Literary Construction of Liang Qichao’s China Dream in Late Qing Dynasty —— Based on the Perspective of Liang Qichao’s Political Novels〔*〕

Xiao Aiyun

(1.Xi’an Polytechnic University,Xi’an　Shaanxi　710048;2.Shaanxi Normal University,Xi’an　Shaanxi　710119)



Literary Construction of Liang Qichao’s China Dream in Late Qing Dynasty
—— Based on the Perspective of Liang Qichao’s Political Novels〔*〕

Xiao Aiyun1,2

(1.Xi’an Polytechnic University,Xi’anShaanxi710048;2.Shaanxi Normal University,Xi’anShaanxi710119)

Liang Qichao actually influenced Chinese society of late Qing dynasty in a great and profound way.He founded several political newspapers,pioneered a literary style called political commentary and wrote many political fictions,which fully embody his deep thinking over China’s destiny at that time under impacts of western politics as well as his practical activities.His political fiction does not only pioneer new forms and contents of modern fiction,but also play a crucial role in leading numerous writers to construct a “Chinese Dream” literature by granting politics as theme of fiction and shaping of political heroes.What’s more,his political fiction also becomes a basis of integration between literature and politics.

late Qing dynasty;Liang Qichao;political fiction;Chinese Dream

Ⅰ.Liang Qichao and political fiction of late Qing dynasty

Liang Qichao established the status of fiction in China firstly by advocating relevant theories as he put forward that fiction is the superb literature style〔1〕and secondly by practice to manifest correctness and insight of his theories.His practice mainly focused on two aspects,one was translation of Japanese novels and another was writing his own works and supporting for new comers.

Among various Japanese political novels,Jing Guo Mei Tan (《经国美谈》) and Jia Ren Qi Yu were Liang’s most favorites.Because he believed that the two were most influential and powerful works.〔2〕Both of the two novels were born in Meji Period — peak time(1880s) of Japan’s political fiction.Jing Guo Mei Tan was published in 1883 by Japanese constitutional party leader Shi Ye Long Xi (矢野龙溪) and was listed as a must-read of young intellectuals in Japan.The novel fully tried to inspire young Japanese intellectuals to fight for political liberation and national independence by depicting the protagonist’s pursuit for political ideals,showing the author’s patriotism.The second one Jia Ren Qi Yu was honored as a representative of Japan’s Enlightenment Literature in Meiji Period.Chai Si Lang,the author was a journalist and political activist.Debuted in 1885,the novel based on experience of travelers in the Donghai Sea.By connecting civil liberation movement in Ireland,anti-colonial movement in Egypt against Britain colonists and reform in Spain as well as several other events together,the novel presented the western powers’ invasion on those weak nationalities and countries as well as the latter’s awakening and revolting.The political stand and ideals of the two novels perfectly catered to Liang Qichao’s mind at that time and fully raised his enthusiasm over political novels.He exclusively prepared a column for it on his Qing Yi Bao and issued his translation of the two novels on it,which for the first time expressed his political thoughts and ideal of saving the country by fiction.

Liang Qichao’s admiration to political novel did not constrain to appreciation and translation.In 1902,Liang launched a magazine called New Fiction serving to promotion of political novels.Except for creation,he made efforts to train new writers.The New Fiction totally had 24 issues and issued 28 pieces of novels,among which 5 directly related to politics.They were Flood Accident (《洪水祸》),Eastern European Heroines(《东欧女豪杰》),A New China in the Future(《新中国未来记》) Hui Tian Qi Tan (《回天绮谈》) and Yellow Ball(《黄绣球》);〔3〕The five historical or political novels to some extent respectively talked about historical reform,civil liberation,state in the future,legalism,democracy and women movement,etc.They embodied Liang and his fellows’ political pursuits.A New China in the Future by Liang himself was quite typical among the five pieces.

A New China in the Future was regarded as a prelude of Liang Qichao’s literary view.〔4〕This uncompleted novel set “dream” as its clue and imagined a new China in sixty years later from that time on.In the novel,a majestic ceremony was held 50 years later for anniversary of Constitutional Reform and Modernization.Envoys from many countries came to express their congratulations.World Expo was opened in Shanghai and a descendant of Confucius named Kong Jueming talked about History of the Last Sixty Years of China...In the novel,the author’s wish for a democratic constitutional government and a prosperous China was embodied by Huang Keqiang(黄克强) and Li Qubing’s (李去病) debate in the novel.Liang himself believed that A New China in the Future was neither a mainstream work nor a historical anecdote and nor a treatise.It was difficult to categorize the novel into any style.However,as an intellectual who concerned about national fate,he held that such novel could do great benefits to china’s future development.So he worked for it despite of hardships.At first he intended to published the novel until it was finished,however,he was also afraid that it would not be finished in short term.As a result,he decided to published it when he was writing with the thought that few was better than any.〔5〕Chinese scholars commented that fiction generated many new forms,such as prospect,speech,debate,travelogue,dialogue,realism and imitation,etc;〔6〕while others believed that the political fiction,represented by A New China in the Future,although could not be considered successful,its political orientation of the author’s expression of his political opinions did root into modern Chinese literature and impact as well as constrain the developing trend of literature in later stage.〔7〕Foreign scholars remarked that on the practice of modernization,A New China in the Future imitated Jia Ren Qi Yu in narrating model and meanwhile it was affected by Looking Backward.“ To set the background of an imagined story at fifty or a hundred years ago,and then looking backward from that time point,this really conform to modern time view.What’s more,by introducing into modern time view and resorting to fiction as its style,the novel established a national state in imagination.Although such establishment did not complete at last,it was the most valuable presentation of modernism of literature in late Qing dynasty.〔8〕Reviewing those comments,it can be observed that scholars put their attention on enlightenment,leadership and appeal brought by Liang Qichao’s works to the whole literature field in such a specific historical period.Albeit apparent political utilitarianism of those novels,it reflected the most touching artistic pursuit.

