The ideological adoption and literary writing of left-wing writers in 1940s : the cases of Ding Lin, Zhao Shuli and Xiao Jun = 四十年代左翼作家的思想形態與文學創作 : 以丁玲、趙樹理、蕭軍為例

Abstract

This thesis is to reveal the ideological adoption of Chinese left-wing writers in the 1940s and to disclose the connection between the ideological adoption and the changes of their literary writings. Chinese left-wing writers began to be disciplined by the Communist Party of China(CPC) in the 1940s especially after Mao Zedong’s Speech in Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art in 1942 with the function of literature and art defined to “eulogize the brightness” instead of “undercover the darkness” of the society. However, different left-wing writers responded to Mao’s speech in different ways. Ding Ling, for example, tried to adopt the new ideology and changed her writing style without hesitation. As a result, she did not create any fiction until the year 1947. Zhao Shuli, a writer living in Shanxi at that time and showing great sympathy for the Chinese peasants, applauded the speech heart and soul. He regarded it as a strong support to his literary viewpoint. He kept writing fiction about the rural China in his unique way. Xiao Jun, unlike Ding Ling and Zhao Shuli, disagreed with Mao’s speech. He refused to abide by the disciplines from CPC during his stay in Yan’an and in Dongbei. Undoubtedly, it was Xiao Jun who met with harsh criticisms from the Party.

By analyzing left-wing writers’ different attitudes toward the political discourse, I aim to present a brief history of the development of the left-wing literature in terms of the language, the form, the style, the viewpoint and so on. In addition, I try to find out the reasons for Chinese writers’ great contributions to the communist career from 1930s to 1940s and their persistence in literary writings in such a harsh political circumstance. It seems incredible that the idea of communism has come into being in the 1920s and spreads so rapidly in the 1930s. When it has become a theoretical belief, left-wing writers had no choice but to hold it dear. What they could do is to abandon either their literary independence or their critical spirit to avoid being punished by the political party.

The tragic fate of left-wing writers provided us with much space for thought. On the one hand, left-wing writers contributed themselves to the making of the communist revolution. On the other hand, ever since the foundation of the new regime in 1949, there has been existing an ideological gap between the left-wing writers and the communist Party. It was hard for them to accept the advocates of the ideology. And when it came to the literary creation, most of them gave up writing in the 1950s, never rewriting anything more. In this thesis, I would try to depict a clear picture of the development of the left-wing literature and to investigate Ding Ling, Zhao Shuli and Xiao Jun as three representative figures of the Left-Wing writers whose destiny did reflect the tragic experiences of intellectual under the disciplinary rule of Communist Party.