Hazy Awakening

The prosperity of the love novel in the early Republic of China has its historical origin and realistic foundation. With the influence of the western culture and civilization, the consciousness of"human"in the young people's heart in the early Republic of China has began to arouse dimly, and the pursuit of independent love and marriage has become the conscious demand of most young people. However, for people living in the period of social transformation, their trace of pursuit follow a circuitous progress rather than a smooth one. People in the early Republic of China advocate feelings, but, at the same time, feel uneasy under the heavy pressure of Neo-Confucianism. As the pursuer of love, they are sincere; while as the actor of love they are weak. The works of novelists in the early Republic of China, such as Su Manshu, Xu Zhenya, Wu Shuangre,Li Dingyi and so on, make a real record and reflection of the contradictive pursuit of the young people in their age, and reveal the bitter and helpless psychology of people under the pressure of feudal etiquette in the early Republic of China. As the works of the transitional stage from the Late Qing Dynasty to the May 4th movement, the love novel in the early Republic of China have made greater progress in the exploration of theme and humanity than the works of the last stage. While compared with the works of the next stage, there is still a gap. If we regard it as a link of the process, its shortcoming might just be the starting point in which the May 4th love novel have surpassed the modern novel. Through the portrayal of countless tragedies brought by observing the feudal etiquette, the love novel in the early Republic of China, to some extent, has shaken people's belief in the feudal etiquette, thus nourishing the necessary soil where the May 4th literature emerges as a new literature.