Abstract
Since the May Fourth Movement, enlightenment became the basic strategy and approach by which the literary and art circle participated in politics; thus the movement of the popularization of literature and art was a by-product of this enlightenment strategy. The purpose for the movement of the "popularization of literature and art" was to construct "popular literature" that appealed to both the more and the less cultured, a modern genre in accordance with the new vision of literature. The road map of "popular literature" imagined and designed by the literary and art circle comprised three steps: 1. writers devoted to popularizing the Europeanized Chinese literature and art by writing popular works which were easily understood; 2. the literary and art circle helped to train and bring up writers from the workers, peasants and soldiers so that the masses could write the works by themselves; 3. the masses wrote modern literary works with thoughts and artistry. The basic value was approaching the masses and becoming one of them. So far the literary and art circle has not finished the third step. The road map is one of the results achieved by the literary and art circle in pursuing, constructing and confirming the modernity, globalism and humanness of modern Chinese literature, which comprises the dream, regret, gain and loss, glory and disgrace of the literary and art circle for the past century. The road map is also an important blueprint to revive Chinese literature and art.
First Page
71
Last Page
80
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Zhiping. 2016. "Imagining and Constructing "Popular Literature": the Popularization of Literature and Art in China since the "May Fourth" Movement." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 36, (5): pp.71-80. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol36/iss5/9
