AUC Philologica (Acta Universitatis Carolinae Philologica) is an academic journal published by Charles University. It publishes scholarly articles in a large number of disciplines (English, German, Greek and Latin, Oriental, Romance and Slavonic studies, as well as in phonetics and translation studies), both on linguistic and on literary and cultural topics. Apart from articles it publishes reviews of new academic books or special issues of academic journals.
The journal is indexed in CEEOL, DOAJ, EBSCO, and ERIH PLUS.
AUC PHILOLOGICA, Vol 2023 No 1 (2023), 63–76
Georg Brandes and the Development of the Chinese Lyrical Tradition
C. T. Au
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/24646830.2023.15
published online: 25. 05. 2023
abstract
Georg Brandes (1842–1927) has had a significant influence on the development of the Chinese lyrical tradition since the beginning of the 20th century. During a panel on comparative literature at the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) in 1971, Chen Shih-Hsiang said that the “Chinese literary tradition as a whole is a lyrical tradition,” offering another perspective for interpreting the Chinese literary tradition. The Chinese lyrical tradition emphasizes expressing deep feelings (or embodying lyricism) in various art forms. When tracing the trajectory of the development of the Chinese lyrical tradition, one finds that Lu Xun’s “Moluo shi li shuo” (On the Power of Mara Poetry) (Mara Poetry) has had a profound impact on the formation of the lyrical tradition, which was proposed by Chen ShihHsiang in 1971, and has been consolidated by Chan K. K. Leonard since the 21st century. However, the important role that Brandes played in Lu Xun’s analysis in “Mara Poetry” has not received the attention it deserves. In fact, Lu Xun’s article is deeply indebted to Brandes’s Poland: A Study of the Land, People and Literature (Poland). In order to bridge this research gap, the aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it attempts to examine the degree to which Brandes helped develop the Chinese lyrical tradition by identifying his influence on Lu Xun. Secondly, it traces the development of the tradition by delineating both Chen’s and Chan’s contributions. Chen’s research helps highlight the characteristics of A. Mickiewicz’s poetry introduced by both Brandes and Lu Xun, which were considered the major characteristics of the Chinese lyrical tradition by Chen later on. Chan’s study further suggested that the characteristics embodied in Mickiewicz’s poetry can also be found in Lu Ji’s (261–303 AD) “Wen Fu” (Essay on Literature).
keywords: Georg Brandes; Lu Xun; Chen Shih-Hsiang; Chan K. K. Leonard; Chinese lyrical tradition
references (20)
1. Brandes, Georg. Impressions of Russia. London: Walter Scott, 1889.
2. Brandes, Georg. Poland: A Study of the Land People and Literature. London: William Heinemann, 1903.
3. Brandes, Georg. Main Currents in Nineteenth Century Literature I: The Emigrant Literature. London: William Heinemann, 1924.
4. Chan, K. K. Leonard. "Shuqing chuantong lun yiqian: Chen Shih-Hsiang zaoqi wenxue chu tan" (Before 'Lyrical Tradition' is Conceptualized-A Study of Chen Shih-hsiangʼs Early Literary Criticism). Tamkang Journal of Chinese Literature, 18 (2008): 225-251.
5. Chan, K. K. Leonard. "The Conception of Chinese Lyricism: Průšek's Reading of Chinese Literary Tradition." In O. Lomová ed., Paths Toward Modernity. Prague: The Karolinum Press, 2008. 19-32.
6. Chan, K. K. Leonard. Shuqing zhongguo lun (The Conception of Lyrical China). Hong Kong: Joint Publication Company, 2013.
7. Chan, K. K. Leonard and David Der-wei Wang. Shuqing zhi xiandaixing: "shuqing chuantong" lunshu yu Zhongguowenxue yanjiu (The Modernity of Lyricism). Beijing: Shenghuo Dushu XinzhiSanlian Shudian, 2014.
8. Chan, K. K. Leonard"Shuqing yu geming: Chen Shih-Hsiang lun wenxue zhi guang yu moluo shili" (Lyricality and Revolution: Chen Shixiang on the Light of Literature and the Power of Mara Poets). Wenyi Zhengming, 10 (2018): 31-38.
9. Chen, Shih-Hsiang. "Literature as Light Against Darkness." In National Peking University Semi-centennial Papers. Peiping: Peking University, 1948.
10. Chen, Shih-Hsiang. "The Cultural Essence of Chinese Literature." In Interrelations of Cultures: Their Contribution to International Understanding. Paris: UNESCO, 1953. 43-85.
11. Chen, Shih-Hsiang. "Polish Literature in China and Mickiewicz as 'Mara Poet'." In Wacław Lednicki, ed., Adam Mickiewicz in World Literature. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1956. 569-588. CrossRef
12. Chen, Shih-Hsiang. "On Chinese Lyrical Tradition: Opening Address to Panel on Comparative Literature, AAS Meeting, 1971." Tamkang Review 2.2 & 3.1 (1971.10-1972.4): 17-24.
13. Chen, Shih-Hsiang. "Chinese Poetry and its Popular Sources." Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies, n.s.2.2 (1961): 320-326.
14. Kitaoka, Masako. Moluo shi li shuo caiyuan kao (Enquiries on the Sources for "On the Power of Mara Poetry") Trs. He Naiying. Beijing: Beijing shifan daxue chubanshe, 1983.
15. Kowallis, Jon Eugene von. "On the Sources of Lu Xun's Treatise on Mara Poetry: Some Issues and a Few Answers." Journal of the Society of Australian Humanities Vol. 52 (2020-21): 172-179. Lednicki, Wacław. Life and Culture of Poland as Reflected in Polish Literature. New York: Roy Publishers, 1944.
16. Lu, Xun. "On the Power of Mara Poetry" Trs. Shu-ying Tsau and Donald Holoch. In Denton, Kirk A. ed., Modern Chinese Literary Thought: Writing on Literature, 1893-1945. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996. 96-109. CrossRef
17. Lu, Xun. Lu Xun quanji (Complete Works of Lu Xun) 18 vols. Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 2009.
18. Owen, Stephen. An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1996.
19. Wang, David Der-wei. The Lyrical in Epic Time: Modern Chinese Intellectuals and Artists Through the 1949 Crisis. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015. CrossRef
20. Wang, Pu. "Poetics, Politics, and 'Ursprung/Yuan': On Lu Xun's Conception of 'Mara Poetry'." Modern Chinese Literature and Culture Vol. 23, No. 2 (2011): 34-63.
Georg Brandes and the Development of the Chinese Lyrical Tradition is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
230 x 157 mm
periodicity: 3 x per year
print price: 150 czk
ISSN: 0567-8269
E-ISSN: 2464-6830