on Wang Shiwei's "Wild L i l y " . Because of the essay's sharp c r i t i c i s m of Communist le a d e r s and because of the subsequent r o l e p layed by i t s author as scapegoat (and primary n e g a t i v e example) i n the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement, "Wild L i l y " i s considered the f i r s t model a r t i c l e of d i s s e n t a g a i n s t the CCP by one of i t s i n t e l l e c t u a l s , the water-shed i n Party - w r i t e r r e l a t i o n s which set the tone f o r l a t e r l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n movements. For l a t e r c r i t i c i s m s of Wang Shiwei and h i s essay see A i Qing, 1955; L i n Mohan, 1958; and Ding Youguang, 1966, 20 This t r a n s l a t i o n i s from G. Benton i n New L e f t Review 1975, 92:96-102, 105 21 Though, not s i n g l i n g out Wang Shiwei by name, i t was apparent that the c r i t i c i s m was aimed at him, See Anonymous JFRB, 1942 B, The repoirt r e f e r r e d to a meeting which took p l a c e on "the eve of the r e v i s e d L i b e r a t i o n D a i l y " , i . e . , March 31. 2 2 The l i t e r a t u r e s e c t i o n was not f o r m a l l y c a l l e d "Wen Y i " u n t i l September 16, 1941, but had e v i d e n t l y e x i s t e d as a c o n s c i o u s -l y separate s e c t i o n s i n c e the establishment of the newspaper on May 16. 23 We do not hear much about Chen Q i x i a at t h i s time, although he d i d w r i t e three essays worth n o t i n g . On October 14, 1941, l e s s than two weeks before Ding L i n g o f f e r e d her o f f i c i a l s a n c t i o n of the use of za wen as a weapon w i t h which to combat darkness, the c o - e d i t o r of'Wen Y i " wrote a very contemplative and p e r s o n a l essay, the meaning of which i s r a t h e r e l u s i v e . The s t y l e of the essay seems to conform to the o r i g i n a l d e f i n i t i o n of za wen as random, p e r s o n a l notes. (The meaning of the term za wen as i t came to be used i n Yan'an i n d i c a t e d a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c tone of b i t t e r sarcasm and c r i t i c i s m of e x i s t i n g s o c i a l i l l s , y et t h i s meaning was no doubt., created, by Lu Xun, whose za wen f i t t h i s • ' 9 ' ' . d e s c r i p t i o n . Since writers, such as Ding Ling advocated the use of za wen i n the name of Lu Xun, the o r i g i n a l more n e u t r a l d e f i n i -t i o n of the term became obscured and za wen came to be i n t e r p r e t -ated i n a more narrow sense, i . e . , i n the sense that the famous Lu Xun had employed i t . ) In the essay " S t r u g g l e " (Chen Q i x i a , JFRB,, 1941), the author makes wide use of a b s t r a c t v i s u a l and a u r a l images throughout. The thoughts are disconnected and at times vague. The p i e c e ends thus: , . . Perhaps i t i s that the. ye 11 oxv l i g h t of the lamp w i l l blossom f o r t h flowers i n the darkness. Or perhaps a set of f r e s h and -tender new leaves w i l l hang from a severed branch, a l r e a d y withered and faded. Or may-be; i t i s the m u l t i - c o l o r e d clouds of morn-ing i n f u l l splendor over the E a s t e r n sky, or maybe a b i t of white s a i l t rembling i n a corner of the sea, or a l o f t y range of moun-t a i n peaks moving i n the cloudy m i s t , , . 106 Or maybe... the h e r o i c and moving deeds at time of r i s k i n g one's l i f e , the s o r r o w f u l accounts of e x i l e and d i s p e r s i o n that pass from mouth to mouth, a l l that i s g l o r i o u s and sacred i n the world which c r e a t e s ., s e n s a t i o n . People's s e a r c h i n g f o r t h i n g s of beauty, i s a k i n d of s t r u g g l e . Facing t h i s s t r u g g l e , do you not have a trembling i n your h e a r t , a type of f'ear, y e t not at a l l a simple one, as an o l d s o l d i e r about to t h r u s t h i s bayonet? I t i s impossible to a s c e r t a i n whether or not the romantic hopes of the author were i n s p i r e d by d i s i l l u s i o n w i t h the p r e s e n t environment. There i s a synopsis a v a i l a b l e of a second essay w r i t t e n by Chen, however, which more c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e s h i s d i s -appointment w i t h l i f e i n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y camp. The o r i g i n a l p i e c e i t s e l f , e n t i t l e d "The Cock Crows" ( J i T i JjjjL v?i|? ) i s to my knowledge unavailable.. There i s r e f e r e n c e to i t i n Wenyi Eao, 1958 , 2:5 ,. as well, as in.. Mingbao Yuekan, 1966, 2,:91. T.A. H s i a has t r a n s l a t e d a summation of the p i e c e given by a "Miss Tseng K'e" who i n 1962 o f f e r e d a reminiscence of her time i n Yan'an as a member of the Yan'an Branch of the A l l - C h i n a W r i t e r s ' A n t i -a g g r e s s i o n A s s o c i a t i o n . (T.A. H s i a , 1968: 253-54) Her r e m i n i s -cence i s i n Sichuan Wenyi ( " j ^ ZJ )> 1962, 3, which I have been unable- to- examine-. '•' According to her assessment, Chen's "The Cock Crows" was a za wen i n f a b l e form. Perhaps mocking the naive romanticism of h i s f i r s t essay, the author s a t i r i z e d the d i s a l l u s i o n m e n t of e n t h u s i a s t i c r e v o l u t i o n a r y supporters who worked f o r the r e v o l u -t i o n i n hopes that i t would b r i n g l i g h t . A f t e r they prematurely r e v e l i n triumph and d i s c o v e r darkness s t i l l surrounding them, they " r e g r e t " t h e i r " i m p e t u o s i t y " .at .assuming, v i c t o r y too e a r l y . There, is. no. date given fo.r .".The Cock Crows", but i t prob-ably appeared around the same time as another essay by Chen s i m i l a r l y t i t l e d "The Wolf C r i e s . " T h i s l a t t e r was p r i n t e d i n JFRB on February .2, 1942. Chen again used metaphors - employing animals to r e p r e s e n t v a r i o u s p o l i t i c a l f o r c e s i n Yan'an. He wrote, "Of a l l the c r u e l w i l d beasts a c t i v e i n the b l a c k n i g h t , there are none who do not f e a r f i r e and l i g h t . " "When a wolf 107 goes i n t o a s t a b l e , horses w i l l , n eigh l o u d l y yet donkeys become s i l e n t i d i o t s w a i t i n g to be eaten..." The wolf a p p a r e n t l y r e -presented the f o r c e s of e v i l e x i s t i n g i n Yan'an which were to be the aim of the reform movement, while the horses and donkeys repre s e n t e d , r e s p e c t i v e l y , the a c t i v e elements i n the P a r t y w i l l -i ng to push f o r p r o g r e s s i v e reforms and defend themselves and t h e i r camp a g a i n s t darkness, and the p a s s i v e l a z y elements (spoken of by Luo Feng and Wang Shiwei) who allowed darkness to overcome them. Chen Q i x i a was more o p t i m i s t i c i n t h i s essay than i n "The Cock Crows", f o r here he b e l i e v e d that the l i g h t would u l t i m a t e l y overcome darkness, s i n c e there were no w i l d beasts "who do not f e a r f i r e and l i g h t . " "Ziyou Tan" ( \ty ^^ /> ) was the l i t e r a r y supplement to Shanghai's Shen Bao ( ). I have been unable to t r a c e "Dong Xiang" ( ((ff ) but i t too must have been a l i t e r a r y supplement. 2 ^ The n o t i o n of l i t e r a r y supplements (fukan ^>'J -f'J ) e x i s t i n g and o p e r a t i n g i n an e s s e n t i a l l y independent f a s h i o n from the sponsorship of the main newspaper to which they belonged dates back to the 1920's i n China. L i t e r a r y supplements had o f t e n served as important channels through which young unknown w r i t e r s c o u l d get p u b l i s h e d and make a name f o r themselves. Fukan a l s o served as sounding boards f o r the d i s c o n t e n t s of w r i t e r s . "Wen Y i " , then, was viewed by w r i t e r s as a p o t e n t i a l l y very powerful channel through which to launch t h e i r complaints, and s o l i d i f y t h e i r s t r e n g t h a g a i n s t c r i t i c i s m they would r e c e i v e from the government. 2 6 Wenyi Yuebao was mentioned by Ouyang Shan i n JFRB on May 19, 1941. In December of that year L i u Xuewei r e f e r r e d to the " r e c e n t l y p u b l i s h e d " j o u r n a l s Gu Yu ( ), Cao Ye (j^-), and Shi Kan ( *f ' J ). T h i s would c o n f i r m Ding Ling's o b s e r v a t i o n that i n March, 1941, none of these j o u r n a l s had yet e x i s t e d . 108 27 See Chapter Two, note 22. 28 Nowhere e l s e d i d I f i n d r e f e r e n c e to Shu Qun's e d i t o r i a l p o s i t i o n but n e i t h e r d i d I f i n d r e f e r e n c e to A i S i q i as e d i t o r , although a c c o r d i n g to l a t e r secondary sources, i t was the l a t t e r who r e p l a c e d Ding L i n g . N e i t h e r Goldman (p. 143) nor T.A. Hsia (p. 247) give an exact date f o r Ding Ling's replacement, though Hsia r e f e r s to an a r t i c l e on A p r i l 22 by A i S i q i who had by then "succeeded Ting L i n g as e d i t o r of the L i t e r a r y Page of the L i b e r a t i o n D a i l y " (T.A. H s i a : 247), while K l e i n and C l a r k w r i t e , " F o l l o w i n g the ouster of T i n g , i n June 1942 A i assumed her post as e d i t o r of the c u l t u r a l page of the Chieh-fang j i h - p a o . " (Bio-g r a p h i c a l D i c t i o n a r y of Chinese Communism:1921-1965 ed. Donald W. K l e i n and Anne B. C l a r k , Cambridge: Harvard U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1971, p. 1.) Thus there i s disagreement as to who took over when, At l e a s t as of March 13, Shu Qun was scheduled to assume the post. D. Holm a l s o b e l i e v e s that i t was Shu Qun who assumed the job along w i t h Ding Ling's former c o - e d i t o r Chen Q i x i a . (D. Holm, 1978, p. 6) See note 37 below. M. Goldman's p o s t u l a t i o n (p. 1-2; p. 33) t h a t the P a r t y planned . the zheng feng movement as they went along, w i t h no set r u l e s p r e s c r i b e d beforehand. They designed g u i d e l i n e s i n response to w r i t e r s ' o p i n i o n s and a c t i o n s . 30 Nonetheless such were the a c c u s a t i o n s made a g a i n s t Yan'an w r i t e r s i n 1957-58. 31 "Wen Y i " d i d not appear on March 31. I t was common f o r the space a l l o t e d to the column to be i n t e r s p e r s e d on some days wit h other s p e c i a l s e c t i o n s such as "Qingnian z h i Ye" ( ^ 29 See D. Holm, 1978, p. 3-4. T h i s n o t i o n would support 109 32 There are a few i l l e g i b l e c h a r a c t e r s on the JFRB micro-f i l m copy at my d i s p o s a l . This f u r t h e r prevents me from making any f i r m c o n c l u s i o n as to the meaning of t h i s essay. 3 3 The meeting was h e l d at Yang J i a L i n g (J[Kfj V|j< ) > l o c a t i o n of Party C e n t r a l Headquarters. Over seventy people attended, both P a r t y and non-Party members, i n c l u d i n g w r i t e r s . Both Xiao Jun and the poet Ke Zhongping; Jf ) were re p o r t e d to have been " e n t h u s i a s t i c " about the reform of the paper. 34 Zhongguo X i a n d a i Chuban S h i l i a o , e d i t e d by Zhang J i n g l u , volume 4 p a r t 1: 243-48 has r e p r i n t e d an e d i t o r a l from JFRB, February 16, 1944 commemorating the 1000th i s s u e of the newspaper. In i t , the A p r i l , 1942 r e v i s i o n s were assessed and there are extensive quotes from the A p r i l 1, 1942 e d i t o r a l concerning r e a -sons f o r r e v i s i o n . 3 5 This set of poems, along w i t h another, (He Q i f a n g , JFRB, 1942 A) were to i n c i t e c o n t e n t i o n among c r i t i c s as to the degree of c r i t i c i s m these poems deserved. The c o n t r o v e r s y appeared on June 19, J u l y 2, and J u l y 18, but w i l l not be d e a l t w i t h u n t i l the f o l l o w i n g chapter, w i t h i n the context of the i n f l u e n c e of Mao's May " T a l k s " on l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m . 3 6 See Goldman, p. 31 f o r a t r a n s l a t i o n of one s e c t i o n of t h i s poem. 37 The assumption that the Party ordered no more p r i n t i n g of za wen i s based only on the r e p o r t on the March 31 meeting to r e v i s e the paper i n which there- had been noted a d i f f e r e n c e be-tween " s i n c e r e " c r i t i c i s m and " s a r c a s t i c dark arrows" (stabs i n the back). I t i s safe to assume that the CCP was here disapprov-ing of other w r i t e r s of za wen besides Wang Shiwei. I t would make sense that Ding L i n g stepped down as of March 31, yet the p r i n t i n g of Xiao Jun's A p r i l 8 essay as w e l l as the f o l l o w i n g may prove otherwise. In an a n t i - r i g h t i s t c r i t i c i s m of Xiao Jun's 110 za wen by Ma T i e d i n g , 1958, i t i s w r i t t e n that the f i v e essays being c r i t i c i z e d were a l l p r i n t e d i n JFRB when Ding L i n g and Chen Q i x i a were e d i t o r s . In B i o g r a p h i c D i c t i o n a r y of Chinese Communism (see note 28 below) June i s the month given when Ding L i n g was r e p l a c e d as e d i t o r , and i n l i g h t of the f a c t t h at another subver-s i v e essay of Xiao Jun's made i t to press on June 13, t h i s l a t e r date of t r a n s f e r of power i n "Wen Y i " seems more l i k e l y . There i s one f u r t h e r p o s s i b i l i t y (which however would not f i t i n w i t h Ma T i e d i n g ' s remarks above), which i s that Shu Qun took over at the end of March and then the P a r t y , d i s s a t i s f i e d w i t h h i s work i n l i g h t of the f a c t t h at he continued to p r i n t Xiao Jun's subversive essays, f i r e d him and p l a c e d A i S i q i i n the post sometime i n June. This scene can be found i n the Chinese v e r s i o n of the novel on pp. 114-117, and i n the E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n on pp. '125-128. See B i b l i o g r a p h y f o r t e x t s used. 39 Chinese v e r s i o n , pp. 232-233, E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n , p. 2 53. 40 T h i s t r a n s l a t i o n i s from Goldman, p. 28. 41 T h i s essay was the t a r g e t of a t t a c k i n 1958 f o r p l e a s i n g the enemy N a t i o n a l i s t s , f o r c r i t i c s a s s e r t e d that the Guomindang had p r a i s e d i t and used i t f o r propaganda purposes. Such d i s -s a t i s f i e d youth who had r e c e i v e d Xiao's sympathy were l a b e l e d "Party t r a i t o r s . " See Ma T i e d i n g , 1958. See B. Compton, pp. 1-8 f o r the E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n , and Zhcngfeng. Wenxian, pp. 1-50 f o r the o r i g i n a l Chinese. I l l CHAPTER FOUR; FROM THE MAY "TALKS" TO THE END OF AUGUST, 1942 Before d i s c u s s i n g the l i t e r a r y and a r t forum convened i n May we should look at a b r i e f o u t l i n e of developments on t h e , c u l t u r a l page of JFRB from May u n t i l August. Since such developments were to take p l a c e as a r e s u l t of the May conference and the l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement, they may serve too as a p a r a l l e l to p o l i t -i c a l trends i n the CCP base during these months. A. The E f f e c t of the May Forum on JFRB, page f o u r . On May 13, s i x weeks a f t e r the l a s t i s s u e of "Wen Y i " , a new column c a l l e d "Study" ( ' ( 5 ) made i t s f i r s t appearance on page f o u r of JFRB. This s e c t i o n focused on the study movement i n •Yan'an which had taken shape dur i n g the month of A p r i l . On May 2 the f i r s t meeting of the now well-known l i t e r a r y and a r t c o n f e r ^ ence was h e l d , and as of May 14 the e d i t o r ( s ) of page f o u r announced that from that day on they would p r i n t m a t e r i a l s r e l a t -ed to t h i s conference which was termed "an important event." During the month of May we see long essays by such well-known w r i t e r s as Xiao Jun, A i Qing, He Qi f a n g , and L i u Baiyu e x p r e s s i n g t h e i r present views of the l i t e r a r y scene i n l i g h t of Mao's "Forum" and l a t e r - t o - b e p u b l i s h e d "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on L i t e r a t u r e and A r t " (-4- lk # K Zs % t\ ^ ^ & tfy ^"^f ) , known h e r e i n as the " T a l k s " . On May 31, the e d i t o r ( s ) of page four announced a new request f o r manuscript c o n t r i b u t i o n s . They asked f o r "sketches, r e p o r t -age, poems and songs, f i c t i o n , p a i n t i n g , woodblock p r i n t s , s h o r t 112 p l a y s , etc.. which r e f l e c t s t r u g g l e and the l i f e of the Border Region and which c o n t a i n p o s i t i v e content." : A l s o requested were "essays on l i t e r a t u r e , book reviews, i n t r o d u c t i o n s to l i t e r a r y works, random notes on books, and za wen concerned with c u l t u r a l i d e o l o g y . " This demand f o r c o n t r i b u t i o n s to page f o u r d i f f e r e d from e a r l i e r requests i n that i t s p e c i f i c a l l y c a l l e d f o r works r e f l e c t i n g " s t r u g g l e " , and with a " p o s i t i v e content" an obvious r e c o g n i t i o n of the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement and the new d i r e c t i o n i n l i t e r a t u r e and a r t i n d i c a t e d that month by the CCP v i a Mao's " T a l k s . " 1 Almost h a l f the month of June i s f i l l e d w i t h e i t h e r d i r e c t or i n d i r e c t c r i t i c i s m s of Wang Shiwei by w r i t e r s , c r i t i c s , aca-demics, and p o l i t i c i a n s , while i n J u l y and August (minus a few p i e c e s i n J u l y ) , s p e c i f i c a t t e n t i o n to the accused " T r o t s k y i t e " ceases. Besides the appearance of more f i c t i o n and l e s s a r t i c l e s devoted to the r e c t i f i c a t i o n campaign, we see v a r i o u s comments by w r i t e r s on the tremendous d i f f i c u l t i e s they are encountering i n t h e i r attempt to f o l l o w the newly e s t a b l i s h e d l i t e r a r y p o l i c y . We a l s o f i n d a few i s o l a t e d o b s e r v a t i o n s on the a s - o f - y e t unsuc-c e s s f u l implementation of n a t i o n a l forms. While the dilemma a r i s i n g from w r i t e r s ' i n a b i l i t y to l i v e - u p to the new demands put upon them w i l l be examined i n more d e t a i l towards the end of t h i s chapter, the general f a i l u r e to make widespread the use of n a t i o n a l forms as w e l l as l a t e r l i t e r a r y d i s c u s s i o n s o c c u r i n g i n the pages of JFRB a f t e r summer, 1942, w i l l not concern us i n t h i s paper. The c l o s e of the Wang Shiwei case and the end to immediate r e a c t i o n to Mao's " T a l k s " w i l l form the c h r o n o l o g i c a l boundary of our i n q u i r y . 113 Having a general idea of how the May Forum a f f e c t e d page f o u r of JFRB, we can now proceed to look at the framework,roots, and content of the conference i t s e l f . B. The Framework of the Forum Three major forums were convened i n May i n an attempt to s o l v e the l i t e r a r y and a r t i s t i c questions that had been brewing among w r i t e r s and a r t i s t s ever s i n c e t h e i r a r r i v a l to the Border Area. From the Party's p o i n t of view, t h i s was the o p p o r t u n i t y to c o r r e c t mistaken tendencies which had come to a head i n March through the medium of za wen e x p r e s s i n g d i s c o n t e n t w i t h v a r i o u s aspects of l i f e i n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y camp. As we w i l l see, the r e s u l t s of the d i s c u s s i o n s tended to c o n t r i b u t e much more to the " c o r r e c t i o n " of ideas v o i c e d by w r i t e r s , that i s , to the l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n campaign, than to a concrete and s a t i s f a c t o r y treatment of the i s s u e s brought f o r t h f o r debate i n the pages of JFRB. In t e r s p e r s e d between the three formal meetings c a l l e d by the CCP - the f i r s t on May 2, the second on May 16 (He Q i f a n g , 1977:2), and the t h i r d on May 23, s m a l l e r group s e s s i o n s met to d i s c u s s r e l e v a n t t o p i c s . Although others i n the government l e a d -2 e r s h i p such as L i u Shaoqi, Chen Boda, Bo Gu, e t c . were p r e s e n t , there i s o n l y a w r i t t e n r e c o r d (based on notes) of Mao's speeches given at the f i r s t and t h i r d meetings. Sessions h e l d before May 23 served as forums i n which P a r t y and non-Party w r i t e r s and l e a d e r s were asked to a i r t h e i r o p i n i o n s on e x i s t i n g l i t e r a r y concerns. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , besides one w r i t t e n account by Xiao 114 Jun of h i s ideas v o i c e d at the May 2 conference, there i s no w r i t t e n r e c o r d of the remarks of the other p a r t i c i p a n t s . The poet He Qifang wrote a small book commemorating'the 35th a n n i v e r s a r y of the " T a l k s " i n which he c o l l e c t e d some o b s e r v a t i o n s of the conference based on the memories of people l i k e h i m s e l f 3 who had been t h e r e . But these are not a u t h e n t i c , v e r i f i e d r e -cords and are no doubt c o l o r e d by events which have o c c u r r e d i n the subsequent years s i n c e . We do know that everyone and anyone who occupied a p o s i t i o n of any s i g n i f i c a n c e connected w i t h the l i t e r a r y world v o i c e d t h e i r i d e a s . The w r i t e r Zhou Libo who was present, wrote t h a t on May 2, a f t e r Zhu De' s A^fLs > then Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army) opening remarks, Mao d e l i v e r -ed h i s " I n t r o d u c t i o n " ( ^I ;S ) and then l i s t e n e d to everyone e l s e ' s o p i n i o n s , pen i n hand. Zhou Yang was among the speakers. (Zhou:Libo, 1962) According to He Q i f a n g , one hundred people appeared at t h i s f i r s t meeting, t h i r t y of whom were teachers or cadres from the Lu Xun Academy of A r t s . The poet a l s o confirmed that there was much debate a f t e r Mao's " I n t r o d u c t i o n " and i n f a c t r e c a l l e d t h a t on May 23, one w r i t e r (apparently d i s s a t i s f i e d w i t h the proceedings) got up and l e c t u r e d f o r an hour on " b a s i c a r t i s -t i c knowledge." People were i n s u l t e d and someone stood up and shouted "This i s not a t r a i n i n g c l a s s . " (He Qifang, 1977:5) According to Mingbao Yuekan, there were s t i l l q u i t e a few people who sympathized w i t h Wang Shiwei at the f i r s t two meetings. (Ding Youguang, 1966, P a r t One:91) This l i k e l y l e d to s p i r i t e d debate. Mao's " I n t r o d u c t i o n " was to be a preview and o u t l i n e of the t o p i c s to be examined i n h i s " C o n c l u s i o n " ( ) of May 23. I 115 Before l o o k i n g over the " T a l k s " i t s e l f (of which the May 2 5 " C o n c l u s i o n " occupies most of the t e x t ) , i t w i l l be h e l p f u l to take a short look at some of the r o o t s f o r Mao's t h e o r i e s on l i t e r a t u r e and a r t as w e l l as the h i s t o r i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e of h i s " T a l k s " , although the scope of t h i s t h e s i s allows f o r only the most s u p e r f i c i a l assessments i n these areas. C. Roots of Theories Presented i n the " T a l k s " Mao's conception of the r o l e of l i t e r a t u r e and a r t i n revo,-l u t i o r i • was i n s p i r e d by both S o v i e t Russian i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of Ma r x i s t d o c t r i n e and pre v i o u s Chinese Communist c o n t r i b u t i o n s and attempts at f o r m u l a t i n g a l i t e r a r y and a r t p o l i c y . Where the Ma r x i s t p h i l o s o p h i c a l d o c t r i n e of d i a l e c t i c a l m a t e r i a l i s m served as b a s i s f o r Mao's fundamental assumptions of the r e l a t i o n between c u l t u r e and the economic base of s o c i e t y , Lenin's ideas on l i t e r -ature l e n t more concrete i n s p i r a t i o n f o r Mao's p e r s p e c t i v e on l i t e r a t u r e . Lenin's 1905 "Party O r g a n i z a t i o n and Pa r t y L i t e r a -t u r e " was i n f a c t d i r e c t l y quoted i n l a t e r v e r s i o n s of the "Talks". (Mao Zedong, 1942 C, SWMTT:75) The most important elements taken from Lenin's speech and used as a b a s i s f o r CCP l i t e r a r y p o l i c y were, f i r s t , the concept of a "party l i t e r a t u r e . " L i t e r a t u r e cannot be a means of e n r i c h i n g i n d i v i d u a l s or groups: i t cannot, i n f a c t , be an i n d i v i d u a l u n d e r - t a k i n g , independent of the common cause of the p r o l e t a r i a t . Down wit h n o n - p a r t i s a n w r i t e r s ! Down w i t h l i t e r a r y supermen! L i t e r a t u r e must become p a r t of the common cause of the p r o l e t a r i a t , 'a cog and a screw' of one s i n g l e great S o c i a l - D e m o c r a t i c mechanism... 116 P u b l i s h i n g and d i s t r i b u t i n g c e n t r e s , bookshops and reading rooms, l i b r a r i e s and s i m i l a r es-tablishments - must a l l be under p a r t y c o n t r o l . The organized s o c i a l i s t p r o l e t a r i a t must keep an eye on a l l t h i s work,... i n f u s e i t i n t o the l i f e s t r e a m of the l i v i n g p r o l e t a r i a n cause... (Lenin, 1905:45, 46) As P r o f e s s o r Fokkema noted, (1965:8-9) Lenin's speech was d i r e c t e d towards propaganda, j o u r n a l i s t i c w r i t i n g , yet Mao i n t e r -p r e t e d h i s remarks to cover c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g as w e l l . The next important f e a t u r e of Lenin's n o t i o n s on the regu-l a t i o n of l i t e r a t u r e which was espoused by Mao was the r e c o g n i -t i o n of a c e r t a i n allowance to be made i n c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g f o r the sake of a e s t h e t i c impact. There i s no qu e s t i o n that l i t e r a t u r e i s l e a s t of a l l s u b j e c t to mechanical adjustment or l e v e l i n g , to the r u l e of the m a j o r i t y over the m i n o r i t y . There i s no q u e s t i o n , e i t h e r , that i n t h i s f i e l d g r e a t e r scope must undoubtedly be allowed f o r p e r s o n a l i n i t i a t i v e , i n d i v i d u a l i n c l i n a t i o n , thought and f a n t a s y , form and content. A l l t h i s i s undeniable; but a l l t h i s simply, shows that the l i t e r a r y s i d e of 1-the pro-l e t a r i a n p a r t y cause cannot be m e c h a n i c a l l y i d e n t i f i e d w i t h „ i t s other s i d e s . T h i s , however, does not i n the l e a s t r e f u t e the p r o p o s i t i o n , a l i e n and strange to the b o u r g e o i s i e and bour-geois democracy, that l i t e r a t u r e must by a l l means and n e c e s s a r i l y become an element of Social - D e m o c r a t i c P a r t y work, i n s e p a r a b l y bound up wit h the other elements. (Lenin, 1905:46) Mao d i d not ever make a l l u s i o n to t h i s s e c t i o n of Lenin's speech, yet from h i s own p o s i t i o n as a poet, from h i s d i s t a s t e f o r f o r m u l i s t i c l i t e r a t u r e , and from remarks made l a t e r d u r i n g the Hundred Flowers Campaign, we can d i s c e r n h i s own d e s i r e f o r a e s t h e t i c a l l y p l e a s i n g l i t e r a t u r e and a r t w i t h i n the framework of r e v o l u t i o n a r y e x p r e s s i o n . He was f u l l y aware that a r t i s t i -c a l l y e f f e c t i v e works made a l l the more powerful p o l i t i c a l weapons. 