The Symbolism And The Occurrence Of Death Theme In The New Literature

The death theme has been a hot spot in literature studies, however, the studies on the appearance of death theme in Chinese new literature from the perspective of symbolism are rare. In fact, the death theme in new literature has been greatly promoted by the technique of expression of death theme in symbolism, even some of its characters are from symbolism works.Therefore, to trace the origin of introduced death theme in symbolism is quite helpful to the study on the appearance of death theme in Chinese new literature. To prove the each other and relationship between both sides means to find some hints from the classical magazine New Youth, which is regarded as the origin of modern literature. The papers will be the symbolism of the "New Youth" translation works the starting point to describe these works is how to show the theme of death, the writers after the "New Youth" is how to draw, transforming the performance practices of the theme of death in the symbolism works and the new literary theme-motives and mining the meaning of death. Taking the symbolism works that translated by New Youth as a basis point, this thesis expounded how do these works reveal death theme and how did the authors after New Youth borrow and transform the technique expression of the death theme.Moreover, it illustrates the motivation of the appearance of death theme and its significance to study.The fear of death has never stopped since the ancient times. Chinese traditional literature often express the incalculability of life in time and space by using image of water, time, love, beauties fade, and then indirectly show the pass of life and the coming of death. For instance, the poem of Li Yu "Wu Ye Ti ":" Lin Hua Xie a Chunhong too hastily. Helpless towards to Hanyu night to wind. Yan Zhilei. Keep people drunk when heavy? Naturally holocaust East." The last sentence word " Naturally life holocaust" best express the importance of lifetime and the helpless when facing the sudden arrival of death. Ancient poets often describe death by showing the elapse of time with the depiction of living objective things, and then suggested the soon coming of death. There was seldom direct description to the inevitability of death. As to the May Fourth Movement, what readers faced was the new expression of death. It is a literary phenomenon ran counter to traditional literature in the historical background of the movement. The emergency of New Youth marked its appearance. What is "death"? With the prevalence of democracy and freedom, the awakening of individual consciousness, as well as the description of death in the symbolism works translated by New Youth, the appearance of the death theme in Chinese new literature was full prepared, and.certain features were sealed:1. Expressed death by using symbols;2. Set off the atmosphere of death through he adoption of synnaethesia.3. The optional combination of images made the illogical and irrational but nature integration, showing a strong modern consciousness;4. Open a mysterious road for death theme by creating absurd dreams. All of these features point "face":expressed death vividly and incisively, and barely put "death" in front of the readers. It not only established a kind of ferity with primitive power of life but also a concrete and touching life. The fate it showed was the human beings’ fate that was tricked by Azrael under the attack of modern civilization.Chen Duxiu first mention "symbolism" in New Youth. He explained the origin of symbolism in his Modern Literature and Art in Europe that was published in the Volume I of New Youth, demonstrating that the classicism turned into idealism and then naturalism(later symbolism) due to the changes in European literary theory. Symbolism had received more and more concerns since the publication of Chen’s article. Tian Han said that Baudelaire " found the lurk of ugliness from beauty.He prayed for goodness but got evilness.", and positively evaluated his poems, works, and aesthetics. However, the one who formally introduced symbolism into China was Zhou Zuoren, who regarded the praise of death in Sologub’s work as its outstanding feature and translated and introduced to Chinese readers. Zhou thought Sologub was "the admirer of death","death was the only thing in his works". Words like "dejected","decaying flesh of devil" and "spesis" in his works has morbid beauty and horror beauty. They not only brought great aesthetic shock to readers at that time but also provided brand-new materials for creating Chinese New literary works. New Youth translated and introduced western symbolism works, and created new literature by borrowing the method that symbolism employed to expressed death as well. For instance, Liu Bannong’s Window Paper published in New Youth adopted that method, and took the crack of window paper as a symbol, presenting many illusions related with the image of death:sometimes are "all-over blood, countless skeleton, red vipers, golden yakshas", sometimes are " sunken Noah’s Ark, dead-flesh eating monsters in the water", which strongly suggested symbolism. More and more literary works that tried to employ symbolism’s technique expression of death image had been published since then.There are reasons for the combination of symbolism and the appearance of death theme in new literature. On the one hand, it was because of the desperate and decadent ideas which were prevailing after the the End of the Qing, China had faced troubles at home and aggressions from aboard. An attempt to suicide which was similar to what the French symbolist writers faced struck to many young authors, so the death presenting symbolism works on New Youth provided a ideological basis for the appearance of death theme of new literature; On the other hand, the different concepts of the traditional expression of death,Many Chinese young writers first contact with he direct expression of death and its mutinous and ugly beauty and gradually focused and favorited the expression of death. It arose a philosophical thing to death, and prepared for the studies of the death theme of Chinese new literature.The first merit of the study on symbolism and the appearance of death theme by taking the New Youth is from a new angle to study the new literature the theme of death, explore by nothingness and absurdity of the death after the New Youth,existentialism death and in the revolution background of death.Previous studies either made researches about Chinese symbolism poetry from the perspective of symbolism or about the death theme after the May Fourth Movement. A study on the appearance of death theme in new literature that taking the translated symbolism works on the New Youth as a point of penetration. Therefore, the appearance of death theme in symbolism works in the New Youth broke through the frame of Chinese traditional literature, and broaden creative and aesthetic vision for the appearance of the death theme in new literature, and promoted its modern features.