Lyrical Voices in an Epic Age: Chinese Intellectuals and Artists in the Mid-20th Century Author: David Wang Publisher: Ryefield

Shen Congwen, He Qifang, Feng Zhi, Hu Lancheng, Jiang Wenye, Lin Fengmian, Fei Mu, Mei Lanfang, Tai Jingnong, the new interpretation and interpretation of the "Chinese Lyrical Tradition" in the Chinese-speaking world

"Enlightenment, no matter how it appeals to reason, requires the creativity of imagination; revolution, without soul-stirring poetry, would not allow millions of people to fight for life and death."

In the mid-20th century, China's political situation experienced major turmoil and great changes. The tension of literary and cultural lyricism came in an unprecedented manner, presenting a grand pattern like an epic. Why do contemporary literary and cultural figures choose to use lyricism to express their voices? What exactly constitutes the lyrical discourse of this era? What is the connection between the lyrical appeal of the last century and our era?

This book explores the choices made by Chinese intellectuals, literati, and artists in the face of historical storms since the early Republic of China, with a particular focus on the possibility and impossibility of "lyricism" as a means of imagining and practicing modernity, in addition to the revolutionary and enlightenment traditions. The book deeply combs through the context of the modern "lyric tradition", discusses the insights and omissions of Chinese and Western lyric discourses, and explores the relevance of "lyric criticism" to contemporary Chinese and Chinese language humanities research.

The general view of "lyricism" is that those who express emotions are minor. However, in an era of dramatic change, the lyrical tension of literature and culture should not be underestimated. The modern world is full of the pain of national division and the call for revival and decline. The great changes seem to bring an epic era. "It is precisely in such an era that there are still people who call on the lyrical tradition, a way of feeling, an untimely yearning, going against the mainstream, which is more meaningful and more intriguing."

About the Author

David Der-wei Wang
Graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages ​​and Literature at National Taiwan University, and received a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Previously taught at National Taiwan University and the Department of East Asian Studies at Columbia University. Currently Edward C. Henderson Professor of East Asian Studies and Comparative Literature at Harvard University. Author of From Liu E to Wang Zhenhe: Essays on Modern Chinese Realistic Fiction, A Crowd of Voices: Chinese Fiction in the 1930s and 1980s, Reading Contemporary Fiction: Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Overseas, Fictional China: Chinese Fiction from the Late Qing Dynasty to the Present, Methods of Imagining China: History, Fiction, and Narrative, How to Be Modern, How to Be Literature? : New Essays on Chinese Fiction in the 19th and 20th Centuries, "After the Noise: Comments on Contemporary Chinese Fiction", "Cross-Century Style: 20 Contemporary Novelists", "Repressed Modernity: New Essays on Late Qing Fiction", "Ten Lectures on Modern Chinese Fiction", "History and Monsters: History, Violence, and Narrative", "Such Prosperity: Wang Dewei's Selected Works", "Post-Villain Writings", "1949: Scar Writing and National Literature", "Mao Dun , Lao She, Shen Congwen: Realism and Modern Chinese Fiction, "Lyrical Tradition and Chinese Modernity: Eight Lectures at Peking University", "The Fiction of Realistic Fiction: Mao Dun, Lao She, Shen Congwen", "Four Essays on Modern Lyrical Tradition", "New Essays on Modern and Contemporary Literature: Morality, Ethics, and Geography", "Humanistic Perspective of the Chinese Language Family: The Singapore Experience", "The Rise of the Chinese and Foreign Languages; Three Essays on Chinese Literature", Fictional Realism in Twentieth-century China: Mao Dun, Lao She, Shen Congwen, Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911, The Monster That Is History: History, Violence, and Fictional Writing in Twentieth-century China, The Lyrical in Epic Time: Modern Chinese Intellectuals and Artists Through the 1949 Crisis, etc. In 2004, he was elected as the 25th member of the Academia Sinica.

Related works: "Novel China: Chinese Fiction from the Late Qing Dynasty to the Present", "From Moreau to Nobel: Literature, Classics, and Modern Consciousness", "History and Monsters: History, Violence, and Narrative (Completely New and Revised Edition)", "Mao Dun, Lao She, and Shen Congwen: Realism and Modern Chinese Fiction"

Translator Profile

Hang Tu <br data-mce-fragment="1">PhD candidate, Department of East Asian Studies, Harvard University

Yu Shu-Hui <br data-mce-fragment="1">National Chengchi University

Chen Jingluan
Middlebury College

Song Mingwei
Wellesley College

Yang Xiaobin <br data-mce-fragment="1">Academia Sinica

Lu Chunyu
William and Mary College

Chen Si-chi <br data-mce-fragment="1">National Taipei University

Cai Jianxin
University of Texas, Austin

Acknowledgements Introduction Introduction The Invention of the Lyrical Tradition [Part I]
Chapter 1 "History of Sentient Beings"
Chapter 2 Shen Congwen's Three Enlightenments Chapter 3 Dreams and Snakes - He Qifang, Feng Zhi, and "Lyrics of Rebirth"
Chapter 4 Lyricism and betrayal: Hu Lancheng's poetic politics during and after the war [Part 2]
Chapter 5 Lyrical Voices in the Epic Age - Jiang Wenye's Music and Poetry Chapter 6 The Mystery of the Sphinx - Lin Fengmian and Realism and Lyricism in Modern Chinese Painting Chapter 7 "Spring in a Small Town" and "The Hatred of Life and Death" - Fei Mu, Mei Lanfang and Chinese Film Poetics Chapter 8 The Country's Misfortune is the Calligrapher's Fortune - Tai Jingnong's Calligraphy and Literature Epilogue Critical Lyrics References