117 F i n a l l y , from L e n i n , came the s e c t o r of s o c i e t y towards whom l i t e r a t u r e and a r t would be d i r e c t e d . Mao, of course, was to add peasants and s o l d i e r s to the "working people" as audience: It w i l l be a f r e e l i t e r a t u r e , because i t w i l l serve, not some s a t i a t e d h e r oine, not the bored 'upper ten t h o u s a n d ' s u f f e r i n g from f a t t y a degeneration, but the m i l l i o n s and tens of m i l l i o n s of working people - the flower of the country, i t s s t r e n g t h and i t s f u t u r e . (Lenin, 1905:48-49) Besides the ideas of Len i n , i t i s not obvious from Mao's " T a l k s " p r e c i s e l y which S o v i e t M a r x i s t l i t e r a r y t h e o r i e s he had read, f a m i l i a r i z e d h i m s e l f w i t h , and been i n f l u e n c e d by, although i t i s c l e a r that h i s advocacy of " p r o l e t a r i a t r e a l i s m " was a d i r e c t r e s u l t of S o v i e t i n f l u e n c e . Probably the primary Communist Chinese l i t e r a r y t h e o r i s t to i n f l u e n c e Mao was Qu Q i u b a i . Responsible f o r the i n t r o d u c t i o n to China of M a r x i s t t h e o r i e s on l i t e r a t u r e from the S o v i e t Union as e a r l y as the 1920's, Qu had a l s o exerted much i n f l u e n c e over the League of Left-wing W r i t e r s formed i n 1930. The p o l i t i c a l prem-i s e s of the League and i t s l i t e r a r y p r i n c i p l e s (see Chapter One) were c e r t a i n l y to c o n t r i b u t e to Pa r t y p o l i c y i n 1942. Qu' s own w r i t i n g s i n the e a r l y t h i r t i e s e x p r e ssing h i s concern f o r the p r e s e r v a t i o n of t r a d i t i o n a l popular c u l t u r e through the a p p r o p r i -ate adoption of n a t i o n a l forms to the r e v o l u t i o n a r y cause, had given shape to the d e s i r e on the p a r t of many CCP c u l t u r a l l e a d e r s to r e t a i n some element of n a t i o n a l , t r a d i t i o n a l f o l k c u l t u r e . (This d e n i a l of t o t a l iconoclasm has been t r a c e d back to Lenin. See P. Pickowicz, 1977:382) Although Mao d i d not share i n Qu's extreme d e n u n c i a t i o n of the May Fo u r t h "bourgeois" r e v o l u t i o n i n 118 l i t e r a t u r e , he d i d make the same hard d i s t i n c t i o n s between l i t e r -ature and a r t f o r the p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i e , and l i t e r a t u r e and a r t f o r the p r o l e t a r i a t , adding peasants and s o l d i e r s to the l a t t e r group. Another Chinese source f o r Mao's ideas o f f e r e d i n the " T a l k s " came from Zhou Yang. Zhou, l i k e Qu, was ve r s e d i n S o v i e t l i t e r a r y t h e o r i e s , and i n 1942 was i n the process of i n t r o d u c i n g the Russian t h e o r i s t Chernyshevsky i n t o the r e v o l u t i o n a r y base areas 4 of China. Zhou's advise to young w r i t e r s to fuse w i t h everyday l i f e around them i n order to c r e a t e more worthwhile, e f f e c t i v e , and moving works (See Chapter Two, p. 32-34), served as one of the most fundamental tenets of "Maoist" l i t e r a r y theory and p o l i c y . Hence, even the most s u p e r f i c i a l look at the h i s t o r i c a l and contemporary i n f l u e n c e s on Mao's t h e o r i e s i n the " T a l k s " r e v e a l s that h i s p o l i c y on l i t e r a t u r e and a r t was by no means h i s own c r e a t i o n . I t was, r a t h e r , a d e f i n i t i v e a f f i r m a t i o n and c r y s t a l -l i z a t i o n of attempts made before 1942 at c r e a t i n g some s o r t of f i x e d standard by which Chinese Communist w r i t e r s , a r t i s t s , and c r i t i c s c o u l d proceed i n t h e i r work. Since 1942, Mao's " T a l k s " have been c o n s i d e r e d by the Com-munist orthodoxy to be a panacea, the long-awaited l i t e r a r y and ... a r t p o l i c y which not onl y answered the questions of Communist w r i t e r s i n China i n 1942, but has been a c o r r e c t guidebook f o r a l l Chinese r e v o l u t i o n a r y l i t e r a t u r e s i n c e than time. In 1942, l e f t i s t w r i t e r s i n China were indeed i n need of a l i t e r a r y d i r e c -t i o n to guide them through the many dilemmas which surrounded t h e i r w r i t i n g . But a c l o s e look at the " T a l k s " below w i l l r e v e a l that r a t h e r than o f f e r i n g f i n a l s o l u t i o n s to p r a c t i c a l a r t i s t i c 119 problems, the p o l i c y o u t l i n e d t h e o r e t i c a l and r a t h e r i d e a l i s t i c p r o p o s a l s f o r a f u t u r e l i t e r a t u r e and a r t , a l i t e r a t u r e and a r t which c o u l d not p o s s i b l y have e x i s t e d at the time, nor i n the very near f u t u r e , given the s t i l l low c u l t u r a l l e v e l of the masses and the d i s p o s i t i o n of the u r b a n - t r a i n e d w r i t e r s . T h i s i s not to deny the value of the " T a l k s " which d i d o f f e r a c o n c i s e presen-t a t i o n of CCP l i t e r a r y p o l i c i e s accumulated over the years and a d e f i n i t i o n of the boundaries of l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n i n 1942. But the l i m i t a t i o n s of the " T a l k s " as thorough s o l u t i o n s to a r t i s -t i c problems b o t h e r i n g w r i t e r s i n 1942 are'undeniable. D. The Yan'an'Talks" In examining the t e x t i t s e l f , r a t h e r than d i s c u s s i n g the major p o i n t s i n the order i n which they appear i n the " T a l k s " , i t w i l l be more u s e f u l to arrange them i n the same order i n which we examined s i m i l a r i s s u e s brought up before May, 1942, i n Chapter Two. T h i s w i l l enable us to see more c l e a r l y how Mao d i d or d i d not deal w i t h the questions that had been r a i s e d f o r de-bate i n the pages of JFRB duri n g the past year. Treatment of Mao's remarks, then, w i l l be d i v i d e d i n t o source m a t e r i a l , c r e a -t i v e method and approach, the a p p l i c a t i o n of Marxism-Leninism to l i t e r a t u r e and a r t , p o p u l a r i z a t i o n and the r a i s i n g of standards ( i n c l u d i n g audience), and treatment of w r i t e r s . ^ Addressing the q u e s t i o n of source m a t e r i a l , Mao p l a i n l y wanted to see d e p i c t i o n s of "the new people and the new world", "the l i f e of the people i n our own time and p l a c e . " (MZDJ:127/ SWMTT:81) The "people" (the "masses") were d e f i n e d as f i r s t , the 120 workers; second, the peasants; t h i r d the army; and f o u r t h , the "urban p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i e and i n t e l l e c t u a l s . " (MZDJ:121/SWMTT:77) Ten years e a r l i e r , Qu Qi u b a i had e n v i s i o n e d a s i m i l a r hope: Our work must r e f l e c t the a c t u a l r e v o l u t i o n a r y s t r u g g l e by p r e s e n t i n g r e v o l u t i o n a r y heroism, p a r t i c u l a r l y the heroism of the people. This w i l l r e q u i r e exposing r e a c t i o n a r y consciousness and the t i m i d wavering of the p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i e , thereby b r i n g i n g to l i g h t the i n f l u e n c e of t h i s consciousness upon the s t r u g g l e of the people, and thus a s s i s t i n g i n the growth and development of r e v o l u t i o n a r y c l a s s consciousness. (Qu Q i u b a i , 1932:38-39/English:51) Mao's o r i g i n a l t e x t read that although l i t e r a t u r e and a r t i n " n a t u r a l form" ( Q "ft fJ ) was the onl y source of l i t -"processed l i t e r a t u r e and a r t i s more organized, more concentrated, more t y p i c a l , more i d e a l , and thus more u n i v e r s a l than l i t e r a t u r e and a r t i n n a t u r a l form." (MZDJ:128) In l a t e r v e r s i o n s , "man's s o c i a l l i f e " was s u b s t i t u t e d f o r " l i t e r a t u r e and a r t i n n a t u r a l form", " c o n c e p t u a l i z e d form" was omitted, and "processed l i t e r a -ture and a r t " was changed to " l i f e as r e f l e c t e d i n works of l i t e r -ature and a r t . " One of the s i x t r a i t s of a r t , "more or g a n i z e d " , was a l s o l a t e r changed to "on a higher plane, more i n t e n s e . " (SWMTT:82) In g e n e r a l , the r e v i s i o n s seemed to r e f l e c t a switch from very ambiguous to l e s s ambiguous terminology. In any event, the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of l i t e r a t u r e and a r t named by Mao were d i -r e c t l y i n f l u e n c e d by p r o l e t a r i a t - r e a l i s t a r t theory i n the S o v i e t Union and were to shape subsequent conceptions of r e v o l u t i o n a r y r e a l i s m / r o m a n t i c i s m ' i n China. . er a t u r e and a r t i n " c o n c e p t u a l i z e d form ti Next Mao gave a s p e c i f i c order concerning the p o r t r a y a l of "petty-bourgeois i n t e l l e c t u a l s . " T h i s was an important p o i n t , s i n c e the m a j o r i t y of w r i t e r s i n Yan'an had spent much of t h e i r time and e f f o r t c h a r a c t e r i z i n g people of t h e i r own c l a s s . The CCP decreed here t h a t p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i n t e l l e c t u a l s should be shown i n the process of reforming t h e i r bourgeois i d e o l o g y ; thus the sympathetic p o r t r a y a l of backward i n t e l l e c t u a l s only perpe-t r a t e d the d i s t a n c e between themselves and the masses and was deemed unacceptable. Mao no doubt had i n mind here d e p i c t i o n s such as that of the young heroine Lu Ping i n Ding Ling's "In the H o s p i t a l " (see Chapter Two), and the young nurse i n Fang J i ' s As we observed e a r l i e r , Ding Ling's heroine was s y m p a t h e t i c a l l y played up as an e n t h u s i a s t i c woman comrade w i l l i n g to serve the people and the P a r t y but too d i s a l l u s i o n e d by the i n e f f i c i e n c y and inhumanity of Party members to do so. Fang J i ' s short s t o r y , o r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d i n the now u n a v a i l a b l e Yan'an j o u r n a l Wenyi Yuebao was c r i t i c i z e d by a L i u Huang on June 25, 1942. I t a p p a r e n t l y a l s o concerned a nurse, a true s a c r i f i c e r f o r the r e v o l u t i o n who was t r o u b l e d , however, by the environment, by something " o u t s i d e her c o n s c i o u s n e s s " and g r a d u a l l y went insane. The c r i t i c a s s e r t e d t h a t the on l y t h i n g causing her i l l n e s s was her own p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s consciousness and not e x t e r n a l f a c t o r s ( i . e . , the Party) at a l l . ( L i u Huang, JFRB, 1942) Ding Ling's Lu Ping had been c r i t i c i z e d i n e x a c t l y the same manner. In both cases, i n s t e a d of making a p o s i t i v e example of how such people c o u l d overcome i n c o r r e c t i d e o l o g y , the authors had sympathized w i t h t h e i r heroines a g a i n s t the P a r t y . ( T) Jr.tL ) "Beyond the Realm of Consciousness it Mao's s o l u t i o n f o r w r i t e r s simply not versed i n the p o r t r a y a l of workers, peasants, and s o l d i e r s (known h e r e a f t e r as gongnong- t. , these s u b j e c t s strange to them. Yet Mao was f u l l y aware t h a t u r -ban w r i t e r s were not accustomed to t r e a t i n g s u b j e c t matter other than that w i t h which they were f a m i l i a r , i . e . , other t h a n " t h e i r own c l a s s . In f a c t , he acknowledged t h a t when w r i t e r s d i d t r y to d e p i c t gongnongbing, the r e s u l t was people i n "working c l o t h e s but with p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s f a c e s . " Even those who had been working at the f r o n t , i n the base areas and i n the army f o r a number of years had s t i l l not been able to s a t i s f a c t o r i l y s o l v e the problem of mixing w i t h the masses, nor, presumably, of c r e a t i n g a " p r o l e t a r -i a n " l i t e r a t u r e and a r t . The problem would take " e i g h t to ten y e a r s " to s o l v e , (MZDJ:12 3/SWMTT:7 8) assuming that once the ques-t i o n of c l a s s standpoint was r e s o l v e d , l i t e r a r y and a r t i s t i c d i f -f i c u l t i e s would be more e a s i l y overcome. It was now c l e a r , then, that l i t e r a t u r e and a r t was to no longer focus on the educated e l i t e , but was to g l o r i f y the deeds of the gongongbing. With a l l the r e c o g n i t i o n of d i f f i c u l t i e s ensuing from the p r a c t i c a l implementation of t h i s i d e a l , i t i s to be r e g r e t e d that Mao d i d not o f f e r more s p e c i f i c ideas on how w r i t e r s were to make the tremendous t r a n s i t i o n which was being demanded of them w i t h the d e f i n i t i v e switch to mass-based l i t e r -a t u r e . A p o l i t i c a l answer was o f f e r e d , but c o n t r i b u t e d l i t t l e to the s o l u t i o n of a r t i s t i c methods necessary to a c c u r a t e l y r e c r e a t e the l i v e s of the new s u b j e c t matter, the gongnongbing, Mao c o n t r i b u t e d l e s s to the d i s c u s s i o n of c r e a t i v e method than he d i d to approach and a t t i t u d e towards s u b j e c t matter. He b i n g , I~ ) was f o r them, to make themselves f a m i l i a r w i t h 123 r e f e r r e d to the method of "proletarian rea,lism" ? and p e r m i t t e d c r e a t i v e s t y l e s and methods other than r e a l i s m to e x i s t , o n l y f o r the sake of the U n i t e d Front..(MZDJ:136/SWMTT:87) Concerning approach to thematic m a t e r i a l , h i s lengthy e x p l a n a t i o n of c r i t i c a l a t t i t u d e s d e a l t e x c l u s i v e l y w i t h the q u e s t i o n of whether to expose the dark aspects of l i f e i n the CCP camp, or to e x t o l i t s b r i g h t s i d e . T h i s i s s u e was, i n f a c t , of the utmost importance to the urban w r i t e r s s i n c e i t was they who had supported the use of f i c t i o n and za wen as a means of exposing the e v i l remnants of the o l d s o c i e t y i n the CCP i n hopes of e l i m i n a t i n g them and f o s -t e r i n g progress toward the r e v o l u t i o n . Here, i n the " T a l k s " , the CCP gave i t s o f f i c i a l response to the c h a l l e n g e s made that s p r i n g by the s e l f - p r o c l a i m e d f o l l o w e r s of Lu Xun. F i r s t , Mao r e f u t e d the idea that r e c e n t Chinese l i t e r a r y works had e q u a l l y s t r e s s e d the b r i g h t and the dark s i d e s . P e t t y -bourgeois w r i t e r s , he maintained, merely s p e c i a l i z e d i n "preaching pessimism and world-weariness." (MZDJ:141/SWMTT:91) An example of what he probably had i n mind here i s a s t o r y by Yan Wenjing c a l l e d "Comrade Luoyu Takes a Walk". (JFRB, 1941, October 17) The short s t o r y shows two comrades duri n g unguarded moments when they are anything but paragons of r e v o l u t i o n a r y v i r t u e , but r a t h e r f u l l of wearied and p e s s i m i s t i c remarks about Yan'an l i f e . T h i s s t o r y w i l l be t r e a t e d i n more d e t a i l l a t e r . Mao drew h i s i n s p i r a t i o n f o r a l i t e r a t u r e which p r a i s e d the st r o n g p o i n t s of the r e v o l u t i o n a r y camp from the S o v i e t Union. So v i e t l i t e r a t u r e i n the p e r i o d of s o c i a l i s t c o n s t r u c t i o n was a model, he f e l t , worthy of emulation - l i t e r a t u r e which mainly p o r t r a y e d the b r i g h t and o n l y " d e s c r i b e s shortcomings i n work and 124 p o r t r a y s n e g a t i v e c h a r a c t e r s t o s e r v e as a c o n t r a s t t o b r i n g o u t t h e b r i g h t n e s s o f t h e w h o l e p i c t u r e . " What s h o u l d be p r a i s e d a n d w h a t s h o u l d be e x p o s e d ? " A l l t h e d a r k f o r c e s h a r m i n g t h e m a s s e s o f t h e p e o p l e m u s t be e x p o s e d a n d a l l t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y s t r u g g l e s 3 o f t h e m a s s e s o f t h e p e o p l e m u s t be e x t o l l e d " T h u s t h e s h o r t -c o m i n g s o f t h e m a s s e s s h o u l d be o v e r c o m e b y e d u c a t i o n a n d c r i t i -c i s m f r o m w i t h i n , b u t n o t t h r o u g h e x p o s u r e i n l i t e r a t u r e . E x p o s u r e i s o n l y r e s e r v e d f o r " a g g r e s s o r s , e x p l o i t e r s , a n d o p p r e s s o r s " o f t h e m a s s e s . H e r e Mao was r e f e r r i n g t o t h e v i e w t h a t " t h e t a s k o f l i t e r a t u r e a n d a r t h a s a l w a y s b e e n t o e x p o s e , " ( M Z D J : 1 4 1 / S W M T T : 9 1 ) w h i c h was p r e c i s e l y w h a t p e o p l e s u c h as A i Q i n g , L u o F e n g , D i n g L i n g , X i a o J u n , a n d Wang S h i w e i h a d b e e n e s p o u s i n g . A s f o r z a w e n , t h e e s s a y f o r m w h i c h h a d b e e n u s e d i n Y a n ' a n i n t h e m a n n e r i n w h i c h L u X u n h a d so o f t e n e m p l o y e d i t , i . e . , t o l a y b a r e c o r r u p t i o n b o t h i n a n d o u t s i d e t h e r a n k s , t h e CCP t o o k a f i r m s t a n d . T h e y t h o r o u g h l y o p p o s e d i t s " a b u s i v e " u s e i n s a t i -r i z i n g a l l i e s a n d CCP p e o p l e . W i t h o u t m e n t i o n i n g n a m e s , Mao was a l l u d i n g t o L u o F e n g ' s " S t i l l t h e A g e o f z a w e n " , D i n g L i n g ' s "We N e e d z a w e n " , a n d t o t h e s a t i r i c a l e s s a y s t h e m s e l v e s w r i t t e n b y t h e s e a n d o t h e r w r i t e r s c r i t i c i z i n g t h e C C P . Mao was f u r i o u s t h a t t h e s e p e o p l e u s e d L u X u n ' s z a wen t o j u s t i f y t h e i r o w n , a n d i n s i s t -e d t h a t t h e g r e a t w r i t e r h a d o n l y e m p l o y e d s u c h a s a r c a s t i c t o n e o f p e n a n d o b s c u r e s t y l e t o e s c a p e t h e KMT c e n s o r s u n d e r whom he l i v e d . M a o ' s a s s e r t i o n t h a t L u X u n h a d o n l y d i r e c t e d h i s a t t a c k s a g a i n s t h i s o p p o n e n t s o v e r l o o k e d t h e f a c t t h a t t h e w r i t e r ' s o p p o -n e n t s w e r e o f t e n t h o s e i n t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y c a m p . A n a r t i c l e b y Z h o u Wen w h i c h s o u g h t t o c l a r i f y o n c e a n d f o r a l l t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e z a wen o f L u X u n a n d t h a t u s e d b y 12 5 Wang Shiwei ("Wild L i l y " ) appeared i n press three weeks a f t e r Mao's " T a l k s " . (JFRE, 1942, June 16) This shows how important the Party found i t to c l e a r the name of Lu Xun, to keep h i s repu-t a t i o n as a model r e v o l u t i o n a r y w r i t e r u n t a i n t e d from misuse by what were co n s i d e r e d to be u n r e v o l u t i o n a r y elements. Zhou Wen di d mention that Lu Xun had a l s o c r i t i c i z e d the r e v o l u t i o n a r y camp and c i t e d h i s "Reply to Xu Mouyong" (Lu Xun, 1936) as an example. However, he was c a r e f u l to p o i n t out that although Lu Xun's tone i n t h i s p i e c e was not c o n g e n i a l , i t at l e a s t c o n tained " p r o p r i e t y of judgement" ( ^  TJ" ) si n c e i t was d i r e c t e d towards an a l l y r a t h e r than an enemy. Zhou Wen a l s o claimed that Wang 6 Shiwei had d i s t o r t e d Lu Xun i n a passage i n "Statesmen and A r t i s t s " " where he wrote, Lu Xun s t r u g g l e d h i s whole l i f e , but those who had a l i t t l e deeper understanding of him could c e r t a i n l y f e e l that he was r a t h e r l o n e l y i n the s t r u g g l e . He s t r u g g l e d because he recog-n i z e d the laws of order governing the develop-ment of s o c i e t y and b e l i e v e d that the f u t u r e would c e r t a i n l y be b r i g h t e r than the prese n t . He was l o n e l y because he saw that i n the souls of h i s comrades-in-arms was a l s o much f i l t h and darkness. (Zhou Wen, JFRB, 1942, June 16) In any event, Mao f e l t that i n the f r e e and democratic Border Area, there was no need to use " v e i l e d and roundabout ex-p r e s s i o n s which are hard f o r the people to understand." (MZDJ:142/ SWMTT:92) A t t a c k i n g za wen because i t was incomprehensible to the peo-p l e i s u n f a i r s i n c e i t was not intended f o r them i n the f i r s t p l a c e . Essays such as' those w r i t t e n by Luo Feng and Wang Shiwei were most c e r t a i n l y aimed at the educated cadres and l e a d e r s i n Yan'an about whom they were complaining, and not the average 126 workers, peasant, or s o l d i e r . I t i s d o u b t f u l that t h e i r intended audience had much d i f f i c u l t y i n d e c i p h e r i n g t h e i r " v e i l e d meaning". A f t e r a l l , CCP members i n l e a d e r s h i p p o s i t i o n s and most a l l people w r i t i n g f o r JFRB were a l s o g u i l t y of w r i t i n g i n a s t y l e aimed at the b e t t e r - e d u c a t e d , not the masses. However, i n l i g h t of the s t r e s s on p o p u l a r i z a t i o n , i t i s not s u r p r i s i n g that za wen was attacked f o r i t s language as w e l l as i t s c r i t i c a l a t t i t u d e towards subj e c t matter. Mao objected to s e v e r a l "muddled i d e a s " (MZDJ:139/SWMTT:90) c i r c u l a t i n g around Yan'an which g r e a t l y a f f e c t e d w r i t e r s ' views of the s o c i e t y about which they wrote. Such ideas formed the b a s i c premises from which w r i t e r s engaged i n l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y and approached t h e i r thematic material 1. The CCP was a f t e r a l l attempting to e l i m i n a t e some of the most fundamental p h i l o s o p h i -c a l p r i n c i p l e s governing the work of many w r i t e r s , and such a purging of " i n c o r r e c t i d e a s " was to pro f o u n d l y a f f e c t f u t u r e . l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y i n the CCP camp. One mistaken concept, a c c o r d i n g to Mao, was the "theory of human nat u r e . " (MZDJ:139/SWMTT:90) This was p l a i n l y a r e f e r e n c e to Wang Shiwei. In a c r i t i c i s m of the author of "Wild L i l y " by Zhang lR'uxin , (JFRB t 1942 , June 17) Wang's "theory of human nature" was t r a c e d back to a w a l l p o s t e r he had w r i t t e n on the w a l l s of the C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e (former M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t I n s t i t u t e ) where he worked as a t r a n s l a t o r . According to Zhang, Wang's za components - human bones and p o l i t i c a l bones, (the word "bones" meaning moral f i b e r here.) One's human bones, wrote Wang, were wen , e n t i t l e d "Hard Bones and S o f t Bones" / ^ j t ^ j^fj (Cai Danye, 1972:65) d i v i d e d the i n d i v i d u a l i n t o two 127 determined by how one understood and r e l a t e d to other people, while one's p o l i t i c a l P a r t y member bones were determined by the C e n t r a l P a r t y Bureau. He was c r i t i c i z e d here f o r making no d i s -t i n c t i o n between c l a s s but f o r d e s c r i b i n g one brand of human nature f o r people of a l l c l a s s e s . Wang was a t t a c k e d , too, f o r employing such a b s t r a c t and non-class terms as " l o v e " , " p o l i t i c s " , " a r t " , "hard and s o f t bones" throughout h i s essay. T h i s w a l l a r t i c l e had been w r i t t e n sometime between l a t e March and mid-A p r i l , as i t was r e f u t e d on A p r i l 17 i n the newspaper by someone usi n g the pen name of L i Tu. Mao l a b e l e d a l l such human nature which was supposedly devoid of c l a s s c h a r a c t e r as "bourgeois i n d i v i d u a l i s m " and upheld that a c l a s s l e s s human nature d i d not e x i s t . (MZDJ:140/SWMTT:90) The next "muddled i d e a " , that "the fundamental p o i n t of departure f o r l i t e r a t u r e and a r t i s l o v e , love of humanity", (MZDJ:140/SWMTT:90) was p o i n t i n g to Xiao-Jun, Ding L i n g , Wang Shiwei, and others who had exposed a l a c k of humanitarian values w i t h i n the CCP through e i t h e r f i c t i o n , essay form, or both. "On 'Love' and 'Patience' among Comrades", "In the H o s p i t a l " , and "Wild L i l y " had a l l addressed t h i s problem i n a very d i r e c t f a s h i o n . The response to these w r i t e r s ' p l e a s here was that love of humanity c o u l d not e x i s t i n a c l a s s s o c i e t y . T h i s however d i d not r e a l l y answer t h e i r q u e s t i o n , f o r they were concerned w i t h humanitarian values w i t h i n the CCP camp while Mao t r e a t e d the is s u e as i f they were demanding that the enemy be i n c l u d e d i n t h e i r 'love of humanity'. Mao's answer here sidestepped the r e a l i s s u e r a i s e d by the w r i t e r s . His d i r e c t i v e d i s c u s s e d above not to expose the darkness i n one's own camp c o n t r i b u t e d more to what 128 the Party's r e a l answer to ithese w r i t e r s on.-this p o i n t was: that a l a c k of humanity among the ranks was simply not an accept-able l i t e r a r y theme. The next a t t i t u d e to a f f e c t l i t e r a r y c r e a t i o n , renounced by Mao, was the defense o f f e r e d by w r i t e r s that " i t i s not a ques-t i o n of stand; my c l a s s stand i s c o r r e c t , my i n t e n t i o n s are good and I understand a l l r i g h t , but I am not good at exp r e s s i n g my-s e l f and so the e f f e c t turns out bad." (MZDJ:143/SWMTT:95) The CCP's d i s a p p r o v a l of t h i s r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n was f o r some p a r t based on the defense of Wang Shiwei c i r c u l a t i n g which s a i d that h i s motives ( i n w r i t i n g h i s za wen) were good, but the e f f e c t of h i s a c t i o n s were un f a v o r a b l e . A c c o r d i n g to He Qifa n g , before Mao's speech, a small meeting was h e l d i n which speakers e x p l a i n e d the d i f f e r e n c e between motive and e f f e c t . Someone had s a i d , "We have w r i t t e n works w i t h a bad i n f l u e n c e but our motives were good." He Qifang wrote that t h i s person t r i e d to d i s t i n g u i s h between works of t h i s k i n d ( w r i t t e n w i t h good i n t e n t i o n s ) and the works of Ding L i n g et a l . , when, i n He's e s t i m a t i o n , there was no d i s -t i n c t i o n . (He Qifa n g , 1977:12) The poet r e c a l l e d that Ding L i n g and others had asked -to be f o r g i v e n f o r the neg a t i v e e f f e c t of t h e i r works. Therefore i t was by no means onl y i n r e f e r e n c e to Wang Shiwei that Mao had brought up t h i s problem, although i t was Wang who was s t a r t i n g to r e c e i v e most of the a t t e n t i o n at t h i s time. Support f o r the ideas which he represented was a p p a r e n t l y strong d e s p i t e Party a t t a c k s a g a i n s t him. Even by June 9, such defenses of Wang were s t i l l being o f f e r e d i n the l i t e r a r y world: "His standpoint i s good but h i s a t t i t u d e i s i n a p p r o p r i a t e " , or, " h i s s u b j e c t i v e standpoint i s c o r r e c t , but the o b j e c t i v e r e f l e c t i o n 129 of h i s standpoint i s i n c o r r e c t , " (.[LiJ Bozhou, JFRB, 1942 , June 9). ' Mao was not i n t e r e s t e d i n such e x p l a n a t i o n s . When judging whether a w r i t e r ' s motives are good or bad, he s t a t e d , "We do not judge by h i s d e c l a r a t i o n s but by the e f f e c t of h i s a c t i o n s (mainly h i s works) on the masses i n s o c i e t y . " CMZDS:137-158/SWMTT:88) Those not w i l l i n g to c o r r e c t t h e i r mistakes a f t e r w i t n e s s i n g the harmful p o l i t i c a l e f f e c t of t h e i r e f f o r t s c o u l d not p o s s i b l y have good i n t e n t i o n s . I t was, f o r Mao, l i k e a l l e l s e , a q u e s t i o n of c l a s s stand. The next p o i n t which was brought up f o r d i s c u s s i o n i n "Wen Y i " and was addressed s p e c i f i c a l l y by Mao was the q u e s t i o n of the a p p l i c a t i o n of Marxism-Leninism to l i t e r a r y and a r t i s t i c c r e -a t i v i t y . Mao quoted the common complaint of w r i t e r s that "to c a l l on us to study Marxism i s to repeat the mistake of the d i a -g l e c t i c a l m a t e r i a l i s t c r e a t i v e method, which w i l l harm the c r e a -t i v e moodr" CMZDJ:144/SWMTT:94) Ouyang Shan i n May, 1941, and Zhou Yang i n J u l y of that year had r a i s e d the same i s s u e . Some-time during the l i t e r a r y and a r t conferences i n May, Ding Li n g was r e p o r t e d to have d e c l a r e d something to t h i s e f f e c t : "She too would l i k e to study Marxism, but as soon as she reads books on M a r x i s t theory, they de s t r o y her c r e a t i v e mood." (He Qi f a n g , 1977: 14) Mao o f f e r e d the same e x p l a n a t i o n as Ouyang Shan and Zhou Yang had before him f o r the i n a b i l i t y of w r i t e r s to combine p o l i -t i c a l d o c t r i n e w i t h a r t i s t i c p r a c t i c e i n a c r e a t i v e manner. Writ-ers were merely e x t r a c t i n g "empty, dry, dogmatic formulas" from M a r x i s t p o l i t i c a l p h i losophy. They were not adept i n a p p r o p r i -130 a t e l y a p p l y i n g Marxism to l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y , and the r e s u l t of such dogmatic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of M a r x i s t d o c t r i n e d i d indeed de-s t r o y c r e a t i v e mood, as w e l l as Marxism i t s e l f . (MZDJ:144/SWMTT: 94) Here Mao was simply s t a t i n g the e x i s t e n c e of f o r m u l a - w r i t i n g , and by e x t e n t i o n , f o r m u l i s t i c c r i t i c i s m , both of which had been i d e n t i f i e d as fundamental dilemmas by w r i t e r s i n "Wen Y i " . How-ever, i n l i n e w i t h the l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n t a k i n g shape, Mao contended that Marxism a p p l i e d c o r r e c t l y to l i t e r a t u r e and a r t does and should d e s t r o y c r e a t i v e moods which are " f e u d a l , bour-g e o i s , p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s , i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c , a r t - f o r - a r t ' s sake". (MZDJ: 1'45/SWMTT: 94) The q u e s t i o n of p o p u l a r i z a t i o n and the r a i s i n g of standards had, s i g n i f i c a n t l y , not been a major t o p i c of d i s c u s s i o n i n the pages of JFRB p r i o r to Mao's " T a l k s . " Mao re c o g n i z e d t h i s and t h e r e f o r e devoted much time to the d e l i n e a t i o n of h i s ideas on the s u b j e c t , p o i n t i n g to i t s tremendous importance i n h i s eyes. P o p u l a r i z a t i o n i s a c t u a l l y a qu e s t i o n of " f o r whom" does one w r i t e , that i s , towards what c u l t u r a l l e v e l should w r i t e r s gear t h e i r w r i t i n g s t y l e and form. Mao's answer was that they should f i r s t take i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n the gongnongbing above a l l e l s e . Rather than s t a r t i n g from the h i g h e s t e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l i n s o c i e t y , one should begin r a i s i n g standards o n l y a f t e r popular-i z a t i o n from the bottom up. Yet the "mass s t y l e " advocated by Mao and others necessary i n t h i s scheme had not been s u c c e s s f u l l y implemented by anyone i n Yan'an. On the q u e s t i o n of " f o r whom", he s t a t e d , "there has h a r d l y been any divergence between the two 9 contending s i d e s . " Both s i d e s "tended to look down upon the workers, peasants, and s o l d i e r s , and d i v o r c e themselves from the 131 masses." (MZDJ:124/SWMTT:79) Both He Qifang and Zhou.Yang, over t h i r t y years l a t e r , appre-c i a t e d the accuracy of Mao's ob s e r v a t i o n s (Zhou Yang, 1978:32; He Q i f a n g , 1952:6); as we noted e a r l i e r , there had c e r t a i n l y been a conspicuous l a c k of concern i n JFRB over the q u e s t i o n of mass audience. I t was other i s s u e s which Mao c a l l e d "secondary"(MZDJ: 124/SWMTT:78) that had been debated. Thus i t can at l e a s t be con-cluded that being on the s i d e of those who advocated p