Selected Prose of Zhu Ziqing

Author: Zhu Ziqing (Author), Cai Qingfu (Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Zhu Ziqing was a master of prose in the history of modern Chinese literature and made outstanding contributions to the development of modern Chinese prose, exerting a profound influence. Zhu Ziqing's prose was diverse, including essays, travelogues, sketches, and miscellaneous writings. The author used them to narrate stories and express emotions, to describe objects and landscapes, to discuss literature and academia, or to critique current affairs and comment on social trends. Zhu Ziqing's excellent prose often combined elements of narration, emotion, description, and argumentation. In his later years, Zhu Ziqing's prose was primarily in the form of satirical essays. Some of his essays written in the 1920s already bore the characteristics of satirical essays. For example, Civilization in the Boat delivered a sharp critique of the so-called "civilized" practice of men and women sitting separately, Travel Notes satirized warlords, and Sea Journey Notes cursed imperialism—all with sharp and incisive writing. In the late 1940s, during the liberation war period, he more consciously used satirical essays as a weapon for battle. Zhu Ziqing once commented on satirical essays of his time: "As the direction of the era gradually becomes clear, collective demands grow stronger, and the pressure of reality tightens, satirical essays become like only swallows of spring. Starting with sharp satire of individual events, they gradually broaden their scope, engaging in serious discussions about various aspects of life, with the reach of the pen becoming deeper and broader, and their influence more lasting."