Role of Literature and the Arts in Twentieth-Century China - Essay Example

The Chinese History Role of literature and the arts in twentieth-century China China has a significantly very old and at the same time very rich tradition in literature and arts. The early writings can be derived from philosophical and religious essays of Confucius (6th Century) and also Lao-tzu (around 4th century BC). These early writings were often based on about how individuals should act and how the community and the society, and the political system should be in terms of organization and operations. The Chinese strong tradition of historical writing has evolved over years going through shaping by the dynamics of political and social factors. Chinas literary tradition still continues to the resent. However, much of the 20th century writing concentrated on efforts aimed at reforming or modernizing China. Issues concerning land, modern education and science took a centre stage in this era. Chen highlights some of the issues that were affecting the society when he uses Mao Dun to talk about the land reforms that had been introduced and how it was going to affect the peasants. This discussion takes place during a discussion concerning the role the arts and artists in society (42). The Yanan Forum The forum was based on the literature and art and was hosted by Mao Zedong. This was three meetings that attracted more than 100 famous and notable heavyweights of literary and art circles as well as officials from Communist Party of China (CPC). During the forum, dozens of famous figures took the floor giving speeches, and Mao was the one giving introductory and concluding speeches. The Yan’an forum forms the basic history of China’s revolutionary literature as well as art movement and emphasizes that art was supposed to serve the masses, especially soldiers, workers, and farmers. Chen illustrates how Yan’an talks had an impact through Wang Sha when he says that most of the how the forum helped shape the communism as the writers in the forum were encouraged to write based on the ideology. The authors in attendance were also communist or people willing to take up the ideology. The forum and Mao’s talks created a roadmap for so many people who were engaged in literature and art. Out of the inspiration of the forum and talks, majority of the artists ventured to the countryside, front lines and factories to live and creating works accepted and popular with the masses that addressed their social and political needs. Modern Chinese poetry Chinese poems are as old as the countrys history. Prayers, work songs and songs of romantic love could all be both sung as well as recited. The modern Chinese poetry developed and grew within a context of significant socio-political developments. Some of the poets got themselves directly involved with the developments as members as well as leaders and coordinators of the parties involved in influencing the course of political and social developments. The early Chinese poetry of the twentieth century had great influence on major historical events which include the Xinhai Revolution in 1912 and the end of Qing in the same year. Poetry has influence on the establishment of the Republic of China in 1949 and the Chinese Civil War which started in 1927. Many of the individuals who participated in the war between the Guomindang and the Communist Party of China were poets who were inspired to right about the political injustices and call for a modernized China. In her book Chen talks of how one of the poets by the name of Ai Qing had been arrested and some of his considerable best works could no longer be published because they targeted the authorities (42). The role of poetry cannot be undermined considering the significance it had to the society and the inspiration it came with. Chen illustrates the power of poetry by giving the scenario where while in the discussion, Ai Qing goes ahead to recite one of the poems from a piece of paper and this causes a sudden move of energy among the attendants (42). This shows the extent of influence this tool was in changing the political set up of the country. Theatrical arts The origin of the Chinese theatrical arts can be traced back to early religious practices and rituals, just like in many other societies of the world. Evidence exists of theatrical acts in the early years of the development of the Chinese writing skills. The use of martial arts skills in play, dances and plays are but a few theatrical tools that were experienced in theatres. The progressive decline of the Qing Dynasty resulted to a very long period of political unrest and turmoil in China. During this period, the traditional and native forms of Chinese theatre were still being practiced all over the country. However, with time, the International contacts with the West, led to new types of experiments and innovations in the Chinese theatres. Considering the political turmoil in the country, playwrights started using this platform to come up with scripts that were based on political themes. The use of operas and plays were very significant in creating public aware. No wonder Chen uses a theater to bring together all famous writers, poets and activists to discuss the role of literature in the society. The meeting is held in an area that serves as a reading place. Guang Ling-Ling says that the theater was more than a place of work for her. It was a school, a university and a club at the same time (46) Confucius impact on the Chinese Society Confucius also known as Kongzi was a Chinese philosopher in the 6th century BCE and whose ideas and thoughts led to the birth of the philosophy of Confucianism. This philosophy has influenced Chinese culture even to the present day. Confucius has developed to become a larger than life figure making it very difficult to draw the line between reality and the myth. Many consider him as the first teacher where his thoughts are mostly expressed in short phrases gut open to different interpretations. Among his major philosophical ideas is the importance of people living virtuous lives and ancestor worship. More emphasis is given to the need to have benevolent rulers, significance of inner moral harmony and the link it has with the outer physical harmony. The philosophy recognizes the importance and the role teachers and rulers have as role models to the society. In the beginning of the 20th century, Confucianism faced attack and opposition with claims of it being unscientific and going against the progress of a modern China. This was despite the fact that majority of Chinese governments had made this the official state policy for over two millennia. Governance and authority Confuciusm advocated for good governance and upholding of good leadership principles the teachings asked the leaders to lead by example other than command. The philosophy believes that human beings would be in harmony with the whole of the society if everyone recognized their place in the society and if taught how to work well in such circumstance. This was based on both leaders and the people they lead. Similarly, the philosophy advocates that social order is threatened whenever people fail to act to the expectations of their roles. These ideas have great impacted on the Chinese society. Chinese culture gives a considerable high reverence for authority as well as age. Though the modern China is different, still some of the teachings on respect