r a i s i n g the b r i g h t d i d not n e c e s s a r i l y s o l v e one's i n a b i l i t y to w r i t e i n a "mass s t y l e . " I t can be reasoned, then, that c o r r e c t a t t i t u d e ( i n CCP terms) towards the d e p i c t i o n of the b r i g h t and dark as-pect of Yan'an co u l d not n e c e s s a r i l y s o l v e s t y l i s t i c problems, i.e:,how to go about w r i t i n g f o r a new audience w i t h a lower c u l t u r a l l e v e l and with d i f f e r e n t i n t e r e s t s than the audience towards whom the w r i t e r s had been gearing t h e i r works up to t h i s time. Mao's d e s c r i p t i o n of proper audience f o r r e v o l u t i o n a r y l i t e r -ature was i n t e r e s t i n g i n that i t allowed f o r two d i s t i n c t l e v e l s of l i t e r a t u r e f o r two d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s of s o c i e t y . One type of l i t e r a t u r e was to be f o r the gongnongbing and a l l i e s among the " p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i e . " It seems somewhat of a problem that he autv-o m a t i c a l l y r c l a s s i f i e d the " p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i e " with the gongnong-bing as i f they shared the same a r t i s t i c t a s t e s , s i n c e on May 2, he had p u r p o s e l y p o i n t e d out the d i f f e r e n c e between the Shanghai p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s audience f o r : r e v o l u t i o n a r y l i t e r a t u r e and the audience of gongnongbing and cadres i n the Border Areas. (MZDJ: 114/SWMTT:71) Even i f he was r e f e r r i n g to a g e o g r a p h i c a l r a t h e r than a c l a s s d i s t i n c t i o n , s i n c e the m a j o r i t y of w r i t e r s i n Yan'an 132 came from Shanghai, they c o u l d not help but share i n at l e a s t some of the l i t e r a r y t a s t e s n a t i v e to that urban environment. L i t e r a t u r e and a r t f o r the " a l l i e d p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i e " as a sepa-r a t e e n t i t y was never e l a b o r a t e d upon, presumably due to i t s secondary importance i n the eyes of Communist l e a d e r s at t h i s time. However, a higher l e v e l of l i t e r a t u r e , not f o r the p e t t y -b o u r g e o i s i e , but f o r the cadres was mentioned. When c o n s i d e r i n g p o p u l a r i z a t i o n and the r a i s i n g of standards, although Mao f i r m l y b e l i e v e d that the l a t t e r should be based on the e x i s t i n g c u l t u r a l l e v e l of the general masses, he a l s o i n d i -cated a r a i s i n g of standards which should be based on the more advanced c u l t u r a l l e v e l of the cadres. T h i s i s where a second l e v e l of l i t e r a t u r e emerged. I t was c a l l e d "advanced l i t e r a t u r e " (MZDJ:151/SWMTT:84) f o r the cadres, the "advanced elements of the masses" who were g e n e r a l l y more educated and r e q u i r e d a " l i t e r a -ture and a r t of a higher l e v e l . " (MZDJ:130/SWMTT:85) The o r i g i -n a l t e x t contained a whole l i n e d e l e t e d from l a t e r v e r s i o n s which read: T h e i r Hthe cadres'J a b i l i t y to a s s i m i l a t e i s higher than that of the masses, thus they cannot be s a t i s f i e d w i t h ,.. the same l e v e l of present p o p u l a r i z a t i o n work as the masses, they can't be s a t i s f i e d w i t h 'the l i t t l e cowherd', e t c : (MZDJ:150) Since the cadres d i r e c t the masses and have t h e i r best i n t e r e s t s at h e a r t , i t was r a t i o n a l i z e d that c r e a t i n g a higher l e v e l a r t . and l i t e r a t u r e f o r them would i n d i r e c t l y b e n e f i t the masses, whose l i t e r a t u r e and a r t was c a l l e d "elementary." (SWMTT:84) The o r i g i n a l t e x t , i n . f a c t , had used "lower l e v e l " CJ£\ J ' , / ^ ~ MZDJ: 133 131) r a t h e r than "elementary" ( ^ ' A J J i / ? J . This was an i n t e r e s t i n g p o i n t which Mao u n f o r t u n a t e l y d i d not e l a b o r a t e upon i n h i s speech. Thus although he acknowledged the s i g n i f i c a n c e of d i s p a r i t y i n c u l t u r a l l e v e l s (and t a s t e s ) between at l e a s t two d i f f e r e n t s e c t o r s of the "masses", he never s p e c i f i e d where the l i n e was to be drawn between l i t e r a t u r e f o r the gongnongbing and l i t e r a t u r e f o r the cadres, nor between l i t -e r a t u r e f o r the f i r s t group and l i t e r a t u r e f o r the " a l l i e d p e t t y -b o u r g e o i s i e . " The e n t i r e d i s c u s s i o n of audience and "mass s t y l e " connected w i t h p o p u l a r i z a t i o n during the May conferences was v e r y s i g n i f i -cant, i f not because i t was able to o f f e r s o l u t i o n s to such prob-lems, then c e r t a i n l y because i t at l e a s t o u t l i n e d a d e f i n i t i v e and c l e a r t h e o r e t i c a l stance on the i s s u e , and i d e n t i f i e d the t o p i c as an immediate problem. I t was obvious from the essays i n "Wen Y i " t h a t v e r y few people had even bothered to give a t t e n -t i o n to the q u e s t i o n of " f o r whom", as most were unconcerned w i t h broadening the audience of t h e i r works. N a t i o n a l form, one of the means by which i t was hoped that l i t e r a r y p o p u l a r i z a t i o n could take e f f e c t , had a l s o been n e g l e c t e d i n JFRB p r i o r to the " T a l k s " , f o r a f t e r the 1939-40 debate, l i t t l e more was added. Mao, however, hoping to remind people of the i s s u e , gave some f u r t h e r o b s e r v a t i o n s on t h i s s u b j e c t . (His l a s t remarks were made i n 1938; see Chapter One). He s a i d : We a l s o do not r e j e c t the u t i l i z a t i o n of o l d forms of the f e u d a l and c a p i t a l i s t c l a s s e s , but once these o l d forms are i n our hands, once they are reformed and i n f u s e d w i t h new content, they w i l l become r e v o l u t i o n a r y things which serve the people." (MZDJ:121) 134 Here Mao i n a c t u a l i t y presented nothing new on t h i s matter. He d i d not give concrete examples of f e u d a l or c a p i t a l i s t forms s u i t -10 able f o r adoption to the r e v o l u t i o n a r y cause. As from h i s r e -statement of the need f o r adoption of n a t i o n a l forms i n h i s February 8 speech, we know here that n a t i o n a l forms had not as yet found e f f e c t i v e e x p r e s s i o n i n c r e a t i v e works. The l a s t major t o p i c which had come up i n "Wen Y i " r e c e i v e d o n l y a b r i e f but f i r m response i n the " T a l k s " . On the treatment of w r i t e r s and t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n , Mao, as Xiao San (January 1, 1942) asked w r i t e r s not to stop w r i t i n g completely, but t o f i r s t c oncentrate on p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n and c o n t r i b u t i n g to p o p u l a r i z a -t i o n work. T h e i r guidance, i t was f e l t , would be g r e a t l y needed i n such work, but they would only be worthy of r e s p e c t ( a l l u d i n g to A i Qing's p l e a i n "Respect W r i t e r s , Understand W r i t e r s " ) i f they l o y a l l y spoke f o r the masses and not f o r any s p e c i a l i n t e r -est group. I f Mao's speech d i d not s a t i s f a c t o r i l y deal w i t h a l l of the i s s u e s r a i s e d by w r i t e r s i n the pages of JFRB, i t d i d d e f i n e the r u l e s f o r l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n i n the f o l l o w i n g few years. W r i t e r s l e a r n e d through the " T a l k s " the p o s s i b l e l i m i t a t i o n s of the purging to take p l a c e i n l i t e r a r y and a r t i s t i c c i r c l e s . They lear n e d that they had gone too f a r i n t h e i r demands f o r reform, and l i t e r a t u r e would no longer be used as a medium through which d i s c o n t e n t s c o u l d be a i r e d . Instead, they were asked to abandon t h e i r c r i t i c a l a t t i t u d e s toward Yan'an l i f e , and w r i t e about i t s more o p t i m i s t i c aspects i n r e l a t i o n to the darkness o u t s i d e the CCP camp. More s p e c i f i c a l l y , the p a r t s of the speech which con-t a i n e d obvious a l l u s i o n s to Wang Shiwei set the stage f o r the 135 systematic a t t a c k a g a i n t Mm as a " T r o t s k y i t e " , a symbol of a l l of the e v i l elements which i t was hoped would be uprooted i n the p o l i t i c a l and l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n campaign. As we w i l l see i n the Appendix, however, the ''-'case of Wang'Shiwei ^ v.so ofjten c i t e d as the f i r s t case (and Wang Shiwei, the f i r s t v i c t i m ) of l i t e r a r y r e c t i f i c a t i o n i n CCP h i s t o r y , was i n f a c t much more a p o l i t i c a l event f o c u s i n g on p o l i t i c a l i s s u e s , as the Yan'an " T a l k s " were a p o l i t i c i z a t i o n of l i t e r a t u r e . E. Reaction to the May conferences i n JFRB. On the l i t e r a t u r e page of JFRB there was no news of the l i t -e r a t u r e and a r t conferences which had begun on May 2 u n t i l May 14. On that day the e d i t o r (s) addressed the r e a d e r s : The recent 'forum on l i t e r a t u r e and a r t ' p r e c i d e d over by Comrades Mao Zedong and Kai Feng (jtfl ^ i f ) i s an important event, e s p e c i a l l y to those readers concerned w i t h the v a r i o u s problems i n the present l i t e r a r y movement. The e d i t o r ( s ) of t h i s page have decided to p r i n t here m a t e r i a l s r e l a t e d to t h i s conference as w e l l as the o p i n i o n s of i n d i v i -dual w r i t e r s f o r r e f e r e n c e and d i s c u s s i o n . Appearing that day were two p i e c e s r e l a t e d to the forum. One was a t r a n s l a t i o n of Lenin's 1905 "Party O r g a n i z a t i o n and Party L i t e r a t u r e " , and the other was Xiao Jun's w r i t t e n account of the o p i n i o n s he had expressed at the forum on May 2. Lenin's speech was of course r e l e v a n t to the l i t e r a r y d i s c u s s i o n s i n that i t served as i n s p i r a t i o n f o r Mao's l i t e r a r y t h e o r i e s put f o r t h at the conferences. Before l o o k i n g at Xiao Jun's a r t i c l e , i t i s of i n t e r e s t to see what He Qifang wrote about the n o v e l i s t i n r e t r o -spect. (He Qifang, 1977) When He Qifang a r r i v e d i n Yan'an i n Summer of 1938, he heard that the Manchurian w r i t e r had once come to Yan'an and spoke at a meeting h e l d i n the l a t t e r ' s honor. In h i s t a l k he had quoted from Lu Xun's 1927 speech "The Divergence of P o l i t i c s and L i t e r a -t u r e " (Lu Xun, 1927) i n which Lu Xun had s a i d , " L i t e r a t u r e and p o l i t i c s are o f t e n i n c o n f l i c t because p o l i t i c s wants to m a i n t a i n the s t a t u s quo so i s n a t u r a l l y headed i n a d i f f e r e n t d i r e c t i o n from l i t e r a t u r e and a r t which i s not s a t i s f i e d w i t h the s t a t u s 12 quo." He Qifang maintained that Xiao Jun t w i s t e d Lu Xun's mean-ing here by u s i n g h i s words as evidence of the c o n f l i c t between the w r i t e r and p r o l e t a r i a n p o l i t i c s . A ccording to the poet, Lu Xun had used p o l i t i c s i n the sense of r e a c t i o n a r y KMT p o l i t i c s , and l i t e r a t u r e and a r t i n the sense of r e v o l u t i o n a r y l i t e r a t u r e and a r t . He wrote that Xiao Jun l e f t a bad impression i n Yan'an 13 a f t e r h i s departure that time. (He Qifang, 1977:10) In 1946, He Qifang recorded what he remembered from a speech g i v e n by Zhu De at the May conference. Why he waited f o u r years to w r i t e t h i s down he d i d not say. The speech by the Commander-i n - C h i e f of the Red Army focused on Xiao Jun. Zhu s a i d t h a t on the f i r s t day of the conference, the w r i t e r had d e l i v e r e d a speech with a very haughty and overbearing a t t i t u d e , mostly bragging about h i m s e l f . He had s a i d , "I c o u l d e a s i l y w r i t e one hundred thousand words about t h i s meeting." He s t a t e d h i s b e l i e f i n Romain Rolland's New Heroism and i m p l i e d that he wanted to be China's and the world's number one w r i t e r . He a l s o a s s e r t e d , "I;'ve never w r i t t e n essays which p r a i s e m e r i t and v i r t u e " ( i n d e f i a n c e of P a r t y p l e a s to " p r a i s e the b r i g h t " ) , Zhu De supposed-137 l y r e f u t e d Xiao's ideas and asked "Why shouldn't he p r a i s e the merit and v i r t u e s of the Chinese. Communist P a r t y and the E i g h t h Route Army?" (He Qifang, 1977:15) Xiao Jun's words and a t t i t u d e as r e p o r t e d by He Qifang t h i r -t y - f i v e years l a t e r are t o t a l l y incongruous w i t h the May 14 a r t i -c l e which, according to the author h i m s e l f , was based on the views "he expressed on May 2. These o p i n i o n s seem to have been fundament-a l l y i n accord w i t h Mao's p o l i c i e s on l i t e r a t u r e , yet i n r e t r o -spect the w r i t e r ' s disagreements w i t h the Party are emphasized. This i s s u r e l y due to h i s purge i n 1948 and the r e c r i t i c i s m of him ten years l a t e r . The case was the same f o r Ding L i n g , A i Qing, and Luo Feng, a l l of whose d i v e r g e n t i d e a s , u n l i k e those of Wang Shiwei, were not s t r e s s e d i n p u b l i c i n 1942, but f u r i o u s l y denounced l a t e r retrospectively:.,"^ * Xiao's May 14 essay "My Opinion on V a r i o u s Present L i t e r a r y and A r t i s t i c Problems" was d i v i d e d i n t o s i x p a r t s : " s t a n d p o i n t " , " a t t i t u d e " , " f o r whom'", " s u b j e c t matter", "how to c o l l e c t mate.-r i a l " , and "study". His o n l y major p o i n t which may be i n t e r p r e t -ed as d i v e r g i n g from Mao's p o l i c y was under the heading "stand-p o i n t . " He wrote here that a l l l i t e r a t u r e was w r i t t e n from the standpoint of a p a r t i c u l a r . c l a s s but that the goal of a l l was to f i r s t "seek the l i b e r a t i o n of the r a c e " , and second, to "seek the l i b e r a t i o n of a l l humanity." No mention was made of c l a s s s t r u g -gle w i t h i n t h i s framework. Merle Goldman wrote that Xiao's focus on the l i b e r a t i o n of humanity was "to take precedence even over the c l a s s s t r u g g l e " (Goldman, 1967:46), and used t h i s as evidence t h a t Xiao's views.were not i n accord w i t h Mao's. Yet i n l i g h t of the u n i t e d f r o n t p o l i c y , even Mao h i m s e l f had not emphasized the 138 p o i n t of c l a s s s t r u g g l e as lie would at other times. Under " a t t i t u d e " , l i k e Mao, the author saw a c o r r e c t stand-p o i n t g i v i n g way to the c r e a t i v e method of r e a l i s m , which accord-ing to Xiao had been the method used i n a l l great works - o l d , new, f o r e i g n , or n a t i v e . He d i f f e r e d from Mao, however, by making no mention of " p r o l e t a r i a t r e a l i s m " . Xiao o f f e r e d no d e f i n i t i o n of r e a l i s m , yet h i s view of i t may have encompassed more than a c r e a t i v e method a p p l i c a b l e to l i t e r a t u r e , f o r he had once c i t e d Lu Xun, Zhu De, and Mao Zedong as a l l "great r e a l i s t s . " (Xiao Jun, JFRB, 1941 A, October 14) Concerning " ' f o r whom'", he echoed Mao's p o l i c y (and h i s t e r -minology) by s t a t i n g that a l i t e r a r y work must match the c u l t u r a l l e v e l of i t s r e a d e r s . The scope of r e a d e r s h i p was not determined by the s u b j e c t i v e d e s i r e s of the w r i t e r , but by the work i t s e l f -i t s s o c i a l and a r t i s t i c v a l u e . A work must ma i n t a i n the r e a d e r s ' i n t e r e s t , make them move from emotion to thought, and from thought to a c t i o n . He asked that w r i t i n g take on a simpler form so as to be a c c e s s i b l e to readers w i t h a low c u l t u r a l l e v e l . As f o r s u b j e c t matter, Xiao too advocated the d e p i c t i o n of the " t y p i c a l " , adding to t h i s "the p r o g r e s s i v e , the i n e v i t a b l e , and the sharp s i d e of things and p eople." He quoted (without r e f e r e n c e ) , "'From the u g l y e x t r a c t the b e a u t i f u l and develop i t , from the b e a u t i f u l e x t r a c t the u g l y and d e s t r o y i t . ' " T h i s l i n e , depending on the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the word "ugly", ( u g l i n e s s of the enemy or i n one's own camp) c o u l d have sounded l i k e a r a t i o n -l i z a t i o n given by the advocates of "exposing darkness" i n the CCP base which reasoned that only b y ' e x t r a c t i n g u g l i n e s s can i t be destroyed, As f a r as I know, no one took him up on t h i s matter. 139 Under "Low to c o l l e c t m a t e r i a l " , Xiao e s s e n t i a l l y repeated the advice t h a t Zhou Yang had g i v e n to w r i t e r s i n J u l y , 1941. Xiao wrote that i n order to understand man and express h i s l i f e , one must not o n l y penetrate i n t o l i f e , but must "blend w i t h y e t be independent from l i f e . " L i k e Zhou, he cautioned w r i t e r s not to f o r g e t that although they may not be understood by o t h e r s , they, however, were expected to understand other people. He warned that w r i t e r s i n the sea of l i f e l o o k i n g f o r p e a r l s must not be drowned by l i f e . T his n o t i o n of approaching l i f e from w i t h i n while r e t a i n i n g an o b j e c t i v e , i d e o l o g i c a l d i s t a n c e from i t sounded as though l i f t e d r i g h t out of Zhou Yang's essay. To gather source m a t e r i a l , Xiao allowed a broader scope than Mao. M a t e r i a l c o u l d be found i n the v i l l a g e s , c i t i e s , and r i g h t before one's eyes, wherever complicated changes and sharpest., s t r u g g l e s were t a k i n g p l a c e . He never s p e c i f i e d gongnongbing as primary source m a t e r i a l , and t h i s was probably the most c o n s p i c -uous d i f f e r e n c e between h i s o u t l i n e and Mao's. La s t , Xiao reminded w r i t e r s that they had to be "three steps ahead of o t h e r s " i n study i n order to not d i s a p p o i n t t h e i r "'cus-tomers '". In an appendix to h i s essay, Xiao i n c l u d e d e i g h t suggestions f o r improving the l i t e r a r y e stablishment. Though some were i d e -a l i s t i c and vague, they are i n t e r e s t i n g to us i n that they give us a good idea of the a c t u a l s t a t e of the P a r t y l i t e r a r y apparat-us i n 1942 p r i o r to Mao's " T a l k s " , the needs of the w r i t e r s , and the importance of c r e a t i n g a s o l i d l i t e r a t u r e and a r t p o l i c y : 1) E s t a b l i s h an independent p u b l i s h i n g house f o r l i t e r a t u r e and a r t , p u b l i s h l i t e r a r y 140 works ac c o r d i n g to a p l a n , and s e l l g e neral l i t e r a r y and a r t i s t i c a r t i c l e s f o r u s e . ^ 2) Help new l i t e r a r y t a l e n t . 3) Raise a good sum of money f o r a l i t e r a r y p r i z e 1 4) E s t a b l i s h a bureau.for the c o l l e c t i o n of l i t e r -ary data i n c l u d i n g r e v o l u t i o n a r y s t o r i e s and f o l k t a l e s . 5) E s t a b l i s h a c o r r e c t M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t s t y l e of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m , p r i n t a c r i t i c a l j o u r n a l s u p e r v i s e d by f a i r and a p p r o p r i a t e people. 6) Have the P a r t y or a d m i n i s t r a t i o n e x p l a i n to everyone the task of w r i t e r s , t h e i r use i n the r e v o l u t i o n , and t h e i r s p e c i a l n e s s . ( #4jf 7) Take a f i r m but p a t i e n t stand i n persuading o u t s i d e p a r t i e s to go the r e v o l u t i o n a r y road; spend more time persuading and l e s s time attacking.-^g 8) Create a ' l i t e r a r y p o l i c y ' , guide the p r e s e n t Chinese Communist Pa r t y l i t e r a r y d i r e c t i o n and c l a r i f y our r e l a t i o n s w i t h w r i t e r s from other p a r t i e s . T h i s l a s t p o i n t seems odd s i n c e Xiao must have known by the time he wrote t h i s a r t i c l e that a l i t e r a r y p o l i c y was i n the making. Yet on May 19, a Yang Weizhe a l s o wrote that an o f f i c i a l CCP p o l i c y on l i t e r a t u r e and a r t d i d not yet e x i s t . A p parently people were not aware of the extended s i g n i f i c a n c e of these May c o n f e r -ence u n t i l the very end. I f Xiao Jun's May 14 p i e c e above seemed to go a g a i n s t a l l t h a t he had expressed e a r l i e r i n JFRB, i n both tone and content, he d i d not abandon h i s o l d concerns f o r long. One month l a t e r , he made a p l e a to P a r t y l i t e r a r y people to r e c o g n i z e the p o s i t i v e nature of a d i r e c t c h a l l e n g e of ideas from other comrades. On June 13, i n "The 'Bulba' S p i r i t i n L i t e r a r y C i r c l e s " , Xiao d i s c u s s e d Gogol's novel Tarus Bulba i n which Bulba welcomes 17 141 home h i s two grown sons r e t u r n e d from the c i t y by means of a s p a r r i n g match. The f a t h e r l o s e s , but enjoys a good laugh on account of the progress of h i s sons. Thus, Xiao urged people i n the l i t e r a r y world to emulate Bulba's s p i r i t by encouraging t h e i r comrades and j u n i o r s to c h a l l e n g e them i n a f r i e n d l y manner, and to take p r i d e i n t h e i r students' v i c t o r y . Xiao was c a r e f u l to s t r e s s t h at t h i s k i n d of f i g h t i n g and a t t i t u d e c o u l d o n l y e x i s t among a l l i e s , and that the r e a l enemy co u l d not be d e a l t w i t h i n the same f r i e n d l y way. Yet there was something to be l e a r n e d from the enemy as w e l l , f o r , as i n m a r t i a l a r t s , one may l e a r n more from u n m e r c i f u l b a t t l e with the enemy than from the compassionate teaching of teachers and f r i e n d s , because only the enemy knows one's weak.points. But the com p e t i t i o n i n l i t e r a r y c i r c l e s , s a i d Xiao, was a l l i n good s p i r i t and based on " l o v e " r a t h e r than hos-t i l e b a c k b i t i n g . Xiao was hoping, as e a r l i e r , t h a t the Pa r t y would c o n s i d e r c h a l l e n g e s from w i t h i n i t s ranks as m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of a f f e c t i o n and good w i l l , not to be t r e a t e d as one would t r e a t enemy a t t a c k s . I t seems strange that such an ap p a r e n t l y s u b v e r s i v e a r t i c l e would appear i n the press at such a l a t e date - three weeks a f t e r the " T a l k s " and at the height of the r e c t i f i c a t i o n a t t a c k s launch-ed a g a i n s t Wang Shiwei, whose "good i n t e n t i o n s " had been l a b e l e d " c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y " . Assuming that the e d i t o r of page fo u r was A i S i q i , i t would seem unusual that Xiao's d e f i a n t essay c o u l d have been p r i n t e d , i f not as a negative example. A i S i q i , a f t e r -a l l , had by t h i s time been p l a y i n g an important r o l e i n the r e c t i -f i c a t i o n campaign, w r i t i n g p o l i t i c a l p i e c e s which analyzed P a r t y p o l i c i e s , and speaking at the meetings a g a i n s t Wang. I t would appear u n l i k e l y that by June, Ding L i n g s t i l l had any c o n t r o l over page fo u r of JFRB, f o r on June 11 she d e l i v e r e d a s e l f - c r i t i c i s m Cin her speech denouncing Wang) f o r her a c t i o n s as e d i t o r of "Wen Y i " i n the s p r i n g . (See Chapter Three, note 28 and 37) Yet p r i n t -ing the p i e c e as a negative example a l s o seems u n l i k e l y , as I don't b e l i e v e that t h i s p a r t i c u l a r technique had been implemented i n Yan'an at t h i s time. In any event, c o n f u s i o n as to the r e l a t i o n s h i p between Xiao Jun and P a r t y • o f f i c i a l s i n 1942 w i l l have to remain u n t i l f u r t h e r m a t e r i a l i s made a v a i l a b l e . Since he was denounced i n 1948 f o r h i s p o l i c i e s as e d i t o r 'and c o n t r i butor to Wenhua Bao ( {{j <f$_ ) i n Manchuria, i t i s d o u b t f u l t h a t much o b j e c t i v e commentary w i l l be a v a i l a b l e u n t i l he i s r e i n s t a t e d i n t o the world of o f f i c i a l l y a c ceptable r e v o l u t i o n a r y w r i t e r s . The next major v o i c e to come out on paper w i t h p e r s o n a l l i t -e r a r y views during the month of May was that of A i Qing. On May 15, h i s "My Opinion on Sev e r a l Present L i t e r a r y Problems" appeared i n JFRB. Because the poet d i d not d i r e c t l y r e c a n t many of h i s prev i o u s statements, h i s a r t i c l e c o u l d not be co n s i d e r e d an a c t u a l s e l f - C r i t i c i s m , His tone, however, had measurably a l t e r e d from ; that of h i s February and March essays, and as i n Xiao Jun's p i e c e the day b e f o r e , the i n f l u e n c e of the l i t e r a r y conferences was obvious from the ve r y terminology he employed. A i Qing's acknowledgement t h a t l i t e r a t u r e and p o l i t i c s from d i f f e r e n t routes l e a d to the same goal o f working f o r the b e n e f i t of people was not i n c o n t r a d i c t i o n to anything' he had d e c l a r e d e a r l i e r . He r e i t e r a t e d h i s b e l i e f that l i t e r a t u r e was not merely a mouthpiece f o r p o l i t i c s , though t h i s time he added that i t must 143 a t t i m e s b e s u b s e r v i e n t t o p o l i t i c s . He t a l k e d a b o u t " r e a l i t y " i n w o r k s o f l i t e r a t u r e , a n d h e r e w e n t f u r t h e r t h a n X i a o J u n i n d e f i n i n g t h e t e r m ; he a l s o w e n t f u r t h e r i n t h e m e n t i o n o f c l a s s s t r u g g l e : " T h e h i g h e r t h e l e v e l o f r e a l i t y o f a l i t e r a r y w o r k , t h e more t h e w o r k i s i n l i n e w i t h t h e p r o g r e s s i v e p o l i t i c a l d i r e c t i o n o f a p a r t i c u l a r p e r i o d . " T h i s was b e c a u s e " t h e h i g h e r t h e l e v e l o f r e a l i t y i n a l i t e r a r y w o r k , t h e m o r e i t r e f l e c t s a p a r t i c u l a r p e r i o d , t h e c o n t r a d i c t i o n s b e t w e e n c l a s s e s , t h e e s s e n c e o f e a c h c l a s s , t h e o p p o s i t i o n b e t w e e n t h e r e a s o n a b l e a n d t h e u n r e a s o n a b l e , a n d t h e i m p o r t a n t n e e d t o c h a n g e t h e s y s t e m . . . " The n o t i o n o f r e a l i t y a n d c o n t r a d i c t i o n s b e t w e e n . , c l a s s e s h a d n o t e v e n b e e n r a i s e d i n h i s e a r l i e r e s s a y . Y e t h e r e A i Q i n g , a s X i a o J u n , d i s -c u s s e d " r e a l i s m " , b u t n o t M a o ' s " p r o l e t a r i a t r e a l i s m " . C o n c e r n i n g s u b j e c t m a t t e r , t h e p o e t , f oliowed:5Mao ! s c a l l t o p o r t r a y t h e h o p e s a n d i d e a l s o f t h e m a s s e s t h r o u g h t h e c r e a t i o n o f new h e r o e s . L i k e X i a o J u n , A i Q i n g d i d n o t s p e c i f y t h e g o n g n o n g b i n g , b u t e m p h a s i z e d t h e n e e d t o d e s c r i b e t h e c h a n g e s t a k i n g p l a c e among a l l c l a s s e s d u r i n g t h e War o f R e s i s t a n c e . He m a i n t a i n e d t h a t s u c h c h a n g e s w e r e n o t o n l y m a n i f e s t i n t h e h a b i t s o f d a i l y l i f e , b u t a t t h e same t i m e i n t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l r e l a t i o n -s h i p s b e t w e e n p e o p l e . L i k e X i a o a n d M a o , • h e u r g e d w r i t e r s t o e m p l o y p o p u l a r s p e e c h as a b a s i s f o r l a n g u a g e i n l i t e r a t u r e so as t o c r e a t e a new l a n -g u a g e d e v o i d o f a b s t r a c t , o b s c u r e t e r m s . B a c k i n F e b r u a r y , i n f a c t , he h a d a l r e a d y a d v o c a t e d s i m p l i c i t y i n w r i t i n g as o p p o s e d t o " u n s u i t a b l e c l o t h i n g . " Now, f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e , he m e n t i o n e d f o r m , d e c l a r i n g t h a t o n l y new f o r m c o u l d h o l d new c o n t e n t , b u t he d i d n o t e l a b o r a t e f u r t h e r . I t w o u l d seem t h a t he d i s a g r e e d 144 w i t h Mao, Chen Boda and others that o l d forms were s u i t a b l e f o r adoption i n t o new l i t e r a t u r e i f new content r e p l a c e d " t h e o l d . As f o r theme, the poet a f f i r m e d that the purpose of d e s c r i b -ing people was to transcend the people themselves and w r i t e about t h e i r c l a s s . In February he had s a i d b a s i c a l l y the same t h i n g , that the i n d i v i d u a l was p a r t of a p a r t i c u l a r c l a s s and that a w r i t e r d e p i c t e d c h a r a c t e r s i n order to p o r t r a y s o c i e t y as a whole. His l a t e r statement l e n t emphasis to the p o r t r a y a l of c l a s s s t r u g -g l e , r a t h e r than j u s t to the p o r t r a y a l of s o c i e t y . As i n February, A i Qing condemned the d i s u n i t y i n the l i t e r -ary world. T h i s time he blamed the mutual p r a i s i n g and condem-n a t i o n on " s u b j e c t i v i s m " and " s e c t a r i a n i s m " , terms which by t h i s time were used f r e e l y i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the r e c t i f i c a t i o n move-ment. Again he a t t a c k e d p l a g a r i s m and the c r i t i c s who b l i n d l y shouted down orders to w r i t e r s , complaining, "Why aren't there any great works? Why are