The Complete Collection of Classic Essays by Yu Dafu

Author: Zhang Hong, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: Yu Dafu was influenced in thought and creation by figures such as Rousseau, Herzen, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, as well as Japanese writers Kashiwabara Yoshinobu, Kafu Nagai, and Haruo Satō. He advocated the idea that "all literary works are the autobiographies of the authors themselves," emphasizing the expression of genuine emotions from the perspective of the subjective inner world. In his defiance of society and reflection of adolescent angst, Yu Dafu employed bold self-revelation and a richly lyrical tone, making him a prominent representative of the early Creation Society's Romanticism and an influence on later writers. It was precisely due to this influence that, during the development of New Literature in the 1920s, an artistic school emerged that wrote novels in a lyrical style.
"Scaling mountains and crossing rivers, to vent one's defiance into the void," Yu Dafu's travel writings depict such secluded and tranquil realms that they evoke a deeper sorrow than mere outcries. These exquisite, ethereal words, their wandering thoughts, and melancholic moods can rival the transcendent realms of masters from the Tang and Song dynasties, such as Liu Zongyuan and Su Dongpo, yet their essence is imbued with the modern Chinese struggle against insurmountable anxieties and solitude. Thus, Yu Dafu's prose, particularly his travel writings, are invaluable treasures in the history of modern literature.