for authority and elders are still upheld. Today, the Chinese people are still keen to think and function in hierarchy. They respect hierarchy and diverse in status much more than people from the West. Americans for example value individuals with equal respect without considering their socio-economic statuses. Collective responsibility The philosophy encourages collectivism in the society. In order for people in the society to operate smoothly and effectively, it is necessary to sacrifice one’s personal desires to the greater good of the rest of the people. This means that an individual cannot exist independently. Instead, people were described by the relationships they establish with other people. For a long time, the Chinese people were culturally conditioned to overlook own personal interest and needs in order to think and reason in terms of collective responsibility. This was to be based on priority of family, community, clan the nation. The cultural values of the Chinese people founded under Confuciusm are still remarkably strong and persistent. For example, Chinese people, despite Westernization, still put strong value on modesty and humility. However, the changing times are slowly changing people who over time have turned out to be one-self minded and forget about their family and community. The family Confucian philosophy calls for a great deal respect to the family. This is both the nuclear and extended family. Originally, this was seen as devotion to parents but with change in time, it has been extended to mean even the ancestor. This emphasis on the family consequently led to good behaviour since a person’s poor behavior and failure becomes the familys failure too. The modern China continues to put the interest of the family at high esteem. Family members respect each other and sacrifice to help out each other. This has been extended to being devoted to your fellow Chinese citizens wherever in the world. School Education Confucius also impacted the society by developing the idea of a school. In the early days, school offered education to young boys regarding the ways of Confucianism. Majority of these boys went ahead to become scholars. Confucius intended to change hereditary rule used by the aristocracy with one that focuses more on student scholarship and learning. For that reason, he modeled as well structured imperial examination system which would be used to assess the students. This commitment to education is still applicable in the Chinese culture. Students from the Chinese culture and part of other Asian nations are known to put more hours and resources to their academic works than people from the other cultures. The Chinese Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution was a social-political movement that was started in 1966 by China’s Communist leader Mao Zedong in order to reassert his powers and authority over the Chinese government. The leader claimed that current Communist leaders were misleading the party as well as the country itself in the wrong direction. Mao urged the nation’s young people to fight against the misleading leaders from the Chinese society as they revive and restore the forgotten revolutionary spirit that had guaranteed them freedom to set the Peoples Republic of China. This Revolution was persistent and continued in many part of China until the death of the leader in 1976. The tormented and violent legacy will resonate in Chinese politics and society for years to follow. Impacts of the Cultural Revolution Science and technology During the Cultural Revolution China was negatively affected in terms of developments in science and technology. The revolution was particularly against any advance and practices that are associated to science and technology. The universities and science labs were closed and the entire potential workforce that would be used to facilitate these areas was radicalized against the senior and elite communists in the country. This revolution led to the deprecation and degradation of formal education, scholarship and all the activities and qualities associated with professionalism in technology and science. The scientists were seen as outcast who had taken advantage of workers by using them in their research. Intellectuals were seen as counterrevolutionary and their characteristic as well as practices were openly opposed to the interests of the public. All scientific books as well as journals stopped publication in the year 1966, and subsequent subscriptions to other foreign journals were terminated. In the bigger part of the decade China did not train any new scientists and even engineers. The country was basically was cut off from international scientific developments. This period affected the countrys science exploitation and innovation. Education and scholarship This period saw universities and primary schools closed for years as a way of getting the youth involved in the political uprising against the intellectuals. Chinese universities were closed from 1966 until 1970. On reopening, undergraduate courses were limited to training and physical and manual labor. Students into the universities were enrolled based on their political rectitude rather their academic qualifications. The primary together with the secondary schools were shut down between 1966 and 1967. On their reopening, they were continuously disrupted by political struggle. In her memoir, Min explains how she became a leader of the Little Red Guards in elementary school. The communist regime ensured that their ideologies have been accepted all over (1). Economic and families The Cultural Revolution led to the collapse of the Chinese economy as the amount of rice and cotton produce annually reduced drastically. This led to the increase of price of rice and cotton fabrics and clothes. Industrial production equally decreased leading to poor transport and communication systems. The general lives of the Chinese people deteriorated as most of them lost property. A number of landowners, politicians and high class society lost their jobs and property. The citizens ended up becoming peasants working in farms in order to be able to buy food and take care of their families. Min explains of how she was forced to go and work in a cotton farm outside the city and she faces difficulty trying to cope with the difficulty in the region. The rest of the teenagers working with her are equally affected as they were never used to manual labor (22). During this period, the birth control program was abandoned leading to an increase in birth rates. This affected the families that could no longer take care of the young ones. The Media During the Cultural revolution China had great deal of control over the media. Due to this, publications regarding the cultural revolutions were abolished and anybody who dared publish was exiled from China. The government controlled what was happening in the country and the rest of the world did not have any updates. The only information reaching the outside world was misleading information which had been approved by the communist regime. Foreigners were rarely allowed to enter China unless one was a supporter of communism. The citizen even had a problem to understand why the government had a very strong harm on the media. Works cited Chen, Yuan-tsung The Dragons Village New York: Pantheon Books, 1980. Top of Form Min, Anchee Red Azalea New York: Anchor Books, 2006. Bottom of Form Read More