there no great w r i t e r s ? " As e a r l i e r , l i t e r a t u r e was d e f i n e d as a weapon to p s y c h o l o -g i c a l l y o r g a n i z e , strengthen, and u n i t e a race or c l a s s . But w r i t e r s were not mere news r e p o r t e r s or authors of propaganda pamphlets. L i t e r a t u r e must have a deeper s t r e n g t h , and "the a b i l i t y to change and i n f l u e n c e others u n o b s t r u s i v e l y " (>|^/f-^ and slogan s t y l e " (MZDJ:159/SWMTT:90) l i t e r a t u r e and a r t , so A i Qing's concerns here were not unshared or unacknowledged. L a s t , however, A i Qing made a p l e a to those i n power which d e f i n i t e l y c a r r i e d through from h i s e a r l i e r a r t i c l e s : "I hope that those who l e a d l i t e r a r y work understand the f u n c t i o n of l i t e r a t u r e , understand w r i t e r s , t h e i r thoughts, f e e l i n g s , a r t i s -). Mao too, f o r that matter, o b j e c t e d to mere "poster 14 5 t i c s k i l l , language, s t r u c t u r e , methods of e x p r e s s i o n , e t c . " A i Qing's essay, though not an a l l - o u t condemnation of h i s former views on l i t e r a t u r e , was nonetheless c o n s i d e r a b l y a l t e r e d i n tone and emphasis. He had ended h i s pre v i o u s emotional defense f o r the use of l i t e r a t u r e as an answer to"man's e x i s t e n t i a l ques-t i o n s . But not u n t i l the June 24 p u b l i c a t i o n of h i s vehement a t t a c k a g a i n s t Wang Shiwei do we get the sense that he had con-formed ( i n p r i n t , at l e a s t ) to the demands of the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement by dropping h i s r a t h e r s e l f - r i g h t e o u s stance on the spe-c i a l value of l i t e r a t u r e and a r t . Thus, d i r e c t l y a f t e r the " T a l k s " from both Xiao Jun and A i Qing we sense that w r i t e r s agreed w i t h Mao f o r the most part., but s t i l l managed to express o p p o s i t i o n to some of the p o i n t s i n h i s d i r e c t i v e s , and f e l t that some pre v i o u s values were s t i l l worth f i g h t i n g f o r . Some of these v a l u e s were a p p a r e n t l y the adoption of a wider - "real-ism" as opposed to " p r o l e t a r i a t r e a l i s m " , a broad scope of w r i t i n g m a t e r i a l as opposed to onl y the gongnongbing, and a r e c o g n i t i o n of the " s p e c i a l " q u a l i t i e s of l i t e r a t u r e as opposed to only i t s mechanical f u n c t i o n . So although by June, most w r i t e r s abandoned Wang Shiwei, there was a h i n t of s o l i d a r i -ty as f a r as l i t e r a r y i s s u e s were concerned. F. L i t e r a r y C r i t i c i s m Immediately F o l l o w i n g the " T a l k s " Above we have i n d i c a t e d the changing l i t e r a r y views of two prominent w r i t e r s i n Yan'an f o l l o w i n g the May conferences. In the Appendix we w i l l observe Ding Ling's s h i f t e d stance v i s - a -v i s Wang Shiwei. Now i t w i l l be of i n t e r e s t to examine the 146 e f f e c t of the " T a l k s " on l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m . As we saw e a r l i e r , there were great d e f i c i e n c i e s i n l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m of c r e a t i v e works. F i r s t , there was too l i t t l e of i t . Very l i t t l e time was devoted to c r i t i q u e s of new works coming out. Second, c r i t i c i s m which d i d emerge was blamed f o r being b i a s e d , u n s c h o l a r l y , sloppy, and g e n e r a l l y u n p r o f e s s i o n a l . An over-empha-s i s on p o l i t i c a l c r i t e r i a due to a narrow i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Marxism-Leninism was i d e n t i f i e d as the major problem. C r i t i c s were se a r c h i n g as much as were w r i t e r s f o r set standards: Mao o f f e r e d t h i s i n s t r u c t i o n i n h i s " T a l k s " : We want no s e c t a r i a n i s m i n our l i t e r a r y and a r t c r i t i c i s m and, s u b j e c t to the general p r i n c i p l e of u n i t y f o r r e s i s t a n c e to Japan, we should t o l e r a t e l i t e r a r y and a r t works wi t h a v a r i e t y of p o l i t i c a l . a t t i t u d e s . But at the same time, i n our c r i t i c i s m we must adhere f i r m l y to p r i n c i p l e and s e v e r e l y c r i t i c i z e and r e p u d i a t e . a l l works of l i t e r -ature and a r t expressing views i n o p p o s i t i o n to the n a t i o n , to s c i e n c e , to the masses and to the Communist P a r t y . . . There i s h a r d l y a w r i t e r or a r t i s t who does not c o n s i d e r h i s own work b e a u t i f u l , and our c r i t i c i s m ought to permit the f r e e c o m p e t i t i o n o f . a l l v a r i e -t i e s of works of a r t ; but i t i s a l s o e n t i r e -l y necessary to s u b j e c t these works to c o r -r e c t c r i t i c i s m a c c o r d i n g to the c r i t e r i a of the s c i e n c e of a e s t h e t i c s , so that a r t of a lower l e v e l can be g r a d u a l l y r a i s e d to a higher and a r t which does not meet the de-mands of the s t r u g g l e of the broad masses can be transformed i n t o . a r t that does. (MZDJ:1387SWMTT:88-89) Through the f o l l o w i n g two examples of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m I w i l l attempt to show how a f t e r the " T a l k s " c r i t i c s were s t i l l suspect and how there continued to be a l a c k of confidence and of accepted standards on the p a r t of c r i t i c s themselves. The f i r s t case w i l l i n d i c a t e an i n a b i l i t y of c r i t i c s to u n i f o r m l y 147 f o l l o w Mao's d i r e c t i v e s , w h i l e the second case w i l l show an i n a b i l i t y of c r i t i c s to agree even among themselves on a c o r r e c t standard. The f i r s t example w i l l c i t e Yan Wenjing's shor t story ;"Com-rade Luoyu Takes a Walk" (October 17, 1941), and Yang Sizhong's c r i t i c i s m of i t , J u l y 27, 1942. The second example w i l l r e f e r to He Qifang's " S i g h i n g , Three S e c t i o n s " (February 17), and "Three Poems" ( A p r i l 3) together w i t h three d i f f e r e n t c r i t i c i s m s of the poetry by Wu Shiyun (June 19), J i n Canran ( J u l y 2), and J i a Zhi ( J u l y 18). W r i t e r Yan Wenjing d e f i n e d "a good work of l i t e r a t u r e " on May 15 by d e c l a r i n g that the n o v e l i s t w r i t e s "to serve t r u t h " and a p i e c e of f i c t i o n can not be c o n s i d e r e d good i f i t l a c k s a good e s t i n g and the c h a r a c t e r s are d e p i c t e d t r u e - t o - l i f e . In theory he agreed w i t h Mao and a l l those who had been saying i n the past few years that no more a b s t r a c t i o n s and l i f e l e s s c h a r a c t e r s unbased on r e a l i t y should e x i s t . On J u l y 27 a Yang Sizhong was to c r i t i c i z e Yan Wenjing f o r the v e r y o f f e n s e Yan h i m s e l f had condemned - l a c k of r e a l n e s s i n c h a r a c t e r and d i a l o g u e . One of the s h o r t s t o r i e s s i n g l e d out by the c r i t i c was "Comrade Luoyu Takes a Walk". The s t o r y i s worth examining due to the type of w r i t i n g i t represented as w e l l as Yang Sizhong's c r i t i c i s m of i t . I b e l i e v e that Mao c o u l d have had i t i n mind when d e s c r i b i n g a type of l i t e r a t u r e made about and f o r the p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i n t e l l e c t u a l s . I would conclude, too, that Yang Sizhong's c r i t i q u e of i t would have been deemed at the time u n s a t i s f a c t o r y , or at l e a s t m i s d i r e c t e d , though no i d e o l o g y or " p r i n c i p l e even i f the s t o r y i s i n t e r -148 one took him up on i t i n the p r e s s . The s t o r y i s w r i t t e n from the very standpoint which the CCP was so vehemently a t t a c k i n g during the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement. The author d e p i c t s a wearied, d i s p i r i t e d young comrade, o b v i o u s l y an i n t e l l e c t u a l , exhausted from overwork and a c o l d , who decides to take a Sunday s t r o l l i n the h i l l s o u t s i d e Yan'an. He purpose-l y wants to avoid the crowds i n town and hopes that the f r e s h a i r w i l l cure h i s f a t i g u e . Common ways of remedying h i s mood such as humming a tune or p l a y i n g poker do not s u i t him, so he r e s o r t s to h i s ten-year o l d h a b i t of wandering about alone. But today the rocks, the w i l d g r a s s , and the mud on h i s shoes a l l seem to be p l o t t i n g a g a i n s t him and he cannot f i n d s o l a c e anywhere. As he l e t s h i s mind d r i f t a i m l e s s l y , a younger f r i e n d happens to come along. But t h i s f e l l o w looks worse o f f than Luoyu. The l a t t e r q u i c k l y d i s c o v e r s that the source of h i s f r i e n d ' s d i s t r e s s i s a f i g h t he's j u s t had w i t h h i s g i r l - f r i e n d , Xiao L i C ' J s <^  ). The w r i t e r takes time to delve i n t o the s i l l y p s y c h o l o g i c a l games pla y e d between the two sweethearts, and Luoyu -gains comfort i n the end by c o n v i n c i n g h i s f r i e n d to go back to Xiao L i , and by exchanging h i s own new shoes w i t h h i s f r i e n d ' s o l d b a t t e r e d p a i r . Yang Sizhong p i c k e d on the unrealness of Luoyu's s p i r i t s changing so suddenly by merely exhanging a p a i r of shoes. What i s i n t e r e s t i n g to us i s that the c r i t i c o f f e r e d no c r i t i c a l r e s -ponse whatsoever to the author's d e p i c t i o n of the inn e r thoughts of Comrade Luoyu and h i s f r i e n d . The younger f e l l o w opened h i s heart to Luoyu i n t h i s way: Being a b i t l a z y at times and not wishing to speak i n v i t e s c r i t i c i s m by others who would say that 149 one i s not c l o s e enough, to the masses. But there are reasons f o r being l a z y - too many meetings to attend, over ten a week, day and n i g h t . L i t t l e t h i n g s too were unnerving, l i k e not being able to f i n d a carpenter when your t a b l e l e g breaks, or l o s i n g your o n l y bar of soap w h i l e washing your c l o t h e s i n the r i v e r . The m a t e r i a l d i s c o m f o r t s c o u l d be f o r g i v e n , s i n c e everyone i s i n the same boat, but i t i s the l a c k of f r i e n d s t h a t i s r e a l l y hard to take. It i s odd that even as l a t e as two f u l l months a f t e r the " T a l k s " , Yang Siz'hong d i d not c r i t i c i z e the " p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s " o r i e n t a t i o n of the s t o r y , nor i t s obvious p o r t r a y a l of l e s s than 19 b r i g h t aspects of Yan'an l i f e . He merely f e l t that the charac-t e r Luoyu was not t r u e - t o - l i f e , and that the d i a l o g u e , too, l a c k -ed n a t u r a l n e s s . Thus even a f t e r the P a r t y had set out a standard of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m Cclear at l e a s t i n the p o l i t i c a l sense), . t h i s c r i t i c d i d not heed i t . Why he d i d not opt f o r a seemingly safe angle of c r i t i c i s m , i . e . , by denouncing the p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s s u b j e c t matter and treatment, but r a t h e r choose to f i n d (what t h i s reader f e e l s to be) f o r c e d s h o r t p o i n t s i n the r e a l i t y of p e r s o n a l i t y and d i a l o g u e , i s somewhat of a mystery. I f , i n spec-u l a t i o n we can conclude anything, i t i s that e i t h e r c r i t i c s such as Yang d i d not agree w i t h the p o l i t i c a l standards e s t a b l i s h e d by Mao i n May, or that they were s t i l l unsure of what boundaries 20 such c r i t i c i s m should abide by. One would imagine that the problem w i t h "Comrade Luoyu Takes a Walk" i n the eyes of Mao, would l i e i n the a t t i t u d e of the w r i t -er to h i s s u b j e c t matter, that i s , h i s c l a s s s t a n d p o i n t . The s t o r y i s s u r e l y a sympathetic p o r t r a y a l of i n t e l l e c t u a l s shown not i n the process of reform, but while i n d u l g i n g i n "bourgeois", 150 p e r s o n a l c o n c e r n s , f a r r e m o v e d f r o m p r e s e n t d a y r e v o l u t i o n a r y s t r u g g l e . The two men a r e shown t o t a l l y w r a p p e d up i n t h e i r own m i s e r i e s a n d we g e t no c l e a r s e n s e o f h i s t o r i c a l t i m e p e r i o d , b r o a d e r p o l i t i c a l s t r u g g l e , n o r o f t h e s e c h a r a c t e r s ' d e d i c a t i o n o r s i n c e r i t y t o w a r d s t h e i r w o r k . Y a n g S i z h o n g ' s r e a c t i o n , o r n o n - r e a c t i o n t o w h a t w o u l d h a v e b e e n c o n s i d e r e d o f f e n s i v e e l e m e n t s b y Mao may p r o v e , as t h e f o l -l o w i n g e x a m p l e , t h a t c r i t i c s w e r e s t i l l f a c e d w i t h d i f f i c u l t i e s i n m a k i n g d e c i s i v e j u d g e m e n t s o n l i t e r a r y w o r k s , t h a t M a o ' s " T a l k s " h a d l e f t t hem somewha t c o n f u s e d , o r t h a t t h e y w e r e d e t e r -m i n e d t o m a i n t a i n some o f t h e i r own s t a n d a r d s o f c r i t i c i s m i n o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e new d i r e c t i v e s . On J u n e 1 9 , a Wu S h i y u n w r o t e a r e l e n t l e s s l y h a r s h c r i t i c i s m o f He Q i f a n g ' s p o e t r y o f F e b r u a r y 17 a n d A p r i l 3 . S h o r t l y a f t e r t h i s , t w o d i f f e r e n t c r i t i c s i n t u r n c a s t i g a t e d Wu f o r b e i n g u n j u s t a n d b i a s e d i n h i s c r i t i q u e o f t h e p o e m s . The a p p r o a c h o f Wu i n j u d g i n g t h e w o r k o f t h e p o e t , a n d t h e s u b s e q u e n t s e v e r e r e p r o a c h he r e c e i v e d f r o m o t h e r c r i t i c s w o u l d i n d i c a t e a b a t t l e t a k i n g p l a c e i n t h e w o r l d o f l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m o v e r t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f c r i t i c a l s t a n d a r d s p r e s c r i b e d b y Mao on May 2 3 . Wu S h i y u n , w r i t i n g t h a t he h a d " n o p e r s o n a l g r i e v a n c e s a -g a i n s t He Q i f a n g " , n o n e t h e l e s s w e n t a b o u t d i s p a r a g i n g t h e p o e t ' s w o r k . R e f e r r i n g t o H e ' s " S i g h i n g , T h r e e S e c t i o n s " ( s e e C h a p t e r T h r e e ) , Wu c o n d e m n e d t h e p o e t ' s q u a s i - s a r c a s t i c t o n e (when m e n -t i o n i n g p e o p l e who make l o v e t h e i r - " o c c u p a t i o n " ) a s b e i n g s e n t i -m e n t a l , a n d n o t i r o n i c a t a l l . He l a b e l e d t h e p o e t ' s l i n e s a b o u t r e v o l u t i o n a n d s a c r i f i c e s b e i n g m i n o r as i n c o n g r u o u s w i t h l i n e s c o m i n g b e f o r e t h e m . A f t e r l a m e n t i n g u p o n how he h a s s u f 1 151 f e r e d f o r l o v e , how p e o p l e i n l o v e s u f f e r , a n d how p e o p l e w i t h no l o v e t o o s u f f e r , he t a c k e d o n a n o p t i m i s t i c comment o n t h e a b i l i t y o f r e v o l u t i o n t o i m p r o v e human l i f e . Wu w r o t e t h a t i f t h e p o e t r e a l l y b e l i e v e d t h i s , t h e r e w o u l d be no n e e d f o r h i m t o m o u r n s o . Wu o b s e r v e d , " B e c a u s e t h e w r i t e r h i m s e l f i s v e r y l o n e l y , he n a t -u r a l l y makes e v e r y t h i n g l o n e l y . . . " Wu a d v i s e d He Q i f a n g t h a t one s h o u l d n ' t w r i t e p o e t r y f o r mere c o n s o l a t i o n o r d i v e r s i o n . D o i n g so w o u l d o n l y make one m o r e m i s e r a b l e a n d w o u l d n o t s e r v e t o f i l l a n y v a c u u m . The p o e t s h o u l d i n s t e a d s p e n d t i m e w o r k i n g a n d s t u d y i n g " e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y " , a n d l o v e " b r a v e l y " . Wu was much m o r e h a r s h w i t h t h e p o e t ' s " T h r e e P o e m s " . He f e l t t h a t h e r e he was t o o l o o s e w i t h h i s f e e l i n g s a n d d e s i r e s : "He d o e s n ' t c o n s i d e r t h e e f f e c t h i s f e e l i n g s a n d t h o u g h t s w i l l h a v e o n p e o p l e . I f e e l t h i s i s h a r m f u l t o h i m s e l f a n d t o h i s r e a d e r s , a n d i s e v e n v e r y d a n g e r o u s . " B y p o r t r a y i n g t h e w o r l d a s " h e l l " a n d p e o p l e as " c a p t i v e s " , he was e x e r t i n g a b a d i n f l u e n c e o v e r y o u n g p e o p l e . He Q i f a n g s h o u l d s t o p c r e a t i n g s u c h " u n b e n e -f i c i a l " p o e t r y , f o r o u r c o u n t r y m e n do n o t n e e d p o e t s w i t h whom t o " s i g h t o g e t h e r . " R e f e r r i n g t o t h e s y m p a t h y o f f e r e d b y t h e p o e t t o s o l d i e r s a t w a r , Wu d e f i a n t l y s t a t e d t h a t " o u r s o l d i e r s a r e n o t f i g h t i n g i n b a t t l e t o d i e , b u t t o d e f e a t t h e e n e m y ! " He t h e n s t r e s s e d t h a t t h e p o e t ' s " i n a b i l i t y t o h a r m o n i z e w i t h r e a l i -t y " was due t o t h e h i g h p o s i t i o n f r o m w h i c h he c h o o s e t o l o o k f e e l s b a d l y b e c a u s e he i s p o w e r l e s s t o h e l p h i s d i r t y , c o a r s e , a n d i g n o r a n t s e r v a n t s become c l e a n e r , more r e f i n e d , a n d more k n o w l e d g a b l e . . down ) , a n d l i k e n e d He t o a k i n g who 152 Yet Wu was o n l y "a reader and a student" of p o e t r y , and l a s t -l y f e l t t h a t one c o u l d not o v e r l o o k the success of He Qifang's a r t i s t i c s k i l l i n the use of form. On J u l y 2, J i n Canran d i s c u s s e d the same group of poems, and although agreeing w i t h Wu Shiyun's assessment of He Qifang's a t t i t u d e towards l i f e , he was w i l l i n g to f o r g i v e the poet and, what's more important, take Wu to task f o r sloppy c r i t i c i s m . Through J i n , we see more evidence of a d e t e r m i n a t i o n on the p a r t of w r i t e r s and c r i t i c s to salvage p r e - " T a l k s " standards, i n t h i s case, standards of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m . J i n agreed t h a t there was a great d i s t a n c e between He Qifang and the masses w i t h whom he a s p i r e d to mix. (In f a c t the t i t l e of J i n ' s essay was " D i s t a n c e " , " fd^ ") . He d e f i n e d the prob-lem more c l e a r l y . There was a powerful c o n t r a d i c t i o n u n d e r l y i n g the poet's emotions which came through i n h i s p o e t r y . He would l i k e to p r a i s e the new l i f e , but remnants of past s u f f e r i n g and sadness s t i l l haunt him. He loves the r e a l i t y of h i s d a i l y l i f e , but a l s o hates i t s narrowness; he loves the workers and peasants, but maintains a d i s t a n c e from them. He envies comrades i n the v i l l a g e s , but at the same time advises them to f i l l t h e i r d u l l l i v e s w i t h " r e a d i n g , p l a y i n g Chinese chess, and going f o r walks". His s t rong d e s i r e f o r progress i s at b a t t l e w i t h memories of the o l d w i t h i n h i s consciousness •, and when the l a t t e r c o n t r o l the former, he speaks of transcending r e a l i t y and of l e a v i n g t h i s l i f e . T his "adds a l a y e r of darkness to h i s poems". J i n went one step f u r t h e r than Wu by c a u t i o n i n g He Qifang that the l a t t e r ' s (narrow) l i f e and knowledge l i m i t e d h i s p o e t i c themes as w e l l as the c l a s s bounds of h i s r e a d e r s . Some "pure" 153 things were a c t u a l l y " p o l l u t e d " under h i s pen; perhaps what concerned the poet s u i t e d the t a s t e s of a p o r t i o n of young people, but w r i t i n g about such things was not " p r a i s i n g the b i r t h of the new world". L a s t l y , the most severe c r i t i c i s m of He by J i n Canran was on the former's p o r t r a y a l of the masses as "innocent p r i s o n e r s " ( J i n ) i n h e l l , p a s s i v e animals who s i t under low r o o f s and s i g h , i n a word, who have no i d e a l s . J i n a s s e r t e d that the masses who were ready to conquer the o l d f o r the new r e v o l u t i o n and "the l i b e r a t i o n of a l l humanity" were d i s t o r t e d under He's pen. Here, J i n quoted Marx's c r i t i c i s m of urban w r i t e r s f o r i n a c c u r a t e l y p o r t r a y i n g workers as p a s s i v e and i g n o r a n t . Since the Chinese masses had passed through the 1911 R e v o l u t i o n , the Great Revolu-t i o n (of 1927), and f i v e years of war, they had a r i g h t to demand r e a l i s t w r i t e r s to p o r t r a y t h e i r p o s i t i v e s i d e , and i n f a c t o n l y works which d i d so could be c o n s i d e r e d " r e a l i s t i c " . However, J i n at l a s t ended h i s d i s c u s s i o n of He's p o e t r y w i t h a r a t h e r unexpected and sharp c r i t i c i s m of Wu Shiyun's me-thods and c r i t i c a l c a p a b i l i t i e s i n a s s e s s i n g the poet's c r e a t i v e m o t i v a t i o n s and e f f o r t s . J i n wrote that although the poet should c o n s i d e r Wu's c r i t i c i s m , Wu tended to m i s i n t e r p r e t some th i n g s and o f t e n quote out of context. At times he was r e c k l e s s i n e s t a b l i s h i n g h i s p o i n t of view and a t t a c k i n g the poet. Most important, Wu ignored He Qifang's d e s i r e to reach the b r i g h t s i d e of t h i n g s . T h i s , then was the fundamental d i f f e r e n c e between how Wu Shiyun and J i n Canran viewed the poet's a t t i t u d e and u l t i -mate m o t i v a t i o n . Where Wu was ungenerous towards He's c o n t r a d i c -t o r y emotions, J i n was w i l l i n g to give him the b e n e f i t of the doubt and assume that he was s e a r c h i n g h i s best to f i n d happiness 154 i n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y s t r u g g l e . J i n blamed Wu f o r a t t a c k i n g He Qifang i n an a r b i t r a r y , u n o b j e c t i v e manner, d e c l a r i n g that t h i s approach d i d not "help others to p r a c t i c e v i r t u e " ( K , an o f f i c i a l CCP a t t i t u d e towards those who have made m i s t a k e s ) . Moreover, J i n f e l t that Wu was very wrong i n co n c l u d i n g that He Qifang's r e a l p a i n was i n s i n c e r e and h y p o c r i t i c a l . Perhaps • the deepest blow d e l i v e r e d to Wu by J i n was that there was a d i s t a n c e between Wu Shiyun and the poet, that of " l i t e r a r y accomplishment" ( <L<i fa )• On J u l y 18, a w r i t e r , J i a Zhi b a s i c a l l y agreed with J i n Canran's c r i t i c i s m of Wu Shiyun. He a l s o made some gen e r a l r e -marks about the s t a t e of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m and o f f e r e d h i s own s o l u t i o n to the problems posed by He Qifang's p o e t r y . He s t a r t e d out by remarking on the p o s i t i v e trends i n l i t e r -ature due to the i n f l u e n c e of the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement. There was g e n e r a l l y more a c t i v i t y i n l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m , and w r i t e r s ' p a r t i a l i t y towards f o r e i g n l i t e r a t u r e was being c o r r e c t e d . Yet, he admitted, i n r e l a t i o n to f o r e i g n c l a s s i c a l works, our Chinese l i t e r a t u r e i s s t i l l at a y o u t h f u l stage of development. I t i s our r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to nurture i t and not allow i t to e x t i n g u i s h i t s e l f . I f l i t e r a r y works were i n a c h i l d h o o d stage, he wrote, a l l the more so f o r l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m . The l a t t e r was j u s t beginning. We need more of i t and more c r i t i c i s m of the l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m . Thus l e a d i n g i n t o a major p o i n t of h i s d i s c u s s i o n , he turned to c r i t i c i z i n g Wu Shiyun's a p p r a i s a l of He Qifang's p o e t r y . L i k e J i n , J i a Zhi lashed out a g a i n s t Wu f o r quoting the poet out of context, thereby doing v i o l e n c e to the poet's i n t e n t i o n s as w e l l as the r e a d e r s ' understanding. He Qifang d i d have the 155 s p i r i t of progress and d i d hope to go among the masses, yet Wu p u r p o s e l y o n l y quoted the more n e g a t i v e , d e p r e s s i n g l i n e s of the poetry. J i a Zhi maintained that Wu i n f a c t d i d not l i k e the p o e t r y and was t h e r e f o r e too p i c k y . J i a agreed w i t h J i n Canran that He d i d not d e p i c t the s t r o n g e r , more a c t i v e s i d e of the masses. But he went f u r t h e r than e i t h e r Wu or J i n by c a l l i n g the poet's concerns "petty-bourgeois i l l u s i o n s " and too ''-'ilfdi^v.-lid^a-ll-s-t i c " . The masses co u l d not a p p r e c i a t e h i s work because h i s p o e t r y r e v e a l e d more about h i m s e l f than about t h e i r l i v e s and c a r e s . J i a Zhi's s o l u t i o n to He's i n a b i l i t y to i n t e r e s t the masses i n h i s p o e t r y was f i r s t not to dwell on how to withstand the hardships of l i f e (as He saw them), but r a t h e r to concentrate on how to e l i m i n a t e p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s demands and e x p e c t a t i o n s of the r e v o l u t i o n . Second, the poet should f u l f i l l the needs of the masses by w r i t i n g about them and t h e i r i n t e r e s t s . True, h i s po-e t r y was meaningful f o r the "unawakened pe t t y - b o u r g e o i s i n t e l -l e c t u a l s " , but h i s choice of m a t e r i a l was i n a p p r o p r i a t e f o r a mass audience. They found p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s a t t i t u d e s l u d i c r o u s . I t was not a matter of whether or not the poet was capable of c r i t i c i z i n g p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i n t e l l e c t u a l s , a "problem of stand-p o i n t " , but a problem of the s e l e c t i o n of m a t e r i a l . T h i s p o i n t presents a c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n J i a Zhi's argument, s i n c e even when He d i d d e p i c t the masses, as s t a t e d above, he d i d so i n c o r r e c t l y by J i a ' s standards. I t c o u l d not have p o s s i b l y been on l y a ques-t i o n of source m a t e r i a l . Perhaps the most i n t e r e s t i n g p o i n t made by J i a Zhi was t h i s : I t i s f i n e i f one can p o r t r a y h i m s e l f w e l l i n order to see the " g e n e r a l " c l a s s as a whole, but i f a p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s w r i t e r 156 spends time t r y i n g to "make h i m s e l f i n t o a worker or peasant" ( _J_ j^j ) and ends up o n l y t a l k i n g about h i m s e l f , i t i s c e r -t a i n that t h i s d e p i c t i o n w i l l have l i m i t a t i o n s . Since the v o i c e s of the masses were the "sounds of the times", the masses had the r i g h t to ask He Qifang to p o r t r a y things w i t h which they and not he, were f a m i l i a r . Only by doing t h i s would he grow f a m i l i a r w i t h such t h i n g s . I t was more important to demand the poet to w r i t e about mass concerns o u t s i d e h i s own p e r s o n a l scope of mem-ory and knowledge, than to ask him to be more c r i t i c a l of p e t t y -bourgeois i n t e l l e c t u a l s . I t was not a problem of how to w r i t e , but of what to w r i t e . He Q i f a n g , s a i d J i a Z h i , was only one of 21 many w r i t e r s to share t h i s problem. J i a Zhi's c r i t i c i s m of Wu Shiyun taken together w i t h J i n Canran's shows us the v a r i a n c e i n standards of p o l i t i c a l l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m evident immediately a f t e r the " T a l k s " . The approach of Yang Sizhong to a " p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s " short s t o r y d i s c u s s e d above, would a l s o lend credence to our c o n c l u s i o n that l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m a f t e r May 1942 (at l e a s t i n the immediate months f o l l o w -ing) d i d not measurably d i f f e r from that before the " T a l k s " i n that i t was s t i l l r a t h e r e r r a t i c and i n c o n s i s t e n t . Moreover, the l i t e r a r y c r i t i c s who d i d venture to o f f e r t h e i r analyses of c r e a t i v e works a f t e r the " T a l k s " were not i n agreement among them-s e l v e s about Mao's c r i t e r i a f o r judging l i t e r a r y works, and i n f a c t , even appear to d i s a g r e e w i t h him on c e r t a i n p o i n t s . We are tempted to agree w i t h both J i n Canran and J i a Zhi on the narrow and dogmatic nature of Wu Shiyun's a n a l y s i s of He Qifang's p o e t r y , and may look at both J i n ' s and J i a ' s essays as a defense of the poet and a r e a c t i o n to o v e r r a s h c r i t i c i s m by a 157 young a s p i r i n g c r i t i c a t t e m p t i n g too q u i c k l y to implement Mao's p o l i c y , thereby showing h i s l o y a l t y to the Party, I f t h i s was the case, i f then J i n Canran and J i a Zhi were speaking w i t h the b l e s s i n g of the Party, then perhaps l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m was not as c h a o t i c as we had imagined. I t i s not hard to imagine that two main l i n e s had p o s s i b l y emerged a f t e r the "Talks". One, r e -presented by Wu Shiyun, was a tendency to implement Mao's c r i t e -r i a f o r l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m i n a rash manner. I t was probably f o s t e r e d by young a s p i r i n g c r i t i c s w i t h l i t t l e