The Life and Works of Ai Qing
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Life and Works of Ai Qing <1910 - ) Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of London by Eva Wai-Yee Hung May 1986 ProQuest Number: 10672772 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672772 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am grateful to the Association of Commonwealth Universities for awarding me a Commonwealth Scholarship, as well as to the Central Research Fund, University of London, and SOAS Research Fund committees for approving research grants facilitating my visit to Beijing in 1981. My sincere thanks tD Mr. Tang Tao, Mr. S.N. Yau and the staff of the SOAS library for their help in locating research material in China, Hong Kong, and the United States, and to Ai Qing and Gao Ying for their hospitality, their interest in my work, as well as their patience in answering my numerous questions. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude and affection to Professor D.E.Pollard, whose guidance and encouragement have been my anchor throughout the period of this study, and tD my parents and Marilyn, for their kind understanding and moral support. Last but not least, I am thankful to Edwin, who did his best to put my computer back on its feet. E. H. ABBREVIATIONS Beifang Ife h (North) Ta si zai d iere1 b e l<-h ^ (He died) Kuangye (Wild erness) Ki&n a®i x i anqcun de sh i (V i 1 1 0 ) LilQina de tongzhi. (Dawn) M 0ina Xu an i i 4^. A (Selected works) Baoshi de honqxing % & (Red star) Ai. Si ng sh i xuan (Selected poems) Haixia shang -t- (Cliff) Ai ©ina shuqi ngsh i vibai shou (100 lyr i cs) Ai Ping (Zhongguo xiandai zuojia xuanji ^ 0 ) (Ai Sing) _*V j v / Shi Inn %-$ (On poetry) Shi xin min^U de wenxue |.*j (Jd i i ■$( (Literature of a new democracy) IABLE OF CONTENT Introduct i cm p. i Chapter 1 Biography p. 6 Chapter 2 Songs in Prison p. 80 Chapter 3 The Itinerant Years p. 125 Chapter 4 Years in the Liberated Area p. 192 Chapter 5 In Search of New Poetics p. 244 Conelusion p. 298 Bibliography p. 31 & Append i x Chronological Tables 1 & 2 p. 327 INTRODUCTION The Literary Movement in China, which began in 1917, received a sudden burst of life during the May Fourth Movement Qf 1919, because this movement was actually spurred on by a general desire for socio political changes rather than purely literary considerations. The desire for reform, prevalent since the second half of the Nineteenth Century, now manifested itself on the literary scene. As a challenge to all old forms and concepts, the vernacular was elevated to a literary status by Hu Sh i (1891-1962) , its most prominant advocate. Started in Xi.n Qingn ian (New Youth) 1/, this development speedily spread among young writers, and the vernacular was soon adopted in the writing of essays, novels, plays and poetry. The first collection of modern Chinese poetry, published in early 1920, was Hu Shi’s Changshi xl. (Experimental verses) 2/. This was soon fallowed by the works of Yu Pi ngbo (1889- ) 3/, Kang Bai qi ng^%6 4/ and others. Although the avowed aim of these poets was 1. The vernacular was first used in Vol.IV of New Youth (1917). 1 - - 2. Published in March, 1920 by Dong A ^ JL. (East Asia) Library. 3. Yu’s first poetry collection Dong Ye (Winter nights) was published in March 1922. ^ f 4. Kang’s first poetry collection Cag Er ^ (Grass)- was also published in March 1922. tD reject tradition and create something which reflects the realities of contemporary life, their works often unconsciously betrayed the deep-rooted influence of classical Chinese poetry, especially. in their choice of diction and the evocation of mood and atmosphere. Plays and novels written in the vernacular had a long standing tradition in China. But poetry written in the vernacular was something new. 5/ It was thus not easy to achieve a complete and abrupt break with tradition, even though that was what poets at that time tried to do. The 1920’s was a period of tremendous poetic activities and experimentation. With the emergence of poets of the calibre of Wen Yiduo ~ (1399-1946), Xu Zhimo (1395-1931) and Guo Maruo J|5 5^^ (1892-1973 ), modern Chinese poetry became firmly established. Wen, Xu and their fellow poets of the Crescent Society were well versed in the poetic traditions of China as well as the west, and it was they who first experimented with various western poetic forms on a significantly