Abstract
In 1926, Yu Dafu traveled twice to Guangdong, the center of peasant movement. His interactions with the leaders of the Communist Party of China's the Rural Movement enriched his political experience and deepened his understanding of the national revolution. Amidst the debates over the proletarian literature, Yu Dafu distinguished between pastoral literature and peasant literature, advocating for the latter in his publications such as Flood, The People and Literaturo por Homaro. His original theorization of “peasant literature and art” reflected the early peasant movement theory of the Communist Party of China, offering a vivid interpretation of political praxis in literature. The affirmations and questions surrounding his theory illustrate his dialectical approach to the relationship between revolution and rational enlightenment. During the 1920s, as East Asia was focused on peasant modernity, Yu Dafu responded with a more comprehensive theoretical engagement. His “turn” exemplified how modern Chinese intellectuals reexamined themselves by rethinking the figure of the peasants, thereby established an important path for the construction of intellectual subjectivity. This holds lasting value for understanding the modern character of Chinese literature.
Keywords
Yu Dafu, Guangdong, peasant movement, peasant literature and art
First Page
198
Last Page
208
Recommended Citation
Feng, Bo. 2025. "Yu Dafu in the Guangdong Peasant Movement and His Promotion of “Peasant Literature and Art”." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 45, (5): pp.198-208. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol45/iss5/22