Due to Liang Qichao’s political influence in the domestic and over the sea,political newspapers and fiction magazines produced by him enjoyed a large number of readers.Under his advocating,other fiction magazines sprung up as a response.As a result,political fiction welcomed its peak time in early 20th century.The Four Fiction Magazines,except for the New Fiction,Illustrated Fiction (《绣像小说》)published seven political novels,there were Western History(《泰西历史演义》),Jiao Yao (《僬侥国》),Daydreaming (《痴人说梦记》),Colonization of the Moon (《月球殖民小说》),Looking Backward (Chinese version ) (《回头看》),Coral Beauty (《珊瑚美人》) and The World Evolution History (《世界进化史》).Monthly Novels (《月月小说》) published Romance of East and West Jin Dynasty,(《两晋演义》) American History of Independence (《美国独立史别裁》),Travel around Utopia (《乌托邦游记》),Assassinating the Enemy (《刺国敌》),Emperor Guangxu (《光绪万年》)as well as several short stories (for example,Celebration on Constitutionalism 《庆祝立宪》，Preparation for Constitutionalism (《预备立宪》) and Majestic Reform (《大改革》)， etc.).Stories published Nie Hai Hua (《孽海花》),Independence of Scotland (《苏格兰独立记》),The New Stage III (《新舞台三》) and Curtain Stained with Royal Blood (《碧血幕》),etc.These novels,some were serialized on newspapers while others after being serialized,published their singles.They coupled with directly published single political novels presented Liang’s revolutionary thoughts in fiction field.That is,to exert fictions’ domination towards humanitarianism by edification,penetration,stimulation and warning with the purpose of making the political prediction of new morality,new religion,new politics new customs,new people,new personality and new fiction come true.

Ⅱ.Literature construction of “Chinese Dream” in late Qing Dynasty

Li Oufan (李欧梵),a Chinese scholar once said:“Liang Qichao was lonely as never there had been a story writer was also an ambitious politician”.〔9〕As a politician and nationalist,Liang was deeply irritated by foreign invasions before 1895 and he recognized how powerful the western countries were as “others” and how weak China was as “self”.After the year of 1898,he became a fugitive.When he was in Japan where put so much emphasis on consciousness of nationalism,his national pride and sense of national belonging grew stronger and his political wish for an independent state was eager than ever.A Utopian national state that Liang Qichao and other elites were eager for did not refer to the traditional “nation”,but rather,it meant western national state system of western countries.

American scholar Benedict Anderson,by field research of Indonesian society and analysis of Indonesian literature,observed that there exist rich theoretical possibilities between literature and political imagination.And he wrote a masterpiece related to nationalism — Imagined Communities:Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism.Wu Heren (吴壑人) in a prologue of translation said that Anderson believed that “Nation” in its essential is a modern imagined community,which derives from a dramatic change in human consciousness’s stepping into modernism.Anderson in his analysis of cultural source of nationalism emphasized that only by combining nationalism with cultural system where it exists and which has come into being earlier than it can one get an authentic understanding to nationalism.As for cultural system,he gave his comprehension over religious commons,empire and “ understanding to time”.Besides,he observed that “ if we pay attention to the structure of the two original imagined forms — fiction and newspaper which derived from Europe in 18th century,we can understand why the transformation is so crucial to the birth of national imagined community,because the two forms offer techniques to grant significance to such imagined community”.〔10〕When we moved from Anderson’s theory to the reality of late Qing,we can find that political fiction at that times was trying to build up an imagined community and achieve a “ Chinese Dream”.

