The Study Of Mao Dun’s Views On Short Story

As a great master in the field of literature,Mao Dun wrote a lot of literary works and published so many literary criticism articles,literary papers and literary study works.There is a set of systematic theoretical views of short story in Mao Dun’s literary and art view.Mao Dun’s literary theory works provide a wealth of theoretical material for the exploration of his views on short story.So we can study Mao Dun’s views of short story systematically from different perspectives.From a diachronic perspective,we can divide the development and evolution of Mao Dun’s views on short story into two periods according to the time of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China,the literature purpose of Mao Dun’s views on short story went through a process from “literature for life’” to “literature for proletariat”.The advocated content by Mao Dun,including short story’s subjects characters and themes,are diverse.The writing technique he advocated from foreign naturalism to localized realism.After the founding of the People’s Republic of China,the literature purpose of Mao Dun’s views of short story from macroscopical “literature for proletariat” to “literature for socialism”.The advocated content by Mao Dun has become focused.The writing technique he advocated went through the stage of combining revolutionary romanticism after the founding of the People’s Republic.From the perspective of Synchrony,Mao Dun’s views on short story is mainly composed of such theoretical points as the views on conception,structure,character,language and style.Mao Dun put a lot of emphasis on the material selection,tailoring and other creative processes that precede the writing of a short story.He maintains that short story writing should cut the cross-section of life to use.At the same time,he also emphasizes that the creation of short story should focus on the characters,and the characters in the novels can be divided into the main characters,the minor characters and the typical characters.The characterization can use the methods of psychological description,the words and deeds description,the environment rendering and so on.Mao Dun also advocates the use of spoken language and the style innovation.The formation of Mao Dun’s views of short story is the result of many factors.The inheritance and development of Chinese traditional literature and culture are the important foundation of Mao Dun’s short story views,and the introduction and study of foreign modern literature and culture are its direct source.Mao Dun’s identity as a political activist determines his choice of the political function of short story,and his identity as a periodical editor enables him to combine his experience in reading short stories with his theoretical thinking.The critic’s identity promotes the theoretical examination of the short story creation,and the writer’s identity completes the theoretical application and reflection of his short story views.Mao Dun’s views on short story has its unique value.From the aspect of short story creation,Mao Dun’s views of short story not only guides Mao Dun’s own short story creation,but also influences and promotes the short story creation of other modern and contemporary writers.In terms of the theory of short story,Mao Dun’s admiration for the realistic writing method,his emphasis on the characters’ personality and his emphasis on the writer’s personal literary style have undoubtedly enriched the theory of Chinese short story in the 20 th century.But there are also some shortcomings in Mao Dun’s views on short story,such as politicization,simplification and the lack of theoretical consciousness.There is no doubt that Mao Dun’s views of short story still has some guidance and inspiration function for the creation of Chinese short story in the new century,and also has important reference value for the theoretical construction of Chinese short story.