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
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Literary problems during the War of Resistance as viewed from Yan’an : a study of the literature page… Rubin, Kyna Ellen 1979
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Title | Literary problems during the War of Resistance as viewed from Yan’an : a study of the literature page of Liberation daily, May 16, 1941 to August 31, 1942 |
Creator |
Rubin, Kyna Ellen |
Publisher | University of British Columbia |
Date Issued | 1979 |
Description | Chinese writers since May Fourth, 1919, have encountered many problems in their writing, some of which have been universal, some of which have been particular to China. The War of Resistance against Japan (1937-1945) presented further, more particular dilemmas for all modern Chinese writers regardless of political affiliation or geographic location. Urban writers sympathetic to the revolutionary cause of the Chinese Communist Party who went to the wartime capital of Yan'an met additional difficulties. While many of these problems were shared by writers in other areas, some arose from the unique geographical, political, and social environment of the base regions, i.e., the areas under Communist control. This thesis is a study of the problems for writers in Yan'an as reflected in literary issues and debates raised in the literature supplement "Wen Yi" of Liberation Daily (Jiefang Ribao), the CCP organ published in Yan'an from May 16, 1941 to March 27, 1947. The literary issues are examined over a period of fifteen months, from May, 1941 until August, 1942. They are viewed as backdrop and aftermath to the "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art" delivered by Mao Zedong in May of 1942. The "Talks" have functioned as the official CCP policy on literature and art since 1942. A detailed examination of the atmosphere in the Yan'an literary world leading up to May as well as a look at immediate reaction in the press to the literary directives will enhance our understanding of the "Talks" and help place them in proper historical context. It is hoped in the end that this thesis may show that many of the problems for writers discussed in the "Talks" in 1942 had already existed fox over twenty years prior to the May Forum. Therefore, one cannot merely blame CCP literary policies for the lack of outstanding literary creativity in modern China. |
Genre |
Thesis/Dissertation |
Type |
Text |
Language | eng |
Date Available | 2010-03-09 |
Provider | Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library |
Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
DOI | 10.14288/1.0094728 |
URI | http://hdl.handle.net/2429/21666 |
Degree |
Master of Arts - MA |
Program |
Asian Studies |
Affiliation |
Arts, Faculty of Asian Studies, Department of |
Degree Grantor | University of British Columbia |
Campus |
UBCV |
Scholarly Level | Graduate |
AggregatedSourceRepository | DSpace |
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