experience i n the a r t of a e s t h e t i c s , l i t e r a r y c r e a t i o n , or l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m . The other l i n e , represented by people such as J i n Canran and J i a Z h i , tended to i n t e r p r e t Mao's ideas here i n a l e s s heedless f a s h i o n , t a k i n g i n t o account the d i f f i c u l t i e s undergone by the w r i t e r . This second group was l i k e l y to offer. more measured and b e t t e r thought out advice to the w r i t e r . Even i f those adopting t h i s second tendency i n l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m were i n some places g u i l t y of opting f o r o v e r s i m p l i s t i c s o l u t i o n s to l i t e r a r y problems (as i n the case of J i a Z h i ) , s t i l l they seemed g e n e r a l l y b e t t e r -versed and capable of more profound observation than those i n the f i r s t group, at l e a s t as represented by Wu Shiyun. G, A Comparison of Issues Raised Before and A f t e r the "Talks " Here i t i s appropriate that we b r i e f l y sum up a comparison of issues brought up f o r debate before and a f t e r the May forum on l i t e r a t u r e and a r t . I t w i l l be u s e f u l to r e t r a c e the issues Cexamined i n Chapter Two) which had been brought forward by w r i t -ers i n JFRB before May, and see how they were or were not d e a l t 158 with, a f t e r that important months Source m a t e r i a l had of course occupied a p o s i t i o n of h i g h p r i o r i t y w i t h Mao who s p e c i f i e d that w r i t e r s put t h e i r e f f o r t s i n t o the d e p i c t i o n of gongnorigbing. W r i t e r s before the forum were n a t u r a l l y concerned w i t h s u b j e c t matter, but ve r y few (Zhou Yang as a t h e o r i s t , not a w r i t e r h i m s e l f , and Mao Dun) had e x p l i -c i t l y expressed the need f o r urban w r i t e r s to break through the c l a s s boundaries of t h e i r thematic m a t e r i a l . In f a c t , i t was not u n t i l a f t e r the end of May, i . e . , a f t e r Mao's " C o n c l u s i o n " that every w r i t e r appearing on page fo u r of JFRB addressed the r e p r e -s e n t a t i o n of gongnongbing as a major problem. As seen above, even Xiao Jun and A i Qing i n mid-May, one week before the "Con-c l u s i o n " d i d not s p e c i f y the gongnongbing as s u b j e c t matter. T h i s would a t t e s t to the watershed c r e a t e d by Mao's " T a l k s " on t h i s p o i n t . C r e a t i v e method and approach to su b j e c t matter had not been given much a t t e n t i o n (exception again - Zhou Yang and Mao Dun), save f o r the burning i s s u e of whether to expose the dark s i d e or e x t o l the b r i g h t s i d e of l i f e i n the r e v o l u t i o n a r y base. The answer g i v e n by Mao and many others a f t e r May was to adopt the c r e a t i v e method of r e a l i s m which was d e f i n e d by J i n Canran on J u l y 2 as p o r t r a y i n g the p o s i t i v e s i d e of the masses. The i s s u e over exposing the dark, then, was s i l e n c e d , at l e a s t i n the p r e s s , and the best approach f o r w r i t e r s to take was to i n t e r a c t w i t h the masses, t h e i r new p r i n c i p a l source m a t e r i a l . The q u e s t i o n of formulism r e s u l t i n g from an i n c o r r e c t a p p l i -c a t i o n of Marxism-Leninism to l i t e r a t u r e and a r t was not given space as an i s s u e a f t e r May. I t was presumably to be so l v e d by 159 w r i t e r s g a i n i n g a b e t t e r understanding of themselves, of Marxism, and of a r t i s t i c problems through going out to l i v e among the masses. . P o p u l a r i z a t i o n and the r a i s i n g of standards had not been noted o f t e n as a problem among w r i t e r s before May. Afterwards, however, there was more d i s c u s s i o n of the need to s i m p l i f y lang-uage and adopt n a t i o n a l forms. Both J i a Zhi [ J u l y 18) and Zhou Libo (June 12) d e c l a r e d the need to stop worshipping f o r e i g n l i t e r a t u r e and begin v a l u i n g n a t i v e Chinese works, J i a w r i t i n g that the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement had c o r r e c t e d w r i t e r s ' o l d a t t i -tudes on t h i s . As f o r treatment of and a t t i t u d e s towards w r i t e r s , there was no more ta l k , among w r i t e r s i n the press a f t e r May of t h e i r s p e c i a l r o l e i n s o c i e t y and the only o p i n i o n on t h i s q u e s t i o n at a l l was uniform and c o n s i s t e n t - w r i t e r s were c u l t u r a l workers, p a r t of the whole r e v o l u t i o n a r y machine. T h e i r primary task was to go down to the masses and become one w i t h them so as to be b e t t e r able to w r i t e about t h e i r l i v e s and concerns. Xiao San's advice (January, 1942) was taken as the major l i n e on t h i s i s s u e . H. Optimism versus R e a l i t y : the C o n t r a d i c t i o n s From mid-May u n t i l the end of the summer, e x c l u d i n g the many a r t i c l e s denouncing the " c o u n t e r - r e v o l u t i o n a r y " Wang Shiwei, one b a s i c concern ran throughout a l l other l i t e r a r y - r e l a t e d comments and o b s e r v a t i o n s : Present w r i t e r s , n e a r l y a l l "petty-bourgeois i n t e l l e c t u a l s " were simply i n c a p a b l e at that p o i n t of success-f u l l y d e p i c t i n g gongnongbing, as Mao had requested, nor any 160 c l a s s other than that to which they belonged or had experienced f i r s t - h a n d . Since there were as yet no w r i t e r s of gongnongbing o r i g i n , there was no choice but to f o r c e urban w r i t e r s to mix wi t h the masses i n hopes that t h i s would have a p o s i t i v e e f f e c t on t h e i r w r i t i n g . Thus there would be a w a i t i n g p e r i o d u n t i l the p o t e n t i a l t a l e n t among the gongnongbing themselves c o u l d be nur t u r e d and developed so as to supplant the e l i t i s t w r i t e r s . But there was a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r a d i c t i o n at p l a y u n d e r l y i n g t h i s r e a l i t y . W r i t e r s themselves admitted that they were a hope-l e s s case as f a r as w r i t i n g f o r the masses was concerned, and they c o u l d o n l y do t h e i r best under the r e s t r a i n t s of t h e i r own handi-caps (such as e l i t i s t e d u c a t i o n ) . Yet t h i s semi-optimism was not compatible w i t h the Party's hope that once the i n t e l l e c t u a l w r i t -ers reformed t h e i r mistaken i d e o l o g y , l i t e r a r y problems would 2 2 fundamentally be s o l v e d as w e l l . Even w r i t e r s who supported the concept of "going down to the masses" openly admitted that such a move co u l d not n e c e s s a r i l y s o l v e i d e o l o g i c a l problems, l e t alone a r t i s t i c ones. The problem a r i s i n g from the impasse i s w e l l e x e m p l i f i e d by an essay w r i t t e n by He Qifang, p r i n t e d on May 19, e n t i t l e d "The Paths to L i t e r a t u r e " , and the c r i t i c i s m of i t by a Qiu Chi on June 12. He Qifang began w i t h a s i n c e r e e x p l a n a t i o n of the standpoint of the pe t t y - b o u r g e o i s i n t e l l e c t u a l s v i s - a - v i s the r e v o l u t i o n . He wrote, We i n t e l l e c t u a l s w i t h a p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s back-ground are l a c k i n g something which r e a l peo-pl e should possess, many things which people i n a f u t u r e , reasonable s o c i e t y w i l l p o s s i b l y 161 have. N a t u r a l l y , we don't i n t e n d to s t r e s s t h i s p o i n t . Compared to l a c k i n g food, c l o t h -ing and s h e l t e r , a l l of those s o - c a l l e d s p i r -i t u a l hardships and mental p r i v a t i o n s r e a l l y don't amount to much. But t h i s top, i s a f a c t : I t i s because of the s p i r i t u a l hardships and mental p r i v a t i o n s that we i n t e l l e c t u a l s are moving towards r e v o l u t i o n and that we love l i t e r a t u r e . In the p a s t , through l i t e r a t u r e we have reached a d i f f e r e n t world, one much v a s t e r and f i n e r than our r e a l world. The r e v o l u t i o n a r y theory which we study allows us to see t h i s vague, dreamlike world i n a c l e a r -er l i g h t . At p r e s e n t we are c a r r y i n g out p r a c t i c a l work p r e c i s e l y to s t r i v e f o r t h i s world, Therefore he urged comrades who wrote l e t t e r s to him express-ing the d e s i r e to leave t h e i r p r a c t i c a l work and go.' study l i t e r -a t u r e , to stay at t h e i r j o b s . He maintained the view (once shared by Lu Xun, see 1928) that "At a time when the r e v o l u t i o n i s u r : g e n t l y moving forward, l i t e r a t u r e always manifests the small mea-sure of i t s s t r e n g t h " . And so he advised these young people "from a r e v o l u t i o n a r y as w e l l as l i t e r a r y p o i n t of view" not to hasten 23 to make a s p e c i a l study of l i t e r a t u r e . He Qifang d i v i d e d the "paths to l i t e r a t u r e " i n t o two. One path l e d from l i t e r a t u r e to l i t e r a t u r e , t h a t i s , from reading l i t e r a t u r e to c r e a t i n g i t i n response to l i f e ' s i n adequacies. T h i s , presumably, was the path he and others l i k e him had taken, a c c o r d i n g to h i s statement above that the reason i n t e l l e c t u a l s l ove l i t e r a t u r e i s that through i t they can excape s p i r i t u a l h a r d s h i p s . I t i s not d i f f i c u l t to see from reading h i s p o e t r y that He had taken t h i s path, although from the d e s c r i p t i o n of the second p a t h i t i s l i k e l y that he had taken i t , too. We should keep i n mind that he h i m s e l f d e c l a r e d that he had o n l y d i v i d e d the paths thus " f o r the sake of convenience". I t would 162 seem to us that the two paths were not mutually e x c l u s i v e . The other path l e d from l i f e to l i f e . I t meant that one would o n l y w r i t e a f t e r having gained some degree of experience from the r i c h n e s s of l i f e i t s e l f . Those t a k i n g the f i r s t path, he a t t e s t e d , would end up i n a world of i l l u s i o n because t h e i r knowledge was o n l y based on the judgement of past w r i t e r s whose works they had read, but not on t h e i r own l i v e s . The poet f e l t t h a t t h i s was the danger i n making a s p e c i a l study of l i t e r a t u r e . He somewhat d o g m a t i c a l l y added that only the person who took the second path c o u l d d i s c o v e r the " t r u t h of l i f e " never to be d i s -covered by past w r i t e r s . T h i s l a t t e r k i n d of w r i t e r would emerge from the " f e r t i l e lower l a y e r s " of China, from the group of peo-p l e now i n the process of being "tempered" by l i f e , who were as of yet "unconscious of what they would w r i t e about i n the f u t u r e " . He Qifang b e l i e v e d that people l i k e h i m s e l f who had r e c e i v e d s p e c i a l i z e d t r a i n i n g i n l i t e r a t u r e were h o p e l e s s l y c o r r u p t e d by t h e i r pampered education and thus plagued by t h e i r s u b j e c t i v e judgements. Although l i t e r a t u r e had opened t h e i r eyes to another world, i t had a l s o hindered them from seeing the r e a l world. Thus even a r a t h e r long p e r i o d of time spent among the masses d i d not enable w r i t e r s to c r e a t e works t r u l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of t h e i r s u b j e c t s . He found i t impossible f o r i n t e l l e c t u a l s to blend i n w i t h r e a l l i f e (with the " f e r t i l e lower l a y e r s " ) a f t e r having s t u d i e d l i t e r a t u r e i n a s p e c i a l i z e d manner, s i n c e t h a t r e a l l i f e would probably seem r e s t r i c t i n g to the w r i t e r a f t e r h i s s t u d i e s . The o n l y way f o r people l i k e h i m s e l f to c o n t r i b u t e to the cause through l i t e r a t u r e was to help nurture the f u t u r e w r i t e r s by " p l a n t i n g flowers along t h e i r path, c u t t i n g out the 163 thorns, and p r e p a r i n g food and d r i n k [ f o r them.1" T h i s seems con-t r a d i c t o r y to h i s l a s t c a l l f o r p o t e n t i a l w r i t e r s to l i v e out a long and f u l l l i f e , and p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e i r own s t r u g g l e s , r a t h e r than having the way paved f o r them. He Qifang's r a t h e r n i h i l i s t i c a n a l y s i s of the r o l e of l i t e r -a ture and w r i t e r s (such as h i m s e l f ) i n r e v o l u t i o n was s u r e l y the product of an over r e a c t i o n to the p o l i c i e s being formulated at the May conferences. Other w r i t e r s such as Zhou Libo would a l s o o f f e r s e l f - c r i t i c i s m s but He Qifang's was i n comparison e x c e s s i v e -l y c r i t i c a l of May Fourth w r i t e r s and a l l they had accomplished s i n c e 1919. On June 12, a Qiu Chi took to task the dogmatism and p e s s i -mism of He's c l a i m that studying l i t e r a t u r e was u n b e n e f i c i a l to the r e v o l u t i o n a r y cause at p r e s e n t , and c r i t i c i z e d the poet's l e s s than sanguine a t t i t u d e towards the problem. F i r s t , Qiu Chi p o i n t e d out that s t u d y i n g l i t e r a t u r e i n i t -s e l f was not bad, but i t was the method employed which determined such study's worthiness to the cause. He maintained t h a t some-one who hadn't s t u d i e d l i t e r a t u r e c o u l d be faced w i t h the same l i m i t a t i o n s of v i s i o n , knowledge, and experience. True, a spe-c i a l i s t i n l i t e r a t u r e was not r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of the m a j o r i t y , but n e i t h e r was someone who had not s t u d i e d l i t e r a t u r e , or someone from peasant or "hoodlum" (Vff^ -t&j ) background. Second, Qiu Chi o b j e c t e d to the f a c t that He had not p o i n t e d a c l e a r way out f o r those who had w r i t t e n to him wanting to leave t h e i r p r a c t i c a l work, nor had he expressed any hope f o r those l i k e h i m s e l f who had a l r e a d y taken the i n c o r r e c t p a t h to l i t e r -a t u r e . To t h i s c r i t i c , keeping away from- l i t e r a t u r e was not the 164 s o l u t i o n , He i n s i s t e d that people who s t u d i e d l i t e r a t u r e c o u l d get c l o s e r to r e a l i t y i f they i n c r e a s e d t h e i r knowledge and experience. He took e x c e p t i o n to He's p e s s i m i s t i c view that l i t e r a t u r e i s i n e f f e c t u a l during r e v o l u t i o n . He c o r r e c t e d the poet by d e c l a r i n g that l i t e r a t u r e c o u l d not o n l y l e a d to a dream-land , but could a l s o p o i n t out the way f o r human l i f e . I t seemed that here He Qifang had overstepped h i m s e l f i n an attempt at s e l f - c r i t i c i s m . He was, though, c o n f e s s i n g to a prob-lem which even Qiu Chi c o u l d not deny. The c r i t i c admitted t h a t a true " p r o l e t a r i a n standpoint i n l i t e r a t u r e was o n l y a f u t u r e p o s s i b i l i t y : But can someone from the masses who hasn't s t u d i e d l i t e r a t u r e w r i t e a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e work? No. Thi s i s a s e m i - c o l o n i a l , semi-f e u d a l s o c i e t y . The workers and peasants can't w r i t e , and the people who have s t u d i e d l i t e r a t u r e can't w r i t e . To end on an o p t i m i s t i c note, he added, "Undoubtedly, some w i l l be able to w r i t e i n the f u t u r e . The key l i n k i s to use a r e a l i s -t i c c r e a t i v e method." On June 12 the w r i t e r Zhou Libo r e i t e r e a t e d the same prob-lem. His " I d e o l o g y , ' L i f e , and Form" seems to be a s e l f - c r i t i c i s m , though we have none of h i s p r e v i o u s t h e o r e t i c a l views i n p r i n t i n JFRB wi t h which to compare i t . Although Zhou f e l t t h a t w r i t -ers could s t i l l t e l l a good s t o r y and express t h e i r own thoughts and f e e l i n g s , he admitted that they were unable to c r e a t e works which i n t e r e s t e d the masses. He d i s a g r e e d w i t h the saying "Going i n t o l i f e s o l v e s not o n l y a r t i s t i c problems, but i d e o l o g -i c a l p r o b l e m s as w e l l " , because going i n t o l i f e d i d not s o l v e 165 i d e o l o g i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s f o r w r i t e r s . (He ignored the i s s u e of whether or not i t so l v e d a r t i s t i c problems). Ideology was hard to reform: "An e l e c t r i c a l wire even when plugged i n t o l i f e i s s t i l l j u s t an e l e c t r i c a l wire". He r e f u t e d the o p i n i o n t h a t i d e o l o g y l i m i t s one's view of r e a l i t y and f o r t h i s reason many f o r m u l i s t i c works were produced by people i n the League of L e f t -wing W r i t e r s . Agreeing w i t h Mao, Zhou wrote that i t was " s u b j e c t -i v i s m , , manifest i n w r i t i n g as formulism" and an . i n c o r r e c t stand-p o i n t that was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r f o r m u l i s t i c works. L i k e He Qifang, Zhou atta c k e d the t r a i n i n g and i n f l u e n c e s to which i n t e l l e c t u a l s l i k e h i m s e l f had been exposed. They had r e c e i v e d the a r t i s t i c i n f l u e n c e of the p e r i o d when l i t e r a t u r e sang f o r i n d i v i d u a l freedom ( r e f e r r i n g to the May Fourth p e r i o d ) . That was u s e f u l then, but now, he wrote, we are i n a p e r i o d of p r o l e t a r i a n r e v o l u t i o n and new concepts must supplant o l d ones. He never went as f a r as He Qifang to declare"- t'h:a.t ''M;ay"'F:ou-^ th.;^ rjtters were too hampered by t h e i r ""bourgeois" u p b r i n g i n g to be u s e f u l to the present day cause. Here Zhou a l s o r a i s e d the i s s u e of form, which we d i s c u s s e d i n Chapter One. As f o r su b j e c t matter, l i k e Mao, Zhou allowed the d e p i c t i o n of l a n d l o r d s and c a p i t a l i s t s , i f such groups were most f a m i l i a r to w r i t e r s , but only i f they were rep r e s e n t e d from the masses' p o i n t of view. He d i d not deny that " w r i t i n g a p r e t t y l o v e - \. l e t t e r " , an ex p r e s s i o n of one's small joys and sorrows, was a l s o a p a r t of l i f e , and would be p e r f e c t "stream-of-consciousness" m a t e r i a l . But i n t h i s c h a o t i c e r a , such w r i t i n g was d i v o r c e d 24 from the more general joys and sorrows of the masses. Yet w r i t e r s sent to the Fro n t , the f a c t o r i e s and v i l l a g e s , 166 were producing nothing able to move people, and "there i s s t i l l not one w r i t e r of r e a l worker-peasant o r i g i n among us". Zhou Libo was a b l e , however, to conjure more optimism than He Qifang by i n s u r i n g w r i t e r s that they c o u l d produce b e t t e r works i f they put t h e i r h e a rts i n t o i t and blended w i t h the masses. He Qifang s t a t e d more f i r m l y that the w r i t e r s ' background prevented them from f i t t i n g i n comfortably w i t h the masses. Zhou's c o n c l u s i o n on n a t i o n a l forms, l i k e that of another w r i t e r , Sha Kefu, was that next to nothing that c o u l d be c o n s i d e r -ed n a t i o n a l i n form had yet been c r e a t e d . Sha Kefu's comments, p r i n t e d on J u l y 24 but dated "New Year's, 1942", were that the yangge C/Fy\ i f " ^ ) movement had s t i r r e d up much t a l k , but l i t t l e 25 p r o d u c t i o n of n a t i o n a l forms. Zhou was d i s a p p o i n t e d that so many i m i t a t i o n s of f o r e i g n forms had been s u b s t i t u t e d f o r r e a l c r e a t i o n . Many people, i n c l u d i n g h i m s e l f , were s t i l l i m i t a t i n g w r i t e r s such as Chekhov and not yet going t h e i r own path. He c r i t i c i z e d h i m s e l f f o r a course he had taught at the Lu Xun 2 6 Academy of A r t s c a l l e d " S e l e c t e d Readings of Famous Works". In i t , he had ignored n a t i v e Chinese works f o r f o r e i g n l i t e r a t u r e , when i n f a c t the "power of i m a g i n a t i o n and r e a l i s t i c s t y l e " of such books as Hong Lou Meng and X i You J i were not below the rank of e a r l y Western works. The c h a r a c t e r Monkey was much b e t t e r known to people than Ah Q, and the d i a l o g u e i n X i You J i r e f l e c t -ed the speech of Ming ( ) people. Therefore such t r a d i t i o n a l novels were d e f i n i t e l y worthy of s e l e c t i v e use as models, as were good f o r e i g n works. No Chinese or anyone c o u l d compare to a T o l s t o y , but he c o u l d be used as a model f o r the Chinese. • The concern over l i t e r a t u r e w r i t t e n f o r and about a gong-167 nongbing audience continued. On J u l y 4, Yang Sizhong repeated the dominant complaint. I n "One Understanding of the Problem of Thematic M a t e r i a l " , Yang lamented that w r i t e r s c o u l d not c r e a t e works capable of p l e a s i n g the masses. They c o u l d o n l y p o r t r a y i n t e l l e c t u a l s , and even when they d i d that they were g u i l t y of i n c o r r e c t standpoint. I t i s strange that he d i d not c r i t i c i z e "Comrade Luoyu Takes a Walk" f o r t h i s three weeks l a t e r on J u l y 27. Yang f e l t t h a t the two slogans " w r i t e themes w i t h which you are f a m i l i a r " and "don't w r i t e merely f o r the sake of r e s p o n s i -b i l i t y " had been s i m p l i f i e d by w r i t e r s . I t was true that one needed to have experienced drunkenness.in order to a c c u r a t e l y d e s c r i b e a drunk man, but one shouldn't w r i t e about the f i v e f i n -gers on one's hand j u s t because they were what he was most fami-l i a r w ith. Hence the f i r s t slogan had been too narrowly and e m p i r i c a l l y i n t e r p r e t e d . Since we can't expect our w r i t e r s to be able to produce good works about the workers and peasants r i g h t away, our model should be S o v i e t l i t e r a t u r e , u n t i l we u l t i -mately f i n d our own way. He then concluded w i t h a lengthy pas-sage p r a i s i n g the success of s o c i a l i s t l i t e r a t u r e i n the S o v i e t Union. This a r t i c l e , yet another p e s s i m i s t i c assessment of the p o t e n t i a l f o r urban w r i t e r s to answer the c a l l f o r gongnongbing l i t e r a t u r e , nonetheless ended on the o p t i m i s t i c hope that f o r the time being, r e l y i n g on a f o r e i g n S o v i e t model was the best s o l u t i o n . N a t i o n a l forms, i n t e r e s t i n g l y enough, were not men-ti o n e d , The l a s t three a r t i c l e s i n c l u d e d i n my survey of JFRB 168 t r e a t e d the same dilemma, i n d i c a t i n g the tremendous amount of a t t e n t i o n given to the i s s u e , and thus to i t s extreme importance i n the eyes of the l i t e r a r y world i n Yan' an" a f t e r the " T a l k s " . On August 7, L i n Mohan a l l u d e d to Lenin's s e p a r a t i o n of two types of l i t e r a t u r e : the "black-bread" type and the "sweet molas-ses" type. The masses demanded n o u r i s h i n g b l a c k bread as opposed to e x t e r n a l l y p r e t t y sweets. Yet w r i t e r s s t i l l i n s i s t e d on f e e d -ing them l i t e r a r y works f u l l of the " s i g h i n g " and " m i s e r i e s " of i n t e l l e c t u a l s , d r e s s i n g up cry-baby i n t e l l e c t u a l s as workers and peasants, without f o o l i n g the masses i n the l e a s t . W r i t e r s , s a i d L i n , s t i l l f e l t that they were the center of the u n i v e r s e . There was hope f o r them to reform, but only i f they had the determina-t i o n to do so. Thus, L i n Mohan was not as p e s s i m i s t i c as others before him. He may i n f a c t have been attempting to enforce the . new CCP d i r e c t i v e s among others w r i t e r s . In "On the D e p i c t i o n of Workers and Peasants", L i n confirmed that i n t e l l e c t u a l s were not only the group most p o r t r a y e d , but, he allowed, the group most s u c c e s s f u l l y p o r t r a y e d . He had not y e t seen an accurate d e p i c t i o n of one worker. When workers d i d appear, they were t o t a l l y u n r e a l . E i t h e r they were made to look so b r i g h t that t h e i r r e a l i d e n t i t i e s were b l u r r e d , or they looked l i k e i n t e l l e c t u a l s , or very b i z a r r e as i f they'd come from another p l a n e t . Often they were made to look l i k e gangsters and swindlers w i t h hats worn c r o o k e d l y , eyes f u r t i v e l y g l a n c i n g sideways, and "saying 'to h e l l w i t h i t ' ( r & ^/if) ^ ) every other l i n e " . T h i s , he wrote, was because w r i t e r s came from the c i t i e s and were f a m i l i a r w i t h these ganster-type c h a r a c t e r s , so confused them wi t h workers. It i s of i n t e r e s t to note that ten years b e f o r e , Lu Xun 16 had made e x a c t l y the same observation. He wrote: Some w r i t e r s nowadays i n t e r l a r d t h e i r dialogue q u i t e u n n e c e s s a r i l y w i t h swearwords, as i f t h i s makes i t p r o l e t a r i a n - the more swear words, the more p r o l e t a r i a n . As a matter of f a c t , very few decent workers and peasants swear each time they open t h e i r mouths and w r i t e r s should not saddle them wi t h the ways of Shanghai hooligans. ( Lu Xun, 1932:46 /English:170) According to L i n Mohan, Lenin had complained of the same problem of d i s t o r t e d images i n Soviet p a i n t i n g . P a i n t i n g s of workers revealed great t h i c k necks and t i n y heads, a r i d i c u l o u s image. Chinese p a i n t e r s , s a i d L i n , were doing the same t h i n g . Workers were given f i e r y , f r i g h t e n i n g eyes (to express t h e i r s p i r i t of r e s i s t a n c e ) , red mouths, and f i s t s l a r g e r than heads. This was not a r t i s t i c exaggeration, he f e l t , but merely bad d i s t o r t i o n . L i n wrote that d e p i c t i n g the progressive reform of i n t e l l e c t u a l s was j u s t as r e v o l u t i o n a r y as w r i t i n g about workers and peasants, but that more e f f o r t should be given to the accurate r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of workers and peasants (he d i d not mention s o l -d i e r s ) , since they were the mainstay of the r e v o l u t i o n . Thus a f t e r the "Talks", w r i t e r s ' r e a c t i o n s appeared to have been to agree, at l e a s t t h e o r e t i c a l l y w i t h the new l i n e on l i t e r ature. There was a sincere r e c o g n i t i o n of the need to expand subject matter to include the gongnongbing, but only i n some cases ( L i n Mohan, f o r i n s t a n c e ) , were w r i t e r s u n e q u i v o c a l l y w i l l i n g to make the l a t t e r group t h e i r primary source of w r i t i n g m a t e r i a l . Writers were a c t u a l l y making excuses and allowances f o r one another f o r t h e i r i n a b i l i t y to heed the new g u i d l i n e s , 170 i . e . , to p o r t r a y s u b j e c t matter w i t h which they were u n f a m i l i a r . However, an opposite t r e n d , e x e m p l i f i e d by He Qif a n g , was a l s o apparent. This was the o v e r l y s e l f - c o n s c i o u s attempt on the p a r t of w r i t e r s to become very " l e f t " through an e x c e s s i v e d e n u n c i a t i o n of t h e i r p r e v i o u s v a l u e s . As one would expect, i n the case of He Qif a n g , such a r e a c t i o n p r o v i d e d no cure f o r h i s i n a b i l i t y to come to g r i p s w i t h the new r e a l i t y . The problem would not be sol v e d o v e r n i g h t . Therefore we can see that a f t e r May of 1942, Chinese w r i t e r s were f a c e d w i t h f u r t h e r d i f f i c u l t i e s i n l i t e r a r y c r e a t i v i t y , which, when added to the problems a l r e a d y e x i s t i n g f o r them s i n c e May Fourth, r e s u l t e d i n a l a c k of s i g n i f i c a n t l i t e r a r y p r o d u c t i o n . Yet a l l of China, not only the L i b e r a t e d Areas, experienced prob-lems wi t h l i t e r a t u r e at t h i s time, and so the r e s t r i c t i v e nature of the g u i d e l i n e s f o r l i t e r a t u r e set f o r t h i n the " T a l k s " should not be viewed as the s o l e source of l i t e r a r y i n a c t i v i t y i n CCP areas. As we observed above, long b e f o r e the " T a l k s " , l i t e r a r y c r e a t i o n had a l r e a d y encountered numerous o b s t a c l e s . Some of these problems had been c r e a t e d by the dynamism of modern China's p o l i t i c s , s o c i e t y and economic r e l a t i o n s , and some of them stemmed from the p a r t i c u l a r demands on l i t e r a t u r e c r e a t e d by the War of Resistance a g a i n s t Japan. I t i s t h e r e f o r e important to d i f f e r e n t i a t e between the problems f o r l i t e r a t u r e c r e a t e d by the " T a l k s " i n 1942 and the d i f f i c u l t i e s f o r modern Chinese w r i t e r s which had a l r e a d y e x i s t e d f o r over twenty y e a r s . The " T a l k s " can, i n f a c t , be seen as one response to gen e r a l l i t e r a r y dilem-mas f o r a l l t w e n t i e t h century Chinese w r i t e r s , even though many of Mao's p o i n t s addressed s p e c i f i c i s s u e s d i r e c t e d o n l y to CCP 171 w r i t e r s . The l a r g e r concerns of the May forum, however, were e q u a l l y a p p l i c a b l e to non-Communist r e g i o n s . During the war, w r i t e r s i n the "White" Areas were se a r c h i n g j u s t as hard f o r some s o l u t i o n to the questions of how and where w r i t e r s c o u l d go to c o l l e c t f i r s t - h a n d source m a t e r i a l , how they should process t h i s m a t e r i a l , how they c o u l d p o p u l a r i z e the war message without b o r i n g the r e a d e r s h i p , and what r o l e s they should p l a y i n s o c i e t y under contemporary c o n d i t i o n s . In t h i s sense, Mao's attempts to solv e dilemmas encountered by w r i t e r s i n the CCP base were at the same time attempts at f i n d i n g s o l u t i o n s to problems r a i s e d by a l l Chinese w r i t e r s everywhere i n 1942. 