Old Litterateurs In 1920s Describing Shanghai

Based on statistic of related materials, old literature didn't disappear in 1920s as expected but grew with resurgence, after being condemned both in speech and writing by new litterateur in May 4th Movement. Why old magazines and litterateurs still keep plenty of fans in modern citizens, meanwhile new literature is popular in 1920s? It's related to transition of old litterateurs in new literature environment and creation of new urban written style.With Saturday, Red Magazine, and Violet which are popular in 1920s as major research objects, the article analyzes that how traditional litterateurs spread urban description of Shanghai with traditional written style, when they were confronted with group transition and started to create new survival style. In 1920s, old litterateurs create new shanghai description pattern, through building up urban space and finding urban sense. Furthermore, another target of the article is to understand modernity meaning of old litterateurs (especially those in 1920s), with a viewpoint of organic relationship of urban space and urban consume literature. But here we are not ready to highly appraise old litterateurs with modernity, for their modernity was only the representation of localization of Shanghai during those days and was totally different from those in western culture.The glance at each chapter is as follows:The prelude part introduces firstly the focus of the article is, urban district, litterateurs and literature, and based on the background of old litterateurs' transition and urban consume society. Secondly, the article points out the pitfall of academe to take shanghai in 1920s and old litterateurs away darkly from their research viewpoints as non-modern factors. In fact, Shanghai in 1920s already was the city with fantastic urban landscape and charming consumer culture. Also it discusses the difficult situation when old litterateurs encounter modernity and complexity of their modernity. Thirdly, it presents the research methodology of the article, and the reason to choose Saturday, Red Magazine, and Violet to discuss urban record of old litterateurs in shanghai in 1920s.Chapter one discusses the transition of old litterateurs in 1910s and 1920s, and their modernity. Universal value of old litterateurs in 1910s positions elite consciousness, while old litterateurs in 1920s present citizen consciousness. The two differ in activity region, means to make a living, acknowledge of urban life, business plan ability, and functional value of literature. Old litterateurs in 1920s present vivid modernity by describing modern media and public entertainment.Chapter two reviews the history of old litterateurs describing Shanghai from late Qing Dynasty to 1920s. In late Qing Dynasty, there are two ways to describe Shanghai: one is under the background of agricultural civilization and traditional consumption pattern, the other is endued with national envision and modern envision. However, in 1920s, old litterateurs describe Shanghai under the background of consumption pattern and the interleaving of old and new thought, where political meaning disappeared. There is still much difference between the written style of old litterateurs in 1920s and the urban consciousness of new litterateur in May 4th Movement.From chapter three to chapter five, I analyze old litterateurs in 1920s describing Shanghai in three aspects: urban ethic, urban sight and urban emotion.Chapter three discusses urban ethic. Facing money and the population of new thought tide, old litterateurs in 1920s worried about ethics. But their ethics is different from feudal ethics and reformative ethics. They tried to arrange rationally modern mundane life and family ethics value, and discussed ethics in free love, female corruption, equality between men and women, and family relationship. But they had not yet built up one ethics system to adapt to modern sociality.Chapter four discusses urban sight. Old litterateurs in 1920s focused on many kinds of daily life events like dressing, travel, entertainment and economy, and describe a broad, noisy, and colorful consume space. Creation of new urban space, forming of entertainment market and capital market, population of daily consumption style, all of them draw distance of shanghai from other traditional cities, giving shanghai westernization. However, because old litterateurs were lost in situation of modernity, Westernized urban sight also contained their old consciousness and traditional corrupt life style.Chapter five discusses urban emotion. At first, following the strengthening of urban individuality, discomfiture appears in urban marital and amorous status. On one hand, Old litterateurs in 1920s expressed the influence of urban logos and principle of contracts on marital and amorous status. On the other hand, they also expressed the conception in the early period of the Republic of China that love is most important. Secondly, Old litterateurs discussed the variations of two patterns of romantic novels: intellectuals and prostitutes, and gentlemen and ladies. The former impersonated humanistic pity and the trend to be similar to the pattern of gentlemen and ladies. The later described mundane emotion between men and women, including whore and bawdry. Thirdly, Old litterateurs discussed the trend of urban emotion, pointing out that the reality of new style of love is that men were attracted to women' appearance while women were attracted to men' money. And a new pattern of distressed affection appeared as compensation to mind.Therefore, old litterateurs in 1920s and their description of shanghai reflects depressive modernity. Their mental outlook sources from modern growing urban industry, consumption and then urban culture environment. Shanghai description of old litterateurs in 1920s, presents their mood as citizen class which accompany and examine their intelligence structure, artist viewpoints, esthetic interest, and complex urban life style.