| At present, the modernization of China is under way like a raging fire, which means that there'll be more and more modern cities and modern people arising. But the agricultural tradition in China is so solid that the cultural relationship between a city and residents of the city haven't aroused interest as yet, and this new pattern of interpersonal relationships and regional relationship haven't been fully discussed in the field of literature. In 20th century, Shanghai was always the focus of Chinese modem literature, it was also the forward position of urbanization. Lu Xun , a greatest writer, lived in this city from 1927 to 1936. How did he react to the city? That's what I want to probe into.The article begins with Lu Xun's parting from Beijing quadrangle when he said good-bye to his steady public employment and starting with writing for a living. Then the author expounds his transformation when he marched forward the metropolis from his native land, including changes in his marriage, his profession and his writing. The first part of the article focuses on Lu Xun himself lived in the city. It mainly discusses the establishment of Lu Xun's self-identity and his visual angle towards the city life, when he gained a foothold in Shanghai as a professional writer. The shaky career of writing articles for a newspaper, the great cause of literature on the decline and the common civic life in Shanghai Nongtang made Lu Xun go near to the populace day by day. But his frequently changing residence and his showing solicitude for everyday life reflect that Lu Xun was a spectator of the modem city.Serving as an onlooker of the daily lift, Lu Xun had an insight into the problems existed and emerging in the course of urbanization and gave a penetrating exposure. In certain sense, Chinese modernity is just urbanization, and urbanization didn't cut ties with foreigner's colonization, which was the specific plight in the process of Chinese modernity. Portraying the citizens' soul to the life through literary works was Lu Xun's remarkable achievement in this phase of stage.The third part of the article chiefly expounds Lu Xun's writing in Shanghai. His apparent intention of living in seclusion and his critic attitude to Shanghai being colonized show that he had become estranged from the city. But Shanghai was the last place to stay in China for Lu Xun, he couldn't break off relations from the city, we can see it from his writing. Owing to Lu Xun's paving close attention to the literary means of production and being dependent on cultural market, he mixed together news and literature gradually and created a typical civic style-Lu Xun's essay, whose characteristics are intertextuality. Lu Xun's essay is the outcome of brisk cultural market and modern reading life, and Lu Xun's change in writing demonstrates that he was affected by modem city life and was going with the stream.At last, the article gives an outline of the relationship between Lu Xun and the city of Shanghai. In brief, Lu Xun relied on the city life but he was also a compete stranger of the city. On one hand, Lu Xun adapted himself to the city life, and deeply affected in some aspects; on the other hand, he held intellectual's morality and justice in his writing instead of diving into the sea of common customs, so Lu Xun lived in the city but he didn't belong to the city.In 1920s -1930s, the intelligentsia in Shanghai were all under the circumstances of Chinese urbanization and colonization, when they poured into the city, they also had to go into the free market The writing became the means to make their home instead of the entertainment in their spare time. Then what attitude to take towards the writing, either trying to please the public with claptrap or showing concern for common people, reactions vary among different writers. In contraction with other writers, Lu Xun set a example for men of letters through writing for a newspaper and displayed his significance in the literary world.Lanfang Ruan (Chinese Modern Literature) Directed by: Haibo Zhou... |
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