Historical Research On Lao She’s Studies

Lao She is one of the most renowned writers in the history of Modern & Contemporary Chinese Literature, with research in his works garnering much interests and importance throughout the years. Many researchers had done much research about Lao She’s literary works, life history, writing style, research theories, culture, education and religion. However, there were two areas which had yet being fully explored in Lao She’s Studies. Firstly, there should be a more systematic approach to the historical research done in Lao She’s Studies. Secondly, the relation between the modern era, research methodology and an analysis of Lao She’s thought process had not yet been fully investigated by researchers. A more critical and reflective analysis on Lao She’s studies in the more recent times was also inadequate. As for the more repetitive and bias research studies, there was no symptomatic analysis done from the academic history, or environmental viewpoint. As such, this thesis focused on the 80 years of the research of Lao She’s Studies. By pinpointing time coordinates on the vertical and horizontal time axis, the thesis would highlight research key points, and uncover some blind spots missed out by others. The timeline chosen spans from Lao She’s first foray into the literary scene till Year 2010. The content in the thesis is further categorized into five historical periods albeit five chapters. The first historical period being 1928-1949, when Lao She first published two long novels "Lao Zhang De Zhe Xue" and "Zhao Zi Yue" till the foundation of People’s Republic of China in 1949; the second period being from 1949 till after Cultural Revolution; the third period from 1976 till 1980s; fourth being 1990s and the last chapter covers the new millennia from Year 2000-2010.The first chapter would focus on the analysis of Lao She’s studies done before 1949. Research on Lao She’s works was first carried out by one of the pioneers of Modern Chinese Literature-Zhu Zi Qing, making Lao She’s Studies a branch of the historical construction of Modern Chinese Literature. Lao She’s satirical writing style was then considered similar to Lu Xun’s. Although most researchers did considerable research work on Lao She’s novels and drama, most of these studies were at most literature reviews. Only some researchers such as Li Chang Zhi had done an in-depth analysis on Lao She’s works. Nonetheless, these studies formed the basis of Lao She’s studies and Modern Chinese Literature, with Lao She’s studies being integral to the study of Modern Chinese Literature. In 1944, the Lao She Literature Commemoration was an important event in Lao She’s Studies. The political complications of this event impacted many future studies done on the rise and fall of Lao She’s literature. As such, Chapter 1 of the thesis would provide an analysis of how Lao She progressed from a young talent to an icon of modern literature, focusing on different genres of his works.In Chapter 2, I would move on to the historical aspects of Lao She’s Studies from 1949 to the period of Cultural Revolution. During this period, Lao She had become known as a "People’s Artist", and later labeled as an "Anti-socialism writer". He was probably the only Modern Literature writer who attained the most recognition after 1949, but also the earliest writer to die before the Cultural Revolution. He was well-known as the role model of "artistic labour" and these were the key words in Lao She’s Studies in the 50s and 60s. Lao She’s vast number of drama scripts seemingly "rushed out" by Lao She then became the centre of Lao She’s Studies; but these studies focused on Lao She’s political zeal rather than the literature itself. As such, Lao She’s works before 1949 was much criticized, even the well-received drama "Cha-Guan" (Tea-House) drew as much criticisms as praises.Chapter 3 would focus on a new era of Lao She’s Studies, which saw a revival of Lao She’s Studies and research done then were the most holistic and well-developed. First of all, much literature on Lao She was uncovered and a lot of research was done on Lao She’s life history, research studies, chronological biographies and more. All these served to build a strong basis for future Lao She’s Studies. Secondly, riding on the intense interest in Lao She’s Studies during this period, there was a breakthrough in research methodology, whereby we saw many researchers systematically employed aesthetic, psychological and ethnographic approaches to analyze Lao She’s literatures. Thirdly, as Lao She’s Studies progressed, there was also more in-depth and systematic research into Lao She’s writing course and creative personality. Lao She’s "national personality" and "Beijing-flavour" well-presented in his works were now given recognition by all researchers alike. The fourth section of this chapter would explore how researchers analyzed the linguistic aspects of Lao She’s literatures, which was also another well-used research approach during this period. Lastly, some researchers even analyzed Lao She from the perspective of Modern Chinese Literature and Western Literature, offering us a deeper understanding of Lao She.In Chapter 4, I would further analyze the new frontiers that had opened up in Lao She’s Studies in the 1990s, whereby new methodologies were employed and new research areas were also being explored. With the "Cultural trend" which emerged in the late 1980s and continuing into the 90s, being a "cultural-type author" as Lao She was, the studies on his works in the 90s changed from a "text-based" approach to an "author-based" approach. "The Death of Lao She" was also another well-debated topic then with many different answers suggested by academics. Besides these, cultural-psychoanalysis research was at its peak in the 90s with many researchers using forward approaches such as East-West Cultural Psychology, Novel-Artistic psychology, Beijing Cultural Analysis, Intellectuals’Psychology etc. Lao She’s self-mentality was also an important research area then with much emphasis on his literature thoughts and religious thinking and such. On the other hand, the more traditional research using an "author-based" approach was still being used, along with text-analysis, linguistics research, materials collation which also attained much result.Chapter 5 would then concentrate on Lao She’s Studies in the 21st Century. Moving into the new millennium, all the above research continued into the Year 2000 with much refinement. Researchers achieved much break-through by drawing parallels from other disciplines such as folklore research, ethnology, gender studies, and narratology, which they were quick to apply to Lao She’s Studies. However, even though boundaries had been pushed, a review through the years would still show that due to the restrictions on research done under the college system, there was increasingly much fossilization and repetition.In the conclusion, I would be writing about the prospects of Lao She’s Studies. In order for Lao She’s Studies to reach new heights, there would be an even greater need for experts with higher level of research expertise, along with demolition of restrictions in previous research areas.