"mandarin Duck And Butterfly" And Then Examine: 1920s Shanghai Literati Friendship Networks

The Shanghai literati group which was labelled "Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies School" in the early days of the Republican Era bears an ambiguous feature, which makes it hard to affirm its character. The author intends to study the literati group beginning from their social network. Firstly, the author will trace the origin of the name "Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies" and how it changed. In addition, from the perspective of idea construction, the author will make an inquiry about why the "Mandarin Ducks and Butterfly" couldn't constitute a literary school. Secondly, the author will investigate the two ways how the literati social network formed. On one hand, the study will focus on how the writers gathered around the core journals and the role of friendship during the gathering. On the other hand, the author will penetrate into the real life to observe the activities of literati communities and their daily communication including get-together, dining, traveling and alcohol-poem parties. In a word, this study will be oriented to explore how the social network as a resource assisted the literati's life and career.