172 NOTES TO CHAPTER FOUR ^ Back i n the v e r y f i r s t i s s u e of the paper (May 16, 1941) on page one, e d i t o r s had welcomed simply " a l l manuscripts of p o l i t i c a l a r t i c l e s , t r a n s l a t i o n s , l i t e r a r y works, poems and songs, and short s t o r i e s . " On September 16 of that year, w i t h the i n t r o -d u c t i o n of the s e c t i o n "Wen Y i " the request had more s p e c i f i c a l l y s t a t e d that works should be s h o r t , w hile "strong and u n y i e l d i n g " . The l i m i t i n l e n g t h i n a l l cases remained at 3000 c h a r a c t e r s . Ding Youguang, 1966, Part One: 91 a l s o l i s t s the f o l l o w -ing l e a d e r s as a t t e n d i n g the f i r s t meeting which took p l a c e i n the auditorium of the CCP C e n t r a l Headquarters: Ren B i s h i ( 0% ) , Chen Yun (f$> ^ff ) , Kang Sheng ( J [ /£. ) , Hu Qiaomu ( $k Ah 3 ' A N D H E K A I^E N G ^1 IL } ' The book, "Mao Zedong S i x i a n g de Yangguang Zhaoyaozhe  Women: J i n i a n 'Zai Yan'an Wenyi Zuotan Hui Shang de Jianghua' Fabiao Sanshiwu Zhounian ( < f v£ % ^ (tf £ flg £ f k #i 1 0 : kh L Ik at £ h & tk £ ± & % % ' ^ ^ ^ 4 ^ i s m e n t i o n e d b y H e Q i -fang (1977:30) i n the appendix to h i s a r t i c l e . I have been una-b l e to l o c a t e t h i s b o o k l e t . A c c o r d i n g to the poet the small book cont a i n s twelve p a r t s , e i g h t of which deal d i r e c t l y w i t h the " T a l k s " . P a r t s Seven and E i g h t are reproduced i n Wenyi Luncong, v o l . 1, ( l o c a t i o n of t h i s 1977 a r t i c l e by He Q i f a n g ) . 4 See JFRB, A p r i l 16, 1942, "Weiwu zhuyi de Meixue: J i e s h a o C h e e r n i s h e f u s i j i de ' M e i x u e , ' " ( JL ifa ^ : ^\ i < $ # 4 A I ^ 'A f )• A n o t e t o t h e p i e c e informs us that Zhou Yang's t r a n s l a t i o n s of Chernyshevsky's " L i f e and A e s t h e t i c s " and "The A e s t h e t i c R e l a t i o n s h i p of A r t to R e a l i t y " have been p u b l i s h e d by Huabei Shudian ( ^ ( ^ J \ ? ) • ^ For a d i s c u s s i o n i n E n g l i s h of the " T a l k s " which covers d i f f e r e n t aspects than below, see Fokkema: 3-11 and D. Holm, 173 1978:6-12. The o r i g i n a l Chinese t e x t can be found i n Mao Zedong  J i , v o l . 8:111-148. There are a l t e r a t i o n s and omissions i n l a t e r o f f i c i a l v e r s i o n s , f o r which I w i l l use the E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n S e l e c t e d Works of Mao Tse-tung, 1975, v o l . 3:69-98. A l l quotes w i l l c i t e the o r i g i n a l t e x t and a l t e r a t i o n s i n the E n g l i s h w i l l be made when necessary to match the o r i g i n a l Chinese v e r s i o n . ^ See the appendix on Wang Shiwei f o r r e f e r e n c e to t h i s essay. 7 For more on za wen see J i n Canran, JFRB, 1942, J u l y 25 i n which i t i s hoped that the essay form would be taken out of the hands of a small c i r c l e and brought c l o s e r to the masses. The author of the a r t i c l e observed t h a t za wen had become a misunder-stood form of e x p r e s s i o n and that people i n c o r r e c t l y a s s o c i a t e d i t s sometimes s a r c a s t i c tone and " e v i l i n t e n t " w i t h the essence of the form. g The f o l l o w i n g b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n of the " m a t e r i a l i s t -d i a l e c t i c a l method of c r e a t i o n " abandoned i n the S o v i e t Union i n the e a r l y t h i r t i e s was o f f e r e d by L i u Xuewei i n Lun Wenxue de  Gongnongbing Fangxiang ( ^  £ < ^ ^ $ ^ <*? ) Shanghai:Haiyan Shudian, 1949, p. 17: "... to w r i t e a c cording to the formula: the d e s c r i p t i o n of the b i r t h of the new amidst the o l d , the tomorrow i n today, the conquest of the o l d by the new, e t c . As a r e s u l t of t h i s k i n d of f o r m u l a r i s t theory, f o r m u l a r i s t w r i t i n g s [ i n the f o r e i g n " e i g h t - l e g g e d ' s t y l e ) were mass-produced". The t r a n s l a t i o n i s taken from T.A. H s i a , 1968:236. g The "two contending s i d e s " were composed of those i n f a v o r of exposing the dark i n Yan'an and those a g a i n s t i t . See Zhou Yang, 1978: 31-32, and He Qifang, 1952: 6. ^ L a t e r t e x t s were not so s p e c i f i c about the use of " f e u -d a l and c a p i t a l i s t forms". They read: "The r i c h l e g a c y and good t r a d i t i o n s i n l i t e r a t u r e and a r t i n h e r i t e d from a n c i e n t China 174 and f o r e i g n c o u n t r i e s c o u l d be u t i l i z e d , but only w i t h the aim of s e r v i n g the masses." [SWMTT:76) 1 1 Again h i s comments must be accepted s e l e c t i v e l y i n l i g h t of the lapse of time and l i t e r a r y purges between 1942 and 1977. The l i n e between mere p o l i t i c a l and l i t e r a r y polemics and s i n c e r e o b j e c t i v e o b s e r v a t i o n i s sometimes d i f f i c u l t to d e f i n e w i t h any confidence. Here, a l l the more so, s i n c e there are few other r e m i n i s c e s w i t h which to compare He Q i f a n g 1 s . 1 2 Lu Xun, 1927: 470-471. This i s a l s o quoted by He Qifang, 1952:5. 13 Xiao Jun was a l s o r e p o r t e d as s t a t i n g , "The red l o t u s , i t s white r o o t s t o c k , and green l e a v e s , f l i k e j Confucianism, Bud-dhism, and Daoism, are of one f a m i l y . P o l i t i c s , m i l i t a r y a f f a i r s , and l i t e r a t u r e are a l s o of one f a m i l y , but none of them d i r e c t s the o t h e r . " U n q u a l i f i e d and taken out of context, we can not pass judgement on the statement, but i t was o b v i o u s l y c i t e d by He i n h i s attempt to prove Xiao Jun's contempt f o r p o l i t i c a l l y -d i r e c t e d l i t e r a t u r e . 14 A v i t a l q u e s t i o n of great i n t e r e s t and cur i o s i t y • i s why w r i t e r s such as Xiao Jun and Ding L i n g were not s i n g l e d out f o r v i c i o u s a t t a c k i n 1942 as was Wang Shiwei. As we s p e c u l a t e d above, the answer may p a r t i a l l y l i e i n the immense p o p u l a r i t y of these authors, while Wang Shiwei was h i m s e l f o n l y a t r a n s l a t o r and not as well-known. Maybe the answer can be found too by look-ing at the v u l n e r a b i l i t y of Wang's c h a r a c t e r and background to CCP c r i t i c i s m , r a t h e r than at the a t t r i b u t e s of the other w r i t e r s which may have kept them immune from a t t a c k . In more than one c r i t i c i s m of Wang a f t e r May, a l l u s i o n s to h i s u n c o o p e r a t i v e , smug, and u n y i e l d i n g c h a r a c t e r were brought to a t t e n t i o n . He r e f u s e d to concede i n the l e a s t to P a r t y requests to p a r t i c i p a t e i n ideo-l o g i c a l reform and he was r e p o r t e d to have been r e s p o n s i b l e f o r f a c t i o n a l i s m i n the C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e i n which he worked. Even those c l o s e to him spoke of h i s n e g a t i v e p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s . 175 Someone u s i n g the pen name Guo He ( ^ff ) wrote t h i s about h i s f r i e n d i n the Hong Kong j o u r n a l Guancha J i a v<|3<s ) , 1979 , 1, p. 60: "In d i s c u s s i n g h i s d e f e c t s , perhaps he was a b i t too i r a s c i b l e , too e a s i l y e x c i t a b l e . As soon as something d i d not s u i t him h i s face would t u r n c o l o r . With both o l d and new f r i e n d s he c o u l d be e q u a l l y as headstrong and l e t loose an angry temper". Whether h i s weak p o i n t s were r e a l or exaggerated f o r purpose of a t t a c k , h i s opponents took advantage of them to denounce him. One other major setback was h i s pr e v i o u s T r o t s k y i t e connections. These he acknowledged h i m s e l f , but r a t h e r than a p o l o g i z i n g , he worsened h i s s i t u a t i o n by p u b l i c l y denouncing S t a l i n and the Comintern. (See Zhang Ruxin, JFRB, 1942, June 14; and Chen Boda, JFRB, 1942, June 15). 15 A r t and w r i t i n g s u p p l i e s were very d i f f i c u l t to o b t a i n i n Yan'an, as were reading m a t e r i a l s , due to KMT and Japanese blockades. Such a request was probably i n s p i r e d by the S t a l i n P r i z e f o r L i t e r a t u r e i n the Soviet Union. 17 Note that Xiao dared to a s c r i b e a " s p e c i a l " r o l e to w r i t e r s at t h i s l a t e date. This n o t i o n would be s t r o n g l y r e f u t e d i n the " T a l k s " a week l a t e r , and Xiao no doubt a l r e a d y knew how Mao f e l t about the i s s u e from the May 2 conference. 18 T h i s was p e r f e c t l y i n l i n e with u n i t e d f r o n t p o l i c y and should be d i s t i n g u i s h e d from Xiao's c a l l i n "On 'Love' and 'Patience' among Comrades" to be l e n i e n t with people w i t h i n the Party. 19 Other c r i t i c s by t h i s time were indeed a s s e s s i n g c r e a t i v e works by such p o l i t i c a l standards, f o r i n s t a n c e June 10, Wang L i a o y i n g on "In the H o s p i t a l " , and June 25, L i u Huang on "Beyond the Realm of Consciousness". 176 2 0 We'll see l a t e r t h a t Yang Sizhong d e l i v e r e d h i s approval of c r i t i c i z i n g " p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s " w r i t i n g as such on J u l y 4, yet s t i l l he a p p a r e n t l y d i d not bide by h i s own standards on J u l y 27. 21 Remember that on March 30, Xiao Jun had d e s c r i b e d the " p i t f a l l " b e fore w r i t e r s as not the p i t f a l l of "what to w r i t e " but the p i t f a l l of "how to w r i t e " . The problem, then, was not so simple and was c e r t a i n l y p e r c e i v e d d i f f e r e n t l y by d i f f e r e n t people. 2 2 As d i s c u s s e d above, J i a Zhi had s u c c e s s f u l l y d e f i n e d the c o n t r a d i c t i o n f o r a poet such as He Q i f a n g , but he d i d not appre-c i a t e the complexity of the problem c r e a t e d by such a c o n t r a d i c t i o n , 23 On May 23, S a i Ke was to o f f e r the same advise f o r the same reason. 24 Here again, as we saw e a r l i e r i n Chapter One, Zhou confused content and form, "stream-of-consciousness" being a s t y l e and form which was not d e f i n e d by a non-mass content. 25 Although h i s remarks were made on December 31, 1941, I came across nothing about yangge i n JFRB u n t i l t h i s time, i . e . , J u l y 24, 1942. For a general o u t l i n e of the yangge movement see D. Holm's " I n t r o d u c t i o n to Ma Ke's 'Man and Wife Learn to Read'" i n B u l l e t i n of Concerned A s i a n Scholars v o l . 8, no. 2 ( A p r i l -June 1976): 2-4. For a much more d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p t i o n of the yangge movement i n the CCP areas, see, by the same author, "The Yangge Movement", paper submitted f o r the Harvard Workshop on L i t e r a t u r e and the Performing A r t s i n Contemporary China, June 1979. 2 6 For .further d i s c u s s i o n of the tendency i n the Lu Xun Academy of A r t s to s t r e s s the Western r a t h e r Chinese t r a d i t i o n i n a l l i t s departments, see Wang Yao, 1953, Chapter 16, Part one, who c i t e s He Qifang, 1944 and Zhou Yang, "Yishu J i a o y u de Gaizao Wenti ( % 40 ^ f f^  \v\ 4lt ) i n B i a o x i a n X i n de Qunzhong de S h i d a i , 19 50. 177 CONCLUSION The p e r i o d covered i n my study of JFRB ended on August 31, 1942. A c u r s o r y assessment of the general o r i e n t a t i o n of page fou r a f t e r t h at date r e v e a l s a move towards the p r i n t i n g of f i c t i o n concerned w i t h gongnongbing • subj e c t m a t t e r , and the frequent appear-ance of woodcuts d e p i c t i n g peasant l i f e i n the Border Areas. On January 7, 1943, the e d i t o r of page f o u r d e c l a r e d the page a "general i n t e r e s t supplement" (zonghexing fukan ^ ^'J f'J ) and requested c o n t r i b u t i o n s from a broad range of f i e l d s . A l l c o n t r i b u t o r s were to pay a t t e n t i o n to the i d e a l t h a t t h e i r works be "commonly understood" (tongsu \'AQ ) and b r i e f . On March 10, 1943, a Conference of P a r t y L i t e r a r y and A r t Workers was summoned by the C e n t r a l C u l t u r a l Committee and the O r g a n i z a t i o n Department of the C e n t r a l Committee to s o l v e some of the questions a r i s i n g from the movement of w r i t e r s and a r t i s t s to the c o u n t r y s i d e . Over f i f t y people attended. Opening remarks were made by Zhou Yang and speeches were given by Kai Feng and Chen Yun, f o l l o w e d by remarks by L i u Shaoqi, Bo Gu, and o t h e r s . A c c o r d i n g to a March 13 r e p o r t i n JFRB, the changes manifested i n l i t e r a t u r e and a r t s i n c e "the new d i r e c t i o n i n d i c a t e d by Comrade Mao Zedong at l a s t year's l i t e r a t u r e and a r t forum" were dramatic. (Mao's " T a l k s " were not p u b l i s h e d u n t i l October 19, 1943 i n JFRB, hence h i s speeches were not yet r e f e r r e d to as the "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on L i t e r a t u r e and A r t " ) . A l l f i c t i o n , p o e t r y , drama, woodblock p r i n t s , e t c , p r i n t e d i n the paper r e f l e c t e d a move towards the masses; the reform and performance of yangge by troupes organized by the Lu Xun Academy of A r t s and other P a r t y 178 schools were r e p o r t e d to be e n j o y i n g immense p o p u l a r i t y among the masses. More w r i t e r s were e x p r e s s i n g an i n t e r e s t i n going to l i v e w i t h the gongnongbing. However, these w r i t e r s were s t i l l u n c l e a r as to how they should present themselves to the masses, and thus the conference was h e l d i n an attempt to answer such q u e s t i o n s . On March 10, Kai Feng d e c l a r e d that the study movement was b a s i c a l l y over and that only now were w r i t e r s i d e o l o g i c a l l y p r e -pared to go down to the masses. Although some had a l r e a d y been there, the s i t u a t i o n t h i s time was to be d i f f e r e n t i n that they would no longer be going as guests to c o l l e c t source m a t e r i a l over a l i m i t e d p e r i o d of time. Now they would go as f u l l - t i m e workers over a more prolonged l e n g t h of time. Acceptance of peasant customs and c o o p e r a t i o n w i t h l o c a l cadres were e s s e n t i a l to s u c c e s s f u l a s s i m i l a t i o n i n t o t h e i r new environment. (Kai Feng, JFRB, 1943, March 28) Next month, i n A p r i l , A i S i q i wrote, - p - ; an e d i t o r i a l i n JFRB which p r a i s e d the success of the yangge movement but conceded that many w r i t e r s were s t i l l u n f a m i l i a r w i t h the l i v e s of the masses, that the a r t i s t i c l e v e l of the yangge was not yet at the l e v e l i t should be, and that the l i t e r a t u r e and a r t movement was c o n f i n e d to Yan'an and should be spread throughout the Border Areas. (Ai S i q i , JFRB, 1943, A p r i l 25) Thus i t i s evident that t h i s l i t e r a r y and a r t i s t i c work had great d i f f i c u l t i e s to overcome i n meeting the new demands put upon i t a f t e r 1942. Whether or not the t h e o r i e s presented by Mao i n the " T a l k s " o f f e r e d s u f f i c i e n t s o l u t i o n to o l d and new problems p l a g u i n g w r i t e r s was never an i s s u e i n the p r e s s . The focus of a t t e n t i o n s h i f t e d to reforming l i t e r a t u r e and w r i t e r s to meet the 179 demands of a mass audience; t h i s new d i r e c t i o n n a t u r a l l y presented f r e s h problems f o r w r i t e r s . A l l w r i t e r s and a r t i s t s sympathetic to the Communist cause were presented w i t h the l a r g e task of a p p l y i n g the new t h e o r i e s to d a i l y p r a c t i c e i n t h e i r attempt to f a m i l i a r i z e themselves w i t h the l a r g e s e c t o r of s o c i e t y from which they had always been a l i e n a t e d . The views on l i t e r a t u r e and a r t formulated by the CCP i n Yan'an have f u n c t i o n e d as the Party's o f f i c i a l l i t e r a t u r e and a r t p o l i c y s i n c e L i b e r a t i o n i n 1949. When e v a l u a t i n g t h i s p o l i c y i n l i g h t of i t s present r e l e v a n c e and a p p l i c a t i o n to l i t e r a t u r e and a r t today, i t i s important to bear i n mind the h i s t o r i c a l f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g l i t e r a t u r e which i n f l u e n c e d the development of p o l i c y i n 1942. I t i s hoped that t h i s paper has p r o v i d e d a b a s i s f o r understanding these f a c t o r s . 180 APPENDIX I. Wang Shiwei The case of Wang Shiwei has been m i s i n t e r p r e t e d as a case of a l i t e r a r y r a t h e r than a p o l i t i c a l purge. Here, r a t h e r than go i n t o great d e t a i l about the v a s t amount of c r i t i c i s m a g a i n s t Wang i n the press from May u n t i l August, I w i l l merely t r y to c l a r i f y the s i g n i f i c a n c e of the case by o u t l i n i n g the framework of the proceedings h e l d a g a i n s t Wang, sum up the r e s u l t s of the c r i t i . - ' cisms, and d i s c u s s - t h e r e a c t i o n i n the l i t e r a r y world to a t t a c k s a g a i n s t him.-' _ ' • Information about Wang Shiwei's background i s sketchy at be s t . Most of what we know of h i s l i t e r a r y and p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s i s based on the word of h i s a t t a c k e r s who were i n some cases s u p -posedly quoting Wang Shiwei h i m s e l f . He was a Peking U n i v e r s i t y graduate from Henan Province who j o i n e d the CCP i n 1926. (Cai Danye, 1972:62) In 1929 he e s t a b l i s h e d connections w i t h the T r o t s k y i t e s and d i d t r a n s l a t i n g i n t o Chinese f o r them, as w e l l as p u b l i s h i n g f i c t i o n i n t h e i r j o u r n a l s . (Wen J i z e , JFRB, 1942). He was p r i m a r i l y a t r a n s l a t o r of M a r x i s t works and i s s a i d to have t r a n s l a t e d two m i l l i o n words f o r the CCP, although he d i d have some f i c t i o n to h i s c r e d i t . 1 When he went to Yan'an at the beginning of the war he became a r e s e a r c h e r and t r a n s l a t o r i n the M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t I n s t i t u t e (Malie Xueyuan ^ ' J ^ ) , l a t e r changed to the C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e (Zhongyang Y a n j i u Yuan ^ t- ^  ~H ft, ). We know that he wrote fo u r a r t i c l e s i n Yan'an, three of which 181 were p u b l i s h e d , one of which was w r i t t e n on the w a l l of the C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e . According to A i Qing on June 24, 1942, Wang^ had a l s o p r i n t e d a r t i c l e s i n Chongqing's L i a n g x i n Hua ( " j ^ /i> \ ) and X i a n ' s Kangzhan yu Wenhua ( ffij ^\ jjjS g_ ^ Xj ) ,2 The f o u r a r t i c l e s w r i t t e n i n Yan'an were "Short D i s c o u r s e on N a t i o n a l Form" (Wenyi ^ e m n Z u X i n g s h i Duanlun &J ^ ^k. y\ "fel ) 35 "Statesmen and A r t i s t s " (Zhengzhi J i a , Yishu J i a ( $ '^fjL , -j^J ) which appeared i n the now u n a v a i l a b l e j o u r n a l Gu Yu ( Jfe ), v o l . 1, no 4, sometime soon a f t e r the f i r s t a r t i c l e , 4 "Wild L i l y " , i n JFRB March 13 and 23, 1942,^ and "Hard Bones, S o f t Bones", probably w r i t t e n sometime between l a t e March and m i d - A p r i l . ^ Only "Wild L i l y " i s a v a i l a b l e to us today; a l l that we know of the other three p i e c e s i s based on JFRB c r i t i q u e s of t h e i r content. Since something has been mentioned of the l a s t three essays by Wang Shiwei i n pre v i o u s chapters, here I w i l l o n l y sum up the p r i n c i p l e ideas of the f i r s t , "Short Discourse on N a t i o n a l Form" 7 basing my comments on Chen Boda's c r i t i c i s m of i t on J u l y 3, 1942. F i r s t , wrote Wang, "The p r o l e t a r i a n r e v o l u t i o n should r e l y on the masses - but only those masses who have a l r e a d y been awakened, who have been given freedom and c u l t u r e and who have accepted Marxism, not the ' r u l e d ' s l a v e s of today". Acc o r d i n g to Chen, Wang b e l i e v e d i n w a i t i n g u n t i l the masses obtained c u l t u r e from the bourgeois c l a s s , and then and only then c o u l d they be r e l i e d upon to make r e v o l u t i o n . He was p e s s i m i s t i c about the e f f e c t i v e -ness of l i t e r a r y p o p u l a r i z a t i o n , f o r the masses would be a f f e c t e d by nothing except " p r o g r e s s i v e p o l i t i c s " which would c r e a t e pro-g r e s s i v e c u l t u r e . Chen Boda wrote that Wang al s o s a i d t h at i t 1 8 2 was r i g h t and proper t h a t those w^ith no c u l t u r e were r u l e d and tha t only the r u l e r s had c u l t u r e . "The Backwardness of Chinese s o c i e t y and economics determines the backwardness of Chinese c u l t u r e , l i t e r a t u r e i n c l u d e d . Backwardness of content i n l i t e r a -ture determines backwardness of form. ' L i t e r a t u r e i n the temple' i s l i k e t h i s and so e s p e c i a l l y i s f o l k l i t e r a t u r e " . Thus Wang appa r e n t l y d i d not b e l i e v e i n the use of o l d forms. He wrote, "The b a s i s of c r e a t i o n i s on p r o g r e s s i v e forms a l r e a d y e x i s t i n g " . He gave no i n d i c a t i o n of the meaning of " p r o g r e s s i v e forms", but, s t a t e d Chen, Wang had no f a i t h that new content could overcome o l d form and f e a r e d that everyone would drag along the o l d content w i t h o l d forms i f the l a t t e r were adopted. He defended the use of f o r e i g n forms, f o r Chen quotes him as w r i t i n g "Anything that can be taken by a n a t i o n and used i n i t s own way f o r i t s own purposes i s ' n a t i o n a l ' - be i t f o r e i g n or domestic, f o r today these t h i n g s are f o r e i g n , tomorrow they are n a t i o n a l j j i . e . , a s s i m i l a t e d J" Chen d i d not l a b e l Wang a T r o t s k y i t e i n t h i s c r i t i c i s m , f o r i t was w r i t t e n long before the a t t a c k s a g a i n s t Wang f o r being a T r o t s k y i t e began, but he d i d imply that Wang shared T r o t s k y ' s ideas, Wang i s s a i d to have expressed i n h i s a r t i c l e a l a c k of f a i t h that the p r o l e t a r i a n c l a s s was capable of c r e a t i n g i t s own c u l t u r e , t h a t f o l k forms were backward, and that r e v o l u t i o n c o u l d o n l y be r e a l i z e d a f t e r the m a j o r i t y of masses had been e n l i g h t e n -g ed by bourgeois c u l t u r e . From March 1 9 u n t i l May 27 C70 days) a M o b i l i z a t i o n Meeting CDongyuan Dahui "^7J J|) 7v ) was h e l d i n the C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e , At that p o i n t the focus of the meeting was on gene r a l 183 r e c t i f i c a t i o n i s s u e s and had not as yet brought up the s p e c i f i c case of Wang Shiwei, though i f we remember, Wang had a l r e a d y begun to r e c e i v e c r i t i c i s m of a r e l a t i v e l y m i l d s o r t i n the press during the month of A p r i l . On May 27, however, a c r i t i c i s m s e s s i o n i n i t i a t e d by the C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e began, aimed d i r e c t l y a g a i n s t Wang. This C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e Forum (Zhongyang Ya n g j i u Yuan Zuotan Hui ^ ^ ^ / j ^ P(j OJL \f^_ 4^  ) l a s t e d u n t i l June 11 (16 days): The forum s t a r t e d out by d i s c u s s i n g the system of democratic c e n t r a l i s m and then switched to a purging of Wang Shiwei's i d e o l o g y . T h i s two-week-long forum has on the one hand c a r r i e d out a general purge of the bad tendencies p r e s e n t i n Yan'an and on the other hand has c a r r i e d out a r a t h e r thorough exposure of Wang Shiwei's a n t i - r e v o l u t i o n a r y i d e o l o g y and a n t i - p a r t y behavior. (Luo Mai, JFRB, 1942, June 28) Below i s a c h r o n o l o g i c a l o u t l i n e of the s i g n i f i c a n t p o i n t s of the forum proceedings i n r e l a t i o n to Wang Shiwei, based on Wen J i z e ' s "Diary of S t r u g g l e " , June 28, 1942. May 27: The t o p i c i s "Party Democracy and D i s c i p l i n e " . , Wang S h i -wei i s brought up but i s not yet the focus of d i s c u s s i o n . May 30: A i S i q i broadcasts Mao's "Co n c l u s i o n " ; i t i s agreed that Wang's mistakes are of a d i f f e r e n t q u a l i t y than, everyone e l s e ' s "bad tende n c i e s " . June 1: The t o p i c s h i f t s to Wang. Reports t e l l us that he has s a i d " S t a l i n ' s p e r s o n a l i t y i s u n l i k a b l e " ; "The f a i l u r e of China's Great R e v o l u t i o n i s the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the Communist I n t e r n a t i o n a l . " ; "Some T r o t s k y i t e theory i s c o r r e c t . " ; "On the problem of democracy i n t h i s i n s t i t u t e Comrades Luo Mai and Fan Wenlan are i n two d i f f e r e n t groups." No one b e l i e v e s anymore t h a t h i s motives are good. June 2: There i s no meeting,. Everyone i s requested to read L e n i n ' 184 "On Pa r t y O r g a n i z a t i o n and P a r t y L i t e r a t u r e " , Lu Xun' s "Thoughts on the League of Left-wing W r i t e r s " , and the notes of Mao's " T a l k s " , p l u s other r e c t i f i c a t i o n docu-ments, a l l to be used as weapons w i t h which to c r i t i c i z e Wang. Today Wang Shiwei asks to r e s i g n from the CCP: "The c o n t r a d i c t i o n between myself and the Par t y ' s u t i l i -t a r i a n i s m i s almost impossible to s o l v e . " June 3: I t i s s a i d that Wang's f u t u r e i s blea k i f he does not confess to h i s mistakes. A i S i q i a t t a c k s him on f o u r p o i n t s : 1) He f e i g n e d r e v o l u t i o n a r y enthusiasm while a c t u a l l y f e e l i n g p e s s i m i s t i c and d i s a p p o i n t e d . 2) He has a ne g a t i v e a t t i t u d e towards the u n i t e d f r o n t . 3) He s t r e s s e s 'human nature' t h a t transcends c l a s s . 