Generally speaking,political novels in late Qing dynasty followed the structure of classical works like Looking Backward and Jia Ren Qi Yu.They usually selected youths who were patriotic and bore with political pursuits but meanwhile felt upset due to feudal autocracy,foreign invasion and national humiliation in reality as protagonists;besides,these novel usually set their background in the future.In 1904,Cai Yuanpei’s (蔡元培) novel Dream of New Era (《新年梦》) pictured a great harmonious Shanghai in sixty years later.In 1907,Xiaoran Yusheng’s (萧然郁生) Travel around Utopia narrated a prosperous China in the future by form of travelogue.In 1908,Biheguan Zhuren’s (碧荷馆主人) A New Era (《新纪元》)published by Stories Press (小说林出版社) told about stories happened in 1999.Published in 1910,Lu Shi’e’s (陆士谔) The New China (《新中国》)( also called China in Forty Years Later after the Establishment of Constitutionalism(《立宪四十年后之中国》) ) to a great extent conformed to Liang’s expectation over a new China.It told a story about traversing forward to the forty-second year of Emperor Xuantong (1950).At that time according to the novel,the imagined China would have taken back all leased areas and repaid all debts.The country boasted advanced industry,commerce and education.Skyscrapers,wide roads,subways,trans-river bridged and underwater channels were built up.In addition,the World Expo was held in Pudong of Shanghai.These novels actually are similar in form.No matter wishes for a bright future or expectations based on realities,all of them share a common ground:they all wish for national independence,democracy,liberation,prosperity and establishment of constitutionalism,economic advancement as well as a great harmonious society.Those writers,in about a decade,devoted to construct a “Chinese Dream” simultaneously by virtue of fictions and newspapers to carry their imagination over a national state in the future.From the perspective of literary art and aesthetics,political novels in late Qing dynasty were not that perfect and some were even not finished,however,they were popular among readers and achieved the prospected effect relying on their new theme,thoughts and expressed emotions.

Although these novels are dull in theme,imperfect in form and even utilitarian politically,such endeavor to literature construction brings profound influence.In light of the development course of history of literature of the 20th century in China,no matter the “May Fourth”new literature during the New Democratic Revolution Period,left-wing literature,Yan’an literature or the “Seventeen-Year” literature during the initial post-liberation period,they all derived from integration between literature and politics which was pioneered by Liang Qichao.Such integration has constantly served for the “Chinese Dream”,helped to shape a national imagined community and by participating in politics,pushed forward historical progress.The “May Fourth” new literature,represented by Chen Duxiu (陈独秀)，put forward the so-called “Three Doctrines” which aimed at getting rid of feudal literature and tried to push forward democratic progress through literature reform.The left-wing literature in 1930s assisted to deepen China’s proletarian revolution by upholding proletarian literature and popularization movement of literature and art under the influence of Marxism.Taking Chairman Mao’s speech addressed at Yan’an Literature and Art Symposium in 1942 as its guiding thought and followed the basic principle of literature serving for politics，Yan’an literature devoted to reflecting the national revolutionary war led by the Chinese Communist Party.During the “Seventeen-Year” period,literature and art policies made during Yan’an time were inherited.Literature took workers,farmers and soldiers in a socialist China as its objects and displayed spiritual outlook and cultural reserves of the new state.As time moved to the new period,writers tended to employ themes related to didacticism again.They set their feet on introspective literature and call for advancement.By practice of root-seeking literature,reform literature and neo-realistic literature,the close relationship between literature and politics were embodied by new literary materials and forms.In the new century,integration between literature and politics still possesses the central place.To take people as the writing subject,uphold Chinese spirits and realize the “Chinese Dream” of rejuvenating the Chinese nation update as the new theme of literature creation.Over the last century’s gradual development,literature and politics,no matter how did they integrate with each other,have never removed from the solely theme.That is,China’s prosperity and rejuvenation.To construct the new “Chinese Dream” with literature is no doubt an approach and a task to unfold China’s rejuvenation.

References:

〔1〕〔5〕《新小说》第一号,1902年.

〔2〕《清议报》第二十六册,1899年.

〔3〕雨尘子：《洪水祸》，共五回，刊于第1、7两号；岭南羽衣女士(罗普)：《东欧女豪杰》，谈虎。客批，共五回，刊于第1至5号；梁启超：《新中国未来记》，共四回，刊于第1、2、3、7号；玉瑟斋主人：《回天绮谈》，共十四回，刊于第4至6号；《黄绣球》：历史小说，颐琐著述，二我评，共三十回，刊于第15至24期。

〔4〕范伯群：《中国现代通俗文学史》，北京:北京大学出版社,2007年，第71页。

〔6〕欧阳健：《晚清小说史》，上海:上海古籍出版社,2005年，第25-29页。

〔7〕王晓初：《中国现代文学之“现代性”思考》，《文艺研究》2005年第12期，第45页。

〔8〕〔9〕李欧梵：《中国现代文学与现代性十讲》，上海:复旦大学出版社,2002年，第11页。

〔10〕〔美〕本尼迪克特·安德森：《想像的共同体——民族主义的起源与散布》，吴壑人译，上海:上海人民出版社,2008年，第8、23页。

About the author：Xiao Aiyun,doctor of literature,Post doctorate at School of History and Culture,Shaanxi Normal University,dean of Department of Broadcasting and Hosting Art,College of Arts and Engineering,Xi’an Polytechnic University.

〔*〕Doctoral Research Launching Fund Program of Xi’an Polytechnic University (No.BS1328);Philosophy and Social Science Fund Program of Xi’an Polytechnic University in 2014 (No.2014ZXSK15).