Author ｜
Shou-jen Tseng
Abstract ｜
Mou Tzongsan’s writing of literary theory and criticism has been around for 13 years. He started at the age of 26 after graduating from Peking University and ended up at the age of 39, he wrote “Shui Hu World”. These papers not only show his literary and artistic propositions when he was young, but also further reflect his later ideas as well as the literary trends of the 30s. The earliest article “Understanding Creation and Appreciation” discusses literature in terms of literary essence, readers and authors. This battle text not only refutes Hu Shih’s “classical Chinese writing was dead” theory, but also revives the life of literature. In the study of “the Typical Life of China from the Perspective of Poetry,” Mou analyzes the philosophy of life in Chinese poetry. On the one hand, he makes value judgments on these philosophies of life, affirming positive Confucian philosophy and criticizing negative sentimentalism. Moreover, his analysis of the internality of sentimentalism as “boring” results in a void that clearly has an attempt to summon a new “Chinese characteristics.” Mou discussed the article “The Composition of the Tragedy of The Dream of Red Mansions,” which is intended to analyze the novel’s writing skills of tragedy and also reveals the instinct of the tragic ending, and further suggests that this will break into the endless cycle of pain. In his writings, he discussed the positive spirit of Confucianism in a considerable amount of space. In fact, these seem to be not related to the topic, but these parts that seem to be digressive, showing that he truly affirms the positive Confucian spirit, and finally disagrees with the tragic spirit of The Dream of Red Mansions. It can be seen that his literary discussion will change and he will enter the next stage of growth and strength. The last discussion is the article “Shui Hu World.” The style of this article is very special, because Mr. Mou hopes that the readers can stand at the same height of life as he does, to appreciate the metaphysical realm of Shui Hu. He affirms the heroes in Shui Hu with loyalty, reflecting the wisdom of his life in this period. He hoped to make up for God’s carelessness in creating people. In fact, this shows his desire for the prosperity of the nation-state, and such literary criticism is already a form of “existential learning.” The above discusses Mr. Mou’s early essay on literature. It can be seen that he always cares about philosophy of life and value philosophy. These early literary theories and criticisms can be regarded as a metaphor, from the birth, growth and transformation of life, and could be called “poetics of life.”
keywords ｜
Mou Tzongsan, modern literary theory, “Shui Hu World,” The Dream of Red Mansions