4) He has s e c t a r i a n views towards i n n e r - P a r t y s t r u g g l e s ; he p i t s the youth a g a i n s t the o l d cadres, lowers a g a i n s t s u p e r i o r s [ i n "Hard Bones, S o f t Bones" he supposedly wrote, "Com-rades, look at y o u r s e l v e s f i r s t . Do you have meak moral f i b e r ? Do you have anything you dare not say to those above you?"J , and a r t i s t s a g a i n s t p o l i t i c i a n s . A f t e r the meeting, some go over to see Wang and attempt to convince him to repent. June 4: Wang makes h i s f i r s t appearance at the forum. Se v e r a l hundred people come from the p o l i t i c a l department of the C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e and from the Yan'an Branch of the A l l - C h i n a W r i t e r s ' A n t i - a g g r e s s i o n A s s o c i a t i o n . Wang says "I solemnly and s e r i o u s l y r e t r a c t my request of the day before yesterday posed under abnormality...because I have been moved by the 'love' of s e v e r a l f r i e n d s . " He then admits to pre v i o u s T r o t s k y i t e connections, t a k i n g time out to "spread T r o t s k y i t e propaganda" i n s t e a d of c o n f e s s i n g to h i s e r r o r s . When asked why he d i d not r e p o r t h i s T r o t s k y i t e a f f i l i a t i o n s as soon as he came to Yan'an, he r e p l i e d that when he f i r s t came to the c a p i t a l he f e l t u n l i k e d . He had di s a g r e e d w i t h Chen Boda over n a t i o n a l form i n 1940 and Chen l a b e l e d him a "second i n t e r n a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i s t . " "Would i t do f o r him to c a l l me a f o u r t h i n t e r n a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i s t ? " So at 18 5 t h a t p o i n t he re p o r t e d h i s connections "so as to secure my f o o t i n g . " June 9: Speeches a g a i n s t Wang are d e l i v e r e d by Chen Boda ( p r i n t e d June 15) and A i Qing ( p r i n t e d June 24). Everyone agrees that Wang's problems are i d e o l o g i c a l , p o l i t i c a l , and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l . June 10: Zhang Ruxin d e l i v e r s a speech denouncing Wang ( p r i n t e d June 17); Wang's Par t y membership i s taken away. June 11: Today's speeches are given by Luo Mai ( p r i n t e d June 28), Ding L i n g ( p r i n t e d June 16), and Fan Wenlan ( p r i n t e d June 29). Hu Qiaomu has t a l k e d w i t h Wang e i g h t times, Fan Wenlan [ v i c e - p r e s i d e n t of the C e n t r a l Research Ins s t i t u t e j t w o or three times; the Par t y standing committee has sent f i v e people to help him, others have c r i t i c i z e d him e i t h e r o r a l l y or on paper, and s t i l l he i s u n w i l l i n g to budge. Wang was at some time sent to work i n a matchbox f a c t o r y , a c c ording to j o u r n a l i s t s v i s i t i n g Yan'an i n the summer of 1944. (L i n Yutang, 1958:227-8) He was shot by Par t y s e c u r i t y f o r c e s during evacuation of Yan'an i n s p r i n g of 1947, but ac c o r d i n g to Mao was not shot by d e c i s i o n of the Par t y C e n t r a l , but by the 9 forc e s a c t i n g on t h e i r own i n i t i a t i v e . In sum, Wang was purged f o r i n c i t i n g d i s u n i t y i n the CCP, f o r c a s t i g a t i n g Party l e a d e r s who, he s a i d "oppress the masses" (Zhang Ruxin, JFRB, 1942, June 17), and most important, f o r spread-ing Trotsky's i d e a s . Reaction to Wang Shiwei i n the l i t e r a r y world came i n the form of two speeches d e l i v e r e d at the C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e Forum - one by Ding Ling and the other by A i Qing. Ding Ling's speech of June 11 (JFRB, 1942 C) served as both a denouncement of Wang Shiwei and as a s e l f - c r i t i c i s m . F i r s t she mentioned that she would t a l k i n more d e t a i l at a meeting summoned 186 next week' by the Yan'an Branch of the A l l - C h i n a W r i t e r s ' A n t i -a g g r e s s i o n A s s o c i a t i o n to d i s c u s s Wang Shiwei and engage i n s e l f -c r i t i c i s m . Her a t t a c k on Wang was v i c i o u s . She s a i d that s i n c e w r i t e r s had not p a r t i c i p a t e d enough i n c r i t i c i z i n g him, i t was time that they d i d and she, e v i d e n t l y , would l e a d the way. She c a l l e d him a "hoodlum" wi t h a "complicated and gloomy c h a r a c t e r " and a " p l o t t e r a g a i n s t the r e v o l u t i o n . " About h e r s e l f , she confessed that to have p r i n t e d h i s "Wild L i l y " i n "Wen Y i " when she was e d i t o r was a c a r e l e s s mistake, "a great shame and crime". This mistake d i d not o r i g i n a t e from a temporary r e c k l e s s n e s s on my p a r t , but was r e l a t e d to the p o l i c y of the e d i t o r s at that time. Because the l i t e r a r y column needed short and f o r c e f u l a r t i c l e s which aimed at the ou t s i d e as w e l l as at our own ranks, and debates on l i t e r a r y theory, e t c . , we caused l o t s of t r o u b l e to the p o i n t where we only wanted to be able to s t i r up debate. We d i d not f e a r essays whose theory was immature, nor neg a t i v e essays (fanmian wenzhang fy_ \& 5C ^ ). We'< |had the simple idea that they a l l c o u l d be p r i n t e d . Many w r i t e r s . . . a f t e r reading "Wild L i l y " f e l t that i t was a b i t e x c e s s i v e and that the a t t i t u d e was inap-p r o p r i a t e . So we h e l d i t f o r a few days and then f i n a l l y sent i t to the newspaper to be p u b l i s h e d f o r l a c k of other manuscripts. She admitted that at that time she was a c t i n g as an o r d i n a r y e d i t o r , and not as a Party member e d i t i n g a Party newspaper. Concerning her e a r l i e r za wen "Thoughts on March Eighth",she conceded that she had been onl y speaking f o r a small p a r t of the Par t y and gave too much a t t e n t i o n to minor dark spots without a f f i r m i n g the b r i g h t aspect of l i f e i n Yan'an f o r women. She urged people, even those who s t i l l wrote to her sympathizing w i t h her views expressed i n t h i s p i e c e , not to read i t , but to i n s t e a d 187 concentrate on studying the twenty-two r e c t i f i c a t i o n documents. I n c i d e n t a l l y , she made no mention of her short s t o r y "In the H o s p i t a l " which was c r i t i c i z e d i n JFRB on June 10, one day before her speech. Thus, Ding Ling by t h i s time gave her f u l l support to the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement and the a t t a c k a g a i n s t Wang Shiwei. Throughout her speech she was ve r y c a r e f u l to make d i s t i n c t i o n s between h e r s e l f and Wang, and i n f a c t i n one p l a c e s t a t e d that Wang Shiwei was not a w r i t e r . His problem, she s a i d , was not one of standpoint or method [ a s i t was wit h w r i t e r s j b u t one of p o l i t i c s , i . e . , T rotskyism. Ding Ling's s e l f - c r i t i c i s m was accepted by the Par t y and she p a r t i c i p a t e d i n i d e o l o g i c a l reform, but she j u s t about stopped producing l i t e r a t u r e at t h i s time. (Nym Wales, 1961: A i Qing's speech a t t a c k i n g Wang on June 9 seemed a l l the more vehement when compared to h i s pre v i o u s essays of February and March. In June he thoroughly r e f u t e d the a c c u s a t i o n s a g a i n s t the Pa r t y made by Wang i n "Wild L i l y " on the grounds t h a t , s i n c e they were coming from a " p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s " p o i n t of view, they presented an exaggerated and d i s t o r t e d p i c t u r e of l i f e i n Yan'an. There were, granted A i Qing, s a l a r y d i f f e r e n t i a l s between Party l e a d e r s and members, as w e l l as s p e c i a l treatment towards " c u l t u r a l people" and "those w i t h s k i l l s " , b u t the d i f f e r e n c e was s m a l l . Yan'an d i d have m a t e r i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s due to Japanese and KMT blockades, but only the s e l f i s h p e t t y - b o u r g e o i s i e were c r i t i c a l of these p o i n t s , s a i d the poet. F i n a l l y , A i Qing c a l l e d Wang Shiwei "dark and c o r r u p t " ( l i k e the Yan'an he described) and maintained that no one need use " l o g i c and co n s c i e n c e " w i t h him. 188 N e i t h e r Ding Ling's nor A i Qing's turnabout was s u r p r i s i n g i n l i g h t of the i n t e n s e c r i t i c i s m they r e c e i v e d on May 23 i n Mao's " T a l k s " . T h e i r l a c k of sympathy f o r him may make more sense i f we view Wang Shiwei as v i c t i m of a p o l i t i c a l r a t h e r than l i t e r a r y purge. Only he was branded a T r o t s k y i t e , a symbol of e v e r y t h i n g which should be purged i n the r e c t i f i c a t i o n movement. To show support of t h i s movement one had to come out a g a i n s t Wang Shiwei. There was no doubt l i t t l e c hoice i n the matter. A s i g n i f i c a n t p o i n t which leads one to conclude t h a t Wang Shiwei was i n the main purged f o r h i s p o l i t i c a l b e l i e f s r a t h e r than f o r h i s l i t e r a r y theory i s t h i s : Wang wrote only one essay on l i t e r a r y theory, h i s "Short Discourse on N a t i o n a l Form". In i t , as we saw above, he expressed disagreement with the major CCP proponents of o l d forms (Mao, Chen Boda, A i S i q i ) by c r i t i c i z i n g such forms as being "backward" and i n c a p a b l e of h o l d i n g new content. Yet only Chen Boda atta c k e d him f o r t h i s a r t i c l e , and Chen's major c r i t i c i s m had a c t u a l l y been w r i t t e n long b e f o r e Spring of 1942, and then p r i n t e d i n JFRB ( J u l y 3-4) to serve as more d i r t a g a i n s t Wang. In other words, between the months of May and August when the paper abounded w i t h denouncements of Wang, no one at a l l (except Chen, again, on June 15) took Wang to t a s k f o r h i s views on n a t i o n a l form. I t may not seem odd that other w r i t e r s d i d not wish to c r i t i c i z e h i s b e l i e f s on t h i s i s s u e because e i t h e r they agreed w i t h him (witness A i Qing i n Chapter Four) and/or they d i d not want to s u b j e c t h i s l i t e r a r y views to a t t a c k , s i n c e he was a l r e a d y i n enough t r o u b l e f o r h i s other outspoken i d e a s . However, i t does seem strange that n e i t h e r Mao nor A i S i q i (nor anyone e l s e ) f o l l o w e d Chen's l e a d to 189 s p e c i f i c a l l y b r i n g up Wang's a r t i c l e on n a t i o n a l form f o r f r e s h examination and c r i t i c i s m a f t e r May. Instead, Wang's accusers i n JFRB focused t h e i r a t t a c k on h i s other essays"; never once d i d they a l l u d e to h i s "Short Discourse on N a t i o n a l Form". Th e r e f o r e , the t h r u s t of the more f a r - r e a c h i n g campaign a g a i n s t Wang was aimed at h i s p o l i t i c a l b e l i e f s , as can be seen too from a more d e t a i l e d study of the proceedings of h i s " t r i a l " i n the C e n t r a l Research I n s t i t u t e . The m a j o r i t y of questions asked of him concerned h i s p o l i t i c a l views on both S o v i e t and Chinese h i s t o r i c a l events v i s - a - v i s T r o t s k y i t e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s . His most s e r i o u s c h a l l e n g e s to the CCP were made i n the realm of p o l i t i c a l i d e o l o g y and p r a c t i c e . Although h i s r e f u s a l to espouse the use of o l d forms i n l i t e r a t u r e s u r e l y d i d not help h i s image i n the eyes of Pa r t y l e a d e r s , i t was not the primary cause of h i s purge. His downfall c o u l d probably be a t t r i b u t e d to a combination of the in t e n s e and hi g h - r e a c h i n g nature of h i s c r i t i c i s m of Yan'an l e a d e r s together w i t h the a b i l i t y of the CCP to b u i l d a case f o r hi s " T r otskyism" on the b a s i s of previous connections (no matter how m i l d they may have been) and h i s present p o l i t i c a l and l i t e r -ary views. Since the overwhelming m a j o r i t y of c r i t i c i s m s a g a i n s t him d i d hot ' s p e c i f i c a l l y address h i s op i n i o n s on l i t e r a t u r e , i t seems that i t was not h i s l i t e r a r y views which were the primary source of h i s purge. 190 NOTES TO APPENDIX I 1 According to L i n Yutang i n The Secret Name,New York: F a r r a r , Straus, and Cudahy, 1958:227, Wang had "years ago" c o n t r i b -uted to one of h i s l i t e r a r y magazines i n Shanghai. Wang Shiwei d i d author a book c a l l e d X i u x i ( 1 ^ ), p u b l i s h e d i n Shanghai, 1930 by Zhonghua Shuju, as p a r t of a s e r i e s e d i t e d by Xu Zhimo c a l l e d "Xin Wenyi Congshu" ( £/f ^ U> 4? ) • The book is i n the form of correspondences from a melancholy, d i s i l l u s i o n e d and s u i c i d a l " f r i e n d " of Wang Shiwei's who pours out h i s heart to the author. 2 I have been unable to l o c a t e e i t h e r of these magazines. 3 This was the name of Wang's p i e c e before he submitted i t f o r approval to Chen Boda, w i t h whom he had d i s a g r e e d over n a t i o n a l form i n 1940. A f t e r Chen's r e v i s i o n s and c r i t i c i s m , (the c r i t i c i s m was w r i t t e n i n January 1941 but not p u b l i s h e d u n t i l J u l y 3, 1942 i n JFRB), Wang's a r t i c l e was p r i n t e d i n Febru-ary, 1941 i n Zhongguo Wenhua ( ^j7 (S jC i£j ) , v o l . 2, no. 6 as "Wenyi Minzu X i n g s h i Shang de J i u Cuowu yu X i n P i a n x i a n g " ( I t ^ t X- #7 ik #f ^  ^ ). According to Chen Boda (JFRB, 1942, June 15) Wang cut out some of what had been c r i t i c i z e d b efore p r i n t i n g the a r t i c l e under the new t i t l e . Both the o r i g i n a l and the r e v i s e d v e r s i o n are now u n a v a i l a b l e . 4 For c r i t i c i s m s of "Statesmen and A r t i s t s " see Yang Wei-zhe, JFRB, 1942, May 19, and J i n Canran, JFRB, 1942, May 26, D. Holm, 1978:22-23 has r e c o n s t r u c t e d the essay based on quotes i n J i n Canran's c r i t i c i s m . 5 For c r i t i c i s m s of "Wild L i l y " see Qi Su, JFRB, 1942, A p r i l 7; ( L i ) Bozhao, JFRB, 1942, June 9; Chen Dao, JFRB, 1942, June 9, 191 6 See L i Tu, JFRB, 1942, A p r i l 17, and Zhang Ruxin, JFRB, 1942, June 17 f o r d i s c u s s i o n of the content of "Hard Bones, S o f t Bones", 7 See D. Holm, 1978:14-19 f o r a d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s of Chen Boda's J u l y 3 c r i t i c i s m . Q See Tr o t s k y , 1970:41-49. On June 28-29 , 1942 , Zhou Yang i n JFRB c l a r i f i e s the connection between Wang's views and Trotsky' i n L i t e r a t u r e and R e v o l u t i o n . 9 St u a r t Schram, 1974:184-5. Before quoting Mao here i t should be noted that Wang Shiwei was l a b e l e d an "Anti-communist agent" i n a JFRB e d i t o r i a l on A p r i l 25, 1943, p . l , and an "enemy agent" on November 8, 1943, p . l . That i n c i d e n t happenedd at the time when the army was on .thermarchcj and thevsecurity organs themselves made the d e c i s i o n to execute him; the d e c i s i o n d i d not come from the Centre. We have o f t e n made c r i t i c i s m s on t h i s v ery matter; we thought that he shouldn't have been executed. 192 "Talks on L i t e r a t u r e and L i f e " Zhou Yang J u l y 17, 1941 P a r t One One day a comrade came to t e s t i n t o the f i n e a r t s department of the Lu Xun Academy of Arts."^" Having known him f o r a long time and knowing that he loved l i t e r a t u r e , I c a s u a l l y asked him, "Do you l i k e l i t e r a t u r e very much?" Probably he m i s i n t e r p r e t e d my i n t e n t i o n , t h i n k i n g I was h i n t i n g that i t would be more a p p r o p r i -ate f o r him to be studying l i t e r a t u r e . He answered i n a h a l f -explanatory, half-showy manner, " L i t e r a t u r e needn't any p a r t i c u l a r study. Wherever there i s l i f e , there i s l i t e r a t u r e " . I was stunned by t h i s simple n o t i o n . Using the same k i n d of s i m p l i c i t y , a most a p p r o p r i a t e r e t o r t would have been "Wherever there i s l i f e , there i s not n e c e s s a r i l y l i t e r a t u r e " . However I d i d not r e p l y thus. I don't c o n s i d e r the v i r t u e s of youth such as c o n f i d e n c e , courageous e x p l a n a t i o n s , and love f o r epigram, i n a bad l i g h t . Moreover, i n the r e l a t i o n s h i p between l i t e r a t u r e and l i f e , I always put the l a t t e r over and above the former. In the f i e l d of a e s t h e t i c s , I am a l o y a l and f a i t h f u l 2 admirer of Chernyshevky. His famous formula "beauty i s l i f e " c o n t a i n s profound t r u t h . The sentence "wherever there i s l i f e , there i s l i t e r a t u r e " n a t u r a l l y s t a t e s a p a r t i a l t r u t h . That i s to say, l i t e r a t u r e i s produced from l i f e . As soon as i t becomes d i v o r c e d from l i f e , there can be no l i t e r a t u r e . But l i t e r a t u r e and l i f e are u l t i -mately two e n t i t i e s . In speaking of the process of c r e a t i o n , 193 they are s t i l l two poles in. mutual c o n t r a d i c t i o n and mutual s t r u g g l e . C r e a t i v i t y i s the process of the w r i t e r ' s hand-to-hand f i g h t w i t h l i f e . Images must be found i n l i f e , but although l i f e i s f u l l of them, they are not easy things to grasp. To borrow a metaphor from Balzac, an image i s even harder to capture than the Proteus of legend —^- a w r i g g l i n g , q u i c k l y metamorphasizing Proteus. The w r i t e r must s t r u g g l e with t h i s c o n s t a n t l y changing magician of an ocean s p i r i t , and other than language and words, he has no s p e l l f o r subduing the enemy. Don't you o f t e n have t h i s f e e l i n g ? Everyday I am l i v i n g a meaningful l i f e , yet I don't see anything worthy of making i n t o the s t u f f of l i t e r a t u r e . You say that l i f e i t s e l f has become too p r o s a i c ? But the a r t i s t ' s s k i l l l i e s i n seeing, p o e t r y i n o r d i n a r y l i f e . At times i t seems that you have a l s o seen something which moves you to w r i t e i t down. An image quickens i n your mind, but at such a c r i t i c a l moment your cursed pen w i l l not obey your command. You have no way of d i r e c t i n g i t to put to paper what i s i n your mind. Therefore the problem i s not as simple as we had imagined. A f t e r having l i f e , you s t i l l have to be able to "see", and a f t e r having seen, you s t i l l must be able to " w r i t e " . T h i s i s the prob-lem i n a r t of knowing and e x p r e s s i n g , and the problem of u n i f y i n g the p r a c t i c e of l i f e and the p r a c t i c e of c r e a t i v i t y . L i f e i s j u s t raw m a t e r i a l f o r the w r i t e r ; the w r i t e r ' s work l i e s i n how to choose and process h i s m a t e r i a l . This n e c e s s i t a t e s a s p e c i a l -i z e d s k i l l and knowledge. In s h o r t , t h i s n e c e s s i t a t e s good and hard study. I t i s i n f a c t not a v e r y wise n o t i o n that wherever there i s l i f e , there i s l i t e r a t u r e , and l i t e r a t u r e needn't be 194 s t u d i e d . Everyone l i k e s to b r i n g up the f a c t that Gorky, never having gone to c o l l e g e , s t i l l became the world's g r e a t e s t w r i t e r . Natu-r a l l y i t i s good to emulate Gorky. But don't f o r g e t : although Gorky never had the o p p o r t u n i t y to go to u n i v e r s i t y d u r i n g the Tzara'st p e r i o d , he was the f i r s t i n the S o v i e t Union to advocate the establishment of schools s p e c i a l i z i n g i n l i t e r a t u r e . He was s e l f - t a u g h t and expended arduous e f f o r t on the study of l i t e r a -t u r e . He always advocated that l i t e r a r y youth should not only read more n a t i v e as w e l l as f o r e i g n works of l i t e r a t u r e , but that they should a l s o be f a m i l i a r w i t h and understand the h i s t o r y of l i t e r a t u r e . He was a person who p r o f o u n d l y experienced the "pain 3 of language". I t h i n k that when we study Gorky, i t would be b e t t e r to be p r a c t i c a l by emulating and adopting h i s determined s p i r i t of being able to bury h i m s e l f i n strenous study i n any environment, r a t h e r than a s p i r i n g to h i s c o l o r f u l and g l i t t e r i n g l i f e as a vagabond. It i s most worthless to shout "Ah, l i f e , l i f e , s i n c e there i s no l i f e , study w i l l s l a c k e n " . Where there i s l i f e , there i s not n e c e s s a r i l y the a b i l i t y to w r i t e c r e a t i v e l y . And works which d e s c r i b e l i f e are s t i l l not n e c e s s a r i l y good works. For the task of l i t e r a t u r e l i e s not j u s t i n d e s c r i b i n g l i f e as i t i s , but a l s o i n s t a t i n g t r u t h s concern-ing l i f e , On the r e l a t i o n s h i p between the w r i t e r and l i f e , Wang Guo-wei, i n h i s Ren J i a n C i Hua /\__ fgj g&j g-fc has a most r e v e a l -ing passage i n which he says "In h i s a t t i t u d e towards the world and human l i f e , the poet must enter them from w i t h i n , but he a l s o must be able to come out. By e n t e r i n g from w i t h i n he i s able to 195 w r i t e about them; by coming out he i s able to observe them, By e n t e r i n g from w i t h i n , h i s work can have v i t a l i t y ; by coming out, 4 h i s work can be s u b l i m e l y detached". The r e l a t i o n s h i p between a r t and l i f e i s l i k e t h i s . You must be able to " e n t e r " as w e l l as "come out". This i s a d e l i c a t e d i a l e c t i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p . To be able to penetrate i n s i d e l i f e and a l s o transcend i t [at the same timej are two i n s e p a r a b l e n o t i o n s . The l a t t e r can only be a r e s u l t of the former, or one could say, the u l t i m a t e attainment of the former. To be drowned i n the sea of l i f e ' s f a c t s , to be unable to view human l i f e i n i t s o v e r a l l appearance or see i t s r e a l essence from a c e r t a i n i n t e l l e c t u a l e l e v a t i o n , i s c a l l e d " Not seeing the f o r e s t f o r the t r e e s " . In the f i e l d of p h i l o s o p h y t h i s i s narrow empiricism, while i n the f i e l d of l i t e r a t u r e , i t i s n a t u r a l i s m . We choose n e i t h e r . Using a simple d e f i n i t i o n , a r t i s the f o r m a l i z e d e x p r e s s i o n of thought through image. One i s unable to w r i t e or c r e a t e works w i t h v i t a l i t y without images. One cannot i n v e s t i g a t e or c r e a t e works of sublime detachment without thought. Engels set out t h i s i d e a l aim f o r l i t e r a t u r e : the p e r f e c t e d f u s i o n of great i n t e l l e c -t u a l p r o f u n d i t y and h i s t o r i c a l content, w i t h a Shakespearian agr e s s i v e n e s s and abundance of a c t i o n . ^ I s n ' t t h i s the best e x p l a n a t i o n , the h i g h e s t standard of the u n i t y of v i t a l i t y and sublime detachment i n a r t ? In the s u b j e c t i v i v e consciousness of the w r i t e r , sublime detachment i s a p e n e t r a t i n g understanding of the myriad things that i s as c l e a r as water. Is i t to transcend a l l m a t e r i a l t h i n g s ? Not c o r r u p t e d i n the l e a s t ? A Kantian " d i s i n t e r e s t e d mind"? To l a c k enthusiasm f o r l i f e ? I t i s none of these. I t i s 196 the r e s u l t of; a deep t a s t i n g of human l i f e ; the form of emotion under c o n t r o l . A l l t h i n k e r s and w r i t e r s are able to m a i n t a i n calmness of mind. They have done f l e s h and blood b a t t l e w i t h l i f e , i d e n t i f y i n g l i f e ' s every f i b e r , d i r e c t l y l o c a t i n g i t s h e a r t ; they grasp l i f e ' s laws i n t h e i r e n t i r e t y . Therefore they are calm and unperturbed i n the face of any change. Only they r e a l l y understand humor. In h i s famous "On Naive and Sentimental Poetry", S c h i l l e r s a i d t h i s about the two great r e a l i s t poets Homer and Shakespeare: At the p o i n t of t h e i r most sorrowful, and melancholy w r i t i n g , i t seems as i f they were n a r r a t i n g everyday events - they are seem-i n g l y q u i t e i n s e n s i t i v e . Are they r e a l l y i n s e n s i t i v e ? Not at a l l . T h e i r hearts have pen e t r a t e d i n t o t h e i r o b j e c t s , becoming e n t i r e l y one w i t h them. I t i s j u s t as S c h i l l e r p r a i s e d Shakespeare: "His heart i s not l i k e o r d i n a r y metal which merely f l o a t s on the s u r f a c e , but l i k e g o ld which must seek the deepest area". He compared Shakespeare's l i t e r a r y c r e a t i o n to God's c r e a t i n g the world. God and .the world r e s i d e i n the same p l a c e . "He (Shakespeare) i s the l i t e r a r y work, and the l i t e r a r y work i s him".^ He i s l i f e i t s e l f , the e s s e n t i a l core of l i f e . He doesn't cr y or laugh, yet causes others to c r y and laugh. T h i s i s why great a r t i s t s , a p p a r e n t l y calm and composed, set our souls on f i r e w i t h b l a z i n g flames. We o f t e n f e e l t h a t we have experienced l i f e and that what we w r i t e about i s a l l l i f e . Yet the reader i s s t i l l not the l e a s t moved. The c r e a t i v e work i s s t i l l l a c k i n g something, we may say that i t ' s l a c k i n g something " p o e t i c " or " i n t e l l e c t u a l " . In sum, i t i s a work w i t h no l i f e . What i s the reason f o r t h i s ? 197 T h i s i s because without p e n e t r a t i n g l i f e , there can be no r i s i n g above i t . You have maintained too much of a d i s t a n c e from every-day l i f e (you are a b y s t a n d e r J ) , yet while c r e a t i n g you are too c l o s e . You don't understand how to look down on l i f e from a c e r t a i n a l t i t u d e . You don't use enough ardor i n l i f e , you're not i n t e r e s t e d i n any number of problems, and you l a c k warmth towards people. Yet i n your works you r e v e a l too much ardor. L i t e r a t u r e i s the most honest of t h i n g s . A p i e c e of l i t e r a t u r e cannot pre-tend to have double of something of which i t has o n l y one. A l i t e r a r y c r e a t i o n i s l i k e a person i n that the r i c h e r h i s l i f e , the more he can view l i f e from a c e r t a i n d i s t a n c e ; the more f u l l of emotion, the more these emotions w i l l not be exposed. The t r u l y o u t s t a n d i n g w r i t e r does not j u s t c a s u a l l y grab anything to w r i t e about, and then allow the words to flow out e n d l e s s l y when he i s moved. He must i n s t e a d c o l l e c t numerous f a c t s of l i f e and e x t r a c t from them only the essence, u s i n g a l l h i s energies to concentrate h i s a t t e n t i o n on them, u n t i l h i s own s u b j e c t i v i t y and o b j e c t i v i t y have completely blended together. I remember there was a w r i t e r who used a s i m i l a r metaphor concerning the process of c r e a t i o n : Over there i s a b i g stack of wet hay p i l e d up and i n s i d e i t i s a hidden f i r e burning. Yet i t doesn't burn, i t merely emits smoke. I t works l i k e t h i s f o r a while u n t i l a l l the sudden, completely unexpectedly, f i r e e x i t s from w i t h i n , and with flames o u t s t r e t c h e d , w i l d l y sets the whole sky red. This f i r e fuses o b j e c t i v i t y , and s u b j e c t i v i t y breaking through the emotion of the s u b j e c t . To use an e x p r e s s i o n i n the s t y l e of Wang Guowei, t h i s i s c a l l e d " f o r g e t t i n g the d i s t i n c t i o n between emotion and scene, the s u b j e c t and I are of one body". This i s the . 198 h i g h e s t s t a t e of mind of c r e a t i o n , T h i s s t a t e of mind i s not e a s i l y obtained, but everyone a s p i r i n g to w r i t e l i t e r a t u r e must work hard towards i t . My c o n c l u s i o n : To be a w r i t e r you must n a t u r a l l y f i r s t have experienced l i f e , but you a b s o l u t e l y "cannot t h i n k that as soon as you have experienced l i f e that e v e r y t h i n g w i l l go w e l l f o r you. More important i s that you have knowledge of l i f e , an a b i l i t y to express i t , and the armament of thought and s k i l l . But i f you want these t h i n g s , you must pay the p r i c e of long-term concen-t r a t e d and arduous study. L i t e r a r y amateurs or schools of geniuses must be e l i m i n a t e d . Part Two J u l y 18, 1941 I advocate that w r i t e r s should have more a c t u a l f i r s t - h a n d experience of l i f e , whether i t be at the f r o n t , or i n the farm v i l l a g e s . Because of t h i s I have been c a l l e d a " f r o n t l i n e - i s t " , but to t h i s day I don't c o n s i d e r my view mistaken. However, the problems are numerous. Among them, the most important are how to make y o u r s e l f become one with t h i s new l i f e , and how to f i n d m a t e r i a l from w i t h i n i t . When people enter a l i f e of which they had not p r e v i o u s l y known, i n the beginning they always f e e l a sense of n o v e l t y about i t . But a f t e r coming i n contact w i t h i t f o r a w h i l e , the a c t u a l s i t u a t i o n g r a d u a l l y exposes to you i t s o r i g i n a l f a c e , and the c o l o r s engendered by i l l u s i o n q u i c k l y fade. I t a l l becomes d u l l 199 or even d e t e s t a b l e . You've seen that which you d i d not wish to see. War i s f u l l of blood, death, and c r u e l t y , F i l t h , o b s c u r i t y , and darkness s t i l l occupy p o s i t i o n s of power i n the farm v i l l a g e s . You f e e l anguish, yet t h i s was the l i f e which you c o n s i d e r e d meaningful and which you s t r e n u o u s l y sought a f t e r ; yet you cannot and do not wish, to break yourserf^away-from i t . - ,You-rwill arduously e x e r c i s e r e s t r a i n t over y o u r s e l f u n t i l you s l o w l y adapt to t h i s type of l i f e . But a d a p t a t i o n i s not something that can be achieved a l l at once. It r e q u i r e s a r a t h e r long p e r i o d of time. N a t u r a l l y i t ' s easy to wander around everywhere i n a s u p e r f i c i a l manner, but nothing w i l l be gained i n t h i s way. You must p a r t i c i p a t e i n some r e a l work, but i f you do t h i s , you must not be a f r a i d of t r o u b l e . Take a t u r n engraving p l a t e s ? d o some p u b l i s h i n g , be a l i t t l e nobody i n a m i l i t a r y u n i t , or do messenger work f o r the r u r a l government. Be content i n your work, be e n t h u s i a s t i c , and don't delude y o u r s e l f about seeking the time and p l a c e f o r c r e a t i v i t y here. Become one w i t h the people who surround you and l e a r n from them. Do not r e s e n t them f o r not understanding you, i t i s you who must understand them. Taste a l l kinds of l i f e , and t r y very hard to understand a l l types of people. T h i s i s the c a p i t a l that must be accumulated f o r c r e a t i v i t y . However, t h i s e n t a i l s many t r o u b l e s , t r o u b l e s that would never have occured to you. I have many times r e c e i v e d l e t t e r s from l i t e r a r y workers at the f r o n t . In the beginning most of them were not used to t h e i r l i f e and were upset. Only l a t e r d i d things change f o r the b e t t e r , and they became e n t h u s i a s i c . I hear that even some comrades who had w r i t t e n to me expressing complete n e g a t i v i s m about t h e i r 200 p e r s o n a l disappointment and misery at the f r o n t , now a l l exert much energy i n t h e i r work. N a t u r a l l y there are one or two who co u l d not t o l e r a t e i t and i n the end, deserted. T h i s i s a t r i a l g i v e n to us by a great age. Marx once quoted Chernyshevsky, "People who b u i l d h i s t o r y are not a f r a i d of g e t t i n g t h e i r hands d i r t y " . I f we, the a r t i s t s of a great age, the witnesses and r e c o r d e r s of unprecedented great events, w i l l not d i r t y our hands, we should at l e a s t have the cour-age' to look at the hands being d i r t i e d . We must look at l i f e s t r a i g h t i n the eye. Let us d i s c a r d a l l u n b e n e f i c i a l i l l u s i o n s . Many l i b e r a l w r i t e r s and newspaper r e p o r t e r s i n the West are not a f r a i d of t o l e r a t i n g d i f f i c u l t i e s and br a v i n g the g r e a t e s t dangers f o r the sake of c o l l e c t i n g w r i t i n g m a t e r i a l and c o v e r i n g a news item. And