"The Yellow Book" And Its Influence And Variation On Chinese Modern Literature

The Yellow Book was first published in April 1894 and closed in the spring of 1897.Although only 13 issues were published,lasting only four years,it had a profound influence at that time,and became an important guide for the literary world in the late 19 th century and the early 20 th century.The Yellow Book was introduced to China by scholars in “May Fourth ”Period.Thus setting off a "Decadent-Aesthetic" wind in China.Domestic scholars translated and promoted representative works from The Yellow Book positively,their writing style and artistic conception on interaction.The decoration art and Beardsley's paintings also resulted in the imitation of a number of publications and scholars.There's a big correlation between The Yellow Book and Chinese modern literature.The domestic scholars did not absorb The Yellow Book completely,some Chinese modern writers,as the acceptors,made active selection and creative variation in accordance with the times and individual characteristics.However,scholars at home and abroad studied the artistic features of the journal from the visual aspect too much,or more accurately,they focus on Beardsley.In fact,The Yellow Book is a comprehensive journal with texts and illustrations.In each issue,illustrations take up less than a tenth of the space,and containing works by many famous artists besides Beardsley.Illustrations and texts are important parts of the journal.If we interpret them from the visual level,we will take a part for the whole.Therefore,this paper constructs the basic cognition of the journal from two parts of ideological content and visual art.At the same time,it restores the basic features and the overall research of The Yellow Book by contrasting Chinese modern literary journals.It is of great value and significance to expand the study of the multiple connections between The Yellow Book and the Chinese modern literature.This paper presents the relationship between The Yellow Book and Chinese modern literature,as well as the absorption and transformation of Chinese scholars from four aspects: The whole style,Ideological tendency,Decorative arts,and the specific influence and transformation between writers.The first chapter makes a clear analysis of the basic features of The Yellow Book,shows the uniqueness of it and explores the ideological and cultural soil of "Birth" of The Yellow Book from the historical background and the founding purpose,which lays a good foundation for this paper.The second chapter studies the ideological tendency on The Yellow Book from one issue to four issues in depth research.According to the specific works,this paper mainly discusses from four aspects: 1.Scanning the Real Age with Dark and Chaos.Focusing on the general environment of the times,criticizing the bloodthirsty war and the turbulent politics.Focusing on the life of the underclass and expressing humanistic concern from the perspective of humanitarianism.At the same time,the author rationally analyzed the new phenomenon of The Times,and shaped the images of women in the new era.In them,there are not only complex and contradictory conflicts of the times,but also advanced ideas that break through the conventions.2.Showing the Spiritual Depression of the Morality against with Desire.“The Yellow Book”writers turn their perspectives inward,and truly reconstruct the social psychology at the end of the century with delicate psychological description and writing techniques similar to stream-of-consciousness.3." Escaping " the Real Life with Romantic Fantasy.People are disappointed to real life and indulge in the happy life of the past.In essence,this is undoubtedly a helpless act of resistance.4.Searching for the Soul Reservation Road Again.In order to fill the gap of lost faith and realize spiritual salvation,“The Yellow Book”writers praised love without any hesitation,faced death with detachment,and firmly adhered to sacred religious tradition.The third chapter focuses on the art features of The Yellow Book from first four periods by using the theory of image narratology,hermeneutics and communication.The third chapter divides into three dimensions: Art Form,Beardsley's Image Narrative Art and Chinese "Beardsley Mania" to show the artistic style of The Yellow Book and Beardsley's unique black and white world.The forth chapter is about specific influence and variation between "The Yellow Book" writers and Chinese modern writers.I chose the most obvious mutual contact between the four groups of writers.I explore and analyse Yu Dafu's acceptance and variation of John Davidson and Ernest Dawson from the writing skills,emotional expression,language styles and themes.I excavate in depth from the literary theory in Shao Xunmei learned from George Moore and Xu Zhimo learned from Arthur Symons.With its black and white illustrations and ideological content of rebellion against hypocritical morality,The Yellow Book amazed the end of the century,activated the inner desire that had been suppressed for a long time in people's mind,and suited the ideological dilemma of intellectuals in the historical and cultural context at that time."Aestheticism" and "Decadence" are the means to express ideas and art in The Yellow Book,not labels."Aesthetic" is its artistic proposition,"Beauty" lies not only in the form,but also in the artistic state.Here,"Beauty" refers to "Artistic Beauty" and "Ideological Beauty".The images painted by Beardsley are loaded with value discrimination and moral evaluation.He called in question the dark society with the style of "Decadence"."Decadence" is his spiritual state in the deep,not superficial appearance.Thus,The Yellow Book had aroused great cross-border reverberations in China.Behind the "reference" visual art and ideological art,it is more of a spiritual collision.