large scale. The Crescent Society was not the Dnly group to borrow western poetic forms and techniques in writting modern Chinese poetry. Guo Moruo acquired the expansive style of free verse popularized by Walt Whitman (1819- 5. Huang. Zunxiany<1848-1905) was probably the first poet to experiment with the vernacular, but with the exception of folk songsjr he worked', within the limits of trad i tiDnal poetic forms. ^— .. - __ 1892), while Li Jinfa (1900-^76) and Da Wangshu ^ (1905-1950), the so-called Symbolist poets, brought the exotic flavour of modernist French poetry to the Chinese literary scene. Towards the end of the 1920’s, the influence of political ideology was increasing felt in literary circles. The ideological split in the literary field was completed with the establishment. of the Association of Leftist Writers in Shanghai in March, 1930. While poets such as Xu Zhimo, Feng Zhi and Dai Wangshu continued their pursuit of aesthetic perfection, Guo Moruo and other poets of the Association D f Leftist Writers saw it as their duty to propagate the socio-political functions of poetry. Whatever a writer’s political inclination was, there is no denying that it had a significant influence on his creative outlook. Amidst the theoretical wrangling and arguments of the 1930’s, a poet emerged on the literary scene, untouched by these controversies. One may even say that he arrived there almost by chance. Ai Qing , now a sure favourite for the office of China’s Poet Laureate if there is one, did not even think of becoming a poet. He was little influenced by the contemporary literary schools of thought. Though he was considered a Leftist writer when * his name was firmly established, many of his early works were published in Xi.and.ai, , usually considered a 3 stronghold Df the Symbolists. In Ai Sing’s own words, he composed poetry because he felt the need for self expression 6/. The choice of form and subject matter was entirely determined by his own outlook, experiences, and whatever knowledge of European literature he had acquired. In this sense, Ai Qing is very much an individualist amongst his conternpcrar i es. This was not merely due to the fact that he was placed in enforced isolation because of imprisonment. Even after the Communist victory of 1949, when he was firmly established as one of the most prominent literary figures in China, he remained comparat1vely a loner. Many of his more intimate friends were in the art rather than literary circle. And yet, a large part cf his poetic career was shaped by political ideologies and forces. Ai Gir.g is thus an interesting subject in the study of the interaction between objective (especially political) forces and a poet’s own sense of mission. Even when politics does not interfere directly with literature, there are always literary trends and schools of thoughts which would guide and influence a writer; but the writer would have a choicer However, when politics actively intervenes in the development of literature, for how long would a highly individualistic, but also extremely 6. Conversation with Ai Qing. 4 patriotic poet like Ai Qing -follow the lead of the revolutionary drumbeat? What would be the effect on a poet’s development when political demands were in conflict with his creative instinct? In attempting to chart the stylistic development of Ai Qing’s poetry, this study hopes to look for answers to the above questions. Ai Qing’s poetic career is a long one, and his recent output has been prolific. As a study of this nature is limited in time as well as space, I have decided on the year 1957 as a convenient stop in my analysis. From 1957 to 1973, Ai Qing was forced to remain silent for 21 years. After he resumed writing in 1973, his style, though terser and frequently reveals a more philosophic vein, remains basically the same as his works of the mid 1950’s. Therefore I hope that an analysis of the stylistic develpments and changes of Ai Sing’s works up to 1957 will adequately illustrate the forces which shaped his poetic career. CHAPTER ONE BIOGRAPHY 1 / Coming into this world, first of all we are men, then we write poems. — On Poetry In the mountain areas of Yiwu-^jJ|> , about twenty-five m iles northeast of Jinhua ^ District, Zhejiang Province, there is a small village called Fan^tian Jiang Ai Qing was born here on 27th March, 1910 (the 17th day of the 2nd moon according to the Lunar calender).