they only do t h i s f o r l i t e r a r y and p r o f e s s i o n a l motives!. We are p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n the War of N a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n and the co n s t r u c t i o n ' of a new' s o c i e t y . Even i f not f o r the sake of w r i t -in g , we should s t i l l make ou r s e l v e s adapt to the l i f e which we are l i v i n g . We must have t h i s k i n d of de t e r m i n a t i o n : Don't l e t l i f e compromise towards me, l e t me compromise towards l i f e . A l l of t h i s i s s p i r i t u a l p r e p a r a t i o n f o r us to go and a c t u a l l y expe-r i e n c e l i f e f i r s t - h a n d . The next q u e s t i o n i s how to c o l l e c t m a t e r i a l . Comrades who have been .to the f r o n t unanimously agree that there are many, many e i t h e r praiseworthy or lamentable phenomena as w e l l as i n c r e d i b l e and surpassing h e r o i c s t o r i e s to be found there. The w r i t i n g of them could never end and never be exhausted! Thereupon you are i n e v i t a b l y completely absorbed by these s t o r i e s . Your i n t e r e s t w i l l focus on them. You take these s t o r i e s which you have heard, 201 and work them up i n your own unique and s p e c i a l s t y l e , making t h e i r p l o t s as novel as p o s s i b l e , adding some leaves and branches i n order to make them a b i t more l u x u r i a n t . In t h i s way, you t h i n k you have c r e a t e d a work of l i t e r a t u r e , when a c t u a l l y , i f you allow me to be b l u n t , they are o f t e n s t i l l q u i t e f a r from works of any t r u e s i g n i f i c a n c e . T herefore these works i n e v i t a b l y e l i c i t -upjpraiding from r e a d e r s " : I am simply not moved by these at a l l . Even I know more s t o r i e s . Why does he beat around the bush so many times when t e l l i n g such a small s t o r y ? " I do not t h i n k these complaints are e n t i r e l y without reason. In t e l l i n g a s t o r y you are not very f a m i l i a r w i t h y o u r s e l f , you s t i l l pretend to be one of the people i n i t . You g i v e a t t e n t i o n to the w r i t i n g of the s t o r y , but none to the d e p i c t i o n of c h a r a c t e r s ; your c h a r a c t e r s have no f l e s h and blood. You always r e l a y your own emotions to the reader but are unable to r e l y on l i f e i t s e l f to move the reader. Your d e s c r i p -t i o n sometimes goes overboard, yet you f o r c e i t i n t o your works as embellishment when i t doesn't serve as an o r g a n i c p a r t of the whole. A l l of t h i s i s because we haven't understood l i f e on a concrete . l e v e l . A f t e r a l l , a work of l i t e r a t u r e i s not s t o r y t e l l i n g . I t must d e s c r i b e people, p e r s o n a l i t y , i n d i v i d u a l i t y . In w r i t i n g about any matter at a l l , no matter how s m a l l , you must be f a i t h f u l and l i b e r a l . One can say that l i t e r a t u r e needs most of a l l minute accuracy, and should p a r t i c u l a r l y p r o h i b i t sketchy, rough d e s c r i p t i o n . Therefore when we go i n t o a c t u a l l i f e , i t would be b e t t e r to f i r s t observe r a t h e r than l i s t e n . S t o r i e s that you hear can only serve as a k i n d of r e f e r e n c e . I f you must employ 2 02 them i n your w r i t i n g , I t h i n k i t would be more n a t u r a l and proper to use them s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d l y as you hear them. But these mate-r i a l s can be used i n d i r e c t l y . C r e a t i v i t y i s s t i l l determined by those things which are experienced d i r e c t l y . T r u s t your own eyes and use them to observe a l l that i s around you. Look c a r e f u l l y , r e p e a t e d l y , and comparatively. As F l a u b e r t i n s t r u c t e d Maupassant, "In order to d e s c r i b e a burning f i r e or a t r e e on the p l a i n , we must look s t r a i g h t at t h i s f i r e and t r e e u n t i l they become d i f f e r -ent i n our eyes from any other t r e e or f i r e " . F r i e n d s , you who have gone e s p e c i a l l y to experience r e a l l i f e , have you ever put t h i s k i n d of e f f o r t i n t o your works? Everyone has seen the E i g h t h Route Army and the peasants i n the Border Areas, but aren't there s t i l l very few r e a l l y o u t s t a n d i n g works w r i t t e n about them? In f a c t , how many l i t e r a r y workers have r e a l l y l i v e d together w i t h them f o r a r e l a t i v e l y long p e r i o d of time, a l i g n e d t h e i r hearts w i t h t h e i r s , understood a l l t h e i r l i f e h a b i t s and the s u b t l e t i e s of t h e i r minds? We have l i t t l e c o n t a c t with them [jthe peasants and s o l d i e r s ^ and that we do have i s o f t e n u n n a t u r a l . We always l i k e to choose from among them those w i t h e s p e c i a l l y unique l i f e experiences and i n q u i r e of them t h e i r l i f e h i s t o r y , hoping to immediately f i n d a l a r g e stock of m a t e r i a l from t h e i r persons. No - what we i n f a c t - hope to d i s c o v e r i s a m i r a c l e . People jjwr i t e r s ] l i k e to take advantage and to get o f f on the cheap. But i n t h i s world nothing i s cheap, i f you t r e a t them simply as m a t e r i a l , they w i l l a l e r t l y c l o s e t h e i r h e arts to you. A w r i t e r must make even more comprehensive, m u l t i - f a c e t e d , and p e n e t r a t i n g c o n t a c t w i t h people i n everyday l i f e . You must 203 want to become f r i e n d s w i t h them; make c o n v e r s a t i o n about o r d i n a r y matters as w e l l as things c l o s e to t h e i r h e arts u n t i l n e i t h e r one of you f e e l s on guard towards or out of touch w i t h the other. They w i l l then t o t a l l y and s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d l y r e v e a l t h e i r h e a r t s to you. I t i s at t h i s p o i n t that you w i l l be seeing the r e a l people, and what you understand w i l l not be an a b s t r a c t n o t i o n of the people, but concrete, f l e s h and blood i n d i v i d u a l s . Carry a notebook w i t h you - not j u s t to r e c o r d people's b i o g r a p h i e s or to w r i t e an e x p l a n a t i o n of t h e i r c l a s s background, but more important, c a r r y i t to be able to r e c o r d at any time the movements, language, and postures which emanate from each d i f f e r e n t i n d i v i d u a l person-a l i t y which you may witness. M a t e r i a l does not come ready-made, nor i s i t j u s t there to be p i c k e d up. You must go d i s c o v e r i t , accumulating i t a drop at a time. Do not j u s t look f o r the unique about people, make more con t a c t w i t h o r d i n a r y people. Don't j u s t observe one or two people, but s e v e r a l . With one person, don't j u s t be s a t i s f i e d w i t h knowing a t h i n g or two about him when you should know many. Your gaze should not be upwards, but downwards. Do not look only at the major p o i n t s but look more at the s m a l l . T h i s r e q u i r e s not only great p a t i e n c e and care i n work, but love towards people as w e l l . The s p i r i t and work method r e v e a l e d by Comrade Mao Zedong i n 7 h i s r e p o r t on an I n v e s t i g a t i o n of the Peasant Movement i n Hunan i s worthy of thorough study by every w r i t e r . I t i s not the d u l l s t a t i s t i c a l survey of the o r d i n a r y s o c i o l o g i s t , but a work per-meated w i t h a great r e v o l u t i o n a r y ' s tremendous love f o r the . masses, a love which should a l s o burn i n our h e a r t s . Let us penetrate i n t o the l i f e .of the masses embracing that k i n d of love 204 and s c i e n t i f i c s p i r i t . I t i s not necessary to f i r s t t h i n k of a theme, complete' a rough o u t l i n e , and then f a b r i c a t e a p l o t , Let l i f e i t s e l f move us w i t h i t s own l o g i c ! P a r t Three J u l y 19, 1941 In Yan'an there are some comrades i n t e r e s t e d i n w r i t i n g who f e e l they cannot w r i t e anything, though we are l i v i n g a new and meaningful l i f e , and there i s freedom of c r e a t i v i t y here. Why can't they w r i t e or why do they w r i t e so l i t t l e ? Could i t be that i n the face of t h i s new l i f e c r e a t i v i t y d r i e s up? Of course not. Thus we hear a l l s o r t s of i n t e r e s t i n g e x p l a n a t i o n s : Some say t h a t a great t h i n k e r [wasn't i t Engels?) once s a i d that human c i v i l i z a t i o n r e l i e d on e a t i n g meat to be born, and we £at Yan'an eat too l i t t l e meat. Others say that because our food l a c k s v i t a m i n C, we're not g e t t i n g enough n u t r i t i o n . S t i l l others say that everyone gets an allowance, so although l i f e i s hard, no one has to worry about food or c l o t h i n g , so no one need s e l l manu-s c r i p t s . Yet others say that Yan'an i s ' l a c k i n g i n l i t e r a r y p e r i o d i c a l s , so no one i s s t i m u l a t e d . These are the types of explan a t i o n s we hear. Although these " m a t e r i a l i s t " e x p l a n a t i o n s are not groundless, they don't s a t i s f y us. Since w r i t e r s are c a l l e d the "engineers of the s o u l " , l e t . u s look at the s p i r i t u a l aspect to seek the reason. There are p o s s i b l y two a b s o l u t e l y opposite reasons f o r the 205 c o n t r a d i c t i o n , between a w r i t e r ' s s p i r i t and h i s environment. One i s t h a t the surrounding l i f e i t s e l f i s a s t r e t c h of darkness which oppresses and s u f f o c a t e s people. The w r i t e r , embracing a burning hope f o r the b r i g h t , cannot be a p a r t of that environment, and s t r u g g l e s w i t h a l l h i s might to oppose i t . The other reason i s t h a t , once p l a c e d i n the l i f e which he has sought f o r h i m s e l f , he sees b r i g h t n e s s , but there are a l s o dark spots i n the s u n l i g h t . The new l i f e i s not without flaws, i n f a c t at times they are even numerous. But he i s , a f t e r a l l , i n the qu i c k f l i g h t of p r o g r e s s . The w r i t e r f o l l o w s the s p e c i a l pace of the a r t i s t i c i n t e l l e c t u a l which i s not n e c e s s a r i l y matched w i t h the pace of l i f e . Sometimes he f e e l s that l i f e has f a l l e n f a r behind h i s i d e a l s ; he stops and f e e l s s l i g h t l y d i s a p p o i n t e d . At times l i f e a c t u a l l y runs ahead of him and he i s h e l d back by the power of some o l d consciousness or h a b i t . To some degree he f e e l s unable to harmonize w i t h l i f e . I'm t h i n k i n g of the B o l s h e v i k poet Mayakovsky whom Comrade S t a l i n has c a l l e d "the most outstanding S o v i e t poet". He deeply understood the d i s t r e s s of the i n t e l l e c t u a l i n a great age. Lamenting the death of Yesenin, he wrote these two l i n e s of poetry: "In t h i s k i n d of l i f e , death i s not d i f f i c u l t , what i s most d i f f i c u l t i s to r e e s t a b l i s h l i f e a gain". Yet before ending h i s own l i f e , he Mayakovsky] l e f t t h i s melan-choly poem; g "Love's boat has smashed a g a i n s t the d a i l y g r i n d " . We are a g e n e r a t i o n younger than they, so of course we are much h e a l t h i e r . W r i t e r s , l i k e others i n Yan'an, f e e l q u i t e s a t i s -f i e d s p i r i t u a l l y ; they a l l c o n s i d e r t h i s t h e i r home. But i t ' s 206 not t h a t there are no problems at a l l . Don't we sometimes hear something l i k e t h i s : "I f e e l that l i f e i s d u l l and narrow. In general things are a l l r i g h t , but i t ' s the l i t t l e matters that make people uncomfortable. The comrades above are o.k. but many below are q u i t e mechanical, " e t c . , e t c . I t seems as i f these are a l l s m a l l p o i n t s , but they are constant, very annoying matters which g r e a t l y i n f l u e n c e one's moods. We can't say that t h i s i s a l l the p e r s o n a l s e n s i t i v i t y and b i a s of the w r i t e r s . I t ' s true that a w r i t e r o f t e n b u i l d s a c i r -c l e around h i m s e l f which i s not e a s i l y broken i n t o by o t h e r s . But Yan'an i t s e l f has i t s own c i r c l e , i t s own set ways. Everyone wears the same uniform, r e c e i v e s the same allowance, has the same work, and goes to the same meetings. Walking along the s t r e e t you can hear the same o l d set of r e v o l u t i o n a r y jargon on a l l s i d e s of you. Everyone harps on the same o l d themes without the s l i g h t -e s t change! Yet what you see b e f o r e your eyes i s something unmis-ta k a b l y new, laden w i t h i n f i n i t e and r i c h content, and f u l l of l i f e . You are about to p r a i s e i t , but there are a l s o some things which i r r i t a t e you. You can't not enter i n s i d e of t h i s c i r c l e because besides i t , there i s no b e t t e r l i f e . Yet you s t i l l f e e l i t ' s too narrow and monotonous and cannot accomodate you. I f the w r i t e r can anchor h i m s e l f i n h i s own c i r c l e , c o n f i n e h i m s e l f to the t r a d i t i o n a l way and not seek to become one with the new l i f e , then there's no problem. For i t s p a r t , however, Yan'an a b s o l u t e l y cannot be s a t i s f i e d w i t h i t s set ways. I t must seek improvement and broaden i t s e l f to i n c l u d e more v a r i e t y . I f a w r i t e r f e e l s d i s t r e s s e d here, he must f i r s t s t r i v e to do away w i t h the sources of d i s t r e s s i n h i s l i f e . Even though the w r i t e r may f i n d some 207 i n c o m p a t i b i l i t i e s w i t h l i f e here i n Yan'an, because he and t h i s l i f e share the same fundamental d i r e c t i o n of s t r i v i n g f o r progress, both s i d e s w i l l u l t i m a t e l y be mutually s u p p o r t i v e . Now i s the time s p e c i a l l y termed by Comrade Mao Zedong as the process of ; t h e con-9 v e r g i n g of two t o r r e n t s - "on the mountains" and " i n the g a r r e t s " . Yan'an has been c a l l e d "the sacred l a n d " , but we are not r e l i g i o u s f o l l o w e r s . We are M a r x i s t s , we do not d i s c r i m i n a t e a g a i n s t those who disagree with us, we s i n c e r e l y welcome c r i t i c i s m . We r e l y on s e l f - c r i t i c i s m f o r p r o g r e s s . Therefore we shouldn't t h i n k that j u s t because some w r i t e r makes one or two bad remarks about Yan'an (moreover, not even t a l k i n g about a l l of Yan'an) t h a t he i s opposing us. At t h i s time only i n t r o s p e c t i o n and a p p r o p r i -ate e x p l a n a t i o n are needed. N e i t h e r t i n y disagreements of opinion, nor d i s s i m i l a r h a b i t s , nor an i n d i v i d u a l ' s temporary bad mood or emotional c o n f l i c t s should be r a i s e d to questions of p r i n c i p l e . Almost a l l of the w r i t e r s i n Yan'an have a bl o o d r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h r e v o l u t i o n . One c o u l d say t h a t they are the f l e s h and b l o o d of the r e v o l u t i o n . A Gide would probably not appear here, even l e s s a Bunm. I don't approve of w r i t e r s c o n s i d e r i n g themselves more s p e c i a l than other people. That's a c t u a l l y a most u n d e s i r a b l e s t a t e of mind. Yet Yan'an must become the type of p l a c e where w r i t e r s are e s p e c i a l l y understood and r e s p e c t e d . I t i s a t r u l y f e r t i l e land i n which f r u i t s of c u l t u r e and a r t can r i p e n i n abundance. T h e i r l i v e s and moods are not, of course, the only,, or even the most important, reasons why w r i t e r s cannot w r i t e here. I t h i n k that a problem of c r e a t i o n i t s e l f as w e l l as t h a t of what to w r i t e about are a l s o very much r e l a t e d . 208 This problem i s not unique to Yan'an. A f t e r the outbreak of the War of R e s i s t a n c e , many w r i t e r s ran i n t o t h i s impasse: w r i t e about the War of R e s i s t a n c e , but we're not f a m i l i a r with i t ; w r i t e about the past , but now i s not the time. Having come to Yan'an, we f e e l even more that we should w r i t e on some new and meaningful themes. We have a l r e a d y sung our songs of p r a i s e f o r Yan'an, but we s t i l l have not been able to w r i t e about i t from a l l aspects. We l i v e i n caves and have almost no con t a c t with the o u t s i d e world. Those with whom we do i n t e r a c t are s t i l l i n t e l l e c t u a l f r i e n d s from the o u t s i d e . I t i s n a t u r a l l y d i f f i c u l t f o r them to ga i n a profound understanding of Yan'an, l e t alone of the c o n d i t i o n s of the farm v i l l a g e s i n the Border Areas. Yet these farm v i l l a g e s are f i l l e d w i th f r e s h s t o r i e s of l i f e and s t r u g g l e . They are worthy of being r e f l e c t e d i n a r t . I f you f e e l there -is nothing to w r i t e about now, l e t your i n t e n s e d e s i r e f o r l i f e be a s u b s t i t u t e f o r y o u r . c r e a t i v e impulse. I t would c e r t a i n l y be b e n e f i c i a l f o r you to come out from your caves and go mingle and l i v e among the common people. N a t u r a l l y , themes of the past can and ought to be w r i t t e n about. Although i t i s an admirable sense of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , i f one i s f o r c e d to choose themes, which r e f l e c t the Border Areas and Ei g h t h Route Army, or>-which,-at, l e a s t r e l a t e to the War of R e s i s t -ance, i t c o u l d t u r n i n t o a r e s t r i c t i o n on c r e a t i v i t y . We must allow f o r the broadest scope i n theme, s t y l e , a r t i s t r y , e t c . In Yan'an, the slogan of freedom of c r e a t i v i t y should become a r e a l -i t y . W r i te, b r a v e l y w r i t e . When you can't w r i t e and need to breathe i n some f r e s h a i r , go out i n t o l i f e , and e l i m i n a t e a l l of your mental w o r r i e s . "An Essay Not Basted Together" 209 Luo Feng September 22,1941 Lazy people l i k e t a k i n g out t h e i r p e r s o n a l m i s e r i e s on the environment, f o r thereby the act of c u r s i n g , r e v i l i n g , and b e a t i n g becomes t h e i r enemyless courage. Yet the problem remains unre^ s o l v e d , because a f t e r t h a t courage i s f u l l y r e l e a s e d , they o f t e n make use of sobbing and grumbling as a t o o l f o r c o n s o l i n g them-s e l v e s . Of course t h e i r wounds of s u f f e r i n g do not h e a l e a s i l y , and the environment remains the same as always. I f Napoleon's i d e a l d i c t i o n a r y d i d not c o n t a i n the word " d i f f i c u l t " , then our r e v o l u t i o n a r y b l o o d stream should purge i t s e l f of the term " l a z y " . The innocent n o i s y q u a r r e l i n g of c h i l -dren i s always more exuberant than the calm and p e a c e f u l medita-t i o n of o l d men. There i s nothing more worthy of r e j o i c i n g than the a b i l i t y to e n v i s i o n a l i v e l y p e r s p e c t i v e of l i f e from c h i l d i s h movements. I t ' s j u s t unfortunate that most people enjoy drawing on t h e i r foreheads s e v e r a l phoney w r i n k l e s of experience thus making i t not only d i f f i c u l t f o r others to p i c k out tones of d i s t r e s s on t h e i r f a c e s , but even more d i f f i c u l t to e x t r a c t sounds of sobbing and grumbling from t h e i r mouths. This i s probably c a l l e d l o y a l t y , but t h i s type of " l o y a l t y " i s as numerous as the opals on the banks of the Yan R i v e r , and e q u a l l y - a s u s e l e s s to the r e v o l u t i o n . S t r u g g l e ! We need m e r c i l e s s s t r u g g l e ! As long as the f i g h t doesn't get p e r s o n a l , even v i o l e n c e and f i g h t i n g w i t h one's l a s t b r e ath i s b e n e f i c i a l i n the end. The aim i s to shoot at a t a r g e t as i f i t were coarse rock; you needn't harbor l o v i n g f e e l i n g s towards i t . 210 Even i f others c a l l i t a "shot i n the back", an u p r i g h t and honest archer w i l l not allow the s n e e r i n g and t h r e a t s o f those beside him to destroy the order of h i s shooting method. I f the f i r s t arrow does not meet i t s mark, then he must have the courage to shoot a second one. Even i f others shout s a r c a s t i c l y " t h a t ' s the way to go", he must know that " o r d i n a r i n e s s p r a i s e s o r d i n a r i n e s s , and i n a b i l i t y promotes h i s f r i e n d s " . This i s behavior i n n a t e l y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of human nature. My e n t i r e body i s f u l l of s t r e n g t h and joy to a s s i s t the b i r t h of the new and d e s t r o y the o l d s t r u c t u r e . Although there are v a r i o u s c o n t r a d i c t i o n s which come i n t o p l a y , the m o t i v a t i n g f o r c e i s s t i l l forward p r o g r e s s . Having s u r f a c e peace and u n i t y with no b a s i s i n r e a l i t y i s l i k e b u i l d i n g a f o u n d a t i o n on top of sand. We do not welcome Wilde s e a r c h i n g f o r p l e a s u r e among tragedy; we should p r a i s e Gorky h a p p i l y s h o u l d e r i n g the burden of humanity's s u f f e r i n g s . "Only p r a i s i n g that which i s c o r r e c t and p r a i s i n g t h a t which you love y e t i g n o r i n g t h a t which i s wrong and t h a t which you hate" i s only p a s s i v e support. "Just as you a r d e n t l y advocate what i s c o r r e c t , you should a r d e n t l y a t t a c k what i s wrong; j u s t as you a r d e n t l y embrace t h a t which you l o v e , you should even more ardent-l y embrace that which you hate". Only then can you o b t a i n an i n d i v i s i b l e u n i t y . I f t h i s i s r e a l l y not j u s t basted together, then the r e s u l t of the b a s t i n g w i l l always be f i r m . Yet the " i n t e l l i g e n t person" avoids rough roads at n i g h t . The " i n t e l l i g e n t person" always "turns i n b e f o r e dark".. Only the 211 dreamer l i k e s t r a v e l i n g the road avoided by the " i n t e l l i g e n t per-son". I t ' s not t h a t the dreamer i s n ' t aware beforehand of the hardships of the road, but t h a t h i s source of p a i n l i e s i n seeing the dawn before others see i t . He who dares not throw h i m s e l f i n t o the b r i l l i a n t f i r e of r e v o l u t i o n f o r f e a r of g e t t i n g burned and only dances i n the smoke l i k e a plantom, i s i n e v i t a b l y a f r a i d of e n t e r i n g the furnace of r e v o l u t i o n . Yet he a r d e n t l y yearns f o r the sparks which can be gazed upon but never reached. At t h i s time he c u s t o m a r i l y b r a v e l y curses h i s f e l l o w t r a v e l e r s f o r being "Simeina H u i f u " . ( f o o t n o t e ) J u s t when he becomes a "Simeina H u i f u " h i m s e l f , he not only continues to curse, but wants to l a y blame on other "Simeina Hui-f u " 's! ( f o o t n o t e ) : These were the s o r t of i n t e l l e c t u a l s who f o r the time being accepted the S o v i e t regime, but whose b a s i c mental d i s p o s i t i o n caused them to hope to change the nature c * i . 11 of the regime. Evening-, September 13, 1941 212 "We Need Za Wen" Ding Ling October 23, 1941 There was a t h e o r e t i c i a n who once s a i d to me: " I t i s d i f f i c u l t to t a l k about people s t i l l a l i v e , from now~ on why don't you d i s c u s s the deceased?" I understand the meanihg of t h i s , f o r t a l k i n g about l i v i n g people o f t e n i n v i t e s q u a r r e l , while the deceased w i l l never be able to defend themselves, l e t alone i n c u r the r i d i c u l e and up-b r a i d i n g r e s u l t i n g from mutual d i s t a i n among l i t e r a r y people, s e c t a r i a n i s m , and egotism. In order to evade c o n t r o v e r s y , i t i s n a t u r a l l y c o r r e c t to r e l y on the p r i n c i p l e of keeping detached from p o l i t i c a l disorder" to p r o t e c t o n e s e l f . There are a l s o others who say something l i k e t h i s : " I t i s b e t t e r to be a good member of -the masses and r a i s e a hand whenever you have an o p i n i o n " . I've-even heard v o i c e d t h i s k i n d of hidden resentment which should have become a p a r t of the past: "What am I? I say one sentence and i t ' s as good as p a s s i n g wind!" What do these o p i n i o n s show? They show that we s t i l l don't understand how to u t i l i z e democracy, how to develop s e l f - c r i t i c i s m , and f r e e debate. We are l a c k i n g a s p i r i t of t o l e r a n c e , and we are l a c k i n g the p a t i e n c e to l i s t e n ' c a r e f u l l y t o - o t h e r people's opinions. At the same time, they show that we have no courage or persever-ance, we f e a r t r o u b l e , we f e a r meeting w i t h r e j e c t i o n , and we f e a r s a c r i f i c e . We only l o a f on the job, mumbling i n d i s t i n c t u t t e r a n c e s from behind the back. If. there i s ' som'eorie w i l l i n g to speak out, and who dares to speak out, even though h i s opin i o n s a r c not yet completely c o r r e c t , there are i n e v i t a b l y o v e r l y s e n s i t i v e people who say that h i s o p i n i o n s 213 are having a negative e f f e c t , t h a t he has h i s own p r i v a t e f a c t i o n , and i s very c o n t e n t i o u s . T h i s destroys u n i t y and makes a b i g fuss over n o t h i n g . . . In t h i s case c e r t a i n l y no one continues to debate w i t h him to help him p e r f e c t h i s t h e o r i e s . T h i s i s the shame i n our l i v e s . Before an event or an o p i n i o n i-s--understood by many people, i f one person ventures to take the step, he i n e v i t a b l y meets up w i t h c r i t i c i s m . Only those who don't f e a r c r i t i c i s m and determi-n a t e l y c a r r y on w i l l be v i c t o r i o u s . Mr. Lu Xuri i s the best example. Because Mr, Lu Xun hoped to s t a r t at c u r i n g the s o u l s of humanity, he abandoned medicine to i n v o l v e h i m s e l f i n l i t e r a t u r e . Because he r e c o g n i z e d that the d i s e a s e of h i s age r e q u i r e d the sharpest of b l a d e s , he turned from w r i t i n g f i c t i o n to za wen. The s u b j e c t matter touched upon i n h i s za wen i n c l u d e d the e n t i r e Chinese s o c i e t y . When Lu Xun wrote za wen, he r e c e i v e d the d i s -d a i n of those l i t e r a r y men who "use t h e i r own shortcomings to look down upon o t h e r s ' s t r o n g p o i n t s " . He was cursed by those who s a i d that he only wrote za wen because he was unable to w r i t e f i c t i o n . Yet now, h i s za wen have become China's greatest." i n t e l l e c t u a l iwoMks and most b r i l l i a n t l i t e r a r y p i e c e s . But they s t i l l cause people to r e t r e a t i n f e a r . I f you won't take pen to paper u n l e s s you can w r i t e za wen as w e l l as Lu Xun, you might as w e l l f i r s t decide not to w r i t e at a l l . Your esraays^will progress through p r a c t i c e . I t i s not w r i t t e n f o r g l o r y , but f o r the sake of t r u t h . The present age has s t i l l not separated from the time of Mr. Lu Xun. F i l t h and c o r r u p t i o n , darkness, and the o p p r e s s i o n and 214 s l a u g h t e r of p r o g r e s s i v e elements s t i l l e x i s t . People don't even have the freedom to" p r o t e c t t h e i r advocacy of the War of R e s i s t -ance, yet s t i l l a l l we can say i s "China i s i n the age of the U n i t e d F r o n t ! " We don't understand that an even f i r m e r u n i t y can be e s t a b l i s h e d through c r i t i c i s m . Thus, we have abandoned our r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . Even the p r o g r e s s i v e p l a c e s where the f i r s t steps of democra-cy e x i s t , r e q u i r e even more encouragement and w a t c h f u l s u r v e i l -l a n c e . China's deeply r o o t e d f e u d a l bad h a b i t s of s e v e r a l thousand years are not easy to e r a d i c a t e , and s o - c a l l e d p r o g r e s s i v e p l a c e s do not f a l l from the sky - they are connected to the o l d s o c i e t y of China. Yet here we only say that i t i s not a p p r o p r i a t e to w r i t e za wen, that t h i s p l a c e should o n l y r e f l e c t the democratic l i f e and the Great C o n s t r u c t i o n . Although i t i s man's n a t u r a l r e a c t i o n to be c a r r i e d away by s m a l l successes, to conceal one's ailment and take no remedial measures, t h i s i s r e a l l y only indolence and cowardice. Mr. Lu Xun has d i e d . A l l of-us o f t e n t a l k about how to commemorate him t h i s way and that way, but we l a c k the courage to emulate h i s f e a r l e s s n e s s . Today I f e e l t h a t i t would be best to emulate the way i n which he f i r m l y and e t e r n a l l y faced the t r u t h , dared speak out f o r t r u t h , and f e a r e d nothing. We of t h i s gener-a t i o n s t i l l need za wen. We must not abandon t h i s weapon. Raise i t up, and za wen w i l l not d i e . 215 NOTES TO APPENDIX II Zhou Yang a r r i v e d i n Yan'an from Shanghai i n autumn of 1937. In the i n t e r v i e w w i t h him p r i n t e d i n the September 1978 i s s u e of Seventies mag a z i n e , . • he gives t h i s account of the circumstances,which led.him.to go to Yan'an: "At t h a t time (^during the debate over the two N a t i o n a l Defense slogans-^] I was twenty odd years of age [ h e was a c t u a l l y twenty-eight^ j and r e a l l y not very s e n s i b l e . I had p l e n t y