University of Colorado, Boulder CU Scholar Comparative Literature Graduate Theses & Comparative Literature Dissertations Summer 7-18-2014 Psychoanalyzed Vacillation between and Entanglement of the Old and the New in 1930s Shanghai: the Sinicization of Freudian Psychoanalysis in Two Short Stories by Shi Zhecun Wei-Yi Lee University of Colorado Boulder, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.colorado.edu/coml_gradetds Part of the Chinese Studies Commons, and the Comparative Literature Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Wei-Yi, "Psychoanalyzed Vacillation between and Entanglement of the Old and the New in 1930s Shanghai: the Sinicization of Freudian Psychoanalysis in Two Short Stories by Shi Zhecun" (2014). Comparative Literature Graduate Theses & Dissertations. Paper 3. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Comparative Literature at CU Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Comparative Literature Graduate Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of CU Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Psychoanalyzed Vacillation between and Entanglement of the Old and the New in 1930s Shanghai: the Sinicization of Freudian Psychoanalysis in Two Short Stories by Shi Zhecun by WEI-YI LEE B.A., National Taiwan University, 2005 M.A., National Chengchi University, 2008 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts Comparative Literature Graduate Program 2014 This thesis entitled: Psychologized Vacillation between and Entanglement of the Old and the New in 1930s Shanghai: the Sinicization of Freudian Psychoanalysis in Two Short Stories by Shi Zhecun written by Wei-Yi Lee has been approved for Comparative Literature Graduate Program Chair: Dr. Eric C. White Committee Member: Dr. Faye Yuan Kleeman Committee Member: Dr. G. Andrew Stuckey Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we Find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards Of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. iii Lee, Wei-Yi (MA., Comparative Literature) Psychologized Vacillation between and Entanglement of the Old and the New in 1930s Shanghai: the Sinicization of Freudian Psychoanalysis in Two Short Stories by Shi Zhecun Thesis directed by Assistant Professor G. Andrew Stuckey Shi Zhecun 施蟄存 (1905-2003), an avant-garde modernist writer in 1930s Shanghai, claimed that his works “were influenced [by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)], while breaking away from the influence.” That is to say, Freudian psychoanalysis was Sinicized (i.e. became influenced by Chinese thought or culture) in Shi Zhecun’s fiction writing. The discomposure caused by the vacillation between, and the entwinement of Chinese heritage and Western civilization was characteristic of the Chinese psyche in the 1930s, particularly in Shanghai, the most Westernized city. This thesis contributes to delving into the struggle between and the entanglement of Chinese tradition and Western influence in terms of the Sinicization of Freudian psychoanalysis. I argue that Shi Zhecun adopted Freudian thought to psychoanalyze the mindset of urban youth in 1930s Shanghai through the lens of psychical mechanisms and pathologies, and thereby, this practice of Sinicizing Freudian psychoanalysis was subtly characterized by using hesitation and entanglement. I will take a contextualizing approach to two stories: “A Rainy Evening” (1929), and “Devil’s Way” (1931), to demonstrate the Sinicization of Freudian psychoanalysis. To: Dr. George Andrew Stuckey v Acknowledgement I am indebted first to Dr. G. Andrew Stuckey for his guidance in modern and contemporary Chinese literature. This thesis is based on a paper for his seminar, “Modern Literature.” He provided me with many helpful comments. He not only helped me lay the groundwork for modern and contemporary Chinese literature but also taught me the right way and attitude for being a promising academician. Without his guidance, this thesis would not come into being. I am also indebted to Dr. Faye Kleeman. She gave me many suggestions for improvement. I studied postcolonial theory and improved my Japanese reading knowledge a lot by working with her. She made me determined on devoting myself to Taiwan studies. I am grateful to Dr. Eric C. White. His seminar, “Introduction to Literary Theory” provoked my interest in Western literary theory. The learning experience in the seminar motivated me to keep working on Western literary theory. He was so nice to serve as the chair of the thesis committee. I have to thank Comparative Literature Graduate Program for funding me fully for three years. In addition, I need to thank Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations for