The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

In the next two days, everyone did nothing else but gathered together to discuss Zhou Hexuan's new work "Praise".

This is a very mature modernist poem. Of course, the name "modernist" has not yet been widely recognized. It will be until next year when Sun Zuoyun publishes an article "On Modernism" in "Tsinghua Weekly" that "modernism" will truly be established in the literary world.

More than ten years ago, Xu Zhimo, Wen Yiduo, Guo Moruo and others pioneered and explored the path of vernacular poetry. They drew on the creative models of Western poetry, inherited the existing characteristics of ancient Chinese poetry, and integrated Eastern and Western poetry to form their own different styles.

Throughout the 1920s, Chinese vernacular poetry was basically dominated by "romanticism", the most typical ones being Xu Zhimo and Guo Moruo.

In the 1930s, with the outbreak of the September 18th Incident and the December 8th Incident, Chinese intellectuals developed a strong sense of national crisis. As a result, poetry creation began to shift from "romanticism" to "realism". Take Chen Mengjia, for example. He used to write romantic poems, but in recent years he has gradually favored realistic poems.

Representatives of the "realistic poetry trend" include Ai Qing, Jiang Guangci, Yin Fu, Pu Feng, Tian Jian, etc. Most of them are left-wing poets. They grasp the reality and track the times, and the poems they write can attract the public, and now they have occupied the mainstream of the poetry world.

As for "modernist" poetry, tracing back to the origin of its name, it comes from the magazine "Modern" edited by Shi Zhecun and Du Heng. Next year, Bian Zhilin would be the editor-in-chief of "Mercury" magazine in Peking, and the year after that, Dai Wangshu would be the editor-in-chief of the monthly "New Poetry". More and more poets joined the ranks of the "modernists".

The establishment of "modernist" poetry is of great significance to the Chinese poetry world. It is a reflection of the true maturity of Chinese vernacular poetry. It cannot be distinguished by "romanticism" and "realism". For example, the song "Praise" plagiarized by Zhou Hexuan perfectly blends the two styles of "romanticism" and "realism". Not only that, Western aestheticism, expressionism, symbolism, surrealism and other techniques often appear in "modernist" poetry.

If Zhou Hexuan took out the poem "Praise" now, it would definitely cause more sensation than when Mu Dan composed it seven years later. Because "modernism" is still in the exploratory stage today, "Praise", a fully mature modernist poem, was no more than an atomic bomb to the poets in 1934.

Again, it's like suddenly launching an Apple smartphone in an era when Nokia was rampant.

In fact, the few hazy poems Zhou Hexuan copied before are strictly speaking also belong to the category of modern poetry, and they have been continuously studied by poets of the Republic of China in recent years. But the poem "Praise" is even more terrifying. Its almost perfect integration of thoughts, emotions and techniques makes people deeply fascinated by it.

At night, a lone lamp.

Xu Zhimo couldn't put it down while holding "Praise" and sighed repeatedly: "It's so beautiful, it's completely a work of art!"

Hu Shi smiled and said: "As long as it is good, it is a work of art in your eyes."

"I'm going to change my poetry writing style." Xu Zhimo said suddenly.

"Then I'm looking forward to your new work. You haven't written poetry for almost a year." Hu Shi said.

Xu Zhimo did not do it on a whim, but really liked the style of "modernist" poetry.

Historically, if Xu Zhimo had not died early, his creations would have inevitably moved closer to the "Modern School" - the works of the "Late Crescent School" were already infinitely close to the "Modern School", with almost no difference in creative techniques. It’s just that the creative concepts are very different.

For example, Bian Zhilin is both a leader of the "Modern School" and a member of the "Later Crescent School".

After Hu Shi left the room, Xu Zhimo held up the poem again and recited it in a low voice repeatedly, studying its creative techniques almost word for word.

Three days later.

Everyone dispersed, and Hu Shi returned to Peiping with dozens of works to prepare for the compilation of the "Collection of Auspicious Runes".

Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman had a long conversation, and no one knew what they said. But Xu Zhimo went to his hometown in Haining, while Lu Xiaoman still returned to Shanghai, probably planning to live apart for a while.

…

Shanghai, Editorial Department of "Modern" magazine.

Du Heng came to the editor-in-chief's office with a copy of "Ta Kung Pao" and shouted loudly: "Lao Shi, the Xiang Rune Society has released new products!"

"Are they eating hot pot again?" Shi Zhecun joked.

"A poem, a very wonderful vernacular poem," Du Heng sighed in admiration, "Mr. Zhou really deserves his reputation."

Shi Zhecun himself is an excellent poet and can be regarded as the initiator of "modernist" poetry. When he heard that Zhou Hexuan had written poetry again, he quickly stood up and said, "Show me quickly!"

These days, "Ta Kung Pao" has been reporting on the Xiangfu Society every day, and Xu Zhimo's bald photo has caused a huge sensation.

Shi Zhecun grabbed the newspaper and quickly turned to the relevant page, which was a full-page report.

The previous article written by a reporter mainly described the latest progress of the Xiangfu Society and various interesting things that happened to celebrities. Later, the original article published the song "Praise" by Zhou Hexuan.

"A good poem, not inferior to Auden and comparable to Eliot!" Shi Zhecun repeatedly praised, "This is what poetry should be like!"

Eliot was the most influential poet in Europe and America in the 1920s, and was even hailed as "the greatest modern poet". Auden was an anti-fascist poet, and his influence in China has greatly increased in the past two years. Young poets in the country are imitating Auden's style.

Shelley and Byron have long since passed away. They were the idols of Xu Zhimo and his generation.

Today’s young people either talk about Eliot or Auden. If you attend any literary gathering and talk about Shelley and Byron, you will be considered old-fashioned and out of step with the development of the times.

It's almost like chasing stars, one after another.

Du Heng smiled and said: "I think we can contact Mr. Zhou and publish this poem in the next issue of "Modern"."

"It's necessary. Let's open a new poetry column in the next issue of the magazine!" Shi Zhecun said.

Shi Zhecun is a die-hard fan of Zhou Hexuan. He likes his previous hazy poems very much. Now of course he wants to support his idol's new poems.

As for Du Heng, he is a novelist. The most sensational deed about him is that he caused the controversy of the "third type of people". He wrote an article last year saying that he was the third type of person between reactionary literature and left-wing literature and art. As a result, it caused a great melee in the literary world, and even Lu Xun, Qu Qiubai and others joined the fight.

We mentioned this before, and the instigator was Du Heng. This person is like a post-battle fisher in later generations. He throws out a weird point of view and then withdraws, causing a bunch of bystanders to criticize each other, while he, the troublemaker, stands aside and watches the fun.

Du Heng smiled and said: "You write the poetry review, and I will write a letter to Mr. Zhou."

Zhou Hexuan's poem "Praise" happened to meet the key point of the innovation of the poetry world. It was impossible not to cause a sensation. It is estimated that "modernist" poetry will be formed in advance as a result.