accommodating me to work there also for three years. I also wish to express my gratitude to the Graduate Certificate Program in Critical Theory for issuing me the Graduate Certificate in Critical Theory after I finished the required coursework. Special thanks go to Dr. Chiung-Yao Wang, Chun-ling Hsu, Sherry Jones, Arya Hackney, Max Kuo, and Chao Liu. Whenever I need help, they are always there. In addition, I learned Chinese language pedagogy by watching Dr. Wang’s and Hsu Laoshi’s classroom teaching and working for them. I took a graduate seminar in Chinese language pedagogy with Dr. Wang, and I learned a lot from her. Sherry helped me edit the draft of the thesis and gave me suggestions for the improvement of my writing and presentation from the perspective of an instructor in writing and rhetorics. She also shared her thoughts on Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis with me. Arya Hackney served as a reader of the draft, and offered me many penetrating comments for revision. I vi appreciated her company and help along the way. Max watched my PowerPoint presentation and posed pertinent questions to me. And Chao was so nice and supportive that he gave me useful academic advice on my school work and career plan. vii CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………..1 II. Shi Zhecun’s Life and Oeuvre, and Shanghai Modernism……………………..8 III. The Sinicization of Freudian Psychoanalysis in the 1930s Shanghai 1. “A Rainy Evening:” a Case of Frustrated Urban Male Psyche…………...12 2. “Devil’s Way:” a Case of Paranoia and the Uncanny……………………..29 IV. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….46 Lee 1 Chapter I Introduction In 1933 Shi Zhecun [施蟄存] (1905-2003), an avant-garde modernist writer in 1930s Shanghai, remarked on the influence of Freudian psychoanalysis in his short stories: I don’t know what Western or Japanese New Sensationalism is. I only know my fiction is simply psychoanalytic novels, which applied some Freudianism.1 我雖然不明白西洋或日本的新感覺主義是什麼樣的東西，但我知道我的小說不過是應 用了一些 freudism的心理小說而已。 In 1983, he stated in retrospect: As for why I intended to employ these new techniques [psychoanalysis, stream of consciousness, and montage], the reason was simple. First, I felt that it was fresh; secondly, I wished to be innovative by these [new literary techniques]. I felt like I could neither indiscriminately pursue some new creative methods nor exclude them wholesale. As long as they were helpful with representing characters and strengthening themes, they could be adopted by me. But there was one thing not to forget. Don’t forget that I myself am Chinese and that I was writing works to reflect the situation of China. If I had simply pursued some foreign forms, that would not have been promising. To make works with persistent life force, what was needed was to seriously absorb the essence of “imports” like this. I was influenced [by foreign imports] while breaking away from the influence so that they could be ingrained in Chinese soil to create works, which were innovative and had national characteristics concurrently.2 至於我為什麼要運用這些新的手法，原因很簡單，一是覺得新奇，二是想借此有所創 新。我感到對一些新的創作方法的運用既不能一味追求，也不可一概排斥，只要有助 於表現人物，加強主題，就可拿來為我所用。不過有一點不能忘卻，這就是別忘記自 己是個中國人，是在寫反映中國國情的作品。如果在創作中單純追求某些外來的形 式，這是沒出息的，要使作品有持久的生命力，需要的是認真吸取這種“進口貨”中的 精華，受其影響，又擺脫影響，隨後才能根植於中國的土壤中，創作出既創新又有民 族特點的作品。 Both remarks speak to the fact that Freudian psychoanalysis was Sinicized (i.e. became influenced by Chinese thought or culture) in Shi Zhecun’s fiction writing. Critics, such as G. Andrew Stuckey, Shu-mei Shih, Lydia, Liu, Jingyuan Zhang, Leo Ou-fan Lee, and Christopher 1 Shi Zhecun, “Wode chuangzuoshenghuo zhi licheng” [我的創作生活之歷程 The Course of my Creation Writing Life] (1933), in Shinian chuangzuo ji [Oeuvre of Ten Years 十年創作集] (Shanghai, China: East China Normal University Press, 1996): 803. 2 Shi Zhecun, “Xiandaipai yixitan” [現代派一席談 A Talk on Modernism] (1983), in Beishan sanwenji [北山散文集 Oeuvre of Northern Mountain Prose], vol. 2 (Shanghai, China: East China Normal University Press, 2001): 678. Lee 2 Rosenmeier all have discussed this matter. However, no critic has delved into the struggle between, or the entanglement of, Chinese tradition and Western influence in terms of the Sinicization of Freudian psychoanalysis, which is the contribution of this thesis. By Western influence, I mean the influence of the cultural, economic, or political systems of Middle and West Europe, and North America. The discomposure caused by the vacillation between, and the entwinement of Chinese heritage and Western civilization was characteristic of the Chinese psyche in the 1930s, particularly in Shanghai, the most Westernized city. I argue that Shi Zhecun adopted Freudian thought to psychoanalyze the mindset of urban